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MIF plays a pivotal role in proliferation and tumourigenesis of human HeLa cervical carcinoma cells, and may represent a promising therapeutic target for cancer intervention.

Background: Four-and-a-half LIM domains protein 1 (FHL1) mutations are associated with human myopathies. However, the function of this protein in skeletal development remains unclear.Methods: Whole-mount in situ hybridization and embryo immunostaining were performed.Results: Zebrafish Fhl1A is the homologue of human FHL1. We showed that fhl1A knockdown causes defective skeletal muscle development, while injection with fhl1A mRNA largely recovered the muscle development in these fhl1A morphants. We also demonstrated that fhl1A knockdown decreases the number of satellite cells. This decrease in satellite cells and the emergence of skeletal muscle abnormalities were associated with alterations in the gene expression of myoD, pax7, mef2ca and skMLCK. We also demonstrated that fhl1A expression and retinoic acid (RA) signalling caused similar skeletal muscle development phenotypes. Moreover, when treated with exogenous RA, endogenous fhl1A expression in skeletal muscles was robust. When treated with DEAB, an RA signalling inhibitor which inhibits the activity of retinaldehyde dehydrogenase, fhl1A was downregulated.Conclusion: fhl1A functions as an activator in regulating the number of satellite cells and in skeletal muscle development. The role of fhl1A in skeletal myogenesis is regulated by RA signaling.

Background Patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) are vulnerable to contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI), but few prediction models are currently available. Objectives We aimed to establish a simple nomogram for CI-AKI risk assessment for patients with CHF undergoing coronary angiography. Methods A total of 1876 consecutive patients with CHF (defined as New York Heart Association functional class II-IV or Killip class II-IV) were enrolled and randomly (2:1) assigned to a development cohort and a validation cohort. The endpoint was CI-AKI defined as serum creatinine elevation of ≥0.3 mg/dL or 50% from baseline within the first 48–72 hours following the procedure. Predictors for the nomogram were selected by multivariable logistic regression with a stepwise approach. The discriminative power was assessed using the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and was compared with the classic Mehran score in the validation cohort. Calibration was assessed using the Hosmer–Lemeshow test and 1000 bootstrap samples. Results The incidence of CI-AKI was 9.06% (n=170) in the total sample, 8.64% (n=109) in the development cohort and 9.92% (n=61) in the validation cohort (p=0.367). The simple nomogram including four predictors (age, intra-aortic balloon pump, acute myocardial infarction and chronic kidney disease) demonstrated a similar predictive power as the Mehran score (area under the curve: 0.80 vs 0.75, p=0.061), as well as a well-fitted calibration curve. Conclusions The present simple nomogram including four predictors is a simple and reliable tool to identify CHF patients at risk of CI-AKI, whereas further external validations are needed. Figure 1 Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: None