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1.
Association of maternal prenatal copper concentration with gestational duration and preterm birth: a multicountry meta-analysis.
Monangi, NK, Xu, H, Fan, YM, Khanam, R, Khan, W, Deb, S, Pervin, J, Price, JT, Kaur, L, , , et al
The American journal of clinical nutrition. 2024;(1):221-231
Abstract
BACKGROUND Copper (Cu), an essential trace mineral regulating multiple actions of inflammation and oxidative stress, has been implicated in risk for preterm birth (PTB). OBJECTIVES This study aimed to determine the association of maternal Cu concentration during pregnancy with PTB risk and gestational duration in a large multicohort study including diverse populations. METHODS Maternal plasma or serum samples of 10,449 singleton live births were obtained from 18 geographically diverse study cohorts. Maternal Cu concentrations were determined using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The associations of maternal Cu with PTB and gestational duration were analyzed using logistic and linear regressions for each cohort. The estimates were then combined using meta-analysis. Associations between maternal Cu and acute-phase reactants (APRs) and infection status were analyzed in 1239 samples from the Malawi cohort. RESULTS The maternal prenatal Cu concentration in our study samples followed normal distribution with mean of 1.92 μg/mL and standard deviation of 0.43 μg/mL, and Cu concentrations increased with gestational age up to 20 wk. The random-effect meta-analysis across 18 cohorts revealed that 1 μg/mL increase in maternal Cu concentration was associated with higher risk of PTB with odds ratio of 1.30 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.08, 1.57) and shorter gestational duration of 1.64 d (95% CI: 0.56, 2.73). In the Malawi cohort, higher maternal Cu concentration, concentrations of multiple APRs, and infections (malaria and HIV) were correlated and associated with greater risk of PTB and shorter gestational duration. CONCLUSIONS Our study supports robust negative association between maternal Cu and gestational duration and positive association with risk for PTB. Cu concentration was strongly correlated with APRs and infection status suggesting its potential role in inflammation, a pathway implicated in the mechanisms of PTB. Therefore, maternal Cu could be used as potential marker of integrated inflammatory pathways during pregnancy and risk for PTB.
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2.
An antibacterial packaging film based on amylose starch with quaternary ammonium salt chitosan and its application for meat preservation.
Deng, B, Chen, J, Li, S, Liu, J, Zhou, Z, Qin, Z, Wang, H, Su, M, Li, L, Bai, Z
International journal of biological macromolecules. 2024;(Pt 2):129706
Abstract
A new generation of food packaging films is gradually replacing traditional plastic packaging films because of their biodegradability, safety, and some functional properties such as anti-bacterial and oxidant resistance. In the present work, an antibacterial packing film based on amylose starch and 2-hydroxypropyl-trimethylammonium chloride chitosan (HTCC) was prepared for meat preservation. The interfacial bonding mechanism between amylose, HTCC, and glutaraldehyde (GA) was determined experimentally and through molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. The macromolecular chains of amylose starch and HTCC became entangled via inter-molecular H-bonds and then cross-linked with GA via the Schiff base reaction. The interaction of amylose starch and HTCC improved the mechanical properties of the amylose films. Compared with the amylose films, the tensile strength and elongation at break of the optimal HTCC/amylose films reached to 16.13 MPa (an increase of 206.65 %) and 53.86 % (an increase of 109.49 %). The HTCC/amylose films were found to provide obvious bacteriostatic performance, a relatively low cytotoxicity, the lower transmittance in the UV region, and thus the ability to enhance the preservation of fresh meat. These excellent characteristics therefore suggest that HTCC/amylose films might be promising candidates for application in antibacterial food packaging films.
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3.
