Expression and Correlation of HER2/P53/VEGF in Marjolin's Ulcer

Marjolin's ulcer is described as malignant lesions developed in the injured skin, which can cause several kinds of malignancies. Our results showed that no HER2 but p53 was detected in Majorlin's ulcer samples. Meanwhile, by statistical analysis, we found that the positive rate of p53 in Majorlin's ulcer samples was associated with the pathological type of ulcer canceration and degree of tumor differentiation. The positive expression rate of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was 62.5% in poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), 39.4% in moderately differentiated SCC, and 66.7% in well-differentiated SCC, respectively. Furthermore, some cases of Majorlin's ulcer with positive P53 were negative for VEGF, while some cases with positive VEGF were negative for P53. Image superposition showed that VEGF expression was absent or minimal in p53-positive cases. However, P53 was not expressed or rarely expressed in VEGF-positive cases. Our results of this study will suggest that P53 can be used as the mark of Marjolin's ulcer differentiation, and there may be some interaction between P53 and VEGF in Marjolin's ulcer. The regulation of microenvironment in the oncogenesis, progression, and differentiation of Marjolin's ulcer is complex and needs further study.

Time-domain sound field reconstruction using a rigid spherical microphone array

A time-domain approach for interior spherical near-field acoustic holography is proposed to achieve the low-delay reconstruction of time-domain sound fields using a rigid spherical microphone array. This reconstruction encompasses the incident pressure field, the incident radial particle velocity field, and the total pressure field, which includes scattering. The proposed approach derives time-domain radial propagators through the inverse Fourier transform of their frequency-domain counterparts. These propagators are then applied to the array measurements to obtain the time-domain spherical harmonic coefficients of the interior sound field. Given the fact that the time-domain radial propagators possess finite-time support and exhibit significant high-frequency attenuation characteristics, they can be efficiently implemented using finite impulse response (FIR) filters. The proposed approach processes the signal sample-by-sample through these FIR filters, avoiding a series of issues associated with time-frequency transformations in frequency-domain methods. As a result, the approach offers higher accuracy and lower latency in reconstructing non-stationary sound fields compared to its frequency-domain counterpart and thus holds greater potential for real-time applications. Additionally, owing to the scattering effect of the rigid sphere, the approach avoids the impact of spherical Bessel function nulls and does not require the measurement of particle velocities, which renders the measurements cost effective.

Measurement of the Positive Muon Anomalous Magnetic Moment to 0.20 ppm

We present a new measurement of the positive muon magnetic anomaly, a_{μ}≡(g_{μ}-2)/2, from the Fermilab Muon g-2 Experiment using data collected in 2019 and 2020. We have analyzed more than 4 times the number of positrons from muon decay than in our previous result from 2018 data. The systematic error is reduced by more than a factor of 2 due to better running conditions, a more stable beam, and improved knowledge of the magnetic field weighted by the muon distribution, ω[over ˜]_{p}^{'}, and of the anomalous precession frequency corrected for beam dynamics effects, ω_{a}. From the ratio ω_{a}/ω[over ˜]_{p}^{'}, together with precisely determined external parameters, we determine a_{μ}=116 592 057(25)×10^{-11} (0.21 ppm). Combining this result with our previous result from the 2018 data, we obtain a_{μ}(FNAL)=116 592 055(24)×10^{-11} (0.20 ppm). The new experimental world average is a_{μ}(exp)=116 592 059(22)×10^{-11} (0.19 ppm), which represents a factor of 2 improvement in precision.

[Characteristics and significance of outer retinal thickness changes in reticular macular disease]

Objective: To study the characteristics and significance of changes in the thickness of the outer retinal layer (ORL) outside the macula in patients with reticular macular disease (RMD). Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted. The clinical data of patients who visited the Department of Ophthalmology of the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University from February to September 2019 were retrospectively collected. Thirty-one patients with at least one eye (54 eyes in total) diagnosed with early/mid-stage age-related macular degeneration (AMD) were consecutively included in the AMD group, and 33 patients with at least one eye (64 eyes in total) showing subretinal wart-like deposits on optical coherence tomography images were consecutively included in the RMD group. Thirty-two volunteers aged between 50 to 90 years with a normal fundus in both eyes (64 eyes in total) were consecutively included in the healthy control (HC) group. Frequency domain optical coherence tomography was applied to examine and analyze the thickness features of the ORL, inner retinal layer and choroid at the macular fovea (F), 2 mm of the temporal edge (T), the nasal edge (N), the superior edge (S) and inferior edge (I) of the macular fovea in each group. The correlations of the thickness of ORL with the choroidal thickness and the blood flow density of the choriocapillaris layer in patients with RMD were also analyzed. Results: The thickness of ORL at the F, T, S and I sites in the RMD group was significantly thinner than that in the AMD and HC groups. The difference was most obvious at the F site [(90.27±8.93), (98.04±11.7) and (97.19±7.02)μm] in the RMD, AMD and HC groups, respectively; all P<0.01). In the logistic regression model with independent variables of the ORL thickness at the macular F site, gender and age, there was a significant association between the thickness of ORL at the F site and the incidence of RMD (odds ratio=0.926, P<0.05). The ORL and choroid in the eyes of patients with RMD were significantly thinner at the F site [(90.27±8.93) and (163.21±72.43) μm, respectively; both P<0.01] compared with the AMD [(98.04±11.7) and (235.34±64.15) μm, respectively] and HC [(97.19±7.02) and (240.08±62.27) μm, respectively] groups. However, the ORL and choroidal thickness did not show significant and strong linear correlations at multiple sites. In contrast, there was a significant linear correlation between the blood flow density of the choriocapillaris layer and the thickness of ORL at the F, T and S sites in patients with RMD (r=0.487, 0.722, 0.467, respectively; all P<0.05). Conclusions: The thickness of ORL outside the macula of eyes with RMD is thinner than that of healthy eyes and eyes with early/mid-stage AMD. The thinning of ORL outside the macula is related to the decrease in the blood flow density of the choriocapillaris layer in patients with RMD.

