Biomedical and environmental sciences : BES最新文献

Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the correlation between the levels of 12 cytokines in the cervical microenvironment and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia in patients with high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) infection.

Methods: Female patients ( n = 73) with HR-HPV infection were enrolled and divided into a high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL) group ( n = 33) and a non-HSIL (N-HSIL) group ( n = 40), which include low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions and inflammation. Healthy screening subjects ( n = 31) with negative HR-HPV results were enrolled as a control group. We examined contemporaneous plasma and secretory cytokines from 25 study subjects to investigate the difference between systemic cytokine profiles and the local microenvironment immunity using the Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed rank test. The 12 cytokines from cervical secretions were compared between the three groups using the Mann-Whitney test, and logistic regression was used to analyze HSIL and N-HSIL.

Results: There were statistical differences in eight cytokines (IL-2, IL-6, TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-1β, IL-12p70, IFN-α, and IL-8) between cervical secretion and plasma of the same patient, and seven cytokines were statistically different between the control and other two groups. We selected four independent variables (TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-12p70, and IFN-α) commonly identified by univariate regression analysis and non-parametric tests for multivariate logistic regression analysis. Based on this model, HSIL could be predicted in patients with HR-HPV infection, with the area under the curve being 0.76.

Conclusion: The systemic cytokine profile cannot reflect the local microenvironment immunity, and the occurrence of HSIL is related to the cytokine levels in the cervical microenvironment.

Objective: Previous Mendelian randomization (MR) studies have suggested an association between the gut microbiome and metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD). However, the reliance on 16S rRNA sequencing data has led to inconsistent findings and limited species-level insights. To address this, we conducted a de novo MR analysis using species-level shotgun metagenomic data, combined it with a meta-analysis to consolidate the existing evidence, and explored metabolite-mediated pathways.

Methods: Bidirectional MR analyses were performed between 883 gut microbiota taxa (derived from shotgun metagenomic genome-wide association study) and MAFLD. Published MR studies (up to December 1, 2024) were identified using PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library for meta-analysis. Multivariable MR (MVMR) and mediation analyses were applied to assess the mediating effects of 1,400 blood metabolites.

Results: The de novo MR identified 25 MAFLD-associated microbial taxa. Integration with 7 published studies revealed 34 causal taxa, including 10 at the species level. Among the 1,400 metabolites, 53 showed causal links with MAFLD. MVMR and mediation analyses identified deoxycholate as a mediator of the effect of Bifidobacterium on MAFLD risk (22.06% mediation proportion).

Conclusion: This study elucidated the connections between species-level gut microbiota and MAFLD, highlighting the interplay between microbiota, metabolites, and disease pathogenesis. These findings provide novel insights into the potential therapeutic targets for MAFLD.

Objective: Post tuberculosis lung disease (PTLD) manifests in various forms, including tuberculosis-associated chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (TB-COPD), yet the clinical features of PTLD remain undercharacterized. This study aimed to assess longitudinal changes in lung function over a 5-year period and to identify predictors of airflow obstruction in a cohort of patients treated for active pulmonary TB.

Methods: Patients with active pulmonary TB were enrolled in this study and were followed during treatment, at treatment completion and five years post-treatment. Assessments included lung function and chest CT, analyzing longitudinal trends and airflow obstruction risk factors.

Results: Among 53 patients (mean age 36.9 ± 13.9 years; 64.2% male), 7 patients (13.2%) exhibited airflow obstruction. At the 5-year follow-up, the mean FEV ₁/FVC declined significantly (76.27% ± 12.04% vs. 80.23% ± 11.02%, P < 0.001) and 9 patients (17.0%) exhibited airflow obstruction. Seven of these patients predominantly showed air trapping consistent with small airway disease on chest CT, aligning with TB-COPD phenotype. Notably, four young-to-middle-aged patients (< 60 years old) had persistent obstruction over the five years.

Conclusion: The initial test revealed that 13.2% of patients presented with airflow obstruction. By the 5-year follow-up, this proportion had increased to 17.0%, with most cases demonstrating imaging findings aligning with TB-COPD, even among younger, non-smoking individuals. These findings emphasize the importance of long-term follow-up and routine lung function assessments in TB survivors.

Human cardiac organoids have revolutionized the study of cardiac development, disease modeling, drug discovery, and regenerative therapies. This review systematically discusses strategies and progress in the construction of cardiac organoids, categorizing them into three main types: cardiac spheroids, self-organizing/assembloid organoids, and organoid-on-a-chip systems. This review uniquely integrates the advances in vascularization, organ-on-chip design, and environmental cardiotoxicity modeling within cardiac organoid platforms, offering a critical synthesis that is absent in the literature. In the context of escalating environmental threats to cardiovascular health, there is an urgent need for physiologically relevant models to accurately identify cardiac toxicants and elucidate their underlying mechanisms of action. This review highlights advances in cardiac organoid applications for disease modeling-including congenital heart defects and acquired cardiovascular diseases-drug development, toxicity screening, and the study of environmentally induced cardiovascular pathogenesis. In addition, it critically examines ongoing challenges and underscores opportunities brought by bioengineering approaches. Finally, we propose future directions for developing standardized cardiac organoid platforms with clinical predictability, aiming to expand the utility of this technology across broader research applications.