Effects of SGLT2 inhibitors on cardiac function and health status in chronic heart failure: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Chen, J, Jiang, C, Guo, M, Zeng, Y, Jiang, Z, Zhang, D, Tu, M, Tan, X, Yan, P, Xu, X, et al
Cardiovascular diabetology. 2024;(1):2
Abstract
PURPOSE Numerous clinical studies have explored sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor (SGLT2i) in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF), with or without type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and SGLT2i were proved to significantly reduce CHF hospitalization, cardiovascular death, cardiovascular mortality, all-cause mortality and myocardial infarction in patients with or without T2DM. However, only a limited few have investigated the effects of SGLT-2i on HF disease-specific health status and cardiac function. This meta-analysis aims to assess the effects of SGLT2i on disease-specific health status and cardiac function in CHF patients. METHODS A comprehensive search was conducted of trials by searching in PubMed, EMBASE, CENTRAL, Scopus, and Web of Science, and two Chinese databases (CNKI and Wanfang), Clinical Trials ( http://www. CLINICALTRIALS gov ) were also searched. RESULTS A total of 18 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving 23,953 participants were included in the meta-analysis. The effects of SGLT2 inhibitors were compared with control or placebo groups in CHF with or without T2DM. The SGLT2 inhibitors group exhibited a significant reduction in pro b-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels by 136.03 pg/ml (95% confidence interval [CI]: -253.36, - 18.70; P = 0.02). Additionally, a greater proportion of patients in the SGLT2 inhibitors group showed a ≥ 20% decrease in NT-proBNP (RR = 1.45, 95% CI [0.92, 2.29], p = 0.072). However, no statistically significant difference was observed for the effects on B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP). The use of SGLT-2 inhibitors led to a noteworthy improvement in LVEF by 2.79% (95% CI [0.18, 5.39];P = 0.036). In terms of health status, as assessed by the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ) and 6-minute walk distance, SGLT2 inhibitors led to a significant improvement in KCCQ clinical summary (KCCQ-CS) score (WMD = 1.7, 95% CI [1.67, 1.73], P < 0.00001), KCCQ overall summary (KCCQ-OS) score (WMD = 1.73, 95% CI [0.94, 2.52], P < 0.00001), and KCCQ total symptom (KCCQ-TS) score (WMD = 2.88, 95% CI [1.7, 4.06], P < 0.00001). Furthermore, the occurrence of KCCQ-CS and KCCQ-OS score increases ≥ 5 points had relative risks (RR) of 1.25 (95% CI [1.11, 1.42], P < 0.00001) and 1.15 (95% CI [1.09, 1.22], P < 0.00001), respectively. Overall, SGLT2 inhibitors increased the 6-minute walk distance by 23.98 m (95% CI [8.34, 39.62]; P = 0.003) compared to control/placebo from baseline. CONCLUSIONS The SGLT2 inhibitors treatment offers an effective strategy for improving NT-proBNP levels, Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire scores and 6-minute walk distance in CHF with or without T2DM. These findings indicate that SGLT2i improve cardiac function and health status in CHF with or without T2DM, and provide valuable guidance for clinicians making treatment decisions for patients with CHF.
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4.
Exploring the shared pathogenic strategies of independently evolved effectors across distinct plant viruses.
Li, L, Chen, J, Sun, Z
Trends in microbiology. 2024
Abstract
Plants have developed very diverse strategies to defend themselves against viral pathogens, among which plant hormones play pivotal roles. In response, some viruses have also deployed multifunctional viral effectors that effectively hijack key component hubs to counter or evade plant immune surveillance. Although significant progress has been made toward understanding counter-defense strategies that manipulate plant hormone regulatory molecules, these efforts have often been limited to an individual virus or specific host target/pathway. This review provides new insights into broad-spectrum antiviral responses in rice triggered by key components of phytohormone signaling, and highlights the common features of counter-defense strategies employed by distinct rice-infecting RNA viruses. These strategies involve the secretion of multifunctional virulence effectors that target the sophisticated phytohormone system, dampening immune responses by engaging with the same host targets. Additionally, the review provides an in-depth exploration of various viral effectors, emphasizing tertiary structure-based research and shared host targets. Understanding these conserved characteristics in detail may pave the way for molecular drug design, opening new opportunities to enhance broad-spectrum antiviral trials through precise engineering.
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5.
Short-term effects of ambient gaseous air pollution on blood platelet mitochondrial DNA methylation and myocardial ischemia.
