Theoretical investigations on the superhydrophobicity of intrinsic hydrophilic surfaces with overhang microstructures

It has been accepted generally that it is necessary to obtain the so-called surface superhydrophobicity on intrinsically hydrophobic materials. However, recent experiments have indicated that it could be possible to prepare superhydrophobic surfaces on intrinsically hydrophilic materials by creating adequate roughness. In this work, such a strategy for surface superhydrophobicity on hydrophilic materials with an intrinsic contact angle less than 90° was demonstrated thermodynamically based on a proposed 2-D analytical model. In particular, different (trapezoidal, vertical and inverse-trapezoidal) microstructures were employed to analyze their wetting states such as composite and noncomposite and superhydrophobic behavior as well as the previous corresponding experimental observations. Based on the thermodynamic calculations, it was demonstrated that for an overhang microstructure, intrinsic contact angle, which was restricted by the sidewall angle of micropillars, was not an independent parameter to affect superhydrophobicity. Furthermore, an overhang microstructure was critical to realize the transition from hydrophilicity to superhydrophobicity, and for such a transition, the sidewall angle should be less than the intrinsic contact angle where a positive free energy barrier could support the liquid/vapor interfaces and separate the Wenzel and Cassie states on such hydrophilic surfaces. Most importantly, it was found that for such hydrophilic surfaces, generally, the free energy of the noncomposite or Wenzel states were lower than that of the composite or Cassie states for those trapezoidal, vertical and inverse-trapezoidal microstructures, implying that once a noncomposite state was formed, it can hardly become a composite state, or in other words, even if superhydrophobic behavior was possible, it could be temporary or unstable.

Free energy variations with contact angle.

Different acupotomy for stenosing tenosynovitis: A protocol for systematic review and network meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Stenosing tenosynovitis (STS) is a chronic aseptic inflammation caused by mechanical friction. The main clinical manifestations are local pain and limited activity of the affected parts, which reduce people's quality of life. The clinical effect of acupotomy in the treatment of STS is significant, and the operation is simple and the side effect is small. But there are many kinds of acupotomology, and there is a lack of comparative study between different Acupotomology. In this study, the effectiveness of 4 commonly used needle knife therapies (v-knife, oblique knife, crochet knife, flat knife) was ranked by the method of network meta.

METHODS

CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, Sinomed, PubMed, and Cochrane Library were searched to collect randomized controlled trials of v-knife, oblique knife, crochet knife, and flat knife in the treatment of STS. The search time limit is from the date of establishment to October 15, 2021. Revman5.3, gemtc 0.14.3, and stata14.2 were used for data analysis, and Cochrane bias risk assessment tool was used to screen and evaluate the quality of included literatures.

CONCLUSION

Objective to provide evidence-based medicine evidence for clinical selection of the best needle knife treatment scheme for STS.

Antigen Presentation and Proteome Study of Exosomes Secreted by Co-Culture of Macrophages and Talaromyces marneffei

It is known that intracellular pathogens interact and react with the cellular immune system through exosomes produced by macrophages. This study aimed to determine whether co-culture of macrophages and Talaromyces marneffei induces exosomes and leads to immune responses. T. marneffei was incubated to collect conidia, co-cultured with human macrophages, which then induced exosomes. In cellular experiments, after extraction and purification, the exosomes were then observed by electron microscopy and detected by flow cytometry and mass spectrometry. In animal experiments, flow cytometry and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were used to examine whether exosomes were antigenpresenting. The results showed that purified exosomes produced a pro-inflammatory response and stimulated production of TNF-α in non-fungal-treated macrophages. Protein mass spectrometry analysis of exosomes also indicated their potential ability to activate the internal immune response system and the pro-inflammatory response. Translation and ribosomes were the most abundant GO terms in proteins, and the most relevant KEGG pathway was the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites. Furthermore, in vivo experiments revealed that exosomes induced activation of lymphocytes and increased expression of TNF-α and IL-12 in the lung, mediastinum, and spleen area. In conclusion, exosomes can be released by co-culture of T. marneffei and macrophages, having antigen-presenting functions, promoting macrophage inflammation, and initiating adaptive immune responses. These processes are inextricably linked to the translation of secondary metabolites, ribosomes and biosynthesis.

