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Home quarantine due to the global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a significant impact on children. Lifestyle changes have led to an increase in precocious puberty (PP) among girls, and the underlying risk factors for this remain unclear. Thus, we aimed to assess the influence of environmental, genetic, nutritional, and other lifestyle factors on the risk of PP in girls. We evaluated the incidence of new-onset PP in girls during home quarantine for COVID-19 and analyzed the potential risk factors. This was a retrospective questionnaire and medical record-based study involving 22 representative medical units from 13 cities in Henan Province, China. Girls with new-onset PP (central precocious puberty, 58; premature thelarche, 58; age, 5–9 years) between February 2020 and May 2020 were included, along with 124 healthy, age-matched controls. The number of new-onset PP cases reported during the study period was compared with that reported between February and May in 2018 and 2019. Patients' families completed a questionnaire to assess potential risk factors. There was a 5.01- and 3.14-fold increase in the number of new-onset PP cases from 2018 to 2020 and from 2019 to 2020, respectively; the differences were statistically significant (p < 0.01). High-risk factors for PP included longer time spent using electronic devices, decreased exercise time, higher body mass index, vitamin D deficiency, young age (<12 years) of mother during menarche, consumption of fried food and processed meat, residence in rural areas, and consumption of off-season fruits. Thus, we found that lifestyle changes caused due to the COVID-19 pandemic led to a significant increase in PP in girls. Management of the risk factors identified in this study may help in PP prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aims: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common cause of chronic liver disease. This study aims to investigate whether chloride channel 2 (ClC-2) is involved in high fat diet (HFD)-induced NAFLD and possible molecular mechanisms. Methods: ClC-2 expression was liver-specifically downregulated using adeno-associated virus in C57BL/6 mice treated with a chow diet or HFD for 12 weeks. Peripheral blood and liver tissues were collected for biochemical and pathological estimation respectively. Western blotting was applied to detect the protein expressions of lipid synthesis-related enzymes and the phosphorylated level of IRS-1, Akt and mTOR. Results: ClC-2 mRNA level was significantly increased in patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, which positively correlated with the plasma levels of alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST) and insulin. Knockdown of ClC-2 in liver attenuated HFD-induced weight gain, obesity, hepatocellular ballooning, and liver lipid accumulation and fibrosis, accompanied by reduced plasma free fatty acid (FFA), triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), ALT, AST, glucose and insulin levels and homeostasis model of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) value. Moreover, HFD-treated mice lacking ClC-2 showed inhibited hepatic lipid accumulation via regulating lipid metabolism through decreasing sterol regulatory element binding protein (SREBP)-1c expression and its downstream targeting enzymes such as fatty acid synthase (FAS), HMG-CoA reductase (HMGCR) and acetyl-Coenzyme A carboxylase (ACCα). In addition, in vivo and in vitro results demonstrated that ClC-2 downregulation in HFD-treated mice or HepG2 cells increased the sensitivity to insulin via activation of IRS-1/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway. Conclusion: Our present study reveals a critical role of ClC-2 in regulating metabolic diseases. Mice lacking ClC-2 are associated with a remarkably beneficial metabolic phenotype, suggesting that decreasing ClC-2 may be an attractive therapeutic strategy for the treatment of NAFLD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adrenocortical cancer (ACC) is an aggressive malignancy with no available effective treatments; therefore, exploring the molecular mechanisms involved in the initiation and progression of ACC is quite important. Here, we found that the long noncoding RNA urothelial carcinoma-associated 1 (UCA1) was highly expressed in ACC tissues and closely associated with the TNM stage and metastasis of ACC patients. Overexpression of UCA1 significantly promoted the proliferation and suppressed the apoptosis of ACC cells. Mechanism study showed that UCA1 acted as sponge of miR-298 and decreased the expression abundance of miR-298 in ACC cells. Further investigation identified that miR-298 bound the 3'-UTR of the cyclin-dependent kinase 6 (CDK6) and inhibited the expression of CDK6. Consistently, ectopic expressed UCA1 suppressed miR-298 and up-regulated the expression of CDK6, which promoted the cell cycle progression of ACC cells. Taken together, our results identified the potential oncogenic function of UCA1 in ACC by regulating the miR-298-CDK6 axis. • Our study demonstrated the highly expressed UCA1 in ACC patients. • Overexpression of UCA1 facilitated the growth of ACC cells, which suggested the potential oncogenic function of UCA1 in ACC. • UCA1 sponged miR-298 and up-regulated CDK6 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two metal–organic frameworks based on a multifunctional ligand 2-(5-bromo-pyridin-3-yl)-1H-imidazole-4,5-dicarboxylic acid (H3L), [Mn(HL)(C2H5OH)]n (1) and {[Zn(HL)(H2O)2]·H2O}n (2), have been hydro/solvothermally synthesized and characterized by IR, elemental analyses, X-ray powder and single-crystal diffractions, and thermogravimetric analyses. In 1, (HL)2– ligands adopt the μ3-kN,O:kN′,O′:kN′′ coordination mode and use their imidazoledicarboxylates to bis-chelate MnII into left- and right-handed helixes which are further bridged into a mesolayer structure with (4·82) topology through the coordination of their pyridyl groups. In 2, (HL)2– ligands only use their imidazoledicarboxylates to bis-chelate ZnII into linear chains which are further linked into a 2D supramolecular framework through interchain hydrogen–bonding interactions. Interestingly, the structures of 1 and 2 are mainly dominated by the bis-N,O-chelation of the imidazoledicarboxylate in (HL)2–. As for the formation of the imidazoledicarboxylate-bridged helical chains in 1 or straight chains in 2, it largely depends on the cis- or trans-chelation of two imidazoledicarboxylates around the same metal center. Magnetostructural analysis of 1 discloses that the bis-N,O-chelating imidazoledicarboxylate of (HL)2– transmits antiferromagnetic interactions along the imidazoledicarboxylate-bridged helical chain with the spin-coupling constant of –0.71 cm–1. Additionally, 2 emits greatly enhanced blue fluorescence mainly originating from the intraligand charge transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: . To compare the metabolic profile of women with spontaneous premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) with that of age-matched healthy controls.Study Design: . A cross-sectional case-control study was conducted using 1:1 matching by age. Women below the age of 40 with spontaneous POI who did not receive any medication (n = 303) and age-matched healthy women (n = 303) were included in this study.Main Outcome Measures: . Metabolic profiles, including serum levels of total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), triglycerides (TG), glucose, uric acid, urea and creatinine, were compared between women with POI and controls. For women with POI, factors associated with the metabolic profile were analyzed.Results: . Women with POI were more likely to exhibit increased serum levels of TG (β, 0.155; 95% CI, 0.086, 0.223) and glucose (0.067; 0.052, 0.083), decreased levels of HDL-C (-0.087; -0.123, -0.051), LDL-C (-0.047; -0.091, -0.003) and uric acid (-0.053; -0.090, -0.015), and impaired kidney function (urea [0.070; 0.033, 0.107]; creatinine [0.277; 0.256, 0.299]; eGFR [-0.234; -0.252, -0.216]) compared with controls after adjusting for age and BMI. BMI, parity, gravidity, FSH and E2 levels were independent factors associated with the metabolic profile of women with POI.Conclusion: . Women with POI exhibited abnormalities in lipid metabolism, glucose metabolism, and a decrease in kidney function. In women with POI, early detection and lifelong management of metabolic abnormalities are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]