Plasmon-activated water as a therapeutic strategy in Alzheimer's disease by altering gut microbiota

Gut microbiota (GM) are involved in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and might correlate to the machinery of the gut-brain axis. Alteration of the GM profiles becomes a potential therapy strategy in AD. Here, we found that plasmon-activated water (PAW) therapy altered GM profile and reduced AD symptoms in APPswe/PS1dE9 transgenic mice (AD mice). GM profile showed the difference between AD and WT mice. PAW therapy in AD mice altered GM profile and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) reproduced GM profile in AD mice. PAW therapy and FMT in AD mice reduced cognitive decline and amyloid accumulation by novel object recognition (NOR) test and amyloid PET imaging. Immunofluorescent staining and western blot analysis of β-amyloid (Aβ) and phosphorylated (p)-tau in the brain of AD mice were reduced in PAW therapy and FMT. The inflammatory markers, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1β, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and pro-inflammatory indicator of arginase-1/CD86 ratio were also reduced. Furthermore, immunohistochemistry (IHC) analysis of occludin and claudin-5 in the intestine and AXL in the brain were increased to correlate with the abundant GM in PAW therapy and FMT. Our results showed the machinery of gut-brain axis, and PAW might be a potential therapeutic strategy in AD.

TESC Promotes TGF-α/EGFR-FOXM1-Mediated Tumor Progression in Cholangiocarcinoma

Cholangiocarcinoma is a relatively uncommon but highly lethal malignancy. Improving outcomes in patients depends on earlier diagnosis and appropriate treatment; however, no satisfactory diagnostic biomarkers or targeted therapies are currently available. To address this shortcoming, we analyzed the transcriptomic datasets of cholangiocarcinoma from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases and found that TESC is highly expressed in cholangiocarcinoma. Elevated cellular levels of TESC are correlated with larger tumor size and predict a poor survival outcome for patients. Knockdown of TESC via RNA interference suppresses tumor growth. RNA-sequencing analysis showed that silencing of TESC decreases the level of FOXM1, leading to cell cycle arrest. Correlation analysis revealed that the cellular level of TESC is correlated with that of FOXM1 in cholangiocarcinoma patients. We further observed that upon TGF-α induction, TESC is upregulated through the EGFR-STAT3 pathway and mediates TGF-α-induced tumor cell proliferation. In vivo experiments revealed that knockdown of TESC significantly attenuates tumor cell growth. Therefore, our data provide novel insight into TESC-mediated oncogenesis and reveal that TESC is a potential biomarker or serves as a therapeutic target for cholangiocarcinoma.

Herbal Medicines Attenuate PD-L1 Expression to Induce Anti-Proliferation in Obesity-Related Cancers

Pro-inflammatory hormones and cytokines (leptin, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and interleukin (IL)-6) rise in obesity. Elevated levels of hormones and cytokines are linked with several comorbidities such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. The checkpoint programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1)/programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) plays an important role in obesity and cancer proliferation. L-thyroxine (T₄) and steroid hormones up-regulate PD-L1 accumulation and promote inflammation in cancer cells and diabetics. On the other hand, resveratrol and other herbal medicines suppress PD-L1 accumulation and reduce diabetic effects. In addition, they induce anti-cancer proliferation in various types of cancer cells via different mechanisms. In the current review, we discuss new findings and visions into the antagonizing effects of hormones on herbal medicine-induced anti-cancer properties.

The beneficial effect of air cleanliness with ISO 14644-1 class 7 for surgical intervention in a neonatal intensive care unit: A 10-year experience

Whether critically ill neonates needing a surgical intervention should be transferred to an operating room (OR) or receive the intervention in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is controversial. In this study, we report our experience in performing surgical procedures in a NICU including air cleanliness.This was a retrospective study performed at a metropolitan hospital. The charts of all neonates undergoing surgical procedures in the NICU and OR were retrospectively reviewed from January 2007 to June 2017. Data on baseline characteristics, procedure and duration of surgery, ventilator use, hypothermia, instrument dislocations, surgery-related infections and complications, and outcomes were analyzed.Ninety-two neonates were enrolled in this study, including 44 in the NICU group and 48 in the OR group. The air cleanliness was International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14644-1 class 7 in the NICU and class 5-6 in the OR. The NICU group had a younger gestational age and lower birth body weight than the OR group. The OR group had a higher incidence of hypothermia than in the NICU group (56.3% vs 9.1%, P < .001). However, there were no significant differences in surgical site related infections or mortality between the 2 groups.This study suggests that performing surgical procedures in a NICU with air cleanliness class 7 is as safe as in an OR, as least in part, when performing patent ductus arteriosus ligation and exploratory laparotomy.