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Background: Periodontitis is among the most prevalent inflammatory conditions and greatly impacts oral health. This study aimed to elucidate the role of basement membrane-related genes in the pathogenesis and diagnosis of periodontitis. Methods: GSE10334 was used for identification of hub genes via the differential analysis, protein-protein interaction network, MCC and DMNC algorithms, and evaluation via LASSO regression and support vector machine analysis to identify basement membrane-related markers in patients with periodontitis. Findings were validated by analysis of the GSE16134 dataset and quantitative reverse transcription PCR. The regulatory interplay among lncRNAs, miRNAs, and mRNAs was investigated through multiple databases. Immune infiltration analysis was performed to assess the immune landscape in periodontitis. Results: ITGA7 was identified as a key gene for periodontitis, as supported by machine learning analysis, validation of expression, and receiver operating characteristic analysis from external datasets. Immune infiltration analysis revealed significant associations between ITGA7 expression and the infiltration of numerous immune cells implicated in periodontitis. Additionally, our findings suggest that the expression of the lncRNA LINC-PINT is significantly increased in periodontitis, and that it can modulate ITGA7 expression through hsa-miR-1293. Conclusion: ITGA7 is a potential diagnostic and therapeutic target for periodontitis. The LINC-PINT/hsa-miR-1293/ITGA7 axis and the relationship between ITGA7 and immune infiltration provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying periodontitis and highlight potential avenues for clinical intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Osteoarthritis is a very common clinical disease in middle-aged and elderly individuals, and with the advent of ageing, the incidence of this disease is gradually increasing. There are few studies on the role of basement membrane (BM)-related genes in OA. Method: We used bioinformatics and machine learning methods to identify important genes related to BMs in OA patients and performed immune infiltration analysis, lncRNA‒miRNA-mRNA network prediction, ROC analysis, and qRT‒PCR. Result: Based on the results of machine learning, we determined that LAMA2 and NID2 were the key diagnostic genes of OA, which were confirmed by ROC and qRT‒PCR analyses. Immune analysis showed that LAMA2 and NID2 were closely related to resting memory CD4 T cells, mast cells and plasma cells. Two lncRNAs, XIST and TTTY15, were simultaneously identified, and lncRNA‒miRNA‒mRNA network prediction was performed. Conclusion: LAMA2 and NID2 are important potential targets for the diagnosis and treatment of OA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: With the growing practice of home mechanical ventilation, there is a need to identify biological markers for adequate follow-up. Red cell distribution width (RDW) is a promising candidate because it is convenient, objective and may reflect treatment effect over a long period of time. The aim of this study was to explore the possible role of RDW as a marker for home mechanical ventilation in real-life, unselected chronic respiratory patient populations.Methods: First, we identified characteristic RDW values for mixed case, unselected chronic respiratory failure and home mechanical ventilated patients through retrospective review within our institutional database. Next, we conducted a prospective observational study to identify RDW changes during the first six months of optimized home mechanical ventilation treatment. Adult patients starting home mechanical ventilation were included. Factors affecting RDW change during the first 6 months of treatment were analysed.Results: RDW was elevated in both chronic respiratory failure and home mechanical ventilation patients compared to healthy individuals in the retrospective review. In the prospective study of 70 patients, we found that 55.4% of patients starting home mechanical ventilation have abnormal RDW values which are reduced from 14.7 (IQR = 13.2-16.2)% to 13.5 (IQR = 13.1-14.6)% during the first 6 months of HMV treatment (p < 0.001). RDW improvement correlates with improvement in self-reported health-related quality of life and sleepiness scale scores, as well as physical functional status during the same time frame. RDW proved to be a comparable marker to other parameters traditionally used to evaluate treatment efficacy.Conclusions: RDW is elevated in chronic respiratory failure patients and is significantly reduced in the first six months of optimized home mechanical ventilation. Although further research is needed to verify if RDW change reflects outcome and how comorbidities influence RDW values, our results suggest that RDW is a promising marker of home mechanical ventilation efficacy. Trial registration This study was approved by and registered at the ethics committee of Semmelweis University (TUKEB 250/2017 and TUKEB 250-1/2017, 20th of December 2017 and 1st of October 2019). