Sitong Liu

Serum and tissue leptin in lung cancer: A meta-analysis

Many studies have found that leptin is involved in tumorigenesis and the progression of lung cancer. However, these studies were inconsistent. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis to investigate the role of leptin in the patients with lung cancer. A systematic literature search in the several databases and on commercial Internet search engines was carried out to identify studies published up to July 8, 2016. The standardized mean difference (SMD) and odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to investigate the effect sizes. Finally, 21 eligible articles were included in the current meta-analysis. Overall, there is no relationship between levels of serum leptin and lung cancer. However, a subgroup analysis in high-study quality group found a weak association between serum leptin concentrations and lung cancer in Chinese (SMD=0.77, P=0.035). Additionally, the meta-analysis indicates that the serum leptin levels were lower in the weight-losing group than in the sustained weight group (SMD=-0.80, P=0.001). Further, there was evidence of a significant association between expression levels of leptin protein in tissue and lung cancer (OR=7.35, P<0.001). The present meta-analysis suggests that the serum and tissue leptin may be involved in the pathogenesis of lung cancer and tumor metastasis, especially among Chinese. However, the leptin may not appear to play an important role in cancer cachexia development.

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor –173G/C gene polymorphism increases the risk of renal disease: A meta-analysis

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) –173G/C (rs755622) gene polymorphism has been associated with renal disease risk. However, lots of studies have reported inconclusive results. Therefore, we performed a meta‐analysis to investigate the relationship between MIF –173G/C gene polymorphism and renal disease susceptibility.

The BTNL2 G16071A gene polymorphism increases granulomatous disease susceptibility: A meta-analysis including FPRP test of 8710 participants.

Objective:The butyrophilin-like 2 (BTNL2) G16071A gene polymorphism has been implicated in the susceptibility to granulomatous diseases, but the results were inconclusive. The objective of the current study was to precisely explore the relationship between BTNL2 G16071A gene polymorphism and granulomatous disease susceptibility by the meta-analysis including false-positive report probability (FPRP) test. Methods:A systematic literature search in the PubMed, Embase, and Wanfang databases, China National Knowledge Internet, and commercial Internet search engines was conducted to identify studies published up to April 1, 2016. The odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to assess the effect size. Statistical analysis was conducted using the STATA 12.0 software and FPRP test sheet. Results:In total, all 4324 cases and 4386 controls from 14 eligible studies were included in the current meta-analysis. By the overall meta-analysis, we found a significant association between BTNL2 G16071A gene polymorphism and granulomatous disease susceptibility (A vs G: OR = 1.25, 95% CI = 1.07–1.45, P = 0.005). The meta-regression analyses showed that a large proportion of the between-study heterogeneity was significantly attributed to the ethnicity (A vs G, P = 0.013) and the types of granulomatous diseases (A vs G, P = 0.002). By the subgroup meta-analysis, the BTNL2 G16071A gene polymorphism was associated with granulomatous disease susceptibility in Caucasians (A vs G: OR = 1.37, 95% CI = 1.18–1.58, P < 0.001). Moreover, a significant relationship between the BTNL2 G16071A gene polymorphism and sarcoidosis susceptibility (A vs G: OR = 1.52, 95% CI = 1.39–1.66, P < 0.001) was found. However, to avoid the “false-positive report,” we further investigated the significant associations observed in the present meta-analysis by the FPRP test. Interestingly, the results of FPRP test indicated that the BTNL2 G16071A gene polymorphism was truly associated with sarcoidosis susceptibility (A vs G, FPRP < 0.001). Additionally, the FPRP test confirmed that the BTNL2 G16071A gene polymorphism was associated only with granulomatous disease susceptibility among Caucasians (A vs G, FPRP < 0.001) at the level of a prior probability, which was 0.001. Conclusion:The meta-analysis indicated that BTNL2 G16071A gene polymorphism may as a likelihood factor contributed to granulomatous disease susceptibility, especially increasing the sarcoidosis susceptibility. In addition, the polymorphism may be greatly associated with likelihood of granulomatous diseases among Caucasians.

Association between the MIF-173G/C Polymorphism and Serum MIF levels with Pulmonary Tuberculosis: A Meta-analysis

Many studies have indicated that Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF)-173G/C gene polymorphisms are associated with susceptibility to pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB). Additionally, some studies have suggested that there are higher levels of serum MIF in patients with PTB than the controls. However, the results of these studies were underpowered. The current study aimed to precisely evaluate the association between the MIF-173G/C polymorphism and serum MIF concentrations with PTB. Therefore, a systematic literature search was preformed to identify studies involving the indicated association. Eleven articles (1316 cases and 1272 controls) were included in the study. The results indicated that the MIF-173G/C polymorphism was significantly associated with PTB susceptibility, especially in Asians. Interestingly, the results further detected that circulating MIF levels were significantly higher in patients with PTB than in healthy controls, but this was only the case among Asians. Moreover, the statistical significance was also similar to that of the high quality group. The present study indicated that the MIF-173G/C polymorphism may contribute to the development of PTB. Furthermore, significantly higher serum MIF levels were observed in PTB patients than in controls, which further indicated that the MIF may play an important role in PTB progression, particularly in Asians.

