Publications by authors named "Yang Hu"

1,379 Publications

  • Page 1 of 1

Habenular connectivity predict weight loss and negative emotional-related eating behavior after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy.

Authors:
Jia Wang Gang Ji Guanya Li Yang Hu Wenchao Zhang Weibin Ji Zongxin Tan Hao Li Fukun Jiang Yaqi Zhang Feifei Wu Karen M von Deneen Juan Yu Yu Han Guangbin Cui Peter Manza Dardo Tomasi Nora D Volkow Yongzhan Nie Yi Zhang Gene-Jack Wang

Cereb Cortex 2022 May 18. Epub 2022 May 18.

Laboratory of Neuroimaging, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.

Habenular (Hb) processes negative emotions that may drive compulsive food-intake. Its functional changes were reported following laparoscopic-sleeve-gastrectomy (LSG). However, structural connectivity (SC) of Hb-homeostatic/hedonic circuits after LSG remains unclear. We selected regions implicated in homeostatic/hedonic regulation that have anatomical connections with Hb as regions-of-interest (ROIs), and used diffusion-tensor-imaging with probabilistic tractography to calculate SC between Hb and these ROIs in 30 obese participants before LSG (PreLSG) and at 12-month post-LSG (PostLSG12) and 30 normal-weight controls. Three-factor-eating-questionnaire (TFEQ) and Dutch-eating-behavior-questionnaire (DEBQ) were used to assess eating behaviors. LSG significantly decreased weight, negative emotion, and improved self-reported eating behavior. LSG increased SC between the Hb and homeostatic/hedonic regions including hypothalamus (Hy), bilateral superior frontal gyri (SFG), left amygdala (AMY), and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). TFEQ-hunger negatively correlated with SC of Hb-Hy at PostLSG12; and increased SC of Hb-Hy correlated with reduced depression and DEBQ-external eating. TFEQ-disinhibition negatively correlated with SC of Hb-bilateral SFG at PreLSG. Increased SC of Hb-left AMY correlated with reduced DEBQ-emotional eating. Higher percentage of total weight-loss negatively correlated with SC of Hb-left OFC at PreLSG. Enhanced SC of Hb-homeostatic/hedonic regulatory regions post-LSG may contribute to its beneficial effects in improving eating behaviors including negative emotional eating, and long-term weight-loss.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhac191DOI Listing
May 2022

A novel catechin electrochemical sensor based on a two-dimensional MOFs material derivative Zn doped carbon nanosheets and multi-walled carbon nanotubes composite film.

Authors:
Yang Hu Chenxi Wang Pengcheng Zhao Li Zhang Junjie Fei Yixi Xie

Talanta 2022 May 4;246:123520. Epub 2022 May 4.

Key Laboratory of Environmentally Friendly Chemistry and Applications of Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, 411105, People's Republic of China; Key Laboratory for Green Organic Synthesis and Application of Hunan Province, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, 411105, People's Republic of China. Electronic address:

In this paper, the precursor ZIF-8/NaCl composite material was successfully synthesized by the in-situ synthesis method, and the two-dimensional zinc doped carbon nanosheets (Zn CNs) were obtained after heat treatment of the precursor. Zn CNs were electrodeposited on carboxylated carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs-COOH) modified glass carbon electrode (GCE) to construct an electrochemical sensor for catechins. The materials are characterized using scanning electron microscope, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherm. Zn CNs/MWCNTs-COOH composite provide the sensor with excellent electrochemical and electrocatalytic performance. Therefore, the sensor has a wide detection range (30.0-738 nM) and a low detection limit (LOD = 10.0 nM) for catechins. The effectiveness of the sensor was also verified in actual sample detection with good stability and accuracy. This study may provide a feasible solution for the detection of catechin.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.talanta.2022.123520DOI Listing
May 2022

DAPT Attenuates Cadmium-Induced Toxicity in Mice by Inhibiting Inflammation and the Notch/HES-1 Signaling Axis.

Authors:
Jia-Ying Yang Dan-Yang Shen Jun Wang Jing-Feng Dai Xiao-Yan Qin Yang Hu Rongfeng Lan

Front Pharmacol 2022 29;13:902796. Epub 2022 Apr 29.

Department of Cell Biology and Medical Genetics, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Shenzhen University Health Science Center, Shenzhen, China.

The small molecule DAPT inhibits the Notch signaling pathway by blocking γ-secretase mediated Notch cleavage. Given the critical role of the Notch signaling axis in inflammation, we asked whether DAPT could block Notch-mediated inflammation and thus exert neuronal protection. We established a mouse model of chronic exposure to cadmium (Cd)-induced toxicity and treated it with DAPT. DAPT was effective in ameliorating Cd-induced multi-organ damage and cognitive impairment in mice, as DAPT restored abnormal performance in the Y-maze, forced swimming and Morris water maze (MWM) tests. DAPT also reversed Cd-induced neuronal loss and glial cell activation to normal as observed by immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry of brain tissue sections. In addition, Cd-intoxicated mice showed significantly increased levels of the Notch/HES-1 signaling axis and NF-κB, as well as decreased levels of the inflammatory inhibitors C/EBPβ and COP1. However, DAPT down regulated the elevated Notch/HES-1 signaling axis to normal, eliminating inflammation and thus protecting the nervous system. Thus, DAPT effectively eliminated the neurotoxicity of Cd, and blocking γ-secretase as well as Notch signaling axis may be a potential target for the development of neuronal protective drugs.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2022.902796DOI Listing
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9100577PMC
April 2022

Var. Extract Attenuates MPTP-Induced Neurotoxicity by Restoring BDNF-TrkB and FGF2-Akt Signaling Axis and Inhibiting RIP1-Driven Inflammation.

Authors:
Xiu-Yuan Lang Yang Hu Jin-Peng Bai Jun Wang Xiao-Yan Qin Rongfeng Lan

Front Pharmacol 2022 28;13:903235. Epub 2022 Apr 28.

Department of Cell Biology and Medical Genetics, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Shenzhen University Health Science Center, Shenzhen, China.

