Objective
To investigate the relationship of serum high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI) with left ventricular structure and function in elderly hemodialysis patients.
Methods
92 elderly patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis at our hemodialysis center were selected between January, 2015 and June, 2018. Their clinical data were collected. Their cardiac structure and function were measured by echocardiography.
Results
The serum hs-cTnI increased in 32 patients, and was normal in 60 patients. The proportions of the patients with III- IV grade cardiac function and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) were significantly higher in the elevated hs-cTnI group than in the normal hs-cTnI group (78.12% vs. 21.67% and 87.50% vs. 63.33%, both P<0.05). There were statistical differences in hemoglobin, serum albumin, brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) , and high sensitivity C reactive protein (hsCRP) between the two groups. Compared to the normal hs-cTnI group, the elevated hs-cTnI group had significantly larger left ventricular diameter (LVD) , left ventricular mass index (LVMI) and the ratio of mitral early diastolic peak flow and mitral annular early diastolic velocity (E/E’) (all P<0.05). The fractional shortening (FS) and left ventricular ejection fraction (EF) in the elevated hs-cTnI group were significantly lower than those in the normal hs-cTnI group (P<0.05). Hs-cTnI positively correlated with hsCRP, BNP, LVD, LVMI, and E/E', and negatively with serum albumin, EF, and FS. Age, hemoglobin, LVMI, and E/E' were significant indicators of high hs-cTnI level in the multivariate logistic regression. The areas under the ROC curve for the diagnosis of LVH, left ventricular systolic insufficiency, and left ventricular diastolic dysfunction by hs-cTn I were 0.697, 0.884, and 0.917, respectively.
Conclusions
The serum hs-cTnI level of elderly patients undergoing hemodialysis relates to their left ventricular structure and function. Measurement of serum hs-cTnI is helpful to evaluate LVH and left ventricular systolic and diastolic function in elderly patients undergoing hemodialysis.
Key words:
High-sensitivity cardiac troponin I; Left ventricle; Hemodialysis; Heart failure
There are significant gender differences in the incidence and mortality of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Compared with men, the incidence and mortality of HCC in women are relatively low. The estrogen signaling pathway, composed of estrogen and estrogen receptors, has been postulated to have a protective effect on the occurrence and development of HCC. There have been multiple studies that have supported anti-HCC effects of the estrogen signaling pathways, including direct and indirect pathways such as genomic pathways, rapid transduction pathways, non-coding RNA, tumor microenvironment, estrogen metabolites, and inhibition of hepatitis infection and replication. Based on the evidence of an anti-HCC effect of the estrogen signaling pathway, a number of strategies have been investigated to determine the potential therapeutic effect. These have included estrogen replacement therapy, targeting the estrogen receptor, key molecules, inflammatory mediators, and regulatory pathways of the estrogen signaling pathway. In this review, we have systematically summarized the latest developments in the complex functions and molecular mechanisms of the estrogen signaling pathway in liver cancer. Furthermore, we have highlighted the potential targets of treatment strategies based on the estrogen signaling pathway in the treatment of liver cancer and the principal obstacles currently encountered for future investigation.
One of the most prevalent malignant primary brain tumors is primary glioma. Although glutathione peroxidase 8 (GPX8) is intimately associated with carcinogenesis, its function in primary gliomas has not yet been thoroughly understood. Here, we leveraged Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA), The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), and Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) database to investigate the association between GPX8 and overall survival (OS) of patients with primary gliomas, and our results showed that GPX8 expression was negatively correlated with OS. Moreover, the expression of GPX8 is significantly lower in normal tissue when compared to glioma tissue. According to results of univariate and multivariate analysis from CGGA using R studio, GPX8 is a valuable primary glioma prognostic indicator. Interestingly, high GPX8 expression is correlated positively with the hedgehog and kras signaling pathways and negatively with G2 checkpoint, apoptosis, reactive oxygen species (ROS) pathway, and interferon gamma pathway, which could be beneficial for the proliferation of glioma cells. Furthermore, GPX8 knockdown caused G1 cell cycle arrest, increased cell death, and reduced colony formation in U87MG and U118MG cells. In conclusion, GPX8 is a promising therapeutic target and meaningful prognostic biomarker of primary glioma.
We used immunohistochemistry to study glomerular expression of the proliferation-associated antigen Ki-67 and α-smooth muscle actin (αSMA) in kidney biopsies from IgA nephropathy (IgAN), a type of proliferative glomerulonephritis. The non-proliferative glomerular disease, diabetic glomerulosclerosis (DGS) and idiopathic membranous nephropathy (MN) were also examined. Quantitative evaluation of the immunostaining results showed a significant increase in the number of Ki-67-positive (Ki-67+) cells in IgAN as compared to both DGS and MN, while glomerular αSMA expression was significantly higher in DGS and IgAN compared to MN. There was a significantly positive correlation between the number of Ki-67+ cells and αSMA expression in the glomerulus in IgAN ; however, there was no correlation between the expression of these factors in DGS or MN. Furthermore, in IgAN, the number of Ki-67+ cells in the glomerulus was significantly correlated to both urinary protein excretion and serum creatinine levels, but there was no relationship between the glomerular expression of αSMA and these clinical features. In addition, neither DGS nor MN exhibited a correlation between the number of Ki-67+ cells or αSMA expression and clinical findings. The estimation of urinary protein excretion is one of the most important laboratory measures for human glomerular diseases. Therefore, using Ki-67 expression to evaluate the proliferative activity of mesangial cells in renal biopsies may be useful for evaluation of both disease severity and activity in IgA nephropathy.
Purpose This study aimed to explore the prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii ( T . gondii ) among patients in Guangzhou city, South China, and to identify susceptible patient populations and analyze the causes of infection differences. Methods From May 2020 to May 2022, a total of 637 sera were collected from patients, and 205 sera were collected from health participants as health control. All sera were examined by colloidal gold kits to detect the positivity of antibodies against T . gondii . And the positivity of antibodies in sera was confirmed with ARCHITECT i2000 SR system. Results The prevalence of T . gondii infection in patients was 7.06% (45/637), which was lower than the prevalence in health participants 4.88% (10/205). Among patients, 34 (5.34%) were positive only for IgG, 10 (1.57%) were only for IgM, and 1 (0.16%) was positive for both IgG and IgM. There was a significant difference in prevalence between male and female patients, but not among different age groups or diseases groups. The prevalence of T . gondii infection in diseases groups varied. The prevalence was relatively high in patients with the disorders of thyroid gland and the malignant neoplasms of digestive organs, which suggests that caution should be taken to avoid T . gondii infection in these patients. Surprisingly, the prevalence was quite low in diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma (DLBC) patients. This may be due to the overexpression of TNF-α in tumor tissues of DLBC patients and the higher protein level of TNF-α in sera of DLBC patients. Conclusion This study provides a systematic exploration of the prevalence of T . gondii infection in patients in a tertiary hospital. Our data contributes to a better understanding of the epidemic investigation of T . gondii among patients in South China, which can help the prevention and treatment of the disease caused by T . gondii infection.
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