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Li Q, Wang G, Yuan Z, Kang R, Li Y, Bahabayi A, Xiong Z, Zhang Z, Liu C. Circulating CD8 + LGALS9 + T Cell Population Exhibiting Low Cytotoxic Characteristics are Decreased in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. Immunol Res 2024:10.1007/s12026-024-09522-4. [PMID: 39046608 DOI: 10.1007/s12026-024-09522-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2024] [Accepted: 07/22/2024] [Indexed: 07/25/2024]
Abstract
LGALS9, also known as Galectin-9 and a member of the β-galactosidase family, plays a crucial role in immune regulation. However, its expression and function in CD8 T cells, as well as its association with cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL), remain unclear. This study aims to investigate LGALS9 expression patterns in human circulating CD8 T lymphocytes and elucidate its clinical significance in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE). Blood samples from 56 healthy controls and 50 new-onset SLE patients were collected. Flow cytometry was utilized to analyze LGALS9 expression in circulating CD8 T lymphocytes via intracellular staining. Compared to LGALS9 + CD8 + T cells, LGALS9-CD8 + T cells showed increased secretion of Granzyme B (GZMB) and Perforin, along with elevated expression levels of GPR56, CX3CR1, KLRD1, KLRF1, PD1, and CD29. A higher proportion of Tn (naive T cells) and TCM (central memory T cells) showed LGALS9 positivity, compared to TEM (effector memory T cells) and TEMRA (terminally differentiated effector memory T cells re-expressing CD45RA). Clinically, the downregulation of LGALS9 expression was significant in SLE patients. LGALS9 + CD8 + T cells exhibited an Area Under the Curve (AUC) of 0.6916, while CX3CR1 + in LGALS9 + CD8 + T cells had an AUC of 0.6478, and KLRF1 + had an AUC of 0.6419, for distinguishing SLE from healthy individuals. In conclusion, CD8 + LGALS9 + T cells display characteristics of low cytotoxicity, and their reduction is evident in SLE patients, potentially implicating them in SLE pathogenesis and providing diagnostic assistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qi Li
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Peking University People's Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Guochong Wang
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Peking University People's Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Zihang Yuan
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China
| | - Rui Kang
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Peking University People's Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Yaxin Li
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Peking University People's Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Ayibaota Bahabayi
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Peking University People's Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Ziqi Xiong
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Peking University People's Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Zhonghui Zhang
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Peking University People's Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Chen Liu
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Peking University People's Hospital, Beijing, China.
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Saito S, Shahbaz S, Osman M, Redmond D, Bozorgmehr N, Rosychuk RJ, Lam G, Sligl W, Cohen Tervaert JW, Elahi S. Diverse immunological dysregulation, chronic inflammation, and impaired erythropoiesis in long COVID patients with chronic fatigue syndrome. J Autoimmun 2024; 147:103267. [PMID: 38797051 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaut.2024.103267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2023] [Revised: 05/16/2024] [Accepted: 05/22/2024] [Indexed: 05/29/2024]
Abstract
A substantial number of patients recovering from acute SARS-CoV-2 infection present serious lingering symptoms, often referred to as long COVID (LC). However, a subset of these patients exhibits the most debilitating symptoms characterized by ongoing myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). We specifically identified and studied ME/CFS patients from two independent LC cohorts, at least 12 months post the onset of acute disease, and compared them to the recovered group (R). ME/CFS patients had relatively increased neutrophils and monocytes but reduced lymphocytes. Selective T cell exhaustion with reduced naïve but increased terminal effector T cells was observed in these patients. LC was associated with elevated levels of plasma pro-inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, Galectin-9 (Gal-9), and artemin (ARTN). A defined threshold of Gal-9 and ARTN concentrations had a strong association with LC. The expansion of immunosuppressive CD71+ erythroid cells (CECs) was noted. These cells may modulate the immune response and contribute to increased ARTN concentration, which correlated with pain and cognitive impairment. Serology revealed an elevation in a variety of autoantibodies in LC. Intriguingly, we found that the frequency of 2B4+CD160+ and TIM3+CD160+ CD8+ T cells completely separated LC patients from the R group. Our further analyses using a multiple regression model revealed that the elevated frequency/levels of CD4 terminal effector, ARTN, CEC, Gal-9, CD8 terminal effector, and MCP1 but lower frequency/levels of TGF-β and MAIT cells can distinguish LC from the R group. Our findings provide a new paradigm in the pathogenesis of ME/CFS to identify strategies for its prevention and treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suguru Saito
- School of Dentistry, Division of Foundational Sciences, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, T6G 2E1, AB, Canada
| | - Shima Shahbaz
- School of Dentistry, Division of Foundational Sciences, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, T6G 2E1, AB, Canada
| | - Mohammed Osman
- Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, T6G 2E1, AB, Canada
| | - Desiree Redmond
- Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, T6G 2E1, AB, Canada
| | - Najmeh Bozorgmehr
- School of Dentistry, Division of Foundational Sciences, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, T6G 2E1, AB, Canada
| | - Rhonda J Rosychuk
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Infectious Disease, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, T6G 2E1, AB, Canada
| | - Grace Lam
- Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, T6G 2E1, AB, Canada
| | - Wendy Sligl
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, T6G 2E1, AB, Canada; Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, T6G 2E1, AB, Canada
| | - Jan Willem Cohen Tervaert
- Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, T6G 2E1, AB, Canada
| | - Shokrollah Elahi
- School of Dentistry, Division of Foundational Sciences, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, T6G 2E1, AB, Canada; Department of Oncology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, T6G 2E1, AB, Canada; Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, T6G 2E1, AB, Canada; Li Ka Shing Institute of Virology, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, T6G 2E1, AB, Canada.
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Yuan L, Wang Y, Shen X, Ma F, Wang J, Yan F. Soluble form of immune checkpoints in autoimmune diseases. J Autoimmun 2024; 147:103278. [PMID: 38943864 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaut.2024.103278] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2024] [Revised: 05/03/2024] [Accepted: 06/19/2024] [Indexed: 07/01/2024]
Abstract
Immune checkpoints are essential regulators of immune responses, either by activating or suppressing them. Consequently, they are regarded as pivotal elements in the management of infections, cancer, and autoimmune disorders. In recent years, researchers have identified numerous soluble immune checkpoints that are produced through various mechanisms and demonstrated biological activity. These soluble immune checkpoints can be produced and distributed in the bloodstream and various tissues, with their roles in immune response dysregulation and autoimmunity extensively documented. This review aims to provide a thorough overview of the generation of various soluble immune checkpoints, such as sPD-1, sCTLA-4, sTim-3, s4-1BB, sBTLA, sLAG-3, sCD200, and the B7 family, and their importance as indicators for the diagnosis and prediction of autoimmune conditions. Furthermore, the review will investigate the potential pathological mechanisms of soluble immune checkpoints in autoimmune diseases, emphasizing their association with autoimmune diseases development, prognosis, and treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Yuan
- Geriatric Diseases Institute of Chengdu, Department of Clinical Laboratory, Chengdu Fifth People's Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
| | - Yuxia Wang
- Geriatric Intensive Care Unit, Sichuan Geriatric Medical Center, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
| | - Xuxia Shen
- Geriatric Diseases Institute of Chengdu, Department of Clinical Laboratory, Chengdu Fifth People's Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
| | - Fujun Ma
- Department of Training, Chengdu Fifth People's Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
| | - Jun Wang
- Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Chengdu Fifth People's Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China.
