USF1 transcriptionally activates USP14 to drive atherosclerosis by promoting EndMT through NLRC5/Smad2/3 axis.

BACKGROUND: Endothelial-to-Mesenchymal Transformation (EndMT) plays key roles in endothelial dysfunction during the pathological progression of atherosclerosis; however, its detailed mechanism remains unclear. Herein, we explored the biological function and mechanisms of upstream stimulating factor 1 (USF1) in EndMT during atherosclerosis. METHODS: The in vivo and in vitro atherosclerotic models were established in high fat diet-fed ApoE-/- mice and ox-LDL-exposed human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). The plaque formation, collagen and lipid deposition, and morphological changes in the aortic tissues were evaluated by hematoxylin and eosin (HE), Masson, Oil red O and Verhoeff-Van Gieson (EVG) staining, respectively. EndMT was determined by expression levels of EndMT-related proteins. Target molecule expression was detected by RT-qPCR and Western blotting. The release of pro-inflammatory cytokines was measured by ELISA. Migration of HUVECs was detected by transwell and scratch assays. Molecular mechanism was investigated by dual-luciferase reporter assay, ChIP, and Co-IP assays. RESULTS: USF1 was up-regulated in atherosclerosis patients. USF1 knockdown inhibited EndMT by up-regulating CD31 and VE-Cadherin, while down-regulating α-SMA and vimentin, thereby repressing inflammation, and migration in ox-LDL-exposed HUVECs. In addition, USF1 transcriptionally activated ubiquitin-specific protease 14 (USP14), which promoted de-ubiquitination and up-regulation of NLR Family CARD Domain Containing 5 (NLRC5) and subsequent Smad2/3 pathway activation. The inhibitory effect of sh-USF1 or sh-USP14 on EndMT was partly reversed by USP14 or NLRC5 overexpression. Finally, USF1 knockdown delayed atherosclerosis progression via inhibiting EndMT in mice. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate the contribution of the USF1/USP14/NLRC5 axis to atherosclerosis development via promoting EndMT, which provide effective therapeutic targets.

Chronic remote ischemic conditioning treatment in patients with chronic stable angina (EARLY-MYO-CSA): a randomized, controlled proof-of-concept trial.

BACKGROUND: Chronic remote ischemic conditioning (CRIC) has been shown to improve myocardial ischemia in experimental animal studies; however, its effectiveness in patients with chronic stable angina (CSA) has not been investigated. We conducted a proof-of-concept study to investigate the efficacy and safety of a six-month CRIC treatment in patients with CSA. METHODS: The EARLY-MYO-CSA trial was a prospective, randomized, controlled trial evaluating the CRIC treatment in patients with CSA with persistent angina pectoris despite receiving ≥ 3-month guideline-recommended optimal medical therapy. The CRIC and control groups received CRIC (at 200 mmHg) or sham CRIC (at 60 mmHg) intervention for 6 months, respectively. The primary endpoint was the 6-month change of myocardial flow reserve (MFR) on single-photon emission computed tomography. The secondary endpoints were changes in rest and stress myocardial blood flow (MBF), angina severity according to the Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS) classification, the Seattle Angina Questionnaire (SAQ), and a 6-min walk test (6-MWT). RESULTS: Among 220 randomized CSA patients, 208 (105 in the CRIC group, and 103 in the control group) completed the treatment and endpoint assessments. The mean change in MFR was significantly greater in the CRIC group than in the control group (0.27 ± 0.38 vs. - 0.04 ± 0.25; P < 0.001). MFR increased from 1.33 ± 0.48 at baseline to 1.61 ± 0.53 (P < 0.001) in the CRIC group; however, a similar increase was not seen in the control group (1.35 ± 0.45 at baseline and 1.31 ± 0.44 at follow-up, P = 0.757). CRIC treatment, when compared with controls, demonstrated improvements in angina symptoms assessed by CCS classification (60.0% vs. 14.6%, P < 0.001), all SAQ dimensions scores (P < 0.001), and 6-MWT distances (440 [400-523] vs. 420 [330-475] m, P = 0.016). The incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events was similar between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: CSA patients benefit from 6-month CRIC treatment with improvements in MFR, angina symptoms, and exercise performance. This treatment is well-tolerated and can be recommended for symptom relief in this clinical population. TRIAL REGISTRATION: [chictr.org.cn], identifier [ChiCTR2000038649].

