Prognostic Value of Pentraxin-3 Change After Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in Patients with ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction.

Purpose: So far, ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is still the main cause of morbidity and mortality of cardiovascular diseases worldwide. Recent studies showed that pentraxin-3 (PTX3) was related to the early diagnosis and prognosis of coronary heart disease. This study aimed to investigate the dynamical change of PTX3 after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI) in STEMI patients and its prognostic value. Patients and methods: In this prospective cohort study, a total of 350 patients were enrolled. The plasma level of PTX3 was measured at admission, 24-hour and 5-day after pPCI. The primary endpoint was the incidence of major adverse cardiac cerebral events (MACCEs) during 1-year follow-up. Results: Compared with the admission, PTX3 levels were significantly increased at 24 hours, and decreased at 5 days after pPCI in the whole cohort. PTX3 levels at these three time points were not significantly different between the patients with and without MACCEs. Notably, the change in PTX3 from admission to post-pPCI 24-hour (ΔPTX3) was higher in patients with MACCEs (112.83 vs 17.94 ng/dl, P = 0.001). The ROC curves showed that the cut-off value was 29.22 ng/dl and the area under curves was 0.622 (95% CI: 0.554-0.690, p = 0.001). Multivariable cox regression models revealed that the high ΔPTX3 group was an independent predictor of MACCEs (adjusted HR = 2.010, 95% CI = 1.280-3.186, p = 0.003). The higher ΔPTX3 group had significantly higher incidences of revascularization (HR = 2.094, 95% CI: 1.056-4.150, p = 0.034) and composite MACCEs (HR = 2.219, 95% CI: 1.425-3.454, p < 0.001). However, the change of PTX3 level from admission to post-pPCI 5-day had no independently predictive value. Conclusion: The higher increase of PTX3 level 24-hour after pPCI appeared to have a potential value in independently predicting the incidence of 1-year MACCEs in STEMI patients, especially for coronary revascularization.

High admission glucose levels predict worse short-term clinical outcome in non-diabetic patients with acute myocardial infraction: a retrospective observational study.

BACKGROUND: Patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) often accompanied by admission hyperglycemia, which usually predicts a poor clinical outcomes for non-diabetes mellitus. Appropriate cut-point to identify high risk individuals in these patients remains controversial. METHODS: One thousand six hundred ninety-eight non-diabetes AMI patients in this retrospective study were divided into 3 groups according to admission glucose levels (euglycemia group≤140 mg/dL, moderate hyperglycemia group 141-179 mg/dL, severe hyperglycemia group≥180 mg/dL). The primary endpoint of this study was all-cause in-hospital mortality rate. In-hospital motality related risk factors was analyzed by multivariate binary logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: All myocardial necrosis markers and Log NT-proBNP in severe hyperglycemia group were significantly higher than those in the other 2 groups. Logistic regression showed that independent predictors of the in-hospital mortality rate in non-diabetic patients with AMI were age (OR = 1.057, 95% CI 1.024-1.091, P < 0.001), logarithm of the N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (OR = 7.697, 95% CI 3.810-15.550, P < 0.001), insufficient myocardial reperfusion (OR = 7.654, 95% CI 2.109-27.779, P < 0.001), percutaneous coronary intervention (OR = 0.221, 95% CI 0.108-0.452, P < 0.001) and admission glucose (as categorical variable). Patients with moderate hyperglycemia (OR = 1.186, 95% CI 0.585-2.408, P = .636) and severe hyperglycemia (OR = 4.595, 95% CI 1.942-10.873, P = 0.001) had a higher all-cause in-hospital mortality rate compared with those with euglycemia after AMI in non-diabetic patients. CONCLUSIONS: The all-cause in-hospital mortality risk increases remarkably as admission glucose levels elevated in non-diabetic patients with AMI, especially in patients with admission glucose levels ≥180 mg/dL. Severe admission hyperglycemia could be regarded as prospective high-risk marker for non-diabetic AMI patients.

Impact of red blood cell distribution width on long-term mortality in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction.

OBJECTIVES: Recent studies have reported increased red blood cell distribution width (RDW) has been associated with adverse outcomes in heart failure and stable coronary disease. We investigated the association between RDW and risk of all-cause mortality in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) who were free of heart failure at baseline. METHODS: We enrolled 691 patients with STEMI who were free of heart failure at baseline confirmed by coronary angiography in Beijing Friendship Hospital from January 2007 to December 2008. According to the median RDW at baseline (13.0%) on admission, the patients were divided into two groups: a low-RDW group (RDW <13.0%, n = 329) and a high-RDW group (RDW ≥13.0%, n = 362). All-cause mortality rates were compared between groups. Mean duration of follow-up was 41.8 months. The relation between RDW and clinical outcomes after hospital discharge were tested using Cox regression models, adjusting for clinical variables. At the same time, the sensitivity and specificity of RDW were analyzed by ROC analysis. RESULTS: Forty-seven patients (6.8%) died during follow-up. The cumulative incidence of all-cause death was significantly higher in the high-RDW group than in the low-RDW group (log-rank p = 0.007). Multivariate analysis revealed that high RDW was associated with all-cause mortality (hazard ratio: 3.43; 95% confidence interval: 1.17-8.32; p = 0.025). The area under the ROC curve was 0.562. CONCLUSION: From the statistical point of view, increased RDW is associated with all-cause and cardiac mortality rates in patients with STEMI who were free of heart failure at baseline. But RDW is a marker with a very low prognostic accuracy that does not seem to be clinically helpful.

The role of aquaporin RWC3 in drought avoidance in rice.

Although the discovery of aquaporins in plants has resulted in a paradigm shift in the understanding of plant water relations, the relationship between aquaporins and drought resistance still remains elusive. From an agronomic viewpoint, upland rice is traditionally considered as showing drought avoidance. In the investigation of different morphological and physiological responses of upland rice (Oryza sativa L. spp indica cv. Zhonghan 3) and lowland rice (O. sativa L. spp japonica cv. Xiushui 63) to water deficit, we observed young leaf rolling and the remarkable decline of cumulative transpiration in the upland rice. The expression of water channel protein RWC3 mRNA was increased in upland rice at the early response (up to 4 h) to the 20% polyethylene glycol (PEG) 6000 treatment, whereas there was no significant expression changes in lowland rice. Protein levels were increased in upland rice and decreased in lowland rice at 10 h after the water deficit. The up-regulation of RWC3 in upland rice fits well with the knowledge that upland rice adopts the mechanism of drought avoidance. The physiological significance of this RWC3 up-regulation was then explored with the over-expression of RWC3 in transgenic lowland rice (O. sativa L. spp japonica cv. Zhonghua 11) controlled by a stress-inducible SWPA2 promoter. Compared to the wild-type plant, the transgenic lowland rice exhibited higher root osmotic hydraulic conductivity (Lp), leaf water potential and relative cumulative transpiration at the end of 10 h PEG treatment. These results indicated that RWC3 probably played a role in drought avoidance in rice.