| | - Fang Yan
- Geriatric Diseases Institute of Chengdu, Department of Geriatrics, Chengdu Fifth People's Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China; Geriatric Diseases Institute of Chengdu, Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Chengdu Fifth People's Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China; Center for Medicine Research and Translation, Chengdu Fifth People's Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China.
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Guo J, Ai X, Jia B, Zhong X, Liu L, Hu Q, Xie J, Hong X, Chen Y, Liu D. Galectin-9 as an indicator of functional limitations and radiographic joint damage in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Front Immunol 2024; 15:1419676. [PMID: 38957462 PMCID: PMC11217821 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1419676] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2024] [Accepted: 05/28/2024] [Indexed: 07/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Previous studies have revealed that Galectin-9 (Gal-9) acts as an apoptosis modulator in autoimmunity and rheumatic inflammation. In the present study, we investigated the potential role of Gal-9 as a biomarker in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), especially as an indicator of functional limitations and radiographic joint damage. Methods A total of 146 patients with RA and 52 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were included in this study. Clinical data including disease activity, physical function, and radiographic joint damage were assessed. Functional limitation was defined as the Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) disability index >1. Subjects with joint erosion >0 or joint space narrowing >0 were considered to have radiographic joint damage. Serum Gal-9 levels were detected by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were used to evaluate the association between Gal-9 and high disease activity and functional limitations, and a prediction model was established to construct predictive nomograms. Results Serum levels of Gal-9 were significantly increased in patients with RA compared to those in healthy controls (median 13.1 ng/mL vs. 7.6 ng/mL). Patients with RA who were older (>65 years), had a longer disease duration (>5 years), longer morning stiffness (>60mins), elevated serum erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein, and difficult-to-treat RA had significantly higher Gal-9 levels than those in the corresponding control subgroups (all p <0.05). Patients with RA were divided into two subgroups according to the cut-off value of Gal-9 of 11.6 ng/mL. Patients with RA with Gal-9 >11.6 ng/mL had a significantly higher core clinical disease activity index, HAQ scores, Sharp/van der Heijde modified Sharp scores, as well as a higher percentage of advanced joint damage (all p<0.05) than patients with Gal-9 ≤11.6 ng/mL. Accordingly, patients with RA presenting either functional limitations or radiographic joint damage had significantly higher serum Gal-9 levels than those without (both p <0.05). Furthermore, multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that a serum level of Gal-9 >11.6 ng/mL was an independent risk factor for high disease activity (OR=3.138, 95% CI 1.150-8.567, p=0.026) and presence of functional limitations (OR=2.455, 95% CI 1.017-5.926, p=0.046), respectively. Conclusion Gal-9 could be considered as a potential indicator in patients with RA, especially with respect to functional limitations and joint damage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiewen Guo
- The Second Clinical Medical College, Jinan University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
- Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Shenzhen People’s Hospital, The Second Clinical Medical College, Jinan University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
- Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Shenzhen People’s Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Xiaoyuan Ai
- The Second Clinical Medical College, Jinan University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
- Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Shenzhen People’s Hospital, The Second Clinical Medical College, Jinan University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
- Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Shenzhen People’s Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Baixue Jia
- The Second Clinical Medical College, Jinan University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
- Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Shenzhen People’s Hospital, The Second Clinical Medical College, Jinan University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
- Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Shenzhen People’s Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Xiaoling Zhong
- Department of Radiology, Shenzhen People’s Hospital, The Second Clinical Medical College, Jinan University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
- Department of Radiology, Shenzhen People’s Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Lixiong Liu
- Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Shenzhen People’s Hospital, The Second Clinical Medical College, Jinan University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
- Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Shenzhen People’s Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Qiu Hu
- Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Shenzhen People’s Hospital, The Second Clinical Medical College, Jinan University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
- Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Shenzhen People’s Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Jingyi Xie
- Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Shenzhen People’s Hospital, The Second Clinical Medical College, Jinan University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
- Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Shenzhen People’s Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Xiaoping Hong
- Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Shenzhen People’s Hospital, The Second Clinical Medical College, Jinan University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
- Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Shenzhen People’s Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Yulan Chen
- Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Shenzhen People’s Hospital, The Second Clinical Medical College, Jinan University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
- Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Shenzhen People’s Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Dongzhou Liu
- Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Shenzhen People’s Hospital, The Second Clinical Medical College, Jinan University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
- Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Shenzhen People’s Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
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Shete A, Ghate M, Iwasaki-Hozumi H, Patil S, Shidhaye P, Bai G, Matsuba T, Pharande P, Mahajan B, Randive A, Mukherjee A, Hattori T. Dynamics of Matricellular Protein Levels in Blood Predict Recovery in Patients with Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Tuberculosis Coinfection. Viruses 2024; 16:664. [PMID: 38793546 PMCID: PMC11126111 DOI: 10.3390/v16050664] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2024] [Revised: 04/19/2024] [Accepted: 04/23/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Chronic immune activation in tuberculosis (TB) associated with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection (HIV/TB) modifies their clinical course. We prospectively measured osteopontin (OPN), full-length galectin-9 (FL-Gal9), and total-Gal9 (T-Gal9) levels in 32 patients with HIV/TB coinfection treated with anti-tuberculosis and antiretroviral therapies over 6-18 months to determine the amelioration of inflammatory conditions in response to the therapies. We observed a significant time-dependent decrease in FL-Gal9 in both pulmonary TB (PTB, n = 20) and extrapulmonary TB (EPTB, n = 12) patients. The levels of T-Gal9, OPN, and CRP decreased significantly after treatment in only PTB patients. We calculated the inflammatory score (INS) indicating immunologic recovery based on the decline in OPN, FL-Gal9, T-Gal9, and CRP levels. Baseline levels of T-Gal9 and OPN positively correlated with INS in all TB and only PTB patients, respectively, indicating that their levels predict better recovery. In contrast, FL-Gal9 levels at the second visit negatively correlated with INS in EPTB patients. The decrease rate in OPN levels at the second visit also correlated positively with INS in PTB patients. Women showed a higher INS and lower levels of FL-Gal9 than men. The patients with moderate grade severity on chest X-ray had higher CD4 cell numbers than those with limited grade severity. Monitoring these markers will help to predict and assess the response to therapy as well as to devise strategies to reduce the complications caused by chronic immune activation in patients with HIV/TB coinfection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashwini Shete
- Indian Council of Medical Research—National Institute of Translational Virology and AIDS Research (ICMR-NITVAR, Formerly National AIDS Research Institute), Pune 411026, India; (A.S.); (M.G.); (S.P.); (P.S.); (P.P.); (B.M.); (A.R.); (A.M.)