Computed tomography-based radiomics for identifying pulmonary cryptococcosis mimicking lung cancer

BACKGROUND

Pulmonary cryptococcosis (PC) is an invasive pulmonary fungal disease, and nodule/mass-type PC may mimic lung cancer (LC) in imaging appearance. Thus, an accurate diagnosis of nodule/mass-type PC is beneficial for appropriate management. However, the differentiation of nodule/mass-type PC from LC through computed tomography (CT) is still challenging.

PURPOSE

To develop and externally test a CT-based radiomics model for differentiating nodule/mass-type PC from LC.

METHODS

In this retrospective study, patients with nodule/mass-type PC or LC who underwent non-enhanced chest CT were included: institution 1 was for the training set, and institutions 2 and 3 were for the external test set. Large quantities of radiomics features were extracted. The radiomics score (Rad-score) was calculated using the linear discriminant analysis, and a subsequent 5-fold cross-validation was performed. A combined model was developed by incorporating Rad-score and clinical factors. Finally, the models were tested with an external test set and compared using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC).

RESULTS

A total of 168 patients (45 with PC and 123 with LC) were in the training set, and 72 (36 with PC and 36 with LC) were in the external test set. Of the 81 patients with PC, 30 were immunocompromised (37%). Rad-score, comprised of 18 features, had an AUC of 0.844 after 5-fold cross-validation, which was lower than that (AUC = 0.943, P = 0.003) of the combined model integrating Rad-score, age, lobulation, pleural retraction, and patches. In the external test set, Rad-score and the combined model obtained good predictive performance (AUC = 0.824 for Rad-score, and 0.869 for the combined model). Moreover, the combined model outperformed the clinical model in the cross-validation and external test (0.943 vs. 0.810, P <0.001; 0.869 vs. 0.769, P = 0.011).

CONCLUSIONS

The proposed combined model exhibits a good differential diagnostic performance between nodule/mass-type PC and LC. The CT-based radiomics analysis has the potential to serve as an effective tool for the differentiation of nodule/mass-type PC from LC in clinical practice. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Sinomenine Suppresses Cell Progression and Induces Cell Apoptosis by Regulating AKT/mTOR Signaling Pathway in Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cells

While sinomenine plays a crucial anticancer role in a variety of cancers, its function and molecular mechanism in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma remains unexplored. To this end, we explored the effect of sinomenine on cell viability, colony formation rate, cell apoptosis rate, and migration and invasion and wound healing in A431 and SCL-1 cells representing cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. The results show that sinomenine inhibited cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma viability, clone formation, migration and invasion, induced cell apoptosis by inactivating AKT/mTOR pathway. These data may likely to provide a novel candidate for treating patients diagnosed with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma.

A preliminary study on two-dimensional grid-free compressive beamforming for arbitrary planar array geometries

The two-dimensional (2D) grid-free compressive beamforming based on atomic norm minimization is a promising solution for estimating the source direction-of-arrival and quantifying the source strength. However, the existing method is limited to measuring with rectangular grid arrays. To overcome this limitation, a 2D grid-free compressive beamforming strategy for arbitrary planar array geometries is proposed, where the microphone pressure is transformed into a representation of 2D Fourier series expansion. The term truncation method of Fourier series polynomials is established. The effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed method in the acoustic source identification are preliminarily verified by an experimental case, and topics worthy of further study are discussed based on the numerical simulations.