Se/N co-doped carbon nanorods for potassium ion storage

Herein, we make use of the large-sized Se atom to regulate the local structure of the graphitic lattice to optimize N-doping species to strengthen the adsorption of K+, which can greatly boost the capacitive capacity for PIBs.

Stabilizing V2O3 in carbon nanofiber flexible films for ultrastable potassium storage

Vanadium oxides, such as V2O3 and VO2, are expected to be potential anode materials for potassium-ion batteries (KIBs) on account of their high theoretical capacity, low price and natural abundance....

Boosting the K+-adsorption capacity in edge-nitrogen doped hierarchically porous carbon spheres for ultrastable potassium ion battery anodes

Although carbon materials have great potential for potassium ion battery (KIB) anodes due to their structural stability and abundant carbon-containing resources, the limited K⁺-intercalated capacity impedes their extensive applications in energy storage devices. Current research studies focus on improving the surface-induced capacitive behavior to boost the potassium storage capacity of carbon materials. Herein, we designed edge-nitrogen (pyridinic-N and pyrrolic-N) doped carbon spheres with a hierarchically porous structure to achieve high potassium storage properties. The electrochemical tests confirmed that the edge-nitrogen induced active sites were conducive for the adsorption of K⁺, and the hierarchical porous structure promoted the generation of stable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) films, both of which endow the resulting materials with a high reversible capacity of 381.7 mA h g^-1 at 0.1 A g^-1 over 200 cycles and an excellent rate capability of 178.2 mA h g^-1 at 5 A g^-1. Even at 5 A g^-1, the long-term cycling stability of 5000 cycles was achieved with a reversible capacity of 190.1 mA h g^-1. This work contributes to deeply understand the role of the synergistic effect of edge-nitrogen induced active sites and the hierarchical porous structure in the potassium storage performances of carbon materials.

Derivation of an electronic frailty index for short-term mortality in heart failure: a machine learning approach

Objective

Frailty may be found in heart failure patients especially in the elderly and is associated with a poor prognosis. However, assessment of frailty status is time-consuming and the electronic frailty indices developed using health records have served as useful surrogates. We hypothesized that an electronic frailty index developed using machine learning can improve short-term mortality prediction in patients with heart failure.

Methods

This was a retrospective observational study included patients admitted to nine public hospitals for heart failure from Hong Kong between 2013 and 2017. Age, sex, variables in the modified frailty index, Deyo's Charlson comorbidity index (≥2), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and prognostic nutritional index (PNI) were analyzed. Gradient boosting, which is a supervised sequential ensemble learning algorithm with weak prediction submodels (typically decision trees), was applied to predict mortality. Variables were ranked in the order of importance with a total score of 100 and used to build the predictive models. Comparisons were made with decision tree and multivariate logistic regression.

Results

A total of 8893 patients (median: age 81, Q1-Q3: 71–87 years old) were included, in whom 9% had 30-day mortality and 17% had 90-day mortality. PNI, age and NLR were the most important variables predicting 30-day mortality (importance score: 37.4, 32.1, 20.5, respectively) and 90-day mortality (importance score: 35.3, 36.3, 14.6, respectively). Gradient boosting significantly outperformed decision tree and multivariate logistic regression (area under the curve: 0.90, 0.86 and 0.86 for 30-day mortality; 0.92, 0.89 and 0.86 for 90-day mortality).

Conclusions

The electronic frailty index based on comorbidities, inflammation and nutrition information can readily predict mortality outcomes. Their predictive performances were significantly improved by gradient boosting techniques.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding sources: None.

