Correlation between diabetic retinopathy and Helicobacter pylori infection: a cross-sectional retrospective study

AIM:To explore the correlation between diabetic retinopathy(DR)and Helicobacter pylori(Hp)infection,based on data from a physical examination population.METHODS:This cross-sectional retrospective analysis included data of 73824 health examination participants from December 2018 to December 2019.Participants were divided into the diabetic group and non-diabetic group,nondiabetic retinopathy(NDR)group,non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy(NPDR)group,proliferative diabetic retinopathy(PDR)group,and Hp infection group.Gender,age,body mass index(BMI),systolic blood pressure(SBP),diastolic blood pressure(DBP),fasting plasma glucose(FPG),glycated hemoglobin A1c(HbA1c),triglycerides(TG),total cholesterol(TC),low-density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C),high-density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C),and Hp data were recorded to compare the degree of DR lesions and Hp infection.Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the correlation between DR and Hp infection.RESULTS:There was a statistically significant difference between the diabetic and non-diabetic group(χ2=94.17,P<0.0001).Logistic regression analysis showed that male sex,age,BMI,SBP,TG,LDL-C,and Hp infection were independent risk factors for DR.There was no correlation between the degree of DR lesions and Hp infection(ρ=-0.00339,P=0.7753).Age[odds ratio(OR)=1.035,95%CI:1.024,1.046,P<0.0001]and SBP(OR=1.009,95%CI:1.004,1.015,P=0.0013)were independent risk factors for the degree of DR.CONCLUSION:There is a significant correlation between DR and Hp infection in the physical examination population.Hp infection is a risk factor for DR,and there is no significant difference between Hp infection and DR of different pathological degrees.Actively eradicating Hp may be of help to prevent DR.

High spindle and kinetochore-associated complex subunit-3 expression predicts poor prognosis and correlates with adverse immune infiltration in hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND Spindle and kinetochore-associated complex subunit 3(SKA3)is a malignancyassociated gene that plays a critical role in the regulation of chromosome separation and cell division.However,the molecular mechanism through which SKA3 regulates tumor cell proliferation in hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)has not been fully elucidated.AIM To investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the role of SKA3 in HCC.METHODS SKA3 expression,clinicopathological,and survival analyses were performed using multiple public database platforms,and the results were verified by Western blot and immunohistochemistry staining using collected clinical samples.Functional enrichment analyses were performed to evaluate the biological functions and molecular mechanisms of SKA3 in HCC.Furthermore,the Tumor Immune Estimation Resource and single-sample Gene Set Enrichment Analysis(ssGSEA)algorithms were utilized to investigate the abundance of tumor-infiltrating immune cells in HCC.The response to chemotherapeutic drugs was evaluated by the R package“pRRophetic”.RESULTS We found that upregulated SKA3 expression was significantly correlated with poor prognosis in patients with HCC.Multivariable Cox regression analysis indicated that SKA3 was an independent risk factor for survival.GSEA revealed that SKA3 expression may facilitate proliferation and migratory processes by regulating the cell cycle and DNA repair.Moreover,patients with high SKA3 expression had significantly decreased ratios of CD8+T cells,natural killer cells,and dendritic cells.Drug sensitivity analysis showed that the high SKA3 group was more sensitive to sorafenib,sunitinib,paclitaxel,doxorubicin,gemcitabine,and vx-680.CONCLUSION High SKA3 expression led to poor prognosis in patients with HCC by enhancing HCC proliferation and repressing immune cell infiltration surrounding HCC.SKA3 may be used as a biomarker for poor prognosis and as a therapeutic target in HCC.