Effects of remote ischemic preconditioning on coronary blood flow and microcirculation.

This study aimed to determine the effect of short-term remote ischemic preconditioning (RIPC) on coronary blood flow and microcirculation function using the quantitative flow ratio (QFR) and index of microcirculatory resistance (IMR). We randomly divided 129 patients undergoing coronary angiography (CAG) into RIPC and control groups. Following the first CAG, we randomly divided the patients further into the unilateral upper limb and lower limb groups for four cycles of ischemia/reperfusion circulation; subsequently, we performed the second CAG. During each CAG, contrast-flow QFR (cQFR), fixed-flow QFR (fQFR), and IMR (in patients with cardiac syndrome X) were calculated and compared. We measured 253 coronary arteries in 129 patients. Compared to the control group, the average cQFR of the RIPC group increased significantly after RIPC. Additionally, 23 patients with cardiac syndrome X (IMR > 30) were included in this study. Compared to the control group, IMR and the difference between cQFR and fQFR (cQFR-fQFR) both decreased significantly after receiving RIPC. The application of RIPC can increase coronary blood flow and improve coronary microcirculation function.

DNMT3B activates FGFR3-mediated endoplasmic reticulum stress by regulating PTPN2 promoter methylation to promote the development of atherosclerosis.

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is closely associated with atherosclerosis (AS). Nevertheless, the regulatory mechanism of ER stress in endothelial cells during AS progression is unclear. Here, the role and regulatory mechanism of DNA (cytosine-5-)- methyltransferase 3 beta (DNMT3B) in ER stress during AS progression were investigated. ApoE-/- mice were fed with high fat diet to construct AS model in vivo. HE and Masson staining were performed to analyze histopathological changes and collagen deposition. HUVECs stimulated by ox-LDL were used as AS cellular model. Cell apoptosis was examined using flow cytometry. DCFH-DA staining was performed to examine ROS level. The levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines were assessed using ELISA. In addition, MSP was employed to detect PTPN2 promoter methylation level. Our results revealed that DNMT3B and FGFR3 were significantly upregulated in AS patient tissues, whereas PTPN2 was downregulated. PTPN2 overexpression attenuate ox-LDL-induced ER stress, inflammation and apoptosis in HUVECs and ameliorated AS symptoms in vivo. PTPN2 could suppress FGFR3 expression in ox-LDL-treated HUVECs, and FGFR3 knockdown inhibited ER stress to attenuate ox-LDL-induced endothelial cell apoptosis. DNMT3B could negatively regulate PTPN2 expression and positively FGFR2 expression in ox-LDL-treated HUVECs; DNMT3B activated FGFR2 expression by increasing PTPN2 promoter methylation level. DNMT3B downregulation repressed ox-LDL-induced ER stress, inflammation and cell apoptosis in endothelial cells, which was reversed by PTPN2 silencing. DNMT3B activated FGFR3-mediated ER stress by increasing PTPN2 promoter methylation level and suppressed its expression, thereby boosting ER stress to facilitate AS progression.

The "L-Sandwich" Strategy for True Coronary Bifurcation Lesions: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Background: This study explored the efficacy of the "L-sandwich" strategy, which involves the implantation of stents in the main vessel (MV) and shaft of the side branch (SB) with a drug-coated balloon (DCB) applied to the SB ostium, for coronary true bifurcation lesions. Methods and Results: Of 99 patients with true bifurcation lesions, 38 patients underwent the "L-sandwich" strategy (group A), 32 patients underwent a two-stent strategy (group B), and 29 patients underwent a single-stent + DCB strategy (group C). Angiography outcomes (late lumen loss [LLL], minimum lumen diameter [MLD]), and clinical outcomes (major adverse cardiac events [MACEs]) were analyzed. At 6 months, the MLD of the SB ostium in groups A and B were similar (P > 0.05) and group A larger than group C (P < 0.05). The LLL of group B was the largest among the three groups (P < 0.05). The MLD of the SB shaft in groups A and B were larger than in group C (P < 0.05). The LLL of the SB shaft in group C was the lowest (P < 0.05). Two patients in group B received target vessel revascularization at the 6-month followup (P > 0.05), and patients in the other groups had no MACEs. Conclusions: The "L-sandwich" strategy was feasible for the treatment of true coronary bifurcation lesions. It is a simpler procedure with similar acute lumen gain than the two-stent strategy, results in a larger SB lumen than the single-stent + DCB strategy, and it can also be used as a remedy for dissection following the single-stent + DCB strategy.