Objective: Previous studies link lower body mass index (BMI) with increased obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) risk, yet other body mass indicators may be more etioloically relevant. We dissected the causal association between body fat mass (FM) and OCD.

Methods: Summary statistics from genome-wide association studies of European ancestry were utilized to conduct two-sample Mendelian randomization analysis. Heterogeneity, horizontal pleiotropy, and sensitivity analyses were performed to assess the robustness.

Results: The inverse variance weighting method demonstrated that a genetically predicted decrease in FM was causally associated with an increased OCD risk [odds ratio ( OR) = 0.680, 95% confidence interval ( CI): 0.528-0.875, P = 0.003]. Similar estimates were obtained using the weighted median approach ( OR = 0.633, 95% CI: 0.438-0.915, P = 0.015). Each standard deviation increases in genetically predicted body fat percentage corresponded to a reduced OCD risk ( OR = 0.638, 95% CI: 0.455-0.896, P = 0.009). The sensitivity analysis confirmed the robustness of these findings with no outlier instrument variables identified.

Conclusion: The negative causal association between FM and the risk of OCD suggests that the prevention or treatment of mental disorders should include not only the control of BMI but also fat distribution and body composition.

Objective: Elevated depressive symptoms are well-documented among geriatric adults with cardiovascular disease (CVD); however, few studies have accounted for long-term cumulative depressive symptom exposure. This study determined the relationship between cumulative depressive symptoms and CVD.

Methods: Individual participant data were obtained from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) and Health and Retirement Study (HRS). Eligible participants had access to assessment information on depressive symptoms and had no history of CVD at baseline. Long-term cumulative depressive symptoms were estimated by calculating the area under the curve based on the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale.

Results: Herein, 8,861 participants from CHARLS (mean age: 58.58 years; male: 48.6%) and 7,284 from HRS (60.94 years; 35.0%) were enrolled. The median follow-up period was 5 years for the CHARLS and 10 years for the HRS. Compared with the first quartile of cumulative depressive symptoms, the HRs (95% CI) in the fourth quartile were 1.73 (1.48, 2.02) for predicting CVD ( P < 0.001), 1.83 (1.52, 2.19) for heart disease ( P < 0.001), 1.53 (95% CI: 1.17, 1.99) for stroke ( P = 0.002) in CHARLS. For HRS, the HRs (95% CI) were 1.41 (95% CI: 1.27, 1.57; P < 0.001), 1.42 (95% CI: 1.26, 1.59; P < 0.001), and 1.30 (95% CI: 1.06, 1.58; P = 0.010) respectively. Strong dose-response relationships were observed, with similar results for the two cohorts.

Conclusion: Long-term cumulative depressive symptoms were significantly associated with incident CVD in middle-aged and older adults, providing insights into controlling long-term depressive symptoms to improve this cohort's health.

Objective: The rising prevalence of childhood obesity is closely associated with suboptimal dietary patterns. To address this public health concern, we conducted a comprehensive study to examine the association between coarse cereals consumption and body fat percentage (BFP) in Chinese children and adolescents.

Methods: The study included 48,305 children aged 6-17 years from 28 districts/counties in 14 provinces across seven regions of China (24,152 girls and 24,153 boys). BFP was examined using bioelectrical impedance analysis in the early morning. Coarse cereals consumption was assessed using a Food Frequency Questionnaire and categorized into three groups: 0 g/1,000 kcal per day, 0-10 g/1,000 kcal per day, and > 10 g/1,000 kcal per day (daily consumption of coarse cereals × 1,000/total energy consumption). Quantile regression model was used to analyze the association between coarse cereals and BFP, adjusting for potential confounders such as age, pubertal development stage, urban/rural and regional factors, total daily dietary energy consumption, sedentary time, moderate-to-high physical activity, household income, parental education, and consumption of other foods.

Results: Boys aged 6-10, 11-14, and 15-17 years had median daily coarse cereals consumptions of 6.6 g, 7.1 g, and 5.7 g, with BFP of 19.6%, 19.5%, and 17.5% (all P < 0.05). Girls in the same age groups showed consumption of 7.1 g, 8.4 g, and 6.7 g, with BFP of 20.3%, 26.4%, and 31.0% (all P < 0.05). The quantile regression results for boys showed that daily consumption of coarse cereals was significantly correlated with their BFP in the 0.15, 0.25, and 0.50 quartiles, with regression coefficients of -0.257, -0.221, and -0.330, respectively, after adjusting for potential confounders ( P < 0.05). For girls, there was a significant correlation with PBF at the 0.05, 0.15, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, and 0.85 quartiles, with regression coefficients of -0.258, -0.366, -0.372, -0.431, -0.472, and -0.503 ( P < 0.05 for all).

Conclusions: Coarse cereals consumption among Chinese children and adolescents remains relatively low. Higher consumption was inversely associated with BFP in children aged 6-17 years. Future interventional studies should assess how increased coarse cereals consumption prevents childhood obesity.