Attenuation of lysophosphatidylcholine-induced suppression of ANP release from hypertrophied atria

Lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) is an endogenous phospholipid released from the cell membrane during ischemia, and it has potent cardiac effects, including inhibition of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) release. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of LPC on hemodynamics and ANP release in hypertrophied atria and to define its mechanism. Isolated, perfused, beating, hypertrophied atria from monocrotaline-treated rats were used. LPC (30 micromol/L), a mixture of stearoyl-LPC, palmitoyl-LPC, and oleoyl-LPC, caused suppression of ANP release, which was markedly attenuated in hypertrophied atria compared with nonhypertrophied atria. Suppression of ANP release by stearoyl-LPC, palmitoyl-LPC, or oleoyl-LPC was also attenuated in hypertrophied atria. The potency appeared to be dependent on the species of fatty acid residue of LPC. Changes in ANP release by LPC, palmitoyl-LPC, and oleoyl-LPC were positively correlated with the degree of cardiac hypertrophy, but that by stearoyl-LPC was not. Changes in ANP release by LPC also were negatively correlated with changes in pulse pressure. Stearoyl-LPC caused an increase in intracellular Ca2+ in single, atrial myocytes in a concentration-dependent manner, which was markedly attenuated in hypertrophied atrial myocytes. These results suggest that attenuation of LPC-induced suppression of ANP release from hypertrophied atria might partly be related to changes in pulse pressure in terms of cardiac hypertrophy and/or disturbance of intracellular Ca2+ regulation.     

胃嗜酸性肉芽肿48例病因探讨

目的　探讨胃嗜酸性肉芽肿 (GEG)的可能的发病原因。方法　回顾分析 48例GEG的临床表现及病理特点 ;采用改良Giemsa法检测幽门螺杆菌 (Hp)。结果　GEG有明显的性别差异 ,术前误诊率高 ,68 8%病变组织中有淋巴滤泡 ,Hp阳性检出率 69 6% ,周围血中 11例嗜酸性白细胞增高。结论　Hp感染、性激素水平及过敏反应有可能与GEG发病有关     

Prognostic factors and scoring model of hematological malignancies patients with bloodstream infections

Purpose

Patients with hematological malignancies (HMs) are at a higher risk for bloodstream infections (BSIs), which pose significant burden on morbidity and mortality. Better risk stratification helps in medical decision making, increasing efficiency and reducing economic burden. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a reliable prediction model which can be used to identify HM patients at higher risk for BSIs.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective cohort study in three university-affiliated hospitals in Hunan Province, China, from January 2010 to April 2015. A total of 521 HMs patients with BSIs were finally included in this study and were divided into the derivation set and validation set. Survivors and non-survivors were compared to identify the predictors of 30-day mortality.

Results

The multivariate analysis yielded the following significant mortality-related risk factors: age?>?60 years (95% CI 1.047–5.474), relapsed or uncontrolled malignancy (95% CI 2.043–14.029), Pitt bacteremia score?>?3 (95% CI 1.614–6.35), prolonged neutropenia (95% CI 1.181–5.824), use of vasopressors (95% CI 3.009–12.210), acute respiratory failure (95% CI 3.061–14.911), fungemia (95% CI 1.334–12.121), inadequate antibiotic treatment (95% CI 1.682–7.591), albumin?<?30 g/L (95% CI 1.030–3.446), TBil?>?34.2 µmol/L (95% CI 1.109–5.438). In both derivation and validation sets, our model showed reliable prediction value with areas under the receiver operating curve of 0.876 and 0.873.

Conclusions

The risk factors in this study have the ability to identify patients with HMs and BSIs at high risk for mortality. Our model provides an excellent foundation for predicting 30-day morality in HM patients suffering from BSI and helps target high-risk patients for management decision making.

     

Protecting against peroxynitrite-mediated cytotoxicity in vascular smooth muscle cells via upregulating endogenous glutathione biosynthesis by 3H-1,2-dithiole-3-thione

Peroxynitrite (ONOO⁻) is critically involved in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases. Reaction with glutathione (GSH) was proposed to be a major detoxification pathway of ONOO⁻ in the biological system. This study was undertaken to determine if chemically elevated intracellular GSH affords protection against ONOO⁻-mediated toxicity in vascular cells. Incubation of aortic smooth muscle A10 cells with 3H-1,2-dithiole-3-thione (D3T) led to a concentration- and time-dependent elevation of cellular GSH. Treatment of the cells with D3T also augmented protein and gene expression of γ-glutamylcysteine ligase. To examine the effects of D3T-induced GSH on ONOO⁻-mediated toxicity, we pretreated A10 cells with D3T and then exposed them to either authentic ONOO⁻ or the ONOO⁻ generator, 3-morpholinosydnonimine. We observed that D3T pretreatment of A10 cells resulted in a significant protection against ONOO⁻ cytotoxicity. Conversely, depletion of cellular GSH by buthionine sulfoximine (BSO) caused a marked potentiation of ONOO⁻ cytotoxicity. To further demonstrate the causal involvement of GSH induction in D3T cytoprotection, we cotreated A10 cells with BSO to abolish D3T-induced GSH elevation. BSO cotreatment was found to greatly reverse the protective effects of D3T on ONOO⁻-elicited cytotoxicity. Taken together, our results demonstrate that upregulating GSH biosynthesis by D3T results in a marked protection against ONOO⁻-induced toxicity in vascular cells.     

