[Mesenchymal chondrosarcoma in central nervous system: a clinicopathological analysis]

Objective: To investigate the clinicopathological features of central nervous system (CNS) mesenchymal chondrosarcoma (MCS). Methods: Nine cases of CNS MCS were collected at the First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University from September 2010 to September 2020. The clinical,imaging,histopathological and immunohistochemical features were reviewed. NCOA2 gene rearrangement was evaluated by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Results: There were three male and six female patients, with age range of 1 to 59 years (median 31 years). Six cases were intracranial and three cases were intraspinal, and the tumors showed dural attachment. They were often diagnosed as meningioma basing on preoperative imaging. Microscopically, the tumors showed a characteristic biphasic histologic pattern composed of undifferentiated mesenchymal small cells and well-differentiated hyaline cartilage islands. The small cells area were positive for SOX9 (9/9), CD99 (8/9), and without BRG1 and INI1 deletion. The cartilaginous component expressed SOX9 (9/9) and S-100 protein (8/9). NCOA2 gene break apart signal was identified in five cases (5/5). Eight patients were followed up for 4-124 months. Three patients (3/8) had recurrences within one year and two patients died of the tumor. Conclusions: CNS MCS is an extremely rare malignant neoplasm with a propensity to dural involvement. Preoperative imaging has low diagnostic accuracy. CNS MCS should be differentiated from other CNS small round cell tumors and chondrosarcoma. FISH detection of NCOA2 gene rearrangement will assist the diagnosis of MCS.

Search for a heavy vector resonance decaying to a Z boson and a Higgs boson in proton-proton collisions at s = 13 Te

A search is presented for a heavy vector resonance decaying into a Z boson and the standard model Higgs boson, where the Z boson is identified through its leptonic decays to electrons, muons, or neutrinos, and the Higgs boson is identified through its hadronic decays. The search is performed in a Lorentz-boosted regime and is based on data collected from 2016 to 2018 at the CERN LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 137fb - 1 . Upper limits are derived on the production of a narrow heavy resonanceZ ' , and a mass below 3.5 and 3.7Te is excluded at 95% confidence level in models where the heavy vector boson couples predominantly to fermions and to bosons, respectively. These are the most stringent limits placed on the Heavy Vector TripletZ ' model to date. If the heavy vector boson couples exclusively to standard model bosons, upper limits on the product of the cross section and branching fraction are set between 23 and 0.3fb for aZ ' mass between 0.8 and 4.6Te , respectively. This is the first limit set on a heavy vector boson coupling exclusively to standard model bosons in its production and decay.

Quantitative analysis of flow vortices: differentiation of unruptured and ruptured medium-sized middle cerebral artery aneurysms

BACKGROUND

Surgical intervention for unruptured intracranial aneurysms (IAs) carries inherent health risks. The analysis of "patient-specific" IA geometric and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulated wall shear stress (WSS) data has been investigated to differentiate IAs at high and low risk of rupture to help clinical decision making. Yet, outcomes vary among studies, suggesting that novel analysis could improve rupture characterization. The authors describe a CFD analytic method to assess spatiotemporal characteristics of swirling flow vortices within IAs to improve characterization.

METHODS

CFD simulations were performed for 47 subjects harboring one medium-sized (4-10 mm) middle cerebral artery (MCA) aneurysm with available 3D digital subtraction angiography data. Alongside conventional indices, quantified IA flow vortex spatiotemporal characteristics were applied during statistical characterization. Statistical supervised machine learning using a support vector machine (SVM) method was run with cross-validation (100 iterations) to assess flow vortex-based metrics' strength toward rupture characterization.

RESULTS

Relying solely on vortex indices for statistical characterization underperformed compared with established geometric characteristics (total accuracy of 0.77 vs 0.80) yet showed improvements over wall shear stress models (0.74). However, the application of vortex spatiotemporal characteristics into the combined geometric and wall shear stress parameters augmented model strength for assessing the rupture status of middle cerebral artery aneurysms (0.85).

CONCLUSIONS

This preliminary study suggests that the spatiotemporal characteristics of flow vortices within MCA aneurysms are of value to improve the differentiation of ruptured aneurysms from unruptured ones.

Virulent infection of outbred Hartley guinea pigs with recombinant Pichinde virus as a surrogate small animal model for human Lassa fever

Arenaviruses, such as Lassa virus (LASV), can cause severe and fatal hemorrhagic fevers (e.g., Lassa fever, LF) in humans with no vaccines or therapeutics. Research on arenavirus-induced hemorrhagic fevers (AHFs) has been hampered by the highly virulent nature of these viral pathogens, which require high biocontainment laboratory, and the lack of an immune-competent small animal model that can recapitulate AHF disease and pathological features. Guinea pig infected with Pichinde virus (PICV), an arenavirus that does not cause disease in humans, has been established as a convenient surrogate animal model for AHFs as it can be handled in a conventional laboratory. The PICV strain P18, derived from sequential passaging of the virus 18 times in strain 13 inbred guinea pigs, causes severe febrile illness in guinea pigs that is reminiscent of lethal LF in humans. As inbred guinea pigs are not readily available and are difficult to maintain, outbred Hartley guinea pigs have been used but they show a high degree of disease heterogeneity upon virulent P18 PICV infection. Here, we describe an improved outbred guinea-pig infection model using recombinant rP18 PICV generated by reverse genetics technique followed by plaque purification, which consistently shows >90% mortality and virulent infection. Comprehensive virological, histopathological, and immunohistochemical analyses of the rP18-virus infected animals show similar features of human LASV infection. Our data demonstrate that this improved animal model can serve as a safe, affordable, and convenient surrogate small animal model for studying human LF pathogenesis and for evaluating efficacy of preventative or therapeutic approaches.

