European journal of clinical investigation
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Eur. J. Clin. Invest. · Apr 2024
Effect of traditional or heat-not-burn cigarette smoking on circulating miRNAs in healthy subjects.
Traditional combustion cigarette (TCC) smoking is an established risk factor for several types of cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) represent key molecules mediating pathogenetic mechanisms, and potential biomarkers for personalized risk assessment. TCC smoking globally changes the profile of circulating miRNAs. The use of heat-not-burn cigarettes (HNBCs) as alternative smoking devices is rising exponentially worldwide, and the circulating miRNA profile of chronic HNBC smokers is unknown. We aimed at defining the circulating miRNA profile of chronic exclusive HNBC smokers, and identifying potentially pathogenetic signatures. ⋯ Our results define for the first time the miRNA profile in the serum of exclusive chronic HNBC smokers and suggest a significant impact of HNBCs on circulating miRNAs.
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Eur. J. Clin. Invest. · Apr 2024
HLA binding-groove motifs are associated with myocarditis induction after Pfizer-BioNTech BNT162b2 vaccination.
We found a higher incidence of myocarditis in young males who had received at least two Pfizer-BioNTech BNT162b2 vaccinations. The human leukocyte antigens (HLA) are known to play an important role in infectious and autoinflammatory diseases. We hypothesized that certain HLA alleles might be associated with vaccination-induced myocarditis. ⋯ Our findings suggest that immunogenetic fingerprints in HLA peptide-binding grooves may affect the presentation of peptides derived from the Pfizer-BioNTech BNT162b2 vaccination to T cells and induce an inflammatory process that results in myocarditis.
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Eur. J. Clin. Invest. · Apr 2024
Effects of CASZ1, WNT2B and PTPRG SNPs on stroke susceptibility in the Chinese Han population.
Stroke is an important cause of death and disability worldwide, ranking second in the cause of death, and it is thought to be related to genetic factors. The purpose of our study is to investigate the association between CASZ1, WNT2B and PTPRG single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and stroke risk in the Chinese population. ⋯ Our study concludes that CASZ1 rs880315, WNT2B rs12037987 and PTPRG rs704341 are associated with stroke, and the study provides a basis for assessing genetic variants associated with stroke risk in the Han Chinese population.