Serum sulfatide as a biomarker of carotid atherosclerosis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Analysis of carbohydrates and glycoconjugates by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry: An update for 2021-2022

The use of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry for the analysis of carbohydrates and glycoconjugates is a well-established technique and this review is the 12th update of the original article published in 1999 and brings coverage of the literature to the end of 2022. As with previous review, this review also includes a few papers that describe methods appropriate to analysis by MALDI, such as sample preparation, even though the ionization method is not MALDI. The review follows the same format as previous reviews. It is divided into three sections: (1) general aspects such as theory of the MALDI process, matrices, derivatization, MALDI imaging, fragmentation, quantification and the use of computer software for structural identification. (2) Applications to various structural types such as oligo- and polysaccharides, glycoproteins, glycolipids, glycosides and biopharmaceuticals, and (3) other general areas such as medicine, industrial processes, natural products and glycan synthesis where MALDI is extensively used. Much of the material relating to applications is presented in tabular form. MALDI is still an ideal technique for carbohydrate analysis, particularly in its ability to produce single ions from each analyte and advancements in the technique and range of applications show little sign of diminishing.

Prediction potential of serum sulfatide levels at diagnosis for end-stage kidney disease progression in ANCA-associated vasculitis

The aim was to investigate the ability of serum sulfatide levels at diagnosis to reflect the cross-sectional activity and further longitudinally predict the occurrence of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) during the follow-up period in patients with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (AAV), regardless of kidney involvement at diagnosis. This study included 67 patients first diagnosed with AAV with available clinical data, including Birmingham Vasculitis Activity Score (BVAS), erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, and blood samples at diagnosis. Serum sulfatide levels were assessed using stored serum samples at the time of diagnosis. The median age of the 67 patients (40.3% men and 59.7% women) was 61.0 years. During follow-up, 10 (14.9%) patients progressed to ESKD, and 4 (6.0%) died. Serum sulfatide levels significantly correlated with Five-Factor Score (r = -0.242), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (r = -0.315), and renal manifestation of the BVAS items (r = -0.296), but not BVAS at diagnosis. The cutoff of serum sulfatide levels at diagnosis for ESKD progression was 332.5 pg/mL. However, no significant cutoff of serum sulfatide levels for all-cause mortality was obtained. Patients with serum sulfatide levels ≤ 332.5 pg/mL at diagnosis exhibited both significantly higher frequency of ESKD progression (22.7% vs 0%, P = .012) and lower ESKD-free survival rate than those without (P = .011). This study highlighted the clinical usefulness of measuring serum sulfatide levels at the time of diagnosis as a biomarker to predict ESKD progression in patients with AAV regardless of kidney involvement at diagnosis.

Identification of the ferroptosis-related gene signature and the associated regulation axis in lung cancer and rheumatoid arthritis

Patients with Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have an elevated risk of lung cancer compared to the healthy population. However, there are few studies on the relationship between RA and lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), especially the mechanisms at the genetic level. In this study, we investigated the link between RA and LUAD regarding Ferroptosis-Related Genes. The RNA-seq data of RA (GSE77298 and GSE 82107) and LUAD(GSE75037) in the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database were obtained. 259 ferroptosis-related genes were obtained from the website ( http://www.zhounan.org/ferrdb/ ).The differential genes obtained from the RA and LUAD datasets were intersected with ferroptosis-related genes to obtain the ferroptosis-related differentially expressed genes (FRDEGs). Next, the mRNA-miRNA network was constructed, then Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) for target genes were performed. The CIBERSORT algorithm was used to analyze the immune infiltration. Finally, the results were validated using external datasets (GSE89408 and GSE48780) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset. We obtained FRDEGs common to LUAD and RA: FANCD2, HELLS, RRM2, G6PD, VLDLR. These five genes play important roles in the progression of RA and LUAD. They also hold great diagnostic value for both diseases. Also, we found that LUAD and RA share common signaling pathways and similar immune mechanisms.