PRKD3 promotes malignant progression of OSCC by downregulating KLF16 expression

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to clarify the molecular mechanism of how PRKD3 promotes the malignant progression of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

62 cases of OSCC tissues and normal adjacent ones which were further confirmed by a qualified pathologist were collected from patients in the Department of Pathology and Stomatology of our hospital. PRKD3 expression in the above tissue samples was studied by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis, and its relationship with clinicopathological characteristics of these OSCC patients was analyzed. Meanwhile, a PRKD3 knockdown expression model was constructed in OSCC cell lines for cell functional experiments. The relationship between PRKD3 and KLF16 was elucidated through bioinformatics and Luciferase reporter gene experiments.

RESULTS

Our data showed that PRKD3 expression in OSCC specimens was remarkably higher than that in adjacent ones. PRKD3 expression showed positive association with the incidence of distant metastasis, but not with other clinical indicators such as gender, age, tumor stage or lymph node metastasis incidence. Patients with high PRKD3 expression had lower overall survival compared to those with low expression. In addition, OSCC cells migration ability and invasiveness were remarkably attenuated after PRKD3 was knocked down. Bioinformatics and Luciferase assay revealed that PRKD3 could directly bind to KLF16 and Western blot suggested that KLF16 was upregulated after PRKD3 was knocked down. In addition, knocking down KLF16 reversed the inhibitory effect of PRKD3 knockdown on invasiveness and metastasis of OSCC cells.

CONCLUSIONS

The highly-expressed PRKD3, remarkably associated with metastasis incidence and poor prognosis of OSCC patients, may accelerate the malignant progression of OSCC through modulating KLF16 expression.

Measurement of the Wγ Production Cross Section in Proton-Proton Collisions at sqrt[s]=13 TeV and Constraints on Effective Field Theory Coefficients

A fiducial cross section for Wγ production in proton-proton collisions is measured at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV in 137  fb^{-1} of data collected using the CMS detector at the LHC. The W→eν and μν decay modes are used in a maximum-likelihood fit to the lepton-photon invariant mass distribution to extract the combined cross section. The measured cross section is compared with theoretical expectations at next-to-leading order in quantum chromodynamics. In addition, 95% confidence level intervals are reported for anomalous triple-gauge couplings within the framework of effective field theory.

Observation of a New Excited Beauty Strange Baryon Decaying to Ξ_{b}^{-}π^{+}π^{-}

The Ξ_{b}^{-}π^{+}π^{-} invariant mass spectrum is investigated with an event sample of proton-proton collisions at sqrt[s]=13  TeV, collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC in 2016-2018 and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 140  fb^{-1}. The ground state Ξ_{b}^{-} is reconstructed via its decays to J/ψΞ^{-} and J/ψΛK^{-}. A narrow resonance, labeled Ξ_{b}(6100)^{-}, is observed at a Ξ_{b}^{-}π^{+}π^{-} invariant mass of 6100.3±0.2(stat)±0.1(syst)±0.6(Ξ_{b}^{-})  MeV, where the last uncertainty reflects the precision of the Ξ_{b}^{-} baryon mass. The upper limit on the Ξ_{b}(6100)^{-} natural width is determined to be 1.9  MeV at 95% confidence level. The low Ξ_{b}(6100)^{-} signal yield observed in data does not allow a measurement of the quantum numbers of the new state. However, following analogies with the established excited Ξ_{c} baryon states, the new Ξ_{b}(6100)^{-} resonance and its decay sequence are consistent with the orbitally excited Ξ_{b}^{-} baryon, with spin and parity quantum numbers J^{P}=3/2^{-}.

[Establishment of a 3D ultrasound imaging system based on pulse-triggered image acquisition]

OBJECTIVE

To establish a 3D ultrasound imaging system based on pulse-triggered image acquisition using the linear probe on the Verasonics^TM vantage 128 platform and evaluate its performance in scanning standard phantom and human carotid artery.

OBJECTIVE

The 3D ultrasound imaging system included 3 modules for probe motion control, image acquisition and storage, and 3D image reconstruction and display. To improve the precision of image acquisition, we used fixed frequency pulses to control the external trigger function combined with mechanical scanning. Voxel-based 3D reconstruction was used for image reconstruction and display. The user interface was designed to allow direct operations of the platform. We carried out scanning tests of standard ultrasound phantom and human carotid artery to evaluate the performance of this imaging system.

OBJECTIVE

We successfully constructed a 3D ultrasound imaging system based on pulse-triggered image acquisition. The results of standard phantom and human carotid scanning tests showed that each module of the system was fully functional. The self-designed user interface of this ultrasound imaging system allowed full control of the system functions for original image acquisition, 3D image reconstruction, and display of cross-sections in 3 different views.

OBJECTIVE

This 3D ultrasound imaging system achieves high-quality 3D ultrasound imaging and provides the basis for further study and clinical application of 3D ultrasound imaging.

