Early suPAR levels as a predictor of COVID-19 severity: A new tool for efficient patient triage.

Background: Following several waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are now facing a lower but persistent rate of SARS-CoV-2 infections, with seasonal resurgences often coinciding with other respiratory tract infections.

Objective: We aimed to identify early clinico-biological variables predictive of an unfavorable outcome in patients with primary SARS-CoV-2 infection. We also evaluated the role of suPAR, an innovative biomarker, in predicting disease severity.

Physical activity and odds of coronary heart disease among Lebanese women.

Background: It is known that physical activity (PA) is protective against cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. However, few studies have examined the association between PA, sedentary lifestyle and coronary heart disease (CHD) in women. This case-control study investigates the relationship between PA and sedentary behavior on CHD odds in Lebanese women over forty.

Assessment of the predictive value of plasma calprotectin in the evolution of SARS-Cov-2 primo-infection.

Background: The COVID-19 epidemic still calls for anticipation aimed at preventing the overloading of critical care services. With this in mind, the predictive value of easily accessible biomarkers is to be assessed.

Objective: Secretion of calprotectin is stimulated during an inflammatory process, especially in the cytokine storm.

Risk Factors for Coronary Heart Disease Among Lebanese Women: A Case-Control Study.

Purpose: Women are increasingly concerned by coronary heart disease (CHD), with peculiarities of their own, particularly concerning risk factors. The aim of the study was to assess the risk factors for CHD in Lebanese women over forty.

Patients And Methods: A case-control study was carried out in 6 hospitals in Beirut and Mount-Lebanon, from December 2018 to December 2019 including 1500 patients (1200 controls and 300 cases).

The effects of periodontal treatment on diabetic patients: The DIAPERIO randomized controlled trial.

Aim: To assess whether periodontal treatment can lead to clinical, glycaemic control and quality of life improvements in metabolically unbalanced diabetic patients (type 1 or type 2) diagnosed with periodontitis.

Methods: In this open-labelled randomized controlled trial, diabetic subjects (n = 91) were given "immediate" or "delayed" periodontal treatment (full-mouth non-surgical scaling and root planing, systemic antibiotics, and oral health instructions). The main outcome was the effect on glycated haemoglobin (HbA ) and fructosamine levels.

Head-to-head comparison of 10 natriuretic peptide assays.

Background: The aim of the study was to compare NT-proBNP and BNP levels in fresh samples from heart failure (HF) patients measured using 10 immunoassays and to assess their agreement.

Methods: NT-proBNP (CobasH232(®), Elecsys(®), Vidas(®), Vista(®), XPand(®), Vitros(®)) and BNP (Triage(®), Access(®), CentaurXP(®), Architect(®)) levels were measured in 39 heparin and 19 EDTA samples, respectively.

Results: The Pearson correlation coefficient ranged between 0.

Predictive value of the heart-type fatty acid-binding protein and the Pulmonary Embolism Severity Index in patients with acute pulmonary embolism in the emergency department.

Objectives: Heart-type fatty acid-binding protein (h-FABP), sensitive troponins, natriuretic peptides, and clinical scores such as the Pulmonary Embolism Severity Index (PESI) are candidates for risk stratification of patients with acute pulmonary embolism (PE). The aim was to compare their respective prognostic values to predict an adverse outcome at 1 month.

Methods: The authors prospectively included 132 consecutive patients with confirmed acute PE.

Copeptin improves the diagnostic performance of sensitive troponin I-Ultra but cannot rapidly rule out non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction at presentation to an emergency department.

Study Objective: We assess the performance of a single multimarker strategy, using a combination of sensitive troponin I-Ultra and copeptin assays to rule out non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) at presentation to an emergency department (ED).

Methods: A secondary analysis was carried out on 587 consecutive patients with chest pain who presented to the ED without ST elevation on ECG and were included in a single-site, prospective observational study. Samples for copeptin and combination of sensitive troponin I-Ultra assays were collected at presentation.

Combination of copeptin and troponin assays to rapidly rule out non-ST elevation myocardial infarction in the emergency department.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to analyze the diagnostic accuracy and the clinical usefulness of the combination of troponin I (cTnI) and copeptin measured at presentation with an automated assay to rapidly rule out non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) in patients with suspected cardiac chest pain presenting to an emergency department (ED).

Methods: This study was an ancillary analysis of a prospective observational study. Copeptin and cTnI levels were sampled at presentation in 641 consecutive patients admitted to the ED for chest pain with onset within the last 12 hours and without ST elevation on a 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG).

[Inventory of the use of natriuretic peptides in France].

Since the introduction of routine assay for natriuretic peptides (NP), there is an increasing number of clinical applications for these assays. Due to the continuously increasing number of prescription of those tests, a reappraisal of the use of natriuretic peptide assays, namely BNP and NT-proBNP in France was necessary. This was achieved through a national survey to obtain a detailed description of NP prescription and realization by French laboratories.

Diagnostic accuracy of quantitative heart-fatty acid binding protein assays compared with Cardiodetect(®) in the early detection of acute coronary syndrome.

Background: Heart-fatty acid binding protein (h-FABP) has been proposed as a cardiac marker for the early detection of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). In a study of 677 patients admitted to the emergency department (ED) for chest pain, we found that a semiquantitative point-of-care test that detects h-FABP (Cardiodetect(®)) had low sensitivity for the prediction of ACS.

Objective: The aim of this ancillary study was to analyze and compare the performance of h-FABP for early ACS diagnosis in this large cohort of unselected patients, using a quantitative immunoassay and Cardiodetect(®).

