Effects of roflumilast on arterial stiffness in COPD (ELASTIC): A randomized trial

Synthesis of Fluoromethylated Chromones and Their Heteroatom Analogues via Sodium Fluoromethanesulfinate-Enabled Direct Fluoromethylation

An array of biologically interesting tri/difluoromethylated chromones and their heteroatom analogues were conveniently synthesized from the reaction of chromones and their heteroatom analogues with CF3SO2Na or HCF2SO2Na in the presence of tert-butyl hydroperoxide under mild conditions. A mechanistic pathway involving the generation of the electrophilic tri/difluoromethyl radical, followed with the radical substitution of chromones and their heteroatom analogues, was postulated.

Exploratory Study of Differentially Expressed Genes of Peripheral Blood Monocytes in Patients with Carotid Atherosclerosis

BACKGROUND

The abundance of circulating monocytes is closely associated with the development of atherosclerosis in humans.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to further research into diagnostic biomarkers and targeted treatment of carotid atherosclerosis (CAS).

METHODS

We performed transcriptomics analysis through weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) of monocytes from patients in public databases with and without CAS. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened by R package limma. Diagnostic molecules were derived by the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) and support vector machine recursive feature elimination (SVM-RFE) algorithms. NetworkAnalyst, miRWalk, and Star- Base databases assisted in the construction of diagnostic molecule regulatory networks. The Drug- Bank database predicted drugs targeting the diagnostic molecules. RT-PCR tested expression profiles.

RESULTS

From 14,369 hub genes and 61 DEGs, six differentially expressed monocyte-related hub genes were significantly associated with immune cells, immune responses, monocytes, and lipid metabolism. LASSO and SVM-RFE yielded five genes for CAS prediction. RT-PCR of these genes showed HMGB1 was upregulated, and CCL3, CCL3L1, CCL4, and DUSP1 were downregulated in CAS versus controls. Then, we constructed and visualized the regulatory networks of 9 transcription factors (TFs), which significantly related to 5 diagnostic molecules. About 11 miRNAs, 19 lncRNAs, and 39 edges centered on four diagnostic molecules (CCL3, CCL4, DUSP1, and HMGB1) were constructed and displayed. Eleven potential drugs were identified, including ibrutinib, CTI-01, roflumilast etc. Conclusion: A set of five biomarkers were identified for the diagnosis of CAS and for the study of potential therapeutic targets.