Effects of alcohol on the composition and metabolism of the intestinal microbiota among people with HIV: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES: Alcohol consumption is not uncommon among people with HIV (PWH) and may exacerbate HIV-induced intestinal damage, and further lead to dysbiosis and increased intestinal permeability. This study aimed to determine the changes in the faecal microbiota and its association with alcohol consumption in HIV-infected patients. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted between November 2021 and May 2022, and 93 participants were recruited. To investigate the alterations of alcohol misuse on fecal microbiology in HIV-infected individuals, we performed 16s rDNA gene sequencing on fecal samples from the low to moderate drinking (n=21) and non-drinking (n=72) groups. RESULTS: Comparison between groups using alpha and beta diversity showed that the diversity of stool microbiota in the low to moderate drinkinge group did not differ from that of the non-drinking group (all P>0.05). The Linear discriminant Analysis effect size (LEfSe) algorithm was to determine the bacterial taxa associated with alcohol consumption, and the results showed altered fecal bacterial composition in HIV-infected patients who consumed alcohol, with Coprobacillus, Pseudobutyrivibrio and Peptostreptococcaceae enriched, and Pasteurellaceae and Xanthomonadaceae were depleted. In addition, by using the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) functional microbiome features were also found to be altered in the low to moderate drinking group, showing a reduction in metabolic pathways (P=0.036) and cardiovascular disease pathway (P=0.006). CONCLUSION: Low to moderate drinking will change the composition, metabolism and cardiovascular disease pathway of the gut microbiota of HIV-infected patients.

Metabolomic profiles, polygenic risk scores and risk of rheumatoid arthritis: a population-based cohort study in the UK Biobank.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between metabolomic profiles, genome-wide polygenic risk scores (PRSs) and risk of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: 143 nuclear magnetic resonance-based plasma metabolic biomarkers were measured among 93 800 participants in the UK Biobank. The Cox regression model was used to assess the associations between these metabolic biomarkers and RA risk, and genetic correlation and Mendelian randomisation analyses were performed to reveal their causal relationships. Subsequently, a metabolic risk score (MRS) comprised of the weighted sum of 17 clinically validated metabolic markers was constructed. A PRS was derived by assigning weights to genetic variants that exhibited significant associations with RA at a genome-wide level. RESULTS: A total of 620 incident RA cases were recorded during a median follow-up time of 8.2 years. We determined that 30 metabolic biomarkers were potentially associated with RA, while no further significant causal associations were found. Individuals in the top decile of MRS had an increased risk of RA (HR 3.52, 95% CI: 2.80 to 4.43) compared with those below the median of MRS. Further, significant gradient associations between MRS and RA risk were observed across genetic risk strata. Specifically, compared with the low genetic risk and favourable MRS group, the risk of incident RA in the high genetic risk and unfavourable MRS group has almost elevated by fivefold (HR 6.10, 95% CI: 4.06 to 9.14). CONCLUSION: Our findings suggested the metabolic profiles comprising multiple metabolic biomarkers contribute to capturing an elevated risk of RA, and the integration of genome-wide PRSs further improved risk stratification.

Survival times of HIV/AIDS in different AIDS Diagnostic and Treatment Guidelines from 2006 to 2020 in Liuzhou, China.

BACKGROUND: To compare the survival rates of four timing of treatment initiation for people living with HIV/AIDS provided in China in 2006, 2011, 2015, and 2018, and to investigate the factors impacting survival time. METHODS: A people living with HIV/AIDS retrospective cohort study was in Liuzhou City from April 2006 to December 2020. The information was obtained from the National Comprehensive AIDS Prevention and Control Information System. Life tables and the Kaplan-Meier method were used to calculate participant survival rates and time. The univariate and multivariate Cox regression models were used to investigate the factors related to survival. RESULTS: 18,543 participants were included in this study. In four periods, the 1-year survival rates were 81%, 87%, 95%, and 95%. The 2-year survival rates were 76%, 85%, 93%, and 94%. The 3-year survival rates were 73%, 84%, 92%, and 94%. Results of multivariate Cox regression showed that sex, age of HIV diagnosis, ethnicity, household registration, occupation, marital status, the timing of treatment, education level, route of HIV transmission, whether receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART), and the count of CD4+T cells at baseline (count of CD4+T cells at HIV diagnosis) were factors that are significantly correlated with mortality caused by HIV infection. CONCLUSIONS: With the Guidelines updated from 2006 to 2020, the 1-, 2-, and 3-year survival rates of people living with HIV/AIDS in four periods tended to increase. The timing of treatment initiation of the updated edition of the AIDS Diagnostic and Treatment Guidelines (Guidelines) significantly prolonged the survival time of people living with HIV/AIDS.

