1.Bone loss in patients with spinal cord injury: Incidence and influencing factors.
Min JIANG ; Jun-Wei ZHANG ; He-Hu TANG ; Yu-Fei MENG ; Zhen-Rong ZHANG ; Fang-Yong WANG ; Jin-Zhu BAI ; Shu-Jia LIU ; Zhen LYU ; Shi-Zheng CHEN ; Jie-Sheng LIU ; Jia-Xin FU
Chinese Journal of Traumatology 2025;28(6):477-484
PURPOSE:
To investigate the incidence and influencing factors of bone loss in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI).
METHODS:
A retrospective case-control study was conducted. Patients with SCI in our hospital from January 2019 to March 2023 were collected. According to the correlation between bone mineral density (BMD) at different sites, the patients were divided into the lumbar spine group and the hip joint group. According to the BMD value, the patients were divided into the normal bone mass group (t > -1.0 standard deviation) and the osteopenia group (t ≤ -1.0 standard deviation). The influencing factors accumulated as follows: gender, age, height, weight, cause of injury, injury segment, injury degree, time after injury, start time of rehabilitation, motor score, sensory score, spasticity, serum value of alkaline phosphatase, calcium, and phosphorus. The trend chart was drawn and the influencing factors were analyzed. SPSS 26.0 was used for statistical analysis. Correlation analysis was used to test the correlation between the BMD values of the lumbar spine and bilateral hips. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to explore the influencing factors of osteoporosis after SCI. p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
RESULTS:
The incidence of bone loss in patients with SCI was 66.3%. There was a low concordance between bone loss in the lumbar spine and the hip, and the hip was particularly susceptible to bone loss after SCI, with an upward trend in incidence (36% - 82%). In this study, patients with SCI were divided into the lumbar spine group (n = 100) and the hip group (n = 185) according to the BMD values of different sites. Then, the lumbar spine group was divided into the normal bone mass group (n = 53) and the osteopenia group (n = 47); the hip joint group was divided into the normal bone mass group (n = 83) and the osteopenia group (n = 102). Of these, lumbar bone loss after SCI is correlated with gender and weight (p = 0.032 and < 0.001, respectively), and hip bone loss is correlated with gender, height, weight, and time since injury (p < 0.001, p = 0.015, 0.009, and 0.012, respectively).
CONCLUSIONS
The incidence of bone loss after SCI was high, especially in the hip. The incidence and influencing factors of bone loss in the lumbar spine and hip were different. Patients with SCI who are male, low height, lightweight, and long time after injury were more likely to have bone loss.
Humans
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Spinal Cord Injuries/complications*
;
Male
;
Female
;
Retrospective Studies
;
Incidence
;
Adult
;
Bone Density
;
Middle Aged
;
Case-Control Studies
;
Osteoporosis/etiology*
;
Lumbar Vertebrae
;
Bone Diseases, Metabolic/etiology*
;
Aged
;
Risk Factors
2.Prognostic Significance of Inflammation Score and Nutrition -Immunity Score in Patients with Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma.
Ming-Zhen CHEN ; Xue-Ya ZHANG ; Mei-E WANG ; Rong-Fu HUANG ; Chun-Mei FAN
Journal of Experimental Hematology 2025;33(4):1069-1078
OBJECTIVE:
To construct the inflammation score (IS) and nutrition-immunity score (NIS) for patients with multiple myeloma (MM), and to verify their prognostic stratification effects and significance.
METHODS:
The clinical data of 129 newly diagnosed MM patients admitted to our hospital from August 2011 to September 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis of overall survival (OS) were comducted on clinical parameters, including inflammatory indicators such as red blood cell volume distribution width (RDW) and platelet count (PLT), nutritional-immune indicators such as albumin (ALB), absolute lymphocyte count (ALC), and suppressed immunoglobulin count (S-Ig count). To construct IS and NIS for prognosis, X-tile software and multivariate Cox regression analysis were used to verify the prognostic stratification role and significance of IS and NIS. The time-dependent receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, C-index curve, calibration curve, and decision curve analysis (DCA) were used to evaluate the discrimination, accuracy, and clinical net benefit of IS and NIS in predicting overall survival(OS), and compared to the international staging system (ISS).
