Objective To explore the causal relationship between gut microbiota and urinary tract infections (UTI) using data from genome-wide association studies. Methods The gut microbiota data were sourced from the MiBioGen consortium, comprising genetic variables from 18 340 individuals. UTI data (ieu-b-5.65) were derived from the UK Biobank. Six methods including inverse variance weighted (IVW), Mendelian randomization (MR)-Egger, maximum likelihood, simple mode, weighted mode, and weighted median were employed for two-sample MR analysis on these datasets. Additionally, MR-PRESSO was used to detect and correct for heterogeneity and outliers in the analysis. Cochran’s Q test and leave-one-out analysis were applied to assess potential heterogeneity and multiple effects. Furthermore, reverse MR analysis was conducted to investigate causal relationships between UTI and gut microbiota. Results According to IVW method analysis results, bacterial genera Eggerthella (OR=1.08, 95%CI 1.01 to 1.16, P=0.034) and Ruminococcaceae (UCG005) (OR=1.10, 95%CI 1.01 to 1.20, P=0.022) were found to increase the risk of UTI, while Defluviitaleaceae (UCG011) (OR=0.90, 95%CI 0.82 to 0.99, P=0.022) appeared to decrease it. Reverse MR analysis did not reveal a significant effect of UTI on these three bacterial genera. Our study found no evidence of heterogeneity or pleiotropy based on the results of Cochran’s Q test, MR-Egger, and MR-PRESSO global test. Conclusion In this MR study, we demonstrate a causal association between Eggerthella, Ruminococcaceae, Defluvitalaceae and the risk of urinary tract infections.
Objective To investigate the effect of stretch on long non-coding RNA taurine upregulated gene 1 (TUG1)-mediated miR-545-3P/cannbinoida receptor 2 (CNR2) pathway regulating bone regeneration in the distraction area of rats during distraction osteogenesis. MethodsThirty-six 10-week-old male Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into 3 groups (n=12 in each group): group A (femoral fracture+injection of interfering RNA), group B (distraction osteogenesis+injection of interfering RNA), and group C (distraction osteogenesis+injection of TUG1). Groups A and B were injected with 60 μg of interfering RNA at the beginning of incubation period (immediate after operation), the beginning of distraction phase (7 days after operation), and the end of distraction phase (21 days after operation), and group C was injected with 60 μg of synthetic TUG1 in vivo interfering sequence at the same time. The general situation of rats in each group was observed during the experiment. The mineralization of fracture space or distraction area was observed by X-ray films on 21, 35, and 49 days after operation. At 49 days after operation, the samples of the distraction area were taken for HE staining to observe the mineralization, and real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to detect the expression of osteoblast-related genes such as TUG1, miR-545-3p, CNR2, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), osteocalcin (OCN), and osteopontin (OPN). Blood samples were collected from the abdominal aorta of the rats, and the expressions of ALP and C terminal telopeptide of type Ⅰ (CTX-Ⅰ) protein were detected by ELISA assay. Results The results of X-ray film and HE staining observations showed that osteogenesis in group C was more rapid than that in groups A and B at the same time point. The results of qRT-PCR showed that the relative mRNA expressions of TUG1, CNR2, ALP, OCN, and OPN in group C were significantly higher than those in group A and group B, and the relative mRNA expression of miR-545-3p in group C was significantly lower than that in group A and group B (P<0.05). The relative mRNA expressions of TUG1 and ALP in group B were significantly higher than those in group A, and the relative mRNA expression of miR-545-3p in group B was significantly lower than that in group A (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the relative mRNA expressions of CNR2, OCN, and OPN between group A and group B (P>0.05). The results of ELISA showed that the expressions of ALP and CTX-Ⅰ protein in group C were significantly higher than those in group A and group B, and that in group B was significantly higher than that in group A (P<0.05). ConclusionUnder the action of stretch force, the expression of TUG1 in the femoral extension area of rats increased, which promoted the expression of CNR2 by inhibiting the expression of miR-545-3P, which was helpful to the mineralization of the extension area and promoted osteogenesis.
Objective To assess the effectiveness of acupunctures in treatment of primary dysmenorrhea by using network meta-analysis. Methods Databases including the PubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library (Issue 6, 2016), CBM, CNKI and WanFang Data were searched for relevant clinical randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing acupunctures with ibuprofen or other kinds of acupuncture from inception to July 6th 2016. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of included studies. Then meta-analysis was performed by using Stata 13.0 and WinBugs 1.43 software. Results A total of 56 RCTs involving 4 600 PD patients were included. The results of network meta-analysis showed that: for the clinical effects: simple acupuncture, acupuncture plus moxa-moxibustion, acupuncture plus indirect-moxibustion, electroacupuncture, warm-acupuncture and electroacupuncture plus warm-acupuncture were superior to ibuprofen, acupuncture plus moxa-moxibustion, acupuncture plus indirect-moxibustion and warm-acupuncture were superior to simple acupuncture. For VAS score, there was no significant difference among all treatments. Simple acupuncture and ibuprofen were superior to acupuncture plus indirect-moxibustion in dysmenorrhea symptom scores. Conclusion The included 6 kinds of acupunctures are superior to ibuprofen and different acupunctures have different advantages in the treatment of PD. When selecting treatment regimen, it is better to consider the clinical situation and TCM syndrome differentiation.