Clinical assessment of ischemia-modified albumin and heart fatty acid-binding protein in the early diagnosis of non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome in the emergency department.

Objectives: Heart fatty acid-binding protein (h-FABP) and ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) have recently been evaluated, but to the best of our knowledge, no study has reported an analysis of these two markers for the detection of early myocardial infarction and myocardial ischemia in a large cohort of consecutive patients presenting to an emergency department (ED). This study evaluates the diagnostic accuracy and the clinical utility of h-FABP and IMA for non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (ACS) diagnosis in the first hour of management in an ED.

Methods: In a prospective 11-month study, 677 patients admitted to the ED with chest pain and suspected non-ST-segment elevation ACS were enrolled.

Integrin alpha(v)beta(3), metalloproteinases, and sphingomyelinase-2 mediate urokinase mitogenic effect.

Plasminogen activators are implicated in the pathogenesis of several diseases such as inflammatory diseases and cancer. Beside their serine-protease activity, these agents trigger signaling pathways involved in cell migration, adhesion and proliferation. We previously reported a role for the sphingolipid pathway in the mitogenic effect of plasminogen activators, but the signaling mechanisms involved in neutral sphingomyelinase-2 (NSMase-2) activation (the first step of the sphingolipid pathway) are poorly known.

E-cadherin/beta-catenin/T-cell factor pathway is involved in smooth muscle cell proliferation elicited by oxidized low-density lipoprotein.

The E-cadherin/beta-catenin/T-cell factor (Tcf) signaling pathway plays a crucial role in embryogenesis and carcinogenesis and has recently emerged in atherosclerosis. The aim of this work was to investigate whether this signaling pathway is involved in smooth muscle cell proliferation induced by oxidized low-density lipoprotein (LDL). In human aortic smooth muscle cells, mitogenic concentration of mildly oxidized LDL induced the activation of beta-catenin, as assessed by the dissociation of the beta-catenin/cadherin complex, and the concomitant rise of active beta-catenin in the cytosol.

Intestinal cholesterol transport proteins: an update and beyond.

Purpose Of Review: Various studies have delineated the causal role of dietary cholesterol in atherogenesis. Strategies have thus been developed to minimize cholesterol absorption, and cholesterol transport proteins found at the apical membrane of enterocytes have been extensively investigated. This review focuses on recent progress related to various brush-border proteins that are potentially involved in alimentary cholesterol transport.

Activation of the {beta}-catenin/T-cell-specific transcription factor/lymphoid enhancer factor-1 pathway by plasminogen activators in ECV304 carcinoma cells.

Besides its involvement in clot lysis, the plasminogen activator (PA) system elicits various cellular responses involved in cell migration, adhesion, and proliferation and plays a key role in the progression of cancers. beta-Catenin interacts with E-cadherins and functions as transcriptional coactivator of the Wnt-signaling pathway, which is implicated in tumor formation when aberrantly activated. We report that tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA) elicited tyrosine phosphorylation and cytosolic accumulation of an active (non-serine-threonin phosphorylated, nonubiquitinated) form of beta-catenin in ECV304 carcinoma cells.

Role for matrix metalloproteinase-2 in oxidized low-density lipoprotein-induced activation of the sphingomyelin/ceramide pathway and smooth muscle cell proliferation.

Background: Oxidized LDLs (oxLDLs) and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are present in atherosclerotic lesions. OxLDLs activate various signaling pathways potentially involved in atherogenesis. OxLDLs induce smooth muscle cell (SMC) proliferation mediated by the activation of the sphingomyelin/ceramide pathway and tyrosine kinase receptors.

The sphingomyelin/ceramide pathway is involved in ERK1/2 phosphorylation, cell proliferation, and uPAR overexpression induced by tissue-type plasminogen activator.

Plasminogen activators (tPA and uPA) are serine proteases that convert the circulating zymogen plasminogen to active plasmin and mediate fibrin degradation. These multifunctional proteins trigger various biological events such as extracellular matrix degradation, cell adhesion, migration, and proliferation, through not yet fully characterized mechanisms. We report that, in smooth muscle cells and ECV-304 carcinoma cells, tPA and ATF (the N-terminal catalytically inactive fragment of tPA) elicited DNA synthesis that requires activation of the sphingomyelin/ceramide/sphingosine-1-phosphate (Spm/Cer/S1P), signaling pathway and was blocked by D-erythro-2-(N-myristoylamino)-1-phenyl-propanol (D-MAPP) and N-N'-dimethyl sphingosine (DMS), two classical inhibitors of sphingosine-1-phosphate biosynthesis.

Oxidized LDL-induced smooth muscle cell proliferation involves the EGF receptor/PI-3 kinase/Akt and the sphingolipid signaling pathways.

Objective: Oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL)-induced smooth muscle cell (SMC) proliferation requires the coactivation of various signaling pathways, namely sphingomyelin/ceramide/sphingosine-1-phosphate, epithelial growth factor receptor (EGFR), and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI-3K) pathways. This study aimed to clarify the respective role and the hypothetical cross-talk between sphingomyelin/ceramide/sphingosine-1-phosphate, EGFR, and PI-3K/Akt pathways in the balance between mitogenic and cytotoxic effects elicited by oxLDL.

Methods And Results: Coimmunoprecipitation experiments and the use of inhibitors and dominant-negative mutant showed that oxLDL-induced PI-3K activation is dependent on EGFR.