RESULTS:
IS was constructed based on the scores of RDW and PLT, and NIS was constructed based on the scores of ALB, ALC, and S-Ig count. According to X-tile analysis and multivariate Cox regression analysis, IS and NIS can divide the patients into three risk strata respectively: low, medium and high IS and NIS groups. The differences in OS and hazard ratio (HR) between the low, medium, and high strata were statistically significant (P < 0.05). IS and NIS are both independent prognostic predictors for MM. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) and C index of IS and NIS for predicting 1- to 7-year OS were greater than those of ISS, and both were greater than 0.7. The prediction results of IS and NIS for 1-, 3-, and 5-year OS rates were well consistent with the actual observed results. The DCA curves of IS and NIS for predicting 1-, 3-, and 5-year OS were higher than that of ISS in a wide range of threshold probability intervals.
CONCLUSION
IS and NIS have independent predictive significance for OS in MM patients. Their predictive discrimination, accuracy, and clinical net benefit are higher and better than ISS, and they may have potential application value in MM prognosis.
Humans
;
Multiple Myeloma/immunology*
;
Prognosis
;
Retrospective Studies
;
Inflammation
;
Male
;
Female
;
Middle Aged
;
ROC Curve
;
Aged
;
Nutritional Status
;
Proportional Hazards Models
3.Prognostic Model of Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine in Middle-aged and Elderly Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Complicated with Stable Angina Pectoris
Zhongrui WANG ; Rong ZHU ; Qian ZHEN ; Ruixia ZHAO ; Shuxun YAN ; Mingyi SHAO ; Haibin YU ; Yu FU
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2024;30(14):138-144
ObjectiveThis study aims to explore risk factors for the development of major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCEs) in middle-aged and elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus complicated with stable angina pectoris (T2DM-SAP) based on real-world clinical data in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), so as to develop a COX proportional risk prediction model and visualize the predicted results using a nomogram. MethodBased on the clinical scientific research information sharing system, the medical records of 586 T2DM-SAP patients (45-94 years old) were collected from January 2012 to December 2019, including age, gender, course of disease, major medical history, laboratory examination, tongue image, pulse image, TCM syndrome, and major treatment drugs. MACCE outcome indicators of patients were obtained by telephone follow-up and re-hospitalization records. The data was divided into a training set and a validation set according to 7∶3. In the training set, COX univariate analysis was used to determine the risk factors for MACCE in T2DM-SAP patients, and then variables were screened by forward-backward stepwise regression method, so as to establish a MACCE risk prediction model and construct a nomogram. The predictive efficacy of the model was reflected by the C-index, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, calibration map, and clinical decision curve. ResultThe history of cerebrovascular disease [Hazard ratio (HR)=1.983, 95% confidence interval (CI,1.314-2.993)], low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C/mmol·L-1)≥4.1[HR=2.683, 95%CI(1.461-4.925)], dull red tongue [HR=1.955, 95%CI(1.273-3.002)], dull purple tongue [HR=4.214, 95%CI(2.017-8.803)], white thick coating [HR=3.030, 95%CI(1.634-9.293)], thin and weak pulse [HR=2.233, 95%CI(1.283-3.888)], and syndrome of wind-phlegm blocking collaterals [HR=2.007, 95%CI(1.179-3.418)] were found to be risk factors in middle-aged and elderly T2DM-SAP patients. Insulin [HR=0.604, 95%CI(0.399-0.914)], glycosidase inhibitor [HR=0.627, 95%CI(0.409-0.962)], and TCM treatment [HR=0.328, 95%CI(0.214-0.503)] were protective factors in middle-aged and elderly T2DM-SAP patients. The prediction model was constructed based on the above risk factors. The C-index of the model was 0.818 (95% CI 0.777 -0.859) in the training set and 0.814 (95% CI 0.773-0.855) in the validation set, and the change of C-index over time was plotted. The AUC of patients for 5, 10, 15 years in the training set was 0.71, 0.67, and 0.61. The AUC of patients for 5, 10, and 15 years in the validation set was 0.60, 0.68, and 0.63, respectively. The calibration map and clinical decision curves of 5, 10, 15 years were drawn in the training set and the validation set, respectively. The model was well calibrated and clinically effective. ConclusionThe history of cerebrovascular disease, LDL, dull red tongue, dull purple tongue, white thick coating, thin and weak pulse, and syndrome of wind-phlegm blocking collaterals are risk factors for MACCE in middle-aged and elderly T2DM-SAP patients, and insulin, glycosidase inhibitors, TCM treatment are protective factors for MACCE in middle-aged and elderly T2DM-SAP patients. A clinical prediction model is established accordingly. This model has good discrimination, calibration degree, and clinical effectiveness and provides a scientific basis for the prevention and treatment of MACCE in middle-aged and elderly T2DM-SAP patients.