Remote ischemic preconditioning can extend the tolerance to extended drug-coated balloon inflation time by reducing myocardial damage during percutaneous coronary intervention.

BACKGROUND: Remote ischemic preconditioning (RIPC) alleviates myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) that occurs during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and increases the myocardial tolerance to ischemia and hypoxia. Prolonged inflation time of drug-coated balloons (DCBs) can improve the treatment effects of PCI and the long-term prognosis of patients. This study investigated whether preoperative RIPC improves the tolerance to extended DCB inflation time. METHODS AND RESULTS: Overall, 345 patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) were enrolled; 90, 96, 83, and 76 of these were randomized into the upper limb RIPC, lower limb RIPC, upper limb control, and lower limb control groups, respectively. Their baseline data were collected. Data on cardiac markers were analyzed. The DCB inflation time was recorded. The baseline data and cardiac marker levels before operation did not differ between RIPC and control groups. The post-PCI high-sensitivity troponin-T levels were lower in the RIPC groups (35.81 ± 14.02 and 34.65 ± 14.86 pg/mL) than in the control groups (41.63 ± 18.31 and 42.24 ± 14.38 pg/mL) (P = 0.001). The DCB inflation tolerance time was higher in the lower limb RIPC group (120 s [120,120]) than in the upper limb RIPC group (120 s [110,120]), and was the lowest in the upper limb control (100 s [90, 120]) and the lower limb control (100 s [90, 115]) groups (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: RIPC reduces the level of myocardial damage that occurs during PCI and prolongs tolerance to increased DCB inflation time. The larger the ischemic area in RIPC, the better the improvement in the tolerance to extended DCB inflation time.

Trailing-Edge Flap Control for Mitigating Rotor Power Fluctuations of a Large-Scale Offshore Floating Wind Turbine under the Turbulent Wind Condition.

A trailing-edge flap control strategy for mitigating rotor power fluctuations of a 5 MW offshore floating wind turbine is developed under turbulent wind inflow. The wind shear must be considered because of the large rotor diameter. The trailing-edge flap control strategy is based on the turbulent wind speed, the blade azimuth angle, and the platform motions. The rotor power is predicted using the free vortex wake method, coupled with the control strategy. The effect of the trailing-edge flap control on the rotor power is determined by a comparison with the rotor power of a turbine without a trailing-edge flap control. The optimal values of the three control factors are obtained. The results show that the trailing-edge flap control strategy is effective for improving the stability of the output rotor power of the floating wind turbine under the turbulent wind condition.

Identification of a peripheral blood long non-coding RNA (Upperhand) as a potential diagnostic marker of coronary artery disease.

BACKGROUND: Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been confirmed to be involved in the pathologi-cal processes of multiple diseases. However, the characteristic expression of lncRNAs in peripheral blood of coronary artery disease (CAD) patients and whether some of these lncRNAs can be used as diagnostic biomarkers for CAD requires further investigation. METHODS: Six healthy and CAD individuals were selected for microarray analysis, and 5 differentially expressed lncRNAs were selected and confirmed in the second cohort consisting of 30 control individu-als and 30 CAD patients with different SYNTAX scores. Upperhand were verified in the third cohort consisting of 115 controls and 137 CAD patients. RESULTS: Thirty one lncRNAs were differentially expressed between the two groups, among whom, 25 were upregulated in the CAD group and 6 were downregulated. Four of the selected five lncRNAs were significantly upregulated in the CAD group, and Upperhand had the largest area under the curve (AUC). The diagnostic value of Upperhand was tested further, and it remained having a high diagnostic value. CONCLUSIONS: The expression level of Upperhand in peripheral blood of CAD patients is significantly higher than in control individuals, and is correlated with severity of CAD. Upperhand is a potential diagnostic biomarker of CAD, and when combined with TCONS_00029157, diagnostic value slightly increased.

