RESUMO
Objective:To explore the value of shear wave elastography (SWE) for diagnosis of sural neuropathy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods:From September to December, 2017, 119 patients with T2DM were divided into diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) group (n = 61) and non-DPN group (n = 58) according to the diagnosic criteria. In the same period, other 60 healthy volunteers were also recruited as normal group. They were measured the thickness, width, circumference and cross-sectional area of sural nerve, as well as the Young's modulus and shear wave velocity (SWV) with SWE. Based on the results of electrophysiology, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was drawn to determine the cut-off of the Young's modulus and SWV to differentiate DPN from non-DPN, and their area under the curve was compared. Results:The thickness of sural nerve was more in DPN group than in the normal group (P < 0.05). There were significant differences among all the groups in width, cross-sectional area, circumference, Young's modulus and SWV of sural nerves (P < 0.05). For SWE image, it was yellow-green for DPN group, dark blue for non-DPN group, and uniform light blue for the normal group. The cut-off was 51.65 kPa for Young's modulus, with the area under the curve of 0.925, sensitivity of 86.9% and specificity of 89.7%; while it was 4.15 m/s for SWV, with the area under curve of 0.923, specificity of 89.7% and sensitivity of 85.2%. The diagnostic efficiency for DPN was similar between Young's modulus and SWV (Z = 0.556, P = 0.579). Conclusion:SWE can provide useful information for clinical diagnosis of sural neuropathy after T2DM.
RESUMO
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the role of Stat3 (one of the signal transductant and activator) signal transduction pathway in proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>VSMC was transfected with Stat3 antisense oligonucleotide. ELISA analysis was performed on Stat3 expression in cultured rat thoracic VSMC. Cell proliferation and toxicity assay by Methyl Thiazole (MTT) was used to measure the cell proliferation. The expression of Stat3, p-Stat3, Cyclin D1 and Bcl-x(L) were measured by Western blot.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Stat3 protein expression was positive in VSMC. Targeting of Stat3 using antisense oligonucleotide directed against the translation site, resulted in significant growth inhibition and downregulation of Stat3, p-Stat3 and Cyclin D1.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The increase of Stat3 correlates significantly with cell proliferation of VSMC. Cyclin D1 may be the critical target gene in mediating proliferation. Blocking Stat3 signal transduction pathway may inhibit the growth of VSMCs.</p>