Association between Dietary Potassium Intake and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Advanced Hepatic Fibrosis in U.S. Adults.

Introduction: The correlation between potassium and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is currently still poorly understood. We conducted this study to explore the correlation between dietary potassium intake and NAFLD, as well as advanced hepatic fibrosis (AHF). The study also sought to identify any potential interactions. Methods: The data employed in this study were obtained from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) program, encompassing a period from 2007 to 2018. Employing the multiple logistic regression analysis, we evaluated the association of dietary potassium intake with NAFLD and AHF. Subsequently, stratification analysis, based on demographic variables, was constructed so as to assess the stability of the results. In addition, potential interaction effects were assessed by interaction tests. Results: A total of 9443 participants were included in the analysis. The mean age of the participants was 50.4 years, and their daily mean dietary potassium and vitamin C intake was 2556.49 mg and 82.93 mg, respectively. Following comprehensive statistical analyses, the findings indicated a negative correlation between dietary potassium intake and both NAFLD and AHF. Participants in Q4 group with dietary potassium intake exhibited a 31% and 42% reduction in the odds of developing NAFLD and AHF, respectively, in comparison to Q1 group. An interaction effect of dietary vitamin C intake was observed in the association between dietary potassium intake and NAFLD. The results imply that high dietary vitamin C intake augment the inverse relationship between dietary potassium intake and NAFLD. Conclusion: Dietary potassium intake was found to have an inverse association with the odds of both NAFLD and AHF. The association between dietary potassium intake and NAFLD was amplified by the presence of vitamin C in the diet.

Platelets mediate inflammatory monocyte activation by SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.

Infection with SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19, causes mild to moderate disease in most patients but carries a risk of morbidity and mortality. Seriously affected individuals manifest disorders of hemostasis and a cytokine storm, but it is not understood how these manifestations of severe COVID-19 are linked. Here, we showed that the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein engaged the CD42b receptor to activate platelets via 2 distinct signaling pathways and promoted platelet-monocyte communication through the engagement of P selectin/PGSL-1 and CD40L/CD40, which led to proinflammatory cytokine production by monocytes. These results explain why hypercoagulation, monocyte activation, and a cytokine storm are correlated in patients severely affected by COVID-19 and suggest a potential target for therapeutic intervention.

Association of metabolic syndrome and benign prostatic hyperplasia in Chinese patients of different age decades.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the relationship between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and annual prostate growth rates in Chinese patients of different age decades with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data obtained from 1,052 Chinese men with BPH. Overnight fasting venous blood specimens were collected and serum levels of prostate-specific antigen, fasting blood glucose, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, total cholesterol and triglyceride were recorded. We divided age into four groups: 50 ≤ age ≤ 60, 60 < age ≤ 70, 70 < age ≤ 80 and 80 < age ≤ 90. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to test the linearity of the relationships between each of the MetS components and prostate volume and annual prostate growth rates generally and in different age decades. RESULTS: The median total prostate volume (69.01 ml) and median annual prostate growth rate (1.92 ml/year) were significantly higher in the MetS group compared with the non-MetS group (57.26 ml and 1.23 ml/year). Significant positive correlations were also found in total prostate volume and different age decades, while negative correlations were seen in annual prostate growth rate and different age decades. CONCLUSIONS: MetS is associated with an increased risk of total volume and annual prostate growth rate in BPH patients of different age decades.

The adeno-associated virus-mediated HSV-TK/GCV suicide system: a potential strategy for the treatment of bladder carcinoma.

Novel treatment strategies such as gene therapy are warranted in view of the failure of current treatment approaches to cure a high percentage of patients with advanced bladder cancers. The emergence of cancer gene therapy potentially offers a number of exciting treatments. The majority of approaches involve strategies to suppress the function of activated oncogenes to restore the expression of functional tumour suppressor genes or to initiate tumour self-destruction. One gene therapy approach against tumours that holds great promise is suicide gene therapy. Herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (HSV-TK) phosphorylates ganciclovir (GCV), which in turn interacts with cellular DNA polymerase and interferes with DNA synthesis to cause death of rapidly dividing cells. The development of an effective delivery system is absolutely critical to the usefulness and safety of gene therapy. At present, the adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector has the most promising potential in view of its non-pathogenicity, wide tropisms and long-term transgene expression in vivo. Gene therapy studies using different serotypes of recombinant AAV (rAAV) as delivery vehicles have proved rAAVs to be an effective modality of cancer gene therapy. In the present study, we investigated the suppression effect of AAV-mediated HSV-TK/GCV system on the bladder cancer cells and in mice xenograft models of bladder cancer. Our data demonstrate that rAAV-HSV-TK system controlled tumour cell growth and achieves strong antitumour efficacy in vivo. These findings provide a foundation for the development of potential targeted clinical therapies for bladder cancer in humans.