Measurement of the Positive Muon Anomalous Magnetic Moment to 0.46 ppm

We present the first results of the Fermilab National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL) Muon g-2 Experiment for the positive muon magnetic anomaly a_{μ}≡(g_{μ}-2)/2. The anomaly is determined from the precision measurements of two angular frequencies. Intensity variation of high-energy positrons from muon decays directly encodes the difference frequency ω_{a} between the spin-precession and cyclotron frequencies for polarized muons in a magnetic storage ring. The storage ring magnetic field is measured using nuclear magnetic resonance probes calibrated in terms of the equivalent proton spin precession frequency ω[over ˜]_{p}^{'} in a spherical water sample at 34.7 °C. The ratio ω_{a}/ω[over ˜]_{p}^{'}, together with known fundamental constants, determines a_{μ}(FNAL)=116 592 040(54)×10^{-11} (0.46 ppm). The result is 3.3 standard deviations greater than the standard model prediction and is in excellent agreement with the previous Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) E821 measurement. After combination with previous measurements of both μ^{+} and μ^{-}, the new experimental average of a_{μ}(Exp)=116 592 061(41)×10^{-11} (0.35 ppm) increases the tension between experiment and theory to 4.2 standard deviations.

Pterostilbene accelerates wound healing by modulating diabetes-induced estrogen receptor β suppression in hematopoietic stem cells

Background

Delayed wound healing is one of the major complications of diabetes mellitus and is characterized by prolonged inflammation, delayed re-epithelialization and consistent oxidative stress, although the detailed mechanism remains unknown. In this study, we aimed to investigate the potential role and effect of pterostilbene (PTE) and hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) on diabetic wound healing.

Methods

Diabetic rats were used to measure the epigenetic changes in both HSCs and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). A cutaneous burn injury was induced in the rats and PTE-treated diabetic HSCs were transplanted for evaluation of wound healing. In addition, several biomedical parameters, including gene expression, oxidative stress, mitochondrial function and inflammation in macrophages, were also measured.

Results

Our data showed that PTE had a much stronger effect than resveratrol on accelerating diabetic wound healing, likely because PTE can ameliorate diabetes-induced epigenetic changes to estrogen receptor β promoter in HSCs, while resveratrol cannot. Further investigation showed that bone marrow transplantation of PTE-treated diabetic HSCs restores diabetes-induced suppression of estrogen receptor β and its target genes, including nuclear respiratory factor-1 and superoxide dismutase 2, and protects against diabetes-induced oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction and elevated pro-inflammatory cytokines in both PBMCs and macrophages, subsequently accelerating cutaneous wound healing.

Conclusions

HSC may play an important role in wound healing through transferring epigenetic modifications to subsequent PBMCs and macrophages by differentiation, while PTE accelerates diabetic wound healing by modulating diabetes-induced epigenetic changes in HSCs. Thus, PTE may be a novel therapeutic strategy for diabetic wound healing.

Resveratrol accelerates wound healing by attenuating oxidative stress-induced impairment of cell proliferation and migration

BACKGROUND

Impaired wound healing, which is due to various external and internal factors that are involved in wound pathophysiology, leads to high rates of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Oxidative stress injury is an important factor that affects wound healing by changing the whole healing process. So, resveratrol, a dietary fruits polyphenol, which is known for its antioxidant properties, maybe the candidate to accelerate the wound-healing process.

METHODS

The Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVECs) was used for in vitro experiments to evaluate the effect of resveratrol on hyperglycemia-induced gene expression, oxidative stress and cell proliferation. The diabetic rat model was used to evaluate the effect of resveratrol on cutaneous burn injury healing process.

RESULTS

Increases in H₂O₂ decreased cell viability with the 0-800 μM concentration range, and resveratrol could protect HUVECs against H₂O₂-induced injury. The scratched wound closed rate in H₂O₂ group was significantly smaller than the Control group (p < 0.05) and Resveratrol + H₂O₂ group (p < 0.05). The fluorescence intensity of ROS was lower in Control and Resveratrol + H₂O₂ groups than H₂O₂ group. Correspondingly, compared to H₂O₂ group, the expressions of Mn-SOD and nuclear Nrf2 (N-Nrf2) was up-regulated in Resveratrol + H₂O₂ group (p < 0.05). In vivo, compared with the saline group, using resveratrol could significantly accelerate wound healing of rats on Day 14 (p < 0.05) and make the regenerated skin structure more complete and inflammatory response lower. Moreover, the expressions of Mn-SOD was significantly up-regulated after using resveratrol.

CONCLUSIONS

Resveratrol has the positive effects on promoting the acceleration and quality of skin wound healing, which maybe at least in part caused by the up-regulation of nuclear Nrf2 and Mn-SOD that subsequently attenuated oxidative stress.