Response to Letter to the Editor entitled 'Correct microarray analysis approaches in "Hsa-circRNA11783-2 in peripheral blood is correlated with coronary artery disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus"'.

In the paper entailed 'Hsa-circRNA11783-2 in peripheral blood is correlated with coronary artery disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus', we illustrated the correlation of circRNA with T2DM and CAD. We used the common method - Q-PCR to select differentially expressed circular RNA (differentially expressedgenes(DEGs)), with a criteria of fold change>2 and unadjusted p values < 0.05 in expression. When the candidate RNAs have been narrowed down by GO and Pathway analysis, Q-PCR is a good verification method, although the idea that using Q-PCR to verify all the DEGs is still unrealistic. There is no denying that using an optimal statistical approach makes the survey much easier.

Hsa-circRNA11783-2 in peripheral blood is correlated with coronary artery disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to identify the expression characteristics of circular RNAs in the peripheral blood of coronary artery disease patients and type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. METHODS: Circular RNA in the peripheral blood from 6 control individuals, 6 coronary artery disease patients, 6 type 2 diabetes mellitus patients and 6 coronary artery disease combined with type 2 diabetes mellitus patients was collected for microarray analysis, and a further independent cohort consisting of 20 normal individuals, 20 type 2 diabetes mellitus subjects and 20 coronary artery disease subjects was used to verify the expression of five circular RNAs chosen for further analysis. The findings were then tested in a third cohort using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: In total, 40 circular RNAs differentially expressed between the three experimental groups and the control group were identified by microarray analysis: 13 were upregulated in the experimental groups, while 27 were downregulated. Of the five circular RNAs chosen for further analysis, three were significantly downregulated in the experimental groups. The crude odds ratios and adjusted odds ratios of hsa-circRNA11783-2 showed significant differences in both the coronary artery disease group and type 2 diabetes mellitus group. We then verified hsa-circRNA11783-2 in the third cohort, and it remained closely related to both coronary artery disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus. CONCLUSION: Hsa-circRNA11783-2 is closely related to both coronary artery disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus.

The Diagnostic Value of Whole Blood lncRNA ENST00000550337.1 for Pre-Diabetes and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

This study aims to investigate long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) as biomarker for pre-diabetes and T2DM. LncRNAs in the peripheral blood of 6 healthy individuals and 6 T2DM patients were collected for microarray analysis. Then 5 candidate biomarkers from the differentially expressed lncRNAs were chosen and verified in a larger independent cohort (control group=20; pre-diabetes group=20; and T2DM group=20). The diagnostic capacity of ENST00000550337.1 was further tested in the third cohort (control group, n=60; pre-diabetes group, n=63; and T2DM group, n=64). A total of 17 lncRNAs were found to be differentially expressed between the 2 groups. 14 lncRNAs of these were upregulated in T2DM patients and 3 were downregulated. 5 upregulated lncRNAs were selected as potential biomarkers and verified in the second cohort, and the expression levels of 3 lncRNAs increased gradually from the control group to the pre-diabetes group to the T2DM group. The diagnostic value of ENST00000550337.1 was then tested in the third cohort, and its high diagnostic value for pre-diabetes and T2DM was confirmed. LncRNA ENST00000550337.1 is a potential diagnostic biomarker for pre-diabetes and T2DM.

Peripheral blood circular RNA hsa_circ_0124644 can be used as a diagnostic biomarker of coronary artery disease.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the expression of circular RNAs (circRNAs) in the peripheral blood of coronary artery disease (CAD) patients and the potential use of circRNAs as diagnostic biomarkers of CAD. We first analysed peripheral blood circRNAs of 12 CAD patients and 12 control individuals by RNA microarray and found that 22 circRNAs were differentially expressed between these two groups: 12 were upregulated, and 10 were downregulated. Then, we selected 5 circRNAs as candidate biomarkers under stricter screening criteria and verified them in another group of subjects consisting of 30 control individuals and 30 CAD patients with different SYNTAX scores. These 5 circRNAs were all remarkably increased in the CAD group. Hsa_circ_0124644 had the largest area under the curve (AUC). We tested hsa_circ_0124644 in an independent cohort consisting of 115 control individuals and 137 CAD patients. After we included the risk factors for CAD, the AUC slightly increased from 0.769 (95% confidence interval = [0.710-0.827], P < 0.001) to 0.804 ([0.751-0.857], P < 0.001), and when combined with hsa_circ_0098964, the diagnostic value slightly increased. Taken together, our results suggest that hsa_circ_0124644 can be used as a diagnostic biomarker of CAD.