The tuber of var. is a Tibetan medicine that has been used for generations as a tonic for Yang and Qi, tranquilizing, to enhance intelligence and to promote longevity. We have previously characterized the constituents of var. extract (CE) and investigated its anti-Alzheimer's disease (AD) effect in mice models. However, the exact role of CE in Parkinson's disease (PD), especially the neurotrophic and inflammatory pathways regulated by CE, remains unknown. In this study, we investigated the anti-PD effects of CE in an MPTP-induced acute mouse model and its underlying mechanisms, focusing on BDNF, FGF2 and their mediated signaling pathways and RIP1-driven inflammatory signaling axis. Pole test and traction test were performed for behavioral analysis. RT-PCR, IHC and Western blotting were performed to assay the mRNA, tissues, and protein, respectively. We found that CE improved dyskinesia in MPTP-intoxicated mice, which was confirmed by the pole test and traction test. Also, oxidative stress and astrocyte activation and inflammation were alleviated. MPTP-intoxication disrupted the levels of BDNF, FGF2 and their mediated signaling pathways, triggered elevation of pro-inflammatory factors such as TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6, and activated RIP1-driven inflammatory axis. However, CE restored the levels of BDNF, FGF2 and TrkB/Akt signaling pathways while inhibiting the RIP1-driven inflammatory signaling axis, thereby inhibiting apoptosis, preventing loss of nigrostriatal neurons, and maintaining cellular homeostasis. Thus, CE is a promising agent for the treatment of PD.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2022.903235DOI Listing
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9096617PMC
April 2022

Generation of a human iPSC line CIBi010-A with a reporter for ASGR1 using CRISPR/Cas9.

Authors:
Jian Fu Lixiang Jiang Baorong Yu Yuqing Liu Rui Wei Yang Hu Wai-In Ho Bo Yang Meng Chu Hung-Fat Tse Jiayin Yang

Stem Cell Res 2022 May 5;62:102800. Epub 2022 May 5.

Cell Inspire Therapeutics Co., Ltd., Shenzhen 518101, China. Electronic address:

ASGR1 is a liver-specific surface marker that has been used to purify human pluripotent stem cell (PSC)-derived hepatocytes (iHeps). Furthermore, ASGR1 iHeps represents a more mature subpopulation of iHeps. To utilize this marker for optimizing iHep differentiation and purification, we substituted the stop coden of ASGR1 with a fluorescent reporter protein mCherry in a human iPSC line iPSN0052 via CRISPR/Cas9-mediated homologus recombination. The generated CIBi010-A enableds us to monitor ASGR1 expression during hepatic differentiation and thus can be used to optimize our hepatic differentiation procedures.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scr.2022.102800DOI Listing
May 2022

Tailoring Oxygen Reduction Reaction Pathway on Spinel Oxides via Surficial Geometrical-Site Occupation Modification Driven by Oxygen Evolution Reaction.

Authors:
Li An Yang Hu Jianyi Li Jiamin Zhu Mingzi Sun Bolong Huang Pinxian Xi Chun-Hua Yan

Adv Mater 2022 May 13:e2202874. Epub 2022 May 13.

Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Materials Chemistry and Applications, PKU-HKU Joint Laboratory in Rare Earth Materials and Bioinorganic Chemistry, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.

Oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) has been demonstrated as a critical technology for both energy conversion technologies and hydrogen peroxide intermediate production. Herein, the in-situ oxygen evolution reaction (OER) surface evolution strategy is applied for changing the surface structure of MnCo O oxide with tetrahedral and octahedral cations vacancies to realize reaction pathway switching from 2e ORR and 4e ORR. Interestingly, the as-synthesized MnCo O -pristine (MnCo O -P) with the highest surficial Mn/Co octahedron occupation favors two electrons reaction routes exhibiting high H O selectivity (≈ 80% and reaches nearly 100% at 0.75 V versus RHE); after surface atoms reconstruction, MnCo O -activation (MnCo O -A) with the largest Mn/Co tetrahedron occupation present excellent ORR performance through four electrons pathway with an ultrahigh onset potential and half-wave potential of 0.78 V and 0.92 V, ideal mass activity (MA) and the turnover frequencies (TOF) values. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations have revealed the concurrent modulations of both Co and Mn by the surface reconstructions, which improve the electroactivity of MnCo O -A towards the 4e pathway. This work provides a new perspective to building correlation of OER activation-ORR property, bringing detailed understating for reaction route transformation, and thus guiding the development of certain electrocatalysts with specific purposes. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/adma.202202874DOI Listing
May 2022

Phylogeny, Evolution, and Transmission Dynamics of Canine and Feline Coronaviruses: A Retro-Prospective Study.

Authors:
Hu Yang Qianling Peng Yifei Lang SenYan Du SanJie Cao Rui Wu Qin Zhao Xiaobo Huang Yiping Wen Juchun Lin Shan Zhao Qigui Yan

Front Microbiol 2022 26;13:850516. Epub 2022 Apr 26.

Swine Disease Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China.

Canine coronavirus (CCoV) and feline coronavirus (FCoV) are endemic in companion animals. Due to their high mutation rates and tendencies of genome recombination, they pose potential threats to public health. The molecular characteristics and genetic variation of both CCoV and FCoV have been thoroughly studied, but their origin and evolutionary dynamics still require further assessment. In the present study, we applied a comprehensive approach and analyzed the S, M, and N genes of different CCoV/FCoV isolates. Discriminant analysis of principal components (DAPC) and phylogenetic analysis showed that the FCoV sequences from Chinese isolates were closely related to the FCoV clusters in Netherlands, while recombination analysis indicated that of S N-terminal domain (NTD) was the most susceptible region of mutation, and recombination of this region is an important cause of the emergence of new lineages. Natural selection showed that CCoV and FCoV subgenotypes were in selection constraints, and CCoV-IIb was in strong positive selection. Phylodynamics showed that the mean evolution rate of S1 genes of CCoV and FCoV was 1.281 × 10 and 1.244 × 10 subs/site/year, respectively, and the tMRCA of CCoV and FCoV was about 1901 and 1822, respectively. Taken together, our study centered on tracing the origin of CCoV/FCoV and provided ample insights into the phylogeny and evolution of canine and feline coronaviruses.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.850516DOI Listing
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9087556PMC
April 2022

The design and synthesis of spinel one-dimensional multi-shelled nanostructures for Li-ion batteries.

Authors:
Hongli Li Yantao Wang Junwei Zhang Liu Zhu Juan Shi Bin Chen Yang Hu Hong Zhang Xia Deng Yong Peng

Nanoscale 2022 May 12. Epub 2022 May 12.

School of Materials and Energy, Electron Microscopy Centre of Lanzhou University and Key Laboratory of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials of the Ministry of Education, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, PR China.