Two-dimensional Newtonized orthogonal matching pursuit compressive beamforming

Conventional compressive beamforming assumes that the acoustic sources fall on the discretized grid points. The performance degrades when the acoustic source lies off the discretized grid point, that is, when the basis mismatch occurs. This paper proposes a two-dimensional Newtonized orthogonal matching pursuit compressive beamforming, including single and multiple snapshot versions, which constructs the maximum likelihood estimation model, taking the position and strength of sources on a two-dimensional continuous plane as parameters. This method first captures the grid point near the source based on the discrete grid. Then it optimizes the coordinate estimation within the local continuous plane by a combination of the two-dimensional Newton optimization and a feedback mechanism to converge to the actual source position. It allows acoustic source identification in the near field utilizing arbitrary geometry planar array and works without the prior knowledge of signal-to-noise ratio and/or regularization parameters. Simulations and experiments show that the proposed method can overcome the basis mismatch issue and provide high spatial resolution, obtaining an accurate estimation for the position and strength of the acoustic source. Moreover, the multiple snapshot version outperforms the single snapshot version, especially under low signal-to-noise ratio. The larger the number of snapshots, the better the performance.

Iterative Vandermonde decomposition and shrinkage-thresholding based two-dimensional grid-free compressive beamforming

Two-dimensional grid-free compressive beamforming with a planar microphone array is a potential approach to estimating direction-of-arrivals (DOAs) and quantifying the strengths of acoustic sources in front of the array. The existing methods involve a prior noise parameter, which is challenging to accurately estimate in many situations. To circumvent this prior parameter, an iterative Vandermonde decomposition and shrinkage-thresholding based two-dimensional grid-free compressive beamforming is proposed. Compared to the existing methods with accurately estimated noise, the proposed method achieves an equivalent DOA estimation accuracy and a higher source strength quantification accuracy.

Follow-Up CT Results of COVID-19 Patients with Initial Negative Chest CT

PURPOSE

To determine whether new pulmonary lesions will develop in COVID-19 patients with negative initial chest CT findings and to investigate their CT features and outcome during treatment.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Data were collected retrospectively from 29 patients who had tested positive for COVID-19 by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction testing but negative by initial chest CT from January 22 to February 17, 2020. Clinical manifestations, laboratory indicators, and follow-up CT data were evaluated.

RESULTS

Among 317 confirmed COVID-19 patients, 29 (9.1%) (mean ± SD, 38.5 ± 20.5 years; 12 women) with negative initial chest CT findings were evaluated. New pulmonary lesions developed in 10 (34.5%) patients on follow-up CT. Mean time from onset of new lesions to initial CT was 5.8 ± 3.0 days (range: 2-12 days). New lesions (mean involved lobes and segments: 2.5 ± 1.6 [range: 1-5] and 4.5 ± 4.5 [range: 1-13]) were mainly spherical/patchy ground-glass opacities frequently located in the left lower lobe (9, 90.0%). Among the 10 patients, lesions in 6 (60.0%) indicated progression after occurrence, and those in 10 (100.0%) indicated significant absorption on latest CT. When new lesions developed, 6 (60.0%) patients developed new symptoms or had aggravated symptoms and 3 (30.0%) had decreased lymphocyte count. Patients with worsening symptoms had higher involvement of lung segments (mean: 6.5 ± 5.0, range: 1-13) than asymptomatic patients (mean: 1.5 ± 0.6, range: 1-2) (P = 0.057).

CONCLUSION

In COVID-19 patients with negative initial chest CT findings, new pulmonary lesions may develop during treatment. Repeat CT is necessary for monitoring the disease, especially when patients have worsening symptoms or laboratory indicators.

Three-dimensional source localization using sparse Bayesian learning on a spherical microphone array

The identification of acoustic sources in a three-dimensional (3D) domain based on measurements with an array of microphones is a challenging problem: it entails the estimation of the angular position of the sources (direction of arrival), distance relative to the array (range), and the quantification of the source amplitudes. A 3D source localization model using a rigid spherical microphone array with spherical wave propagation is proposed. In this study, sparse Bayesian learning is used to perform localization in 3D space and examine the use of principal component analysis to denoise the measurement data. The performance of the proposed method is examined numerically and experimentally, which is tested both in a free-field and in a reverberant environment. The numerical and experimental investigations demonstrate that the approach offers accurate localization in a 3D domain, resolving closely spaced sources and making it possible to identify sources located at different ranges.

Determination of propagation model matrix in generalized cross-correlation based inverse model for broadband acoustic source localization

The generalized cross-correlation (GCC) based inverse model is a promising time domain localization technique for a broadband acoustic source. Its performance is affected by the temporal width threshold of the propagation model matrix. The appropriate threshold should vary with focus distance, array geometry, and array size, but there is still a lack of uniform and effective methods to determine it. To solve this issue and perfect the technique, a method is proposed based on the cumulative probability of all differences of time delay estimation between the focus point and the microphone pair. Further, an alternative propagation model matrix is derived, which circumvents the threshold. Both proposed methods are effective under different simulation and experimental configurations, with strong stability and adaptability to focus distance, array geometry, and array size. The GCC based inverse model with either proposed method not only enjoys satisfactory source localization performance, including narrow mainlobes, few spurious sources, and highlighted source positions, but also can correctly estimate the sound level, which is comparable to that with the preset appropriate temporal width threshold. In terms of the computational time, the inverse model with the latter proposed method outperforms that with the former one.

