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Urinary Cyanoethyl Mercapturic Acid, a Biomarker of the Smoke Toxicant Acrylonitrile, Clearly Distinguishes Smokers From Nonsmokers.
Luo, X, Carmella, SG, Chen, M, Jensen, JA, Wilkens, LR, Le Marchand, L, Hatsukami, DK, Murphy, SE, Hecht, SS
Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. 2020;(10):1744-1747
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Abstract
INTRODUCTION Cyanoethyl mercapturic acid (CEMA) is a urinary metabolite of acrylonitrile, a toxicant found in substantial quantities in cigarette smoke, but not in non-combusted products such as e-cigarettes or smokeless tobacco and rarely in the diet or in the general human environment. Thus, we hypothesized that CEMA is an excellent biomarker of combusted tobacco product use. AIMS AND METHODS We tested this hypothesis by analyzing CEMA in the urine of 1259 cigarette smokers (urinary cotinine ≥25 ng/mL) and 1191 nonsmokers. The analyses of CEMA and cotinine were performed by validated liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry methods. Logistic regression was fit for log-transformed CEMA to construct the receiver operating characteristic curve. RESULTS We found that a CEMA cutpoint of 27 pmol/mL urine differentiated cigarette smokers from nonsmokers with sensitivity and specificity greater than 99%. The use of different cotinine cutpoints to define smokers (10-30 ng/mL) had little effect on the results. CONCLUSIONS CEMA is a highly reliable urinary biomarker to identify users of combusted tobacco products such as cigarettes as opposed to users of non-combusted products, medicinal nicotine, or nonusers of tobacco products. IMPLICATIONS CEMA can be used to distinguish users of combusted tobacco products from non-combusted products such as e-cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, and medicinal nicotine. Levels of CEMA in the urine of people who use these non-combusted products are extremely low, in contrast to cotinine.
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MiRNAs as biomarkers of myocardial infarction: a meta-analysis.
Cheng, C, Wang, Q, You, W, Chen, M, Xia, J
PloS one. 2014;(2):e88566
Abstract
BACKGROUND Recent studies have demonstrated that acute myocardial infarction induces a distinctive miRNA signature, suggesting that miRNAs may serve as diagnostic markers. Although many studies have investigated the use of miRNAs in the detection of cardiac injury, some had small sample sizes (<100 patients) or reported different results for the same miRNA. Here, the role of circulating miRNAs for use as biomarkers of myocardial infarction is summarized and analyzed. METHODS AND RESULTS Medline, SCI, Embase, and Cochrane databases were searched up to January 2013 for studies that evaluated associations between miRNAs and myocardial infarction. Relevant publications were identified by searching for combinations of "myocardial infarction," "miRNAs," and their synonyms. Methodological quality was scored using a standardized list of criteria, and diagnostic performance was assessed using estimates of test sensitivity and specificity. These values were summarized using summary receiver-operating characteristic curves. Nineteen studies met the inclusion criteria: 15 studies reported sensitivity, specificity, and AUC, but 4 studies did not. Total miRNAs: sensitivity: 0.78 (95%CI: 0.77-0.80; P = 0.0000); specificity: 0.82 (95%CI: 0.80-0.83; P = 0.0000). miR-499: sensitivity: 0.88 (95%CI:0.86-0.90; P = 0.0000); specificity: 0.87 (95%CI:0.84-0.90; P = 0.0000). miR-1: sensitivity: 0.63 (95%CI:0.59-0.66; P = 0.0000); specificity: 0.76 (95%CI:0.71-0.80; P = 0.0000). miR-133a: sensitivity: 0.89 (95%CI:0.83-0.94; P = 0.0047); specificity: 0.87 (95%CI:0.79-0.92; P = 0.0262). miR-208b: sensitivity: 0.78 (95%CI:0.76-0.81; P = 0.0581); specificity: 0.88 (95%CI:0.84-0.91; P = 0.0000). The correlation between miRNAs and other diagnostic biomarkers of myocardial infarction was obvious. CONCLUSION MiRNAs, especially miR-499 and miR-133a, may be suitable for use as diagnostic biomarkers of myocardial infarction.