A novel gene with a vWD domain and three Kazal-type domains: molecular cloning and expression in the ovary of the oriental river prawn, Macrobrachium nipponense

A novel gene encoding avon Willebrand factor D (vWD) domain and three Kazal-type domains was firstly indentified from the ovary of the oriental river prawn Macrobrachium nipponense and this gene was named as MnvWD-Kazal. Bioinformatics analyses showed that this gene encodes a protein of 857 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of 92.7 kDa. Real-time quantitative PCR (RT-QPCR) analyses revealed that the level of MnvWD-Kazal mRNA expression varied in the developing ovary and substantially differed between other tissues. In the ovary, the level of MnvWD-Kazal expression gradually increased from the perinucleolus (PN) stage to the yolk granule (YG) stage, and then abruptly decreased at the sexual maturation (MA) stage. The maximum expression occurred in the YG stage and the minimum was at the paracmasis (PM) stage. The expression level of MnvWD-Kazal in the intestine was much higher than that in other tissues. The differential expressions of MnvWD-Kazal at different stages of the ovary suggest that this novel gene may play a critical role in the oocyte maturation of M. nipponense.

Medicinal chemistry of sirtuin inhibitors

As members of Class III histone deacetylases (HDACs), sirtuins use stoichiometric nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD(+)) to remove the acetyl group from N-acetyl-lysines of histones or non-histone proteins. Sirtuins have been implicated in metabolic diseases, cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases, constituting a promising target for drug discovery. While the early sirtuin inhibitors mimicked NAD(+) or substrate peptides, high-throughput and in silico screenings have identified a wide range of core structures, many of which have been subjected to medicinal chemistry efforts. This review outlines inhibitor chemotypes, and their chemical modifications and biological evaluations, highlighting strategies to enhance inhibitory activity and selectivity among isoforms.

Aberrant expression of chromogranin A, miR-146a, and miR-146b-5p in prostate structures with focally disrupted basal cell layers: an early sign of invasion and hormone-refractory cancer?

Our recent studies have suggested that prostate tumor invasion is triggered by autoimmunoreactions induced focal basal cell layer disruptions (FBCLD) that selectively favor monoclonal proliferation of the overlying progenitors or of a biologically more aggressive cell clone. As circulating chromogranin-A (CgA) levels are found to correlate with tumor progression and the status of hormone refractoriness, our current study attempted to assess whether CgA-positive cells would be preferentially distributed in epithelial structures with FBCLD. Paraffin-embedded specimens from 50 patients with organ-confined prostate cancer were subjected to double immunohistochemical analysis with monoclonal antibodies to basal cells and CgA. From each case, 3-5 randomly selected fields were digitally photographed and the photos were magnified 400% and the numbers of CgA-positive cells in epithelial structures with non-disrupted, focally disrupted, and lost basal cell layer were separately counted. The averaged number of cell for each category was statistically compared with the Pearson's Chi-square test. In addition, morphologically similar structures with and without CgA-positive cell clusters were microdissected from four selected cases and subjected to a comparison of differential micro-RNA expression levels. Our study revealed that, although isolated CgA-positive cells were seen in both the basal cell layer and the luminal cell population in all cases, only 8 cases (16%) harbored large clusters of CgA-positive cells that were concentrated in a given area, in which all or nearly all cells appeared to share a similar morphological and immunohistochemical profile. Microdissected epithelial structures with CgA-positive cell clusters exhibited a more than 5- and 7-fold lower expression of miR-146a and miR-146b-5p than their CgA-negative counterparts. As focal basal cell layer disruptions and the reduction or loss of miR-146a and miR-146b-5p has been documented to correlate with prostate tumor invasion and hormone refractoriness, our findings suggest that aberrant CgA expression in epithelial structures with FBCLD may represent an early sign of these events.

