Allergic Phenotypes and Sarcopenia:Evidence from Observational Studies and Mendelian Randomization Analysis

Commonly afected in early-life population,the impact of allergic phenotypes on mid-or late-life health is less discussed.This study is to explore the association of allergic phenotypes including atopic dermatitis(AD),asthma,eosinophils count(EC),and sarcopenia.We conducted observational studies and mendelian randomization(MR)analysis based on UK Biobank(UKB),the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study(CHARLS)and data from genome-wide association study(GWAS).Based on the UKB data,AD,asthma and EC were positively correlated with pre-sarcopenia and decreased skeletal muscle mass index and hand grip in fully adjusted model.Asthma and EC were signifcantly associated with sarcopenia while AD was marginally associated(p=0.095).Based on the CHARLS cohort,asthma signifcantly added 109.4%risk for pre-sarcopenia in adjusted model(relative risk=2.094;p=0.002),respectively.Both asthma(β=0.100,p=0.006)and EC(β=0.023,p=0.017)exerted signifcantly casual efects on pre-sarcopenia.However,as for sarcopenia,merely EC exhibited a signifcantly casual efect(β=0.005,p=0.048).Signifcant casual efects of AD(β=–0.027,p=0.003),asthma(β=–0.029,p=0.027)and EC(β=–0.041,p<0.001)on decreased appendicular lean mass(ALM)were observed using the inverse-variance weighted method and the Mendelian randomization pleiotropy residual sum and outlier(MR-PRESSO)method.Our results revealed a contributory role of AD,asthma and EC on sarcopenia,especially in terms of decreased ALM,an indicator for sarcopenia diagnosis.The fndings of our study will raise the awareness of preventing aging-related disorders or geriatric syndromes among allergic populations.

Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells for psoriasis:a phase 1/2a,single-arm study

Psoriasis is a common,chronic immune-mediated systemic disease that had no effective and durable treatment.Mesenchymal stem cells(MSCs)have immunomodulatory properties.Therefore,we performed a phase 1/2a,single-arm clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of human umbilical cord-derived MSCs(UMSCs)in the treatment of psoriasis and to preliminarily explore the possible mechanisms.Seventeen patients with psoriasis were enrolled and received UMsC infusions.Adverse events,laboratory parameters,PASl,and PGA were analyzed.We did not observe obvious side effects during the treatment and 6-month follow-up.A total of 47.1%(8/17)of the psoriasis patients had at least 40%improvement in the PASl score,and 17.6%(3/17)had no sign of disease or minimal disease based on the PGA score.And the efficiency was 25%(2/8)for males and 66.7%(6/9)for females.After UMSC transplantation(UMSCT),the frequencies of Tregs and CD4^(+)memory T cells were significantly increased,and the frequencies of T helper(Th)17 and CD4^(+)naive T cells were significantly decreased in peripheral blood(PB)of psoriasis patients.And all responders showed significant increases in Tregs and CD4^(+)memory T cells,and significant decreases in Th17 cells and serum IL-17 level after UMsCT.And baseline level of Tregs in responders were significantly lower than those in nonresponders.In conclusion,allogeneic UMSCT is safe and partially effective in psoriasis patients,and level of Tregs may be used as a potent biomarker to predict the clinical efficacy of UMSCT.Trial registration Clinical Trials NCT03765957.