The rational design, synthesis, and massive production of one-dimensional (1D) spinel composite oxides with multi-shelled nanostructures are critical for the realization of highly efficient energy conversion and storage. However, owing to the limitations of the synthetic methods, the 1D multi-shelled nanostructures, especially for multi-element oxides and binary-metal oxides, have been rarely fabricated. Herein, we design a facile and general method to fabricate 1D spinel composite oxides with complex architectures. It is found that the concentration of the precursor polymer PAN can control the structures of the products at optimal heating rate, including hollow nanofibers, wire-in-tube nanofibers, and tube-in-tube nanofibers. This technique could be extended to various inorganic multi-element oxides and binary-metal oxides. Moreover, numerous twin boundaries (TBs) are found to form in the CoNiFeO tube-in-tube nanofibers. Benefiting from both large porosity and TBs structures, the tube-in-tube hollow nanostructures are measured to possess superior electrochemical performances with high energy and stability in lithium-ion storage.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/d2nr00627hDOI Listing
May 2022

Ultrastretchable and adhesive agarose/TiCT-crosslinked-polyacrylamide double-network hydrogel for strain sensor.

Authors:
Tingrui Lin Shuangxiao Li Yang Hu Lang Sheng Xibang Chen Xueyan Que Jing Peng Huiling Ma Jiuqiang Li Maolin Zhai

Carbohydr Polym 2022 Aug 22;290:119506. Epub 2022 Apr 22.

Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Radiochemistry and Radiation Chemistry Key Laboratory of Fundamental Science, The Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of the Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China. Electronic address:

A novel agarose/TiCT-crosslinked-polyacrylamide (AG/T-PAM) double-network (DN) hydrogel is synthesized by combining heating-cooling and γ-ray radiation-induced polymerization. The AG/T-PAM DN hydrogel possesses excellent mechanical properties with 4250% stretchability, and good adhesion to different substrates, such as an adhesive strength of 1148 kPa to copper at 30 °C. The resultant hydrogel also exhibits excellent tensile and compression sensing properties due to the variation of conductive network within hydrogel. The flexible and wearable strain sensor composed of the AG/T-PAM DN hydrogel presents rapid response to strain withstand 1000 cycles, and can monitor various movements of human body with a high sensibility. The AG/T-PAM DN hydrogel-based strain sensor will have broad application in large-scale strain detection scenarios requiring high sensitivity and adhesion.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.carbpol.2022.119506DOI Listing
August 2022

Optic chiasmatic potential by endoscopically implanted skull base microinvasive biosensor: a brain-machine interface approach for anterior visual pathway assessment.

Authors:
Yikui Zhang Shengjian Lu Shenghai Huang Zhonghao Yu Tian Xia Mengyun Li Chen Yang Yiyang Mao Boyue Xu Lixu Wang Lei Xu Jieliang Shi Xingfang Zhu Senmiao Zhu Si Zhang Haohua Qian Yang Hu Wei Li Yunhai Tu Wencan Wu

Theranostics 2022 11;12(7):3273-3287. Epub 2022 Apr 11.

The Eye Hospital, School of Ophthalmology & Optometry, Wenzhou Medical University; Wenzhou 325027, China.

Visually evoked potential (VEP) is widely used to detect optic neuropathy in basic research and clinical practice. Traditionally, VEP is recorded non-invasively from the surface of the skull over the visual cortex. However, its trace amplitude is highly variable, largely due to intracranial modulation and artifacts. Therefore, a safe test with a strong and stable signal is highly desirable to assess optic nerve function, particularly in neurosurgical settings and animal experiments. Minimally invasive trans-sphenoidal endoscopic recording of optic chiasmatic potential (OCP) was carried out with a titanium screw implanted onto the sphenoid bone beneath the optic chiasm in the goat, whose sphenoidal anatomy is more human-like than non-human primates. The implantation procedure was swift (within 30 min) and did not cause any detectable abnormality in fetching/moving behaviors, skull CT scans and ophthalmic tests after surgery. Compared with traditional VEP, the amplitude of OCP was 5-10 times stronger, more sensitive to weak light stimulus and its subtle changes, and was more repeatable, even under extremely low general anesthesia. Moreover, the OCP signal relied on ipsilateral light stimulation, and was abolished immediately after complete optic nerve (ON) transection. Through proof-of-concept experiments, we demonstrated several potential applications of the OCP device: (1) real-time detector of ON function, (2) detector of region-biased retinal sensitivity, and (3) therapeutic electrical stimulator for the optic nerve with low and thus safe excitation threshold. OCP developed in this study will be valuable for both vision research and clinical practice. This study also provides a safe endoscopic approach to implant skull base brain-machine interface, and a feasible testbed (goat) for evaluating safety and efficacy of skull base brain-machine interface.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.7150/thno.71164DOI Listing
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9065198PMC
May 2022

Fibroblast Growth Factor 9 as a Potential Biomarker for Schizophrenia.

Authors:
Xiao-Ling Li Yun Yu Yang Hu Huan-Tong Wu Xue-Song Li Guang-Yang Chen Yong Cheng

Front Psychiatry 2022 25;13:788677. Epub 2022 Apr 25.

Center on Translational Neuroscience, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Minzu University of China, Beijing, China.

Preclinical and clinical studies have suggested that fibroblast growth factor (FGF) system contributed to the onset and development of schizophrenia (SCZ). However, there was no strong clinical evidence to link an individual FGF with SCZ. In this study, we aim to measure blood FGF9 levels in the patients with SCZ with and/or without medication, and test whether FGF9 has a potential to be a biomarker for SCZ. We recruited 130 patients with SCZ and 111 healthy individuals, and the ELISA and qRT-PCR assays were used to measure serum FGF9 levels in the participants. ELISA assay demonstrated that serum FGF9 protein levels were dramatically reduced in first-episode, drug-free patients, but not in chronically medicated patients when compared to healthy control subjects. Further analysis showed that treatment of the first-episode, drug-free SCZ patients with antipsychotics for 8 weeks significantly increased the serum FGF9 levels. In addition, we found that blood mRNA levels were significantly lower in first-onset SCZ patients than controls. Under the receiver operating characteristic curve, the optimal cutoff values for FGF9 protein level as an indicator for diagnosis of drug-free SCZ patients was projected to be 166.4 pg/ml, which yielded a sensitivity of 0.955 and specificity of 0.86, and the area under the curve was 0.973 (95% CI, 0.954-0.993). Furthermore, FGF9 had good performance to discriminate between drug-free SCZ patients and chronically medicated patients, the optimal cutoff value for FGF9 concentration was projected to be 165.035 pg/ml with a sensitivity of 0.86 and specificity of 0.919, and the AUC was 0.968 (95% CI, 0.944, 0.991). Taken together, our results for the first time demonstrated the dysregulation of FGF9 in SCZ, and FGF9 has the potential to be served as a biomarker for SCZ.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.788677DOI Listing
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9082542PMC
April 2022

Astragalin attenuates AlCl/D-galactose-induced aging-like disorders by inhibiting oxidative stress and neuroinflammation.