| | - Manisha Ghate
- Indian Council of Medical Research—National Institute of Translational Virology and AIDS Research (ICMR-NITVAR, Formerly National AIDS Research Institute), Pune 411026, India; (A.S.); (M.G.); (S.P.); (P.S.); (P.P.); (B.M.); (A.R.); (A.M.)
| | - Hiroko Iwasaki-Hozumi
- Research Institute of Health and Welfare, Kibi International University, Takahashi 716-0018, Japan;
| | - Sandip Patil
- Indian Council of Medical Research—National Institute of Translational Virology and AIDS Research (ICMR-NITVAR, Formerly National AIDS Research Institute), Pune 411026, India; (A.S.); (M.G.); (S.P.); (P.S.); (P.P.); (B.M.); (A.R.); (A.M.)
| | - Pallavi Shidhaye
- Indian Council of Medical Research—National Institute of Translational Virology and AIDS Research (ICMR-NITVAR, Formerly National AIDS Research Institute), Pune 411026, India; (A.S.); (M.G.); (S.P.); (P.S.); (P.P.); (B.M.); (A.R.); (A.M.)
| | - Gaowa Bai
- College of Food Science and Engineering, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010018, China;
| | - Takashi Matsuba
- School of Pharmaceutical Science, Kyushu University of Medical Sciences, Nobeoka 882-8508, Japan;
| | - Pratiksha Pharande
- Indian Council of Medical Research—National Institute of Translational Virology and AIDS Research (ICMR-NITVAR, Formerly National AIDS Research Institute), Pune 411026, India; (A.S.); (M.G.); (S.P.); (P.S.); (P.P.); (B.M.); (A.R.); (A.M.)
| | - Bharati Mahajan
- Indian Council of Medical Research—National Institute of Translational Virology and AIDS Research (ICMR-NITVAR, Formerly National AIDS Research Institute), Pune 411026, India; (A.S.); (M.G.); (S.P.); (P.S.); (P.P.); (B.M.); (A.R.); (A.M.)
| | - Aarti Randive
- Indian Council of Medical Research—National Institute of Translational Virology and AIDS Research (ICMR-NITVAR, Formerly National AIDS Research Institute), Pune 411026, India; (A.S.); (M.G.); (S.P.); (P.S.); (P.P.); (B.M.); (A.R.); (A.M.)
| | - Anupam Mukherjee
- Indian Council of Medical Research—National Institute of Translational Virology and AIDS Research (ICMR-NITVAR, Formerly National AIDS Research Institute), Pune 411026, India; (A.S.); (M.G.); (S.P.); (P.S.); (P.P.); (B.M.); (A.R.); (A.M.)
| | - Toshio Hattori
- Research Institute of Health and Welfare, Kibi International University, Takahashi 716-0018, Japan;
- Shizuoka Graduate University of Public Health, Shizuoka City 420-0881, Japan
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Chen PK, Hsu WF, Peng CY, Liao TL, Chang SH, Chen HH, Chen CH, Chen DY. Significant association of elevated serum galectin-9 levels with the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Front Med (Lausanne) 2024; 11:1347268. [PMID: 38371515 PMCID: PMC10869587 DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2024.1347268] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2023] [Accepted: 01/22/2024] [Indexed: 02/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is prevalent among rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, but its pathogenesis has rarely been explored. Galectin-9 (Gal-9) interacts with T cell immunoglobulin and mucin-containing-molecule-3 (TIM-3) expressed on hepatocytes and thus regulates T cell proliferation in a murine model of NAFLD. We aimed to examine the pathogenic role of the Gal-9/TIM-3 pathway in RA-NAFLD. Methods Serum levels of Gal-9, soluble TIM-3 (sTIM-3), fatty acid-binding proteins (FABP)1, and FABP4 were determined by ELISA in forty-five RA patients and eleven healthy participants. Using Oil-red O staining and immunoblotting, we examined the effects of Gal-9 and free fatty acid (FFA) on lipid accumulation in human hepatocytes and FABP1 expression. Results Serum Gal-9, sTIM-3 and FABP1 level were significantly higher in RA patients (median 5.02 ng/mL, 3.42 ng/mL, and 5.76 ng/mL, respectively) than in healthy participants (1.86 ng/mL, 0.99 ng/mL, and 0.129 ng/mL, all p < 0.001). They were also significantly higher in patients with moderate-to-severe NAFLD compared with none-to-mild NAFLD (p < 0.01; p < 0.05; and p < 0.01, respectively). Serum Gal-9 levels were positively correlated with sTIM-3, FABP1, FABP4 levels, and ultrasound-fatty liver score, respectively, in RA patients. Multivariate regression analysis revealed that Gal-9 (cut-off>3.30) was a significant predictor of NAFLD development, and Gal-9 and sTIM-3 were predictors of NAFLD severity (both p < 0.05). The cell-based assay showed that Gal-9 and FFA could upregulate FABP1 expression and enhance lipid droplet accumulation in hepatocytes. Conclusion Elevated levels of Gal-9 and sTIM3 in RA patients with NAFLD and their positive correlation with NAFLD severity suggest the pathogenic role of Gal-9 signaling in RA-related NAFLD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Po-Ku Chen
- Rheumatology and Immunology Center, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan
- Translational Medicine Laboratory, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - Wei-Fan Hsu
- College of Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan
- Center for Digestive Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - Cheng-Yuan Peng
- College of Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan
- Center for Digestive Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - Tsai-Ling Liao
- Ph.D. Program in Translational Medicine and Rong Hsing Research Center for Translational Medicine, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan
- Department of Medical Research, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan
- College of Medicine, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - Shih-Hsin Chang
- Rheumatology and Immunology Center, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan
- College of Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan
- Ph.D. Program in Translational Medicine and Rong Hsing Research Center for Translational Medicine, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - Hsin-Hua Chen
- Ph.D. Program in Translational Medicine and Rong Hsing Research Center for Translational Medicine, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan
- College of Medicine, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan
- Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - Chu-Huang Chen
- Vascular and Medicinal Research, Texas Heart Institute, Houston, TX, United States
- Institute for Biomedical Sciences, Shinshu University, Nagano, Japan
| | - Der-Yuan Chen
- Rheumatology and Immunology Center, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan
- Translational Medicine Laboratory, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan
- College of Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan
- Ph.D. Program in Translational Medicine and Rong Hsing Research Center for Translational Medicine, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan
- College of Medicine, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan
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7
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Jia Q, Che Q, Zhang X, Chen J, Ren C, Wu Y, Liang W, Zhang X, Li Y, Li Z, Zhang Z, Shu Q. Knockdown of Galectin-9 alleviates rheumatoid arthritis through suppressing TNF-α-induced activation of fibroblast-like synoviocytes. Biochem Pharmacol 2024; 220:115994. [PMID: 38141929 DOI: 10.1016/j.bcp.2023.115994] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 12/25/2023]
Abstract
