Background and objective Anaemia commonly aggravates the severity of respiratory diseases, whereas thus far, few study has elucidated the impact of anaemia on Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID‐19). The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical characteristics of patients with anaemia, and to further explore the relationship between anaemia and the severity of COVID‐19. METHODS In this single‐center, retrospective, observational study, a total of 222 confirmed patients admitted to Wuhan Ninth Hospital from December 1, 2019 to March 20, 2020 were recruited, including 79 patients with anaemia and 143 patients without anaemia. Clinical characteristics, laboratory findings, disease progression and prognosis were collected and analyzed. Risk factors associated with the severe illness in COVID‐19 were established by univariable and multivariable logistic regression models. Result In our cohort, compared to patients without anaemia, patients with anaemia were more likely to have one or more comorbidities and severe COVID‐19 illness. More patients demonstrated elevated levels of C‐reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT) and creatinine in anaemia group. Levels of erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), D‐dimer, myoglobin, T‐pro brain natriuretic peptide (T‐pro‐BNP) and urea nitrogen (BUN) in patients with anaemia were significantly higher than those without. In addition, the proportion of patients with dyspnoea, elevated CRP and PCT was positively associated with the severity of anaemia. The Odd Ratio (OR) of anaemia related to the severe condition of COVID‐19 was 3.47(95% CI: 1.02‐11.75, P=0.046) and 3.77 (95% CI:1.33‐10.71, P=0.013) after adjustment for baseline date and laboratory indices, respectively. Conclusion Anaemia is an independent risk factor associated with the severe illness of COVID‐19, and healthcare professionals should be more sensitive to the haemoglobin levels of COVID‐19 patients on admission. Awareness of anemia as a risk factor for COVID‐19 was of great significance. Trial registration Ethics committee of Wuhan University People's Hospital (wdry2020‐k064) This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
BackgroundBreast cancer is the most prevalent cancer among women worldwide. WZ35, an analog of curcumin, has been demonstrated to remarkably improve the pharmacokinetic profiles in vivo compared with curcumin. WZ35 exhibits promising antitumor activity in gastric cancer, HCC, colon cancer. However, antitumor effects of WZ35 in breast cancer and its underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear.MethodsCCK8, Flow cytometry and transwell assays were used to measure cell proliferation, cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, cell migration and invasion. We constructed xenograft mouse model and lung metastasis model to assess the antitumor activities of WZ35 in vivo. To explore the underlying molecular mechanisms of WZ35, we performed a series of overexpression and knockdown experiments. The cellular oxygen consumption rates (OCRs) was measured to assess mitochondrial dysfunction.ResultsWe found that treatment of breast cancer cells with WZ35 exerts stronger anti-tumor activities than curcumin both in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, our research showed that WZ35 induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and subsequent YAP mediated JNK activation in breast cancer cells. Abrogation of ROS production markedly attenuated WZ35 induced anti-tumor activities as well as YAP and JNK activation. In addition, ROS mediated YAP and JNK activation induced mitochondrial dysfunction in breast cancer cells.ConclusionOur study showed that novel anti-cancer mechanisms of WZ35 in breast cancer cells and ROS-YAP-JNK pathway might be a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of breast cancer patients.
Background: There is a dearth of drug therapies available for the treatment of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Certain metabolites play a key role in ARDS and could serve as potential targets for developing therapies against this respiratory disorder. The present study was designed to determine such "functional metabolites" in ARDS using metabolomics and in vivo experiments in a mouse model.Methods: Metabolomic profiles of blood plasma from 42 ARDS patients and 28 healthy controls were captured using Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) assay. Univariate and multivariate statistical analysis were performed on metabolomic profiles from blood plasma of ARDS patients and healthy controls to screen for "functional metabolites", which were determined by variable importance in projection (VIP) scores and P value. Pathway analysis of all the metabolites was performed. The mouse model of ARDS was established to investigate the role of "functional metabolites" in the lung injury and mortality caused by the respiratory disorder. Results: The metabolomic profiles of patients with ARDS were significantly different from healthy controls, difference was also observed between metabolomic profiles of the non-survivors and the survivors among the ARDS patient pool. Levels of Phenylalanine, D-Phenylalanine and Phenylacetylglutamine were significantly increased in non-survivors compared to the survivors of ARDS. Phenylalanine metabolism was the most notably altered pathway between the non-survivors and survivors of ARDS patients. In vivo animal experiments demonstrated that high levels of Phenylalanine might be associated with the severer lung injury and increased mortality of ARDS. Conclusion: Increased mortality of acute respiratory distress syndrome was associated with high levels of plasma Phenylalanine.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.