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Serum Concentrations of Trace Elements/Minerals in Patients with Diffuse Systemic Sclerosis

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Abstract

Trace elements and minerals are essential for cellular physiology and components of biological structures. Previous studies demonstrated that proper serum concentration of trace elements/minerals such as copper maintains optimum function of the immune system, and trace elements/mineral imbalance was associated with various autoimmune disorders. The current study aimed to measure the serum concentrations of trace elements/minerals potassium (K), sodium (Na), chlorine (Cl), calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), and magnesium (Mg) in patients with diffuse systemic sclerosis (dSSc). Fifty-one patients with dSSc were enrolled in this study. Healthy 106 participants with similar age and gender to the patients were used as healthy control. Roche Cobas 8000 was used to measure the serum concentrations of K, Na, Cl, Ca, P, Fe, Cu, and Mg. The results demonstrated that the serum concentrations of K, Ca, P, and Mg were significantly increased in patients with dSSc, while the serum concentration of Cu was decreased. We next examined the serum concentration of trace elements/minerals in dSSc patients with or without pulmonary fibrosis. The result revealed that the serum concentration of Cu in dSSc patients with pulmonary fibrosis was significantly lower than that in patents without pulmonary fibrosis. Our study provided evidence that serum concentrations of K, Ca, P, Cu, and Mg were changed significantly in dSSc patients, and lower serum concentration of Cu was associated with pulmonary fibrosis.

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Funding

This study was funded by the Natural Science Foundation of Guangxi Province (2018JJA140045) and Guangxi Science and Technology Base and Special Fund for Talents (2018AD19267).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical Laboratory, Affiliated Hospital of Guilin Medical University, Guilin, Guangxi, China

    Xia Li & Shanshan Liu

  2. College of Medical Laboratory Science, Guilin Medical University, No. 109, Huanchengbeier Road, Guilin, 541004, Guangxi, China

    Xiujuan Wang & Zheng Liu

  3. Department of Publicity, Affiliated Hospital of Guilin Medical University, Guilin, Guangxi, China

    Jin Li

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  1. Xia Li
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  2. Xiujuan Wang
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  3. Jin Li
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  4. Shanshan Liu
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  5. Zheng Liu
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Correspondence to Zheng Liu.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Approval was obtained from the ethics committee of the Guilin Medical University. The procedures used in this study adhere to the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Li, X., Wang, X., Li, J. et al. Serum Concentrations of Trace Elements/Minerals in Patients with Diffuse Systemic Sclerosis. Biol Trace Elem Res 199, 2440–2443 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-020-02368-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-020-02368-5

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