Authors:
Yang Hu Xin Fang Jun Wang Teng-Teng Ren Yu-Ying Zhao Jing-Feng Dai Xiao-Yan Qin Rongfeng Lan

Neurotoxicology 2022 May 9;91:60-68. Epub 2022 May 9.

Department of Cell Biology & Medical Genetics, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Shenzhen University Health Science Center, Shenzhen 518060,China. Electronic address:

Astragalin (AST) is a natural flavonoid with excellent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. However, whether AST is an effective chemical for neuronal protection and its underlying mechanisms remain to be elucidated. In this study, we established a mouse model of cognitive impairment and aging-like phenotype induced by sequential administration of AlCl and D-galactose (Gal). We found that AST effectively ameliorated cognitive impairment in the model mice and improved their learning and memory performance in the Morris water maze (MWM) test. AlCl/Gal-induced activation of astrocytes and microglia and inflammation were observed by immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence, but could be attenuated by AST. In addition, alterations in oxidative stress-regulating enzymes or markers, including T-SOD, T-AOC, CAT, GSH-Px, and MDA, as well as the pro-inflammatory factors TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6, were restored. At the mechanistic level, AlCl/Gal-intoxicated mice showed a significant elevation of Notch/HES-1 and NF-κB signaling axis corresponding to microglia activation and inflammation. AST attenuated the activation of Notch/HES-1 and NF-κB signaling axis, thus reducing the inflammation. In summary, AST is a promising natural product to protect neurons from toxin-induced injury, indicating its therapeutic potential for neurological disorders.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuro.2022.05.003DOI Listing
May 2022

microRNA-16-5p suppresses cell proliferation and angiogenesis in colorectal cancer by negatively regulating forkhead box K1 to block the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway.

Authors:
Xin Huang Xuan Xu Huajing Ke Xiaolin Pan Jiaoyu Ai Ruyi Xie Guilian Lan Yang Hu Yao Wu

Eur J Histochem 2022 May 10;66(2). Epub 2022 May 10.

Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Jiangxi Clinical Research Center for Gastroenterology, Nanchang.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs/miRs) have aroused increasing attention in colorectal cancer (CRC) therapy. This study is designed for a detailed analysis of the roles of miR-16-5p and forkhead box K1 (FOXK1) in cell angiogenesis and proliferation during CRC in addition to their underlying mechanisms. CRC tissues and colon cancer cell lines (SW620 and HCT8) were investigated. qRT-PCR and Western blot were utilized to evaluate miR-16-5p and FOXK1 expression. Following gain- and loss-of-function assays on miR-16-5p or FOXK1, the effects of miR-16-5p and FOXK1 were assessed on cell angiogenesis and proliferation in CRC cells. A dual-luciferase reporter assay was employed to evaluate the binding relationship of miR-16-5p and FOXK1. Western blot was used to determine the effects of miR-16-5p and FOXK1 on key molecules of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway. Highly expressed FOXK1 and lowly expressed miR-16-5p were observed in CRC cells and tissues. miR-16-5p overexpression or FOXK1 knockdown reduced CRC cell proliferation and angiogenesis of human umbilical vein endothelial cells co-cultured with the supernatant of CRC cells, whereas miR-16-5p silencing or FOXK1 upregulation caused opposite trends. Additionally, miR-16-5p negatively modulated FOXK1 expression. The blockade of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway was triggered by miR-16-5p overexpression or FOXK1 silencing. In conclusion, miR-16-5p hampers cell angiogenesis and proliferation during CRC by targeting FOXK1 to block the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.4081/ejh.2022.3333DOI Listing
May 2022

Self-cleaning expanded polytetrafluoroethylene-based hybrid membrane for water filtration.

Authors:
Peng Liao Lan You Wen Jiang Zheng Wei Zou Jie Yan Hu Yang Fan Yang

RSC Adv 2022 Apr 4;12(21):13228-13234. Epub 2022 May 4.

Organic Fluorine Material Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Zhonghao Chenguang Chemical Research Institute Zigong 643201 PR China.

Membrane surface fouling is a key problem for water filtration. Compositing photocatalytic substances with a base membrane is a widely used strategy, but most of the membrane will be decomposed by photocatalysis. Herein, expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) with extremely stable chemical properties is grafted with polyacrylic acid (PAA) and then modified with titanium dioxide (TiO) to realize a self-cleaning TiO-PAA-ePTFE filtration membrane. It can recover its flux under UV irradiation after fouling. With 20 rounds of self-cleaning, the membrane microstructure still remains intact. Moreover, in addition to retaining bovine serum albumin, TiO particles on the membrane surface are capable of absorbing small organic pollutants and degrading them. Thus, this membrane is potentially used as an anti-fouling membrane for water filtration.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/d2ra01026gDOI Listing
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9067432PMC
April 2022

sp. (Phylum Apicomplexa) Identified in Horses Shed Light on Its Potential Transmission and Zoonotic Pathogenicity.

Authors:
Ming Xu Yang Hu Hongyu Qiu Jingyuan Wang Jiafu Jiang

Front Microbiol 2022 18;13:857752. Epub 2022 Apr 18.

State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China.

species, which mainly feed on protists and algae, are free-living close relatives of apicomplexans. Recent reports have identified sp. infections in an immunocompromised individual and a suspected case of tick-transmitted infection resulting in neurological symptoms. Our molecular examination of piroplasmosis-infected horses in China identified nearly whole 18S rRNA gene sequences that are closely related to sp. ATCC 50594 isolated from brown woodland soil at Gambrill State Park, located in Frederick, MD, shedding light on an underreported emerging zoonotic pathogen.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.857752DOI Listing
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9058166PMC
April 2022

Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells alleviate the formation of pathological scars in rats.

Authors:
Ji-Hua Xu Sheng-Quan Xu Shi-Li Ding Hu Yang Xin Huang Hai-Fei Shi

Regen Ther 2022 Jun 20;20:86-94. Epub 2022 Apr 20.

Department of Orthopedics, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, PR China.

Introduction: Although bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) have attracted increasing attention because of their pivotal functions in the process of wound healing and fibrosis alleviation, the underlying molecular mechanisms have been poorly understood. Moreover, transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1) is positively correlated with scar formation, whereas TGF-β3 inhibits the pathological scar formation process. However, the relation of TGF-β1, TGF-β3, and the TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway with BMSCs is unknown and requires further investigation.

