Dongping Huang

Sarcopenia is a muscle disorder characterized by progressive loss of muscle mass, strength and function with ageing. Non‐coding RNAs have been reported to be involved in the progression of sarcopenia. The current study aimed to investigate the pathogenesis of sarcopenia. Based on the bioinformatics analyses and RT‐qPCR validation, the lncRNA A430093F15Rik was selected as the potential target involved in sarcopenia progression. Its expression level was up‐regulated with ageing in mice but down‐regulated with myogenesis in C2C12 cells. Modulating A430093F15Rik showed that the inhibition of the lncRNA contributed to the attenuation of sarcopenia such as increased cell viability and enhanced myogenesis, while the overexpression promoted disease progression. The downstream effector of A430093F15Rik, miR‐337‐3p, showed opposite function to the lncRNA, while Fam168a showed similar effects. Moreover, modulating both factors also confirmed their distinct roles during sarcopenia progression. The dual luciferase and RNA pulldown assays then verified the direct binding between A430093F15Rik and miR‐337‐3p, and miR‐337‐3p and Fam168a, representing a ceRNA regulatory mechanism between A430093F15Rik, miR‐337‐3p and Fam168a. The current study identified a novel lncRNA, A430093F15Rik, that is involved in the progression of sarcopenia by acting as a competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) to sponge miR‐337‐3p and regulate the expression of Fam168a.

Pancreatic lipase is critical for the digestion and absorption of dietary fats. The most abundant lipolytic enzymes secreted by the pancreas are pancreatic triglyceride lipase (PTL or PNLIP) and its family members, pancreatic lipase-related protein 1 (PNLIPRP1or PLRP1) and pancreatic lipase-related protein 2 (PNLIPRP2 or PLRP2). Unlike the family’s other members, PNLIPRP2 plays an elemental role in lipid digestion, especially for newborns. Therefore, if genetic factors cause gene mutation, or other factors lead to non-expression, it may have an effect on fat digestion and absorption, on the susceptibility to pancreas and intestinal pathogens. In this review, we will summarize what is known about the structure and function of PNLIPRP2 and the levels of PNLIPRP2 and associated various pathological states.

Our study aimed to investigate the prevalence and associated factors of sarcopenia in the disabled elderly in communities in Shanghai, China. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2018. Five hundred and seventy two participants (≥60 years) were recruited through cluster sampling from Putuo District of Shanghai. Sarcopenia was defined according to the updated consensus of the European Sarcoma Working Group in 2019. The sarcopenia, depression, and nutrition status were assessed by using SARC-F, the Short Version of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D-10), and the Mini Nutritional Assessment-Short form (MNA-SF), respectively Physical activity was also assessed. Our results showed the prevalence of sarcopenia was 0.5%, but the prevalence of low handgrip strength was 37.2% (male, 5.5%; female, 39.1%). The modified Poisson regression model was used to evaluate the relationship among related variables and low handgrip strength. The risk for low handgrip strength was higher in the physically disabled subjects than in the visually disabled ones (aPR: 1.69, 95% CI: 1.88-2.42). Depressive symptoms (aPR: 1.31, 95% CI: 1.04-1.62) and PASE score (aPR: 0.99, 95% CI: 0.99-1.00) were independently associated with low handgrip strength. In summary, the prevalence of EWGSOP2-defined sarcopenia is low and the prevalence of declined muscle strength is high in the disabled elderly. The elderly participants with a physical disability had a higher prevalence of low hand handgrip strength than those with a visual disability. More studies with a larger sample size and longitudinal follow-up are needed to confirm our findings.