Serum sulfatide level is associated with severe systemic vasculitis with kidney involvement

Sulfatides are a type of sulfated glycosphingolipid that are secreted with lipoproteins into the serum. These molecules are involved in the inflammatory pathway of vessels in addition to coagulation and platelet aggregation. Previous studies have proposed that sulfatides play a pivotal role in regulating inflammation-related disorders. Systemic vasculitis (SV) diseases are generally caused by autoimmune diseases and often involve kidney vasculitis, which may lead to rapidly progressive kidney dysfunction and end-stage kidney disease. Our earlier pilot study revealed that the level of serum sulfatides (SSs) was significantly decreased in patients with anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (AAV), a representative disease-causing SV with kidney involvement (SVKI), especially in patients exhibiting active crescentic findings on kidney biopsy. To further explore the clinical significance of an association between SS and SVKI, we analyzed and compared the SS level of patients with various SVKI diseases in this retrospective cohort study. Among patients admitted to our hospital between 2008 and 2021, we ultimately enrolled 26 patients with IgA vasculitis (IgAV), 62 patients with AAV, and 10 patients with anti-glomerular basement membrane disease (GBM) as examples of SVKI diseases, as well as 50 patients with IgA nephropathy (IgAN) and 23 donors for living kidney transplantation as controls. The mean ± standard deviation SS level in the donor, IgAN, IgAV, AAV, and GBM groups was 8.26 ± 1.72, 8.01 ± 2.21, 6.01 ± 1.73, 5.37 ± 1.97, and 2.73 ± 0.99 nmol/mL, respectively. Analysis of patients in the SVKI disease group showed that those with the crescentic class kidney biopsy finding exhibited a significantly lower SS level than did those with other class biopsy features. Additionally, the SS level had a higher detection ability for SVKI patients with crescentic class kidney biopsy findings (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve 0.90, 95% confidence interval 0.82-0.99) than did several other predictor candidates. Our results indicate that the SS level is decreased in more severe SVKI diseases and may be associated with active glomerular lesions in SVKI kidney biopsy samples.

Impact of miR-155 rs767649 Polymorphism on Rheumatoid Arthritis Activity in Egyptian Patients

BACKGROUND

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory condition that impacts not only the musculoskeletal system but also various other systems in the body, including the cutaneous, ocular, respiratory, cardiovascular, and circulatory systems. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of naturally occurring and highly conserved transcripts that primarily function in the regulation of gene expression. They accomplish this by facilitating the degradation of messenger RNA (mRNA) or by repressing mRNA translation. miRNAs are well-known regulators of a variety of cellular processes. Therefore, we aimed to detect the impact of miR-155 rs767649 polymorphism on RA activity.

METHODS

This case-control study included 66 Egyptian patients with RA who visited Al-Zhraa University Hospital, Internal Medicine Department, Cairo, Egypt, and 50 apparently healthy control subjects matched for age and sex. The participants were subjected to full clinical evaluation, including assessments of the disease activity score (DAS), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), liver and kidney function, anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody (anti-CCP), and miR-155 polymorphism using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

RESULTS

In the RA group, the majority (98.5%) were female, with a mean age of 43 years, while in the control group, 94% were female, with a mean age of 43.4 years. Comparison of laboratory parameters indicated significantly lower hemoglobin levels, higher ESR, and higher serum creatinine and anti-CCP levels in the RA group than in the control group. The RA group had a significantly higher frequency of TT genotypes and significantly lower frequencies of TA and TT genotypes than the control group. Considering the TT genotype and T allele as references, TA, AA, and TA/AA genotypes in the dominant model; AA in the recessive model; and A allele were significantly associated with protective effects against RA development (p<0.05, odds ratio<1).

CONCLUSION

rs767649, the functional variant of miR-155, plays an important role in susceptibility to the increased risk of RA, suggesting that miR-155 can be used as a therapeutic target for the treatment of Egyptian patients with RA.