Endothelial dysfunction in vascular complications of diabetes: a comprehensive review of mechanisms and implications

Diabetic vascular complications are prevalent and severe among diabetic patients, profoundly affecting both their quality of life and long-term prospects. These complications can be classified into macrovascular and microvascular complications. Under the impact of risk factors such as elevated blood glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol lipids, the vascular endothelium undergoes endothelial dysfunction, characterized by increased inflammation and oxidative stress, decreased NO biosynthesis, endothelial-mesenchymal transition, senescence, and even cell death. These processes will ultimately lead to macrovascular and microvascular diseases, with macrovascular diseases mainly characterized by atherosclerosis (AS) and microvascular diseases mainly characterized by thickening of the basement membrane. It further indicates a primary contributor to the elevated morbidity and mortality observed in individuals with diabetes. In this review, we will delve into the intricate mechanisms that drive endothelial dysfunction during diabetes progression and its associated vascular complications. Furthermore, we will outline various pharmacotherapies targeting diabetic endothelial dysfunction in the hope of accelerating effective therapeutic drug discovery for early control of diabetes and its vascular complications.

Akuammiline alkaloid derivatives: divergent synthesis and effect on the proliferation of rheumatoid arthritis fibroblast-like synoviocytes

During the past decades, rheumatoid arthritis had become a serious problem, torturing millions of patients because of unclear pathogenesis and no ideal therapies. Natural products remain an important source of medicines to treat various major diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) given their excellent biocompatibility and structural diversity. Herein, we have developed a versatile synthetic method for constructing various skeletons of akuammiline alkaloid analogs based on our previous research on the total synthesis of the related indole alkaloids. We have also evaluated the effect of these analogs on the proliferation of RA fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs) in vitro and analyzed the corresponding structure-activity relationship (SAR). Among these analogs, compounds 9 and 17c have demonstrated a promising inhibitory effect on the proliferation of RA-FLSs, with IC₅₀ values of 3.22 ± 0.29 μM and 3.21 ± 0.31 μM, respectively. Our findings provide a solid foundation for future pharmacological studies on akuammiline alkaloid derivatives and inspiration for the development of anti-RA small molecule drugs derived from natural products.

Association between caffeine intake and lumbar spine bone mineral density in adults aged 20-49: A cross-sectional study

Background

Many epidemiological studies have investigated the connection between coffee intake and bone mineral density (BMD), but the results are controversial. This study aimed to assess the association between caffeine consumption and lumbar BMD in adults aged 20-49.

Methods

From a cross-sectional study based on a large sample of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2011-2018. After controlling for confounders, the weighted multivariate linear regression model was created and stratified by age, gender, and race for subgroup analysis. In addition, we simultaneously stratified analysis by age and sex and divided caffeine intake into quartiles to assess the association between coffee intake and BMD.

Results

Caffeine intake was not significantly linked with lumbar BMD in this study of 7041 adults. In subgroup studies stratified by age, there was a significant correlation between lumbar BMD and caffeine consumption in participants aged 30-39 and 40-49. In females, there was a positive correlation between lumbar BMD and coffee consumption stratified by gender. When evaluated by race, the association between lumbar BMD and caffeine intake was independent of race. Consequently, when stratifying for age, sex, and coffee intake quartiles, a significant positive correlation was discovered between the fourth coffee intake quartile and lumbar BMD in females aged 30-39. In addition, a negative correlation was discovered between coffee consumption and lumbar BMD in males aged 40-49.

Conclusions

Our research indicates that drinking coffee may benefit 30-39 women's lumbar BMD, but it may adversely affect men aged 40-49.

A novel pyroptosis-regulated gene signature for predicting prognosis and immunotherapy response in hepatocellular carcinoma

Background: Pyroptosis, a newly discovered type of programmed cell death, has both anti-tumor and tumor-promoting effects on carcinogenesis. In hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), however, the associations between pyroptosis-regulated genes and prognosis, immune microenvironment, and immunotherapy response remain unclear.