Adaptive reweighting homotopy algorithm based compressive spherical beamforming with spherical microphone arrays

Compressive spherical beamforming (CSB) with spherical microphone arrays enjoys high spatial resolution and strong sidelobes suppression at medium to high frequencies. In this paper, the adaptive reweighting homotopy (ARH) algorithm is adapted to CSB, and the proposed method is abbreviated as ARH-CSB, which bypasses a priori signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) estimation. ARH-CSB iteratively solves the CSB model by determining the support set and adaptively searching for weights while estimating the source strength. Simulations and experiments demonstrate that ARH-CSB can effectively identify acoustic sources. Furthermore, compared to CSB solved by ℓ₁-norm minimization algorithm and iterative reweighted ℓ₁-norm minimization algorithm, ARH-CSB does not depend on a priori SNR and has better adaptability to low SNR, stronger robustness, higher weak sources quantification accuracy, and faster computation speed.

Compressive Spherical Beamforming for Acoustic Source Identification

This study examines a compressive spherical beamforming (CSB) method, using a rigid spherical microphone array to localize and quantify the acoustic contribution of sources. The method relies on the array signal model in the spherical harmonics domain that can be represented as a spatially sparse problem. This makes it possible to use compressive sensing to solve an underdetermined problem via promoting sparsity. The estimation of the angular position of sources with respect to the microphone array, as well as the three-dimensional localization over a volume are investigated. Several sparse recovery algorithms [orthogonal matching pursuit (OMP), generalized OMP, &rhov;1-norm minimization, and reweighted &rhov;1-norm minimization] are examined for this purpose. The numerical and experimental results indicate that sparse recovery methods outperform conventional spherical harmonics beamforming. Reweighted &rhov;1-norm has good adaptability to noise, improving the robustness of CSB. The method can successfully localize the angular position of sources, and quantify their relative pressure contribution. The method is promising to localize sources in a three-dimensional domain of interest. However, the three-dimensional localization is more sensitive to noise, source distance, and properties of the sensing matrix than the two-dimensional localization.

Nrf2 Suppression Delays Diabetic Wound Healing Through Sustained Oxidative Stress and Inflammation

Impaired wound healing is one of the major complications of diabetes, involving prolonged inflammation, delayed re-epithelialization, and consistent oxidative stress. The detailed mechanism remains unclear, and there is currently no effective treatment for diabetic wound healing. In this study, we aim to investigate the potential role and effect of nuclear factor erythroid-2–related factor-2 (Nrf2) activation on diabetic wound healing. In vitro experiments in rat macrophages showed that hyperglycemia treatment suppresses Nrf2 activation, resulting in oxidative stress with decreased expression of antioxidant genes, including NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 and heme oxygenase 1, together with increased secretion of proinflammatory cytokines, including interleukin 1β (IL1β), IL6, and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1. Both Nrf2 overexpression and Nrf2 activator dimethyl fumarate (DMF) treatment significantly ameliorated oxidative stress and inflammation. On the other hand, both Nrf2 knockdown or Nrf2 inhibitor ML385 mimicked the effect of diabetes. Further in vivo experiments in rats showed that DMF treatment significantly accelerated wound healing in streptozocin-induced diabetic rats with increased expression of antioxidant enzymes and decreased secretion of proinflammatory cytokines, while Nrf2 inhibitor ML385 mimicked the effect of diabetes. We conclude that Nrf2 activation accelerates impaired wound healing by ameliorating diabetes-mediated oxidative stress and inflammation. This provides a new clinical treatment strategy for diabetic wound healing using Nrf2 activator DMF.

A panoramic continuous compressive beamformer with cuboid microphone arrays

Compressive beamforming is a powerful approach for the direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation and strength quantification of acoustic sources. The conventional grid-based discrete compressive beamformer suffers from the basis mismatch conundrum. Its result degrades under the situation that sources fall off the grid. The existing continuous compressive beamformer with linear or planar microphone arrays can circumvent the conundrum, but work well only for sources in a local region. Here we develop a panoramic continuous compressive beamformer with cuboid microphone arrays based on an atomic norm minimization (ANM) and a matrix pencil and paring method. To solve the positive semidefinite programming equivalent to the ANM efficiently, we formulate a solving algorithm based on the alternating direction method of multipliers. We also present an iterative reweighted ANM to enhance sparsity and resolution. The beamformer is capable of estimating the DOAs and quantifying the strengths of acoustic sources panoramically and accurately, whether a standard uniform or a sparse cuboid microphone array is utilized.

