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Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) was a protective factor in the cardiovascular system. Previous studies showed that hypoxia led to decreased COMP in rat models of pulmonary hypertension. However, the expression pattern of COMP in the pulmonary hypertension population was unclear. A total of 35 patients newly diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension and 70 controls were enrolled in the study. Circulating COMP concentrations of serum samples were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and were analyzed the association with multiple clinical variables. Serum COMP concentrations in the pulmonary hypertension group were significantly declined in comparison with age- and sex-matched normal controls, especially in the female subgroup. No significant difference of COMP concentrations was observed in the etiological classification, heart function classification, and risk stratification. Major hemodynamic parameters, six-minute walk distance, N-terminal pro brain natriuretic peptide, and short-term prognosis were not statistically associated with COMP. However, some echocardiography parameters, like tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion and mean right atrial pressure, were found the negative relation to COMP concentrations. In conclusion, serum COMP levels were decreased in the patients with pulmonary hypertension, which was in accordance with its known biological effects. Its association with long-term prognosis was worth further exploring.

Regulator of G protein signaling 3 (RGS3) is a negative regulator of G protein-mediated signaling. RGS3 has previously been shown to be expressed among various cell types within the mature heart. Basic and clinical studies have reported abnormal expressions of RGS3 in hypertrophic hearts and in the failing myocardium. However, the role of RGS3 in cardiac remodeling remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the effect of cardiac overexpression of human RGS3 on cardiac hypertrophy induced by aortic banding (AB) in RGS3 transgenic mice and wild-type littermates. The extent of cardiac hypertrophy was evaluated by echocardiography as well as pathological and molecular analyses of heart samples. RGS3 overexpression in the heart markedly reduced the extent of cardiac hypertrophy, fibrosis, and left ventricular dysfunction in response to AB. These beneficial effects were associated with the inhibition of MEK-ERK1/2 signaling. In vitro studies performed in cultured neonatal rat cardiomyocytes confirmed that RGS3 overexpression inhibits hypertrophic growth induced by angiotensin II, which was associated with the attenuation of MEK-ERK1/2 signaling. Therefore, cardiac overexpression of RGS3 inhibits maladaptive hypertrophy and fibrosis and improves cardiac function by blocking MEK-ERK1/2 signaling.

CD95 is the first death receptor identified and characterized in recent years, and it plays important roles in the molecular network regulating cell death and survival. CD95 rs1800682 polymorphism is a common genetic polymorphism identified in the CD95 gene. Many publications evaluated the association between CD95 rs1800682 polymorphism and cervical cancer risk, but the association remained inconclusive. To provide a more precise estimate on the association, a meta-analysis was carried out. The association between CD95 rs1800682 polymorphism and cervical cancer risk was assessed by calculating the pooled odds ratio (OR) with its 95 % confidence intervals (95 % CI). On the basis of our inclusion criteria, ten studies with a total of 5,481 individuals were included into the meta-analysis. There was obvious heterogeneity among the included studies. Meta-analysis of the ten studies suggested that there was no association between CD95 rs1800682 polymorphism and cervical cancer risk under all four genetic models (allele model: OR = 1.05, 95 % CI 0.92–1.18, P = 0.478; homozygous model: OR = 1.08, 95 % CI 0.83–1.41, P = 0.550; dominant model: OR = 1.12, 95 % CI 0.88–1.42, P = 0.347; recessive model: OR = 1.00, 95 % CI 0.76–1.31, P = 0.978). Subgroup analysis by ethnicity suggested that there was no association between CD95 rs1800682 polymorphism and cervical cancer risk in Asians, Caucasians, and Africans. Thus, the meta-analysis suggests that CD95 rs1800682 polymorphism is not associated with cervical cancer risk.

Background Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) frequently arises in patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) and can lead to pulmonary vascular disease (PVD). The present study was initiated to distinguish the predisposing effect of bone morphogenetic protein receptor 2 ( BMPR2 ) in CHD by comparing the different mutation features of BMPR2 between CHD patients with or without PVD. Methods and results 294 CHD–PVD and 161 CHD without PVD patients were enrolled. PAH was diagnosed by heart catheterization at rest after CHD was first recognized by echocardiography. PVD was defined as a pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) more than 3Wood units. BMPR2 gene was screened by direct sequencing. A total of 24 mutations were identified, accounting for 22 of the 294 patients with CHD–PVD (7.5%) and 2 of the 161 CHD patients without PVD (1.2%, P =0.004). Female/male CHD–PVD patient ratio was 1.6:1, while in the BMPR2 mutation carriers female patients were more dominant (4.5:1, P =0.042). A significant higher BMPR2 mutation rate (12.6%) was found in repaired CHD–PVD ( P =0.010). BMPR2 mutations in CHD–PVD patients were identified in different clinical phenotypes. Missense mutation of BMPR2 is the dominant mutation type. Conclusion Genetic predisposing factor may be an important component in the process of development of PVD in CHD patients. Female, repaired patients are more likely to be detected with genetic mutations.

The role of vitamin D receptor (VDR) BsmI polymorphism in ovarian cancer development has been studied in various populations, but those results are discordant controversial and ambiguous. Thus, we performed a meta-analysis to assess the association between VDR BsmI polymorphism and susceptibility to ovarian cancer more precisely. Odds ratio (OR) and its 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were used for statistical analysis. Nine individual studies with a total 2,331 cases and 3,301 controls were included into this meta-analysis. There was no heterogeneity among those nine studies. Meta-analysis of total nine studies suggested that there was no association between VDR BsmI polymorphism and susceptibility to ovarian cancer (B vs. b, OR = 1.02, 95% CI = 0.94-1.10, P = 0.616, I(2) = 0%; BB vs. bb, OR = 1.02, 95 % CI = 0.87-1.20, P = 0.810, I(2) = 0 %; BB/Bb vs. bb, OR = 1.05, 95% CI = 0.94-1.18, P = 0.391, I(2) = 0 %; BB vs. bb/Bb, OR = 0.99, 95% CI = 0.85-1.14, P = 0.853, I(2) = 0 %). Meta-analysis of seven studies from Caucasians also showed that there was no association between VDR BsmI polymorphism and susceptibility to ovarian cancer. This meta-analysis suggests that there is no association between VDR BsmI polymorphism and susceptibility to ovarian cancer in Caucasians. Future studies from Asians or Africans are needed to further assess the above association.