aDivision of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, McGovern Medical School, Houston, Texas, USA

bThe first Affiliated Hospital, Guangxi University of Science and Technology, Liuzhou, Guangxi, China

cDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, McGovern Medical School, Houston, Texas, USA

Correspondence to Minghua Wu, MD, PhD, Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, McGovern Medical School, 6431 Fannin St, Houston, TX 77030, USA. Tel: +1 713 500 7074; e-mail: [email protected]