Serological characteristics of autoimmune pancreatitis and its differential diagnosis from pancreatic cancer by using a combination of carbohydrate antigen 19-9, globulin, eosinophils and hemoglobin

<div><p>Autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) is a special type of chronic pancreatitis, which may be misdiagnosed as pancreatic carcinoma. This study aims to verify new biomarkers for AIP and propose a serological pattern to differentiate AIP from pancreatic adenocarcinoma with routinely performed tests. In this study, data of serum samples were collected and compared between 25 patients with AIP and 100 patients with pancreatic carcinoma. Receiver operating characteristic analysis and logistic regression was performed to evaluate the diagnostic effect of serum parameters in differentiating AIP from pancreatic carcinoma alone or in combination. Among several serum markers observed in the two groups, carbohydrate antigen 19–9 (Ca19-9), globulin, eosinophils and hemoglobin were selected as the independent markers. Serum levels of Globulin, Eosinophil percentage in AIP group were significantly higher than in pancreatic cancer group (P<0.05), while hemoglobin and tumor marker CA19-9 levels were lower (P <0.05). The combination of these markers identified patients with AIP with 92% sensitivity and 79% specificity, which indicated relatively high diagnostic value. Elevated serum eosinophils, globulin, together with decreased hemoglobin level can be used as a preoperative indicator for AIP and can help to initiate diagnosis of AIP in time.</p></div

Demographics and clinical characteristics of the subjects according to gallstone disease status.

<p>The data are expressed as the mean ± SD or median (IQR) depending on the data distribution. HDL, high-density lipoprotein.</p>a<p>n = 5131;</p>b<p>n = 541;</p>c<p>n = 338;</p>d<p>n = 203;</p>e<p><i>χ</i>² value;</p>f<p><i>z</i> value.</p

Prevalences of metabolic syndrome and each of its component features.

<p>The prevalences of metabolic syndrome and each of its component features in individuals with gallstones were higher than the prevalences in individuals without gallstones, and higher still in those who had undergone cholecystectomy (all with <i>P</i>_{for trend} <0.001). BP, blood pressure; TG, triglyceride; HDL-C high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; FPG, fasting blood glucose.</p

Enzymatic Neutralization of the Chemical Warfare Agent VX: Evolution of Phosphotriesterase for Phosphorothiolate Hydrolysis

The V-type nerve agents (VX and VR) are among the most toxic substances known. The high toxicity and environmental persistence of VX make the development of novel decontamination methods particularly important. The enzyme phosphotriesterase (PTE) is capable of hydrolyzing VX but with an enzymatic efficiency more than 5 orders of magnitude lower than with its best substrate, paraoxon. PTE has previously proven amenable to directed evolution for the improvement of catalytic activity against selected compounds through the manipulation of active-site residues. Here, a series of sequential two-site mutational libraries encompassing 12 active-site residues of PTE was created. The libraries were screened for catalytic activity against a new VX analogue, DEVX, which contains the same thiolate leaving group of VX coupled to a diethoxyphosphate core rather than the ethoxymethylphosphonate core of VX. The evolved catalytic activity with DEVX was enhanced 26-fold relative to wild-type PTE. Further improvements were facilitated by targeted error-prone PCR mutagenesis of loop-7, and additional PTE variants were identified with up to a 78-fold increase in the rate of DEVX hydrolysis. The best mutant hydrolyzed the racemic nerve agent VX with a value of <i>k</i>_cat/<i>K</i>_m = 7 × 10⁴ M^–1 s^–1, a 230-fold improvement relative to wild-type PTE. The highest turnover number achieved by the mutants created for this investigation was 137 s^–1, an enhancement of 152-fold relative to wild-type PTE. The stereoselectivity for the hydrolysis of the two enantiomers of VX was relatively low. These engineered mutants of PTE are the best catalysts ever reported for the hydrolysis of nerve agent VX

The characteristics of the subjects with NAFLD and controls.

<p>The data are expressed as the mean ± SD or median (IQR) depending on the data distribution.</p>a<p><i>z</i> value; ^b<i>χ</i>² value.</p><p>Abbreviations: ALT: alanine aminotransferase; BMI: body mass index; DBP: diastolic blood pressure; FBG: fasting blood glucose; GGT: γ-glutamyltransferase; GH: growth hormone; HDL-C: high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; LDL-C: low-density lipoprotein cholesterol; SBP: systolic blood pressure; TG: triglyceride; TC: total cholesterol; WC: waist circumference.</p