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To explore in myeloperoxidase-antineutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody-associated vasculitis (MPO-AAV) the value of circulating oncomarkers in identifying interstitial lung disease (ILD) and predicting prognosis.Newly diagnosed MPO-AAV patients were evaluated retrospectively at a single center. The serum levels of carbohydrate antigen (CA) 19-9, CA125, cytokeratin fraction 21-1 (CYFRA21-1), carcinoembryonic antigen, squamous cell carcinoma antigen, and neuron-specific enolase were compared between patients with and without ILD. The strength of the oncomarkers in identifying ILD was assessed through logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Correlation analysis was applied to detect the associations between oncomarkers and ILD severity. The significance of serum oncomarkers as prognosis predictors for MPO-AAV associated ILD was evaluated by survival analysis.169 MPO-AAV patients were included and ILD was found in 101 patients. Serum CA125, CA19-9, and CYFRA21-1 were significantly higher in patients with ILD than those without ILD. The area under the ROC curve of CA19-9, CA125, and CYFRA21-1 for identifying ILD was 0.701, 0.660, and 0.711, respectively. A specificity of 98.5% for diagnosing ILD was found for CA19-9 at the recommended normal level. CA19-9 was positively correlated with HRCT fibrosis score (r = 0.498, p 0.001) and CYFRA21-1 was correlated with ground-glass score (r = 0.316, p = 0.002). Both CA19-9 and CYFRA21-1 were independent risk factors for all-cause mortality in patients with ILD.Serum CA19-9 and CYFRA21-1 might be useful markers in the diagnosis, disease severity evaluation, and prognosis prediction of MPO-AAV-associated ILD.

Purpose: To explore in myeloperoxidase anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-positive anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (MPO-AAV) the value of circulating oncomarkers in identifying interstitial lung disease (ILD) and predicting prognosis. Methods: Newly diagnosed MPO-AAV patients were recruited retrospectively at a single center. The serum levels of carbohydrate antigen (CA) 19-9, CA125, cytokeratin fraction 21-1 (CYFRA21-1), carcinoembryonic antigen, squamous cell carcinoma antigen and neuron-specific enolase were compared between patients with and without ILD. The strength of the oncomarkers in identifying ILD was assessed through logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Correlation analysis was applied to detect the associations between oncomarkers and ILD severity. The significance of serum oncomarkers as prognosis predictors for MPO-AAV associated ILD was evaluated by survival analysis. Results: 169 MPO-AAV patients were included and ILD was found in 101 patients. Serum CA125, CA19-9 and CYFRA21-1 were significantly higher in patients with ILD than those without ILD. The area under the ROC curve of CA19-9, CA125, and CYFRA21-1 for identifying ILD was 0.701, 0.660, and 0.711, respectively. A specificity of 98.5% for diagnosing ILD was found for CA19-9 at the recommended normal level. CA19-9 was positively correlated with HRCT fibrosis score (r = 0.498, p < 0.001) and CYFRA21-1 was correlated with ground-glass score (r = 0.316, p = 0.002). Both CA19-9 and CYFRA21-1 were independent risk factors for all-cause mortality in patients with ILD. Conclusion: Serum CA19-9 and CYFRA21-1 maybe useful markers in the diagnosis, disease severity evaluation and prognosis prediction of MPO-AAV associated ILD.