Methods: A cell co-culture platform was used to examine the relationship between BMSCs and dermal fibroblasts (DFs). EdU labelling and cell cycle detection were carried out to examine the viability of DF cells. Transwell and wound healing assays were used to test the cell migration of DFs. The expression of TGF-β pathway components and collagens were determined by RT-qPCR and western blotting. A damaged skin rat model was applied to test the effects of BMSC treatment on skin wound healing.

Results: The results showed that BMSC secretion could inhibit the viability and migration of DFs. Moreover, we observed that the TGF-β-induced expression of TGF-β1, Smad2, Smad3, COLI and COLIII was attenuated upon BMSC treatment in DFs, while the decrease in TGF-β3 expression was enhanced by BMSCs. Furthermore, BMSC treatment accelerated wound healing and attenuated skin collagen deposition in a damaged skin rat model, leading to the mitigation of cell proliferation and enhancement of cell apoptosis. In addition, the expression of alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), COLI, and COLII was alleviated by BMSC treatment.

Conclusions: Our results indicate that BMSCs can promote wound healing and inhibit skin collagen deposition, which is associated with the TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.reth.2022.03.004DOI Listing
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9048073PMC
June 2022

Salinity Is a Key Determinant for the Microeukaryotic Community in Lake Ecosystems of the Inner Mongolia Plateau, China.

Authors:
Changqing Liu Fan Wu Xingyu Jiang Yang Hu Keqiang Shao Xiangming Tang Boqiang Qin Guang Gao

Front Microbiol 2022 12;13:841686. Epub 2022 Apr 12.

State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Nanjing, China.

The arid and semiarid areas experienced remarkable lake shrinkage during recent decades due to intensive human activities and climate change, which would result in unprecedented changes of microeukaryotic communities. However, little is known about how climate change affects the structure and ecological mechanisms of microeukaryotic communities in this area. Here, we used an 18S rRNA gene-based high-throughput sequencing approach to explore the structure, interspecies interaction, and assembly processes of the microeukaryotic community in lake ecosystems of the Inner Mongolia Plateau. As a direct result of climate change, salinity has become the key determinant of the lacustrine microeukaryotic community in this region. The microeukaryotic community in this ecosystem can be divided into three groups: salt (Lake Daihai), brackish (Lake Dalinuoer) and freshwater lakes. Co-occurrence network analysis revealed that salinity shapes the interspecies interactions of the microeukaryotic community. This causes interspecies interactions to change from antagonistic to cooperative with an increase in salinity. Phylogenetic-based β-nearest taxon distance analyses revealed that stochastic processes mainly dominated the microeukaryotic community assembly in lake ecosystems of the Inner Mongolia Plateau, and salinity stress drove the assembly processes of the microeukaryotic community from stochastic to deterministic. Overall, these findings expand the current understanding of interspecies interactions and assembly processes of microeukaryotic communities during climate change in lake ecosystems of the Inner Mongolia Plateau.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.841686DOI Listing
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9039746PMC
April 2022

The Prognostic Value of Pretreatment Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index in Esophageal Cancer: A Meta-Analysis.

Authors:
Jing Yu Wei Zhang Chunmei Wang Yang Hu

Nutr Cancer 2022 Apr 29:1-9. Epub 2022 Apr 29.

Department of Thoracic Surgery, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.

: To explore the prognostic role of the pretreatment geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI) in patients with esophageal cancer. : Several electronic databases were searched from inception to January 27, 2022, for relevant studies. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were combined to assess the association between pretreatment GNRI and the prognosis of patients with esophageal cancer. The primary and secondary outcomes were overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS), respectively. Statistical analyses were performed using STATA software (version 12.0). : Fourteen retrospective studies involving 3981 patients were enrolled. The pooled results demonstrated that lower pretreatment GNRI was an independent prognostic risk factor for poorer OS (HR = 1.47, 95% CI: 1.33-1.63,  < 0.001) and PFS (HR = 1.69, 95% CI: 1.24-2.31,  = 0.001). Subgroup analysis based on pathological type (squamous cell carcinoma vs. esophageal cancer) and treatment (non-surgery vs. surgery) showed similar results. : Pretreatment GNRI was significantly associated with prognosis of patients with esophageal cancer, and lower pretreatment GNRI predicted worse survival. However, more prospective high-quality studies are needed to verify these findings.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01635581.2022.2069273DOI Listing
April 2022

Efficient extraction of bioactive flavonoids from leaves using deep eutectic solvent as green media.

Authors:
Lei Wang Xianying Fang Yang Hu Yiwei Zhang Zhipeng Qi Jie Li Linguo Zhao

RSC Adv 2021 May 18;11(29):17924-17935. Epub 2021 May 18.

College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University Nanjing 210037 China +86-25-85427396.

In recent years, deep eutectic solvent (DES) has attracted comprehensive attention on the extraction of natural products, and is regarded as an alternative to traditional organic solvents for the environmental advantages. Twenty-six DESs were compared for their extraction yield of total flavonoids and isovitexin (the main flavonoid in ) from . The results show that the extraction yields of total flavonoids by betaine/glycolic acid (DES8), ethylamine hydrochloride/1,2-propanediol (DES12) and tetrapropylammonium bromide/lactic acid (DES17) are the highest, while the extraction yields of isovitexin by ethylene glycol/malonic acid (DES23), ethylene glycol/glycolic acid (DES24) and 1,2-propanediol/glycolic acid (DES26) are the highest. The extraction conditions using the above six DESs were further optimized systematically. Under optimum conditions, the extraction rates of total flavonoids and isovitexin can be increased up to 95.39 and 10.58 mg g, respectively, which were significantly higher than that of methanol extraction. In order to exclude the effect of DESs on the bioactivity of extract, the macroporous resin D-101 was used to purify the total flavonoids from DESs extract, and the recovery rates of flavonoids from the above six kinds of DESs were all over 80%. Next, the anti-inflammatory activity of DES extracts was compared using a lymphocyte transformation experiment. The result showed that the inhibition rate of the DES24 extract on the proliferation of Con A-activated T cells was up to 72% with an IC value of 124.8 μg mL. None of the DESs extracted exhibited cytotoxicity on normal T cells. The mechanism of the anti-inflammatory activity against Con A-activated T cells may be that DES24 flavonoids extract induced the apoptosis of inflammatory T cells, and activated the expression of pro-apoptotic protein. Taken together, DES has showed significant advantages on the extraction of natural products for the relatively mild extraction condition, high yield and environmental-friendliness.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/d1ra01848eDOI Listing
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9033205PMC
May 2021

Reactive oxygen species (ROS)-responsive size-reducible nanoassemblies for deeper atherosclerotic plaque penetration and enhanced macrophage-targeted drug delivery.