4.Chinese expert consensus on blood support mode and blood transfusion strategies for emergency treatment of severe trauma patients (version 2024)
Yao LU ; Yang LI ; Leiying ZHANG ; Hao TANG ; Huidan JING ; Yaoli WANG ; Xiangzhi JIA ; Li BA ; Maohong BIAN ; Dan CAI ; Hui CAI ; Xiaohong CAI ; Zhanshan ZHA ; Bingyu CHEN ; Daqing CHEN ; Feng CHEN ; Guoan CHEN ; Haiming CHEN ; Jing CHEN ; Min CHEN ; Qing CHEN ; Shu CHEN ; Xi CHEN ; Jinfeng CHENG ; Xiaoling CHU ; Hongwang CUI ; Xin CUI ; Zhen DA ; Ying DAI ; Surong DENG ; Weiqun DONG ; Weimin FAN ; Ke FENG ; Danhui FU ; Yongshui FU ; Qi FU ; Xuemei FU ; Jia GAN ; Xinyu GAN ; Wei GAO ; Huaizheng GONG ; Rong GUI ; Geng GUO ; Ning HAN ; Yiwen HAO ; Wubing HE ; Qiang HONG ; Ruiqin HOU ; Wei HOU ; Jie HU ; Peiyang HU ; Xi HU ; Xiaoyu HU ; Guangbin HUANG ; Jie HUANG ; Xiangyan HUANG ; Yuanshuai HUANG ; Shouyong HUN ; Xuebing JIANG ; Ping JIN ; Dong LAI ; Aiping LE ; Hongmei LI ; Bijuan LI ; Cuiying LI ; Daihong LI ; Haihong LI ; He LI ; Hui LI ; Jianping LI ; Ning LI ; Xiying LI ; Xiangmin LI ; Xiaofei LI ; Xiaojuan LI ; Zhiqiang LI ; Zhongjun LI ; Zunyan LI ; Huaqin LIANG ; Xiaohua LIANG ; Dongfa LIAO ; Qun LIAO ; Yan LIAO ; Jiajin LIN ; Chunxia LIU ; Fenghua LIU ; Peixian LIU ; Tiemei LIU ; Xiaoxin LIU ; Zhiwei LIU ; Zhongdi LIU ; Hua LU ; Jianfeng LUAN ; Jianjun LUO ; Qun LUO ; Dingfeng LYU ; Qi LYU ; Xianping LYU ; Aijun MA ; Liqiang MA ; Shuxuan MA ; Xainjun MA ; Xiaogang MA ; Xiaoli MA ; Guoqing MAO ; Shijie MU ; Shaolin NIE ; Shujuan OUYANG ; Xilin OUYANG ; Chunqiu PAN ; Jian PAN ; Xiaohua PAN ; Lei PENG ; Tao PENG ; Baohua QIAN ; Shu QIAO ; Li QIN ; Ying REN ; Zhaoqi REN ; Ruiming RONG ; Changshan SU ; Mingwei SUN ; Wenwu SUN ; Zhenwei SUN ; Haiping TANG ; Xiaofeng TANG ; Changjiu TANG ; Cuihua TAO ; Zhibin TIAN ; Juan WANG ; Baoyan WANG ; Chunyan WANG ; Gefei WANG ; Haiyan WANG ; Hongjie WANG ; Peng WANG ; Pengli WANG ; Qiushi WANG ; Xiaoning WANG ; Xinhua WANG ; Xuefeng WANG ; Yong WANG ; Yongjun WANG ; Yuanjie WANG ; Zhihua WANG ; Shaojun WEI ; Yaming WEI ; Jianbo WEN ; Jun WEN ; Jiang WU ; Jufeng WU ; Aijun XIA ; Fei XIA ; Rong XIA ; Jue XIE ; Yanchao XING ; Yan XIONG ; Feng XU ; Yongzhu XU ; Yongan XU ; Yonghe YAN ; Beizhan YAN ; Jiang YANG ; Jiangcun YANG ; Jun YANG ; Xinwen YANG ; Yongyi YANG ; Chunyan YAO ; Mingliang YE ; Changlin YIN ; Ming YIN ; Wen YIN ; Lianling YU ; Shuhong YU ; Zebo YU ; Yigang YU ; Anyong YU ; Hong YUAN ; Yi YUAN ; Chan ZHANG ; Jinjun ZHANG ; Jun ZHANG ; Kai ZHANG ; Leibing ZHANG ; Quan ZHANG ; Rongjiang ZHANG ; Sanming ZHANG ; Shengji ZHANG ; Shuo ZHANG ; Wei ZHANG ; Weidong ZHANG ; Xi ZHANG ; Xingwen ZHANG ; Guixi ZHANG ; Xiaojun ZHANG ; Guoqing ZHAO ; Jianpeng ZHAO ; Shuming ZHAO ; Beibei ZHENG ; Shangen ZHENG ; Huayou ZHOU ; Jicheng ZHOU ; Lihong ZHOU ; Mou ZHOU ; Xiaoyu ZHOU ; Xuelian ZHOU ; Yuan ZHOU ; Zheng ZHOU ; Zuhuang ZHOU ; Haiyan ZHU ; Peiyuan ZHU ; Changju ZHU ; Lili ZHU ; Zhengguo WANG ; Jianxin JIANG ; Deqing WANG ; Jiongcai LAN ; Quanli WANG ; Yang YU ; Lianyang ZHANG ; Aiqing WEN
Chinese Journal of Trauma 2024;40(10):865-881
Patients with severe trauma require an extremely timely treatment and transfusion plays an irreplaceable role in the emergency treatment of such patients. An increasing number of evidence-based medicinal evidences and clinical practices suggest that patients with severe traumatic bleeding benefit from early transfusion of low-titer group O whole blood or hemostatic resuscitation with red blood cells, plasma and platelet of a balanced ratio. However, the current domestic mode of blood supply cannot fully meet the requirements of timely and effective blood transfusion for emergency treatment of patients with severe trauma in clinical practice. In order to solve the key