Clinical observation on hearing conditions of centenarians in northern district of China

Conclusion: The hearing conditions of the centenarians were quite poor as regards hearing thresholds and speech detection ability. Objective: To investigate hearing conditions of centenarians. Methods: A total of 54 centenarians in Rizhao and Linyi Districts in Shandong Province were investigated to assess hearing conditions of centenerians comprehensively by questionnaire investigation, pure-tone audiometry, acoustic immitance, intelligence evaluation, and speech detection scores. Also, 135 individuals were recruited as controls and divided into four groups according to their age: 45–59 years, 60–69 years, 70–79 years, and 80–89 years. Results: The hearing thresholds of the centenarians were dramatically higher than those of the control group (p < 0.05) and all centenarians suffered moderate to profound hearing loss according to the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria. Few centenarians had normal level of speech detection scores. All centenarians showed descending hearing curve, and the hearing threshold of the male centenarians at 8000 Hz was higher than that of the females (p = 0.047). There was a significant air–bone conduction gap in the centenarians (p < 0.05).     

Evolution of the insulin superfamily: cloning of a hybrid insulin/insulin-like growth factor cDNA from amphioxus.

Although insulin and the insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) share marked similarities in amino acid sequence and biological activity, their evolutionary origins have not been resolved. To investigate this issue, we recently cloned a cDNA encoding an insulin-like peptide (ILP) from a primitive chordate species, amphioxus (Branchiostoma californiensis). The deduced sequence of amphioxus preproILP indicates that it is a hybrid molecule containing features characteristic of both insulin and IGF. Like proinsulin, amphioxus proILP contains a C-peptide, which is flanked by paired basic residues and is probably removed by proteolysis. However, proILP also contains an extended carboxyl-terminal peptide region that can be divided into D and E domains similar to those of proIGF. Sequence comparisons show that the amphioxus ILP A and B domains are equally homologous to those of human insulin and IGF-I and -II. Based on these results and the exon-intron organization of the amphioxus ILP gene, we propose that IGF emerged at a very early stage in vertebrate evolution from an ancestral insulin-type gene.     

造血干细胞移植患者肠外营养支持的临床观察

目的探讨肠外营养（PN）支持对造血干细胞移植患者的重要性及各种营养素的作用。方法回顾性分析2008年1月至2009年9月106例接受造血干细胞移植患者的临床资料,根据营养支持方式不同分为PN组（n=42）和非PN组（n=64）,比较两组患者在造血重建时间、口腔黏膜炎、肝功能异常、感染及移植物抗宿主病（GVHD）发生率等方面的差异;进一步分析核黄素、谷氨酰胺、结构脂肪乳等营养素的作用。结果接受PN支持的42例患者中,包含接受核黄素的患者33例,谷氨酰胺24例,结构脂肪乳26例。PN组患者的口腔黏膜炎发生率显著低于非PN组（31．0％比51．6％,P=0．036）,而两组的感染率（42．9％比46．9％,P=0．898）、GVHD发生率（21．4％比31．3％,P=0．267）、丙氨酸氨基转移酶（ALT）水平[（49．5±9．8）U／L比（69．9±10．9）U／L,P=0．196]、粒系重建时间[（11．6±0．3）d比（12．3±0．3）d,P=0．187]及血小板重建时间[（14．1±0．9）d比（13．3±0．4）d,P=0．386]差异均无统计学意义。核黄素组的口腔黏膜炎发生率为27．3％,有低于无核黄素组（44．4％）和非PN组（51．6％）的趋势,但差异无统计学意义（P=0．073）。谷氨酰胺组、无谷氨酰胺组和非PN组在口腔黏膜炎发生率、感染率、GVHD发生率、ALT水平及造血重建时间方面的差异均无统计学意义（P均〉0．05）。结构脂肪乳组的ALT平均值为（38．7±4．9）U／L,有低于物理混合的中长链脂肪乳组[（68．5±23．0）U／L]和非PN组[（69．9±10．9）U／L]的趋势,但差异无统计学意义（P=0．243）。结论造血干细胞移植患者可从合理的PN中获益。核黄素对口腔黏膜炎的预防可能有益。结构脂肪乳与中长链脂肪乳对于肝脏功能具有同样的安全性。谷氨酰胺的作用有待进一步研究。     

A pilot study of the SARC-F scale on screening sarcopenia and physical disability in the Chinese older people

Introduction

The SARC-F scale is a newly developed tool to diagnose sarcopenia and obviate the need for measurement of muscle mass. SARC-F ≥ 4 is defined as sarcopenia. The questions of SARC-F cover physical functions targeting sarcopenia or initial presentation for sarcopenia. The aim of the study is to explore the application of SARC-F in the Chinese people.

Methods

Two hundred thirty Chinese people over 65 years old were assessed by the SARC-F scale, PSMS, Lawton IADL and the shortened version of the falls efficacy scale-international (the short FES-I). Hospitalization was investigated. Physical performance and strength were measured. The association of SARC-F with other scales or tests was analyzed.

Results

Poor physical performance and grip strength were associated with SARC-F ≥ 4 independently (P<0.005). The value for agreement of SARC-F ≥ 4 and cutoff points of tests were 0.391 to 0.635. The short FES-I were correlated to SARC-F scores (Spearman’s coefficient 0.692). Poor PSMS and Lawton IADL scores were associated with SARC-F ≥ 4(P=0.000) and SARC-F ≥ 4 was associated with hospitalization in the past 2 years (P=0.000).

Conclusion

The SARC-F scale can identify old Chinese people with impaired physical function who may suffered from sarcopenia. SARC-F judgment reflects fear of falling, indicates the hospitalization events and is associated with ability of daily life. Thus, SARC-F may be a simple and useful tool for screening individuals with impaired physical function. Further studies on SARC-F in Chinese people would be worthy.