[Effectiveness of TRB3 on human hepatocellular carcinoma cells proliferation, apoptosis and migration]

Objective: To explore the regulatory role and mechanism of tribbles pseudokinase 3 (TRB3) on hepatocarcinoma (HCC) cells proliferation, apoptosis and migration. Methods: Immunohistochemistry and Western blot were used to detect TRB3 expression in cancerous and adjacent cancerous liver tissues of HCC patients. TRB3 expression was detected in vitro in HepG2 and Huh7 hepatocarcinoma cell lines. Simultaneously, CCK8 and EdU were used to detect cell proliferation after TRB3 targeted inhibition with small interfering RNA. CCK8 and EdU were used to detect cell proliferation. Flow cytometry assay was used to detect apoptosis. Transwell assay was used to evaluate migration ability. Simultaneously, Western blot was used to detect changes in apoptosis, migration-related proteins and AKT phosphorylation activity. The mean comparison between the two groups was performed by t-test, and the comparison between multiple groups was performed by one-way analysis of variance. Results: Western blot showed that the expression of TRB3 was significantly up-regulated in HCC tissues. Compared with normal liver tissues adjacent to cancer, the relative expression levels were 0.78 ± 0.12 and 0.29 ± 0.09, respectively, P < 0.01, and the difference was statistically significant. After interfering siRNA inhibited TRB3, CCK8 and EdU tests showed that the proliferation activity of HepG2 and Huh7 cells were significantly weakened (P < 0.05). Flow cytometry results showed that the apoptotic proportions of HepG2 and Huh7 cells was significantly increased (P < 0.01). Western blot also showed that the expression of apoptosis regulatory proteins BAX and BIM were significantly increased (P < 0.01). Transwell assay results showed that the migration ability of HepG2 and Huh7 cells was decreased (P < 0.05), and the expression of migration regulatory proteins MMP4 and MMP9 was also significantly down-regulated. Western blot results showed that the AKT phosphorylation level was significantly increased. Conclusion: TRB3 regulates hepatocarcinoma cells proliferation, apoptosis and migration by inhibiting the AKT phosphorylation activity. Therefore, TRB3 may be a potential target site for the liver cancer treatment.

Measurements of production cross sections of the Higgs boson in the four-lepton final state in proton-proton collisions at s = 13 TeV

Production cross sections of the Higgs boson are measured in the H → Z Z → 4 ℓ ( ℓ = e , μ ) decay channel. A data sample of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV , collected by the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 137 fb - 1 is used. The signal strength modifier μ , defined as the ratio of the Higgs boson production rate in the 4 ℓ channel to the standard model (SM) expectation, is measured to be μ = 0.94 ± 0.07 (stat) - 0.08 + 0.09 (syst) at a fixed value of m H = 125.38 GeV . The signal strength modifiers for the individual Higgs boson production modes are also reported. The inclusive fiducial cross section for the H → 4 ℓ process is measured to be 2 . 84 - 0.22 + 0.23 (stat) - 0.21 + 0.26 (syst) fb , which is compatible with the SM prediction of 2.84 ± 0.15 fb for the same fiducial region. Differential cross sections as a function of the transverse momentum and rapidity of the Higgs boson, the number of associated jets, and the transverse momentum of the leading associated jet are measured. A new set of cross section measurements in mutually exclusive categories targeted to identify production mechanisms and kinematical features of the events is presented. The results are in agreement with the SM predictions.

AB0050 A NOVEL METHOD FOR ISOLATION OF EXOSOMES FROM SYNOVIAL FLUID

Background:

Exosomes in synovial fluid (SF) has a close relationship with the pathogenesis of rheumatiod arthritis. As a complex biological fluid, SF presents challenges for exosomes isolation using standard methods, such as ExoquickTM kit and ultracentrifugation.

Objectives:

The study aims to compared the quality of exosomes separated by ExoquickTM kit (TM), ExoquickTM kit+ExoquickTC kit (TM-TC), ultracentrifugation (UC) and TM-TC+UC(TM-TC-UC) from SF.

Methods:

Exosomes was separated by TM, TM-TC, UC and TM-TC-UC respectively. The size and concentrations of exosomes were detected by high sensitivity flow cytometry for nanoparticle analysis. Total protein and RNA were extracted from exosomes. SDS-PAGE was used to detect the protein distribution of exosomes. Western blot was used to examine the level of albumin and exosomes marker (TSG101 and CD81).

Results:

There was no statistic difference in the diameters of exosomes separated by the four methods. The concentrations of exosomes in TM, TM-TC, TM-TC-UC and UC were (5.65±0.93), (3.02±1.19), (1.67±0.25) and (4.61±0.73) *109Particles/mL. The protein concentrations of exosomes separated by the four methods were consistent with the concentrations of exosomes. SDS-PAGE showed that the protein distribution of exosomes separated by the four methods were different. Low levels of albumin were detected in TM-TC and TM-TC-UC, while high levels of albumin in TM and UC. Total RNA concentrations from exosomes in TM-TC was higher than other groups.

Conclusion:

TM-TC can be used to obtain higher quality exosomes from SF for the study of exosome-enriched components.

References:

[1]Helwa I, et al, A Comparative Study of Serum Exosome Isolation Using Differential Ultracentrifugation and Three Commercial Reagents. PloS one, 2017. 12(1): p. e0170628-e0170628.

Figure 1.

A: SDS-PAGE showed the protein distribution of exosomes; B: the detection of albumin, TSG101 and CD81 by western blot.

Disclosure of Interests:

None declared

AB0791 THE DIAGNOSIS VALUE OF SYNOVIAL FLUID LYMPHOCYTE IN GOUT PATIENTS

Background:

Synovial fluid cell counts have long been recognised to have utility in the diagnosis and management of arthritis. Few studies have explained the diagnosis value of synovial fluid cell counts in gout patients.

Objectives:

The study aims to investigate the diagnosis value of synovial fluid cell counts in gout patients.

Methods:

A total of 185 gout, 64 rheumatoid arthritis(RA), 26 axial spondyloarthritis(axSpA) and 24 osteoarthritis(OA) patients were included into the study. According to serum uric acid(sUA) level on attack, gout patients were divided into normal sUA gout patients and high sUA gout patients. The laboratory data was recorded and ROC curve was performed.