The whole grain intake is closely associated with human health. In this work, three‐phase dynamic hollow‐fiber liquid‐phase microextraction reinforced with 0.10 mg/mL 30 nm zeolitic imidazolate framework‐8 nanoparticles was introduced for purification and enrichment of free urinary metabolite biomarkers of whole grain intake. Eight milliliters of HCl (pH 3.00) and 8 μL of 300 mM NaOH solutions were used as the donor and acceptor phases, respectively. The temperature and stirring rate were kept at 25℃ and 500 rpm, and the extraction time was 40 min. The extraction process required no further desorption, and the resultant extract was directly used for electrophoretic analysis without derivatization. Based on the synergistic effect of hollow‐fiber liquid‐phase microextraction and the electrophoretic stacking, the enrichment factors of 3,5‐dihydroxybenzoic acid and 3‐(3,5‐dihydroxyphenyl)‐1‐propionic acid reached 1018–1034 times, and their limits of detection achieved 0.33–0.67 ng/mL (S/N = 3) in urine matrix. The developed method has been successfully used for urine analysis, and the sample recovery data were in the range of 97.0–103.5%. This developed method provided an attractive alternative for the determination of urinary metabolite biomarkers of whole grain intake due to its sensitive, fast, low‐cost, and environmental‐friendly features.

A novel capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence detection method has been developed for the analysis of aldehyde metabolism biomarkers for oxidative stress in exhaled breath condensate (EBC), and fluorescein 5-thiosemicarbazide was used as a derivatization reagent. In a simple capillary zone electrophoresis mode, ten low molecular weight aldehydes (LMWAs) could be well separated within 30 min. The reaction efficiency was doubled by increasing sample solution pH and magnetic stirring, and the LODs of this method reached 0.16–3.4 nM (S/N = 3). Acceptable recoveries (82.1–115%) were obtained for EBC samples, and the RSD data were within 7.9%. This developed method has been applied for the analyses of EBC samples and evaluation of the correlation between smoking and the contents of aldehyde metabolites in EBC. Due to no need of buffer additives and sample preconcentration, this proposed method may provide an appealing alternative for the trace analyses of LMWAs in noninvasive biofluids.

The primary clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease is mainly based on medical history and neuropsychiatric inventory. It is urgent to seek biological indicators with better sensitivity and higher specificity to clinically diagnose and evaluate Alzheimer’s disease. In this work, an electrophoretic method based on 2-thiobarbituric acid derivatization and amperometric detection was developed to determine formaldehyde as a urinary biomarker of Alzheimer’s disease. Under the optimum conditions, the formaldehyde derivative was well separated from the coexisting interferences in urine sample. The limit of detection for formaldehyde was 80.0 nM (2.4 ng/ mL) based on an electrophoretic stacking technology. The average recovery values were in the range of 91.7–110%, and the relative standard deviation values were less than 4.1%. This method has been applied to analyze human urine samples from healthy volunteers and patients with different degrees of Alzheimer’s disease. The assay results showed that the content of urinary formaldehyde in patients suffering Alzheimer’s disease was significantly higher than that in healthy subjects (P < 0.01), suggesting that urinary formaldehyde may be speculated to be an auxiliary noninvasive biomarker for the preliminary diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. High separation efficiency, simple sample preparation, environmental friendliness, and low cost are the main advantages of this proposed method.

To evaluate the therapeutic effects of nutritional support via different routes in elderly patients after surgery for gastrointestinal (GI) cancer. 105 patients with GI cancer were randomly divided into early enteral nutrition (EEN) group (n = 35), total parenteral nutrition (TPN) group (n = 35) and EN+PN group (n = 35). The nutrition status and immunity were significantly compromised in all patients, while the liver function was improved at 3 days after surgery as compared to those before surgery. At 7 days after surgery, they returned to preoperative level. The nutrition status was comparable among 3 groups at 3 and 7 days after surgery (P > 0.05). ALT, AST, ALP and GGT in TNP group were significantly higher than those in EEN group and EN+PN group (P < 0.05), whereas there was no significant difference in the liver function between EEN group and EN+PN group (P > 0.05). The CD3+ cells, CD4+ cells and CD4/CD8 in EEN group and EN+PN group were significantly higher than those in TPN group (P < 0.05), but significant difference was not observed between EEN group and EN+PN group (P > 0.05). The NK cells in EN+PN group were significantly higher than in TPN group (P < 0.01). The incidence of diarrhea in EEN group was significantly higher than in TPN group and EN+PN group (P < 0.05). EN+PN is superior to EEN alone and TPN alone in the old patients with GI cancer in reducing the postoperative complications, improving the immunity and decreasing the hospital stay.