The role of Galectin-9 (Gal-9) in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the mechanism of action and therapeutic potential of Gal-9 in RA. We detected Gal-9 expression in clinical samples, explored the mechanism of function of Gal-9 by knockdown and overexpression in fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs), and further verified it in collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) model. We found that the levels of Gal-9 were considerably elevated in RA synovium than in osteoarthritis (OA) patients. A substantial decrease of Gal-9 was demonstrated after tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) inhibitor treatment in the plasma of patients with RA. Additionally, transcriptome sequencing revealed that Gal-9 was involved in the regulation of the TNF-α pathway. Gal-9 was considerably upregulated after TNF-α stimulation in FLSs, and knockdown of Gal-9 substantially inhibited TNF-α activated proliferation, migration and inflammatory response. According to cell transcriptome sequencing results, we further confirmed that Gal-9 could achieve these effects by interacting with MAFB and affecting PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. Finally, we knocked down Gal-9 on the CIA model and found that it could alleviate the progression of arthritis. In conclusion, our study revealed that the knockdown of Gal-9 could inhibited TNF-α induced activation in RA through MAFB, PI3K/AKT/mTOR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qian Jia
- Department of Rheumatology, Qilu Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, China; Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Linyi People's Hospital, Linyi, China; Department of Rheumatology, Linyi People's Hospital, Shandong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Immune Diseases and Gout, Linyi, China
| | - Qincheng Che
- Department of Rheumatology, Qilu Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, China; Department of Rheumatology, Qilu Hospital, Shandong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Immune Diseases and Gout, Jinan, China
| | - Xiaoyu Zhang
- Department of Rheumatology, Qilu Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, China; Department of Rheumatology, Qilu Hospital, Shandong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Immune Diseases and Gout, Jinan, China
| | - Jie Chen
- Department of Rheumatology, Qilu Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, China; Department of Rheumatology, Qilu Hospital, Shandong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Immune Diseases and Gout, Jinan, China
| | - Chunfeng Ren
- Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Jining NO.1 People's Hospital, Jining, China
| | - Yunpeng Wu
- Department of Orthopedics, Qilu Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, China
| | - Weiqiang Liang
- Department of Bone and Joint Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, China
| | - Xiaojie Zhang
- Department of Rheumatology, Qilu Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, China; Department of Rheumatology, Qilu Hospital, Shandong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Immune Diseases and Gout, Jinan, China
| | - Yanshan Li
- Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Linyi People's Hospital, Linyi, China; Department of Rheumatology, Linyi People's Hospital, Shandong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Immune Diseases and Gout, Linyi, China
| | - Zunzhong Li
- Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Linyi People's Hospital, Linyi, China; Department of Rheumatology, Linyi People's Hospital, Shandong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Immune Diseases and Gout, Linyi, China
| | - Zhenchun Zhang
- Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Linyi People's Hospital, Linyi, China; Department of Rheumatology, Linyi People's Hospital, Shandong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Immune Diseases and Gout, Linyi, China
| | - Qiang Shu
- Department of Rheumatology, Qilu Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, China; Department of Rheumatology, Qilu Hospital, Shandong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Immune Diseases and Gout, Jinan, China.
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8
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Ma F, Feng X, Wang E, Ma C, Wu J, He S, Tian Y, Qiu P, Tan L, Liu J, Li J, Hu S, Yang P, Ning Y. The regulation of tolerogenic dendritic cells by a Chinese herb formula improves abortion prone in mice. Am J Reprod Immunol 2023; 90:e13714. [PMID: 37881127 DOI: 10.1111/aji.13714] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2022] [Revised: 04/07/2023] [Accepted: 05/05/2023] [Indexed: 10/27/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Abortion prone (AP) is a common clinical event. The underlying mechanism remains unclear. Traditional Chinese formulas are known to be efficient in the management of abortion. The purpose of this study is to observe the effects of Anzitiaochongtang (AZT), a traditional formulation of Chinese medicine, on improving AP in mice by regulating immune tolerance. METHODS An established abortion model (CBA/J×DBA/2) was employed. AZT was prepared and administered to mice in a manner consistent with clinical practice. Tolerogenic dendritic cells (tDC) and type 1 regulatory T cells (Tr1 cell) in mice were analyzed by immunological approaches to be used as representative immune tolerant parameters. RESULTS An AP model was established with CBA/J × DBA/2 mice. The expression of IL-10 in tDC and Tr1 cell frequency in the mouse decidua tissues were lower in the AP group than that in the normal pregnancy (NP) group. Administration of AZT up regulated the expression of IL-10 in tDCs and Tr1 cell generation in the decidua tissues, and improved the pregnancy and tissue structure in AP mice. The main mechanism by which AZT improves pregnancy in AP mice is that AZT enhanced the expression of galectin-9 in the epithelial cells of decidua tissues. Galectin 9 activates TIM3 on DCs to promote the IL-10 expression. The DCs induced more Tr1 cells in the decidua tissues. CONCLUSIONS Dysfunctional tDCs were detected in the AP decidua tissues. Administration of AZT improved pregnancy in AP mice by regulating tDC function and generation of Tr1 cells in the maternal-fetal interface.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fei Ma
- Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Shenzhen Maternity & Child Healthcare Hospital, Southern Medical University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Xiaoyang Feng
- School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Erfeng Wang
- Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Chang Ma
- Department of Respirology, Second Affiliated Hospital, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Jiaman Wu
- Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Shenzhen Maternity & Child Healthcare Hospital, Southern Medical University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Shan He
- Department of Pharmacy, Affiliated Shenzhen Maternity & Child Healthcare Hospital, Southern Medical University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Ying Tian
- Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Shenzhen Maternity & Child Healthcare Hospital, Southern Medical University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Pingping Qiu
- Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Shenzhen Maternity & Child Healthcare Hospital, Southern Medical University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Liya Tan
- Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jin Liu
- Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jia Li
- Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Suqin Hu
