International Journal of Molecular Sciences

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Dr. Ho-Chang Kuo

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Guest Editor

1. Kawasaki Disease Center and Department of Pediatrics, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung 83301, Taiwan
2. College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan 33301, Taiwan
Interests: Kawasaki disease; MIS-C

Dr. Kuang-Den Chen

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Guest Editor

1. Kawasaki Disease Center, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung 83301, Taiwan
2. Institute for Translational Research in Biomedicine, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung 83301, Taiwan
Interests: liver injury and fibrosis

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Kawasaki disease (KD) is a systemic vasculitis mainly affecting children aged less than 5 years old, especially in Asian countries. Coronary artery lesions are the most common complication of KD. The mechanism of coronary artery involvement and IVIG treatment response and effectiveness still requires more molecular research to understand the disease. The novel coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), commonly referred to as COVID-19, has caused a novel disease in children, multiple inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), which shares some symptoms and immune response with KD. We welcome molecular research on KD and/or MIS-C for submission to this Special Issue. Descriptive or phenomenological studies do not fall within the scope of IJMS.

Dr. Ho-Chang Kuo
Dr. Kuang-Den Chen
Guest Editors

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Keywords

Kawasaki disease
MIS-C
coronary artery lesion
IVIG
molecular

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 2059 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Identification of Torquetenovirus Species in Patients with Kawasaki Disease Using a Newly Developed Species-Specific PCR Method

by Pietro Giorgio Spezia, Fabio Filippini, Yoshiro Nagao, Tetsuya Sano, Takafumi Ishida and Fabrizio Maggi

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(10), 8674; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24108674 - 12 May 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1085

Abstract

A next-generation sequencing (NGS) study identified a very high viral load of Torquetenovirus (TTV) in KD patients. We aimed to evaluate the feasibility of a newly developed quantitative species-specific TTV-PCR (ssTTV-PCR) method to identify the etiology of KD. We applied ssTTV-PCR to samples collected from 11 KD patients and 22 matched control subjects who participated in our previous prospective study. We used the NGS dataset from the previous study to validate ssTTV-PCR. The TTV loads in whole blood and nasopharyngeal aspirates correlated highly (Spearman’s R = 0.8931, p < 0.0001, n = 33), supporting the validity of ssTTV-PCR. The ssTTV-PCR and NGS results were largely consistent. However, inconsistencies occurred when ssTTV-PCR was more sensitive than NGS, when the PCR primer sequences mismatched the viral sequences in the participants, and when the NGS quality score was low. Interpretation of NGS requires complex procedures. ssTTV-PCR is more sensitive than NGS but may fail to detect a fast-evolving TTV species. It would be prudent to update primer sets using NGS data. With this precaution, ssTTV-PCR can be used reliably in a future large-scale etiological study for KD. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Research in Kawasaki Diseases)

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13 pages, 2323 KiB

Open AccessArticle

iTRAQ Proteomics Identified the Potential Biomarkers of Coronary Artery Lesion in Kawasaki Disease and In Vitro Studies Demonstrated That S100A4 Treatment Made HCAECs More Susceptible to Neutrophil Infiltration

by Ken-Pen Weng, Kuang-Jen Chien, Shih-Hui Huang, Lien-Hung Huang, Pei-Hsien Lin, Yuyu Lin, Wei-Hsiang Chang, Chun-Yu Chen and Sung-Chou Li

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(21), 12770; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms232112770 - 23 Oct 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1831

Abstract

Coronary artery lesions (CAL) are a major complication of Kawasaki disease (KD). The early prediction of CAL enables the medical personnel to apply adequate medical intervention. We collected the serum samples from the KD patients with CAL (n = 32) and those without CAL (n = 31), followed by a global screening with isobaric tagging for relative and absolute quantification (iTRAQ) technology and specific validation with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). iTRAQ identified 846 proteins in total in the serum samples, and four candidate proteins related to CAL were selected for ELISA validation as follows: Protein S100-A4 (S100A4), Catalase (CAT), Folate receptor gamma (FOLR3), and Galectin 10 (CLC). ELISA validation showed that the S100A4 level was significantly higher in KD patients with CAL than in those without CAL (225.2 ± 209.5 vs. 143.3 ± 83 pg/mL, p < 0.05). In addition, KD patients with CAL had a significantly lower CAT level than those without CAL (1.6 ± 1.5 vs. 2.7 ± 2.3 ng/mL, p < 0.05). Next, we found that S100A4 treatment on human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAECs) reduced the abundance of cell junction proteins, which promoted the migration of HCAECs. Further assays also demonstrated that S100A4 treatment enhanced the permeability of the endothelial layer. These results concluded that S100A4 treatment resulted in an incompact endothelial layer and made HCAECs more susceptible to in vitro neutrophil infiltration. In addition, both upregulated S100A4 and downregulated CAT increased the risk of CAL in KD. Further in vitro study implied that S100A4 could be a potential therapeutic target for CAL in KD. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Research in Kawasaki Diseases)

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