Samples and methods: Sequencing data were collected from The Cancer Genome Atlas database, The International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC), and The Integrative Molecular Database of Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCCDB). First, we investigated the expression levels and copy number variations (CNVs) of 56 pyroptosis genes in HCC and pan-cancer. Next, we identified 614 genes related to 56 pyroptosis-associated genes at the expression, mutation, and CNVs levels. Pathway enrichment analysis of 614 genes in the Hallmark, KEGG, and Reactome databases yielded a total of 253 significant signaling pathways. The pyroptosis-regulated genes (PRGs) comprised 108 genes that were derived from the top 20 signaling pathways, of which 57 genes had prognostic value in HCC. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) analysis was performed to screen for PRGs with prognostic values. Ultimately, we constructed a risk score model with seven PRGs to predict HCC prognosis and validated its predictive value in three independent HCC cohorts. Risk scores were used to illustrate receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves predicting 1, 3, and 5-years overall survival (OS). Single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA), was performed to study 28 types of immune cells infiltrated in HCC. The relationship between the risk signature and six immune checkpoint genes and immunotherapy was analyzed.

Results: A total of seven PRGs were obtained following multiple screening steps. The risk score model containing seven PRGs was found to correlate significantly with the HCC prognosis of the training group. In addition, we validated the risk score model in two additional HCC cohorts. The risk score significantly correlated with infiltrating immune cells (i. e. CD4⁺ T cells, etc.), ICB key molecules (i. e. HAVCR2, etc.), and ICB response.

Conclusions: This study demonstrated a vital role of PRGs in predicting the prognosis and immunotherapy response of HCC patients. The risk model could pave the way for drugs targeting pyroptosis and immune checkpoints in HCC.

Transient Receptor Potential Cation Channel Subfamily V Member 1 Expression Promotes Chemoresistance in Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer

Approximately 85% of lung cancer cases are non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Chemoresistance is a leading cause of chemotherapy failure in NSCLC treatment. Transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily V, member 1 (TRPV1), a non-selective cation channel, plays multiple roles in tumorigenesis and tumor development, including tumor cell proliferation, death, and metastasis as well as the response to therapy. In this study, we found TRPV1 expression was increased in NSCLC. TRPV1 overexpression induced cisplatin (DDP) and fluorouracil (5-FU) resistance in A549 cells independent of its channel function. TRPV1 expression was upregulated in A549-DDP/5-FU resistant cells, and DDP/5-FU sensitivity was restored by TRPV1 knockdown. TRPV1 overexpression mediated DDP and 5-FU resistance by upregulation of ABCA5 drug transporter gene expression, thereby increasing drug efflux, enhancing homologous recombination (HR) DNA repair pathway to alleviate apoptosis and activating IL-8 signaling to promote cell survival. These findings demonstrate an essential role of TRPV1 in chemoresistance in NSCLC and implicate TRPV1 as a potential chemotherapeutic target.

Effect of obesity status on adolescent bone mineral density and saturation effect: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

The effect of obesity status on bone mineral density (BMD) in adolescents and whether there is a saturation effect is still insufficient. A cross-sectional study of adolescents aged 12-19 was conducted to investigate them.

METHODS

Weighted multivariate linear regression models were used to assess the relationship between obesity status and BMD via datasets from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2011-2018. The nonlinear relationships and saturation values were ascertained by fitting smooth curves and analyzing saturation effects. At the same time, the subgroup stratified analysis was also performed.

RESULTS

4056 adolescents were included in this study. We found that body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) were significantly associated with total BMD, which remained significant in subgroups stratified by age, gender, standing height, and ethnicity. We also noticed an inverse correlation between left leg fat/lean mass and left leg BMD, which was only significant in males and other races. Fitting smooth curve and saturation effect analysis showed that BMI, WC, left leg fat/lean mass, and BMD had a specific saturation effect. There was a saturation effect on bone mineral density in adolescents with a BMI of 22 kg/m², a WC of 70.5 cm, or a left leg fat/lean mass of 0.2994.

CONCLUSIONS

We found a positive saturation effect of BMI and WC with BMD and a negative saturation effect of left leg fat/lean mass with BMD. Appropriate obesity status allows adolescents to have better bone mass development but not excessive obesity.