- Guangdong Provincial Regional Disease Key Laboratory, Shenzhen, China
- Institute of Allergy & Immunology of Shenzhen University, State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease Allergy Division at Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Pingchang Yang
- Guangdong Provincial Regional Disease Key Laboratory, Shenzhen, China
- Institute of Allergy & Immunology of Shenzhen University, State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease Allergy Division at Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Yan Ning
- Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Shenzhen Maternity & Child Healthcare Hospital, Southern Medical University, Shenzhen, China
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9
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Shete A, Wagh V, Sawant J, Shidhaye P, Sane S, Rao A, Kulkarni S, Ghate M. Antiretroviral Treatment-Induced Galectin-9 Might Impact HIV Viremia in Addition to Contributing to Inflammaging. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:12273. [PMID: 37569647 PMCID: PMC10418429 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241512273] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2023] [Revised: 06/28/2023] [Accepted: 07/06/2023] [Indexed: 08/13/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Galectin-9 induces HIV reactivation and also contributes to non-AIDS events through inflammaging. Hence, it is important to assess its levels in HIV-infected individuals to determine their association with HIV viremia and other comorbidities. METHODS Plasma galectin-9 levels were estimated in viremic (n = 152) and aviremic (n = 395) individuals on first-line antiretroviral therapy (ART). They were assessed for correlation with HIV-1 viral load (VL), CD4 count, and ART duration, as well as for receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. RESULT Plasma galectin-9 levels correlated positively with VL (r = 0.507, p < 0.0001) and ART duration (r = 0.308, p = 0.002) and negatively with CD4 count (r = -0.186, p < 0.0001). Area under the curve for galectin-9/CD4 count ratio for identifying viremic individuals was 0.906. Sensitivity and specificity of the ratio at a cutoff of 14.47 were 90.13% and 70.05%, respectively, for detecting viremic individuals. Further, galectin-9 levels correlated with cystatin C (r = 0.239, p = 0.0183), IL-18 (r = 0.311, p = 0.006), and systolic blood pressure (r = 0.220, p = 0.0355). Galectin-9-induced HIV reactivation was significantly lower in individuals on long-term ART than those on short-term ART. CONCLUSION The galectin-9-to-CD4 count ratio indicated the potential of galectin-9 as a cheaper monitoring tool to detect HIV viremia. Strategies for countering the effects of galectin-9 for controlling HIV viremia and non-AIDS events are urgently warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashwini Shete
- Indian Council of Medical Research, National AIDS Research Institute (ICMR-NARI), Pune 411026, India; (V.W.); (J.S.); (P.S.); (A.R.); (S.K.); (M.G.)
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10
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Ameen SG, Zidan MAEA, Amer AS, Elshahat NF, Elhalim WAEA. A study of the association between Galectin-9 gene (LGALS9) polymorphisms and rheumatoid arthritis in Egyptian patients. EGYPTIAN RHEUMATOLOGY AND REHABILITATION 2023; 50:30. [DOI: 10.1186/s43166-023-00198-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2023] [Accepted: 06/22/2023] [Indexed: 09/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Background
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an incessant synovial inflammation of an autoimmune origin, destroying articular cartilages and bones. Galectins are an evolutionarily conserved family of immune-modulatory animal lectins detected in a number of immune cells like T cells, fibroblasts and macrophages. Galectin 9 (Gal-9) has been the subject of many studies for being linked to regulation of both innate and adaptive immune reactions. The objective of the study was to evaluate the link between the Galectin-9 gene (LGALS9) polymorphisms and the susceptibility of RA in Egyptian patients, as well as, detection of the serum level of Gal-9 in RA and its association with LGALS9 polymorphisms, the activity of RA and radiological damage.
Methods
A study of 85 participants; group (I): 60 RA cases and group (II): 25 apparently healthy subjects. RA Disease activity index (DAS-28) and Larsen index score were assessed. LGALS9 gene and serum Gal-9 were investigated.
Results
rs4239242 TT genotype and T allele occurred more frequently in RA cases than controls with a significant difference (P = 0.006; P < 0.001 respectively). Gal-9 level was significantly higher among RA cases than control group (P = 0.017). The Gal-9 level showed negative significant correlations with DAS-28 and Larsen score (P < 0.001).
Conclusion
RA is strongly linked to genetic alterations in the LGALS9 gene and the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs4239242 TT genotype in the Egyptian population. RA cases in remission or those with low disease activity had higher levels of serum Gal-9 in comparison to cases with moderate and high disease activity and this would be promising in the future of RA treatment.
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11
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Plasma N-Cleaved Galectin-9 Is a Surrogate Marker for Determining the Severity of COVID-19 and Monitoring the Therapeutic Effects of Tocilizumab. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24043591. [PMID: 36835000 PMCID: PMC9964849 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24043591] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2022] [Revised: 02/05/2023] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Galectin-9 (Gal-9) is known to contribute to antiviral responses in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Increased circulating Gal-9 in COVID-19 is associated with COVID-19 severity. In a while, the linker-peptide of Gal-9 is susceptible to proteolysis that can cause the change or loss of Gal-9 activity. Here, we measured plasma levels of N-cleaved-Gal9, which is Gal9 carbohydrate-recognition domain at the N-terminus (NCRD) with attached truncated linker peptide that differs in length depending on the type of proteases, in COVID-19. We also investigated the time course of plasma N-cleaved-Gal9 levels in severe COVID-19 treated with tocilizumab (TCZ). As a result, we observed an increase in plasma N-cleaved-Gal9 levels in COVID-19 and its higher levels in COVID-19 with pneumonia compared to the mild cases (healthy: 326.1 pg/mL, mild: 698.0 pg/mL, and with pneumonia: 1570 pg/mL). N-cleaved-Gal9 levels were associated with lymphocyte counts, C-reactive protein (CRP), soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R), D-dimer, and ferritin levels, and ratio of percutaneous oxygen saturation to fraction of inspiratory oxygen (S/F ratio) in COVID-19 with pneumonia and discriminated different severity groups with high accuracy (area under the curve (AUC): 0.9076). Both N-cleaved-Gal9 and sIL-2R levels were associated with plasma matrix metalloprotease (MMP)-9 levels in COVID-19 with pneumonia. Furthermore, a decrease in N-cleaved-Gal9 levels was associated with a decrease of sIL-2R levels during TCZ treatment. N-cleaved-Gal9 levels showed a moderate accuracy (AUC: 0.8438) for discriminating the period before TCZ from the recovery phase. These data illustrate that plasma N-cleaved-Gal9 is a potential surrogate marker for assessing COVID-19 severity and the therapeutic effects of TCZ.