Results:

The synovial fluid WBC, PBMC, monocyte, PMN and neutrophil in gout patients were higher than OA patients (P<0.05). The synovial fluid PBMC and lymphocyte in gout patients were lower than RA and axSpA patients (P<0.05). Compared with RA, axSpA and OA patients, ROC curve showed that the AUC value of lymphocyte and sUA for gout were 0.728 and 0.881, which were higher than other variables. The optimal cut off value of lymphocyte for gout was 1.362, with sensitivity of 83.3% and specificity of 60.6%. The AUC value of lymphocyte and sUA for normal sUA gout patients were 0.694 and 0.643, which were higher than other variables. The optimal cut off value of lymphocyte for normal sUA gout patients was 1.362, with sensitivity of 81.6% and specificity of 60.6%.

Conclusion:

Synovial fluid cell counts of gout patients were different from RA, axSpA, and OA patients. Synovial fluid lymphocyte had a higher diagnosis value for gout.

References:

[1]Scanu A, Oliviero F, Ramonda R, et al. Cytokine levels in human synovial fluid during the different stages of acute gout: role of transforming growth factor β1 in the resolution phase. Ann Rheum Dis. 2012, 71(4): 621-4.

Table 1.

Basic characteristics of the participants

Gout(n=185)RA(n=64)axSpA (n=26)OA(n=24)P valueAge (years)48.58±15.5856.19±12.39*32.96±15.19*#69.63±12.43*#&<0.001Gender (male/female)176/911/5321/58/16<0.001WBC(×109/L)18.58±22.9422.24±20.8715.52±15.033.03±5.59*#&0.002PBMC(×109/L)1.85±1.993.68±2.43*3.85±3.34*0.74±1.01*#&<0.001Monocyte(×109/L)1.02±1.591.24±1.111.34±1.520.29±0.37*#&0.030PMN(×109/L)16.77±21.5118.57±19.3215.75±24.172.30±5.00*#&0.008Lymphocyte (×109/L)0.80±0.832.43±1.76*2.50±2.04*0.45±0.80#&<0.001Eosinophil (×109/L)1.32±3.750.56±0.930.11±0.170.49±1.850.098Neutrophil (×109/L)16.42±21.1618.82±20.8911.13±14.232.23±4.87*#0.003UA(μM)497.92±132.24299.31±97.91*351.81±118.93*333.38±75.19*<0.001ESR(mm/h)61.02±37.6882.42±32.87*68.12±36.2542.34±35.91*#&<0.001CRP(mg/L)56.52±45.6444.01±35.27*65.49±39.85#22.11±40.65*#&<0.001

*P<0.05 vs gout group, #P<0.05 vs RA group, &P<0.05 vs axSpA group

Disclosure of Interests:

None declared

AB0845 THE COMBINATION OF PLASMA FIBRINOGEN CONCENTRATION AND NEUTROPHIL-LYMPHOCYTE RATIO (F-NLR) AS A NOVEL INFLAMMATORY MARKER OF RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

Background:

The combined index of fibrinogen and neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (F-NLR) has recently been reported as a new predictive factor in patients with cancer. However, the fibrinogen and NLR have not been simultaneously evaluated in rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Objectives:

This study aimed to explore the clinical value of F-NLR in RA and its relationship with disease activity.

Methods:

This retrospective study collected 143 RA patients and 82 age- and gender-matched healthy controls. Neutrophil, lymphocyte, monocyte, platelet, fibrinogen, NLR, monocyte to lymphocyte ratio (MLR), platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR), C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), Disease Activity Score of 28 joints-ESR (DAS28-ESR) and other laboratory parameters were recorded. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to defined the optimization cut-off values of fibrinogen and NLR, which were 3.9g/L and 2.42. The F-NLR score was 2 for patients with high fibrinogen (> 3.9g/L) and elevated NLR (> 2.42), while those with one or neither were indexed as 1 or 0. The correlations between F-NLR as well as other inflammatory indexes and DAS28-ESR were measured.

Results:

The F-NLR score was higher in RA patients than that in healthy individuals (P < 0.05). The proportion of higher F-NLR score increased significantly along with the disease activity (P < 0.05). According to the ROC curve which was conducted to discriminate RA patients from healthy subjects, the area under curve (AUC) of F-NLR (0.803, 95% CI: 0.744 - 0.861) was higher than that of fibrinogen (0.735, 95% CI: 0.670 - 0.801), NLR (0.724, 95% CI: 0.655 - 0.794), MLR (0.687, 95% CI: 0.615 - 0.759) and PLR (0.732, 95% CI: 0.664 - 0.800). Furthermore, F-NLR was more strongly associated with DAS28-ESR (r = 0.572, P < 0.001) when compared with fibrinogen (r = 0.518, P < 0.001), NLR (r = 0.365, P < 0.001), MLR (r = 0.140, P = 0.096), PLR (r = 0.239, P = 0.004), CRP (r = 0.539, P < 0.001) and ESR (r = 0.487, P < 0.001).

Conclusion:

The results demonstrated that the F-NLR score was elevated in RA patients. The F-NLR score may be a potential marker to monitor the disease activity of RA patients.

References:

[1]Wang H, Zhao J, Zhang M, Han L, Wang M, Xingde L. The combination of plasma fibrinogen and neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (F-NLR) is a predictive factor in patients with resectable non small cell lung cancer. J Cell Physiol. 2018 May; 233(5):4216-4224.

