Frigid Zone Medicine

Electrocardiogram abnormalities and higher body mass index as clinically applicable factors for predicting poor outcome in patients with coronavirus disease 2019

Zhidan Sun, Yan Hou, Zheng Zhang, Benzhi Cai, Jinliang Li

2022, 2(4): 251-256. doi: 10.2478/fzm-2022-0032

Keywords: electrocardiogram abnormalities, overweight, coronavirus disease 2019

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Background Patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have high resource utilization. Identifying the causes of severe COVID-19 is helpful for early intervention to reduce the consumption of medical resources. Methods We included 103 patients with COVID-19 in this single-center observational study. To evaluate the incidence, predictors, and effects of COVID-19, we analyzed demographic information, laboratory results, comorbidities, and vital signs as factors for association with severe COVID-19. Results The incidence of severe COVID-19 was 16.5% and the percent poor outcome (including mortality, entering in ICU or transferred to a superior hospital) was 6.8%. The majority of severe COVID-19 patients had abnormal electrocardiogram (ECG) (82.35%), hypertension (76.47%) and other cardiac diseases (58.82%). Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine the predictors of severe illness. Abnormal body mass index (BMI) and ECG (P < 0.05) were independent predictors of severe COVID-19. ECG abnormality was associated with increased odds of poor outcome (area under the receiver operating characteristic curves [AUC], 0.793; P = 0.010) and severe COVID-19 (AUC, 0.807; P < 0.0001). Overweight was also associated with increased odds of poor outcome (AUC, 0.728; P = 0.045) and severe illness COVID-19 (AUC, 0.816; P < 0.0001). Conclusion Overweight and electrophysiological disorders on admission are important predictors of prognosis of patients with COVID-19.

LncRNA-TUG1 as a potential diagnostic biomarker for coronary atherosclerotic heart disease

Xin Wang, Xuyao Ji, Siyao Zhang, Benzhi Cai, Yu Liu

2025, 5(4): 231-241. doi: 10.1515/fzm-2025-0025

Keywords: coronary atherosclerotic heart disease, long non-coding RNAs-taurine upregulated gene 1, biomarker

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Objectives Accumulating evidence suggests that people living in cold regions have a higher risk of developing coronary atherosclerotic heart disease (CHD). Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been implicated in the pathogenesis and treatment of a variety of diseases. The present study aimed to investigate the serum level of lncRNA-taurine upregulated gene 1 (TUG1) in patients with CHD and assess its potential as a diagnostic biomarker. This study aimes to investigate the serum level of lncRNA-TUG1 in patients with CHD and assess its potential as a diagnostic biomarker. Methods The Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database was employed to identify the potential lncRNAs serving as biomarkers for CHD. To validate lncRNA-TUG1, 232 subjects were enrolled in both test and diagnostic cohorts. Serum lncRNA-TUG1 levels were measured by RT-qPCR. The association between lncRNA-TUG1 levels and CHD severity was analyzed using Pearson's correlation test. Diagnostic value was assessed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and compared with established cardiac biomarkers. Results LncRNA-TUG1 was identified in the GEO database as a potential biomarker for CHD. Serum lncRNA-TUG1 levels were significantly higher in CHD patients compared with healthy controls and non-CHD patients. CRP levels also differed between CHD and non-CHD groups, while other biomarkers showed no significant differences. ROC curve analysis demonstrated that lncRNA-TUG1 could distinguish CHD from non-CHD patients, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.8916, which was higher than that of conventional biomarkers such as cTnI. At a cut-off value of 2.311, the sensitivity and specificity of lncRNA-TUG1 were 61.63% and 97.67%, respectively, surpassing the diagnostic performance of cTnI. Furthermore, lncRNA-TUG1 levels in CHD patients were positively correlated with SYNTAX scores from coronary angiography and increased with the severity of vascular stenosis. Conclusion Elevated serum lncRNA-TUG1 levels in CHD patients suggest that lncRNA-TUG1 may serve as a novel and valuable diagnostic biomarker for CHD, with potential utility in differentiating CHD from other cardiac diseases.

Altered expression profile of long non-coding RNAs during heart aging in mice

Xiuxiu Wang, Bingjie Hua, Meixi Yu, Shenzhen Liu, Wenya Ma, Fengzhi Ding, Qi Huang, Lai Zhang, Chongwei Bi, Ye Yuan, Mengyu Jin, Tianyi Liu, Ying Yu, Benzhi Cai, Baofeng Yang

2022, 2(2): 109-118. doi: 10.2478/fzm-2022-0015

Keywords: heart aging, long noncoding RNAs, gene microarray, expression profile, cold stress, cardiovascular diseases

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Objective Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play an important role in regulating the occurrence and development of cardiovascular diseases. However, the role of lncRNAs in heart aging remains poorly understood. The objective of this study was to identify differentially expressed lncRNAs in the heart of aging mice and elucidate the relevant regulatory pathways of cardiac aging. Materials and methods Echocardiography was used to detect the cardiac function of 18-months (aged) and 3-months (young) old C57BL/6 mice. Microarray analysis was performed to unravel the expression profiles of lncRNAs and mRNAs, and qRT-PCR to verify the highly dysregulated lncRNAs. Results Our results demonstrated that the heart function in aged mice was impaired relative to young ones. Microarray results showed that 155 lncRNAs were upregulated and 37 were downregulated, and 170 mRNAs were significantly upregulated and 44 were remarkably downregulated in aging hearts. Gene ontology analysis indicated that differentially expressed genes are mainly related to immune function, cell proliferation, copper ion response, and cellular cation homeostasis. KEGG pathway analysis showed that the differentially expressed mRNAs are related to cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, inflammatory mediator regulation of TRP channels, and the NF-kappa B signaling pathway. Conclusion These results imply that the differentially expressed lncRNAs may regulate the development of heart aging. This study provides a new perspective on the potential effects and mechanisms of lncRNAs in heart aging.

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