Gene Expression Signature in Peripheral Blood Detects Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm

BACKGROUND: Thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA) is usually asymptomatic and associated with high mortality. Adverse clinical outcome of TAA is preventable by elective surgical repair; however, identifying at-risk individuals is difficult. We hypothesized that gene expression patterns in peripheral blood cells may correlate with TAA disease status. Our goal was to identify a distinct gene expression signature in peripheral blood that may identify individuals at risk for TAA. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Whole genome gene expression profiles from 94 peripheral blood samples (collected from 58 individuals with TAA and 36 controls) were analyzed. Significance Analysis of Microarray (SAM) identified potential signature genes characterizing TAA vs. normal, ascending vs. descending TAA, and sporadic vs. familial TAA. Using a training set containing 36 TAA patients and 25 controls, a 41-gene classification model was constructed for detecting TAA status and an overall accuracy of 78+/-6% was achieved. Testing this classifier on an independent validation set containing 22 TAA samples and 11 controls yielded an overall classification accuracy of 78%. These 41 classifier genes were further validated by TaqMan real-time PCR assays. Classification based on the TaqMan data replicated the microarray results and achieved 80% classification accuracy on the testing set. CONCLUSIONS: This study identified informative gene expression signatures in peripheral blood cells that can characterize TAA status and subtypes of TAA. Moreover, a 41-gene classifier based on expression signature can identify TAA patients with high accuracy. The transcriptional programs in peripheral blood leading to the identification of these markers also provide insights into the mechanism of development of aortic aneurysms and highlight potential targets for therapeutic intervention. The classifier genes identified in this study, and validated by TaqMan real-time PCR, define a set of promising potential diagnostic markers, setting the stage for a blood-based gene expression test to facilitate early detection of TAA

Antioxidant, AChE inhibitory, and anticancer effects of Verbascum thapsus extract

Verbascum thapsus (Mullein) is a medicinal plant used in folk medicine to treat various ailments. For this study, the biological functions of Verbascum thapsus (VT) methanol extract were determined in vitro. The plant's methanol extract was created through the maceration process. The phytochemical composition of plant extracts was investigated using liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. The antioxidant capacity of the extract was determined using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazil (DPPH radical) and 2,2-azinobis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS radical). Cell lines Caco-2 (human colorectal adenocarcinoma cells), LNCaP (Lymph Node Carcinoma of Prostate), and HEK293 (Human embryonic kidney 293 cells) were used to model colon, prostate, and non-cancerous cells. The cytotoxic activity of the plant extract on the proliferation of these cells was determined by the MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide, a tetrazole) assay protocol. VT extract showed moderate DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activities at 30 mg/ml concentration. With this, VT extract was determined to inhibit acetylcholinesterase (AChE) enzyme and had strong cytotoxic activity on cancerous cell lines. In addition, our findings clearly showed that the plant extract had greater cytotoxic activity on the viability of cancerous cells compared to non-cancerous (Human embryonic kidney cells; HEK293) cells. The current findings showed that V. thapsus might be a promising anti-cancer medication candidate for the treatment of human colorectal adenocarcinoma and colon cancer, as well as a good source antioxidans. © 2023 by the C.M.B. Association.2021HX041; Türkiye Bilimler Akademis

Arthroscopic treatment of symptomatic type D medial plica

We aimed to review the results of subtotal arthroscopic resection of symptomatic type D medial plica. We retrospectively evaluated 23 knees with symptomatic type D medial plica in 22 patients without other intra-articular pathology. All patients complained of chronic knee pain that had not been alleviated by medical treatment or physical therapy. In only three (13%) of the patients studied was the plica diagnosed pre-operatively with magnetic resonance imaging. The type D medial plicae in our series were classified as fenestrated (14 knees), torn (5 knees), or reduplicated (4 knees). Fibrotic changes in the plicae and degenerative changes on the medial femoral condyle were found in 16 knees Patellofemoral chondromalacia was present in three knees Arthroscopic partial resection was performed in all patients. Comparative Lysholm Knee Scale scores before and after surgery revealed a significant clinical improvement (pre-operative status, 67.19 ± 8.05 vs. post-operative status, 90.57 ± 9.80; P < 0.001). Type D medial plica should be considered as a possible cause of chronic knee pain. Arthroscopic partial resection of the plicae in symptomatic patients gives satisfactory results

Fe@Ag nanoparticles decorated reduced graphene oxide as ultrahigh capacity anode material for lithium-ion battery

In the present study, we report the synthesis of Fe@Ag nanoparticles/2-aminoethanethiol functionalized reduced graphene oxide (rGO) composite (Fe@AuNPs-AETrGO) and its application as an improved anode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The structure of the Fe@AgNPs-AETrGO composite was characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The electrochemical performance was investigated at different charge/discharge current rates by using CR2032 coin-type cells and cyclic voltammetry (CV). It was found that the spherical Fe@AuNPs were highly dispersed on the rGO sheets. Moreover, the Fe@AuNPs-AETrGO composite showed high specific gravimetric capacity of about 1500 mAh g−1 and long-term cycle stability