The SDF-1 rs1801157 Polymorphism is Associated with Cancer Risk: An Update Pooled Analysis and FPRP Test of 17,876 Participants.

The stromal cell derived factor-1 (SDF-1) rs1801157 gene polymorphism has been implicated in susceptibility to cancer, but the results were inconclusive. The current study was to precisely investigate the association between SDF-1 rs1801157 polymorphism and cancer risk using meta-analysis and the false positive report probability (FPRP) test. All 17,876 participants were included in the study. The meta-analysis results indicated a significant association between the SDF-1 rs1801157 polymorphism and cancer risk. By subgroup analyses, the results detected that the SDF-1 rs1801157 polymorphism was associated with cancer susceptibility among Asians and Caucasians. Additionally, we also found significant associations between the SDF-1 rs1801157 polymorphism and susceptibility to different types of cancer. However, to avoid a “false positive report”, we further investigated the significant associations observed in the present meta-analysis using the FPRP test. Interestingly, the results of the FPRP test indicated that only 4 gene models were truly associated with cancer risk, especially in Asians. Moreover, we confirmed that the SDF-1 rs1801157 gene polymorphism was only associated with lung and urologic cancer risk. In summary, this study suggested that the SDF-1 rs1801157 polymorphism may serve as a risk factor for cancer development among Asians, especially an increased risk of urologic and lung cancers.

The YKL-40 protein is a potential biomarker for COPD: a meta-analysis and systematic review

Background Many studies have found that YKL-40 may play an important pathogenic role in COPD. However, the results of these studies were inconsistent. Therefore, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the role of YKL-40 in COPD. Methods We performed a systematic literature search in many database and commercial internet search engines to identify studies involving the role of YKL-40 in patients with COPD. The standardized mean difference (SMD) and Fisher’s Z-value with its 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to investigate the effect sizes. Results A total of 15 eligible articles including 16 case–control/cohort groups were included in the meta-analysis. The results indicated that the serum YKL-40 levels in patients with COPD were significantly higher than those in healthy controls (SMD =1.58, 95% CI =0.68–2.49, P=0.001), and it was correlated with lung function (pooled r=−0.32; Z=−0.33; P<0.001). The results of subgroup analysis found that the serum YKL-40 levels were statistically different between the exacerbation group and the stable group in patients with COPD (SMD =1.55, 95% CI =0.81–2.30, P<0.001). Moreover, the results indicated that the sputum YKL-40 levels in patients with COPD were also significantly higher than those in healthy controls (SMD =0.70, 95% CI =0.10–1.30, P=0.022). Conclusion The current study suggests that YKL-40 may be implicated in bronchial inflammation and remodeling in COPD and may be considered as a useful biomarker for COPD diagnosis and monitoring.

ACE gene polymorphism is associated with COPD and COPD with pulmonary hypertension: a meta-analysis

Purpose Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene I/D polymorphism has been studied in relation to the susceptibility to COPD and COPD with pulmonary hypertension (PH) with inconclusive results. We performed the first comprehensive meta-analysis to evaluate accurately the association between the ACE gene polymorphism and the risk of COPD. Methods Data were analyzed using odds ratios (ORs) and the corresponding 95% CIs to measure the strength of the models. Subgroup analyses were conducted by ethnicity and complication which referred to PH. Results In total, 15 studies (2,635 participants) were included in our study, of which four studies (288 participants) were for PH subgroup. The overall analysis results indicated that the ACE gene polymorphism was not associated with COPD susceptibility in all gene models. However, the ethnic subgroup analysis results indicated that ACE gene polymorphism was associated with Asians’ susceptibility to COPD (DD+DI vs II, OR=1.47, P=0.019, 95% CI: 1.07–2.02). Further, the overall results of the present study detected no statistical significance between ACE gene polymorphism and the risk of COPD with PH, but the homozygote variant (DD) increased the risk of PH in Asian COPD patients (DD vs ID+II, OR=2.05, P=0.05, 95% CI: 1.00–4.19). Conclusion The current study suggests that ACE polymorphism, particularly the homozygote variant (DD), might contribute to the risk of COPD and COPD with PH among Asians. Further studies with larger sample size and more ethnicities are expected to be conducted in the future to validate the results.

Can YKL-40 be used as a biomarker and therapeutic target for adult asthma?

The YKL-40 may be used as a potential biomarker and therapeutic target for adult asthma http://ow.ly/fgAw30h99Nt

Extracellular vesicles and ctDNA in lung cancer: biomarker sources and therapeutic applications

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the world. Recently, targeted therapy and anti-programmed cell death receptor 1 (PD-1) and anti-programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) immunotherapy have made great progress in treatment of lung cancer. However, responses to these therapies are variable, influenced by genetic alterations, high microsatellite instability and mismatch repair deficiency. Liquid biopsy of extracellular vesicles and circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) emerges as a new promising non-invasive means that enables not only biomarker determination, but also continuous monitoring of cancer treatment. Notably, tumor extracellular vesicles play important roles in tumor formation and progression, and also serve as natural carriers for anti-tumor drugs and short-interfering RNA. In this review, we summarize the latest progress in understanding the relationships of extracellular vesicles and ctDNA in cancer biology, diagnosis and drug delivery. In particular, the application of extracellular vesicles and ctDNA in anti-PD-1/PD-L1 immunotherapy is discussed.