Recombinant thrombomodulin may protect cardiac capillary endothelial glycocalyx through promoting Glypican-1 expression under experimental endotoxemia

Glypican-1 may be a plasma biomarker for predicting the rupture of small intracranial aneurysms

Currently, there are no effective methods for predicting the rupture of asymptomatic small intracranial aneurysms (IA) (<7 mm). In this study the aim was to identify early warning biomarkers in peripheral plasma for predicting IA rupture. Four experimental groups were included: ruptured intracranial aneurysm (RIA), unruptured intracranial aneurysm (UIA), traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage control (tSAHC), and healthy control (HC) groups. Plasma proteomics of these four groups were detected using iTRAQ combined LC-MS/MS. Differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were identified in RIA, UIA, tSAHC compared with HC. Target proteins associated with aneurysm rupture were obtained by comparing the DEPs of the RIA and UIA groups after filtering out the DEPs of the tSAHC group. The plasma concentrations of target proteins were validated using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The iTRAQ analysis showed a significant increase in plasma GPC1 concentration in the RIA group compared to the UIA group, which was further validated among the IA patients. Logistic regression analysis identified GPC1 as an independent risk factor for predicting aneurysm rupture. The ROC curve indicated that the GPC1 plasma cut-off value for predicting aneurysms rupture was 4.99 ng/ml. GPC1 may be an early warning biomarker for predicting the rupture of small intracranial aneurysms. SIGNIFICANCE: The current management approach for asymptomatic small intracranial aneurysms (<7 mm) is limited to conservative observation and surgical intervention. However, the decision-making process regarding these options poses a dilemma due to weighing their respective advantages and disadvantages. Currently, there is a lack of effective diagnostic methods to predict the rupture of small aneurysms. Therefore, our aim is to identify early warning biomarkers in peripheral plasma that can serve as quantitative detection markers for predicting intracranial aneurysm rupture. In this study, four experimental populations were established: small ruptured intracranial aneurysm (sRIA) group, small unruptured intracranial aneurysm (sUIA) group, traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage control (tSAHC) group, and healthy control (HC) group. The tSAH group was the control group of spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage caused by ruptured aneurysm. Compared with patients with UIA, aneurysm tissue and plasma GPC1 in patients with RIA is significantly higher, and GPC1 may be an early warning biomarker for predicting the rupture of intracranial small aneurysms.

Research Progress of Macromolecules in the Prevention and Treatment of Sepsis

Sepsis is associated with high rates of mortality in the intensive care unit and accompanied by systemic inflammatory reactions, secondary infections, and multiple organ failure. Biological macromolecules are drugs produced using modern biotechnology to prevent or treat diseases. Indeed, antithrombin, antimicrobial peptides, interleukins, antibodies, nucleic acids, and lentinan have been used to prevent and treat sepsis. In vitro, biological macromolecules can significantly ameliorate the inflammatory response, apoptosis, and multiple organ failure caused by sepsis. Several biological macromolecules have entered clinical trials. This review summarizes the sources, efficacy, mechanism of action, and research progress of macromolecular drugs used in the prevention and treatment of sepsis.

The endothelial glycocalyx-All the same? No, it is not

The endothelial glycocalyx covers the lumen of blood vessels throughout the body and plays an important role in endothelial homeostasis. Advances in electron microscopy techniques have provided clues to better understand the structure and composition of identical vascular endothelial glycocalyx. The morphology and thickness of the endothelial glycocalyx differ from organ to organ. The content of the endothelial glycocalyx covering the vascular lumen differs even in the brain, heart, and lungs, which have the same continuous capillaries. Various types of inflammation are known to attenuate the endothelial glycocalyx; however, we found that the morphology of the glycocalyx damaged by acute inflammation differed from that damaged by chronic inflammation. Acute inflammation breaks the endothelial glycocalyx unevenly, whereas chronic inflammation leads to the overall shortening of the endothelial glycocalyx. The same drug has different effects on the endothelial glycocalyx, depending on the location of the target blood vessels. This difference in response may reflect not only the size and shape of the endothelial glycocalyx but also the different constituents. In the cardiac tissue, the expression of glypican-1, a core protein of the endothelial glycocalyx, was enhanced. By contrast, in the pulmonary tissue, the expression of heparan sulfate 6-O-sulfotransferase 1 and endothelial cell-specific molecule-1 significantly increased in the treatment group compared with that in the no-treatment group. In this review, we present the latest findings on the evolution of the vascular endothelial glycocalyx and consider the microstructural differences.