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12
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Radhakrishnan A, Chellapandian H, Ramasamy P, Jeyachandran S. Back2Basics: animal lectins: an insight into a highly versatile recognition protein. JOURNAL OF PROTEINS AND PROTEOMICS 2023; 14:43-59. [PMID: 36597476 PMCID: PMC9799708 DOI: 10.1007/s42485-022-00102-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2022] [Revised: 11/15/2022] [Accepted: 12/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
The rapid advancement of molecular research has contributed to the discovery of 'Lectin', a carbohydrate-binding protein which specifically interacts with receptors on surface glycan moieties that regulate various critical cellular activities. The first animal lectin reported was 'the asialoglycoprotein receptor' in mammalian cells which helped analyze how animal lectins differ in glycoconjugate binding. Animal lectins are classified into several families, depending on their diverse cellular localization, and the binding specificities of their Carbohydrate-Recognition Domain (CRD) modules. Earlier characterization of animal lectins classified them into two structural families, the C-type (Ca2+-dependent binding) and S-type galectins (sulfhydryl-dependent binding) lectins. The C-type lectin includes the most significant animal lectins, such as endocytic receptors, mannose receptors, selectins, and collectins. The recent developments in research based on the complexity of the carbohydrate ligands, the metabolic processes they perform, their expression levels, and their reliance on divalent cations have identified more than 100 animal lectins and classified them into around 13 different families, such as Calnexin, F-lectin, Intelectin, Chitinase-like lectin, F-box lectin, etc. Understanding their structure and expression patterns have aided in defining their significant functions including cell adhesion, antimicrobial activity, innate immunity, disease diagnostic biomarkers, and drug delivery through specific carbohydrate-protein interactions. Such extensive potential roles of animal lectins made it equally important to plant lectins among researchers. Hence, the review focuses on providing an overview of animal lectins, their taxonomy, structural characteristics, and functions in diverse aspects interconnected to their specific carbohydrate and glycoconjugate binding. Graphical abstract
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Affiliation(s)
- Akshaya Radhakrishnan
- PG & Research Department of Biotechnology & Microbiology, National College, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu 620001 India
| | - Hethesh Chellapandian
- PG & Research Department of Biotechnology & Microbiology, National College, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu 620001 India
| | - Pasiyappazham Ramasamy
- Department of Physiology, Saveetha Dental College & Hospitals, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences (SIMATS), Saveetha University, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600077 India
| | - Sivakamavalli Jeyachandran
- PG & Research Department of Biotechnology & Microbiology, National College, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu 620001 India
- Centre for Biotechnology & Biosignal Transduction, Department of Orthodontics, Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences (SIMATS), Saveetha University, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600077 India
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13
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Giudice V, Serio B, Ferrara I, Manzo P, Gorrese M, Pepe R, Bertolini A, D’Alto F, Verdesca F, Langella M, Filippelli A, Selleri C. Clinical efficacy of azacytidine and venetoclax and prognostic impact of Tim-3 and galectin-9 in acute myeloid leukemia and high-risk myelodysplastic syndromes: A single-center real-life experience. Front Pharmacol 2022; 13:1052060. [PMID: 36618908 PMCID: PMC9810751 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2022.1052060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2022] [Accepted: 12/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and high-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) is difficult in older patients with comorbidities and high-risk disease factors. Venetoclax, the first-in-class Bcl-2 inhibitor, has proven efficacy and safety in combination with azacytidine for treatment of high-risk myeloid diseases. In this single-center real-life retrospective study, a total of 27 consecutive patients treated with azacytidine plus venetoclax were included, and clinical outcomes, hematological improvements, and biomarkers of responsiveness to therapy were compared to those observed in an historical cohort of 95 consecutive patients treated with azacytidine as single agent. Azacytidine plus venetoclax was effective and safe in older and frail AML and high-risk MDS patients, with median overall survival of 22.3 months, higher than that reported in phase III trial (14.7 months), and higher than that of historical cohort (5.94 months). Progression-free survival was higher in patients treated with the drug combination compared to those treated with azacytidine as single agent (p = 0.0065). Clinical benefits might increase when azacytidine and venetoclax are administered as upfront therapy (p = 0.0500). We showed that Tim-3 expression could be a promising therapeutic target in refractory/relapsed patients, and galectin-9 a biomarker of responsiveness to therapy. Moreover, patients treated with azacytidine and venetoclax displayed a higher overall survival regardless the presence of negative prognostic markers at diagnosis (e.g., increased WT1 copies and/or normalized blast count). These encouraging results in a real-world setting supported efficacy and safety of azacytidine plus venetoclax as upfront therapy in AML and high-risk MDS, with clinical outcomes comparable to those of clinical trials when an appropriate venetoclax management with bone marrow assessment at every first, second, fourth, and eighth cycle, and dose adjustments for toxicities are performed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Giudice
- Hematology and Transplant Center, University Hospital “San Giovanni di Dio e Ruggi d’Aragona”, Salerno, Italy,Department of Medicine, University of Salerno, Baronissi, Italy,Pharmacology Unit, University Hospital “San Giovanni di Dio e Ruggi d’Aragona”, Salerno, Italy
| | - Bianca Serio
- Hematology and Transplant Center, University Hospital “San Giovanni di Dio e Ruggi d’Aragona”, Salerno, Italy
| | - Idalucia Ferrara
- Hematology and Transplant Center, University Hospital “San Giovanni di Dio e Ruggi d’Aragona”, Salerno, Italy
| | - Paola Manzo
- Hematology and Transplant Center, University Hospital “San Giovanni di Dio e Ruggi d’Aragona”, Salerno, Italy
| | - Marisa Gorrese
- Hematology and Transplant Center, University Hospital “San Giovanni di Dio e Ruggi d’Aragona”, Salerno, Italy
| | - Rita Pepe
- Hematology and Transplant Center, University Hospital “San Giovanni di Dio e Ruggi d’Aragona”, Salerno, Italy
| | - Angela Bertolini
- Hematology and Transplant Center, University Hospital “San Giovanni di Dio e Ruggi d’Aragona”, Salerno, Italy,Department of Medicine, University of Salerno, Baronissi, Italy
| | - Francesca D’Alto
- Hematology and Transplant Center, University Hospital “San Giovanni di Dio e Ruggi d’Aragona”, Salerno, Italy
| | - Francesco Verdesca
- Hematology and Transplant Center, University Hospital “San Giovanni di Dio e Ruggi d’Aragona”, Salerno, Italy
| | - Maddalena Langella
- Hematology and Transplant Center, University Hospital “San Giovanni di Dio e Ruggi d’Aragona”, Salerno, Italy
| | - Amelia Filippelli
- Department of Medicine, University of Salerno, Baronissi, Italy,Pharmacology Unit, University Hospital “San Giovanni di Dio e Ruggi d’Aragona”, Salerno, Italy
| | - Carmine Selleri
- Hematology and Transplant Center, University Hospital “San Giovanni di Dio e Ruggi d’Aragona”, Salerno, Italy,Department of Medicine, University of Salerno, Baronissi, Italy,*Correspondence: Carmine Selleri,
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14
