Analytical comparison between two automated biochemical analyzer systems: Roche Cobas 8000 and Mindray BS2000M

Summary Background. The values of biomarkers play a central role in routine clinical decision-making. Whereas, the performances of different automated chemical analyzers remain unclear. To determine the performances of different platforms, we evaluated the capability between Roche Cobas 8000 and Mindray BS2000M. Methods. A total of 1869 remaining serum samples were collected. CK, LDH-1, RBP, Cys-c, IgA, IgM and IgG were assessed by using paired-t test, Passing-Bablok regression analysis and Bland Altman analysis according to CLSI EP5-A3. Results. There were significant in average bias of all items between two machines (P < 0.001). Due to the 95% confidence interval of intercept A included 0, CK, LDH-1, Cys-c and IgG were not show systemic error in Passing-Bablok regression analysis. Except for IgA, the r values and correlation coefficient of all items were higher than 0.91, which showed that the correlation and consistency is good. The Bland-Altman analysis showed that two instruments had more than 95% of the points apart from CK, LDH-1, and IgA. Conclusions. It can be considered that the two instruments have good correlation and consistency in CK, LDH-1, RBP, Cys-c, IgM and IgG, and the two instruments are interchangeable and can replace each other.

Five Constituents Contributed to the Psoraleae Fructus-Induced Hepatotoxicity via Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Apoptosis

Backgrounds: Psoraleae Fructus (PF)-induced hepatotoxicity has been reported in clinical and animal experiments. However, the hepatotoxic constituents and mechanisms underlying PF-induced toxicity have remained unclear. Therefore, this study explored the potentially toxic PF components and revealed their relative mechanisms.Methods: The hepatotoxicity of PF water (PFW) and ethanol (PFE) extracts was compared using Kunming mice. The different compositions between PFW and PFE, which were considered toxic compositions, were identified using the UHPLC-Q-Exactive MS method. Then, L02 and HepG2 cell lines were used to evaluate the toxicity of these compositions. Cell viability and apoptosis were determined through the Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay and flow cytometry, respectively. An automatic biochemical analyzer detected the aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP). Lastly, we used high-content screening (HCS) to determine the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), lipid, and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP).Results: The ethanol extraction process aggravated the hepatotoxicity of PF, causing more severe injuries. The content of psoralen, isopsoralen, bavachin, psoralidin, bavachinin, neobavaisoflavone, and bakuchiol was higher in the PFE than PFW. Bavachin, psoralidin, bavachinin, neobavaisoflavone, and bakuchiol induced cell apoptosis and the AST, ALT, and ALP leakages. Furthermore, these five constituents increased intracellular lipid accumulation and ROS levels but decreased the MMP level.Conclusion: The ethanol extraction process could induce severe PF hepatotoxicity. Bavachin, psoralidin, bavachinin, neobavaisoflavone, and bakuchiol are the main hepatotoxic ingredients. This mechanism could be associated with oxidative stress and mitochondrial damage-mediated apoptosis. Taken together, this study provides a basis for the clinical application of PF that formulates and improves its herbal standards.

PSVII-22 Changes in biochemical composition of saliva and blood of cattle after sunflower husk included in the diet

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of the introduction of food waste sunflower husk (SH) into the diet on the change in the chemical composition of biological media (blood and saliva) against the background of control (C). The studies were carried out on young 8-month cattle; ration of C - 70% roughage, 25% - concentrated feed, 5% - premix; SH - ration C + 10% sunflower husk (shredded, 0.5–2 mm), instead of the coarse part of the ration. The selection of biosubstrates (saliva, blood) was carried out in the morning before feeding: saliva was obtained by the method of local pharmacological stimulation of salivation (2% sodium citrate solution), blood from the jugular vein into vacuum tubes with a coagulation activator. The chemical composition of biological media was carried out on an automatic biochemical analyzer CS-T240 (Dirui Industrial Co., Ltd., China) using commercial biochemical kits for veterinary medicine (DIAKON-DS, Russia; Randox Laboratories Ltd, Great Britain). The inclusion of SH in the diet contributed to an increase in serum urea by 82.4% (P ≤ 0.05), lipase enzyme by 81.5% (P ≤ 0.05), uric acid by 62.7% (P ≤ 0.05), Ca and P by 73% and 21.8% (P ≤ 0.05), while a decrease in p-Amylase by 63.6% (P ≤ 0.05) and Fe by 86.8% (P ≤ 0.05) relative to C. After SH administration an increase in urea by 73% (P ≤ 0.05), digestive enzymes - lipase by 76.4% (P ≤ 0.05), p-amylase by 61 % (P ≤ 0.05), calcium by 69.3% and iron by 45% (P ≤ 0.05) and superoxide dismutase enzyme in comparison with C was registered in saliva. The obtained data show an increase in the level of digestive enzymes and elements in blood and saliva of ruminants, which favorably contributes to the use of sunflower husk in feeding cattle. This research was performed with financial support from the RSF (# 20-16-00088).

