The clinical role of combined circulating complement C1q and AIP for CAD with LDL-C level below 1.8mmol/L.

BACKGROUND: In the past few years, circulating complement C1q involvement in atherosclerosis has garnered growing research interest in addition to the emerging recognition of the novel lipid marker named atherogenic index of plasma (AIP). Nevertheless, among patients experiencing low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels less than 1.8mmol/L, the interplay between C1q combined with the AIP for coronary artery disease (CAD) is ambiguous. METHODS: Patients were stratified into a non-CAD and CAD group according to their coronary angiography. The association between C1q in conjunction with the AIP and CAD was explored using restricted cubic spline analyses and logistic regression models. To assess how it predicted, a receiver operating characteristic analysis was undertaken. RESULTS: A total of 7270 patients comprised 1476 non-CAD patients and 5794 patients diagnosed with CAD were analyzed. A comparison of the two groups showed that the C1q levels were notably higher compared to the CAD group, while AIP exhibited an inverse trend. Across quartiles of C1q, the AIP demonstrated a decline with increasing C1q levels, and significant differences were observed between the groups. A correlation analysis underscored a notable negative correlation between the two variables. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed significant associations between CAD and the C1q quartile groups/AIP. Furthermore, compared with the Q4 group, a decrease in the C1q levels corresponded to an escalation in CAD risk, with the odds ratio rising from 1.661 to 2.314. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, there appears to be a notable positive correlation between the combination of C1q with the AIP and CAD.

Comparison of percutaneous coronary intervention of native coronary artery versus bypass graft in patients with prior coronary artery bypass grafting.

Background: Large number of patients with prior coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) need repeat revascularization yearly, and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is the optimal treatment strategy for such patients. However, it is still controversial whether PCI of native coronary artery or bypass graft is more beneficial. The aim of the study was to compare the clinical outcomes between native coronary artery vs. bypass graft PCI in patients with prior CABG. Methods: A total of 1,276 patients with prior CABG who underwent index PCI of native coronary artery (n=1,072) or bypass graft (n=204) were retrospectively examined. Patients were divided into native group and graft group according to the target vessel. The outcomes of the two groups were compared by using inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) and Cox regression analysis. The primary endpoint was the composite of major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCEs), which included all-cause death, non-fatal stroke, non-fatal myocardial infarction (MI), or target vessel revascularization (TVR). Results: Compared with native group, patients in graft group had higher risk of slow-flow/no-reflow phenomenon (1.5% vs. 0.1%, P=0.011 before IPTW, and 2.2% vs. 0.1%, P<0.001 after IPTW) and peri-procedural stroke (0.3% vs. 0, P=0.021 after IPTW). During a median follow-up period of 43 months, there was similar risk of MACCE between two groups. Notably, patients in graft group had a significantly higher incidence of non-fatal MI compared with native group regardless with or without IPTW (7.8% vs. 3.8%, P=0.018 and 8.3% vs. 3.9%, P=0.030, separately). After adjusting for confounding by using Cox regression, bypass graft PCI was associated with a higher risk of non-fatal MI (HR: 2.091, 95% CI: 1.069-4.089; P=0.031), but similar results in MACCE (HR: 1.077, 95% CI: 0.817-1.419; P=0.599) compared with native group. Conclusions: This study found that native coronary artery might be preferred for PCI in patients with prior CABG because of lower rates of slow-flow/no-reflow, peri-procedural stroke, and non-fatal MI at follow-up.

Triglyceride-glucose index is associated with poor prognosis in acute coronary syndrome patients with prior coronary artery bypass grafting undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention.

