IntroductionThe four-and-a-half LIM (FHL) proteins are characterized by 4 complete LIM domains preceded by an N-terminal half LIM domain (1). LIM domains are cysteine-rich zinc finger motifs involved in a wide range of protein-protein interactions. Amino acid sequence comparisons reveal that FHL proteins are more than 40% identical.

In response to the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Wuhan, China, the Chinese Society of Cardiology (CSC) issued this consensus statement after consulting with 125 medical experts in the fields of cardiovascular disease and infectious disease. The over-arching principles laid out here are the following: 1) Consider the prevention and control of COVID-19 transmission as the highest priority, including self-protection of medical staff; 2) Patient risk assessment of both infection and cardiovascular issues. Where appropriate, preferential use of conservative medical therapeutic approaches to minimize disease spread; 3) At all times, medical practices and interventional procedures should be conducted in accordance with the directives of the infection control department of local hospitals and local health commissions.

AIM:To report the long-term effect of stent placement in 115 patients with Budd-Chiari syndrome (BCS). METHODS:One hundred and fifteen patients with BCS were treated by percutaneous stent placement. One hundred and two patients had IVC stent placement, 30 patients had HV stent placement, 17 of them underwent both IVC stent and HV stent. All the procedures were performed with guidance of ultrasound. RESULTS:The successful rates in placing IVC stent and HV stent were 94 % (96/102) and 87 % (26/30), respectively. Ninety-seven patients with 112 stents (90 IVC stents, 22 HV stents) were followed up. 96.7 %(87/90) IVC stents and 90.9 %(20/22) HV stents remained patent during follow up periods (mean 49 months, 45 months, respectively). Five of 112 stents in the 97 patients developed occlusion. Absence of anticoagulants after the procedure and types of obstruction (segmental and occlusive) before the procedure were related to a higher incidence of stent occlusion. CONCLUSION:Patients with BCS caused by short length obstruction can be treated by IVC stent placement, HV stent placement or both IVC and HV stent placement depending on the sites of obstruction. The long-term effect is satisfactory. Anticoagulants are strongly recommended after the procedure especially for BCS patients caused by segmental occlusion.

Rad is the prototypic member of a new class of Ras-related GTPases. Purification of the GTPase-activating protein (GAP) for Rad revealed nm23, a putative tumor metastasis suppressor and a development gene in Drosophila. Antibodies against nm23 depleted Rad-GAP activity from human skeletal muscle cytosol, and bacterially expressed nm23 reconstituted the activity. The GAP activity of nm23 was specific for Rad, was absent with the S105N putative dominant negative mutant of Rad, and was reduced with mutations of nm23. In the presence of ATP, GDP⅐Rad was also reconverted to GTP⅐Rad by the nucleoside diphosphate (NDP) kinase activity of nm23. Simultaneously, Rad regulated nm23 by enhancing its NDP kinase activity and decreasing its autophosphorylation. Melanoma cells transfected with wild-type Rad, but not the S105N-Rad, showed enhanced DNA synthesis in response to serum; this effect was lost with coexpression of nm23. Thus, the interaction of nm23 and Rad provides a potential novel mechanism for bidirectional, bimolecular regulation in which nm23 stimulates both GTP hydrolysis and GTP loading of Rad whereas Rad regulates activity of nm23. This interaction may play important roles in the effects of Rad on glucose metabolism and the effects of nm23 on tumor metastasis and developmental regulation. Ras-related GTP-binding proteins are a superfamily consisting of many members that play important roles in cell proliferation and differentiation (1), intracellular vesicular trafficking (2), cytoskeletal rearrangement (3), cell cycle regulation (4), and glucose transport into cells (5, 6). These GTPases cycle between GTP-bound (active) and GDP-bound states (inactive) in a controlled manner, stimulated by interaction with GTPaseactivating proteins (GAPs) present in the cytoplasm of the cells (7,8). Conversely, the reloading of the GTPases is made possible by the action of guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs), which facilitates the exchange of free GTP for G protein-bound GDP (7), or is slowed by the presence of GDP dissociation inhibitors (9).Rad is the prototype of a new subfamily of Ras-related GTPases, which are of molecular mass 33-35 kDa and lack typical prenylation motifs at the C terminus. It was initially identified by subtraction cloning and is overexpressed in skeletal muscle of a subset of humans with type 2 diabetes (10). Overexpression of Rad in 3T3-L1 adipocytes and C2C12 myocytes causes a marked reduction in glucose uptake in response to insulin stimulation, suggesting that it contributes to the insulin resistance of diabetes (6). Rad also interacts with calmodulin and calmodulin kinase II (11) and ␤-tropomyosin (12). These interactions are enhanced by an increase in the calcium influx and favor the GDP-bound form of Rad. The other two members of Rad family are Gem͞Kir and Rem. Gem͞Kir was identified in activated T lymphocytes (13) and v-abl transformed pre-B cells (14). Rem was cloned as a PCR product by using primers derived from conserved regions of Rad and Gem͞Kir, is expressed in heart, lung, and oth...