The plasma values of osteoprotegerin were elevated in Type 1 diabetic patients with nephropathy and gradually increased with the severity, so there is a association between plasma osteoprotegerin levels and the presence and severity of diabetic nephropathy. This finding supports the growing concept that osteoprotegerin may act as an important regulatory molecule in the angiopathy, and particularly, that it may be involved in the development of nephropathy in Type 1 diabetes.

Background α-Linolenic acid (ALA) is a plant-derived omega-3 unsaturated fatty acid that is rich in flaxseed oil (FO). The effect of FO on bone health is controversial. This study aims to evaluate the effect of FO on bone damage induced by a high-fat diet (HFD) and to explore the possible mechanism. Methods Male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed a normal control diet (NC, 10% fat), FO diet (NY, 10% fat), HFD (60% fat), or HFD containing 10% FO (HY, 60% fat) for 22 weeks. Micro CT and three-point bending tests were conducted to evaluate bone microstructure and biomechanics. Serum was collected for the detection of ALP, P1NP, and CTX-1. Rat primary osteoblasts (OBs) were treated with different concentrations of ALA with or without palmitic acid (PA) treatment. The ALP activity, osteogenic-related gene and protein expression were measured. Results Rats in the HFD group displayed decreased biomechanical properties, such as maximum load, maximum fracture load, ultimate tensile strength, stiffness, energy absorption, and elastic modulus, compared with the NC group (p < 0.05). However, HY attenuated the HFD-induced decreases in bone biomechanical properties, including maximum load, maximum fracture load, and ultimate tensile strength (p < 0.05). Trabecular bone markers such as trabecular volume bone mineral density (Tb. vBMD), trabecular bone volume/total volume (Tb. BV/TV), trabecular number (Tb. N), trabecular thickness (Tb. Th) were decreased, trabecular separation (Tb. Sp) and the structure model index (SMI) were increased in the HFD group compared with the NC group, and all parameters were remarkably improved in the HY group compared to the HFD group (p < 0.05). However, cortical bone markers such as cortical volume bone mineral density (Ct. vBMD), cortical bone volume/total volume (Ct. BV/TV) and cortical bone thickness (Ct. Th) were not significantly different among all groups. Moreover, the serum bone formation markers ALP and P1NP were higher and the bone resorption marker CTX-1 was lower in the HY group compared with levels in the HFD group. Compared with the NC group, the NY group had no difference in the above indicators. In rat primary OBs, PA treatment significantly decreased ALP activity and osteogenic gene and protein (β-catenin, RUNX2, and osterix) expression, and ALA dose-dependently restored the inhibition induced by PA. Conclusions FO might be a potential therapeutic agent for HFD-induced bone loss, most likely by promoting osteogenesis.

BackgroundsSET and MYND domain-containing protein 2 (SMYD2), which is identified as a protein-lysine methyltransferase, plays a crucial role in the progression of some tumors such as bladder carcinoma. However, the clinical significance of SMYD2 in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) has not been elucidated. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the expression and role of SMYD2 in human PTC.Material/MethodsClinicopathological analysis was performed in 107 patients with PTC. Expression of SMYD2 was determined by immunohistochemistry staining, quantitative RT-PCR, or Western blotting in PTC tissues, adjacent normal tissues, and PTC cells (K1 and B-CPAP). The prognostic value of SMYD2 in PTC patients was assessed by univariate and multivariate analysis. Clinical outcomes were evaluated by Kaplan-Meier log-rank tests. Cell proliferation was examined in PTC cells following overexpression or knockdown of SMYD2.ResultsSMYD2 was highly expressed in PTC tissues compared to adjacent thyroid tissues. Additionally, high expression of SMYD2 was significantly related to tumor size, lymph node metastasis, and TNM stage. Moreover, SMYD2 was identified as an independent prognosis factor by multivariate analysis. Using 2 PTC cell lines, K1 and B-CPAP, we demonstrated that high expression of SMYD2 can promote tumor cell proliferation.ConclusionsSMYD2 expression was upregulated in PTC tissues and significantly related to the poorer prognosis of PTC patients. Our studies suggested the potential role of SMYD2 as a new therapeutic target and prognostic biomarker in human PTC.

Background: Visceral adipose tissue-derived serine protease inhibitor (vaspin), an adipose-derived hormone, exhibits various biological functions. Recently, studies showed that vaspin is closely related to bone metabolism. However, how vaspin influences bone formation and its underlying mechanisms in high fat-induced obese rats and rat primary osteoblasts (OBs) are not fully understood. In this study, the effects of vaspin on bone mechanical parameters and microarchitecture were evaluated.Methods: A total of 40 male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats at 5-week old were fed with high fat diet (HFD) and normal diet (ND) for 12 weeks followed by treatment of vaspin for 10 weeks. Micro CT and three-point bending tests were conducted to evaluate bone microstructure and biomechanics. The alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, expression of Runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx2), Osterix (Osx), Collegen alpha1 (Colla1) procollagen I N-terminal peptide (PINP), C-telopeptide of type I collagen (CTX), Smad2/3 and p-Smad2/3 was detected by different methods. Results: Our data indicated that, compared with ND rats, HFD rats exhibited high body weight, decreased bone strength and deteriorative bone quality. In contrast, vaspin reduced the body weight, improved the whole body metabolic status, enhanced bone strength, trabecular bone mass, and expression of Runx2, Osx, PINP, and decreased the expression level of plasma CTX. In vitro studies showed that vaspin promoted osteogenic differentiation and ALP activity in rat primary OBs in a dose dependent manner. Vaspin also upregulated mRNA expression of osteogenesis-related genes Runx2, Osx and Colla1 and protein expression of Runx2, Smad2/3 and p-Smad2/3. Conclusions:Our results indicated that vaspin protects against HFD-induced bone loss, and promotes osteogenic differentiation by activating the Smad2/3-Runx2 signaling pathway.

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IntroductionHysteroscopy is a useful procedure for diagnosing endometrial cancer. There is controversy regarding whether hysteroscopy affects the prognosis of endometrial cancer by prompting cancer cell into intraperitoneal dissemination. Our purpose was to confirm whether hysteroscopy could be a risk factor of the tumor stage, recurrence and survival rate of endometrial cancer.MethodsThis multicenter retrospective study included all consecutive patients who had endometrial carcinoma diagnosed preoperatively with hysteroscopy and directed endometrial biopsy (HSC, group A) and dilatation and curettage (D&amp;C, group B) between February 2014 and December 2018 at the Fujian Provincial, China. We compared the demographic feature, clinical characteristics and prognosis between the two groups.ResultsA total of 429 patients were included in the study (Group A, n = 77; Group B, n = 352). There was no significant difference between their baseline characteristics [including age, BMI, histological type and International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage]. By comparing several pathological conditions that may affect prognosis, there were no significant differences between the two groups in the peritoneal cytology, depth of myometrial invasion, the positivity of lymph nodes, lymphovascular space invasion and paraaortic lymph node dissection. Finally, no significant difference was found between the two groups in overall survival (OS) (P = 0.189) or recurrence free survival (RFS) (P = 0.787).ConclusionUnder certain inflation pressure and distension medium, hysteroscopic examination and lesion biopsy ensure the safety and have no adverse effects on prognosis compared to conventional curettage.

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