Nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase as a biomarker for the diagnosis of infectious pleural effusions.

Nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT) has been reported to be involved in infectious diseases, but it is unknown whether it plays a role in infectious pleural effusions (IPEs). We observed the levels of NAMPT in pleural effusions of different etiologies and investigated the clinical value of NAMPT in the differential diagnosis of infectious pleural effusions. A total of 111 patients with pleural effusion were enrolled in the study, including 25 parapneumonic effusions (PPEs) (17 uncomplicated PPEs, 3 complicated PPEs, and 5 empyemas), 30 tuberculous pleural effusions (TPEs), 36 malignant pleural effusions (MPEs), and 20 transudative effusions. Pleural fluid NAMPT levels were highest in the patients with empyemas [575.4 (457.7, 649.3) ng/ml], followed by those with complicated PPEs [113.5 (103.5, 155.29) ng/ml], uncomplicated PPEs [24.9 (20.2, 46.7) ng/ml] and TPEs [88 (19.4, 182.6) ng/ml], and lower in patients with MPEs [11.5 (6.5, 18.4) ng/ml] and transudative effusions [4.3 (2.6, 5.1) ng/ml]. Pleural fluid NAMPT levels were significantly higher in PPEs (P < 0.001) or TPEs (P < 0.001) than in MPEs. Moreover, Pleural fluid NAMPT levels were positively correlated with the neutrophil percentage and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels and inversely correlated with glucose levels in both PPEs and TPEs, indicating that NAMPT was implicated in the neutrophil-associated inflammatory response in infectious pleural effusion. Further, multivariate logistic regression analysis showed pleural fluid NAMPT was a significant predictor distinguishing PPEs from MPEs [odds ratio (OR) 1.180, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.052-1.324, P = 0.005]. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analysis demonstrated that NAMPT was a promising diagnostic factor for the diagnosis of infectious effusions, with the areas under the curve for pleural fluid NAMPT distinguishing PPEs from MPEs, TPEs from MPEs, and IPEs (PPEs and TPEs) from NIPEs were 0.92, 0.85, and 0.88, respectively. In conclusion, pleural fluid NAMPT could be used as a biomarker for the diagnosis of infectious pleural effusions.

Macrolide therapy in cryptogenic organizing pneumonia: A case report and literature review.

Cryptogenic organizing pneumonia (COP) is a pulmonary disorder associated with nonspecific clinical presentations. The macrolide class of antimicrobial agents is widely used to treat infectious and inflammatory respiratory diseases in humans. The present study reports a case of COP that was effectively treated with azithromycin in combination with glucocorticoid. A literature review of similar cases is also presented. It was found that all COP patients in the literature received macrolide treatment, including six cases with unknown clinical outcomes. For the remaining 29 patients, 20 patients initially received the macrolide as a single therapy and 4/5 of them (16 cases) were cured with a treatment time of 3-14 months, while 1/5 (4 cases) showed no improvement after treatment for 1 month and were switched to a glucocorticoid or combination treatment with a glucocorticoid, after which the disease was finally well-controlled. Side-effects of macrolide were rare. Based on this analysis, it is recommended that macrolides can be used as a first-line therapy in patients with mild COP. For patients with recurrent COP, it is suggested that macrolides should be used as an adjunctive therapy with other treatments, such as a glucocorticoid.

Evaluation of VEGF-C and tumor markers in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid for lung cancer diagnosis.

A total of 87 patients were enrolled and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) samples were obtained from all subjects. A significant difference was found in BALF VEGF-C level between patients with squamous cell carcinoma and benign diseases (P = 0.043). In addition, the concentration of NSE in BALF form the malignant group was significantly higher compared with that of the benign groups (P = 0.018). However, no statistical difference was observed in BALF CEA (P = 0.375) or CYFRA21-1 (P = 0.838) between lung cancer patients and nonmalignant controls. With a cut-off value of 2.06 ng/ml, NSE had a sensitivity of 72.9%, a specificity of 69.2%, respectively, in predicting the malignant nature of pulmonary mass. Our study observed that the level of VEGF-C was increased in BALF of patients with squamous cell carcinoma. Moreover, we found that NSE was significantly higher in BALF of lung cancer patients than in benign diseases.

Utility of VEGF and sVEGFR-1 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid for differential diagnosis of primary lung cancer.

Published data have shown that the levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and soluble VEGF receptor-1 (sVEGFR-1) in plasma and pleural effusion might be usefulness for lung cancer diagnosis. Here, we performed a prospective study to investigate the utility of VEGF and sVEGFR-1 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) for differential diagnosis of primary lung cancer. A total of 56 patients with solitary pulmonary massed by chest radiograph or CT screening were enrolled in this study. BALF and plasma samples were obtained from all patients and analyzed for VEGF and sVEGFR-1 using a commercially available sandwich ELISA kit. The results showed that the levels of VEGF in BALF were significantly higher in patients with a malignant pulmonary mass compared with patients with a benign mass (P < 0.001). However, no significant difference of sVEGFR-1 in BALF was found between malignant and non-malignant groups (P = 0.43). With a cut-off value of 214 pg/ml, VEGF showed a sensitivity and specificity of 81.8% and 84.2%, respectively, in predicting the malignant nature of a solitary pulmonary mass. Our study suggests that VEGF is significantly increased in BALF among patients with lung cancer than in benign diseases. Measurement of VEGF in BALF might be helpful for differential diagnosis of primary lung cancer.

