Decreased Adiponectin Levels Are a Risk Factor for Cognitive Decline in Spinal Cord Injury.

OBJECTIVE: Spinal cord injury (SCI) has become popular in recent years, and cognitive decline is a common complication. Adiponectin is a common protein hormone involved in the course of many diseases, but its relationship with SCI has not yet been elucidated. The purpose of our prospective study is to explore whether adiponectin can be used as a biomarker of cognitive decline in SCI. METHODS: A total of 64 healthy volunteers and 92 patients with acute SCI were recruited by us. Serum adiponectin levels, demographic data (age and gender), lifestyle (smoking and drinking), medical history (diabetes and hypertension), and clinical baseline data (low-density lipoprotein, high-density lipoprotein, and fasting blood glucose) were recorded. Three months after enrollment, we used the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) to evaluate cognitive function. Based on a quarter of the serum adiponectin levels, SCI patients were divided into 4 groups, and the differences in their MoCA scores were compared. In addition, we used multivariate linear regression to predict the risk factors of the MoCA score. RESULTS: The serum adiponectin level (6.1 ± 1.1 µg/ml) of SCI patients was significantly lower than that of the healthy control group (6.7 ± 0.9 µg/ml), and there was a significant difference between the two (p < 0.001). The group with higher serum adiponectin levels after 3 months of spinal cord injury had higher MoCA scores. Multivariate regression analysis showed that serum adiponectin level is a protective factor for cognitive function after SCI (ß = 0.210, p = 0.043). CONCLUSIONS: Serum adiponectin levels can be used as an independent predictor of cognitive function in patients with acute SCI.

Expression of ANGPTL4 in Nucleus Pulposus Tissues Is Associated with Intervertebral Disc Degeneration.

OBJECTIVE: Angiopoietin-like protein 4 (ANGPTL4), encoding a glycosylated secreted protein, has been reported to be closely related to many kinds of diseases, including diabetes, tumor, and some musculoskeletal pathologies, such as rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, and osteoporosis. The aim of the current study is to investigate the role of ANGPTL4 in intervertebral disc degeneration and analyze the association of ANGPTL4 expression with Pfirrmann grades. METHODS: A total of 162 nucleus pulposus tissues were collected from lumbar intervertebral disc herniation patients undergoing interforaminal endoscopic surgery. Real-time quantitative PCR and western blot were performed to determine the mRNA and protein expression of ANGPTL4 in nucleus pulposus samples. Statistical analysis was performed to analyze the association of ANGPTL4 expression with Pfirrmann grades. RESULTS: Based on the clinical data of 162 patients, results showed that Pfirrmann grades were significantly associated with patients' age (r = 0.162, P = 0.047) and were not significantly associated with patients' gender (P > 0.05). RT-qPCR and western blot results showed that the mRNA (r = 0.287, P < 0.05) and protein (r = 0.356, P < 0.05) expressions of ANGPTL4 were both closely associated with Pfirrmann grades. The expression of ANGPTL4 was remarkably increased in the groups of high IVDD Pfirrmann grades. CONCLUSION: The results demonstrated that ANGPTL4 expression was positively associated with the Pfirrmann grades and the severity of intervertebral disc degeneration. ANGPTL4 may be served as a candidate biomarker for intervertebral disc degeneration.

Discerning the Sources of Silver Nanoparticle in a Terrestrial Food Chain by Stable Isotope Tracer Technique.

The increasing use of silver-containing nanoparticles (NPs) in commercial products has led to NP accumulation in the environment and potentially in food webs. Identifying the uptake pathways of different chemical species of NPs, such as Ag2S-NP and metallic AgNPs, into plants is important to understanding their entry into food chains. In this study, soybean Glycine max L. was hydroponically exposed to Ag2S-NPs via their roots (10-50 mg L-1) and stable-isotope-enriched 109AgNPs via their leaves [7.9 µg (g fresh weight)-1]. Less than 29% of Ag in treated leaves (in direct contact with 109AgNP) was accumulated from root uptake of Ag2S-NPs, whereas almost all of the Ag in soybean roots and untreated leaves sourced from Ag2S-NPs. Therefore, Ag2S-NPs are phytoavailable and translocate upward. During trophic transfer the Ag isotope signature was preserved, indicating that accumulated Ag in snails most likely originated from Ag2S-NPs. On average, 78% of the Ag in the untreated leaves was assimilated by snails, reinforcing the considerable trophic availability of Ag2S-NPs via root uptake. By highlighting the importance of root uptake of Ag2S-NPs in plant uptake and trophic transfer to herbivores, our study advances current understanding of the biogeochemical fate of Ag-containing NPs in the terrestrial environment.

WISP1 silencing confers protection against epithelial-mesenchymal transition of renal tubular epithelial cells in rats via inactivation of the wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway in uremia.

Uremia can affect hepatic metabolism of drugs by regulating the clearance of drugs, but it has not been clarified whether gene silencing could modulate the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process in uremia. Hence, we investigated the effect of WISP1 gene silencing on the renal tubular EMT in uremia through the wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway. Initially, microarray-based gene expression profiling of uremia was used to identify differentially expressed genes. Following the establishment of uremia rat model, serum creatinine, and urea nitrogen of rats were detected. Renal tubular epithelial cells (TECs) were transfected with shRNA-WISP1 lentivirus interference vectors and LiCI (the wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway activator) to explore the regulatory mechanism of WISP1 in uremia in relation to the wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway. Then, expression of WISP1, wnt2b, E-cadherin, α-SMA, c-myc, Cyclin D1, MMP-2, and MMP-9 was determined. Furthermore, TEC migration and invasion were evaluated. Results suggested that WISP1 and the wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway were associated with uremia. Uremic rats exhibited increased serum creatinine and urea nitrogen levels, upregulated WISPl, and activated wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway. Subsequently, WISP1 silencing decreased wnt2b, c-myc, Cyclin D1, α-SMA, MMP-2, and MMP-9 expression but increased E-cadherin expression, whereas LiCI treatment exhibited the opposite trends. In addition, WISP1 silencing suppressed TEC migration and invasion, whereas LiCI treatment promoted TEC migration and invasion. The findings indicate that WISP1 gene silencing suppresses the activation of the wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway, thus reducing EMT of renal TECs in uremic rats.