Hsa_circ_0054633 in peripheral blood can be used as a diagnostic biomarker of pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes mellitus.

AIMS: The purpose of the current study was to investigate the characteristic expression of circular RNAs (circRNAs) in the peripheral blood of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients and their potential as diagnostic biomarkers for pre-diabetes and T2DM. METHODS: CircRNAs in the peripheral blood from six healthy individuals and six T2DM patients were collected for microarray analysis, and an independent cohort study consisting of 20 normal cases, 20 pre-diabetes patients and 20 T2DM patients was conducted to verify the five chosen circRNAs. We then tested hsa_circ_0054633 in a third cohort (control group, n = 60; pre-diabetes group, n = 63; and T2DM group, n = 64) by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (Q-PCR). RESULTS: In total, 489 circRNAs were discovered to be differentially expressed between the two groups, and of these, 78 were upregulated and 411 were downregulated in the T2DM group. Five circRNAs were then selected as candidate biomarkers and further verified in a second cohort. Hsa_circ_0054633 was found to have the largest area under the curve (AUC). The diagnostic capacity of hsa_circ_0054633 was tested in a third cohort. After introducing the risk factors of T2DM, the hsa_circ_0054633 AUCs for the diagnosis of pre-diabetes and T2DM slightly increased from 0.751 (95% confidence interval [0.666-0.835], P < 0.001) to 0.841 ([0.773-0.910], P < 0.001) and from 0.793 ([0.716-0.871], P < 0.001) to 0.834 ([0.762-0.905], P < 0.001), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Hsa_circ_0054633 presented a certain diagnostic capability for pre-diabetes and T2DM.

Bearing Fault Diagnosis Based on Statistical Locally Linear Embedding.

Fault diagnosis is essentially a kind of pattern recognition. The measured signal samples usually distribute on nonlinear low-dimensional manifolds embedded in the high-dimensional signal space, so how to implement feature extraction, dimensionality reduction and improve recognition performance is a crucial task. In this paper a novel machinery fault diagnosis approach based on a statistical locally linear embedding (S-LLE) algorithm which is an extension of LLE by exploiting the fault class label information is proposed. The fault diagnosis approach first extracts the intrinsic manifold features from the high-dimensional feature vectors which are obtained from vibration signals that feature extraction by time-domain, frequency-domain and empirical mode decomposition (EMD), and then translates the complex mode space into a salient low-dimensional feature space by the manifold learning algorithm S-LLE, which outperforms other feature reduction methods such as PCA, LDA and LLE. Finally in the feature reduction space pattern classification and fault diagnosis by classifier are carried out easily and rapidly. Rolling bearing fault signals are used to validate the proposed fault diagnosis approach. The results indicate that the proposed approach obviously improves the classification performance of fault pattern recognition and outperforms the other traditional approaches.

Proteomic analysis of early seed development in Pinus massoniana L.

Understanding seed development is important for large-scale propagation and germplasm conservation for the Masson pine. We undertook a proteomic analysis of Masson pine seeds during the early stages of embryogenesis. Two-dimensional difference gel electrophoresis (2D DIGE) was used to quantify the differences in protein expression during early seed development. Using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry, we identified proteins from 43 gel spots that had been excised from preparative "pick" gels. Proteins involved in carbon metabolism were identified and were predominantly expressed at higher levels during the cleavage polyembryony and columnar embryo stages. Functional annotation of one seed protein revealed it involvement in programmed cell death and translation of selective mRNAs, which may play an important role in subordinate embryo elimination and suspensor degeneration in polyembryonic seed gymnosperms. Other identified proteins were associated with protein folding, nitrogen metabolism, disease/defense response, and protein storage, synthesis and stabilization. The comprehensive protein expression profiles generated by this study will provide new insights into the complex developmental process of seed development in Masson pine.