problems in blood supply and blood transfusion strategies for emergency treatment of severe trauma, Branch of Clinical Transfusion Medicine of Chinese Medical Association, Group for Trauma Emergency Care and Multiple Injuries of Trauma Branch of Chinese Medical Association, Young Scholar Group of Disaster Medicine Branch of Chinese Medical Association organized domestic experts of blood transfusion medicine and trauma treatment to jointly formulate Chinese expert consensus on blood support mode and blood transfusion strategies for emergency treatment of severe trauma patients ( version 2024). Based on the evidence-based medical evidence and Delphi method of expert consultation and voting, 10 recommendations were put forward from two aspects of blood support mode and transfusion strategies, aiming to provide a reference for transfusion resuscitation in the emergency treatment of severe trauma and further improve the success rate of treatment of patients with severe trauma.
5.Targeting microRNA-125b inhibited the metastasis of Alisertib resistance cells through mediating p53 pathway.
Fu Li YANG ; Xin CHEN ; Fei ZHENG ; Xiang ye LIU ; Na SUN ; Rong Qing LI ; Zhen JIANG ; Jing HAN ; Jing YANG
Chinese Journal of Oncology 2023;45(6):499-507
Objective: To clarify the mechanisms involvement in Alisertib-resistant colorectal cells and explore a potential target to overcome Alisertib-resistance. Methods: Drug-resistant colon cancer cell line (named as HCT-8-7T cells) was established and transplanted into immunodeficient mice. The metastasis in vivo were observed. Proliferation and migration of HCT-8-7T cells and their parental cells were assessed by colony formation and Transwell assay, respectively. Glycolytic capacity and glutamine metabolism of cells were analyzed by metabolism assays. The protein and mRNA levels of critical factors which are involved in mediating glycolysis and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) were examined by western blot and reverse transcription-quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction(RT-qPCR), respectively. Results: In comparison with the mice transplanted with HCT-8 cells, which were survival with limited metastatic tumor cells in organs, aggressive metastases were observed in liver, lung, kidney and ovary of HCT-8-7T transplanted mice (P<0.05). The levels of ATP [(0.10±0.01) mmol/L], glycolysis [(81.77±8.21) mpH/min] and the capacity of glycolysis [(55.50±3.48) mpH/min] in HCT-8-7T cells were higher than those of HCT-8 cells [(0.04±0.01) mmol/L, (27.77±2.55) mpH/min and(14.00±1.19) mpH/min, respectively, P<0.05]. Meanwhile, the levels of p53 protein and mRNA in HCT-8-7T cells were potently decreased as compared to that in HCT-8 cells (P<0.05). However, the level of miRNA-125b (2.21±0.12) in HCT-8-7T cells was significantly elevated as compared to that in HCT-8 cells (1.00±0.00, P<0.001). In HCT-8-7T cells, forced-expression of p53 reduced the colon number (162.00±24.00) and the migration [(18.53±5.67)%] as compared with those in cells transfected with control vector [274.70±40.50 and (100.00±29.06)%, P<0.05, respectively]. Similarly, miR-125b mimic decreased the glycolysis [(25.28±9.51) mpH/min] in HCT-8-7T cells as compared with that [(54.38±12.70)mpH/min, P=0.003] in HCT-8-7T cells transfected with control. Meanwhile, in comparison with control transfected HCT-8-7T cells, miR-125b mimic also significantly led to an increase in the levels of p53 and β-catenin, in parallel with a decrease in the levels of PFK1 and HK1 in HCT-8-7T cells (P<0.05). Conclusions: Silencing of p53 by miR-125b could be one of the mechanisms that contributes to Alisertib resistance. Targeting miR-125b could be a strategy to overcome Alisertib resistance.