Telomerase enhances osteogenic ifferentiation of sheep bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) by up-regulating PI3K/Akt pathway in vitro

Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) vectors were transfected into bone marrow mesen- chymal stem cells (BMSCs) which were then cultured and selected to establish TERT-BMSC cell lines whilst sequencing BMSCs and TERT-BMSCs via transcriptome in this study to explore their regulatory mechanism and effect on osteogenic differentiation after TERT ectopic expres- sion in sheep BMSCs. After sequencing and analysing differential genes, PI3K/Akt signalling pathway related to osteogenic differentiation was investigated. Western blot was used before and after applying the PI3K/Akt signalling pathway inhibitor LY294002 to detect protein expression levels of AKT and p-AKT. On the twenty-first day of osteogenic differentiation, RT-qPCR and Western blot were used to detect mRNA and protein expression levels of RUNX2 and OPN and alizarin red staining was utilised to analyse calcium salt deposition. Results showed that pro- tein expression levels of AKT and p-AKT were significantly up-regulated, mRNA and protein expression levels of RUNX2 and OPN increased and calcium salt deposition increased after ectopic expression of TERT. After applying LY294002, the protein expression of AKT and p-AKT was down-regulated, mRNA and protein expression levels of RUNX2 and OPN were reduced and calcium salt deposition was reduced. These results confirmed the stable integration and expression of the exogenous TERT gene in BMSCs to promote the differentiation of BMSC osteoblasts, which may be mediated by the PI3K/Akt signalling pathway.

Constraints on Cosmic Strings Using Data from the Third Advanced LIGO-Virgo Observing Run

We search for gravitational-wave signals produced by cosmic strings in the Advanced LIGO and Virgo full O3 dataset. Search results are presented for gravitational waves produced by cosmic string loop features such as cusps, kinks, and, for the first time, kink-kink collisions. A template-based search for short-duration transient signals does not yield a detection. We also use the stochastic gravitational-wave background energy density upper limits derived from the O3 data to constrain the cosmic string tension Gμ as a function of the number of kinks, or the number of cusps, for two cosmic string loop distribution models. Additionally, we develop and test a third model that interpolates between these two models. Our results improve upon the previous LIGO-Virgo constraints on Gμ by 1 to 2 orders of magnitude depending on the model that is tested. In particular, for the one-loop distribution model, we set the most competitive constraints to date: Gμ≲4×10^{-15}. In the case of cosmic strings formed at the end of inflation in the context of grand unified theories, these results challenge simple inflationary models.

Constraints on Cosmic Strings Using Data from the Third Advanced LIGO-Virgo Observing Run

We search for gravitational-wave signals produced by cosmic strings in the Advanced LIGO and Virgo full O3 dataset. Search results are presented for gravitational waves produced by cosmic string loop features such as cusps, kinks, and, for the first time, kink-kink collisions. A template-based search for short-duration transient signals does not yield a detection. We also use the stochastic gravitational-wave background energy density upper limits derived from the O3 data to constrain the cosmic string tension Gμ as a function of the number of kinks, or the number of cusps, for two cosmic string loop distribution models. Additionally, we develop and test a third model that interpolates between these two models. Our results improve upon the previous LIGO-Virgo constraints on Gμ by 1 to 2 orders of magnitude depending on the model that is tested. In particular, for the one-loop distribution model, we set the most competitive constraints to date: Gμ≲4×10^{-15}. In the case of cosmic strings formed at the end of inflation in the context of grand unified theories, these results challenge simple inflationary models.

OP0227 EFFICACY OF DEUCRAVACITINIB, AN ORAL, SELECTIVE TYROSINE KINASE 2 INHIBITOR, IN MUSCULOSKELETAL MANIFESTATIONS OF ACTIVE PSORIATIC ARTHRITIS IN A PHASE 2, RANDOMIZED, DOUBLE-BLIND, PLACEBO-CONTROLLED TRIAL

Background:

Tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) is an intracellular kinase that mediates IL-23, IL-12, and IFNα/β signaling. Deucravacitinib is a novel, oral selective inhibitor of TYK2 acting via the TYK2 regulatory domain. Phase 2 results showed deucravacitinib was efficacious and well tolerated versus placebo (PBO) in patients with active psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

Objectives:

This analysis further evaluated improvements in musculoskeletal disease manifestations in patients in the Phase 2 PsA trial.