Disclosure of Interests:

None declared

Increasing fasting glucose and fasting insulin associated with elevated bone mineral density-evidence from cross-sectional and MR studies

We performed a cross-sectional study using the National Health Examination and Nutrition Survey (NHANES) data and a Mendelian randomisation (MR) study using the GWAS summary statistics from European populations. The T2D-related indices (fasting plasma glucose (FPG), fasting insulin (FI), and insulin resistance (IR)) were found to associate with elevated bone mineral density (BMD).

INTRODUCTION

The known associations amongst FPG, FI, IR, and BMD remain inconsistent. This study aims to explore the abovementioned associations by using cross-sectional and MR designs.

METHODS

Data from adults aged ≥ 20 years (n = 7170) in four rounds of the U.S. NHANES (2005-2010 and 2013-2014) were analysed in this cross-sectional study. Multiple linear and logistic regression models were used for statistical analyses. A two-sample MR study was performed using the genome-wide association study summary statistics obtained from the Meta-analyses of Glucose and Insulin-related traits Consortium (n = 108,557) and Genetic Factors for Osteoporosis Consortium (n = 32,735) to examine the causality of the FI-BMD association.

RESULTS

Multiple linear regression revealed that FPG was positively associated with the BMDs at the hip, femur neck, and 1st lumbar spine (L1). Multiple logistic regressions revealed that FPG levels were associated with elevated BMDs at the hip and L1, and FI and IR levels were associated with elevated BMD at the hip. Patients with type 2 diabetes had higher hip BMD than those without diabetes. In the MR study, the lumbar spine BMD increased by 0.49 g/cm² (95% confidence interval: 0.01, 0.97) in response to per unit increase in log-transformed FI.

CONCLUSION

Findings from our cross-sectional and MR studies revealed the associations between the studied diabetic indices and BMD measurements in the US and European adults.

POS1443 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FIBRINOGEN TO ALBUMIN RATIO AND DISEASE ACTIVITY IN PATIENTS WITH SYSTEMIC LUPUS ERYTHEMATOSUS

Background:

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a systemic inflammatory autoimmune disease characterized by excessive production of immune complexes and proinflammatory cytokine. Low complement, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) have been used as inflammatory biomarkers to assess the disease activity of SLE. Recently, the fibrinogen to albumin ratio (FAR) has emerged as an effective indicator to reflect the systemic inflammation in many diseases. However, the role of FAR in SLE has been scarcely studied.

Objectives:

This study was to investigate the association between FAR and SLE Disease Activity Index 2000 (SLEDAI-2K) in SLE.

Methods:

This retrospective study included 74 SLE patients and 79 age- and sex-matched healthy subjects. According to the SLEDAI-2K score, SLE patients were divided into Group 1 with a score ≤ 9 (patients with mild disease activity, N = 41) and Group 2 with a score > 9 (patients with moderate to severe disease activity, N = 33). Neutrophil, lymphocyte, monocyte, platelet, albumin, fibrinogen, NLR, PLR, monocyte to lymphocyte ratio (MLR), FAR, C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), complement 3 (C3), complement 4 (C4) and SLEDAI-2K were collected. Receiver operation characteristic (ROC) curves were conducted to discriminate SLE patients from healthy controls and SLE patients with different disease activity. Correlations between the inflammatory markers and SLEDAI-2K were analyzed.

Results:

FAR, NLR, PLR, MLR and fibrinogen in SLE patients were higher compared to those of the healthy controls (P < 0.05), while albumin was lower (P < 0.05). Patients in Group 2 had higher levels of FAR, NLR, PLR, fibrinogen and CRP than those in Group 1 (P < 0.05) except MLR (P = 0.579) and ESR (P = 0.130), albumin and C3 were lower (P < 0.05). Furthermore, FAR were higher in SLE patients with nephritis than those without nephritis (P = 0.009). The ROC curve for differentiating SLE patients from healthy individuals showed that the area under curve (AUC) of FAR (0.801, 95%CI: 0.728 - 0.874) and albumin (0.833, 95%CI: 0.764-0.903) were higher than NLR (0.798, 95%CI: 0.725 - 0.871), PLR (0.680, 95%CI: 0.588 - 0.771), MLR (0.785, 95%CI: 0.712 - 0.859) and fibrinogen (0.645, 95%CI: 0.556 - 0.733). Besides, the ROC curve for predicting the disease activity of SLE patients indicated that the AUC of FAR (0.911, 95%CI: 0. 842 - 0.980) was higher than NLR (0.697, 95%CI: 0.574 - 0.821), PLR (0.695, 95%CI: 0.571 - 0.820), MLR (0.553, 95%CI: 0.415 - 0.691), fibrinogen (0.718, 95%CI: 0.590 - 0.847), CRP (0.672, 95%CI: 0.540 - 0.803), ESR (0.640, 95%CI: 0.510 - 0.770), C3 (0.644, 95%CI: 0.515 - 0.773), C4 (0.544, 95%CI: 0.407 - 0.681) and albumin (0.894, 95%CI: 0.819 - 0.969). FAR was positively correlated with SLEDAI-2K (r = 0.682, P < 0.001), yielding a highest relevance than other inflammatory parameters.

Conclusion:

FAR was significantly elevated in SLE patients compared with healthy subjects and related with the disease activity of SLE. FAR might be a useful inflammatory index to evaluate disease activity in patients with SLE.

References:

[1]Liu M, Huang Y, Huang Z, Zhong Z, Deng W, Huang Z, et al. The role of fibrinogen to albumin ratio in ankylosing spondylitis: Correlation with disease activity. Clin Chim Acta. 2020 Jun; 505:136-140.