Long-term outcomes of late course accelerated hyper-fractionated radiotherapy for localized esophageal carcinoma in Mainland China: a meta-analysis

Published data on the long-term survival results of patients with localized esophageal carcinoma receiving late course accelerated hyper-fractionated radiotherapy (LCAF RT) versus conventional fractionated radiotherapy (CF RT) are inconclusive. In order to derive a more precise estimation of the both treatment-regimes, a meta-analysis based on systematic review of published articles was performed. A meta-analysis was performed using trials identified through Pubmed and Chinese national knowledge infrastructure. Results in 5-year survival and 5-year local control were collected from randomized trials comparing LCAF RT with CF RT. Review Manager (The Cochrane Collaboration, Oxford, England) and Stata software (Stata Corporation, College Station, TX, USA) were used for data management. A total of 11 trials were involved in this analysis with 572 cases and 567 controls. Our results showed that LCAF RT, compared with CF RT, significantly improved the 5-year survival (odds ratio [OR]= 2.93, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.15-4.00, P < 0.00001) and 5-year local control (OR = 3.96, 95% CI: 2.91-5.38, P < 0.00001). LCAF RT was more therapeutically beneficial than CF RT in the localized esophageal carcinoma.

Comparison of the proliferation, viability, and differentiation capacity of adipose-derived stem cells from different anatomic sites in rabbits

Tissue engineering is clinically promising for missing and damaged tissues. Adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs), a type of mesenchymal stem cells, represent a reliable source of seed cells for tissue engineering with multiple merits such as minimal invasion, abundant yield, little immunity, low morbidity, easy isolation, and rapid expansion. However, because the properties of adipose tissue-derived cells differ depending on the fat depot from which they are derived, we compared the ASCs from three anatomic sites of New Zealand white rabbits: subcutaneous inguinal (SI), subcutaneous dorsocervical (SD), and retroperitoneal perinephric (RP) regions. We investigated cellular behaviors including proliferation, viability, and differentiation. The ASCs of the subcutaneous regions (SI and SD) had higher performances in all assessments compared to those of the RP region. Moreover, the SI and SD ASCs had significant differences, with SI ASCs having better properties than SD ASCs. We conclude that the different anatomic distributions of fat contribute to the different behaviors of ASCs. The SI region offers the most applicable cell source reservoir for ASC tissue engineering.

Predictive Value of Penile Dynamic Colour Duplex Doppler Ultrasound Parameters in Patients with Post-Traumatic Urethral Stricture

This study evaluated dynamic colour duplex Doppler ultrasound (D-CDDU) for the assessment of erectile function in patients with post-traumatic urethral stricture. In total, 44 patients with urethral stricture secondary to trauma were recruited between January 2009 and June 2010. Peak systolic velocity of the cavernosal artery was measured before and after intracavernosal injection (ICI) of 20 mg papaverine and 1 mg phentolamine. Cavernosal artery end-diastolic velocity and resistance index (RI) were evaluated after ICI. Patients with RI ≥ 0.8 had significantly shorter strictures than those with RI < 0.8 after ICI only in cases of posterior urethral stricture. Patients with RI ≥ 0.8 were significantly younger than those with RI < 0.8. Urethral stricture length was negatively correlated with RI ( r = −0.375). Cavernosal artery RI after ICI is a reliable predictor of erectile function in patients with urethral stricture, especially posterior stricture. The patient's age should be considered when using this parameter.

Survival time comparison between Hawley and clear overlay retainers: a randomized trial

The objectives of this study were to compare the survival time of the Hawley retainer (HR) and the clear overlay retainer (COR) over one-year follow-up and to analyze risk factors contributing to their breakage. In this randomized, controlled clinical trial, we assigned 120 adolescent patients to receive either the HR or the COR. All specific data on breakage dates, the reasons for breakage, and the broken parts of the retainers were recorded. A survival analysis was used to describe retainer survival over time. No significant differences were observed in survival times between the 2 groups for either the maxillary retainer (p = 0.254) or the mandibular retainer (p = 0.188). Both retainers tended to fracture, but the fracture locations were different. The findings indicate that clinicians should avoid increasing buccal root torque and reinforce the retainer base plates. Breakage rates may not influence the choice of retainer (Trial Registration number is ChiCTR-TRC-00000055).