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Sun Z, Wang F, Chen J, Liu X, Sun J, Sui Y, Zhang X, Shu Q. Establishment and verification of a nomogram and a preliminary study on predicting the clinical response of conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (csDMARDs) in rheumatoid arthritis patients. ANNALS OF TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE 2022; 10:1365. [PMID: 36660697 PMCID: PMC9843374 DOI: 10.21037/atm-22-5791] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2022] [Accepted: 12/16/2022] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Background Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoinflammatory disease, its core treatment principle is to achieve remission as soon as possible. There is no good prediction model that can accurately predict the remission rate of patients to choose a good treatment scheme. Here, we aimed to verify the prognostic value of some inflammatory indicators in RA and establish a prediction model to predict the remission rate after treatment. Methods A total of 223 patients were enrolled at Qilu Hospital from June 2014 to June 2020. Baseline clinical data were collected and plasma was obtained to detect the inflammatory indicators. All patients were treated with conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (csDMARDs). All patients were followed up and were recorded the time to reach the disease activity score-28 with erythrocyte sedimentation rate (DAS28-ESR) of <2.6. A total of 156 patients were randomly assigned to the development cohort, and 67 patients were assigned to the validation cohort. Inflammatory indicators in plasma were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The predictive factors were screeded by using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) and Cox regression. The model was created and verified by using the standard method. A total of 6 independent risk factors were analyzed to construct a nomogram to predict the remission rate in 3, 6 and 12 months. Results The remission rates after treatment in 3, 6 and 12 months were 38.76%, 58.91%, and 81.40%, respectively. Patient age, C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin (IL)-6, galectin-9 (Gal-9), health assessment questionnaire (HAQ), and DAS28-ESR were included in the prognostic model to predict the remission rate. The resulting model had good discrimination ability in both the development cohort (C-index, 0.729) and the validation cohort (C-index, 0.710). Time-dependent receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, calibration analysis, and decision curve analysis (DCA) showed that the model has significant discriminant power and clinical practicability in predicting the remission rate. Conclusions We established a new predictive model and validated it. The model can predict the remission rate in 3, 6 and 12 months after receiving csDMARDs treatment. By using this model, we can facilitate the identification of high-risk patients early and intervene with them as soon as possible.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhijian Sun
- Department of Rheumatology, The Second Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, China
| | - Feiying Wang
- Department of Hematology, Women and Children’s Hospital, Qingdao, China
| | - Jie Chen
- Department of Rheumatology, Qilu Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, China;,Department of Rheumatology, Shandong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Immune Diseases and Gout, Jinan, China
| | - Xinlei Liu
- Department of Rheumatology, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Jiao Sun
- Department of Nephrology and Immunology, Shandong Provincial Third Hospital, Jinan, China
| | - Yameng Sui
- Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Yantaishan Hospital, Yantai, China
| | - Xiaojie Zhang
- Department of Rheumatology, Qilu Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, China;,Department of Rheumatology, Shandong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Immune Diseases and Gout, Jinan, China
| | - Qiang Shu
- Department of Rheumatology, Qilu Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, China;,Department of Rheumatology, Shandong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Immune Diseases and Gout, Jinan, China
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15
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Krautter F, Hussain MT, Zhi Z, Lezama DR, Manning JE, Brown E, Marigliano N, Raucci F, Recio C, Chimen M, Maione F, Tiwari A, McGettrick HM, Cooper D, Fisher EA, Iqbal AJ. Galectin-9: A novel promoter of atherosclerosis progression. Atherosclerosis 2022; 363:57-68. [PMID: 36459823 DOI: 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2022.11.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2022] [Revised: 11/09/2022] [Accepted: 11/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Atherosclerosis is widely accepted to be an inflammatory disease driven by lipid accumulation and leukocyte recruitment. More recently, galectins, a family of β-galactoside binding proteins, have been shown to play a role in leukocyte recruitment among other immunomodulatory functions. Galectin (Gal) -9, a tandem repeat type galectin expressed by the endothelium in inflammatory environments, has been proposed to promote leukocyte recruitment. However, the role of Gal-9 in the context of monocyte recruitment remains elusive. METHODS AND RESULTS Here, we characterise the immunomodulatory role of Gal-9 in context of atherosclerosis. We show that ApoE-/-Gal-9-/- mice have a significantly reduced aortic plaque burden compared to their ApoE-/- littermate controls after 12 weeks of high fat diet. RNA sequencing data from two independent studies reveal Lgals9 expression in leukocyte clusters isolated from murine atherosclerotic plaques. Additionally, soluble Gal-9 protein induces monocyte activation and a pro-inflammatory phenotype in macrophages. Furthermore, we show that immobilised recombinant Gal-9 acts as capture and adhesion molecule for CD14+ monocytes in a β2-integrin and glycan dependent manner, while adhesion of monocytes to stimulated endothelium is reduced when Gal-9 is knocked down. Gal-9 also facilitates enhanced recruitment of leukocytes from peripheral arterial disease (PAD) patients compared to healthy young and aged controls. We further characterise the endothelium as source of circulating Gal-9, which is increased in plasma of PAD patients compared to healthy controls. CONCLUSIONS These results highlight a pathological role for Gal-9 as promoter of monocyte recruitment and atherosclerotic plaque progression, making it a novel target in the prevention of plaque formation and progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franziska Krautter
- Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Mohammed T Hussain
- Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom; The William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and The London School of Medicine, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Zhaogong Zhi
- Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Danielle R Lezama
- Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Julia E Manning
- Institute of Inflammation and Aging, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Emily Brown
- Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, And the Cardiovascular Research Center, NYU School of Medicine, New York, United States
| | - Noemi Marigliano
- ImmunoPharmaLab, Department of Pharmacy, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Federica Raucci
- ImmunoPharmaLab, Department of Pharmacy, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Carlota Recio
- Instituto Universitario de Investigaciones Biomédicas y Sanitarias (IUIBS), Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Farmacología Molecular y Translacional - BIOPharm, Las Palmas de G.C, Spain
| | - Myriam Chimen
- Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Francesco Maione
- ImmunoPharmaLab, Department of Pharmacy, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Alok Tiwari
- Department of Vascular Surgery, University Hospitals Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Helen M McGettrick
- Institute of Inflammation and Aging, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Dianne Cooper
- The William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and The London School of Medicine, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Edward A Fisher
- Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, And the Cardiovascular Research Center, NYU School of Medicine, New York, United States
| | - Asif J Iqbal
- Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom; ImmunoPharmaLab, Department of Pharmacy, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy.