Methods:

The ongoing Phase 2 trial (NCT03881059) enrolled patients who had a PsA diagnosis for ≥6 months, met CASPAR criteria, had active disease (≥3 tender joints, ≥3 swollen joints, C-reactive protein [CRP] ≥3 mg/L), and had at least 1 active skin lesion. Patients either failed or were intolerant to at least 1 nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, corticosteroid, conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug, and/or 1 TNF inhibitor (TNFi; ≤30%). Patients were randomized 1:1:1 to deucravacitinib 6 mg QD or 12 mg QD or PBO, and stratified by TNFi status (experienced vs naive) and body weight (<90 vs ≥90 kg). The primary endpoint, ACR20 response at Week 16, was met and significant improvements in enthesitis vs PBO were observed. The current prespecified subgroup analysis assessed the likelihood of achieving ACR20 response at Week 16 based on study stratification factors. A post hoc analysis evaluated mean change from baseline to Week 16 in ACR components (tender joint count, swollen joint count, Physician’s Global Assessment of PsA, Patients’ Global Assessment of disease activity, Patients’ Global Assessment of pain, high-sensitivity CRP [hCRP], and HAQ-DI score). Analyses were descriptive using data as observed.

Results:

Patients treated with deucravacitinib were numerically more likely to achieve ACR20 response at Week 16 compared with PBO-treated patients regardless of TNFi experience or body weight, although some of these groups were small (Figure). Improvements for deucravacitinib 6 mg and 12 mg QD versus PBO were observed in all ACR components, with apparent separation occurring as early as Week 4 on, for example, HAQ-DI (mean change from baseline, -0.2 vs -0.2 vs -0.1, respectively) and hCRP (mean change from baseline, -7.4 vs -5.2 vs 0.3, respectively) and maintained through Week 16 (Table).

Table 1.

Mean (SD) change from baseline for ACR components

TJCSJCPtGAPainPGAHAQ-DIhCRPBaselineaPBO16.9 (9.8)10.5 (7.7)66.2 (15.8)64.9 (18.2)63.8 (14.8)1.3 (0.6)20.4 (39.1)DEUC 618.1 (10.3)11.9 (7.0)68.2 (16.8)63.6 (21.7)68.2 (14.7)1.3 (0.6)17.6 (23.6)DEUC1219.4 (11.8)11.3 (9.0)63.6 (15.6)63.8 (15.9)63.3 (16.1)1.3 (0.6)16.5 (21.7)Week 16bPBO-4.6 (9.7)-4.3 (8.0)-13.4 (23.5)-13.8 (21.5)-19.9 (21.8)-0.1 (0.4)-3.3 (22.6)DEUC 6-9.3 (9.7)-7.7 (5.8)-28.7 (23.1)-25.3 (26.1)-33.6 (23.0)-0.4 (0.5)-14.2 (24.5)DEUC 12-12.2 (10.2)-8.5 (9.1)-27.6 (25.8)-27.5 (25.0)-32.2 (25.0)-0.4 (0.6)-10.9 (22.8)

PBO, n/N=58/66; DEUC 6, n/N=63/70; DEUC 12, n/N=59/67; n/N = number of patients who completed treatment/number of patients randomized; the number of patients with data available for individual components at each time point may vary.

aMean (SD). bMean (SD) change from baseline.

ACR, American College of Rheumatology; DEUC 6, deucravacitinib 6 mg QD; DEUC 12, deucravacitinib 12 mg QD; HAQ-DI, Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index total score; hCRP, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein; PBO, placebo; PGA, Physician’s Global Assessment of psoriatic arthritis; PtGA, Patients’ Global Assessment of disease activity; QD, once daily; SJC, swollen joint count; TJC, tender joint count.

Conclusion:

Analyses confirmed the efficacy of deucravacitinib versus PBO across TNFi and body weight subgroups. With deucravacitinib treatment, improvements were displayed in all ACR components.

Acknowledgements:

This study was sponsored by Bristol Myers Squibb. Professional medical writing assistance was provided by Peloton Advantage, LLC, an OPEN Health company, and funded by Bristol Myers Squibb.