Jiang, Y, Chen, J, Guo, L, Lan, Y, Li, G, Liu, Q, Li, H, Deng, F, Guo, X, Wu, S
Environment international. 2024;:108533
Abstract
BACKGROUND The potential effects of short-term exposure to major ambient gaseous pollutants (ozone: O3, carbon monoxide: CO, and sulfur dioxide: SO2) on platelet mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) methylation have been uncertain and no studies have examined whether platelet mtDNA methylation levels could modify the associations between ambient gaseous pollutants and the risks of ST-segment depression (STDE) and T-wave inversion events (TIE), two indicators of myocardial ischemia. METHODS This study used data from a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled intervention study with a standardized 24-hour exposure protocol among 110 participants in Beijing. Absolute changes in platelet mtDNA methylation (ACmtDNAm) levels were determined by two repeated measurements on platelet mtDNA methylation levels in blood samples collected before and after the 24-hour exposure period. A multivariable linear regression model and a generalized linear model with a Poisson link function were used to investigate the associations of ambient gaseous pollutants with platelet mtDNA methylation levels, STDE, and TIE, respectively. RESULTS Short-term O3 exposure was significantly associated with decreased ACmtDNAm at ATP6_P1 but increased ACmtDNAm at mt12sRNA, MT-COX1, and MT-COX1_P2; short-term CO and SO2 exposures were significantly associated with decreased ACmtDNAm at D-loop, MT-COX3- and ATP-related genes. Moreover, short-term O3 exposure was significantly associated with increased risks of STDE and TIE, and ACmtDNAm at MT-COX1 and MT-COX1_P2 modified the association between short-term O3 exposure and STDE events. L-Arg supplementation attenuated the effects of ambient gaseous pollutants, particularly O3, on ACmtDNAm and STDE. CONCLUSIONS Platelet mtDNA methylation levels are promising biomarkers of short-term exposure to ambient gaseous air pollution, and are likely implicated in the mechanism behind the association of ambient O3 pollution with adverse cardiovascular effects. L-Arg supplementation showed the potential to mitigate the adverse effects of ambient O3 pollution.
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6.
Metabolomics profile and machine learning prediction of treatment responses in immune thrombocytopenia: A prospective cohort study.
Li, Y, Sun, T, Chen, J, Liu, X, Fu, R, Xue, F, Liu, W, Ju, M, Dai, X, Li, H, et al
British journal of haematology. 2024
Abstract
Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is an autoimmune disease characterized by antibody-mediated platelet destruction and impaired platelet production. The mechanisms underlying ITP and biomarkers predicting the response of drug treatments are elusive. We performed a metabolomic profiling of bone marrow biopsy samples collected from ITP patients admission in a prospective study of the National Longitudinal Cohort of Hematological Diseases. Machine learning algorithms were conducted to discover novel biomarkers to predict ITP patient treatment responses. From the bone marrow biopsies of 91 ITP patients, we quantified a total of 4494 metabolites, including 1456 metabolites in the positive mode and 3038 metabolites in the negative mode. Metabolic patterns varied significantly between groups of newly diagnosed and chronic ITP, with a total of 876 differential metabolites involved in 181 unique metabolic pathways. Enrichment factors and p-values revealed the top metabolically enriched pathways to be sphingolipid metabolism, the sphingolipid signalling pathway, ubiquinone and other terpenoid-quinone biosynthesis, thiamine metabolism, tryptophan metabolism and cofactors biosynthesis, the phospholipase D signalling pathway and the phosphatidylinositol signalling system. Based on patient responses to five treatment options, we screened several metabolites using the Boruta algorithm and ranked their importance using the random forest algorithm. Lipids and their metabolism, including long-chain fatty acids, oxidized lipids, glycerophospholipids, phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine biosynthesis, helped differentiate drug treatment responses. In conclusion, this study revealed metabolic alterations associated with ITP in bone marrow supernatants and a potential biomarker predicting the response to ITP.
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7.
Characteristic analysis and fermentation optimization of a novel Aureobasidium pullulans RM1603 with high pullulan yield.
Chen, J, Lu, Y, Liu, L, Bai, R, Zhang, S, Hao, Y, Xu, F, Wei, B, Zhao, H
Journal of bioscience and bioengineering. 2024;(5):335-343
Abstract
A high-yielding microbial polysaccharide-producing strain, named RM1603, was isolated from rhizosphere soil and identified by morphological and phylogenetic analysis. The extracellular polysaccharides (EPS) were identified by thin-layer chromatography and infrared spectroscopy. The fermentation conditions were optimized by single factor experiments in shake flasks and a 5-L fermentor. The results of morphological and phylogenetic tree analysis showed that RM1603 was a strain of Aureobasidium pullulans. Its microbial polysaccharide was identified as pullulan, and the EPS production capacity reached 33.07 ± 1.03 g L-1 in shake flasks. The fermentation conditions were optimized in a 5-L fermentor, and were found to encompass an initial pH of 6.5, aeration rate of 2 vvm, rotor speed of 600 rpm, and inoculum size of 2 %. Under these conditions, the pullulan yield of RM1603 reached 62.52 ± 0.24 g L-1. Thus, this study contributes RM1603 as a new isolation with high-yielding pullulan and potential application value in biotechnology.
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8.
