MiR-125a promotes paclitaxel sensitivity in cervical cancer through altering STAT3 expression

Cervical cancer (CC) is one of the most common malignancies in women. Paclitaxel is the front-line chemotherapeutic agent for treating CC. However, its therapeutic efficacy is limited because of chemoresistance, the mechanism of which remains poorly understood. Here, we used microRNA (miRNA) arrays to compare miRNA expression levels in the CC cell lines, HeLa and CaSki, with their paclitaxel resistance counterparts, HeLa/PR and CaSki/PR. We demonstrate that miR-125a was one of most significantly downregulated miRNAs in paclitaxel-resistant cells, which also acquired cisplatin resistance. And that the upregulation of miR-125a sensitized HeLa/PR and CaSki/PR cells to paclitaxel both in vitro and in vivo and to cisplatin in vitro. Moreover, we determined that miR-125a increased paclitaxel and cisplatin sensitivity by downregulating STAT3. MiR-125a enhanced paclitaxel and cisplatin sensitivity by promoting chemotherapy-induced apoptosis. Clinically, miR-125a expression was associated with an increased responsiveness to paclitaxel combined with cisplatin and a more favorable outcome. These data indicate that miR-125a may be a useful method to enable treatment of chemoresistant CC and may also provide a biomarker for predicting paclitaxel and cisplatin responsiveness in CC.

Recent performance of and plasma outage studies with the SNS H⁻ source

Spallation Neutron Source ramps to higher power levels that can be sustained with high availability. The goal is 1.4 MW despite a compromised radio frequency quadrupole (RFQ), which requires higher radio frequency power than design levels to approach the nominal beam transmission. Unfortunately at higher power the RFQ often loses its thermal stability, a problem apparently enhanced by beam losses and high influxes of hydrogen. Delivering as much H(-) beam as possible with the least amount of hydrogen led to plasma outages. The root cause is the dense 1-ms long ∼55-kW 2-MHz plasma pulses reflecting ∼90% of the continuous ∼300 W, 13-MHz power, which was mitigated with a 4-ms filter for the reflected power signal and an outage resistant, slightly detuned 13-MHz match. Lowering the H2 gas also increased the H(-) beam current to ∼55 mA and increased the RFQ transmission by ∼7% (relative).

Comparison of vindesine and prednisone and cyclophosphamide, etoposide, vindesine, and prednisone as first-line treatment for adult Langerhans cell histiocytosis: A single-center retrospective study

OBJECTIVE

We compared the efficacy and clinical outcomes of vindesine and prednisone (VP) and cyclophosphamide, etoposide, vindesine, and prednisone (CEVP) regimens as first-line treatment for multisystem (MS) or multifocal single system (SS-m) adult Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH).

METHOD

Clinical features, treatment response, and survival of adults with Langerhans cell histiocytosis treated at our center from January 2001 to January 2015 were reviewed retrospectively.

RESULTS

Forty-five adult MS or SS-m LCH patients were treated (N=31, CEVP group; N=14, VP group). Both treatment groups had similar gender distributions, patient ages, and extent of disease. The non-active disease rate for both groups was 70.0% and 64.3% (P=0.775), respectively. Median follow-up was 74.9 (range: 2.8-183.6) months and recurrence rates were 71.0% and 78.6% (P=0.593), respectively. The need for second-line therapy was 64.5% and 71.4% (P=0.649), respectively, and mortality rates were 9.7% and 15.4% (P=0.586), respectively. Neutropenia occurred in 48.4% of CEVP-treated patients and 7.1% of VP-treated patients (P=0.008).

CONCLUSIONS

CEVP or VP regimens for the treatment of adult SS-m or MS LCH showed similar efficacies, and both regimens were associated with high disease recurrence and the need for second-line therapy.

Relationship between B-type natriuretic peptide and short-term prognosis in non-diabetic patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the differences of the B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels in serum or plasma of the STEMI patients with different infarction sites. To explore the relationship between the BNP level and the short-term prognosis in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A total of 216 STEMI patients were enrolled in this study from June 2012 to June 2014. All patients received coronary angiography (CAG). Based on electrocardiography (ECG) and CAG results, patients were divided into three groups. Group A included 80 patients with anterior/lateral wall myocardial infarction, group B included 76 patients with inferior/posterior wall myocardial infarction and group C included 60 patients with right ventricular myocardial infarction. We enrolled 53 patients with normal CAG results as Group D. BNP levels were compared among these groups. and according to BNP levels, all patients were subdivided into normal BNP group (< 100 ng/mL, n = 53), mild-higher BNP group (100-400 ng/mL, n = 105) and marked-higher BNP group (≥ 400 ng/mL, n = 58). The occurrence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) including secondary heart failure, severe arrhythmia, post-infarction angina, recurrent myocardial infarction, and cardiac death within 6 months after disease onset were assessed.

