Search

Gastric carcinoma (GC) is a malignant tumor that is detrimental to human health. Transfer RNA‐derived small RNAs are a newly identified class of noncoding small RNAs with specific biological functions that are aberrantly expressed in cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of hsa_tsr013526 as a biomarker for GC. Quantitative real‐time fluorescence polymerase chain reaction was used to detect the expression level of hsa_tsr013526. The molecular characteristics of hsa_tsr013526 were verified by agarose gel electrophoresis, Sanger sequencing, and separation of nuclear and cytoplasmic RNA fractions. By testing the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, the diagnostic efficiency of GC using hsa_tsr013526 was determined. Finally, we predicted the downstream of hsa_tsr013526 using functional assays and bioinformatics analysis. Serum expression of hsa_tsr013526 was higher in GC patients than in healthy donors. Serum expression showed differential changes in GC patients, gastritis patients, and healthy donors. Chi‐squared tests showed that high expression of hsa_tsr013526 was significantly correlated with T stage, lymphatic metastasis, and tumor node metastasis stage. ROC curve analysis indicated that GC patients could be discriminated from healthy donors or gastritis patients based on their serum levels of hsa_tsr013526. Furthermore, hsa_tsr013526 expression was significantly reduced in postoperative GC patients (p =.0016). High expression of hsa_tsr013526 promotes gastric cancer cell proliferation, invasion, and migration. Serum hsa_tsr013526 was stable and specific, and could be used for dynamic monitoring of GC patients. Therefore, hsa_tsr013526 may be a new biomarker for the diagnosis and postoperative monitoring of GC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: An increased acetylcholine (ACh) level in the right ventricle tissue of pulmonary hypertension (PH) was revealed, which indicated the important role of ACh in disease pathogenesis. However, the relationship between plasma ACh levels and disease conditions and patients' prognosis has not been investigated. We aimed to explore the association between plasma ACh levels and the prognosis of patients with PH. We also discussed the feasibility of plasma ACh as a biomarker, which may contribute to the management of PH patients in the future. Methods: Patients with confirmed PH in Fuwai Hospital from April 2019 to August 2020 were enrolled. The primary clinical outcome in this study was defined as a composite outcome, including death/lung transplantation, heart failure, and worsening of symptoms. Fasting plasma was collected to detect the ACh levels. The association between ACh levels and patients' prognosis was explored. Results: Finally, four hundred and eight patients with PH were enrolled and followed for a mean period of 2.5 years. Patients in the high ACh group had worse World Health Organization Functional Class (WHO-FC), lower 6-minute walk distance (6 MWD), and higher N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP). Notably, echocardiographic and hemodynamic parameters in the high metabolite group also suggested a worse disease condition compared with the low ACh group. After adjusting for confounders, compared with low ACh patients, those with high metabolite levels still have worse prognoses characterized as elevated risk of mortality, heart failure, and symptoms worsening. Conclusion: High circulating ACh levels were associated with severe PH conditions and poor prognosis, which might serve as a potential biomarker in PH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The treatment of fatty liver disease will become a new clinical indication for Maca. • Maca can intervene fatty liver disease by regulating fatty acids. • The changes of fatty acids can be used as a marker for the early diagnosis of AFLD. Lepidium meyenii (Maca) is a food and traditional herbal medicine derived from the roots of perennial plants cultivated at high altitudes in the Andes Mountains. Although many studies have shown the potential clinical value of maca, its integration into the existing clinical medical system remains a challenge. Therefore, this study used a combination of metabolomics and bioinformatics to accurately explore the characteristic metabolites of maca, which were verified in alcoholic fatty acid disease (AFLD) and nonalcoholic fatty acid disease (NAFLD) rat models, revealing the potential clinical efficacy of maca. Through subsequent quantitative analysis, we identified a new marker that may provide new ideas for subsequent clinical diagnosis of fatty liver. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fatty acids (FAs) play a vital physiological role in lipid metabolism, which is reported as potential diagnostic biomarker for various diseases. Thus, it is urgent to develop a credible method that can profile FA metabolism with a holistic view. Here, a targeted strategy to screen FAs was developed by parallel labeling with d 0 /d 6 -dansylhydrazine (d 0 /d 6 -DnsHz) and using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC–MS/MS) in data-dependent MS/MS (ddMS2) mode. The simple and mild derivatization procedure within 3 h allowed for a significant improvement in sensitivity. Additionally, the characteristic product ions introduced by the derivatization reagent assist to identify the unknown FA species. A quantitation method was established by multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) and the d 6 -DnsHz tagged standards for each analyte were used as internal standards to overcome the matrix effects. By applying the method to determine FA levels in plasma collected from the esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients and healthy controls, 65 FA metabolites were characterized and six FAs were found to be altered by the invasion of tumors. The parallel derivatization strategy provides insights into the identification of unknown FAs and paves a new way for targeted metabolomics. Also, this novel method is a powerful tool for characterization and quantification of FAs in biological samples, which shows a great potential application in clinical diagnosis and investigation of disease mechanisms. [Display omitted] • A novel parallel derivatization strategy was developed to identify FAs in biosample. • Dansylhydrazine-based derivatization enhanced ionization efficiency of FAs. • The isotope-labeled standard provides one-to-one internal standard for FA analysis. • Six FAs were screened out as potential diagnostic biomarkers of ESCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]