Disclosure of Interests:

None declared

POS0133 MONOSODIUM URATE CRYSTALS REDUCE HUMAN LIGAMENT CELLS VIABILITY THROUGH INCREASE OF ROS PRODUCTION

Background:

Ligament destruction is a frequent complication of gout and is strongly associated with tophi. Ligament fibroblasts are important cellular mediators of ligament remodeling. None of study has paid attention to the effects of monosodium urate (MSU) crystals on ligament fibroblasts.

Objectives:

The study aims to investigate the effects and mechanism of MSU crystals on ligament fibroblasts.

Methods:

MSU crystals were added to human ligament fibroblasts(HLFs) cultures or primary ligament cells cultures. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, cell migration assay, Annexin V-FITC/PI assay were conducted. Reactive Oxygen Species(ROS) was tested by ROS Assay Kit.

Results:

The higher concentrations of MSU crystals (0.5-1mg/mL) reduced the viability of HLFs or primary ligament cells after 24 h as assessed by CCK8 assays, with a further reduction in viability observed at the 48 h time point. When observed under light microscopy, HLFs cultured with MSU crystals (0.5mg/mL) appeared unhealthy with fewer cells present. The cell migration ability of HLFs was decreased significantly on MSU crystals (0.5mg/mL). According to the result of Annexin V-FITC/PI assay, the survival rate of HLFs on MSU crystals (0.5mg/mL) was lower than that of 0.25mg/ml and 0 mg/ml at 72h. ROS assay results showed that the production of ROS increased as the concentrations of MSU crystals increased.

Conclusion:

MSU crystals inhibit human ligament cells viability through the increase of ROS production. It may contribute to disordered ligament remodeling in gout patients with ligament destruction.

References:

[1]Ashika Chhana, et al. Monosodium urate crystals reduce osteocyte viability and indirectly promote a shift in osteocyte function towards a proinflammatory and proresorptive state. Arthritis Res Ther. 2018, 20(1): 208.

Figure 1.

MSU crystals reduce human ligament fibroblasts and primary human ligament cells viability over time. A: CCK-8 assay; B: Observation of HLFs morphology; C: Annexin V-FITC/PI assay.

Disclosure of Interests:

None declared

POS0044 T315 SUPPRESSES OSTEOGENIC DIFFERENTIATION IN SAOS-2 CELLS BY INHIBITING PHOSPHORYLATION OF AKT

Background:

New bone formation is common in the late stage of various inflammatory arthritis, while osteoblasts play a vital role in this process. Activation of PI3K/ Akt pathway promotes the differentiation and enhances the function of osteoblasts [1]. T315 is a novel small molecule drug, which may induce apoptosis and suppress the expression of cellular markers of chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells by disrupting PI3K/ Akt pathway [2]. However, the lack of study focuses on the influence of T31T on the other cells, except tumor cell lines.

Objectives:

We aimed to assess the effect of T315 on human osteoblast-like Saos-2 cells, while its potential mechanism in PI3K/ Akt pathway was evaluated as well.

Methods:

(1) Saos-2 was stimulated with an osteogenic reagent which contained L-ascorbic acid, β-glycerophosphoric acid, and dexamethasone. The concentration of T315 was adjusted to 0μg/ml, 1μg/ml, and 2μg/ml in the culture medium. (2) Alizarin red stain and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) stain were performed at d0, d7, d14, and d21 after being treated with T315. (3) Cellular protein was extracted at d0, d3, and d6 after being treated with T315, then ALP activity was tested based on a recommendation from the manufacturer of the kit. (4) Collagen type 1α2 Chain (Col1α2) and osteocalcin (OCN), two osteogenic markers, were measured through western blot, with glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) as an endogenous control. (5) Phospho-phosphoinositide 3-kinase (pPI3K), phospho-protein kinase B (pAkt), and runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx2) was tested through western blot as well. GAPDH or protein kinase (Akt) was chosen as an internal reference as appropriate. (6) Analysis of variance with the least significant difference was used to analyze the data. A P<0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results:

(1) The higher concentration of T315 related to the less relative mineralized area and the positive area of ALP, while longer incubation time with T315 decreased these regions as well (Figure 1A-C). (2) T315 reduced the activity of ALP accordingly (Figure 1D). (3) T315 suppressed the protein expression of Col1α2 and OCN in a dose-dependent and time-dependent manner (Figure 1E, F). (4) T315 did not alter pPI3K, but it inhibited the phosphorylation of Akt (Figure 1G, H). (5) Runx2 was reduced because of the greater dose or longer incubation time with T315 (Figure 1).

Conclusion:

T315 inhibits the differentiation of osteoblasts through inhibiting the phosphorylation of Akt. Surprisingly, pPI3K seldom changes in this process, so its detail mechanism should be investigated in further.

References:

[1]Exp Biol Med (Maywood) 2020;245(6):552-561.

[2]Blood 2015;125(2):284-295.

Figure 1.

Effect of T315 on Saos-2 cells and PI3K/Akt pathway. (A) Alizarin red stain and ALP stain at d21. (B) Relative mineralized area in Alizarin red stain. (C) Positive area in ALP stain. (D) ALP activity. Western blot analysis and its bands at d6 for Col1α2 (E), OCN (F), pPI3K (G), pAkt (H), and Runx2 (I). Results were normalized by GAPDH or Akt. ALP: Alkaline phosphatase; Col1α2: Collagen type 1α2 Chain; GAPDH: Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase; OCN: Osteocalcin; pPI3K: Phospho-phosphoinositide 3-kinase; pAkt: Phospho-protein kinase B; Akt: Protein kinase; Runx2: Runt-related transcription factor 2. a Compared with d3 in the same concentration of T315, P<0.05. b Compared with d0 in the same concentration of T315, P<0.05. c Compared with 1μg/ml T315 in the same incubation time, P<0.05. d Compared with 2μg/ml T315 in the same incubation time, P<0.05.

