Serum Syndecan-1 levels in patients with immunoglobulin A vasculitis in children

Abstract Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the serum Syndecan-1 (SDC-1) levels in patients with immunoglobulin-A vasculitis (IgAV) in children and its relation with gastrointestinal involvements. Methods Sixty-eight children with IgAV and 48 healthy children were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Clinical and related laboratory data were collected from a computerized hospital database. Serum SDC-1 was collected on admission prior to treatment. Results Forty-eight patients fully met the IgAV diagnostic criteria at admission (IgAV group), 20 patients with rash only and diagnosed IgAV during hospitalization (Purpura group). In IgAV group, 30 patients with gastrointestinal involvements (IgAV-GI group) and 18 patients without gastrointestinal involvements (IgAV-NGI group). SDC-1 serum levels were significantly higher in the IgAV group (86.37 ng/mL (IQR 59.16-117.14 ng/mL)) than in the controls (20.37 ng/mL (IQR 15.52-26.45 ng/mL)) and the Purpura group (32.66 ng/mL (IQR 14.87-49.89 ng/mL)). Additionally, SDC-1 (OR = 1.08) was independently associated with IgAV with a cut-off value (sensitivity and specificity) of 66.55 ng/mL (68.8%, 95.0%), and the area under the curve was 0.908. The serum SDC-1 levels of the IgAV-GI group (106.92 ± 50.12 ng/mL) were significantly higher than those in the IgAV-NGI group (67.52 ± 17.59 ng/mL). Logistic regression analysis showed that SDC-1 (OR = 1.03) was independently associated with IgAV-GI with a cut-off value of 89.39 ng/mL. Conclusions SDC-1 serum levels may mirror vascular endothelium injury and mucosal damage in IgAV. Its applicability as a surrogate biomarker in IgAV remains to be determined.

Calycosin down-regulates c-Met to suppress development of glioblastomas

The current case–control study sought the association of BDNF rs6265 and MC4R rs17782313 with metabolic syndrome(MetS), MetS components and other related metabolic parameters in a sample of Pakistani subjects. Fasting high-densitylipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and homeostatic model assessment of insulin sensitivity showed a significantly lowermean whereas body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP),fasting blood glucose, insulin, total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, very-low-density lipoproteincholesterol, triglycerides (TG), cholesterol to HDL-C ratio, TG to HDL-C ratio, homeostatic model assessment of insulinresistance, visceral adiposity index, lipid accumulation product and the product of TG and glucose showed a significantlyhigher mean in the presence of MetS. Reduced HDL-C appeared as the most frequent and hypertriglyceridemia as the leastfrequent component of MetS whereas clustering of reduced HDL-C ? abdominal obesity (AO) ? hyperglycemia appearedas the most prevalent combination of MetS components. Moreover, BDNF rs6265 showed BMI and gender independentassociation with increased risk of MetS in Pakistani individuals whereas MC4R rs17782313 showed BMI and genderdependent association with increased risk of MetS in Pakistani females. In addition, BDNF rs6265 and MC4R rs17782313showed gender-dependent associations with decreased risk of having low HDL-C in males and increased risk of havingabdominal obesity in females, respectively. However, no association was observed for metabolic variables other thancomponents of MetS across genotypes of both BDNF rs6265 and MC4R rs17782313.

Association between the dental caries and the human leucocyte antigen DQB1 allele polymorphisms among the Uygur and Han children in Xinjiang / 华西口腔医学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#This study aims to investigate the association between human leucocyte antigen (HLA)-DQB1 allele polymorphisms and the presence dental caries among the Uygur and Han children in Xinjiang.@*METHODS@#HLA-DQB1 allele in the Uygur and Han children with dental caries and healthy control in Xinjiang was tested (n=40) using the polymerase chain reaction-sequence specific primer (PCR-SSP) DNA parting technology.@*RESULTS@#A total of five specific loci were detected in the HLA-DQB1 locus among the Uygur and Han children. The frequency of the HLA-DQB1*02 allele in the Han group with severe caries (12.5%) was significantly lower than in the control group (32.5%) (P<0.05, OR=0.297). Moreover, the frequency of the HLA-DQB1*05 allele in the Uygur group with severe caries (37.5%) was significantly higher than in the control group (17.5%) (P<0.05, OR=2.829).@*CONCLUSIONS@#Caries susceptibility among the Uygur and Han children in Xinjiang is related to the HLA-DQB1 allele. The HLA-DQB1*02 allele may protect against caries among the Han children, whereas the HLA-DQB1*05 allele may be responsible for the susceptibility of the Uygur children to caries.