Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a cardiovascular disease mainly caused by atherosclerosis, which involves a variety of pathophysiological mechanisms such as lipid metabolism, inflammatory response, and endothelial dysfunction. Fetuin B is a glycoprotein secreted by the liver, which can participate in many processes such as cell inflammation, vascular calcification, and lipid metabolism, and is closely related to the pathogenesis of CAD. This article reviews the relationship between fetuin B and CAD and the mechanism of its occurrence and development, in order to provide new choices and methods for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of CAD.
Objective
To evaluate tissue regeneration, body reaction, and biological safety of xenogeneous bladder acellular matrix (BAM) that can be used to repair rabbit bladder.
Methods
Porcine BAM was prepared through physical, chemical, and enzymatic methods, and the effects of acellularization and the structure were observed with HE staining and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Eighteen New Zealand white rabbits (weighing, 2.5-3.0 kg) undergoing partial cystectomy were randomly divided into 2 groups. After partial (about 30%) cystectomy, the porcine BAM was used to replace partial rabbit bladder in the experimental group (n=12), and the incision was directly sutured as control group (n=6). The survival condition of animals was observed after operation. At 15 days, 1, 2, 3, and 6 months after operation, the blood routine, renal function, and electrolyte were tested by collecting the blood samples. At 1, 2, 3, and 6 months after operation, maximum bladder capacity, bladder leak point pressure, and bladder compliance were measured through urodynamic studies. Then gross observation was performed for regeneration of bladder, and the specimens of the bladder were harvested for HE staining and immunohistochemical staining. The surrounding organs and local lymphoid tissues were harvested for gross observation and HE staining.
Results
Cell components were completely removed in the porcine BAM, showing three-dimensional porous structure under SEM. All the animals survived during the experiment. At 15 days after operation, white blood cell count increased, and then returned to normal level in 2 groups, showing no significant difference between 2 groups (P gt; 0.05). The tests of renal function and electrolyte suggested no significant difference between 2 groups (P gt; 0.05). The level of serum creatinine showed a tendency of increase, but it remained within normal range at 6 months after operation. The maximum bladder capacity and compliance in experimental group were significantly higher than those in control group at 3 and 6 months after operation (P lt; 0.05), but no significant difference in bladder leak point pressure at each time point between 2 groups (P gt; 0.05). The urothelial regeneration, smooth muscle regeneration, and blood vessel regeneration were seen by histological observation in 2 groups. In the 2 groups, chronic inflammatory cells infiltration could be observed at 1 month postoperatively, and then chronic inflammatory cells decreased significantly (P lt; 0.05), until complete disappearance. There was no significant difference in score of chronic inflammatory cell infiltration between 2 groups at 3 and 6 months after operation (P gt; 0.05). The α-smooth muscle actin expression was significantly increased with time passing in 2 groups (P lt; 0.05), and it was significantly higher in control group than in experimental group at each time point (P lt; 0.05). In addition, gross and HE staining observations showed no abnormalities in surrounding organs and local lymphoid tissues.
Conclusion
No immune rejection response occurs when porcine BAM is used for xenotransplantation. It is indicated that porcine BAM is relative safety for xenotransplantation.
Objective Astragalus polysaccharide (APS) has promoting angiogenesis function. To explore the effects of APS collagen sponge on enhancing angiogenesis and collagen synthesis so as to provide evidence for the future tissue engineering appl ication as a kind of angiogenic scaffold. Methods APS collagen sponges were prepared by covalent binding with collagen polypeptides by using of crossl inking agents at the ratio of 1 ∶ 1 (W/W). Twenty 10-week-old SpragueDawley rats (10 males and 10 females, and weighing 200-250 g) were selected. Longitudinal incision was made at both sides of the back to form subcutaneous pockets. APS collagen sponges of 5 mm × 5 mm × 5 mm at size were implanted into the left pockets as the experimental group, collagen sponges without APS of the same size into the right pockets as the control group. The general conditions were observed after operation. At 3, 7, 14,and 21 days, 5 rats were sacrificed and the samples were harvested to count the number of microvessels, to measure the contents of the hydroxyprol ine (Hyp), and to detect the mRNA expressions of angiopoetin 1 (Ang1), matrix metalloproteinases 9 (MMP-9), and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases 1 (TIMP-1). Results All rats were al ive during experiment period. The number of microvessels increased gradually, and reached the peak at 14 days in 2 groups; the expermental group was significantly higher than the control group (P lt; 0.05). The contents of Hyp increased gradually in 2 groups, and the experimental group was significantly higher than the control group (P lt; 0.05). The mRNA expressions of Ang1 and MMP-9 in the experimental group were significantly higher than those in the control group at 3, 7, and 14 days (P lt; 0.05); the mRNA expression of TIMP-1 in the experimental group was significantly lower than that in the control group at 3 days and was significantly higher at 14 and 21 days (P lt; 0.05). Conclusion The APS collagen sponges can improve angiogenesis and collagen synthesis in wound heal ing by regulating the expressions of Ang1, MMP-9, and TIMP-1.