Evaluation of Colocasia esculenta Schott in anti-cancerous properties with proximity extension assays

Background: Colocasia esculenta Schott (called as Xiangshayu in Chinese) is an excellent local cultivar of the genus polymorpha in Jiangsu Province, China. Objective: In the present study, we have performed a comparative study before and after dietary consumption with Colocasia esculenta Schott to evaluate its anti-cancerous properties. Design: Forty-two healthy volunteers were recruited, and dietary consumption with 200 g of tap water cooked Colocasia esculenta Schott daily was conducted for 1 month. Plasma samples from the subjects before and after dietary consumption with Colocasia esculenta Schott were analyzed with proximity extension assays for the alteration of 92 proteins in relation with cancers, while blood samples were examined for physiological parameters with an automatic biochemical analyzer. Bioinformatic analyses were conducted using MalaCards and GEPIA. Results: After taking dietary consumption with Colocasia esculenta Schott, circulating CYR61, ANXA1, and VIM protein levels in the subjects was found to be most significantly downregulated, while for ITGB5, EPHA2, and CEACAM1, it was upregulated. Alternation of these proteins was predicted to be associated with the development of tumors such as pancreatic adenocarcinoma and breast and prostate cancers. Conclusion: The present study provides evidence that Colocasia esculenta Schott, as a healthy food, has anti-cancerous properties. Further investigation of phytochemistry in Colocasia esculenta Schott has been taken into our consideration.

Effect of flosteron on the content of acute-phase proteins and procalcitonin in infectious arthritis in rats

Infectious arthritis was modeled on white male Wistar rats by injecting a suspension of Staphylococcus aureus microorganisms into the knee joint of animals, and the effects of the synthetic hormone flosteron were also studied. At the same time, the content of acute-phase proteins (ceruloplasmin, haptoglobin, C-reactive protein (CRP)) and procalcitonin (PCT) as markers of the development of the inflammatory process and bacterial infection was studied in the blood serum of rats. Determination of the content of haptoglobin, ceruloplasmin and CRP was carried out on a Cobas 311 biochemical analyzer, the PCT concentration on a Cobas 411 analyzer using Roche Diagnostics test systems. Analysis of the results showed that when flosteron was administered, the concentration of CRP increased by 1.7 times already on the 3rd day, and by more than 4 times on the 14th day. The content of ceruloplasmin and haptoglobin also increased. The PCT concentration was at the level of the control values. Under the conditions of modeling infectious arthritis, changes in the content of acutephase proteins were observed. The greatest deviations from the reference values were found on the 14th day in animals that were injected with the hormone and S. aureus: the concentration of both CRP, the most objective biochemical marker of the inflammatory process, and PCT exceeded the physiological norm 12 times and more than 7 times, respectively. This indicates that the hormonal drug enhances the inflammatory process, which is confirmed by data that reflect changes in the content of acute-phase proteins. It can be assumed that the use of hormonal drugs contributes to the development of postoperative complications.

The effect of photodynamic therapy on the hematological and biochemical parameters of the blood of cats

Relevance. In this article, we present experimental study on the effect of photodynamic therapy with a chlorin-type photosensitizer on the hematological and biochemical blood parameters of cats with malignant oncological diseases.Methods. During conducting studies in experimental animals, we took blood samples from 44 cats aged 8 to 16 years, of different breeds and different sexes, before photodynamic therapy and two days after treatment, in order to determine the possible effect of therapy on the blood counts of patients. Blood sampling was carried out according to the standard method. Hematological examination was performed on a PCE90vet analyzer (HTI, USA), biochemical on an automatic biochemical analyzer Biosystems A15 (Biosystems, Spain) and on a semi-automatic analyzer Biohaem SA (HTI, USA). Photodynamic therapy was performed according to the standard method, with the preliminary introduction of the photosensitizer “Photoditazine” at a dose of 0.8– 1 mg/kg, 3 hours before irradiation.Results. The most significant changes in the hematological study were found among the following parameters: the level of white blood cells after irradiation increased by 18%, the number of eosinophils decreased by 28%, the number of segmented neutrophils increased by 11%, the content of lymphocytes decreased by 21%. When studying the biochemical parameters of blood, changes were found in the following parameter: the glucose level increased by 13% after irradiation, the level of GGT decreased by 19% after irradiation. At the same time, all indicators of the hematological and biochemical composition of the blood were within the normal values for this type of animal. Photodynamic therapy does not significantly affect the hematological and biochemical parameters of the blood of cats, this proves the safety of using this method of treatment in these animals.