Disclosure of Interests:

None declared.

POS1144 SERUM URIC ACID TO CREATININE RATIO IS ASSOCIATED WITH URINARY URIC ACID EXCRETION IN PATIENTS WITH GOUT

Background:

Underexcretion of uric acid is the dominant mechanism leading to hyperuricemia [1] and the 24-hour urinary uric acid excretion is an important measurement. However, it is inconvenient due to accurate timing and complete collection of the specimen.

Objectives:

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between serum uric acid to creatinine ratio (sUACR) and 24-hour urinary uric acid excretion in gout patients.

Methods:

A total of 110 gout patients fulfilling 2015 ACR/EULAR classification criteria from Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital from January 2019 to January 2021 were retrospectively enrolled in this study. Patients were divided into underexcretion group (<3600 μmol/24h) and non-underexcretion group (≥3600 μmol/24h). The correlation between sUACR and 24-hour urinary uric acid excretion was analyzed by the Pearson’s correlations analysis. Receiver operation characteristic (ROC) curves were performed to assess the utility of sUACR for discriminating between underexcretion group and non-underexcretion group. Furthermore, the risk factors of uric acid underexcretion were evaluated using binary logistic regression analysis.

Results:

sUACR in the underexcretion group was significantly lower than the non-underexcretion group (p=0.0001). Besides, sUACR was positively correlated with 24-hour urinary uric acid excretion (r=0.4833, p<0.0001). Furthermore, ROC suggested that the area under the curve (AUC) of sUACR was 0.728, which was higher that of serum uric acid and creatinine. The optimal cutoff point of sUACR was 5.2312, with a sensitivity and specificity of 71.9% and 67.9%. Logistic analysis results revealed that decreased sUACR (<5.2312) was an independent risk factor of underexcretion of uric acid (OR =5.510, 95% CI: 1.952-15.550, P=0.001).

Conclusion:

sUACR is lower in gout patients with underexcretion of uric acid and may serve as a useful and convenient marker of assessing underexcretion of uric acid in gout patients.

References:

[1]Perez-Ruiz F, Calabozo M, Erauskin GG, Ruibal A, Herrero-Beites AM. Renal underexcretion of uric acid is present in patients with apparent high urinary uric acid output. Arthritis Rheum 2002; 47: 610–13.

Figure 1.

A. Comparison of serum uric acid to creatinine ratio between underexcretion group and non-underexcretion group. B. Correlation between serum uric acid to creatinine ratio and 24h uric acid excretion.

Disclosure of Interests:

None declared.

AB0642 CLINICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH BONE EROSION IN GOUT PATIENTS WITH TOPHI

Background:

Bone erosion is a frequent complication of gout patients with tophi and can lead to joint damage, deformity and musculoskeletal disability. Few studies have focused on clinical characteristics and factors associated with bone erosion in gout patients with tophi.

Objectives:

The aim of this study was to describe clinical characteristics of bone erosion in gout patients with tophi.

Methods:

Bone erosion was detected by X-ray. Gout patients with tophi were divided into bone erosion group and non bone erosion group. The clinical characteristics were recorded. Comparison of clinical characteristics and risk factors for bone erosion were analyzed between two groups. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted.

Results:

A total of 171 gout patients with tophi were enrolled, 121 patients with bone erosion and 50 patients without bone erosion. Bone erosion group were older, with prolonged duration with gout and tophi, higher levels of serum creatinine, lower levels of glomerular filtration rate (GFR), C-reactive protein and BMI. In univariate regression analysis, age, gout duration, tophi duration, GFR were associated with bone erosion. In multivariable logistic regression analysis, tophi duration was independently associated with bone erosion.

Conclusion:

Gout patients with bone erosion present different clinical characteristics compared with those without bone erosion. Tophi duration was strongly associated with bone erosion in patients with gout.

Table 1.

Comparison of clinical characteristics between bone erosion patients and non bone erosion patients.

Non Bone erosionBone erosionP ValueN(male)50(47)121(118)0.255Age(year)45.82±14.1553.74±14.880.002BMI (kg/m2)26.01±4.5824.18±4.720.027WBC(109/mL)9.73±3.4011.37±13.260.404PLT(109/mL)329.86±96.22328.31±124.020.938HGB(g/L)86.58±63.78102.75±51.160.201ALT(U/L)37.74 ±26.5634.26±35.260.561sUA(umol/L)540.16±121.79539.00±121.460.962sCr(umol/L)111.47±25.26135.77±52.43<0.001GFR(ml/min/1.73m2)74.01±27.9456.68±22.840.003ESR(mm/h)61.78±37.3253.08±36.700.181CRP(mg/L)60.00±58.2636.45±42.620.014Gout duration (year)9.22±5.4612.63±7.590.001Tophi duration(year)3.77±3.226.64±4.810.001Hypertension, n17520.277Diabetes, n9120.143Smoking history, n20550.513Drinking history, n14370.737Ulceration, n10350.228

Disclosure of Interests:

None declared.

