MicroRNA-126 Level Increases During Exercise Rehabilitation of Heart Failure with a Preserved Ejection Fraction.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the changes of plasma levels of miR-126 in heart failure with a preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) patients undergoing an exercise rehabilitation intervention. METHODS: miR-126 levels in plasma were compared between 60HFpEF patients and 30 healthy volunteers. HFpEF patients underwent exercise rehabilitation for 12 weeks. Before and after rehabilitation, indicators of cardiac function, exercise tolerance, quality of life scores and miR-126 levels were measured and compared. Correlations between plasma levels of miR-126 and HFpEF were evaluated. RESULTS: The plasma levels of miR-126 in HFpEF patients were lower than those in healthy volunteers and increased significantly after exercise rehabilitation. HFpEF patients also showed significantly better cardiac function, exercise tolerance, and quality of life after rehabilitation. The results of Pearson correlation analysis and multiple linear regression showed that miR-126 levels were positively correlated with peak oxygen consumption (peak VO2) and metabolic equivalents (METs), and inversely associated with score on the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHF) as well as plasma N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels. CONCLUSION: miR-126 levels are low expressed in plasma among HFpEF patients. Effective exercise rehabilitation in HFpEF patients may positively impact the plasma level of miR-126, which is probably associated with the restoration of cardiac function, exercise tolerance and quality of life. miR-126 may be a potential biomarker for evaluating the efficacy of exercise rehabilitation for HFpEF patients.

Serum complement C4b, fibronectin, and prolidase are associated with the pathological changes of pulmonary tuberculosis.

BACKGROUND: Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection can activate the immune system, leading to characteristic pathological changes such as inflammatory granuloma, caseous necrosis, and cavity formation. METHODS: Clinical data of 187 cases of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) were analyzed using statistical methods, while serum levels of complement C4b (C4b), fibronectin (FN), and prolidase (PEPD) were detected using the ELISA method among the control, minimal PTB, moderate PTB, and advanced PTB groups. RESULTS: We found significantly higher levels of serum C4b and PEPD (P = 0.018, P = 0.003), and significantly lower levels of serum FN (P < 0.001) in PTB patients. Furthermore, the serum levels of 3 proteins were significantly different among 3 PTB groups. FN level was significantly higher in the moderate PTB group, compared with patients in the minimal and advanced PTB groups (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). PEPD level was significantly higher in the moderate PTB group, compared with the minimal PTB group (P < 0.05). Analysis of clinical data showed that serum albumin, C-reactive protein (CRP), prealbumin, and C4 were significantly higher (P < 0.05), while serum globulin was significantly lower in patients with PTB (P < 0.001). A significant negative correlation was found between C4b and albumin, prealbumin. On the other hand, a significant positive correlation was found between C4b and globulin, CRP, PEPD, as well as between PEPD and CRP (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed that C4b, FN, and PEPD are associated with tissue damage, granuloma formation, and cavity formation, respectively, in patients with PTB. The present study provides a new experimental basis to understand the pathogenesis and pathological changes of PTB.

Discovery and identification of serum potential biomarkers for pulmonary tuberculosis using iTRAQ-coupled two-dimensional LC-MS/MS.

Pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a chronic disease. Currently, there are no sufficiently validated biomarkers for early diagnosis of TB infection. In this study, a panel of potential serum biomarkers was identified between patients with pulmonary TB and healthy controls by using iTRAQ-coupled 2D LC-MS/MS technique. Among 100 differentially expressed proteins screened, 45 proteins were upregulated (>1.25-fold at p < 0.05) and 55 proteins were downregulated (<0.8-fold at p < 0.05) in the TB serum. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that the differentially expressed proteins were related to the response to stimulus, the metabolic and immune system processes. The significantly differential expression of apolipoprotein CII (APOCII), CD5 antigen-like (CD5L), hyaluronan-binding protein 2 (HABP2), and retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4) was further confirmed using immunoblotting and ELISA analysis. By forward stepwise multivariate regression analysis, a panel of serum biomarkers including APOCII, CD5L, and RBP4 was obtained to form the disease diagnostic model. The receiver operation characteristic curve of the diagnostic model was 0.98 (sensitivity = 93.42%, specificity = 92.86%). In conclusion, APOCII, CD5L, HABP2, and RBP4 may be potential protein biomarkers of pulmonary TB. Our research provides useful data for early diagnosis of TB.

(2-Oxido-1-naphthaldehyde benzoyl-hydrazonato-κN,N',O)pyridine-copper(II).

In the mononuclear title compound, [Cu(II)(C(18)H(12)N(2)O(2))(C(5)H(5)N)], the Cu(II) ion is coordinated by two O atoms and one N atom from the dianionic tridentate L(2-) ligand (H(2)L is 2-hy-droxy-1-naphthaldehyde benzoyl-hydrazide) and one N atom from a pyridine mol-ecule in a CuN(2)O(2) distorted square-planar coordination environment.

[N'-(3-Meth-oxy-2-oxidobenzyl-idene-κO)benzohydrazidato-κN',O]tris-(pyridine-κN)cobalt(III) perchlorate.

In the mononuclear title compound, [Co(III)(C(15)H(12)N(2)O(3))(C(5)H(5)N)(3)]ClO(4), the Co(III) ion is coordinated by three pyridine mol-ecules and one N'-(3-meth-oxy-2-oxidobenzyl-idene)benzohydrazidate Schiff base ligand in an O,N,O'-tridentate manner. The Co(III) ion adopts a distorted CoN(4)O(2) octa-hedral coordination environment.

[Study on method of time-resolved fluorescence spectra for rare fluorescence chelate].

In the present paper, the technology of time-resolved fluorescence spectra was investigated in order to improve the sensitivity of the solid-phase time-resolved fluorescence immunoassay. The fluorescence properties, fluorescence intensity and detection method of the novel complexes 4,4'-dibromo-6,6'-bis(N,N-bis(ethoxycarbonylmethyl) amino methyl)-2,2'-bipyridine were investigated through self-developed solid-phase time-resolved fluorescence immunoassay instrument. At the same time, the Eu-TTA-phen and Eu-beta-NTA-TOPO series of Eu(III) compounds were detected.

[Cleavage of HCV by HCV specific deoxyribozyme in vitro].

OBJECTIVE: To study the cleavage activity of specific deoxyribozyme to hepatitis C virus in vitro. METHODS: Three deoxyribozymes were designed to cleave at sites 157, 168, 173 in HCV 5'-noncoding region with the active region of 5'-GGCTAGCTACAACGA-3' respectively. Plasmid pCMV/T7-NCRC -Delta Luc was completely linearized with restriction endonuclease Xba I. HCV RNA5'-NCRC was transcribed in vitro from the linearized products and radiolabelled with [alpha-32P] UTP. Under the conditions of 37 degrees C, pH7.5, Mg2+ 10 mmol/L, the three deoxyribozymes were mixed with substrate RNA individually for 120 minutes and then the reactions were terminated. The cleavaged products were separated with 8% denaturated polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and displayed by autoradiography. DRz3 was mixed with the substrate RNA at different Mg2+ concentrations. The cleavage efficiency was analyzed with a gel document action analyzing systems. RESULTS: Under the adopted conditions the three deoxyribozymes efficiently cleaved to the target RNA in vitro and the cleavage activity of DRz3 was increased with the increase of Mg2+ concentration. CONCLUSION: The designed deoxyribozymes can cleave 5'-NCR mRNA of HCV efficiently in vitro and it is dose-respondent to Mg2+ concentration.