Up-regulated YKL-40 is associated with poor prognosis of HCC patients with hepatitis B related cirrhosis

IntroductionTo investigate clinical significance of YKL-40 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with hepatitis B (HBV) related cirrhosis.Material and methodsThe present prospective observational study included 129 cases of HCC patients. Besides, 152 patients with only hepatitis B related cirrhosis and 110 HCC patients with no cirrhosis were also enrolled during the same period. Additionally, 100 healthy individuals were enrolled as control. Serum YKL-40 levels were determined using ELISA method. Levels of serum albumin, total bilirubin, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST) as well as HCC related biomarkers of alpha fetoprotein (AFP), des-γ-carboxy prothrombin (DCP), gamma glutamyltransferase (GCT-II), α-L-Fucosidase (AFU), CEA and CA19-9 were measured using an automatic biochemical analyzer. Patients’ demographic and clinical characteristics were collected and analyzed.ResultsThe expression of YKL-40 was the highest in HCC patients with HBV-related cirrhosis and the lowest in the healthy control, and the difference was significant compared with other groups. And HCC patients showed markedly higher YKL-40 levels than the HBV-related cirrhosis patients. Patients with higher expression of YKL-40 showed higher ratio of TNM IV, lymphatic metastasis and Child-Pugh C, and higher serum levels of AFP, AFU and CA19-9 than those in the patients with lower levels of YKL-40. YKL-40 level was positively correlated with AFP and AFU. Survival analysis showed patients with higher expression of YKL-40 had shorter 1-year survival time than the patients with lower YKL-40.ConclusionsYKL-40 was elevated in HCC patients with HBV-related cirrhosis and high expression of YKL-40 predicted poor prognosis and shorter 1-year survival.

Serum Expression of IL-33 and ST2 in Patients with Psoriasis Vulgaris

Background: Psoriasis vulgaris (PsV) is an immune-mediated skin disease of unknown mechanism. Interleukin 33 (IL-33) is a member of IL-1 cytokine family and suppression of tumorigenicity 2 (ST2) is the specific ligand of IL-33. It has been found that IL-33 and ST2 are increased in psoriatic lesions, but the expression levels in serum and their relationship to clinical features are still unclear. The aim of this study is to assess IL-33, ST2, IL-17 and IL-5 serum levels as well as serum concentration of blood glucose and blood lipids in PsV patients and their relationship with clinical characteristics. Methods: Sixty-eight PsV samples and 60 healthy individuals were recruited. Serum levels of IL-33, ST2, IL-17 and IL-5 were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and blood glucose and blood lipid were assayed by automatic biochemical analyzer. Results: Serum levels of IL-33, ST2, IL-17 and IL-5 were increased significantly in PsV patients compared with controls (P<0.01). Cytokines were overexpressed in PsV patients during active stages compared with controls (P<0.05). Expression levels of IL-33, ST2 and IL-17 confirmed a significance in different severity groups of PsV patients (P<0.05). Serum concentration of triglyceride (TG) was also increased compared with controls (P=0.024). IL-33 levels were positively correlated with total cholesterol (TC) levels (r=0.319, P=0.008). Conclusion: IL-33/ST2 could generally reflect the activity and disease severity in PsV patients, which indicates that the IL-33/ST2 signaling pathway plays an important role in the pathogenesis of PsV.

Quantification of triglyceride levels in fresh human blood by terahertz time-domain spectroscopy

We conducted a pilot clinical study to investigate ex vivo fresh human blood from 93 patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). The results indicated that terahertz (THz) time-domain spectroscopy (TDS) can be used to quantify triglyceride (TG) levels in human blood. Based on the TG concentrations and corresponding THz absorption coefficients, the Pearson correlation analysis demonstrated that the THz absorption coefficients have a significant negative linear correlation with TG concentration. Comparisons between the THz measurements at 0.2 THz and an automatic biochemical analyzer were performed using an additional 20 blood samples, and the results confirmed that the relative error was less than 15%. Our ex vivo human blood study indicates that the THz technique can be used to assess blood TG levels in clinical diagnostic practice.