Robust reconstruction of equivalent source method based near-field acoustic holography using an alternative regularization parameter determination approach

The core of equivalent source method based near-field acoustic holography is to solve the equivalent source strength with the measured pressure and the transfer matrix, which is a typical ill-posed inverse problem. In this work, an explicit formula is proposed in which the regularization parameter is proportional to the product of the hologram distance and the maximum singular value of the transfer matrix. Utilizing the proposed approach, robust acoustic field reconstruction can be achieved even when the hologram distance is 5 times larger than the average microphone spacing.

High-resolution CLEAN-SC for acoustic source identification with spherical microphone arrays

Spherical harmonics beamforming (SHB) with solid spherical microphone arrays can identify acoustic source in all directions simultaneously. To surpass the Rayleigh resolution limit and improve the performance of acoustic sources identification, this paper applies the high-resolution CLEAN-SC (HR-CLEAN-SC) algorithm, introduced by Sijtsma et al. for beamforming with planar arrays, to SHB. The factor of the potential resolution enhancement is typically about 1.7 compared to the Rayleigh resolution limit. Furthermore, simulations and experiments with spherical arrays demonstrate that HR-CLEAN-SC has higher spatial resolution and accuracy of both location and quantification than standard CLEAN-SC.

ERβ Accelerates Diabetic Wound Healing by Ameliorating Hyperglycemia-Induced Persistent Oxidative Stress

Delayed wound healing in diabetic patients is a serious diabetic complication, resulting in major health problems as well as high mortality and disability. The detailed mechanism still needs to be fully understood. In this study, we aim to investigate potential mechanisms and explore an efficient strategy for clinical treatment of diabetic wound healing. Human umbilical endothelial cells were exposed to hyperglycemia for 4 days, then switched to normoglycemia for an additional 4 days. The cells were harvested for the analysis of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, gene expression and VEGF signaling pathway. Furthermore, the diabetic wound model was established in rats for the evaluation of wound healing rates under the treatment of either ERβ agonist/antagonist or SOD mimetic MnTBAP. Our results show that transient hyperglycemia exposure results in persistent ROS overgeneration after the switch to normoglycemia, along with suppressed expression of ERβ, SOD2, and the VEGF signaling pathway. Either ERβ expression or activation diminishes ROS generation. In vivo experiments with diabetic rats show that ERβ activation or SOD mimetic MnTBAP diminishes ROS generation in tissues and accelerates diabetic wound healing. Transient hyperglycemia exposure induces ROS generation and suppresses ERβ expression, subsequently resulting in SOD2 suppression with additional elevated ROS generation. This forms a positive-feed forward loop for ROS generation with persistent oxidative stress. ERβ expression or activation breaks this loop and ameliorates this effect, thereby accelerating diabetic wound healing. We conclude that ERβ accelerates diabetic wound healing by ameliorating hyperglycemia-induced persistent oxidative stress. This provides a new strategy for clinical treatment of diabetic wound healing based on ERβ activation.

Utility of arterial spin labelling MRI for discriminating atypical high-grade glioma from primary central nervous system lymphoma

AIM

To evaluate the ability of arterial spin labelling (ASL) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in differentiating primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) from atypical high-grade glioma (HGG), as well as exploring the underlying pathological mechanisms.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

Twenty-three patients with PCNSL and 17 patients with atypical HGG who underwent ASL-MRI were identified retrospectively. Absolute cerebral blood flow (aCBF) and normalised cerebral blood flow (nCBF) values were obtained, and were compared between PCNSL and atypical HGG using the Mann-Whitney U-test. The performance in discriminating between PCNSL and atypical HGG was evaluated using receiver-operating characteristics analysis and area-under-the-curve (AUC) values for aCBF and nCBF. The correlation between microvessel density (MVD) and aCBF was determined by Spearman's correlation analysis.

RESULTS

Atypical HGG demonstrated significantly higher aCBF, nCBF, and MVD values than PCNSL (p<0.05). The diagnostic accuracy of discriminating PCNSL from atypical HGG showed AUC=0.877 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.735-0.959) for aCBF, and AUC=0.836 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.685-0.934) for nCBF. There was a moderate positive correlation between aCBF values of region of interest (ROI >30 mm²) in the enhanced area and MVD values (rho=0.579, p=0.0001), and a strong positive correlation between aCBF values MVD based on "point-to-point biopsy" (rho=0.83, p=0.0029). Interobserver agreements for aCBF and nCBF were excellent (ICC >0.75).

CONCLUSIONS

ASL perfusion MRI is a useful imaging technique for the discrimination between atypical HGG and PCNSL, which may be determined by the difference of MVD between them.

Alternating direction method of multipliers for weighted atomic norm minimization in two-dimensional grid-free compressive beamforming

An algorithm is developed based on alternating direction method of multipliers to solve the weighted atomic norm minimization in two-dimensional grid-free compressive beamforming. Simulations and experiments are carried out to compare this algorithm with the off-the-shelf interior point method based sdpt3 solver in cvx toolbox. Whether a standard uniform rectangular array or a non-uniform array constructed by a small number of microphones is utilized, this algorithm is feasible and faster.