RESULTS

BNP levels showed a gradually decreasing trend in groups A, B, C and D (p < 0.05). Significant differences in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) were found among normal BNP group, mild-high BNP group and marked-higher BNP group (p < 0.05). The MACE occurrence presented no statistical differences between normal BNP group and mild-higher BNP group (p > 0.05). The MACE prevalence in marked-higher BNP group was significantly higher than normal BNP group and mild-higher BNP group (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

BNP levels can be used as a clinical indicator to predict short-term prognosis in STEMI patients.

Penehyclidine hydrochloride postconditioning ameliorates cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury: critical role of mitochondrial ATP sensitive potassium channel

Cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (CI/R) leads to disability and death worldwide. However, limited approaches have been made in developing therapies to decrease the detrimental effects of CI/R. In the present study, we evaluated the effects of penehyclidine hydrochloride (PHC) postconditioning on CI/R injury and elucidated the underlying mechanisms. In CI/R rats, we showed that PHC postconditioning could effectively inhibit I/R-induced brain infarction and edema, and deficit of neurological function. In addition, PHC postconditioning significantly inhibited I/R-induced increase of proinflammatory cytokines and TUNEL-positive cell numbers. Moreover, the opening of mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) and oxidative stress resulting from I/R were suppressed notably by PHC postconditioning, as evidenced by increased absorbance at 540 nm in Ca2+-induced mitochondrial swelling test and increased SOD activity and decreased ROS and MDA level. 5-hydroxydecanoate (5-HD), a specific inhibitor of MitoKATP, was used to evaluate the role of MitoKATP in the neuroprotective effect of PHC postconditioning. The results showed that 5-HD could markedly suppress PHC postconditioning-caused inhibition of brain infarction and edema, deficit of neurological function, inflammation, apoptosis, opening of mPTP and oxidative stress induced by CI/R. The results demonstrated that PHC postconditioning could protect against I/R injury in brain through the inhibition of oxidative stress, mPTP opening, apoptosis and inflammation. Activation of MitoKATP was critical for PHC postconditioning-exhibited neuro-protective effects against I/R injury. These findings may provide a novel foundation for therapeutic strategies targeting cerebral protection against I/R damage.

A High-sugar High-fat Diet Induced Metabolic Syndrome Shows some Symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease in Rats

OBJECTIVES

Cases of sporadic Alzheimer's disease (SAD) are the predominant form of the age-related dementia. New evidence suggests that metabolic syndrome (MS), a metabolic disorder, is an initiating factor of some SAD cases. A high-sugar high-fat diet could cause MS, we aimed to investigate whether it could directly lead to SAD.

MEASUREMENTS

The characteristic molecules of AD (hippocampus Aβ and Tau) were tested by using ELISA and western blotting to confirm the happening hallmarks of AD in brain. MS and inflammation related biochemical indicators were measured using immunological method. Proteins associated with the insulin resistance signal pathway (JNK, PI-3K, AKT, GSK-3β, GLUT3) were evaluated using western blotting method. The levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) were measured by immunofluorescence method.

RESULTS

Expressions of hippocampus Aβ, phosphorylation-Tau (p-Tau), inflammatory factors and p-JNK, Gsk-3βwere higher in the model rats than those in the control rats and expressions of p-PI3K, p-AKT and GLUT3 were reversed.

CONCLUSIONS

The MS model animals, which can induce the characteristics symptoms of AD, and therefore it may be preliminarily considered that the AD pertains to the MS-related diseases.

Supplemental lipoic acid relieves post-weaning diarrhoea by decreasing intestinal permeability in rats

Lipoic acid (LA) is a naturally existing substance which widely distributed in the cellular membranes and cytosol of animal cells. Its intracellular functions include quenching of free radicals and repairing oxidized proteins. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of LA on post-weaning diarrhoea using a rat model. Sixty weaned rats were fed either a basal diet or a LA-supplemented diet, or a zinc oxide (ZnO)-supplemented diet as a positive control. Rats in the LA and ZnO groups had better performance and reduced incidence of diarrhoea (p < 0.05). Both LA and ZnO treatments enhanced intestinal homeostatic and architecture, significantly decreased urinary lactulose to mannitol ratios (p < 0.05) and increased the expression of the intestinal mucosal tight junction proteins occludin (OCLN) and zonula occludens protein-1 (ZO-1) (p < 0.05). LA significantly increased the activities of antioxidant enzymes, and reduced glutathione while decreasing the levels of oxidative glutathione and malondialdehyde in the intestinal mucosa (p < 0.05). Furthermore, an in vitro study indicated that supplementation with LA in IEC-6 intestinal epithelial cells significantly enhanced the expression of OCLN and ZO-1 under hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress. Collectively, these results suggest that LA relieves post-weaning diarrhoea by reducing intestinal permeability and improving antioxidant indices.

