Association of NT-proBNP and Multiple Biomarkers with Severity of Angiographic Coronary Artery Disease in Diabetic and Pre-Diabetic Chinese Patients

Background: Little is known about the plasma levels of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), and the relationship between the severity of coronary heart disease (CHD) with NT-proBNP and multiple biomarkers in diabetic and pre-diabetic patients, compared to individuals with normal glucose levels. Methods: Four hundred and fifteen consecutive Chinese patients of both sexes were assigned to three groups on the basis of the new hemoglobin (Hb) A1c (HbA1c) cut-off points for diagnosis of diabetes and pre-diabetes. The three groups were divided into tertiles according to NT-proBNP, hs-CRP, cystatin C, and troponin T levels. Gensini scores were compared among the three groups and biomarker tertiles. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to obtain the angiographic CHD cut-off points for each biomarker. Stepwise multivariate linear correlation analysis was applied to examine the association between the severity of CHD and biomarker levels. Results: Gensini scores increased with increasing biomarker tertile levels and HbA1c. Gensini scores were significantly different in the middle and upper NT-proBNP tertiles of the diabetic, pre-diabetic and control groups. NT-proBNP had the highest positive and negative predictive values and area under the curve for CHD. Only NT-proBNP was identified as an independent variable for Gensini score. Conclusions: Plasma NT-proBNP may be an important biomarker to evaluate the severity of CHD and screen for CHD i

Flexible shift on gene body methylation and transcription of LpCYP72A161 exposed to temperature stress in perennial ryegrass

Epigenetic modifications of plants, such as DNA methylation, are often regulated by environmental stress. P450 monooxygenases play an important role in plant growth and development, and often respond to environmental stimuli. However, little is known about the mechanism that regulates P450 gene expression changes upon abiotic stress. Here, we tested the hypothesis that P450 s responds to temperature stress through changes in gene body methylation. A P450 gene that was up-regulated under heat and cold treatments was cloned from perennial ryegrass, and named LpCYP72A161 according to the amino acid sequence homology. LpCYP72A161, which contained four exons and three introns, showed CG methylation, and the methylated sites were mainly located on CpG islands within exon 1 and 4. Temperature stress resulted in a significant reduction in methylation of CG sites on exon 1 but not other CG islands. We observed that overlapping mCGs sites were demethylated upon heat and cold treatment; however, heat-treatment caused a higher demethylation and higher expression of LpCYP72A161 compared with cold treatment. In addition, plants that were recovered from heat treatment showed partial recovery of methylation and expression. In conclusion, LpCYP72A161, a CG-methylated gene, exhibited a flexible shift of gene body methylation in exon 1 under heat and cold stress, and the methylation level was negatively correlated to transcript abundance. By analyzing the changes in methylation patterns of the P450 gene LpCYP72A161 during early response to temperature stress in perennial ryegrass, our research provides a new understanding of the regulation of the gene body methylation in temperature stress