Int J Med Sci
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The accumulation of heavy metals in the body has been associated with an elevated immune response. The aim of this study was to investigate the associations among heavy metals and white blood cell (WBC) and eosinophil count in the general population in southern Taiwan. We also explored the interactions and synergetic effects of heavy metals on WBC and eosinophil count. ⋯ Further, the effect of interactions between Pb and As (coefficient β, 0.721; p = 0.029) and Mn and Cu (coefficient β, 0.482; p = 0.018) on WBC count, and As and Cu (unstandardized coefficient β, 0.558; p = 0.002) on eosinophil count were statistically significant. In conclusion, the heavy metals Pb, As, Cu, and Cd were associated with WBC and eosinophil count. In addition, synergistic effects of heavy metal poisoning on the association with WBC and eosinophil count were also observed.
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Podocytes are specialized cells of the glomerulus that play important structural and functional roles in maintaining the filtration barrier. Loss and injury of podocytes are leading factors of glomerular disease and kidney failure. Recent studies found that phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) may play a critical role in maintaining the normal structure and function in podocytes. ⋯ In this study, We therefore investigated whether PTEN could play a role in podocyte injury induced by puromycin aminonucleoside (PAN), and whether dexamethasone (DEX) alleviates podocyte injury by PTEN/PI3K/Akt signaling. Our results showed that PI3K/Akt pathway was activated in podocytes exposed to PAN conditions, accompanied by down-regulation of the PTEN and microtubule-associated light chain 3 (LC3) expression.podocyte-specific knockout of PTEN significantly promoted podocyte injury, The potential renoprotection of overexpressed PTEN in podocytes was partly attributed with an improvement in autophagy and the inhibition of apoptosis. These novel findings also suggest that targeting PTEN might be a novel and promising therapeutic strategy against podocyte injury.
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Recurrent miscarriage (RM) and unexplained infertility (UI) are gordian knots in reproductive medicine, which are troubling many patients, doctors, and researchers. Although these two diseases of early pregnancy have a significant impact on human reproductive health, little is known about the specific mechanisms, which caused treatment difficulties. This study focused on the molecular signatures underlying the pathological phenotypes of two diseases, with the hope of using statistical methods to identify the significant core genes. ⋯ In the end, the satisfactory diagnostic ability of these core genes was verified in the broader group. Our results demonstrated the presence of immune disorders in non-pregnancy tissues of RM and UI, and identified the core molecules of this phenotype, and discuss mechanisms. This provides exploratory evidence for the in-depth understanding of the mechanism of RM and UI and may provide potential targets for their future treatment.
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[This corrects the article DOI: 10.7150/ijms.8128.].
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While most feverish children have self-limiting diseases, 5-10% develop a serious and potentially life-threatening bacterial infection (BI). Due to potential risk, prompt recognition of BI and sepsis in the pediatric emergency department (PED) remains a clinical priority. The aim of the study was to evaluate the role of certain cytokines and chemokines separately and in combination with routine blood tests in early BI and sepsis diagnostics at PED. ⋯ IL-6 and IL-2 could increase the diagnostic ability of routine blood tests for predicting BI, as IL-10 raises specificity for recognizing sepsis in the early hours of disease onset.