Phase angle is a useful bioelectrical marker for skeletal muscle quantity and quality in hospitalized elderly patients.

To analyze whether phase angle (PhA) can be a useful bioelectrical marker for skeletal muscle quantity and quality in hospitalized elderly patients. Two hundred hospitalized elderly patients were included in this retrospective observational study. PhA was obtained by Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis, skeletal muscle area index (SMI) and skeletal muscle density (SMD) were measured at the third lumbar vertebra level in computed tomography images using SliceOmatic software. PhA was positively associated with SMD and SMI, with correlation coefficients of 0.629 and 0.674, respectively. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that 1° reduction of PhA was significantly associated with low SMI [odds ratio (OR) = 4.331 (1.681-11.161)] and low SMD [OR = 6.418 (2.963-13.899)]. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that the area under the curve (AUC) for PhA to identify patients with low SMI was 0.772 for male and 0.784 for female; the AUC for PhA to identify low SMD patients was 0.829 for male and 0.812 for female; the AUC for PhA to identify low SMD combined with low SMD patients was 0.801 for male and 0.773 for female. The results of this study showed that PhA was highly related to SMI, which can indicate the quantity of skeletal muscle in the entire body, and was highly related to SMD, which can be used to assess skeletal muscle quality. Therefore, PhA may be a useful bioelectrical marker for skeletal muscle quantity and quality.

Lentivirus-Mediated RNAi Silencing of VEGF Inhibits Angiogenesis and Growth of Renal Cell Carcinoma in a Nude Mouse Xenograft Model.

To construct and screen short hairpin RNA (shRNA) targeting vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and investigate potential values of VEGF-shRNA on angiogenesis and growth in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in a xenograft tumor model. VEGF-shRNA fragment was designed to connect plasmid vector, and RCC cells were transfected with shRNA. Real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RTFQ-PCR) was used to detect interference efficiency of VEGF gene. The xenograft tumor model was established in nude mice, and mice were randomly divided into blank control (BC) group, negative control (NC) group, and experimental group. RNA interference (RNAi) effect was detected by immunohistochemistry, and tumor volume changes were observed. Tumor-bearing nude mice model was established and mice were randomly divided into BC group, NC group, and treatment group. The tumor volume changes and tumor inhibition rate were recorded, and angiogenesis status was observed. The apoptosis of tumor cells and genetic toxicity of VEGF-shRNA were detected. VEGF-shRNA can inhibit VEGF mRNA expression with an inhibition ratio of 72.3%. Compared with NC group and BC group, experimental group presents smaller tumor volume, weight, and poor growth (all p < 0.05). Positive VEGF rate in experimental group is significantly lower than that in NC group and BC group (all p < 0.05). Significantly lower tumor volume, less microvessel density (MVD) value, and higher apoptotic index (AI) are found in treatment group compared with BC group and NC group (all p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in AI between treatment group and BC group regarding adjacent normal tissues (p > 0.05). VEGF plays an important role in the occurrence and development of RCC, chemical synthesis of VEGF small interfering RNA (siRNA) can specifically inhibit VEGF expression, angiogenesis and growth in RCC, and can promote cell apoptosis without genetic toxicity to normal tissues.