Long non-coding RNA HOST2 enhances proliferation and metastasis in gastric cancer

This study investigates the influence of long noncoding RNA HOST2 on the biological functions of gastric cancer cells; including proliferation, migration and invasion. Differentially expressed lncRNAs in gastric cancer (GC) were screened by microarray analysis, and HOST2 expression in GC tissues and cell lines was determined by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). GC cell proliferation, migration and invasion were detected by CCK-8, wound healing and transwell assays. Western blot investigated expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) related proteins, and association was established between over-expressed HOST2 and the number of patients with lymph node and distant metastasis. HOST2 expression was also positively related to GC cell invasion ability, and although its expression in the p-shHOST2 group was remarkably decreased, it was significantly higher than in the Mock and NC groups. Compared to the Mock and NC groups, the p-shHOST2 group presented significant decreases in proliferation and wound healing rates, and the reverse result was noted in the p-HOST2 group. In addition, the number of p-shHOST2 group invasive cells was remarkably less than in the Mock and NC group, and the opposite result was achieved in the p-HOST2 group. Moreover, p-HOST2 had more significant EMT, but this was suppressed in the p-shHOST2 group. Finally, HOST2 silencing suppressed GC cell proliferation, migration and invasion; and it could therefore be considered as a novel biomarker and therapeutic target in gastric cancer.

Resveratrol ameliorates prenatal progestin exposure-induced autism-like behavior through ERβ activation

Background

Recent literatures indicate that maternal hormone exposure is a risk factor for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We hypothesize that prenatal progestin exposure may counteract the neuroprotective effect of estrogen and contribute to ASD development, and we aim to develop a method to ameliorate prenatal progestin exposure-induced autism-like behavior.

Methods

Experiment 1: Prenatal progestin exposure-induced offspring are treated with resveratrol (RSV) through either prenatal or postnatal exposure and then used for autism-like behavior testing and other biomedical analyses. Experiment 2: Prenatal norethindrone (NET) exposure-induced offspring are treated with ERβ knockdown lentivirus together with RSV for further testing. Experiment 3: Pregnant dams are treated with prenatal NET exposure together with RSV, and the offspring are used for further testing.

Results

Eight kinds of clinically relevant progestins were used for prenatal exposure in pregnant dams, and the offspring showed decreased ERβ expression in the amygdala with autism-like behavior. Oral administration of either postnatal or prenatal RSV treatment significantly reversed this effect with ERβ activation and ameliorated autism-like behavior. Further investigation showed that RSV activates ERβ and its target genes by demethylation of DNA and histone on the ERβ promoter, and then minimizes progestin-induced oxidative stress as well as the dysfunction of mitochondria and lipid metabolism in the brain, subsequently ameliorating autism-like behavior.

Conclusions

We conclude that resveratrol ameliorates prenatal progestin exposure-induced autism-like behavior through ERβ activation. Our data suggest that prenatal progestin exposure is a strong risk factor for autism-like behavior. Many potential clinical progestin applications, including oral contraceptive pills, preterm birth drugs, and progestin-contaminated drinking water or seafood, may be risk factors for ASD. In addition, RSV may be a good candidate for clinically rescuing or preventing ASD symptoms in humans, while high doses of resveratrol used in the animals may be a potential limitation for human application.

Resolution enhancement of two-dimensional grid-free compressive beamforming

Reconstructing the acoustic source distribution via imposing a sparsity constraint on a continuum, the atomic norm minimization (ANM) based grid-free compressive beamforming can eliminate the basis mismatch of conventional grid-based compressive beamforming. However, it works well only for sufficiently separated sources, which prohibits high resolution. The drawback arises because it uses an atomic norm to measure the source sparsity, while the atomic norm is not a direct sparse metric and its minimization is equivalent to the sparsity constraint only when the sources are sufficiently separated. This paper devotes itself to overcoming the drawback for the two-dimensional ANM based grid-free compressive beamforming. First, a sparse metric that can promote sparsity to a greater extent than the atomic norm is proposed. Then, using this metric a minimization problem is formulated and the majorization-minimization (MM) solving algorithm is introduced. MM iteratively conducts atomic norm minimization with a sound reweighting strategy, and therefore the developed method can be termed as iterative reweighted atomic norm minimization (IRANM). Both simulations and experiments demonstrate that whether a standard uniform rectangular array or a non-uniform array constituted by a small number of microphones is utilized, IRANM can overcome the drawback and thus enhance the resolution.