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) have a high risk of suicide. Many pathophysiological factors involved in MDD and suicide such us a low cholesterol levels have been associated with MDD and increased vulnerability to suicide. In this study, we investigate the relation between lipid parameters and suicide risk in patients with MDD. Methods: Plasma levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) were determined in 160 patients meeting the DSM-IV-TR criteria for MDD (110 patients without suicidal behavior and 52 suicidal attempters) and 151 healthy controls. Results: A significant decrease in plasma cholesterol levels was observed in the group of suicidal depressive patients compared to those without suicidal behavior (p < 0.001). For the other lipid levels (triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, and LDL cholesterol), there were no significant differences between suicidal and non-suicidal patients. Conclusions: Our study showed a significant decrease in plasma cholesterol levels in suicidal patients. This result support the hypothesis of the association of low plasma cholesterol level and suicidal behavior in patients with major depressive disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is frequently associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and is designated RA-associated ILD (RA-ILD). RA-ILD has a large impact on the prognosis of RA. Here, we investigated the micro RNAs (miRNAs) profiles to determine whether they may be useful for diagnosing RA-ILD.Methods: RNA was isolated from plasma samples and cDNA was synthesized. Real-time RT-PCR analysis was performed to evaluate 752 miRNA expression profiles in plasma pools from RA patients with or without RA-ILD. Sixteen selected miRNA levels were analyzed in individual plasmas from 64 RA patients with or without RA-ILD.Results: Expression levels of hsa-miR-214-5p (mean relative expression level ± standard deviation, 8.1 ± 28.2 in RA with ILD, 0.2 ± 0.9 in RA without ILD, P = 0.0156) and hsa-miR-7-5p (56.2 ± 260.4 in RA with ILD, 4.7 ± 11.8 in RA without ILD, P = 0.0362) were higher in RA patients with RA-ILD than in those without. The values of miRNA index (214, 7) generated from hsa-miR-214-5p and hsa-miR-7-5p for ILD were significantly elevated in RA patients with RA-ILD compared with those without (0.122 ± 0.332 in RA with ILD, 0.006 ± 0.013 in RA without ILD, P = 0.0010). The area under the curve value of the receiver operating characteristic curve for the miRNA index (214, 7) was 0.740.Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of miRNA profiles in RA-ILD. The expression levels of hsa-miR-214-5p and hsa-miR-7-5p were increased in RA with ILD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The physiological background of exercise-induced muscle fatigue(EIMUF) is only poorly understood. Thus, monitoring of EIMUF by a single or multiple biomarkers(BMs) is under debate. After a systematic literature review 91 papers were included.Results: EIMUF is mainly due to depletion of substrates, increased oxidative stress, muscle membrane depolarisation following potassium depletion, muscle hyperthermia, muscle damage, impaired oxygen supply to the muscle, activation of an inflammatory response, or impaired calcium-handling. Dehydration, hyperammonemia, mitochondrial biogenesis, and genetic responses are also discussed. Since EIMUF is dependent on age, sex, degree of fatigue, type, intensity, and duration of exercise, energy supply during exercise, climate, training status (physical fitness), and health status, BMs currently available for monitoring EIMUF have limited reliability. Generally, wet, volatile, and dry BMs are differentiated. Among dry BMs of EIMUF the most promising include power output measures, electrophysiological measures, cardiologic measures, and questionnaires. Among wet BMs of EIMUF those most applicable include markers of ATP-metabolism, of oxidative stress, muscle damage, and inflammation. VO2-kinetics are used as a volatile BM.Conclusions: Though the physiology of EIMUF remains to be fully elucidated, some promising BMs have been recently introduced, which together with other BMs, could be useful in monitoring EIMUF. The combination of biomarkers seems to be more efficient than a single biomarker to monitor EIMUF. However, it is essential that efficacy, reliability, and applicability of each BM candidate is validated in appropriate studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: CD147 is an MMP-inducing protein often implicated in cancer progression. The purpose of this study was to investigate the expression of CD147 in prostate cancer (PCa) progression and the prognostic ability of CD147 in predicting biochemical recurrence after prostatectomy. Methods: Plasma membrane-localized CD147 protein expression was quantified in patient samples using immunohistochemistry and multispectral imaging, and expression was compared to clinico-pathological features (pathologic stage, Gleason score, tumor volume, preoperative PSA, lymph node status, surgical margins, biochemical recurrence status). CD147 specificity and expression were confirmed with immunoblotting of prostate cell lines, and CD147 mRNA expression was evaluated in public expression microarray datasets of patient prostate tumors. Results: Expression of CD147 protein was significantly decreased in localized tumors (pT2; p = 0.02) and aggressive PCa (≥pT3; p = 0.004), and metastases (p = 0.001) compared to benign prostatic tissue. Decreased CD147 was associated with advanced pathologic stage (p = 0.009) and high Gleason score (p = 0.02), and low CD147 expression predicted biochemical recurrence (HR 0.55; 95 % CI 0.31-0.97; p = 0.04) independent of clinico-pathologic features. Immunoblot bands were detected at 44 kDa and 66 kDa, representing non-glycosylated and glycosylated forms of CD147 protein, and CD147 expression was lower in tumorigenic T10 cells than non-tumorigenic BPH-1 cells (p = 0.02). Decreased CD147 mRNA expression was associated with increased Gleason score and pathologic stage in patient tumors but is not associated with recurrence status. Conclusions: Membrane-associated CD147 expression is significantly decreased in PCa compared to non-malignant prostate tissue and is associated with tumor progression, and low CD147 expression predicts biochemical recurrence after prostatectomy independent of pathologic stage, Gleason score, lymph node status, surgical margins, and tumor volume in multivariable analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Surfactant protein A (SP-A) and SP-D are clinically established in Japan as serum biomarkers for diagnosing interstitial lung diseases (ILDs). Serum SP-D levels are affected by genetic variants. We conducted the present study to examine whether serum SP-A and/or SP-D levels in healthy subjects (HS) and patients with ILDs differ between populations with different genetic backgrounds. Methods German subjects (n = 303; 138 patients with idiopathic interstitial pneumonias [IIPs] and 165 HS) and Japanese subjects (n = 369; 94 patients with IIPs and 275 HS) were enrolled. Serum SP-A and SP-D levels were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and four single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the SFTPD gene were genotyped using genomic DNA extracted from blood samples. Results In both the German and Japanese cohorts, serum SP-A and SP-D levels were significantly higher in patients with IIPs than in HS. There were no significant differences in SP-A levels between the German and Japanese cohorts; however, we found that serum SP-D levels were significantly higher in the German cohort, both in patients with IIPs and in HS (p < 0.001 and p = 0.005, respectively). Furthermore, the genotype distributions of the four SNPs in the SFTPD gene (rs721917, rs1998374, rs2243639, and rs3088308) were significantly different between German and Japanese cohorts (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, p = 0.022, and p < 0.001, respectively), and univariate linear regression analyses revealed that the genotypes of rs721917, rs1998374, and rs2243639 significantly correlated with serum SP-D levels (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, and p = 0.011, respectively). Furthermore, multivariate analyses revealed that the genotypes of these three SNPs correlated independently with serum SP-D levels (p < 0.001, p = 0.001, and p = 0.038, respectively), whereas ethnicity did not significantly correlate with serum SP-D levels. Conclusions In patients with IIPs and HS, serum SP-D, but not SP-A, levels were significantly higher in the German than in the Japanese cohort, in part, because of the different frequencies of SFTPD gene polymorphisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Biomarkers of peripheral muscle fatigue (BPMFs) are used to offer insights into mechanisms of exhaustion during exercise in order to detect abnormal fatigue or to detect defective metabolic pathways. This review aims at describing recent advances and future perspectives concerning the most important biomarkers of muscle fatigue during exercise. Results: BPMFs are classified according to the mechanism of fatigue related to adenosine-triphosphate-metabolism, acidosis, or oxidative-metabolism. Muscle fatigue is also related to an immunological response. impaired calcium handling, disturbances in bioenergetic pathways, and genetic responses. The immunological and genetic response may make the muscle susceptible to fatigue but may not directly cause muscle fatigue. Production of BPMFs is predominantly dependent on the type of exercise. BPMFs need to change as a function of the process being monitored, be stable without appreciable diurnal variations, correlate well with exercise intensity, and be present in detectable amounts in easily accessible biological fluids. The most well-known BPMFs are serum lactate andinterleukin-6. The most widely applied clinical application is screening for defective oxidative metabolism in mitochondrial disorders by means of the lactate stress test. The clinical relevance of most other BPMFs, however, is under debate, since they often depend on age, gender, physical fitness, the energy supply during exercise, the type of exercise needed to produce the BPMF, and whether healthy or diseased subjects are investigated. Conclusions: Though the role of BPMFs during fatigue is poorly understood, measuring BPMFs under specific, standardised conditions appears to be helpful for assessing biological states or processes during exercise and fatigue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]