HIV associated factors among men who have sex with men in Maanshan, China: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: This study conducted a survey of men who have sex with men (MSM) in Maanshan City of Anhui Province to assess the risk behaviors related to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted from June 2016 to June 2019. The MSM were recruited by a peer-driven sampling method. A face-to-face interview with anonymous questionnaire was used for data collection. The information collected by the survey was summarized and epidemiology described the basic characteristics of MSM, and then the related factors were statistically analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 934 MSM were recruited with a average age was 30.5 (SD = 8.90) years old, including 816 (87.4%) HIV negative participants and 118 (12.6%) HIV positive ones. This study showed that freelancer (OR = 4.02, 95% CI: 1.96-8.23), scope of sexual partners distribution (OR = 1.78, 95% CI: 1.36-2.33), number of male sexual partners (OR = 2.11, 95% CI: 1.47-3.02), role of anal sex with men was receptive (OR = 2.54, 95% CI: 1.25-5.13) and versatile (OR = 2.34, 95% CI: 1.31-4.19) and non-steady sex partners (OR = 2.14, 95% CI: 1.56-2.93) were risk factors for HIV infection, while monthly income (OR = 0.68, 95% CI: 0.57-0.82), education level (OR = 0.79, 95% CI: 0.66-0.95), frequency of condom use (OR = 0.53, 95% CI: 0.35-0.81) and number of oral sex partners (OR = 0.35, 95% CI: 0.24-0.51) in the past 6 months were protective factors for HIV infection. CONCLUSION: Risk behaviors were common in MSM, and urgent need for targeted and comprehensive interventions to reduce risky sexual behaviour and to prevent HIV infection in MSM.

Short-term effects of air pollutants on outpatients with psoriasis in a Chinese city with a subtropical monsoon climate.

Introduction: Psoriasis is a common skin disease that seriously affects patients' quality of life. The association of air pollutants with psoriasis, and the extent of their effects remains unclear. Methods: Based on a distributed lag non-linear model, this study explored the short-term effects of air pollutants on outpatients with psoriasis in Hefei, China, between 2015 and 2019 by analyzing the exposure-lag-response relationship, after controlling for confounding influences such as meteorological factors, long-term trends, day of the week, and holidays. Stratified analyses were performed for patients of different ages and genders. Results: The maximum relative risks of psoriasis outpatients' exposure to SO2, NO2, and O3 were 1.023 (95% confidence intervals (CI): 1.004-1.043), 1.170 (95% CI: 1.046-1.307), and 1.059 (95% CI: 1.030-1.090), respectively. An increase of 10 µg/m 3 of NO2 was associated with a 2.1% (95% CI: 0.7-3.5%) increase in outpatients with psoriasis, and a decrease of 10 µg/m 3 of O3 was associated with an 0.8% (95% CI: 0.4-1.2%) increase in outpatients with psoriasis. Stratified analyses showed that male subjects were more sensitive to a change in meteorological factors, while female subjects and outpatients with psoriasis aged 0-17 years old were more sensitive to a change in air pollutants. Discussion: Short-term air pollutant exposures were associated with outpatients having psoriasis, suggesting that patients and high-risk people with psoriasis should reduce their time spent outside and improve their skin protection gear when air quality is poor.

Dry eye induced by exposure to cigarette smoke pollution: An in vivo and in vitro study.

Exposure to cigarette smoke (CS) pollution has previously associated with dry eye symptoms but without detailed experimental data and elucidation of the mechanism. We aimed to evaluate the effects of CS on the ocular surfaces of mice and the extraction of DMSO lipid-soluble cigarette smoke particles (DCSP) on cultured human corneal epithelial cells (HCECs), and explore to elucidate the probable mechanism. C57BL mice were exposed to CS challenging. In vivo clinical evaluations, including corneal fluorescein staining, tear film break-up time, and confocal microscopic observations, were performed before exposure and post-exposure. At the end of the in vivo study, changes in corneal and conjunctival histology, corneal ultrastructure, and conjunctival goblet cell intensity were examined, expression of TUNLE and Ki67 in tissue were also detected. In vitro, cell confluence and caspase3/7 were assessed in DCSP treated HCECs. Production of TNF-α, IL-1ß and IL-6, activation of NF-κB and Ki67 were evaluated by means of ELISA and Western blot respectively in HCECs cultured with 0.6 µL/mL DCSP. We found that longer-term CS exposure induced dry eye symptoms in mice. Additionally, corneal and conjunctival epithelial damage occurred, the corneal ultrastructure changed, and the density of goblet cells decreased. Apoptosis and Ki67 increased in both the conjunctiva and the cornea of CS-exposed animals. Furthermore, although DCSP inhibited the proliferation of HCECs, expression of Ki67 increased and apoptosis was only induced significantly by 2.0 µL/mL DCSP. The release of IL-1ß and IL-6, activation of NF-κB were prompted by DCSP. The results indicated that CS is toxic to the ocular surface of mice and HCECs. Longer-term CS exposure in mice stimulates ocular surface changes that resemble those observed with dry eye. The mechanism may relate to inflammation and activation of NF-κB. In this study, we established a novel animal model to study dry eye, with the experimental data and elucidation of mechanism facilitating further research.