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16
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Revealing the Immune Heterogeneity between Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Rheumatoid Arthritis Based on Multi-Omics Data Analysis. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23095166. [PMID: 35563556 PMCID: PMC9101622 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23095166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2022] [Revised: 04/26/2022] [Accepted: 04/29/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are greatly influenced by different immune cells. Nowadays both T-cell receptor (TCR) and B-cell receptor (BCR) sequencing technology have emerged with the maturity of NGS technology. However, both SLE and RA peripheral blood TCR or BCR repertoire sequencing remains lacking because repertoire sequencing is an expensive assay and consumes valuable tissue samples. This study used computational methods TRUST4 to construct TCR repertoire and BCR repertoire from bulk RNA-seq data of both SLE and RA patients’ peripheral blood and analyzed the clonality and diversity of the immune repertoire between the two diseases. Although the functions of immune cells have been studied, the mechanism is still complicated. Differentially expressed genes in each immune cell type and cell–cell interactions between immune cell clusters have not been covered. In this work, we clustered eight immune cell subsets from original scRNA-seq data and disentangled the characteristic alterations of cell subset proportion under both SLE and RA conditions. The cell–cell communication analysis tool CellChat was also utilized to analyze the influence of MIF family and GALECTIN family cytokines, which were reported to regulate SLE and RA, respectively. Our findings correspond to previous findings that MIF increases in the serum of SLE patients. This work proved that the presence of LGALS9, PTPRC and CD44 in platelets could serve as a clinical indicator of rheumatoid arthritis. Our findings comprehensively illustrate dynamic alterations in immune cells during pathogenesis of SLE and RA. This work identified specific V genes and J genes in TCR and BCR that could be used to expand our understanding of SLE and RA. These findings provide a new insight inti the diagnosis and treatment of the two autoimmune diseases.
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Mansour AA, Raucci F, Saviano A, Tull S, Maione F, Iqbal AJ. Galectin-9 Regulates Monosodium Urate Crystal-Induced Gouty Inflammation Through the Modulation of Treg/Th17 Ratio. Front Immunol 2021; 12:762016. [PMID: 34777378 PMCID: PMC8581207 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.762016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2021] [Accepted: 10/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Gout is caused by depositing monosodium urate (MSU) crystals within the articular area. The infiltration of neutrophils and monocytes drives the initial inflammatory response followed by lymphocytes. Interestingly, emerging evidence supports the view that in situ imbalance of T helper 17 cells (Th17)/regulatory T cells (Treg) impacts the subsequent damage to target tissues. Galectin-9 (Gal-9) is a modulator of innate and adaptive immunity with both pro- and anti-inflammatory functions, dependent upon its expression and cellular location. However, the specific cellular and molecular mechanisms by which Gal-9 modulates the inflammatory response in the onset and progression of gouty arthritis has yet to be elucidated. In this study, we sought to comprehensively characterise the functional role of exogenous Gal-9 in an in vivo model of MSU crystal-induced gouty inflammation by monitoring in situ neutrophils, monocytes and Th17/Treg recruited phenotypes and related cyto-chemokines profile. Treatment with Gal-9 revealed a dose-dependent reduction in joint inflammation scores, knee joint oedema and expression of different pro-inflammatory cyto-chemokines. Furthermore, flow cytometry analysis highlighted a significant modulation of infiltrating inflammatory monocytes (CD11b+/CD115+/LY6-Chi) and Th17 (CD4+/IL-17+)/Treg (CD4+/CD25+/FOXP-3+) cells following Gal-9 treatment. Collectively the results presented in this study indicate that the administration of Gal-9 could provide a new therapeutic strategy for preventing tissue damage in gouty arthritic inflammation and, possibly, in other inflammatory-based diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adel Abo Mansour
- Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences (ICVS), College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom.,Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia
| | - Federica Raucci
- ImmunoPharmaLab, Department of Pharmacy, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Anella Saviano
- ImmunoPharmaLab, Department of Pharmacy, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Samantha Tull
- Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences (ICVS), College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Francesco Maione
- ImmunoPharmaLab, Department of Pharmacy, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Asif Jilani Iqbal
- Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences (ICVS), College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom.,ImmunoPharmaLab, Department of Pharmacy, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
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Liu Y, Chen H, Chen Z, Qiu J, Pang H, Zhou Z. Novel Roles of the Tim Family in Immune Regulation and Autoimmune Diseases. Front Immunol 2021; 12:748787. [PMID: 34603337 PMCID: PMC8484753 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.748787] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2021] [Accepted: 09/02/2021] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
T cell Ig and mucin domain (Tim) protein family members were identified to be important regulators of the immune response. As their name indicates, Tim proteins were originally considered a T cell-specific markers, and they mainly regulate the responses of T helper cells. However, accumulating evidence indicates that Tims are also expressed on antigen-presenting cells (APCs), such as monocytes, macrophages, dendritic cells (DCs) and B cells, and even plays various roles in natural killer cells (NKs) and mast cells. In recent years, the expression and function of Tims on different cells and the identification of new ligands for the Tim family have suggested that the Tim family plays a crucial role in immune regulation. In addition, the relationship between Tim family gene polymorphisms and susceptibility to several autoimmune diseases has expanded our knowledge of the role of Tim proteins in immune regulation. In this review, we discuss how the Tim family affects immunomodulatory function and the potential role of the Tim family in typical autoimmune diseases, including multiple sclerosis (MS), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and type 1 diabetes (T1D). A deeper understanding of the immunoregulatory mechanism of the Tim family might provide new insights into the clinical diagnosis and treatment of autoimmune diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yikai Liu
- National Clinical Research Center for Metabolic Diseases, Key Laboratory of Diabetes Immunology, Ministry of Education, and Department of Metabolism and Endocrinology, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Hongzhi Chen
- National Clinical Research Center for Metabolic Diseases, Key Laboratory of Diabetes Immunology, Ministry of Education, and Department of Metabolism and Endocrinology, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Zhiying Chen
- National Clinical Research Center for Metabolic Diseases, Key Laboratory of Diabetes Immunology, Ministry of Education, and Department of Metabolism and Endocrinology, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Junlin Qiu
- National Clinical Research Center for Metabolic Diseases, Key Laboratory of Diabetes Immunology, Ministry of Education, and Department of Metabolism and Endocrinology, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Haipeng Pang
- National Clinical Research Center for Metabolic Diseases, Key Laboratory of Diabetes Immunology, Ministry of Education, and Department of Metabolism and Endocrinology, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Zhiguang Zhou
- National Clinical Research Center for Metabolic Diseases, Key Laboratory of Diabetes Immunology, Ministry of Education, and Department of Metabolism and Endocrinology, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, China
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