Animals
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Female
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Mice
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Azepines
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Cell Line, Tumor
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Cell Movement/genetics*
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Cell Proliferation
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Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
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MicroRNAs/genetics*
;
RNA, Messenger
;
Tumor Suppressor Protein p53/genetics*
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Humans
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Drug Resistance, Neoplasm
6.Waist Circumference and Body Mass Index Variability and Incident Diabetic Microvascular Complications: A Post Hoc Analysis of ACCORD Trial (Diabetes Metab J 2022;46:767-80)
Daniel Nyarko HUKPORTIE ; Fu-Rong LI ; Rui ZHOU ; Jia-Zhen ZHENG ; Xiao-Xiang WU ; Xian-Bo WU
Diabetes & Metabolism Journal 2023;47(1):150-151
7.Specific antitumor activity and mechanism of protonic bis-phenanthroline
Zi-zhen ZHAO ; Chen FU ; Zhi-hong CUI ; Xiao-rong LI ; Ying-ying ZHANG ; Yu-ping ZHANG ; Xiao-xi YANG ; Ai-ling FU
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica 2022;57(5):1344-1351
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common malignant tumor worldwise. The incidence rate of HCC is high and is easy to metastasis and recurrence, which seriously affects human health. Traditional chemical drugs have some challenges such as toxicity, side effects, and multidrug resistance, thus it is urgent to find new drugs and effective targets. Here we synthesized a novel chemical, protonic bis-phenanthroline (H-BP), and the antitumor effect was investigated in the study. The results showed that H-BP could selectively inhibit the proliferation of tumor cells and cause HCC apoptosis. And also, in HCC tumor-bearing mice, H-BP could effectively prevent the growth of tumor mass, even completely eliminate the tumor at medium dose (5 mg·kg-1) and high dose (10 mg·kg-1), and meanwhile H-BP has no significant effect on the body weight of mice. The experimental protocol was approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of Southwest University, and the experimental operation was strictly carried out in accordance with the ethical principles of animal use and care. Mechanism studies showed that H-BP induced HCC apoptosis was related to down-regulation the expression of pleomorphic adenoma gene like-2 (PLAGL2), a oncogene transcription factor, resulting in the down-regulation of PLAGL2 downstream proteins hypoxia inducible factor and
8.Establishment of An Animal Model of Acute B Lymphoblastic Leukemia with Minimal Residual Disease.
Xiao-Fu JIN ; Ling-Zhen WANG ; Ke LEI ; Zeng-Yi DONG ; Ren ZHONG ; Han ZHAO ; Li-Rong SUN
Journal of Experimental Hematology 2022;30(2):381-385
OBJECTIVE:
To establish an animal model of acute B lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) with minimal residual disease.
METHODS:
The transplanted tumor was formed by subcutaneous injection of 2×107 Nalm-6 cells, and the body weight, activity status and tumor formation status of nude mice were observed. Peripheral blood, bone marrow, liver and spleen and other tissues of nude mice were taken for pathological examination to understand whether the success of subcutaneous modeling was accompanied by systemic metastasis.
RESULTS:
There were 2×107 Nalm-6 cells injected subcutaneously in nude mice, (11.0±2.5) days later, the tumors of (3-4) × (3-4) mm were observed, the body weight of the nude mice was reduced and activity showed no limited. Infiltration of tumor cells in liver, spleen and bone marrow were observed in pathological sections.
CONCLUSION
The animal model of subcutaneous tumor of B-ALL was successfully established in nude mice.
