Genetic association between celiac disease and chronic kidney disease: a two-sample Mendelian randomization study.

OBJECTIVE: A two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis was performed to elucidate the causal impact of celiac disease on the risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD). METHODS: The study comprised data from three genome-wide association studies involving individuals of European ancestry. The study groups included participants with celiac disease (n = 24,269), CKD (n = 117,165), and estimated glomerular filtration rate levels based on serum creatinine (eGFRcrea, n = 133,413). We employed four widely recognized causal inference algorithms: MR-Egger, inverse variance weighted (IVW), weighted median, and weighted mode. To address potential issues related to pleiotropy and overall effects, MR-Egger regression and the MR-PRESSO global test were performed. Heterogeneity was assessed using Cochran's Q test. RESULTS: We identified 14 genetic variants with genome-wide significance. The MR analysis provided consistent evidence across the various methodologies, supporting a causal relationship between celiac disease and an elevated risk of CKD (odds ratio (OR)IVW = 1.027, p = 0.025; ORweighted median = 1.028, P = 0.049; ORweighted mode = 1.030, p = 0.044). Furthermore, we observed a causal link between celiac disease and a decreased eGFRcrea (ORIVW = 0.997, P = 2.94E-06; ORweighted median = 0.996, P = 1.68E-05; ORweighted mode = 0.996, P = 3.11E-04; ORMR Egger = 0.996, P = 5.00E-03). We found no significant evidence of horizontal pleiotropy, heterogeneity, or bias based on MR-Egger regression, MR-PRESSO, and Cochran's Q test. CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate a causal relationship between celiac disease and an increased risk of CKD.

The association between serum magnesium and chronic kidney disease in Chinese adults: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Magnesium (Mg) is both an essential macro-element and a known catalyst, and it plays a vital role in various physiological activities and mechanisms in relation to chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, epidemiological evidence involving this is limited and not entirely consistent. This study aims to explore the association of serum Mg concentrations with the risk of CKD among general Chinese adults. METHODS: A total of 8,277 Chinese adults were included in the wave of 2009 from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS). The primary outcome was the risk of CKD, which was defined as the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) < 60 mL/min/1.73 m2. Multivariable logistic regression model was used to examine the relationship of serum Mg concentrations with the risk of CKD. RESULTS: Included were 8,277 individuals, with an overall CKD prevalence of 11.8% (n = 977). Compared with the first quartile of serum Mg, the multivariable-adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for participants in the second, third, and fourth quartiles of serum Mg were 0.74 (0.58, 0.93), 0.87 (0.69, 1.11) and 1.29 (1.03, 1.61), respectively. Similar results were observed in our several sensitivity analyses. Restricted cubic spline analysis demonstrated a nonlinear (similar "J"-shaped) association between serum Mg concentrations and the risk of CKD (Pnonlinearity <0.001), with a threshold at around a serum Mg value of 2.2 mg/dL. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggested a similar "J"-shaped association between serum Mg concentration and the risk of CKD among Chinese adults. Further large prospective studies are needed to verify these findings.

Prognostic value of circulating long non-coding RNAs in colorectal cancer patients: a meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the prognostic significance of circulating long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in colorectal cancer (CRC). METHODS: A comprehensive literature search was conducted in databases (Embase, Web of Science, PubMed, and Cochrane Library) up to July 2022. The quality of included studies was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). Statistical analysis was performed with Review Manager 5.4 and Stata 17.0. Publication bias was assessed using Begg's test, and sensitivity analysis was conducted to validate the meta-analysis results. RESULTS: Ten articles, comprising 1,473 CRC patients and 18 different circulating lncRNAs, were included. Thirteen circulating lncRNAs were found to be up-regulated in CRC patients, while five were down-regulated. High expression of circulating lncRNAs up-regulated in CRC patients was associated with shorter CRC OS (HR = 2.91, 95% CI: 1.17, 7.22; P = 0.02, I2 = 86%). Conversely, high expression of circulating lncRNAs down-regulated in CRC patients was linked to longer CRC OS (HR = 0.16, 95% CI: 0.07, 0.40; P < 0.0001, I2 = 0%) and improved DFS (HR = 0.52, 95% CI: 0.37, 0.74; P = 0.0002, I2 = 0%). Additionally, circulating lncRNA levels correlated with TNM staging, tumor location, and lymph node metastasis. CONCLUSION: Circulating lncRNAs show promise as prognostic markers for CRC patients, but further studies are warranted to validate these findings.

Higher Levels of Tumour-Infiltrating Lymphocytes (TILs) are Associated with a Better Prognosis, While CDK5 Plays a Different Role Between Nonmetastatic and Metastatic Colonic Carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: We investigated the prognostic value of cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (CDK5) in a true population-based cohort of patients with colon cancer. METHODS: 1. Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining was used to retrospectively analyse the expression of CDK5 in colon cancer tissue samples of 296 patients. The χ2 test, Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional regression model were used to analyse the difference between the patients with differential expression of CDK5 and with different stages (metastatic and nonmetastatic); 2. The number of tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in tumour sections was determined, and its relationship with prognosis was explored. RESULTS: 1. Among 296 patients stained for CDK5, 18 cases (6.09%) showed negative expression, 77 cases (26.01%) showed weak expression (+1), 124 cases (41.89%) showed medium positive expression (2+), and 77 cases (26.01%) showed strong positive expression (3+). The expression of CDK5 was neither related to mismatch repair nor TILs (p > .05). In non-metastatic patients, longer progression-free survival (PFS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) were observed in patients with high CDK5 expression (2+ or 3+) than low CDK5 expression (- or 1+), while in metastatic disease, the opposite was true (p < .001). 2. TILs in 226 patients were detected in the study. Among them, 115 cases (50.88%) showed a low number of TILs (TILs-L), and 111 cases (49.12%) showed a high number of TILs (TILs-H). Patients with a TIL ratio greater than .2 had a significantly better CSS (p < .001) or PFS (p = .008) than patients with a lower TIL ratio. By multivariate analysis, TILs-H was a protective factor for CSS, however failed to reach a significant difference (hazard ratio: .59, 95% CI: .33∼1.06, p = .079), and so was the PFS (HR: .65, 95% CI: .29∼1.43, p = .279). CONCLUSION: High expression of CDK5 indicates a good prognosis in nonmetastatic colon cancer, while it is the opposite in metastatic colon cancer, and the expression of CDK5 is unrelated to TILs. Patients with TIL-H have a better prognosis, with a proper cut-off value of 20% for colon cancer.

MRI Diagnosis and Pathological Examination of Axillary Lymph Node Metastasis in Breast Cancer Patients.

In order to explore the characteristics and diagnostic value of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in axillary lymph node metastasis of breast cancer, a total of 200 breast cancer patients diagnosed and treated from January 2021 to January 2022 are selected as the study subjects, and 200 patients are divided into an axillary lymph node metastasis group and a simple breast cancer group according to pathological results. The pathological results are used as the gold standard to determine the accuracy and diagnostic efficacy of MRI results. A multivariate logistic regression method is used to analyze the influencing factors of MRI image characteristics of breast cancer axillary lymph node metastasis. The experimental results show that MRI has high application values in diagnosing axillary lymph node metastasis of breast cancer, which is worthy of clinical promotion and application.