Disclosure of Interests:

Philip J Mease Consultant of: AbbVie, Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Galapagos, Gilead, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen, Novartis, Pfizer, SUN Pharma, UCB, Grant/research support from: AbbVie, Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Galapagos, Gilead, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen, Novartis, Pfizer, SUN Pharma, UCB, Atul Deodhar Consultant of: AbbVie, Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Celgene, Eli Lilly, Galapagos, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen, Novartis, Pfizer, UCB, Grant/research support from: AbbVie, Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, Pfizer, UCB, Désirée van der Heijde Consultant of: AbbVie, Amgen, Astellas, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Bristol Myers Squibb, Boehringer Ingelheim, Celgene, Cyxone, Daiichi, Eisai, Eli Lilly, Galapagos, Gilead, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen, Merck, Novartis, Pfizer, Regeneron, Roche, Sanofi, Takeda, UCB Pharma. Director of Imaging Rheumatology BV, Frank Behrens Consultant of: Pfizer, AbbVie, Sanofi, Lilly, Novartis, Genzyme, Boehringer, Janssen, MSD, Celgene, Roche, Chugai, Bristol Myers Squibb, UCB Pharma, Grant/research support from: Pfizer, Janssen, Chugai, Celgene, Roche, Alan Kivitz Shareholder of: Pfizer, Sanofi, GlaxoSmithKline, Gilead Sciences, Inc., Novartis; Paid consultant: AbbVie, Boehringer Ingelheim, Flexion, Janssen, Pfizer, Sanofi, Regeneron, SUN Pharma Advanced Research, Gilead Sciences, Inc, Speakers bureau: Amgen, Horizon, Lilly, Novartis, Pfizer, Sanofi, Genzyme, Flexion, AbbVie, Thomas Lehman Shareholder of: Bristol Myers Squibb, Employee of: Bristol Myers Squibb, Lan Wei Shareholder of: Bristol Myers Squibb, Employee of: Bristol Myers Squibb, Marleen Nys Shareholder of: Bristol Myers Squibb, Employee of: Bristol Myers Squibb, Subhashis Banerjee Shareholder of: Bristol Myers Squibb, Employee of: Bristol Myers Squibb, Miroslawa Nowak Shareholder of: Bristol Myers Squibb, Employee of: Bristol Myers Squibb

AB0560 EFFECT OF DEUCRAVACITINIB ON THE PSORIATIC ARTHRITIS IMPACT OF DISEASE (PsAID) QUESTIONNAIRES 12 AND 9: ANALYSIS OF A PHASE 2 STUDY OF ACTIVE PSORIATIC ARTHRITIS

Background:

Tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) is an intracellular kinase that mediates IL-23, IL-12, and IFNα/β signaling. Deucravacitinib is a novel, oral selective inhibitor of TYK2 via the TYK2 regulatory domain. Phase 2 results showed deucravacitinib was efficacious and well tolerated versus placebo (PBO) in patients (pts) with active psoriatic arthritis (PsA). The Psoriatic Arthritis Impact of Disease (PsAID) questionnaire is a EULAR-developed, validated instrument designed to specifically assess the impact of PsA on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) from the pt’s perspective and is available as separate versions for clinical practice (PsAID-12) and clinical trials (PsAID-9).1

Objectives:

To compare the effect of deucravacitinib vs PBO on PsAID-12 and PsAID-9 responses and to assess relationships between PsAID scores and clinical and pt-reported outcome (PRO) measures.

Methods:

This is an ongoing, 1-year, double-blind, Phase 2 trial (NCT03881059). Pts with active PsA were randomized 1:1:1 to deucravacitinib 6 mg or 12 mg once daily, or PBO for 16 weeks (wk). PsAID-12 and PsAID-9, other PROs, and clinical response outcomes were assessed at baseline (BL) and Wk 16. Mean changes from BL in PsAID-12 and PsAID-9 total scores at Wk 16 were determined for each treatment group as well as by response outcomes (ie, achievement of response at Wk 16 for PROs and select clinical response outcomes; Table 1). Spearman correlations between PsAID-12 and PsAID-9 scores and clinical and PRO measures were also assessed.

Results:

203 pts were randomized and BL characteristics were similar across groups. Adjusted mean changes from BL in PsAID-12 and PsAID-9 scores at Wk 16 were significantly greater in the deucravacitinib groups vs PBO (Figure 1). Adjusted mean changes from BL in PsAID-12 and PsAID-9 scores at Wk 16 were significantly improved with deucravacitinib vs PBO in pts who achieved response for PROs, as well as PASDAS low disease activity and PASI 75 response (Table 1). Adjusted mean changes from BL were generally similar with deucravacitinib vs PBO in nonresponders. Spearman correlation analysis revealed significant correlations at BL and Wk 16 between PsAID-12 and PsAID-9 scores and clinical and PRO measures (P<0.0001).

