The apoptosis of endothelial cells (ecs) induced by oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-ldl) is an important contributing factor in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. it has been reported that microrna (mir)-106a-5p is overexpressed in atherosclerotic plaques and involved in angiogenesis. However, its role and underlying mechanisms in ox-ldl induced ec apoptosis remain to be fully understood. in the present study the expression of mir-106a-5p in human umbilical vein ecs (HuVecs) stimulated with ox-ldl was investigated using reverse transcription-quantitative Pcr analysis. cell viability and apoptosis were assessed by MTT assay and flow cytometry, respectively. caspase-3 activity and reactive oxygen species (roS) levels were determined by commercial kits. The interaction between mir-106a-5p and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STaT3) mrna was examined by luciferase reporter assay. it was found that ox-ldl treatment significantly increased the levels of miR-106a-5p in a dose-dependent manner in HuVecs. Moreover, these results demonstrated that ox-ldl treatment inhibited cell viability, promoted cell apoptosis, increased caspase-3 activity and roS levels, whereas inhibition of mir-106a-5p reversed the effects of ox-ldl on HuVecs. in addition, it was shown that STaT3 is a direct target of mir-106a-5p in HuVecs, and silencing of STaT3 impaired the protective effects of mir-106a-5p inhibition on cell apoptosis and oxidative injury induced by ox-ldl. collectively, these results indicated that mir-106a-5p participated in ox-ldl-stimulated apoptosis and oxidative injury in HuVecs by regulating STaT3. Thus, suggesting that mir-106a-5p/STaT3 may serve as a novel therapeutic target for atherosclerosis in the future.

ObjectiveTo find an association between basic characteristics, seasons as well as disease types and 25-Hydroxyvitamin D serum concentrations in Chinese patients.MethodsWe randomly selected 5470 Chinese patients with various diseases, who were hospitalized between May 2012 and August 2013 in Shanghai and analyzed their serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D2 (25 (OH)D2) and 25-Hydroxyvitamin D3 (25(OH)D3) concentrations with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) as well as their parathyroid hormone (PTH) and serum creatinine blood levels. The resulting data were analyzed by linear regression and variance analyses or multivariate analysis with covariance.ResultsThe 25(OH)D serum concentrations were lowest in December. Among the subjects with a median age of 83.0±16.0, the median 25(OH)D2, 25(OH)D3 and total 25(OH)D serum concentrations were 1.00±1.80 ng/ml, 12.20±8.50 ng/ml and 14.80±9.80 respectively, indicating a prevalent 25(OH)D deficiency. According to our multivariate analysis of covariance, the factors affecting 25(OH)D2 and 25(OH)D3 serum concentrations included age, creatinine, PTH, season and type of disease, whereas gender correlated only with 25(OH)D2 and 25(OH)D2 and D3 values correlated negatively with each other. Our results further revealed that 25(OH)D3 levels were low while 25(OH)D2 levels were high among patients with lung diseases, dyskinesia and coronary heart diseases. In addition, participants with diabetes and cerebral infarction had higher 25(OH)D3 serum concentrations compared with lung disease patients.ConclusionVitamin D intake particularly during winter and summer seasons is important especially for elderly lung disease, dyskinesia and coronary heart disease patients to improve their quality of life.

S1. Haplotype association analysis of rs3130983, rs3778638, rs3815087, and rs4959053 in PSORS1C1. Haplotype associations Frequency χ 2 P CG 55.2% 0.987 0.321 TG 34.7% 0.359 0.549 CA 10.1% 0.481 0.488 Categorical data are presented as n (%) and were analyzed using the chi-square test. P-values <0.05 were considered statistically significant.

Calcaneus bone mineral density (BMD) of 7428 Chinese (4126 women, 3302 men; aged 22-94 years) was measured using single-energy X-ray absorptiometry (SXA). A reference range of calcaneus BMD values for healthy Chinese men and women was established and the usefulness of this method for screening and diagnosis in osteoporosis was evaluated. The peak BMD occurred at 20-24 years old and peak BMD in women was significantly lower than in men. BMD loss in the calcaneus started at the age of 35 years for women, and at 63 years in men. BMD loss rate was 1.2%/year for women and 0.56%/year for men after 50 years. The young normal reference for calcaneus BMD was 442.1+/-69.6 mg/cm2 for men and 388.3+/-61.7 mg/cm2 for women calculated from the mean BMD value of subjects whose age ranged from 20 to 49 years. The accumulated BMD loss in the calcaneus is similar to that of Ward's triangle. Multiple linear regression showed that both age and weight were important factors. The incidence of osteoporosis in older men and women (> or = 60 years) is 6.6% and 32.1% respectively. We conclude that calcaneus BMD measurement is useful and sensitive for the screening and diagnosis of osteoporosis. A predictive diagnostic model for osteoporosis based on the calcaneus was constructed using multiple linear regression and the WHO criteria for diagnosing osteoporosis can be applied to calcaneus BMD.