Authors:
Jianhua He Wenli Zhang Xiaoju Zhou Fengfei Xu Jiahui Zou Qiqi Zhang Yi Zhao Hongliang He Hu Yang Jianping Liu

Bioact Mater 2023 Jan 7;19:115-126. Epub 2022 Apr 7.

Department of Pharmaceutics, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210009, PR China.

Nanoparticle-based therapeutics represent potential strategies for treating atherosclerosis; however, the complex plaque microenvironment poses a barrier for nanoparticles to target the dysfunctional cells. Here, we report reactive oxygen species (ROS)-responsive and size-reducible nanoassemblies, formed by multivalent host-guest interactions between β-cyclodextrins (β-CD)-anchored discoidal recombinant high-density lipoprotein (NP ) and hyaluronic acid-ferrocene (HA-Fc) conjugates. The HA-Fc/NP nanoassemblies have extended blood circulation time, specifically accumulate in atherosclerotic plaque mediated by the HA receptors CD44 highly expressed in injured endothelium, rapidly disassemble in response to excess ROS in the intimal and release smaller NP , allowing for further plaque penetration, macrophage-targeted cholesterol efflux and drug delivery. pharmacodynamicses in atherosclerotic mice shows that HA-Fc/NP reduces plaque size by 53%, plaque lipid deposition by 63%, plaque macrophage content by 62% and local inflammatory factor level by 64% compared to the saline group. Meanwhile, HA-Fc/NP alleviates systemic inflammation characterized by reduced serum inflammatory factor levels. Collectively, HA-Fc/NP nanoassemblies with ROS-responsive and size-reducible properties exhibit a deeper penetration in atherosclerotic plaque and enhanced macrophage targeting ability, thus exerting effective cholesterol efflux and drug delivery for atherosclerosis therapy.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bioactmat.2022.03.041DOI Listing
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9010555PMC
January 2023

Polygenic scores, diet quality, and type 2 diabetes risk: An observational study among 35,759 adults from 3 US cohorts.

Authors:
Jordi Merino Marta Guasch-Ferré Jun Li Wonil Chung Yang Hu Baoshan Ma Yanping Li Jae H Kang Peter Kraft Liming Liang Qi Sun Paul W Franks JoAnn E Manson Walter C Willet Jose C Florez Frank B Hu

PLoS Med 2022 04 26;19(4):e1003972. Epub 2022 Apr 26.

Department of Nutrition, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.

Background: Both genetic and lifestyle factors contribute to the risk of type 2 diabetes, but the extent to which there is a synergistic effect of the 2 factors is unclear. The aim of this study was to examine the joint associations of genetic risk and diet quality with incident type 2 diabetes.

Methods And Findings: We analyzed data from 35,759 men and women in the United States participating in the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) I (1986 to 2016) and II (1991 to 2017) and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS; 1986 to 2016) with available genetic data and who did not have diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or cancer at baseline. Genetic risk was characterized using both a global polygenic score capturing overall genetic risk and pathway-specific polygenic scores denoting distinct pathophysiological mechanisms. Diet quality was assessed using the Alternate Healthy Eating Index (AHEI). Cox models were used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) for type 2 diabetes after adjusting for potential confounders. With over 902,386 person-years of follow-up, 4,433 participants were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. The relative risk of type 2 diabetes was 1.29 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.25, 1.32; P < 0.001) per standard deviation (SD) increase in global polygenic score and 1.13 (1.09, 1.17; P < 0.001) per 10-unit decrease in AHEI. Irrespective of genetic risk, low diet quality, as compared to high diet quality, was associated with approximately 30% increased risk of type 2 diabetes (Pinteraction = 0.69). The joint association of low diet quality and increased genetic risk was similar to the sum of the risk associated with each factor alone (Pinteraction = 0.30). Limitations of this study include the self-report of diet information and possible bias resulting from inclusion of highly educated participants with available genetic data.

Conclusions: These data provide evidence for the independent associations of genetic risk and diet quality with incident type 2 diabetes and suggest that a healthy diet is associated with lower diabetes risk across all levels of genetic risk.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003972DOI Listing
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9041832PMC
April 2022

Clinical and Microbial Etiology Characteristics in Pediatric Urinary Tract Infection.

Authors:
Jiandong Lu Xiaozhu Liu Yi Wei Chengjun Yu Jie Zhao Ling Wang Yang Hu Guanghui Wei Shengde Wu

Front Pediatr 2022 7;10:844797. Epub 2022 Apr 7.

Department of Urology, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health and Disorders, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Pediatrics Chongqing, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.

Background: Urinary tract infection (UTI) is a common occurrence in children. UTI and urological malformations are intimately linked. However, whether urinary tract malformations affect the clinical features of pediatric UTI remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to characterize the clinical features and microbial etiology of UTI in children.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the records of 741 patients with UTI treated at the Chongqing Medical University Affiliated Children's Hospital between 2015 and 2020. Patients with and without urological malformations were compared using propensity score matching (PSM).

Results: was the most common causative microorganism of UTI, accounting for 40.5% of infections. One hundred twenty-two patients (16.5%) had urological malformations. PSM identified 122 matched pairs of patients with or without urological malformations. The proportion of patients with UTI caused by atypical microorganisms was significantly higher in patients with urological malformations ( = 0.048). Children with urological malformations showed longer duration of intravenous antibiotic treatment ( = 0.010), higher cost of treatment ( < 0.001), and higher prevalence of recurrence (23.8 vs. 10.7%, < 0.001), compared with the normal group.

Conclusion: Children with urological malformations are more likely to develop UTI with atypical microorganisms. Appropriate imaging examination and urine culture are strongly recommended for the diagnosis and management of pediatric UTI.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fped.2022.844797DOI Listing
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9021593PMC
April 2022

Ultrasmall enzyme/light-powered nanomotor facilitates cholesterol detection.

Authors:
Yang Hu Zixuan Li Yan Sun

J Colloid Interface Sci 2022 Sep 18;621:341-351. Epub 2022 Apr 18.

