Potential Value of Circular RNA circTBC1D4 in Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors.

Aims: To explore the expression of circular RNA (circRNA) in gastrointestinal stromal tumors. Background: Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) are mainly distributed in the stomach and small intestine. Recently, it has been verified that circular RNA (circRNA) has an important function in the regulation of GIST. Nevertheless, detailed investigations of circRNA-miRNA-mRNA regulatory networks in GIST are lacking. Objective: To analyze the gastrointestinal stromal tumor circRNA-miRNA-mRNA network, assessing the effect of circle RNA in gastrointestinal stromal tumors. Method: All the differential circRNAs and mRNAs were obtained from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) microarray data (GSE131481 and GSE147303, GSE131481, and GSE13861). Furthermore, a circRNA-miRNA-mRNA network was established. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment were used to reveal the correlation between the functions of signaling pathways and target genes. The hub genes of protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and cytoHubba were also defined. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to measure the expression levels of hsa-circ-0002917 (circTBC1D4), hsa-miR-590-5p (miR-590-5p), and PLN. Results: PPI network and Cytoscape showed that ATP1A2, PLN, KCNMA1, and SCNN1B were four central DEGs. GO analysis results revealed that DEGs were involved in negative management of myocardial contraction, regulation of myocardial cell contraction, ethanol oxidation, cellular potassium ion homeostasis, and relaxation of cardiac muscle, and KEGG analysis showed that major DEGs were with cGMP-PKG signaling pathway. Moreover, we obtained two pairs of axes, namely, hsa-circ-0039216/hsa-miR-338-3p/ATP1A2 and hsa-circ-0002917/hsa-miR-590-5p/PLN. The target of TBC1D4 is miR-590-5p, and miR-590-5p increased after knocking down TBC1D4. Moreover, PLN was the target of miR-590-5p, and miR-590-5p exerts antitumor effects by reducing PLN. Conclusions: In this study, we constructed a circRNA-miRNA-mRNA management network interrelated with GIST and researched the potential roles of circRNA. Moreover, we discovered a new molecular landmarker for the prediction, diagnosis, and therapy of patients.

Correlation between serum 25(OH) vitamin D and liver fat content in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease / 南方医科大学学报

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the relationship between serum 25(OH) vitamin D and liver fat content in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).@*METHODS@#A total of 120 patients with NAFLD admitted in our hospital between June and August, 2017 were enrolled and divided into 4 groups with different serum 25 (OH) vitamin D levels: >75 nmol/L (group A, =25), 50-75 nmol/L (group B, =35), 25-50 nmol/L (group C, =32), and < 25 nmol/L (group D, =28). For all the patients, serum 25 (OH) vitamin D level was measured by ELISA, and liver fat content was determined using in-phase opposed-phase TWI sequences. The measurement data were compared among the 4 groups to assess the association between serum 25(OH) vitamin D level and liver fat content.@*RESULTS@#The liver fat content appeared to be higher in group B (28.66±6.45%) and group C (38.74±11.47%) than in group A (22.79 ± 6.10%), but the difference was not statistically significant (>0.05); the liver fat content in group D (54.79 ± 5.28%) was significantly higher than that in the other 3 groups (>0.05). Liver fat content increased significantly as serum 25(OH) vitamin D level decreased, showing an inverse correlation between them in these patients ( < 0.05, =-0.125).@*CONCLUSIONS@#In patients with NAFLD, a decreased serum 25(OH) vitamin D level is associated with an increased liver fat content, suggesting the value of serum 25(OH) vitamin D as a predictor of NAFLD.

Relationship between aspartate aminotransferase to alanine aminotransferase ratio and metabolic syndrome in college students / 中华健康管理学杂志

Objeetive To evaluate the relationship between aspartate aminotransferase to alanine aminotransferase ratio (AST/ALT ratio) and metabolic syndrome in college students.Methods Anthropometric and metabolic measurements including fasting plasma glucose (FPG),triglyceride (TG),high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C),true insulin (TI),(AST and ALT) were assessed in a crosssectional study of 425 college students aged 19 to 24 years old (male 216,female 209) in 2009.The participants were then assigned to the AST/ALT ratio ＜ 1 group or the AST/ALT ratio ≥ 1 group.Metabolic syndrome was defined as Adult Treatment Panel Ⅲ criteria.Results AST/ALT ratio ＜ 1 was found in 146 subjects (34.4％).After adjustment for age and sex,AST/ALT ratio showed a positive correlation with HDLC (r=0.125) and negative correlations with body mass index (BMI,r=-0.281),waist circumtance (WC,r =-0.264),TG (r =-0.134),TI (r =-0.118) and HOMA-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR,r =-0.121) (all P ＜0.05).The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 2.1％ and was similar in males and females (2.3％ vs.1.9％,P =0.774).Those with AST/ALT ratio ＜ 1 had a significantly higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome (4.8％ vs.0.7％,P =0.016).After adjustment for age,gender and BMI,the prevalence of metabolic syndrome of subjects with AST/ALT ratio ＜ 1 was nearly 7 (95％ CI:1.430 to 34.019,P =0.016) times of those with AST/ALT ratio ≥ 1.Conclusion AST/ALT ratio may be related with metabolic syndrome in college students.