BACKGROUND: The triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index, which is a reliable substitute indicator for insulin resistance, has been considered an independent risk factor for long-term outcomes in patients with cardiovascular disease. However, it remains unknown whether the TyG index is associated with poor prognosis in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients with prior coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). METHODS: A total of 1158 ACS patients with prior CABG undergoing PCI were retrospectively studied. The TyG index was calculated by ln[fasting triglyceride (mg/dL) × fasting blood glucose (mg/dL)/2]. The primary endpoint was major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCE), a composite of all-cause death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, and unplanned repeat revascularization. RESULTS: During a median of 42-month follow-up, 350 patients (30.2%) experienced at least one endpoint event. Based on the optimal cut-off value of the TyG index, patients were divided into the high TyG index group and the low TyG index group. Patients in the high TyG index group had higher risks of MACCE (35.3% vs. 25.3%, p < 0.001), major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) (31.1% vs. 23.4%, p = 0.003), nonfatal stroke (4.2% vs. 1.9%, p = 0.022) and unplanned repeat revascularization (19.4% vs. 11.3%, p < 0.001) than those in the low TyG index group. Cox regression analysis demonstrated that there was an independent association between the TyG index and MACCE regardless of whether the TyG index was a continuous or categorical variable (HR 1.42, 95% CI 1.09-1.86, p = 0.009; HR 1.53, 95% CI 1.16-2.01, p = 0.003, respectively). Restricted cubic spline curve exhibited that the relationship between the TyG index and MACCE was linear (p for non-linear = 0.595, p for overall = 0.005). By incorporating the TyG index groups into baseline risk model, the accuracy of predicting MACCE was improved [AUC: baseline risk model, 0.618 vs. baseline risk model + TyG index groups, 0.636, p for comparison = 0.042]. CONCLUSIONS: The TyG index is independently associated with MACCE, suggesting that the TyG index may serve as a valid indicator for predicting poor prognosis in ACS patients with prior CABG undergoing PCI.

New insight into the additives in preparation and reduction of shield slurry.

In the preparation of the slurry in the slurry shield (SSS) and subsequent reduction of the waste slurry produced by the slurry shield (WSSS), the additives in SSS improve the quality of filtration cake on the excavation surface, but they may also remain in WSSS, which have a negative impact on the reduction efficiency of WSSS. Therefore, it is valuable to establish the relationship between SSS and WSSS with additives as a link. Given this, this paper prepared WSSS with different dosages of additives and studied the influence of residual additives on the reduction. The residual additives made the reduction efficiency of WSSS worse, and the specific resistance to filtration increased by one to two orders of magnitude. The residual additives change the content of bound water or reduce the available sites of the soil particles that can be adsorbed by flocculants, leading to worse reduction results. To reduce the difficulty of reduction, combining polymer and bentonite as additives are recommended to prepare SSS. Polyaluminium chloride (PAC) acts by reducing bound water content through the interaction with residual bentonite, simultaneously augmenting PAM flocculation, which is recommended for reducing WSSS. This paper provides a reference for selecting materials used to prepare SSS and the subsequent reduction of WSSS.

Corrigendum: The association between higher FFAs and high residual platelet reactivity among CAD patients receiving clopidogrel therapy.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fcvm.2023.1115142.].

The association between higher FFAs and high residual platelet reactivity among CAD patients receiving clopidogrel therapy.

Background: Metabolic abnormalities are associated with the occurrence, severity, and poor prognosis of coronary artery disease (CAD), some of which affect the antiplatelet efficacy of clopidogrel. Free fatty acids (FFAs) is a biomarker for metabolic abnormalities, and elevated FFAs is observed among CAD patients. Whether FFAs enhances residual platelet reactivity induced by adenosine diphosphate (ADP) while using clopidogrel was unknown. The purpose of our study is exploring the issue. Method: Current study included 1,277 CAD patients using clopidogrel and used logistic regression to detect whether the higher level of FFAs is associated with high residual platelet reactivity (HRPR). We additionally performed subgroup and sensitivity analyses to evaluate the stability of the results. We defined HRPR as ADP-induced platelet inhibition rate (ADPi) < 50% plus ADP-induced maximum amplitude (MAADP) > 47 mm. Results: 486 patients (38.1%) showed HRPR. The proportion of HRPR among patients with higher FFAs (>0.445 mmol/L) is greater than among patients with lower FFAs (46.4% vs. 32.6%, P < 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression demonstrated that higher FFAs (>0.445 mmol/L) is independently associated with HRPR (adjusted OR = 1.745, 95% CI, 1.352-2.254). After subgroup and sensitivity analyses, the results remained robust. Conclusion: The higher level of FFAs enhances residual platelet reactivity induced by ADP and is independently associated with clopidogrel HRPR.