Causal Relationship Between Branched-Chain Amino Acids and Hypertension: A Mendelian Randomization Study.
Cai, S, Fu, Y, Chen, J, Tian, M, Li, X
Journal of the American Heart Association. 2024;(5):e032084
Abstract
BACKGROUND This study aimed to investigate the causal relationships between branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) and the risks of hypertension via meta-analysis and Mendelian randomization analysis. METHODS AND RESULTS A meta-analysis of 32 845 subjects was conducted to evaluate the relationships between BCAAs and hypertension. In Mendelian randomization analysis, independent single-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with BCAAs at the genome-wide significance level were selected as the instrumental variables. Meanwhile, the summary-level data for essential hypertension and secondary hypertension end points were obtained from the FinnGen study. As suggested by the meta-analysis results, elevated BCAA levels were associated with a higher risk of hypertension (isoleucine: summary odds ratio, 1.26 [95% CI, 1.08-1.47]; leucine: summary odds ratio, 1.28 [95% CI, 1.07-1.52]; valine: summary odds ratio, 1.32 [95% CI, 1.12-1.57]). Moreover, the inverse variance-weighted method demonstrated that an elevated circulating isoleucine level might be the causal risk factor for essential hypertension but not secondary hypertension (essential hypertension: odds ratio, 1.22 [95% CI, 1.12-1.34]; secondary hypertension: odds ratio, 0.96 [95% CI, 0.54-1.68]). CONCLUSIONS The increased levels of 3 BCAAs positively correlated with an increased risk of hypertension. Particularly, elevated isoleucine level is a causal risk factor for essential hypertension. Increased levels of leucine and valine also tend to increase the risk of essential hypertension, but further verification is still warranted.
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9.
Gene variants and the response to childhood obesity interventions: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Chen, J, Xiao, WC, Zhao, JJ, Shan, R, Heitkamp, M, Zhang, XR, Liu, Z
Clinical nutrition (Edinburgh, Scotland). 2024;(1):163-175
Abstract
BACKGROUND Multiple lifestyle-based childhood obesity interventions have been conducted to address childhood obesity, but individual's response to the universal intervention approach varied greatly. Whether gene variants related to children and adolescents' varied responses to obesity interventions remained unclear. AIMS To determine the associations of gene variants with the changes in obesity- and metabolism-related indicators after obesity interventions in children and adolescents. METHODS Ten databases and registers (including grey literature) were searched. The lifestyle-based obesity interventions in children and adolescents (≤18 years) that reported the changes in obesity- (body mass index (BMI), BMI Z-score, waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), etc) and metabolism-related (glucose, cholesterol, etc) indicators by genotype after interventions were included. Our primary outcome was the mean difference of the changes in BMI Z-score by genotype after interventions, and secondary outcomes were changes in the remaining obesity- and metabolism-related indicators after interventions. We used the random-effects model to synthesize the results. RESULTS This review included 50 studies (15,354 children and adolescents with overweight/obesity) covering 102 genes and 174 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Approximately three-quarters of SNPs showed no evidence of association with the changes in obesity- or metabolic-related indicators after interventions. One quarter of SNPs were minorly associated with the changes in the BMI Z-score (median effect size: 0.001) with little clinical significance. Only 6 (12 %) studies focused on the accumulated effect of multiple gene variants. CONCLUSIONS Gene variants that have been explored appear to play a minor role in lifestyle-based obesity interventions in children and adolescents. More high-quality studies based on the design of randomized controlled trials are needed to examine the accumulated effect of multiple gene variants in childhood obesity interventions. PROSPERO REGISTRY NUMBER This systematic review and meta-analysis was registered at PROSPERO as CRD42022312177.
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10.
Iron metabolism and ferroptosis in Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: what is our next step?
Shen, X, Yu, Z, Wei, C, Hu, C, Chen, J
American journal of physiology. Endocrinology and metabolism. 2024
Abstract
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease with increasing prevalence worldwide. NAFLD could develop from simple hepatic steatosis to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) causing fibrosis, cirrhosis and even hepatocellular carcinoma. However, the mechanism of NAFLD development was still not be fully defined. Recently, there are emerging evidence showing the dysregulated iron metabolism with elevated serum ferritin and ferroptosis are involved in the NAFLD. The iron metabolism and ferroptosis would shed some light on the mechanisms of NAFLD development. Here, we summarized the studies concerning iron metabolism and ferroptosis process involving in NAFLD development to highlight the potential medicament and therapies in treating NAFLD.