Association between angiotensin-converting enzyme I/D polymorphism and asthma risk: a meta-analysis involving 11,897 subjects.

BACKGROUND: Genetic susceptibility to asthma has been a research focus in the scientific community. Several studies have been conducted in recent years to evaluate the risk of asthma and insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE). However, the results remain conflicting rather than conclusive. METHODS: We carried out a search in Medline, EMBASE, and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) database for relevant studies. Data were extracted using a standardized form and pooled odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to assess the strength of the association. RESULTS: Our meta-analysis on 11,897 subjects from all available studies showed that the DD genotype was associated with increased asthma risk than those with the II (OR = 1.59, 95% CI = 1.20-2.12) or ID/II (OR = 1.62, 95% CI = 1.24-2.10) genotype. Stratified analyses by ethnicity (Europeans and Asians) and age (adults and children) obtained statistically similar results in the two genetic models. In the subgroup analysis by source of controls, the DD genotype was associated with a significantly elevated risk of asthma among population-based controls (DD vs. II: OR = 2.27, 95% CI = 1.45-3.56) but not hospital-based controls (DD vs. II: OR = 1.18, 95% CI = 0.93-1.49). CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis provides strong evidence that the I/D polymorphism of ACE is associated with asthma risk. Additional well-designed large studies were required for the validation of our results, especially in African populations.

Excision repair cross complementation group 1 polymorphisms and lung cancer risk: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Several studies have evaluated the association between polymorphisms of encoding excision repair cross complementation group 1 (ERCC1) enzyme and lung cancer risk in diverse populations but with conflicting results. By pooling the relatively small samples in each study, it is possible to perform a meta-analysis of the evidence by rigorous methods. METHODS: Embase, Ovid, Medline and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure were searched. Additional studies were identified from references in original studies or review articles. Articles meeting the inclusion criteria were reviewed systematically, and the reported data were aggregated using the statistical techniques of meta-analysis. RESULTS: We found 3810 cases with lung cancer and 4332 controls from seven eligible studies. T19007C polymorphism showed no significant effect on lung cancer risk (C allele vs. T allele: odds ratio (OR) = 0.91, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.80 - 1.04; CC vs. TT: OR = 0.76, 95%CI = 0.56 - 1.02; CC vs. (CT + TT): OR = 0.96, 95%CI = 0.84 - 1.10). Similarly, there was no significant main effects for T19007C polymorphism on lung cancer risk when stratified analyses by ethnicity (Chinese or Caucasian). No significant association was found between C8092A polymorphism (3060 patients and 2729 controls) and the risk of lung cancer (A allele vs. C allele: OR = 1.03, 95%CI = 0.95 - 1.11; AA vs. CC: OR = 1.08, 95%CI = 0.88 - 1.33; AA vs. (AC + CC): OR = 1.08, 95%CI = 0.88 - 1.31). CONCLUSION: We found little evidence of an association between the T1900C or C8092A polymorphisms of ERCC 1 and the risk of lung cancer in Caucasian or Han Chinese people.

Polymorphism of vascular endothelial growth factor -2578C/A with cancer risk: evidence from 11263 subjects.

Published data on the association between vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) -2578C/A polymorphism and cancer risk is inconclusive. To derive a more precise estimation of association between VEGF -2578C/A polymorphism and the risk of cancer, we performed a meta-analysis of 5415 cancer cases and 5848 controls from 16 published case-control studies. We used odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to assess the strength of the association. Our meta-analysis indicated that VEGF -2578C/A polymorphism was associated with the risk of colorectal cancer under homozygote comparison (OR=0.70, 95% CI=0.53-0.92), dominant model (OR=0.72, 95% CI=0.57-0.92), and recessive model (OR=0.82, 95% CI=0.67-1.01), although no evidence of association between VEGF -2578C/A polymorphism and cancer risk was observed as we compared in the pooled analyses (homozygote comparison: OR=0.97, 95% CI=0.81-1.16). More studies are needed to detect VEGF -2578C/A polymorphism and its association with cancer in different ethnic populations incorporated with environmental exposures in the susceptibility of different kinds of cancer.

Vascular endothelial growth factor +936C/T and +405G/C polymorphisms and cancer risk: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: A number of investigators have studied the possible association between vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) polymorphisms and cancer risk, but the results have been conflicting. To examine the risk of cancer associated with the +936C/T and +405G/C polymorphisms of VEGF, all available studies were considered in the present meta-analysis. METHODS: We performed a computerized search of PubMed and Embase database for relevant studies. Articles meeting the inclusion criteria were reviewed systematically, and the reported data were aggregated using the statistical techniques of meta-analysis. RESULTS: Overall, the 936C allele showed no significant effect on cancer risk compared with the 936T allele in all subjects (OR = 0.77, 95% CI = 0.53-1.14; random model). Similarly, no significant effect of 405G allele compared with 405C on cancer risk was found (OR = 1.08, 95% CI = 0.94-1.24; random model). It indicated that the VEGF +936C/T and +405G/C polymorphisms might not be risk factors for cancer, but the 936C allele was associated with a decreased risk of oral cancer (OR = 0.72, 95% CI = 0.53-0.97; fixed model). CONCLUSIONS: The evidence from our meta-analysis supports that there was an association between 936C allele and decreased oral cancer risk, although no evidence of association between VEGF +936C/T or +405G/C polymorphism and cancer was observed in all examined patients. Further studies based on larger, stratified population are required to explore the role of VEGF polymorphisms on cancer risk.