Regulation mechanism and functional verification of key functional genes regulating muscle development in black Tibetan sheep.

Black Tibetan sheep is a branch of Tibetan sheep on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP). It is mainly distributed in Guinan County, Qinghai Province. In order to accurately identify the core regulatory genes in the process of muscle development of black Tibetan sheep, further explore the physiological processes of growth, development and myogenesis of black Tibetan sheep, and carry out molecular breeding of black Tibetan sheep, this experiment took the unique black Tibetan sheep on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau as the experimental object, and selected three stages of 4-month-old embryo (embryonic stage, MF group), 10-month-old(breeding stage, ML group) and 36-month-old (adult, MA group). The longissimus dorsi tissues of 3 sheep were taken at each stage to quantify the expression of genes during muscle development at different developmental stages. Meanwhile, overexpression and interference techniques were used to detect the role of core genes in the proliferation of primary muscle cells of black Tibetan sheep. In the process from embryonic stage to mature stage and adulthood, more than 1000 genes were up-regulated and more than 4000 down-regulated in black Tibetan sheep, while from breeding to adulthood, there were only 51 up-regulated genes and 83 down-regulated genes. About 998 genes were newly identified in each group. During muscle development from embryonic stage to mature stage to adulthood, two significant differential trend gene sets of Profile1 and Profile 6 were screened and identified, in which there were 121 and 31 core regulatory genes identified, respectively. In the trend of first decreasing and then stable expression in the whole development stage, 121 genes are core regulatory transcripts, which are mainly related to axonal guidance, cell cycle and other functions. 31 genes are core regulatory transcripts in the first rising and then stable expression, which are mainly related to biological metabolic pathway, oxidative phosphorylation and other processes. In the MF-ML stage, 75 genes were selected as the core regulatory gene set, the core genes were PTEN, AKT3, etc., and there were 134 differentially expressed genes in the ML-MA stage, and the core regulatory genes were IL6, ABCA1 and so on. In the MF-ML stage, the core gene set widely plays a role in cell components, cell matrix and other biological processes, while in the ML-MA stage, the core gene set widely plays a role in cell migration, cell differentiation, tissue development and so on. Adenovirus vector overexpressed and interfered with the core gene PTEN in primary muscle satellite cells of black Tibetan sheep shown that, interference and overexpression of PTEN would correspondingly increase and decrease the expression of other core genes, like AKT3, CKD2, CCNB1, ERBB3, HDAC2, but the specific interaction mechanism of each gene still needs to be further explored.

Developmental toxicity testing of unsubstituted and methylated 4- and 5-ring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons using the zebrafish embryotoxicity test.

The present study evaluates the in vitro developmental toxicity of 4- and 5-ring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) including benz[a]anthracene (BaA) and benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) and six of their monomethylated congeners, and dibenz[a,h]anthracene (DB[a,h]A) using the zebrafish embryotoxicity test (ZET). In general, the tested PAHs induced various developmental effects in the zebrafish embryos including unhatched embryos, no movement and circulation, yolk sac and pericardial edemas, deformed body shape, and cumulative mortality at 96 h post fertilization (hpf). The methyl substituent on different positions of the aromatic ring of the PAHs appeared to change their in vitro developmental toxicity. Comparison to a previously reported molecular docking study showed that the methyl substituents may affect the interaction of the PAHs with the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) which is known to play a role in the developmental toxicity of some PAHs. Taken together, our results show that methylation can either increase or decrease the developmental toxicity of PAHs, and suggest this may in part relate to effects on the molecular dimensions and resulting consequences for interactions with the AhR.