Magnetic ordering in the Ising antiferromagnetic pyrochlore Nd2ScNbO7

The question of structural disorder and its effects on magnetism is relevant to a number of spin liquid candidate materials. Although commonly thought of as a route to spin glass behaviour, here we describe a system in which the structural disorder results in long-range antiferromagnetic order due to local symmetry breaking. Nd₂ScNbO₇is shown to have a dispersionless gapped excitation observed in other neodymium pyrochlores belowT_N= 0.37 K through polarized and inelastic neutron scattering. However the dispersing spin waves are not observed. This excited mode is shown to occur in only 14(2)% of the neodymium ions through spectroscopy and is consistent with total scattering measurements as well as the magnitude of the dynamic moment 0.26(2)μ_B. The remaining magnetic species order completely into the all-in all-out Ising antiferromagnetic structure. This can be seen as a result of local symmetry breaking due disordered Sc⁺³and Nb⁺⁵ions about theA-site. From this work, it has been established thatB-site disorder restores the dipole-like behaviour of the Nd⁺³ions compared to the Nd₂B₂O₇parent series.

Ventilation Assessment by Carbon Dioxide Levels in Dental Treatment Rooms

It is important for dental care professionals to reliably assess carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels and ventilation rates in their offices in the era of frequent infectious disease pandemics. This study was to evaluate CO₂ levels in dental operatories and determine the accuracy of using CO₂ levels to assess ventilation rate in dental clinics. Mechanical ventilation rate in air change per hour (ACH_VENT) was measured with an air velocity sensor and airflow balancing hood. CO₂ levels were measured in these rooms to analyze factors that contributed to CO₂ accumulation. Ventilation rates were estimated using natural steady-state CO₂ levels during dental treatments and experimental CO₂ concentration decays by dry ice or mixing baking soda and vinegar. We compared the differences and assessed the correlations between ACH_VENT and ventilation rates estimated by the steady-state CO₂ model with low (0.3 L/min, ACH_SS30) or high (0.46 L/min, ACH_SS46) CO₂ generation rates, by CO₂ decay constants using dry ice (ACH_DI) or baking soda (ACH_BV), and by time needed to remove 63% of excess CO₂ generated by dry ice (ACH_DI63%) or baking soda (ACH_BV63%). We found that ACH_VENT varied from 3.9 to 35.0 in dental operatories. CO₂ accumulation occurred in rooms with low ventilation (ACH_VENT ≤6) and overcrowding but not in those with higher ventilation. ACH_SS30 and ACH_SS46 correlated well with ACH_VENT (r = 0.83, P = 0.003), but ACH_SS30 was more accurate for rooms with low ACH_VENT. Ventilation rates could be reliably estimated using CO₂ released from dry ice or baking soda. ACH_VENT was highly correlated with ACH_DI (r = 0.99), ACH_BV (r = 0.98), ACH_DI63% (r = 0.98), and ACH_BV63% (r = 0.98). There were no statistically significant differences between ACH_VENT and ACH_DI63% or ACH_BV63%. We conclude that ventilation rates could be conveniently and accurately assessed by observing the changes in CO₂ levels after a simple mixing of household baking soda and vinegar in dental settings.

Measurement of the Higgs boson production rate in association with top quarks in final states with electrons, muons, and hadronically decaying tau leptons at s = 13 TeV

The rate for Higgs ( H ) bosons production in association with either one ( t H ) or two ( t t ¯ H ) top quarks is measured in final states containing multiple electrons, muons, or tau leptons decaying to hadrons and a neutrino, using proton-proton collisions recorded at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV by the CMS experiment. The analyzed data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 137fb - 1 . The analysis is aimed at events that contain H → W W , H → τ τ , or H → Z Z decays and each of the top quark(s) decays either to lepton+jets or all-jet channels. Sensitivity to signal is maximized by including ten signatures in the analysis, depending on the lepton multiplicity. The separation among t H , t t ¯ H , and the backgrounds is enhanced through machine-learning techniques and matrix-element methods. The measured production rates for the t t ¯ H and t H signals correspond to 0.92 ± 0.19 (stat) - 0.13 + 0.17 (syst) and 5.7 ± 2.7 (stat) ± 3.0 (syst) of their respective standard model (SM) expectations. The corresponding observed (expected) significance amounts to 4.7 (5.2) standard deviations for t t ¯ H , and to 1.4 (0.3) for t H production. Assuming that the Higgs boson coupling to the tau lepton is equal in strength to its expectation in the SM, the coupling y t of the Higgs boson to the top quark divided by its SM expectation,κ t = y t / y t SM , is constrained to be within - 0.9 < κ t < - 0.7 or 0.7 < κ t < 1.1 , at 95% confidence level. This result is the most sensitive measurement of the t t ¯ H production rate to date.

Effects of IFNG-AS1 and ANRIL on intestinal epithelial cells and their relationship with colitis

OBJECTIVE

To explore the effects of IFNG-AS1 and ANRIL on intestinal epithelial cells and their relationship with colitis.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

From May 2017 to May 2019, 118 colitis patients admitted to our hospital were selected as the research group (RG), and 124 healthy controls were selected as the control group (CG). In addition, the normal intestinal epithelial cells HIEC and HIEC-6 were purchased to detect the IFNG-AS1 and ANRIL in the peripheral blood of patients in the two groups, and the effects of IFNG-AS1 and ANRIL on the intestinal epithelial cells were analyzed.

RESULTS

IFNG-AS1 and ANRIL were highly expressed in colitis (p<0.050), and their combined detection had good diagnostic value for the occurrence of colitis and complications (p<0.050). In intestinal epithelial cells transfected with IFNG-AS1 and ANRIL, it was found that inhibition of IFNG-AS1 and ANRIL remarkably increased the proliferation and decreased the apoptosis of intestinal epithelial cells (p<0.050).

CONCLUSIONS

IFNG-AS1 and ANRIL are highly expressed in colitis, and inhibiting their expression can promote the proliferation of intestinal epithelial cells and reduce apoptosis, which may be potential therapeutic targets for Crohn's colitis in the future.