Polymorphisms of ATP-Binding Cassette, Sub-Family A, Member 4 (rs560426 and rs481931) and Non-Syndromic Cleft Lip/Palate: A Meta-Analysis

Evidence Mapping and Quality Analysis of Systematic Reviews on Various Aspects Related to Cleft Lip and Palate

BACKGROUND

Management of cleft lip and palate is interdisciplinary. An evidence-mapping approach was envisaged to highlight the existing gaps in this field, using only the highest level of evidence.

OBJECTIVES

To conduct evidence mapping and quality analysis of systematic reviews and meta-analyses related to any aspect of cleft lip and palate.

SEARCH METHODS

The cleft lip and palate field was divided into 9 domains and 50 subdomains and a method of categorization of systematic reviews was established. A comprehensive search strategy was carried out in seven databases along with the search of gray literature and references of included articles.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Systematic reviews related to any aspect of cleft lip and palate, conducted by a minimum of two reviewers, with a comprehensive search strategy and adequate quality analysis were included.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

A self-designed, pre-piloted data-extraction sheet was used to collect information that was analyzed through an expert group discussion. Quality analysis was performed using ROBIS-I, AMSTAR 2, and the PRISMA checklist.

RESULTS

A total of 144 systematic reviews published between 2008 and 2022 were included. The largest number of these could be categorized in the therapeutic domain (n = 58). A total of 27% of the studies were categorized as inconclusive, 40% as partially conclusive, and 33% as conclusive. As per ROBIS-I, 77% of reviews had high risk of bias while 58% were graded as critically low in quality as per AMSTAR 2. The majority of systematic reviews showed low reporting errors.

CONCLUSIONS

The majority of systematic reviews related to cleft lip and palate relate to therapeutic and prognostic domains and show high risk of bias and critically low quality regardless of the source journal. The results of this paper might serve as a starting point encouraging authors to carry out high-quality research where evidence is lacking.

REGISTRATION

A multidisciplinary expert-group formulated an a priori protocol, registered in Open Science Framework (DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/NQDV2).

Association of Blood MCP-1 Levels with Risk of Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background and objective: Among the broad variety of chemokines, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) is considered to be one of the most important chemokines. Among others, MCP-1 activates monocytes and other immune cells highly involved in inflammation. In the present systematic review and meta-analysis, we evaluated the relationship between serum/plasma MCP-1 levels and the risk of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in adults as a disease related to inflammation. Materials and methods: Four databases were systematically investigated until 12 July 2022. We used the Review Manager 5.3 software (Copenhagen: The Nordic Cochrane Centre, The Cochrane Collaboration, Copenhagen, Denmark) to extract and calculate the standardized mean difference (SMD) and its 95% confidence interval (CI) of plasma/serum levels of MCP-1 between adults with and without OSA. Results: Eight articles including eleven studies in adults were entered into the meta-analysis. The serum/plasma MCP-1 levels in adults with OSA were higher than that in the controls (SMD = 0.81; p = 0.0007) and as well as for adults with severe OSA compared to those with mild and moderate OSA (SMD = 0.42; p < 0.0001). The subgroup analysis showed that ethnicity was an effective factor in the pooled analysis of blood MCP-1 levels in adults with OSA compared to the controls (Asians: (p < 0.0001), mixed ethnicity: (p = 0.04), and Caucasians: (p = 0.89)). The meta-regression showed increasing serum/plasma MCP-1 levels in adults with OSA versus the controls, publication year, age of controls, body mass index (BMI) of controls, and sample size reduced, and also BMI and the apnea−hypopnea index of adults with OSA increased. Conclusions: The meta-analysis showed that compared to the controls, serum/plasma levels of MCP-1 in adults with OSA were significantly more, as well as adults with severe OSA having more serum/plasma MCP-1 levels compared to the adults with mild to moderate OSA. Therefore, MCP-1 can be used as a diagnostic and therapeutic factor in adults with OSA.

Evaluation of Plasma/Serum Adiponectin (an Anti-Inflammatory Factor) Levels in Adult Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background and objective: A variety of diseases, including obesity, type ‖ diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases are associated with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), and decreased adiponectin levels have been shown to be associated with an increased risk of these diseases. However, the association of blood levels of adiponectin in OSAS patients is a challenging and unknown issue with conflicting results. Therefore, we performed a systematic review and a meta-analysis to evaluate plasma/serum adiponectin levels in adult patients with OSAS. Materials and methods: A comprehensive search in four databases (PubMed/Medline, Web of Science, Scopus, and Cochrane Library) was performed in literature dated older than 12 March 2022, to retrieve the relevant articles. Effect sizes were calculated to show the standardized mean difference (SMD) along with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of plasma/serum of adiponectin between the OSAS patients and controls. The software RevMan 5.3, NCSS 21.0.2, CMA 2.0, trial sequential analysis (TSA) 0.9.5.10 beta, and GetData Graph Digitizer 2.26 were used for data synthesis in the meta-analysis. Results: A total of 28 articles including 36 studies were entered into the meta-analysis. The results showed that pooled SMD was −0.71 (95% CI: −0.92, 0.50; p < 0.00001; I2 = 79%) for plasma/serum levels of adiponectin in OSAS cases compared to the controls. The subgroup analyses showed that the geographical region and the Apnea-Hypopnea-Index (AHI) could be confounding factors in the pooled analysis of plasma/serum adiponectin levels. The sensitivity analysis showed the stability of the results. The radial and L’Abbé plots confirmed evidence of heterogeneity. Trial sequential analysis showed sufficient cases in the meta-analysis. Conclusions: With sufficient cases and stable results, the main finding of the meta-analysis identified significantly reduced plasma/serum levels of adiponectin in OSAS cases compared with the controls. This result suggests a potential role of adiponectin in the pathogenesis of OSAS.

Exosomal miR-4488 and miR-1273g-5p inhibit the epithelial-mesenchymal transition of transforming growth factor β2-mediated retinal pigment epithelial cells by targeting ATP-binding cassette A4

Exosomal microRNAs (miRNAs) have been shown to be involved in the regulation of many disease progression, including proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR). However, the roles of exosomal miR-4488 and miR-1273g-5p in PVR progression have not been demonstrated. Transforming growth factor β2 (TGF-β2)-induced ARPE-19 cells were used to stimulate the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of cells. Exosomes derived from TGF-β2-induced ARPE-19 cells were identified by transmission electron microscopy and nanoparticle tracking analysis. The expression levels of miR-4488, miR-1273g-5p and ATP-binding cassette A4 (ABCA4) were measured by quantitative real-time PCR. The promotion levels of exosomes markers, EMT markers, apoptosis markers and ABCA4 were determined by western blot analysis. The migration, invasion and apoptosis of cells were determined by transwell assay, wound healing assay and flow cytometry. Our data showed that miR-4488 and miR-1273g-5p were lowly expressed in TGF-β2-induced ARPE-19 cells. Overexpressed exosomal miR-4488 and miR-1273g-5p could inhibit the EMT, migration, invasion, and promote apoptosis in TGF-β2-induced ARPE-19 cells. In addition, ABCA4 was a target of miR-4488 and miR-1273g-5p. Overexpressed ABCA4 also could reverse the negatively regulation of exosomal miR-4488 and miR-1273g-5p on the EMT, migration, and invasion of TGF-β2-induced ARPE-19 cells. In conclusion, our data showed that exosomal miR-4488 and miR-1273g-5p could inhibit TGF-β2-stimulated EMT in ARPE-19 cells through targeting ABCA4.