Systemic lupus erythematosus patients in the low-latitude plateau of China: altitudinal influences

Dietary patterns related to attention and physiological function in high-altitude migrants

High altitude exposure negatively affects human attentional function. However, no studies have explored the regulation of attentional and physiological functions from a dietary perspective. A total of 116 Han Chinese students from Tibet University who were born and raised in a plain area and had been living in Tibet for > 2 years were recruited. All participants were male migrants. A food frequency questionnaire, complete blood count, and attention network test were performed on the participants. Pearson's correlation was applied to assess the reliability and validity of the food frequency questionnaire. Principal component analysis was utilized to extract dietary patterns. A linear mixed model was employed to account for individual differences. The results showed that the five main dietary patterns were coarse grain, alcohol, meat, protein, and snacking dietary patterns. Furthermore, individuals who adhered to the coarse grain dietary pattern and had high mean corpuscular hemoglobin showed better attentional performance. Individuals with high alcohol consumption and systemic immune-inflammation index levels exhibited worse attentional performance. These findings imply that high-altitude migrants should include more coarse grains in their daily diet and avoid excessive alcohol consumption to improve attention.

Targeting of EIF4EBP1 by miR-99a-3p affects the functions of B lymphocytes via autophagy and aggravates SLE disease progression

Excessive activation of immune cells plays a key role in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The regulation of immune cells by miRNAs is a research hotspot. In this study, second-generation high-throughput sequencing revealed a reduction in miR-99a-3p expression in patients with SLE; however, the specific mechanism underlying this phenomenon remains unclear. After transfection with an miR-99a-3p agomir, the proliferation of Ball-1 cells decreased and the levels of their apoptosis increased. The opposite effects were observed in cells transfected with the miR-99a-3p antagomir. Luciferase reporter assay indicated that miR-99a-3p directly targeted EIF4EBP1. Rescue experiments confirmed the proposed interaction between miR-99a-3p and EIF4EBP1. In vitro, in vivo and clinical investigations further confirmed that the miR-99a-3p agomir reduced the expression of EIF4EBP1, LC3B and LAMP-2A. In the in vivo experiments, serum levels of anti-nuclear antibodies, double-stranded DNA, IgE, IgM, IL-6, IL-10 and B lymphocyte stimulator were higher in mice from the antagomir group than those in mice from the MRL/lpr group. Furthermore, the protein and mRNA levels of EIF4EBP1, LC3B and LAMP-2A, the intensity of immunohistochemical staining of EIF4EBP1, LC3B and LAMP-2A, the urinary protein levels, and the C3 immunofluorescence deposition increased in mice from the antagomir group. The upregulation of miR-99a-3p expression protected B cells from EIF4EBP1-mediated autophagy, whilst the downregulation of miR-99a-3p expression induced autophagy via the EIF4EBP1-mediated regulation of the autophagy signalling pathway in B cells isolated from individuals with SLE. Based on these results, miR-99a-3p and EIF4EBP1 may be considered potential targets for SLE treatment.

Increased expression of hub gene CXCL10 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a prototypical autoimmune disease, characterized by overactive inflammation and aberrant activation of lymphocytes. Chemokine C-X-C motif ligand 10 (CXCL10) has an important role in the initiation and deterioration of SLE. However, the expression levels of CXCL10 mRNA in T-helper (Th) cells and B lymphocytes from SLE patients have remained elusive. In the present study, a Bioinformatics analysis of differentially expressed gene (DEG) profiles obtained from RNA sequencing data for three matched samples was performed to explore the hub genes, mainly through Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes and protein-protein interaction analysis. Furthermore, the expression of CXCL10 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), CD4⁺ Th cells and CD19⁺ B cells of 108 subjects, including 66 SLE patients and 42 healthy controls, was confirmed by reverse transcription-quantitative PCR. In addition, 4 single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) loci in the 3'-untranslated region of CXCL10 were assessed using the Snapshot SNP genotyping assay. A total of 152 clustered DEGs mainly accumulated in immune-associated GO terms and interferon-associated pathways were identified. The expression of CXCL10, one of the central genes in the interaction network cluster (the degree of interaction, MCODE score=28.414), was 6.27-fold higher in SLE patients compared with control patients. Furthermore, CXCL10 mRNA was confirmed to be elevated in PBMCs and CD19⁺ B cells of patients with SLE (P<0.001 for the two cell types). However, no significant difference in CD4⁺ T lymphocytes was present (P=0.881). In addition, no polymorphism was identified in four selected loci from the samples. Taken together, the present results demonstrated that CXCL10, one of the hub genes in the pathogenesis of SLE, is upregulated in PBMCs and B lymphocytes of patients with SLE, although none of the SNPs selected for analysis in the present study were identified to have any potential associations with SLE.

Clinicopathological features of pediatric renal biopsies in the plateau regions of China

Objective

This study aimed to analyze the clinicopathological features of pediatric renal biopsies from plateau regions of China.

Methods

Clinicopathological features of pediatric renal biopsies were compared between plateau and non-plateau regions in patients who were admitted to West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University between April 2001 and March 2017. Patients were children younger than 18 years.

Results

The proportion of primary glomerular disease in the plateau group was lower than that in the non-plateau group (45.56% vs 62.09%, respectively). In the plateau group, IgA nephropathy (IgAN) was the major primary glomerulonephritis (GN) pathology. IgAN accounted for 36.54% and 21.63% of GN cases with nephrotic syndrome and hematuria, respectively. Henoch-Schönlein purpura nephritis was the most common secondary GN in both groups. The proportion of hepatitis B virus-associated GN was higher and that of lupus nephritis was lower in the plateau group than in the non-plateau group.

Conclusions

There are differences in renal pathological types between children in plateau regions and those in non-plateau regions. Among children in plateau regions, IgAN and Henoch-Schönlein purpura nephritis were the most common kidney diseases.