Background: MicroRNA-206 (miR-206), a muscle-specific miRNA, regulates the growth of cardiac myocytes and pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells. However, it remains unknown whether miR-206 is involved in pulmonary hypertension (PH) due to left heart diseases (PH-LHD). This study was designed to investigate the correlation between miR-206 and PH in patients with LHD. Methods: In 82 consecutively enrolled LHD patients, we examined the serum levels of miR-206 and analyzed its correlations with pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP) and cardiac function. Another 36 age- and sex-matched subjects served as healthy controls. Results: The patients were divided into the LHD group (n=47, PASP<50 mmHg) and the PH-LHD group (n=35, PASP≥50 mmHg). The level of miR-206 was significantly decreased in the PH-LHD group compared with that of the LHD and healthy control groups. In addition, the miR-206 level was correlated with PASP (r=-0.305, p<0.001) but not with systemic blood pressure. Univariate analyses showed that miR-206, brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), left ventricular ejection fraction and left atrial longitudinal diameter (LAD) were significantly related to PASP. Multivariate regression analysis identified miR-206 as an independent predictive factor for PH. MiR-206 alone (cut-off <0.66) demonstrated a sensitivity of 68.60% and a specificity of 65.80% in predicting PH. Moreover, the combination of miR-206, BNP and LAD (cut-off 0.21) showed a sensitivity of 97.10% and a specificity of 80.30% in predicting PH in LHD patients. Conclusion: A decreased circulating miR-206 level was associated with increased PASP in LHD patients. Thus, the level of miR-206, especially combined with BNP and LAD, might be helpful in the detection of PH in LHD patients.

Aims. Local IGFBP1 level was reported to affect the development of coronary artery plaque. This study investigated the association of circulating IGFBP1 level with the severity of coronary artery lesions in patients with unstable angina. Materials and Methods. In 112 consecutive patients with clinically diagnosed unstable angina, admitted from July 2014 to July 2015, we studied the correlations of circulating IGFBP1 and the severity of coronary artery disease (CAD). Results. All patients underwent scheduled coronary angiography, and 67 cases were diagnosed with critical and 45 with noncritical CAD. Of the 67 critical CAD patients, 41 (61.19%) presented with multivessel and 26 (38.81%) with single-vessel lesions. IGFBP1 levels were higher in patients with multivessel than those with single-vessel lesions. Moreover, the IGFBP1 level was positively correlated with the GRACE score. Among clinical variables, the IGFBP1 level was correlated with HDL-C. IGFBP1 alone (cutoff 20.86 ng/ml) demonstrated a sensitivity of 0.448 and specificity of 0.933 in predicting CAD. Combination of IGFBP1 and HDL-C had a sensitivity of 0.821 and specificity of 0.800 in predicting CAD. Conclusions. Circulating IGFBP1 level positively correlated with the severity of CAD. IGFBP1, when combined with HDL-C, might be useful in screening for high risk CAD patients.

Nanozymes, as artificial enzymes with the biological action of natural enzymes, have enormous potential in the fields of disease diagnosis, bacteriostasis, biosensing, etc. In this work, the Ni0.1Cu0.9S nanoflower was successfully synthesized through a one-step hydrothermal method. A combined strategy of Ni doping and morphology design was employed to adjust its electronic structure and active sites, endowing the Ni0.1Cu0.9S nanoflower with excellent peroxidase-like activity. Therefore, it can catalyze the decomposition of H2O2 to generate •OH with higher antibacterial activity, establishing a broad-spectrum antibacterial system based on the Ni0.1Cu0.9S nanoflower against E. coli and S. aureus, which avoids the harm of a high concentration of H2O2. Additionally, the colorless substrate TMB can be catalytically oxidized into blue ox-TMB via •OH. As a result, a colorimetric technique with rapid and accurate detection of ascorbic acid (AA) by the unaided eye was designed, in view of the specific inhibition effect towards the oxidation of TMB. This detection platform has a wide linear range (10~800 μM) with a low limit of detection (0.84 μM) and exhibits a satisfactory selectivity toward the detection of AA. This study sheds new light on the application of copper-containing nanozymes in the fields of biomedicine and bioassay.