Circulating miR-125b as a biomarker of Ewing's sarcoma in Chinese children

Previous studies indicated that microRNA-125b (miR-125b) has an important role in the progression of Ewing's sarcoma (ES). The purpose of the current study was to examine expression changes of miR-125b in the serum of ES patients and evaluate if the expression level of miR-125b could serve as a new biomarker for ES. This study was performed on patients who underwent surgical resection at our hospital between 2005 and 2013 after an initial diagnosis of ES. We measured serum miR-125b levels in 63 patients with ES and 126 healthy control patients using a real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase-PCR (qRT-PCR) method. Expression levels of serum miR-125b were distinctly decreased in ES patients when compared with healthy controls (P < 0.001). ES cases that had a poor response to chemotherapy presented a significant down-regulation of miR-125b (P = 0.001). The ROC curve showed that the serum miR-125b could serve as a valuable biomarker for differentiating ES patients from healthy controls with an AUC of 0.879 (95%CI = 0.817-0.924; P < 0.001). At a cut-off value of 2.203 for miR-125b, the sensitivity was 72.8% and the specificity was 87.2% in discriminating ES from the controls. Our results indicate that serum miR- 125b may serve as a useful noninvasive biomarker for ES.

Evolution of the HCV viral population from a patient with S282T detected at relapse after sofosbuvir monotherapy

Clinical phase II/III studies of the nucleotide analogue HCV NS5B inhibitor sofosbuvir (SOF) have demonstrated high efficacy in HCV-infected patients in combination therapy. To date, resistance to SOF (S282T in NS5B) has rarely been detected in patients. In this study, we investigated the evolution of S282T viral variants detected in one HCV genotype 2b-infected patient who relapsed following 12 weeks of SOF monotherapy. Deep sequencing of the NS5B gene was performed on longitudinal plasma samples at baseline, days 2 and 3 on SOF, and longitudinal samples post-SOF treatment through week 48. Intrapatient HCV evolution was analysed by maximum-likelihood phylogenetic analysis. Deep sequencing analysis revealed a low level pre-existence of S282T at 0.05% of viral sequences (4/7755 reads) at baseline and 0.03% (6/23 415 reads) at day 2 on SOF. Viral relapse was detected at week 4 post-treatment where 99.8% of the viral population harboured S282T. Follow-up analysis determined that S282T levels diminished post-treatment reaching undetectable levels 24-48 weeks post-SOF. Phylogenetic analysis together with the persistence of unique post-treatment mutations in all post-SOF samples suggested that growth of wild type resulted from reversion of the S282T mutant to a wild type and not outgrowth of the baseline wild-type population. Our data suggest that a very low level of pre-existing S282T at baseline in this patient was enriched and transiently detected following SOF monotherapy. Despite relapse with drug resistance to SOF, this patient was successfully retreated with SOF plus ribavirin for 12 weeks and is now cured from HCV infection.

Serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels and psychotic symptoms in heroin dependence

OBJECTIVES

Psychotic symptoms are commonly observed among heroin users. Low serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels have been reported in schizophrenia and psychosis; however, studies assessing the relationship between serum BDNF levels and psychotic symptoms in heroin dependence are lacking.

METHOD

A total of 31 heroin-dependent patients who had never experienced psychotic symptoms during heroin consumption and 21 patients with a history of psychotic symptoms were consecutively recruited. We measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) serum BDNF levels during early abstinence. A gender- and age-matched sample of healthy controls was also recruited and underwent measurement of BDNF.

RESULTS

BDNF levels were significantly lower in patients with psychotic symptoms than in those without psychotic symptoms (P<0.001). BDNF levels were not found to be correlated with sex, age, age of onset, duration of heroin use, average daily dose of heroin use, frequency of heroin use, SDS scores, BAI scores and BDI scores in the psychotic subsamples (all P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that heroin-dependent patients with psychotic symptoms share some of the neurotrophic insult that characterizes schizophrenia and psychosis.

First-line erlotinib versus gemcitabine/cisplatin in patients with advanced EGFR mutation-positive non-small-cell lung cancer: analyses from the phase III, randomized, open-label, ENSURE study

BACKGROUND

The phase III, randomized, open-label ENSURE study (NCT01342965) evaluated first-line erlotinib versus gemcitabine/cisplatin (GP) in patients from China, Malaysia and the Philippines with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation-positive non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Patients ≥18 years old with histologically/cytologically confirmed stage IIIB/IV EGFR mutation-positive NSCLC and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 0-2 were randomized 1:1 to receive erlotinib (oral; 150 mg once daily until progression/unacceptable toxicity) or GP [G 1250 mg/m(2) i.v. days 1 and 8 (3-weekly cycle); P 75 mg/m(2) i.v. day 1, (3-weekly cycle) for up to four cycles]. Primary end point: investigator-assessed progression-free survival (PFS). Other end points include objective response rate (ORR), overall survival (OS), and safety.