Conclusion:

With deucravacitinib vs PBO, PsAID-12 and PsAID-9 scores were significantly improved vs BL at Wk 16. PsAID detected additional improvements among pts achieving response for multiple other PROs and select clinical outcome measures.

References:

[1]Gossec L et al. Ann Rheum Dis. 2014;73:1012-9.

Table 1.

Adjusted mean change from BL in PsAID-12 total scores at Wk 16 in patients who achieved PRO or clinical response

Mean change from BL in PsAID-12 total scoreResponse DefinitionPBOn=66Deucravacitinib6 mg QDn=70P valuevs PBODeucravacitinib12 mg QDn=67P valuevs PBOPROsPatient global VAS(≤ -10.0)-1.6 (n=40)-2.8 (n=54)0.0008-2.9 (n=48)0.0003Patient pain VAS(≤ -10.0)-2.3 (n=32)-3.4 (n=44)0.004-3.3 (n=45)0.004HAQ-DI(≤ -0.35)-2.8 (n=10)-3.8 (n=27)0.09-3.8 (n=27)0.11FACIT-Fatigue(≥ 4.0)-2.4 (n=27)-3.3 (n=36)0.02-3.6 (n=41)0.002SF-36 PCS(≥ 2.5)-1.7 (n=35)-2.7 (n=44)0.02-3.1 (n=43)0.001SF-36 MCS(≥ 2.5)-2.1 (n=21)-3.5 (n=33)0.005-3.8 (n=31)0.0009Clinician assessmentsPASDAS(≤ 3.2)-3.1 (n=6)-4.2 (n=14)0.004-4.5 (n=15)0.0006PASI 75(≥75% improvementfrom BL)-2.4 (n=11)-3.7 (n=25)0.05-3.9 (n=31)0.02

PsAID-9 results were generally consistent with PsAID-12 (data not shown).

Response definitions based on published literature.

Higher FACIT-Fatigue scores indicate less fatigue.

Higher SF-36 PCS and SF-36 MCS scores indicate less disability.

BL, baseline: FACIT, Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy; HAQ-DI, Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index; MCS, Mental Component Summary; NA, not applicable; PASDAS, Psoriatic Arthritis Disease Activity Score; PASI, Psoriasis Area and Severity Index; PCS, Physical Component Summary; PRO, patient-reported outcome; QD, once daily; SF-36, 36-item Short Form Health Survey; VAS, visual analog scale.

Acknowledgements:

This study was sponsored by Bristol Myers Squibb. Professional medical writing assistance was provided by Peloton Advantage, LLC, an OPEN Health company, and funded by Bristol Myers Squibb.

Disclosure of Interests:

Laure Gossec Consultant of: AbbVie, Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, Eli Lilly, Gilead, Janssen, Novartis, Pfizer, and UCB, Grant/research support from: Amgen, Galapagos, Janssen, Lilly, Pfizer, Sandoz, Sanofi, Laura C Coates Speakers bureau: AbbVie, Amgen, Biogen, Celgene, Gilead, Eli Lilly, Janssen, Medac, Novartis, Pfizer, and UCB, Consultant of: AbbVie, Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, Eli Lilly, Gilead, Janssen, Novartis, Pfizer, and UCB, Grant/research support from: AbbVie, Amgen, Celgene, Eli Lilly, Pfizer, and Novartis, Alexis Ogdie Consultant of: Abbvie, Amgen, BMS, Celgene, Corrona, Gilead, Janssen, Lilly, Novartis, Pfizer, UCB; Grants: Pfizer to Penn, Novartis to Penn, Amgen to Forward/NDB; Royalties: Novartis to husband, Philip J Mease Consultant of: AbbVie, Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Galapagos, Gilead, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen, Novartis, Pfizer, SUN Pharma, UCB, Grant/research support from: AbbVie, Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Galapagos, Gilead, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen, Novartis, Pfizer, SUN Pharma, UCB, Thomas Lehman Shareholder of: Bristol Myers Squibb, Employee of: Bristol Myers Squibb, Miroslawa Nowak Shareholder of: Bristol Myers Squibb, Employee of: Bristol Myers Squibb, Lan Wei Shareholder of: Bristol Myers Squibb, Employee of: Bristol Myers Squibb, June Ye Shareholder of: Bristol Myers Squibb, Employee of: Bristol Myers Squibb, Jiyoon Choi Shareholder of: Bristol Myers Squibb, Employee of: Bristol Myers Squibb, Joe Zhuo Shareholder of: Bristol Myers Squibb, Employee of: Bristol Myers Squibb, Brandon Becker Shareholder of: Bristol Myers Squibb, Employee of: Bristol Myers Squibb.