Animals
;
Body Weight
;
Disease Models, Animal
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Humans
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Mice
;
Mice, Nude
;
Neoplasm Transplantation
;
Neoplasm, Residual
;
Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma
9.Accurate quantification of 3'-terminal 2'-O-methylated small RNAs by utilizing oxidative deep sequencing and stem-loop RT-qPCR.
Yan KONG ; Huanhuan HU ; Yangyang SHAN ; Zhen ZHOU ; Ke ZEN ; Yulu SUN ; Rong YANG ; Zheng FU ; Xi CHEN
Frontiers of Medicine 2022;16(2):240-250
The continuing discoveries of novel classes of RNA modifications in various organisms have raised the need for improving sensitive, convenient, and reliable methods for quantifying RNA modifications. In particular, a subset of small RNAs, including microRNAs (miRNAs) and Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs), are modified at their 3'-terminal nucleotides via 2'-O-methylation. However, quantifying the levels of these small RNAs is difficult because 2'-O-methylation at the RNA 3'-terminus inhibits the activity of polyadenylate polymerase and T4 RNA ligase. These two enzymes are indispensable for RNA labeling or ligation in conventional miRNA quantification assays. In this study, we profiled 3'-terminal 2'-O-methyl plant miRNAs in the livers of rice-fed mice by oxidative deep sequencing and detected increasing amounts of plant miRNAs with prolonged oxidation treatment. We further compared the efficiency of stem-loop and poly(A)-tailed RT-qPCR in quantifying plant miRNAs in animal tissues and identified stem-loop RT-qPCR as the only suitable approach. Likewise, stem-loop RT-qPCR was superior to poly(A)-tailed RT-qPCR in quantifying 3'-terminal 2'-O-methyl piRNAs in human seminal plasma. In summary, this study established a standard procedure for quantifying the levels of 3'-terminal 2'-O-methyl miRNAs in plants and piRNAs. Accurate measurement of the 3'-terminal 2'-O-methylation of small RNAs has profound implications for understanding their pathophysiologic roles in biological systems.
Animals
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High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing
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Humans
;
Methylation
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Mice
;
MicroRNAs/genetics*
;
Oxidative Stress
;
RNA, Small Interfering/metabolism*
;
Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
10.18FMAGL-4-11 positron emission tomography molecular imaging of monoacylglycerol lipase changes in preclinical liver fibrosis models.
Tuo SHAO ; Zhen CHEN ; Jian RONG ; Vasily BELOV ; Jiahui CHEN ; Andre JEYARAJAN ; Xiaoyun DENG ; Hualong FU ; Qingzhen YU ; Steve H RWEMA ; Wenyu LIN ; Mikhail PAPISOV ; Lee JOSEPHSON ; Raymond T CHUNG ; Steven H LIANG
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B 2022;12(1):308-315
Monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL) is a pivotal enzyme in the endocannabinoid system, which metabolizes 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) into the proinflammatory eicosanoid precursor arachidonic acid (AA). MAGL and other endogenous cannabinoid (EC) degrading enzymes are involved in the fibrogenic signaling pathways that induce hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation and ECM accumulation during chronic liver disease. Our group recently developed an 18F-labeled MAGL inhibitor ([18F]MAGL-4-11) for PET imaging and demonstrated highly specific binding in vitro and in vivo. In this study, we determined [18F]MAGL-4-11 PET enabled imaging MAGL levels in the bile duct ligation (BDL) and carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) models of liver cirrhosis; we also assessed the hepatic gene expression of the enzymes involved with EC system including MAGL, NAPE-PLD, FAAH and DAGL that as a function of disease severity in these models; [18F]MAGL-4-11 autoradiography was performed to assess tracer binding in frozen liver sections both in animal and human. [18F]MAGL-4-11 demonstrated reduced PET signals in early stages of fibrosis and further significantly decreased with disease progression compared with control mice. We confirmed MAGL and FAAH expression decreases with fibrosis severity, while its levels in normal liver tissue are high; in contrast, the EC synthetic enzymes NAPE-PLD and DAGL are enhanced in these different fibrosis models. In vitro autoradiography further supported that [18F]MAGL-4-11 bound specifically to MAGL in both animal and human fibrotic liver tissues. Our PET ligand [18F]MAGL-4-11 shows excellent sensitivity and specificity for MAGL visualization in vivo and accurately reflects the histological stages of liver fibrosis in preclinical models and human liver tissues.

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