BackgroundAsbestosis and fibrotic hypersensitivity pneumonitis (FHP) are fibrotic interstitial lung diseases that develop secondary to inhalation exposure. The differential diagnosis is based on clinical evaluation of imaging findings, particularly in developing countries. We compared the imaging features between asbestosis and FHP to gain a better understanding of the differential diagnostic value of these conditions.MethodsThis comparative study included 204 patients with asbestosis and 74 patients with FHP. We compared patients’ clinical data and chest high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) images obtained from a predesigned chart. The International Classification of HRCT for Occupational and Environmental Respiratory Diseases was used to categorize chest imaging findings in patients. Diagnostic tests were used to compare the imaging features of asbestosis and FHP.ResultsPatients with asbestosis were older and had a longer latent period until disease manifestation than those with FHP. Asbestosis was characterized by irregular and/or linear opacities, with lower lung preponderance, accompanied by ground-glass opacities and mosaic attenuation. Notably, 98.5% of patients with asbestosis showed benign pleural abnormalities, and >33% of these patients had diffuse pleural thickening with parenchymal bands and/or rounded atelectasis. Abnormalities of the mediastinal and diaphragmatic pleura were observed only in cases of asbestosis, and this finding showed high specificity for the diagnosis for asbestosis compared with that for FHP. Subpleural dots or diaphragmatic pleural abnormalities showed moderate sensitivity and high specificity for diagnosis of asbestosis compared with that for FHP. Interobserver reliability was good for evaluation of imaging findings including honeycombing, pleural calcification, lymphadenectasis, and lymph node calcification.ConclusionsHRCT-based imaging findings can distinguish between asbestosis and FHP to a certain extent, particularly with regard to subpleural dots and diaphragmatic pleural abnormalities that characterize the former.

This study aimed to explore differences in clinical features and prognosis among patients with varied myeloperoxidase (MPO) antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (MPO-AAV) associated lung diseases. Patients with MPO-AAV-associated lung diseases were enrolled in this retrospective cohort study at a single center. Clinical features and laboratory data at the time of diagnosis were compared among patients with various lung disease patterns. Kaplan–Meier and Cox regression analyses were performed to analyze overall survival. A total of 155 patients were finally included and categorized into five groups, as follows: 72 had a usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) pattern, 40 had non-UIP interstitial pneumonia, 18 had bronchiectasis (BR), 13 had necrotizing granuloma (NG), and 12 had diffuse alveolar hemorrhage (DAH). Among the five groups, patients with DAH had higher dyspnea and hemoptysis frequencies, lower PaO2/FiO2 levels, elevated C-reactive protein levels, and the poorest prognosis. The overall survival (OS) in the DAH group (median OS: 3.2 months) was significantly poorer than that in the NG group (median OS: not reached, log rank P

The purpose of the present work is to fabricate emulsions with excellent stability to deliver β-carotene using a novel biomacromolecule. β-Lactoglobulin-ferulic acid-chitosan ternary conjugate (BFCC), which was synthesized based on the carbodiimide-mediated coupling reaction and laccase induction, was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectra. Also, BFCC was used to stabilize β-carotene emulsions. The results indicated that the concentration of BFCC affected the physical stability of β-carotene emulsions. Compared with the emulsions stabilized by β-lactoglobulin (β-LG), chitosan-ferulic acid conjugate (CFC), and β-LG-CFC mixture (BFCM), the emulsion stabilized by BFCC exhibited better stability under various environmental stresses. Moreover, the emulsion stabilized by BFCC had higher β-carotene retention during storage at 25 and 55 °C or under ultraviolet (UV) light exposure. The knowledge acquired in the current research offered an effective way to develop novel biomacromolecular emulsifiers and could find potential in fabricating delivery systems for bioactive compounds with markedly enhanced physiochemical properties.

The purpose of current research is to design and acquire novel biological macromolecule materials with enhanced functional properties. Chitosan-ferulic acid binary conjugate (CFC) was synthesized based on the carbodiimide-mediated coupling reaction, and then β-lactoglobulin-ferulic acid-chitosan ternary conjugate (BFCC) was fabricated by laccase induction. Furthermore, the impact of laccase concentration on the formation mechanism of BFCC was investigated by the analyses of reaction group content, ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) absorption, circular dichroism (CD), and fluorescence spectroscopy. Results showed that hetero- and homo-conjugates between CFC and β-lactoglobulin (β-LG) were achievable at the low concentration (≤4 U/mL) and high concentration (≥6 U/mL) of laccase, respectively. The CD spectrum indicated that the interaction with CFC made β-LG more disorderly. Functional evaluation results revealed that the antioxidant activity and thermal stability of BFCC were improved compared with β-LG. The knowledge obtained in the present study provided an effective method to acquire innovative biological macromolecule materials with desirable functional characteristics.