RESULTS

A total of 217 patients were randomized: 110 to erlotinib and 107 to GP. Investigator-assessed median PFS was 11.0 months versus 5.5 months, erlotinib versus GP, respectively [hazard ratio (HR), 0.34, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.22-0.51; log-rank P < 0.0001]. Independent Review Committee-assessed median PFS was consistent (HR, 0.42). Median OS was 26.3 versus 25.5 months, erlotinib versus GP, respectively (HR, 0.91, 95% CI 0.63-1.31; log-rank P = .607). ORR was 62.7% for erlotinib and 33.6% for GP. Treatment-related serious adverse events (AEs) occurred in 2.7% versus 10.6% of erlotinib and GP patients, respectively. The most common grade ≥3 AEs were rash (6.4%) with erlotinib, and neutropenia (25.0%), leukopenia (14.4%), and anemia (12.5%) with GP.

CONCLUSION

These analyses demonstrate that first-line erlotinib provides a statistically significant improvement in PFS versus GP in Asian patients with EGFR mutation-positive NSCLC (NCT01342965).

Scaffolding during the cell cycle by A-kinase anchoring proteins

Cell division relies on coordinated regulation of the cell cycle. A process including a well-defined series of strictly regulated molecular mechanisms involving cyclin-dependent kinases, retinoblastoma protein, and polo-like kinases. Dysfunctions in cell cycle regulation are associated with disease such as cancer, diabetes, and neurodegeneration. Compartmentalization of cellular signaling is a common strategy used to ensure the accuracy and efficiency of cellular responses. Compartmentalization of intracellular signaling is maintained by scaffolding proteins, such as A-kinase anchoring proteins (AKAPs). AKAPs are characterized by their ability to anchor the regulatory subunits of protein kinase A (PKA), and thereby achieve guidance to different cellular locations via various targeting domains. Next to PKA, AKAPs also associate with several other signaling elements including receptors, ion channels, protein kinases, phosphatases, small GTPases, and phosphodiesterases. Taking the amount of possible AKAP signaling complexes and their diverse localization into account, it is rational to believe that such AKAP-based complexes regulate several critical cellular events of the cell cycle. In fact, several AKAPs are assigned as tumor suppressors due to their vital roles in cell cycle regulation. Here, we first briefly discuss the most important players of cell cycle progression. After that, we will review our recent knowledge of AKAPs linked to the regulation and progression of the cell cycle, with special focus on AKAP12, AKAP8, and Ezrin. At last, we will discuss this specific AKAP subset in relation to diseases with focus on a diverse subset of cancer.

Neutron yield enhancement in laser-induced deuterium-deuterium fusion using a novel shaped target

Neutron yields have direct correlation with the energy of incident deuterons in experiments of laser deuterated target interaction [Roth et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 044802 (2013) and Higginson et al., Phys. Plasmas 18, 100703 (2011)], while deuterated plasma density is also an important parameter. Experiments at the Shenguang II laser facility have produced neutrons with energy of 2.45 MeV using d (d, n) He reaction. Deuterated foil target and K-shaped target were employed to study the influence of plasma density on neutron yields. Neutron yield generated by K-shaped target (nearly 10(6)) was two times higher than by foil target because the K-shaped target results in higher density plasma. Interferometry and multi hydro-dynamics simulation confirmed the importance of plasma density for enhancement of neutron yields.

Characterizations, relationship, and potential sources of outdoor and indoor particulate matter bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in a community of Tianjin, Northern China

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are among the most toxic air pollutants in China. However, because there are unsubstantial data on indoor and outdoor particulate PAHs, efforts in assessing inhalation exposure and cancer risk to PAHs are limited in China. This study measured 12 individual PAHs in indoor and outdoor environments at 36 homes during the non-heating period and heating period in 2009. Indoor PAH concentrations were comparable with outdoor environments in the non-heating period, but were lower in the heating period. The average indoor/outdoor ratios in both sampling periods were lower than 1, while the ratios in the non-heating period were higher than those in the heating period. Correlation analysis and coefficient of divergence also verified the difference between indoor and outdoor PAHs, which could be caused by high ventilation in the non-heating period. To support this conclusion, linear and robust regressions were used to estimate the infiltration factor to compare outdoor PAHs to indoor PAHs. The calculated infiltration factors obtained by the two models were similar in the non-heating period but varied greatly in the heating period, which may have been caused by the influence of ventilation. Potential sources were distinguished using a diagnostic ratio and a mixture of coal combustion and traffic emission, which are major sources of PAHs.