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Objective:To investigate the mechanisms underlying the effect of levocarnitine on myocardial cell fibrosis, proliferation, apoptosis and migration.Methods:Between June and December 2022, an overexpression vector for tissue inhibitor-1 of metalloproteinase(TIMP-1)and siRNA TIMP-1 were used to transfect rat H9c2 cardiomyocytes(from the cell bank of the Chinese Academy of Sciences), and transfection efficiency was measured using fluorescence reverse transcription quantitative PCR(RT-qPCR). After treating H9c2 cells with angiotensin Ⅱ(AngⅡ), the expression of the MMP3 and TIMP-1 genes in the cells was detected by RT-qPCR.A CCK8 kit was used to assess the effect of levocarnitine intervention on the proliferation of myofibroblasts after overexpression or knockdown of TIMP-1.The effects of levocarnitine on apoptosis and migration of myofibroblasts were detected by flow cytometry and Transwell assays.Results:The RT-qPCR results showed that the expression level of the MMP3 gene(1.38±0.05)in cardiomyocytes treated with AngⅡ for 24 hours exhibited an upward trend( P<0.01), while the expression level of the TIMP-1 gene(0.71±0.03)showed a downward trend( P<0.01). In addition, H9c2 cells with TIMP-1 overexpression(905.98±24.17)and knockdown(0.18±0.01)%, respectively, were successfully constructed.Based on CCK-8 detection results, knockdown of TIMP-1(86.56±7.98)% was able to promote the proliferation of H9c2 cells induced by levocarnitine( P<0.01). Apoptosis experiments showed that inhibition of TIMP-1 expression(23.22±2.69)significantly reduced the apoptosis level of H9c2 cells induced by levocarnitine( P<0.01). Migration experiments showed that inhibition of TIMP-1 expression(217.67±23.44)significantly promoted the migration ability of H9c2 cells induced by levocarnitine( P<0.01). Conclusions:After intervention to reduce TIMP-1 expression, levocarnitine can promote proliferation, inhibit apoptosis and promote migration of myofibroblasts and may therefore ameliorate myocardial fibrosis.
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Objective To investigate the differences in clinical characteristics between children and adults with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).Methods A retrospective cohort study was performed to investigate the differences in clinical data from 89 children and 120 adults with SLE.Clinical manifestations,laboratory results,renal pathological changes and disease activities of patients from the 2 groups were evaluated.Results The most common clinical manifestations including fever,rash,arthritis,renal damage and anemia were found in both groups.However,the incidences of symptoms such as fever,lymphadenectasis,anemia,renal damage,damage of digestive system and nerve system were higher in children with SLE than those in adult patients,and there were statistical significances (x2 =5.085,P=0.024;x2 =6.027,P =0.014;X2 =4.261,P =0.039;x2 =4.221,P =0.040;x2 =4.566,P =0.033;,x2 =4.346,P =0.037,respectively).The positive rate of antibodies against double stranded DNA in serum of children with SLE was higher than that in adults (x2 =1.895,P =0.169).However,the positive rate of antibodies against cardiolipin in serum of children with SLE was lower than that in adults,and there was statistical significance (x2 =4.823,P =0.028).Complement C3 and C4 levels in serum of children with SLE were lower than those in group of adults,and there were statistical significance (x2 =4.221,P =0.040;x2 =7.977,P =0.004,respectively).Class Ⅲ and Ⅳ were commonly observed in classification of renal pathological examinations in both groups.But it was shown that the prevalence of renal damage in children with SLE was higher than that in adult patients,and there was statistical significance (x2 =4.128,P =0.042).The most common SLE disease activity was identified as moderate in the both groups.However,the score of SLE Disease Activity Index was higher in children with SLE than that in adults,there was statistical significance (t =2.192,P =0.031).Conclusions Differences in clinical characteristics of SLE were found in children and adults.Compared with adults with SLE,children patients were found to show higher prevalence of disease activities,damage of multisystem and renal damage.Therefore,children with SLE need to be diagnosed as early as possible and treated aggressively.