Bo Hu

1. Cardiorenal syndrome (CRS) encompasses a spectrum of disorders characterized by bidirectional interactions between cardiac and renal dysfunction. According to the Acute Dialysis Quality Initiati...

Pyroptosis, a form of programmed cell death characterized by inflammasome-mediated cellular swelling and membrane perforation. This pathway is involved in diverse pathophysiological processes, including inflammatory diseases and tumors. Notably, the role of pyroptosis in pregnancy-related diseases such as preeclampsia, recurrent spontaneous abortion, neonatal developmental dysplasia, preterm birth, and gestational diabetes mellitus has not been elucidated yet. This review aims to systematically dissect the molecular basis of pyroptosis in pregnancy-related diseases and summarize emerging therapeutic strategies targeting pyroptosis and inflammasomes. We first outline the mechanistic link between pyroptosis, inflammasome activation, and maternal-fetal immune regulation. Subsequent sections focus on the putative roles of pyroptotic pathways in the pathogenesis of major pregnancy complications, integrating recent findings from preclinical and clinical studies. Elucidating pyroptosis-mediated mechanisms may pave the way for developing targeted therapies to improve outcomes in pregnancy-related diseases.

Background and Objective: Intravenous therapy is widely used in clinics to deliver medications and fluids to patients, and overuse may cause intravenous-infusion-associated circulatory overload (IACO) and death. However, forensic data on deaths from the overuse of intravenous therapy are limited. We performed a retrospective study to identify whether causes of death in forensic practice were associated with IACO. Methods: A total of 572 medical-related cases with a history of intravenous infusion who suffered from injuries or illnesses and died after treatment in hospitals were recruited from two centers of forensic medicine between 2002 and 2018. Results: The results demonstrated that 6.47% of cases (37/572) were exposed to an infusion overdose that resulted in deaths related to IACO, and 43.24% of cases (16/37) had a net fluid retention ranging from 3.0 L/d to 13.8 L/d. The highest case was administered 1.4 L blood products and 13.6 L fluids within 25 h. We observed significant decreases in red blood cells, hematocrit, hemoglobin, and platelets from the time of “on admission” to “before death”, except for white blood cells. Autopsy findings of 16 cases revealed some organ or tissue pathological alterations related to IACO, including pale-yellow liquid overflow under the abdominal epidermis, much transudate in body cavities, and lung edema with a high tissue density and no obvious slurry deposition in the alveolar lumen. Another 21 cases died after a rapid infusion rate ranging from 111 to 293 drops/min, which resulted from viral myocarditis on autopsy. Conclusions: Our data on excessive or irrational use of intravenous therapy indicate a severe circulatory overload, which may eventually result in lethal outcomes. Therefore, the use of improper intravenous therapy should be reduced to ameliorate adverse health consequences during clinical treatment.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a common malignancy worldwide. Human immune deficiency virus type 1 enhancer-binding protein 3 (HIVEP3) was verified to play a vital role in types of cancers. However, the functional role of HIVEP3 in AML was rarely reported. In this study, CCK-8, colony formation assay, flow cytometry, and Trans-well chamber experiments were applied for detecting cell proliferation, apoptosis, and invasion in AML cells. The expression of proteins related to TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway was determined by western blot. Our data showed that the expression level of HIVEP3 was closely related to the risk classification and prognosis of AML patients. Moreover, HIVEP3 was highly expressed in AML patients and cells. Knockdown of HIVEP3 significantly repressed cell proliferation invasion, and enhanced cell apoptosis in HL-60 and THP-1 cells. In addition, HIVEP3 donwreglation could inhibit the TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway. TGF-β overexpression could reverse the inhibition effects of HIVEP3 knockdown on AML development and the TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway. These findings indicated that HIVEP3 contributed to the progression of AML via regulating the TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway and had a prognostic value for AML.