Department of Biochemical Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology and Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering and Frontiers Science Center for Synthetic Biology (Ministry of Education), Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China. Electronic address:

Enzymes that can convert chemical energy into mechanical force through biocatalysis have been used as engines for artificial micro/nanomotors. However, most nanomotors are powered by only one engine and have a microscale size range, which greatly limits their application scenarios. Herein, an ultrasmall enzyme/light-powered nanomotor (71.1 ± 8.2 nm) is prepared by directly coupling ultrasmall histidine-modified FeO nanoparticles (UHFeO NPs, 2.71 ± 0.54 nm) with cholesterol oxidase (ChOx) for cholesterol detection. The chemical engine, ChOx, catalyzes the oxidation of cholesterol to actuate [email protected] and produce HO. Meanwhile, UHFeO NPs that possess peroxidase-mimicking property and photothermal effect act as a nanozyme to catalyze the subsequent chromogenic reaction between HO and 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine for cholesterol detection and simultaneously serve as a photothermal engine power by near-infrared (NIR) irradiation. The nanomotor behavior of [email protected] results in an enhancement (55%) of ChOx catalytic efficiency. Moreover, due to the outstanding peroxidase-mimicking activity and cascade reaction, [email protected] works as a cholesterol sensor with improved sensitivity and shortened analysis time; as low as 0.178 μM of cholesterol is detected with a linear response range of 2 to 100 μM. Taken together, the new conceptual synthetic strategy of enzymatic hybrid nanomotor is proven promising for sensing and biocatalytic applications.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jcis.2022.04.086DOI Listing
September 2022

A Supramolecular Hydrogel Enabled by the Synergy of Hydrophobic Interaction and Quadruple Hydrogen Bonding.

Authors:
Liangmei Lu Wen Zhou Zhuzuan Chen Yang Hu Yu Yang Guangzhao Zhang Zhuohong Yang

Gels 2022 Apr 14;8(4). Epub 2022 Apr 14.

College of Materials and Energy, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China.

The increasing preference for minimally invasive surgery requires novel soft materials that are injectable, with rapid self-healing abilities, and biocompatible. Here, by utilizing the synergetic effect of hydrophobic interaction and quadruple hydrogen bonding, an injectable supramolecular hydrogel with excellent self-healing ability was synthesized. A unique ABA triblock copolymer was designed containing a central poly(ethylene oxide) block and terminal poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) block, with ureido pyrimidinone (UPy) moieties randomly incorporated (termed MA-UPy-PEO-UPy-MA). The PMMA block could offer a hydrophobic microenvironment for UPy moieties in water and thus boost the corresponding quadruple hydrogen bonding interaction of Upy-Upy dimers. Owing to the synergetic effect of hydrophobicity and quadruple hydrogen bonding interaction, the obtained MA-UPy-PEO-UPy-MA hydrogel exhibited excellent self-healing properties, and injectable capability, as well as superior mechanical strength, and therefore, it holds great promise in tissue engineering applications, including in cell support and drug release.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/gels8040244DOI Listing
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9032949PMC
April 2022

Correction to: The diagnostic value of transbronchial lung cryobiopsy combined with rapid on-site evaluation in diffuse lung diseases: a prospective and self-controlled study.

Authors:
Xianqiu Chen Jie Luo Li Yang Likun Hou Bing Jie Yang Hu Jianxiong Li Xing Jiang Jinfu Xu Kebin Cheng

BMC Pulm Med 2022 Apr 20;22(1):150. Epub 2022 Apr 20.

Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, 507 Zhengmin Road, Shanghai, 200433, China.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12890-022-01946-8DOI Listing
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9022231PMC
April 2022

MHCRoBERTa: pan-specific peptide-MHC class I binding prediction through transfer learning with label-agnostic protein sequences.

Authors:
Fuxu Wang Haoyan Wang Lizhuang Wang Haoyu Lu Shizheng Qiu Tianyi Zang Xinjun Zhang Yang Hu

Brief Bioinform 2022 Apr 21. Epub 2022 Apr 21.

Center for Bioinformatics, Faculty of computing, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150001, China.

Predicting the binding of peptide and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) plays a vital role in immunotherapy for cancer. The success of Alphafold of applying natural language processing (NLP) algorithms in protein secondary struction prediction has inspired us to explore the possibility of NLP methods in predicting peptide-MHC class I binding. Based on the above motivations, we propose the MHCRoBERTa method, RoBERTa pre-training approach, for predicting the binding affinity between type I MHC and peptides. Analysis of the results on benchmark dataset demonstrates that MHCRoBERTa can outperform other state-of-art prediction methods with an increase of the Spearman rank correlation coefficient (SRCC) value. Notably, our model gave a significant improvement on IC50 value. Our method has achieved SRCC value and AUC value as 0.785 and 0.817, respectively. Our SRCC value is 14.3% higher than NetMHCpan3.0 (the second highest SRCC value on pan-specific) and is 3% higher than MHCflurry (the second highest SRCC value on all methods). The AUC value is also better than any other pan-specific methods. Moreover, we visualize the multi-head self-attention for the token representation across the layers and heads by this method. Through the analysis of the representation of each layer and head, we can show whether the model has learned the syntax and semantics necessary to perform the prediction task well. All these results demonstrate that our model can accurately predict the peptide-MHC class I binding affinity and that MHCRoBERTa is a powerful tool for screening potential neoantigens for cancer immunotherapy. MHCRoBERTa is available as an open source software at github (https://github.com/FuxuWang/MHCRoBERTa).
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/bib/bbab595DOI Listing
April 2022

Development and Validation of Predictive Models for COVID-19 Outcomes in a Safety-net Hospital Population.

Authors:
Boran Hao Yang Hu Shahabeddin Sotudian Zahra Zad William G Adams Sabrina A Assoumou Heather Hsu Rebecca G Mishuris Ioannis Ch Paschalidis

J Am Med Inform Assoc 2022 Apr 20. Epub 2022 Apr 20.

Center for Information and Systems Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA.

Objective: To develop predictive models of COVID-19 outcomes, elucidate the influence of socioeconomic factors, and assess algorithmic racial fairness using a racially diverse patient population with high social needs.

Materials And Methods: Data included 7,102 patients with positive (RT-PCR) SARS-CoV-2 test at a safety-net system in Massachusetts. Linear and nonlinear classification methods were applied. A score based on a recurrent neural network and a transformer architecture was developed to capture the dynamic evolution of vital signs. Combined with patient characteristics, clinical variables, and hospital occupancy measures, this dynamic vital score was used to train predictive models.

Results: Hospitalizations can be predicted with an Area Under the ROC Curve (AUC) of 92% using symptoms, hospital occupancy, and patient characteristics, including social determinants of health. Parsimonious models to predict intensive care, mechanical ventilation, and mortality that used the most recent labs and vitals exhibited AUCs of 92.7%, 91.2%, and 94%, respectively. Early predictive models, using labs and vital signs closer to admission had AUCs of 81.1%, 84.9%, and 92%, respectively.

