The Role of Monocyte Percentage in Osteoporosis in Male Rheumatic Diseases

Non-diabetic elderly populations: the MHR as a protective factor against bone abnormalities

Objectives

In China, osteoporosis has become a major health concern among elderly population, imposing significant burden on the country's social and economic systems. The monocyte to high-density lipoprotein ratio (MHR) has been currently recommended as a novel marker of inflammation and oxidative stress associated with osteoporosis in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, its reliability in non-diabetic elderly populations remains unclear. The present study was to evaluate the association between MHR and osteoporosis in a non-diabetic elderly population.

Methods

The clinical data of 240 non-diabetic elderly subjects (115 in the osteoporosis group and 125 in the normal bone group) were retrospectively analyzed and all statistical analyses were performed by using SPSS 26.0.

Results

Differences in age, neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, MHR, uric acid, creatinine, triglycerides,and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol were found to be statistically significant between the two groups. A binary logistic regression model was conducted by including age, MHR, UA and Cr as variables. The results showed that age was an independent risk factor and MHR was an independent protective factor for bone abnormality in the non-diabetic elderly population. The ROC analysis showed that the area under the curve for the predictive effect of MHR, age and their combined test on osteoporosis in non-diabetic elderly populations was 0.623, 0.728 and 0.761, respectively; the correlation analysis showed that MHR was positively correlated with lumbar and hip BMD, and negatively associated with femoral neck stress ratio, femoral intertrochanteric stress ratio, and femoral stem stress ratio, showing statistically significant differences (P<0.05).

Conclusions

For the non-diabetic elderly population: the MHR is a protective factor against bone abnormalities and was significantly higher in the normal bone group than in the abnormal bone group.

Size control of induced pluripotent stem cells colonies in two-dimensional culture for differentiation into functional monocyte-like cells

BACKGROUND AIMS

Monocytes, derived from hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), play a pivotal role in the immune response to cancer. Although they are an attractive source of cell therapy for cancer, a method for ex vivo expansion has not yet been established. Monocytes differentiated from pluripotent stem cells (PSCs), including induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), can be an alternative source of HSC-derived monocytes because of their self-renewal and pluripotency. To develop a standardized method for the generation of iPSC-derived monocytes for future clinical applications, we aim to control the size of the iPSC colony.

METHODS

To this end, we developed a plate with multiple dots containing a chemical substrate for the iPSC scaffold. iPSCs placed in the plate expanded only on the dots and created colonies of the same size. The cells were then differentiated into monocytes by adding cytokines to the colonies.

RESULTS

The dot plate substantially reduced variability in monocyte-like cell generation when compared with cultivating cells on a plate with the substrate covering the entire surface area. Furthermore, more monocyte-like cells were obtained by adjusting the dot size and the distance between the dots. The iPSC-derived monocyte-like cells phagocytosed cancer cells and secreted proinflammatory cytokines. The cells also expressed Fc receptors and exerted immunoglobulin G-mediated killing of cancer cells with the corresponding antibodies.

CONCLUSIONS

The dot plate enabled the control of iPSC colony size in two-dimensional culture, which resulted in a reduction in the generation-variation of functional monocyte-like cells. This standardized method for generating iPSC-derived monocyte-like cells using the dot plate could also facilitate the development of an automated closed system on a large scale for clinical applications.

A correlative studies between osteoporosis and blood cell composition: Implications for auxiliary diagnosis of osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is defined as a metabolic skeletal disease characterized by a decrease of the bone mass per unit volume, caused by a variety of reasons. Increasing evidence indicate that the host inflammatory response was correlated with the occurrence and development of osteoporosis, and it has been recognized that T lymphocytes and B lymphocytes play a critical role in pathogenesis of inflammatory bone disease. Between January 2018 and December 2018, retrospective analysis of 487 patients (exclusion of patients with recent infections and hematologic disorders whose leukocyte counts or classifications are markedly abnormal) who underwent bone mineral density (BMD) examinations in Huzhou Central Hospital. The patients were divided into normal bone density group, osteopenia group, and osteoporosis group according to the T score of BMD in the left femoral neck, respectively. Statistics of the lymphocyte ratio and the monocyte ratio in the blood routine examination results during the same period were performed so as to make a comparison of the differences among the groups. The correlation of the lymphocyte ratio and monocyte ratio with the T score of BMD in the left femoral neck was also analyzed. The difference between neutrocyte ratio lymphocyte ratio and the monocyte ratio was statistically significant in both males and females among the normal bone density group, osteopenia group and osteoporosis group (P < .01 or P < .05). Inflammation plays an important role in the progression of osteoporosis. By monitoring these three indicators in blood routine examination, early intervention for osteoporosis may become possible.

Integrative Analyses of Genes Associated With Osteoporosis in CD16+ Monocyte

BACKGROUND

Osteoporosis is a metabolic bone disease characterized by decreased bone mineral density and abnormal bone quality. Monocytes can secret cytokines for bone resorption, resulting in bone mass loss. However, the mechanism by which monocytes subpopulations lead to osteoporosis remains unclear. The aim of this study was to identify genes associated with osteoporosis in monocytes subsets.

METHODS

Three microarray datasets including GSE7158 (transcription of low/high-peak bone mass), GSE101489 (transcription of CD16+/CD16- monocyte) and GSE93883 (miRNA expression profile of primary osteoporosis) were derived from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and analyzed with GEO2R tool to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Functional enrichment was analyzed using Metascape database and GSEA software. STRING was utilized for the Protein-Protein Interaction Network construct. The hub genes were screened out using the Cytoscape software. Related miRNAs were predicted in miRWalk, miRDB, and TargetScan databases.

RESULTS

Total 368 DEGs from GSE7158 were screened out, which were mostly enriched in signaling, positive regulation of biological process and immune system process. The hub genes were clustered into two modules by PPI network analysis. We identified 15 overlapping DGEs between GSE101489 and GSE7158 microarray datasets. Moreover, all of them were up-regulated genes in both datasets. Then, nine key genes were screened out from above 15 overlapping DEGs using Cytoscape software. It is a remarkable fact that the nine genes were all in one hub gene module of GSE7158. Additionally, 183 target miRNAs were predicted according to the above nine DEGs. After cross-verification with miRNA express profile dataset for osteoporosis (GSE93883), 12 DEmiRNAs were selected. Finally, a miRNA-mRNA network was constructed with the nine key genes and 12 miRNAs, which were involved in osteoporosis.

CONCLUSION

Our analysis results constructed a gene expression framework in monocyte subsets for osteoporosis. This approach could provide a novel insight into osteoporosis.