CTRP6, a member of the C1q/TNF-related protein (CTRP) family, has gained increasing scientific interest because of its regulatory role in tumor progression. Previous studies have shown that CTRP6 is closely involved in regulating various pathophysiological processes, including glucose and lipid metabolism, cell proliferation, apoptosis, and inflammation. To date, CTRP6 has been identified as related to eight different malignancies, including lung cancer, oral cancer, gastric cancer, colon cancer, liver cancer, bladder cancer, renal cancer, and ovarian cancer. CTRP6 is reported to be associated with tumor progression by activating a series of related signal networks. This review article mainly discusses the biochemistry and pleiotropic pathophysiological functions of CTRP6 as a new molecular mediator in carcinogenesis, hoping that the information summarized herein could make a modest contribution to the development of novel cancer treatments in the future.

Background: Platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) is reported to be related to the outcome of intensive care unit (ICU) patients. However, little is known about their associations with prognosis in newborn patients in neonatal ICU (NICU). The aim of the present study was to investigate the prognostic significance of the PLR for newborn patients in the NICU. Methods: Data on newborn patients in the NICU were extracted from the Multiparameter Intelligent Monitoring in Intensive Care III (MIMIC III) database. The initial PLR value of blood examinations within 24 h was analyzed. Spearman's correlation was used to analyze the association of PLR with the length of hospital and ICU stays. The chi-square test was used to analyze the association of PLR with mortality rate. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine whether the PLR was an independent prognostic factor of mortality. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to assess the predictive ability of models combining PLR with other variables. Results: In total, 5240 patients were enrolled. PLR was negatively associated with length of hospital stay and ICU stay (hospital stay: ρ = −0.416, p < 0.0001; ICU stay: ρ = −0.442, p < 0.0001). PLR was significantly correlated with hospital mortality (p < 0.0001). Lower PLR was associated with higher hospital mortality (OR = 0.85, 95% CI = 0.75–0.95, p = 0.005) and 90-day mortality (OR = 0.85, 95% CI = 0.76–0.96, p = 0.010). The prognostic predictive ability of models combining PLR with other variables for hospital mortality was good (AUC for Model 1 = 0.804, 95% CI = 0.73–0.88, p < 0.0001; AUC for Model 2 = 0.964, 95% CI = 0.95–0.98, p < 0.0001). Conclusion: PLR is a novel independent risk factor for newborn patients in the NICU.

Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the utility of liver function tests (LFTs) in predicting the prognosis of critically ill patients with primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH) with/without liver disease.Methods: We retrieved the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care III (MIMIC-III) database to acquire clinical data. From the database, we recruited adult patients that were equal to or older than 18 years with primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH) discharge from intensive care unit (ICU). Then, the relationship between LFTs and duration of hospitalization and ICU stays was examined based on the Spearman correlation. The chi-square assessment was conducted to examine the correlation between LFTs and death rates. Survival curves were plotted with the aid of the Kaplan-Meier technique, and the curves were subsequently compared utilizing the log-rank test. The LFTs were identified as independent predictive variables of death according to the results of multivariable logistic regression. The specificity and sensitivity for mortality were calculated utilizing receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and the area under the curve (AUC).Results: In total, 198 patients satisfying the inclusion criteria were recruited, among which there were 23 patients with liver disease. Only ALB was correlated with the length of ICU stay in the total PPH group. ALB independently served as a risk variable for hospital mortality and 90-day mortality and was significantly associated with 90-day and 4-year survival rates in both total PPH and PPH without liver disease. AST was correlated with hospital mortality and 90-day survival curves in both total PPH and PPH without liver disease and independently served as a risk factor for hospital and 90-day mortality only in the total PPH group. ALT independently acted as a risk variable for hospital mortality and total bilirubin was correlated with hospital mortality in the total group. The diagnostic performance of the predictive model combining the LFTs was moderately good for the hospital, 90-day, and 4-year mortality. Both Modelı End-Stage ıLiverı Disease (MELD) score and albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) score were independent risk factors for short- and long-term prognosis. And they were also significantly associated with short- and long-term prognosis.Conclusion: Among critically ill patients with PPH and with or without liver illness, aberrant LFT was linked to short- and long-term prognoses.