Discussion: The most accurate models exhibit racial bias, being more likely to falsely predict that Black patients will be hospitalized. Models that are only based on the dynamic vital score exhibited accuracies close to the best parsimonious models, although the latter also used laboratories.

Conclusion: This large study demonstrates that COVID-19 severity may accurately be predicted using a score that accounts for the dynamic evolution of vital signs. Further, race, social determinants of health, and hospital occupancy play an important role.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jamia/ocac062DOI Listing
April 2022

Distribution of prototypical primary cilia markers in subtypes of retinal ganglion cells.

Authors:
Tia J Kowal Onkar S Dhande Biao Wang Qing Wang Ke Ning Wendy Liu Nicolas F Berbari Yang Hu Yang Sun

J Comp Neurol 2022 Apr 17. Epub 2022 Apr 17.

Department of Ophthalmology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California, USA.

Loss of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) underlies several forms of retinal disease including glaucomatous optic neuropathy, a leading cause of irreversible blindness. Several rare genetic disorders associated with cilia dysfunction have retinal degeneration as a clinical hallmark. Much of the focus of ciliopathy associated blindness is on the connecting cilium of photoreceptors; however, RGCs also possess primary cilia. It is unclear what roles RGC cilia play, what proteins and signaling machinery localize to RGC cilia, or how RGC cilia are differentiated across the subtypes of RGCs. To better understand these questions, we assessed the presence or absence of a prototypical cilia marker Arl13b and a widely distributed neuronal cilia marker AC3 in different subtypes of mouse RGCs. Interestingly, not all RGC subtype cilia are the same and there are significant differences even among these standard cilia markers. Alpha-RGCs positive for osteopontin, calretinin, and SMI32 primarily possess AC3-positive cilia. Directionally selective RGCs that are CART positive or Trhr positive localize either Arl13b or AC3, respectively, in cilia. Intrinsically photosensitive RGCs differentially localize Arl13b and AC3 based on melanopsin expression. Taken together, we characterized the localization of gold standard cilia markers in different subtypes of RGCs and conclude that cilia within RGC subtypes may be differentially organized. Future studies aimed at understanding RGC cilia function will require a fundamental ability to observe the cilia across subtypes as their signaling protein composition is elucidated. A comprehensive understanding of RGC cilia may reveal opportunities to understanding how their dysfunction leads to retinal degeneration.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/cne.25326DOI Listing
April 2022

Impact of anemia on prognosis in tuberculosis patients.

Authors:
Mengxing Luo Ming Liu Xiaocui Wu Yaxing Wu Hua Yang Lianhua Qin Fangyong Yu Yang Hu Zhonghua Liu

Ann Transl Med 2022 Mar;10(6):329

Shanghai Key Laboratory of Tuberculosis, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.

Background: Anemia is one of the risk factors for tuberculosis (TB), and more than 90% of TB patients suffer from anemia. The majority tuberculosis patients who had poor prognosis experienced anemia during the course of treatment. The objective of our study is to analyse the influences of anemia on the prognosis of tuberculosis patients in terms of pulmonary M. tuberculosis loads, lung pathology, and clinical factors.

Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, 155 TB patients in Shanghai were divided into the anemia-tuberculosis (A-TB) group and non-anemia-tuberculosis (NA-TB) group. We analysed bacteria counts in sputum smear and sputum smear conversion time between two groups. We evaluated the pulmonary pathology of cavity and effusion in A-TB patients. Logistic regression analysis was performed to explore the potential correlations of anemia with sputum bacterial load and pulmonary pathology. We compared clinical factors including the immune factors and inflammatory cells.

Results: Compared with the NA-TB (n=89) group, the A-TB group (n=66) had poorer improvement of lung injury in terms of cavity closure (4.7±3.59 10.56±7.42; P=0.036) and fluid improvement [4 (30.77%) 12 (92.31%); P=0.001] during conventional treatment. At the start of treatment, the immune factors complement 4 (C4) [0.25 (0.19, 0.295) 0.3086±0.076; P=0.006] and C-reactive protein (CRP) [3.2 (3.2, 21.5) 19.5 (6.25, 78.35); P=0.016] were significantly higher in A-TB with NA-TB. During the course of treatment, the gradual decrease in the absolute number of lymphocytes (LYM#) (P=0.0012, r=-0.3400) and the gradual increase in the absolute number of monocytes (MONO#) (P=0.0050, r=0.2968), the absolute number of basophils (BASO#) (P=0.0213, r=0.2451), the red blood cell distribution width-coefficient (RDW-CV) (P=0.0136, r=0.2651), suggesting poor prognosis in anemic TB patients.

Conclusions: Anemia is a risk factor for lung injury in TB patients. Inflammatory factors and inflammatory cells are increased during treatment in A-TB patients.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.21037/atm-22-679DOI Listing
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9011296PMC
March 2022

Growth charts of brain morphometry for preschool children.

Authors:
Hongxi Zhang Jia Li Xiaoli Su Yang Hu Tianmei Liu Shaoqing Ni Haifeng Li Xi-Nian Zuo Junfen Fu Ti-Fei Yuan Zhi Yang

Neuroimage 2022 Jul 14;255:119178. Epub 2022 Apr 14.

Laboratory of Psychological Health and Imaging, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China; Shanghai Key laboratory of Psychotic disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China; Brain Science and Technology Research Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China; Institute of Psychological and Behavioral Sciences, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China. Electronic address:

Brain development from 1 to 6 years of age anchors a wide range of functional capabilities and carries early signs of neurodevelopmental disorders. However, quantitative models for depicting brain morphology changes and making individualized inferences are lacking, preventing the identification of early brain atypicality during this period. With a sample size of 285, we characterized the age dependence of the cortical thickness and subcortical volume in neurologically normal children and constructed quantitative growth charts of all brain regions for preschool children. While the cortical thickness of most brain regions decreased with age, the entorhinal and parahippocampal regions displayed an inverted-U shape of age dependence. Compared to the cortical thickness, the normalized volume of subcortical regions exhibited more divergent trends, with some regions increasing, some decreasing, and some displaying inverted-U-shaped trends. The growth curve models for all brain regions demonstrated utilities in identifying brain atypicality. The percentile measures derived from the growth curves facilitate the identification of children with developmental speech and language disorders with an accuracy of 0.875 (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve: 0.943). Our results fill the knowledge gap in brain morphometrics in a critical development period and provide an avenue for individualized brain developmental status evaluation with demonstrated sensitivity. The brain growth charts are shared with the public (http://phi-group.top/resources.html).
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119178DOI Listing
July 2022
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