Objective To systematically review the impact of cardiac shock waves on coronary artery disease. Methods The PubMed, Cochrane Library, Wed of Science, EMbase, ClinicalTrials.gov, CNKI, WanFang Data, VIP and CBM databases were electronically searched to collect randomized controlled trials and cohort studies related to the treatment of coronary artery disease with cardiac shock waves from inception to August 2022. After two evaluators independently screened the literature, extracted data, and evaluated the risk of bias of the included studies, a meta-analysis was conducted by using RevMan 5.4.1 and Stata 15.0 software. Results A total of 11 studies with 519 patients were included. The meta-analysis results revealed that compared with the control group, cardiac shock wave therapy could reduce hospitalization rates (RR=0.38, 95%CI 0.25 to 0.57, P<0.01), increase exercise time (SMD=0.93, 95%CI 0.17 to 1.70, P=0.02), and improve the Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS) angina grading (MD=?0.62, 95%CI ?0.73 to ?0.51, P<0.01), the New York Heart Association (NYHA) cardiac function grading (MD=?0.60, 95%CI ?0.85 to ?0.35, P<0.01), left ventricular ejection fraction (MD=4.81,95%CI 3.17 to 6.46, P<0.01), total score of the Seattle angina questionnaire (SAQ) (MD=10.87, 95%CI 4.63 to 17.12, P<0.01), and 6-min walking test (MD=85.06, 95%CI 31.02 to 139.09, P<0.01). Conclusion Cardiac shock wave therapy can improve cardiac function as well as the prognosis and exercise ability. Due to the limited quantity and quality of the included studies, more high-quality studies are needed to verify the above conclusion.
Objective To develop and validate a composite model (PAH score) based on dual-center data, integrating logistic regression and machine learning approaches, to improve the preoperative differential diagnostic efficacy for appendiceal mucinous neoplasms (AMNs). MethodsA dual-center retrospective case-control design was adopted. The study included 108 AMNs patients and 230 healthy controls from The 900th Hospital of Joint Logistics Support Force (January 2014 to November 2024) and Sanming First Hospital Affiliated to Fujian Medical University (December 2018 to December 2023) for feature screening and model construction. Additionally, 258 patients with pathologically confirmed chronic appendicitis (CA) from the same period were included as the differential validation group. Predictors were screened using leastabsolute shrinkage and selection operator combined with traditional logistic regression, and four machine learning algorithms—random forest, support vector machine, gradient boosting, and decision tree—were applied to rank feature importance. Core variables consistently identified by both approaches were integrated to construct a logistic regression model. Based on the model results, the PAH score was formulated, and its performance in distinguishing AMNs from CA was validated. An online visualization platform for AMNs risk prediction was subsequently developed. ResultsBaseline characteristics were balanced between the AMNs group and healthy control group, as well as between the AMNs group and CA group (P>0.05). Multivariate logistic regression identified prognostic nutritional index (PNI, OR=0.81), albumin-to-globulin ratio (AGR, OR=0.37), and hemoglobin to red blood cell distribution width ratio (HRR, OR=0.36) as independent predictors of AMNs (all P<0.001). All four machine learning algorithms consistently ranked PNI, AGR, and HRR as the top three important features. Based on these findings, a PAH model was constructed, and the PAH score was calculated using the standardized regression coefficient weighting method as follows: PAH score=20.8–0.21×PNI–0.99×AGR–1.01×HRR. The model demonstrated excellent discriminative ability for AMNs, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.918. The Hosmer-Lemeshow test indicated good calibration between predicted and observed probabilities (P=0.925). Decision curve analysis (DCA) showed significant net clinical benefit within the risk threshold range of 0.05–0.95. Bootstrap internal validation confirmed robust model performance (AUC=0.911). The median PAH score was significantly higher in the AMNs group than that of the CA group (MD=1.78, P<0.001). For distinguishing AMNs from CA, the PAH score achieved an AUC of 0.758. At the optimal cutoff value (–1.00), sensitivity was 70%, specificity was 76%, and accuracy rate was 74%. The Hosmer-Lemeshow test again confirmed good calibration (P=0.106), and Bootstrap validation indicated stable performance (AUC=0.783). DCA further demonstrated considerable net benefit within the threshold range of 0.20–0.95. ConclusionsThe PAH score developed in this study effectively predicts the risk of AMNs and accurately differentiates AMNs from CA, showing promising clinical application potential. However, as an exploratory study, further validation through multicenter, large-sample, prospective studies with diverse control groups is needed to enhance the generalizability and stability of the scoring system.