Background Pentraxin 3 （PTX3） is expressed in the heart under inflammatory conditions and plays an important role in atherogenesis. Patients with increased PTX3 levels may suffer from higher rates of cardiac events....Background Pentraxin 3 （PTX3） is expressed in the heart under inflammatory conditions and plays an important role in atherogenesis. Patients with increased PTX3 levels may suffer from higher rates of cardiac events. Regulation of specific genes by promoter methylation is important in atherogenesis. The factors influencing PTX3 levels and the association between epigenetics and PTX3 levels have not been investigated. Methods Blood samples were collected from 64 patients admitted to the Department of Cardiology, 35 who had coronary artery disease （CAD）, and 29 who were CAD-free. Plasma levels of PTX3 were measured by ELISA. PTX3 promoter methylation was evaluated via methyl-specific PCR. The severity of coronary artery lesion was evaluated by angiography. Results The level of PTX3 promoter methylation in the CAD group was 62.69% ± 20.57%, significantly lower than that of the CAD-free group, which was 72.45% ± 11.84% （P = 0.03）. Lower PTX3 promoter methylation levels in the CAD group were associated with higher plasma PTX3 concentrations （r = -0.29, P = 0.02）. Furthermore, lower PTX3 promoter methylation levels were associated with higher neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio （NLR） in men （r = -0.58, P = 0.002）. Conclusions The present study provides new evidence that methylation of the PTX3 promoter is associated with PTX3 plasma levels and NLR in coronary artery disease. This study also shows that modification of epigenetics by chronic inflamma- tion might be a significant molecular mechanism in the atherosclerotic processes that influence plasma PTX3 concentrations.展开更多
Objective To determine whether the onset of acute lung injury （ALl） induces the up-regulation of pentraxin 3 （PTX3） expression in mice and whether PTX3 concentration in the biofluid can help recognizing sepsis-ind...Objective To determine whether the onset of acute lung injury （ALl） induces the up-regulation of pentraxin 3 （PTX3） expression in mice and whether PTX3 concentration in the biofluid can help recognizing sepsis-induced ALI. Methods Wild-type C57BL/6 mice （12-14 weeks old） were randomly divided into 3 groups. Mice in the group 1 （n=12） and group 2 （n=12） were instilled with lipopolysaccharide via intratracheal or intraperitoneal routes, respectively. Mice in the group 3 （n=8） were taken as blank controls. Pulmonary morphological and functional alterations were measured to determine the presence of experimental ALl. PTX3 expression in the lung was quantified at both protein and mRNA levels. PTX3 protein concentration in blood and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid was measured to evaluate its ability to diagnose sepsis-induced ALI by computing area under receiver operator characteristic curve （AUROCC）. Results ALl was commonly confirmed in the group 1 but never in the other groups. PTX3 expression was up-regulated indiscriminately among lipopolysaccharide-challenged mice. PTX3 protein concentration in the biofluid was unable to diagnose sepsis-induced ALl evidenced by its small AUROCC. PTX3 concentration in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid did not correlate with that in serum. Conclusions Lipopolysaccharide challenges induced PTX3 expression in mice regardless of the presence ofALI. PTX3 may act as an indicator of inflammatory response instead of organ injury per se.展开更多
文摘Background Pentraxin 3 （PTX3） is expressed in the heart under inflammatory conditions and plays an important role in atherogenesis. Patients with increased PTX3 levels may suffer from higher rates of cardiac events. Regulation of specific genes by promoter methylation is important in atherogenesis. The factors influencing PTX3 levels and the association between epigenetics and PTX3 levels have not been investigated. Methods Blood samples were collected from 64 patients admitted to the Department of Cardiology, 35 who had coronary artery disease （CAD）, and 29 who were CAD-free. Plasma levels of PTX3 were measured by ELISA. PTX3 promoter methylation was evaluated via methyl-specific PCR. The severity of coronary artery lesion was evaluated by angiography. Results The level of PTX3 promoter methylation in the CAD group was 62.69% ± 20.57%, significantly lower than that of the CAD-free group, which was 72.45% ± 11.84% （P = 0.03）. Lower PTX3 promoter methylation levels in the CAD group were associated with higher plasma PTX3 concentrations （r = -0.29, P = 0.02）. Furthermore, lower PTX3 promoter methylation levels were associated with higher neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio （NLR） in men （r = -0.58, P = 0.002）. Conclusions The present study provides new evidence that methylation of the PTX3 promoter is associated with PTX3 plasma levels and NLR in coronary artery disease. This study also shows that modification of epigenetics by chronic inflamma- tion might be a significant molecular mechanism in the atherosclerotic processes that influence plasma PTX3 concentrations.
基金Partly supported by a grant from Jie-shou Li Academician Gut Barrier Research Fund
文摘Objective To determine whether the onset of acute lung injury （ALl） induces the up-regulation of pentraxin 3 （PTX3） expression in mice and whether PTX3 concentration in the biofluid can help recognizing sepsis-induced ALI. Methods Wild-type C57BL/6 mice （12-14 weeks old） were randomly divided into 3 groups. Mice in the group 1 （n=12） and group 2 （n=12） were instilled with lipopolysaccharide via intratracheal or intraperitoneal routes, respectively. Mice in the group 3 （n=8） were taken as blank controls. Pulmonary morphological and functional alterations were measured to determine the presence of experimental ALl. PTX3 expression in the lung was quantified at both protein and mRNA levels. PTX3 protein concentration in blood and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid was measured to evaluate its ability to diagnose sepsis-induced ALI by computing area under receiver operator characteristic curve （AUROCC）. Results ALl was commonly confirmed in the group 1 but never in the other groups. PTX3 expression was up-regulated indiscriminately among lipopolysaccharide-challenged mice. PTX3 protein concentration in the biofluid was unable to diagnose sepsis-induced ALl evidenced by its small AUROCC. PTX3 concentration in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid did not correlate with that in serum. Conclusions Lipopolysaccharide challenges induced PTX3 expression in mice regardless of the presence ofALI. PTX3 may act as an indicator of inflammatory response instead of organ injury per se.
