RESUMO
Psoriasis is considered a systemic disease associated with metabolic abnormalities, and it is important to understand the mechanisms by which metabolism affects pathophysiological processes both holistically and systematically. Metabolites are closely related to disease phenotypes, especially in systemic diseases under multifactorial modulation. The emergence of metabolomics has provided information regarding metabolite changes in lesions and circulation and deepened our understanding of the association between metabolic reprogramming and psoriasis. Metabolomics has great potential for the development of effective biomarkers for clinical diagnosis, therapeutic monitoring, prediction of the efficacy of psoriasis management, and further discovery of new metabolism-based therapeutic targets.
Assuntos
Humanos , Biomarcadores , Metabolômica , Fenótipo , PsoríaseRESUMO
Objective To investigate the role of proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) in the pathogenesis of psoriasis by detecting the level of PCSK9 in the plasma of patients with psoriasis and evaluating its effect on the secretion of interferon gamma (IFN-γ) and interleukin-17A (IL-17A) by peripheral CD4+ T cells.Methods Totally,30 outpatients with psoriasis vulgaris and 30 healthy volunteers (controls) were enrolled from Hospital for Skin Diseases,Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences between February 2016 and December 2017.Of the 30 patients,16 were males,and 14 were females.Their age varied from 18 to 66 years,and the course of disease ranged from 1 month to 15 years.Peripheral venous blood samples were obtained from the patients and controls,and the plasma and was performed to measure mRNA expression of PCSK9 in the PBMC,and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to determine the concentration of PCSK9 in the plasma.Peripheral CD4+ T cells were isolated from the PBMC by magnetic bead method,and divided into 2 groups to be co-cultured with (experiment group) or without PCSK9 protein (control group).After 24-hour treatment,ELISA was conducted to detect the levels of IFN-γ and IL-17A in the culture supernatant.Statistical analysis was carried out by using two-sample t test for the comparison between the two groups,and Pearson correlation analysis for analyzing correlations between the plasma level of PCSK9 and psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) score in the patients with psoriasis.Results PCSK9 mRNA expression was undetected in the PBMC of the patients with psoriasis and controls.The plasma level of PCSK9 was significantly higher in the patients with psoriasis ([243.58 ± 11.91] μg/L) than in the healthy controls ([199.74 ± 31.09] μg/L,t =5.761,P ＜ 0.001).After co-culture of the peripheral CD4+ T cells from patients with PCSK9 protein,the levels of IFN-γ and IL-17A both significantly increased ([6 150.00 ± 212.13] ng/L,[1 532.00 ± 11.31] ng/L,respectively) compared with the control group co-cultured without PCSK9 protein ([4 650.00 ± 212.13] ng/L,[698.5 ± 266.58] ng/L,respectively;t =7.071,4.418 respectively,both P ＜ 0.05).IFN-γand IL-17A were undetected in the culture supernatant of CD4+ T cells from the healthy controls in the experiment group or control group.Conclusion The plasma level of PCSK9 increases in patients with psoriasis,which may be involved in the pathogenesis of psoriasis by activating peripheral CD4+ T cells.
RESUMO
The diagnosis of postradiation nasopharyngeal skull base lesions in petients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is still a tough problem in clinical practice. An early and accurate diagnosis is important for subsequent management. We prospectively evaluated the diagnostic value of plasma Epstein-Barr virus(EBV) DNA in detecting postradiation nasopharyngeal skull base lesions in NPC patients. From July 2006 to September 2010, 90 patients with postradiation NPC (34 women and 56 men; median age: 42 years) met the selection criteria and were recruited in this study. All postradiation nasopharyngeal skull base lesions were found in the latest magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations before endoscopic surgery, and the nasopharyngeal cavity was normal under flexible nasopharyngoscopy. Plasma EBV DNA detection was performed within 2 weeks before endoscopic surgery. A total of 90 endoscopic operations were successfully performed without any postoperative complications. Recurrences confirmed by postoperative pathology were found in 30 patients. The specificity, positive and negative predictive values of plasma EBV DNA detection were better than those of MRI. In addition, combining plasma EBV DNA detection with MRI improved the specificity and positive predictive values of MRI. Plasma EBV DNA detection followed by MRI would help to diagnose recurrence whereas MRI was unable. These results indicate that plasma EBV DNA is an effective and feasible biomarker for detecting postradiation nasopharyngeal skull base lesions in NPC patients.