Medicine
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MicroRNAs have been confirmed to function as diagnostic biomarkers for esophageal cancer (EC). This study aimed to investigate the diagnostic potential of miR-375 in the plasma or extracellular vesicles (EVs) of esophageal cancers (ECs). ⋯ This research shows that miR-375, particularly in EVs, could serve as a biomarker for the diagnosis of ECs.
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An injured posterior talofibular ligament (PTFL) is one of the reasons for chronic lateral ankle instability (CLAI). Previous researches have demonstrated that the PTFL thickness (PTFLT) is associated with chronic ligament injuries. However, ligament hypertrophy is different from ligament thickness. ⋯ A receiver operating characteristic curve analysis demonstrated that the optimal cutoff score of the PTFLT was 4.19 mm, with 93.3% sensitivity, 93.7% specificity, and an area under the curve of 0.97. The most suitable cutoff value of the PTFLCSA was 61.15 mm 2 , with 93.3% sensitivity, 100% specificity, and area under the curve of 0.99. Even though the PTFLT and PTFLCSA were both significantly associated with CLAI, the PTFLCSA was a more exact morphological measurement parameter.
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Observational Study
Association of traditional Chinese medicine body constitution and cold syndrome with leukocyte mitochondrial functions: An observational study.
Body constitution in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) refers to the holistic and relatively durable state of an individual, based on the qi and blood assessment, and TCM syndrome is defined as the theoretical abstraction of disease-symptom profiles. The biological basis as related to mitochondria, which produce most of the cellular energy, has not been well studied. This study aimed to elucidate the association of mitochondrial function with TCM body constitution and cold syndrome. ⋯ Decreased mitochondrial enzyme activity has been observed in individuals with the cold syndrome. Unbalanced body constitutions in TCM impair mitochondrial function in leukocytes, which may contribute to the high disease susceptibility. Cold syndrome is characterized by reduced mitochondrial mass, which may explain its symptoms of low-energy metabolism and cold intolerance.
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Accumulating studies demonstrated that DNA methylation may be potential prognostic hallmarks of various cancers. However, few studies have focused on the power of DNA methylation for prognostic prediction in patients with stage III to IV ovarian cancer (OC). Therefore, constructing a methylomics-related indicator to predict overall survival (OS) of stage III to IV OC was urgently required. ⋯ According to ROC analysis in the internal validation, external validation and entire TCGA set, we proved the high power of the 21-DNA methylation signature for predicting OS (area under the curve [AUC] at 1, 3, 5 years in internal validation set (0.782, 0.739, 0.777, respectively), external validation set (0.828, 0.760, 0.741, respectively), entire TCGA set (0.741, 0.748, 0.781, respectively). Besides, a nomogram was developed via methylation risk score as well as a few clinical variables, and the result showed a high ability of the predictive nomogram. In summary, we used integrated bioinformatics approaches to successfully identified a DNA methylation-associated nomogram, which can predict effectively the OS of patients with stage III to IV OC.
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The insulin signaling pathway plays an important role in the development of diabetes mellitus. The expression of insulin signaling pathway related proteins in the urine of diabetic patients has not been reported. The aim of this study was to analyze and verify the expression of insulin signaling pathway related proteins in the urine of diabetic patients without hypertension and hyperlipidemia, and to explore their clinical application value. ⋯ Further quantitative analysis showed that the downregulation of protein kinase CAMP-dependent type II regulatory subunit α, growth factor receptor bound protein 2, and guanine nucleotide-binding protein G(s) in the urine of diabetic patients without hyperlipidemia and hypertension was consistent with the preliminary screening results. In this exploratory study, we detected the expression of insulin signaling pathway related proteins in the urine of diabetic patients without hypertension and hyperlipidemia. protein kinase CAMP-dependent type II regulatory subunit α, growth factor receptor bound protein 2, and guanine nucleotide-binding protein G(s) in the urine of diabetic patients were downregulated, which was associated with diabetes. They may be promising noninvasive biomarkers for monitoring diabetes.