STAT1-induced upregulation of lncRNA LINP1 promotes cell proliferation and inhibits apoptosis via AMPK signaling pathway in papillary thyroid cancer

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to detect the relative expression of long non-coding ribonucleic acid (lncRNA) in non-homologous end joining pathway 1 (LINP1) in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) tissues and cells, and to investigate the molecular mechanisms of abnormal expression and biological function of LINP1.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The relative expression of LINP1 in PTC tissues and cells was detected via quantitative Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR), and the impact of small interfering (si)-LINP1 on the proliferative capacity of PTC cells was studied using Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) and colony formation assays. After the expression of LINP1 in PTC cells was interfered, flow cytometry was applied to determine the changes in cell cycle distribution and apoptosis rate. The transcription factors binding to the promoter region of LINP1 were predicted by bioinformatics. Next, qRT-PCR assay was adopted to measure the changes in LINP1 expression after interference in the expression of signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1). Finally, the changes in the expressions of molecular markers of the adenosine 5'-monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling pathway were examined via Western blotting assay after the expressions of STAT1 and LINP1 were interfered.

RESULTS

It was shown in qRT-PCR results that LINP1 expression was upregulated in 42 out of 53 cases of PTC tissues and in all PTC cells. After interference in the expression of LINP1 in PTC cells, the results of CCK-8 and colony formation assays indicated that the proliferative capacity of the cells was repressed. According to the results of flow cytometry, the cell cycle was arrested at the G1/G0 phase, and the apoptosis rate was increased. In addition, the bioinformatics predicted that STAT1 could bind to the promoter region of LINP1, and the results of qRT-PCR indicated that the expression of LINP1 declined after STAT1 expression was interfered. Moreover, it was indicated in the Western blotting assay after interference in the expressions of STAT1 and LINP1 that the expression of molecular marker (Phosphorylation AMPK, p-AMPK) of the AMPK signaling pathway was altered but the expression of total AMPK did not change.

CONCLUSIONS

The transcription factor STAT1 promotes the expression of LINP1 in PTC, and highly expressed LINP1 facilitates the proliferation and inhibits the apoptosis of PTC by suppressing the AMPK signaling pathway.

Photoprotection according to skin phototype and dermatoses: practical recommendations from an expert panel

Increasing evidence on the impact of the different wavelengths of sunlight on the skin demonstrates the need for tailored recommendations of sunscreen according to skin phototype and dermatoses, which is now possible due to advances in the filters and formulations of sunscreens. A selective literature search was performed by an international expert panel, focusing on the type of sunscreen to recommend for photoaging, skin cancers, photodermatoses, pigmentary disorders and skin inflammatory disorders. Protection against ultraviolet (UV)B is especially important for light skin as there is a high risk of sunburn, DNA damage and skin cancers. Darker skin may be naturally better protected against UVB but is more prone to hyperpigmentation induced by visible light (VL) and UVA. Protection against UVA, VL and infrared A can be helpful for all skin phototypes as they penetrate deeply and cause photoaging. Long‐wave UVA1 plays a critical role in pigmentation, photoaging, skin cancer, DNA damage and photodermatoses. Adapting the formulation and texture of the sunscreen to the type of skin and dermatoses is also essential. Practical recommendations on the type of sunscreen to prescribe are provided to support the clinician in daily practice.