Two different R gene loci co-evolved with Avr2 of Phytophthora infestans and confer distinct resistance specificities in potato

Late blight, caused by the oomycete pathogen Phytophthora infestans, is the most devastating disease in potato. For sustainable management of this economically important disease, resistance breeding relies on the availability of resistance (R) genes. Such R genes against P. infestans have evolved in wild tuber-bearing Solanum species from North, Central and South America, upon co-evolution with cognate avirulence (Avr) genes. Here, we report how effectoromics screens with Avr2 of P. infestans revealed defense responses in diverse Solanum species that are native to Mexico and Peru. We found that the response to AVR2 in the Mexican Solanum species is mediated by R genes of the R2 family that resides on a major late blight locus on chromosome IV. In contrast, the response to AVR2 in Peruvian Solanum species is mediated by Rpi-mcq1, which resides on chromosome IX and does not belong to the R2 family. The data indicate that AVR2 recognition has evolved independently on two genetic loci in Mexican and Peruvian Solanum species, respectively. Detached leaf tests on potato cultivar 'Désirée' transformed with R genes from either the R2 or the Rpi-mcq1 locus revealed an overlapping, but distinct resistance profile to a panel of 18 diverse P. infestans isolates. The achieved insights in the molecular R - Avr gene interaction can lead to more educated exploitation of R genes and maximize the potential of generating more broad-spectrum, and potentially more durable control of the late blight disease in potato.

Heterologous Expression of Chaperones from Hyperthermophilic Archaea Inhibits Aminoglycoside-Induced Protein Misfolding in Escherichia coli

Aminoglycoside antibiotics affect protein translation fidelity and lead to protein aggregation and an increase in intracellular oxidative stress level as well. The overexpression of the chaperonin GroEL/GroES system promotes short-term tolerance to aminoglycosides in Escherichia coli. Here, we demonstrated that the coexpression of prefoldin or Hsp60 originating from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrococcus furiosus in E. coli cells can rescue cell growth and inhibit protein aggregation induced by streptomycin exposure. The results of our study show that hyperthermophilic chaperones endow E. coli with a higher tolerance to streptomycin than the GroEL/GroES system, and that they exert better effects on the reduction of intracellular protein misfolding, indicating that these chaperones have unique features and functions.

mTORC2 controls Th9 polarization and allergic airway inflammation

BACKGROUND

T helper type 9 (Th9) cells, a subpopulation of CD4⁺ T cells, play a critical role in the pathogenesis of allergic airway inflammation. However, it remains unknown whether mTORC2 regulates Th9 differentiation or function during allergic inflammation.

METHODS

T-cell-specific Rictor-deficient mice, a mouse model of allergic airway inflammation induced by ovalbumin (OVA) sensitization and a mouse model of adoptive transfer of induced Th9 cells, were used to address the roles of mTORC2 in the pathogenesis of allergic airway inflammation. The in vitro Th9 induction, multiple colors flow cytometry, real-time PCR, and Western blots were used to investigate the molecular effects of mTORC2 in Th9 induction.

RESULTS

The differentiation of naïve CD4⁺ T cells into Th9 cells was significantly diminished in the absence of Rictor, the core component of mTORC2. Using a mouse model of allergic airway inflammation induced by OVA sensitization, T-cell-specific Rictor-deficient mice show much less severe allergic airway inflammation characterized by decreased pathological alterations and fibrosis of the lungs, which was accompanied with reduced Th9 differentiation and infiltration. Importantly, the isolated Rictor-deficient Th9 cells mediate less severe allergic pathogenesis upon adoptive transfer. Rictor deficiency impairs Th9 cell differentiation by reducing IRF4 expression rather than affecting Foxo1/Foxo3a transcriptional activity, which is likely due to decreased Akt and/or STAT6 activation.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings uncover a novel role of mTORC2 in Th9 cell differentiation and may have important implications for therapeutic intervention of allergic diseases.

Prenatal levonorgestrel exposure induces autism-like behavior in offspring through ERβ suppression in the amygdala

BACKGROUND

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by impairments in social communication and restricted or repetitive behaviors or interests. ASD is now diagnosed in more than one out of 100 children and is biased towards males by a ratio of at least 4:1. Many possible explanations and potential causative factors have been reported, such as genetics, sex, and environmental factors, although the detailed mechanisms of ASD remain unclear.

METHODS

The dams were exposed through oral contraceptives to either vehicle control (VEH) alone, levonorgestrel (LNG) alone, ethinyl estradiol (EE) alone, or a combination of LNG/EE for 21 days during their pregnancy. The subsequent 10-week-old offspring were used for autism-like behavior testing, and the limbic tissues were isolated for analysis. In another experimental group, 8-week-old male offspring were treated by infusion of ERβ overexpression/knockdown lentivirus in the amygdala, and the offspring were analyzed after 2 weeks.

RESULTS

We show that prenatal exposure of either LNG alone or a LNG/EE combination, but not EE alone, results in suppression of ERβ (estrogen receptor β) and its target genes in the amygdala with autism-like behavior in male offspring, while there is a much smaller effect on female offspring. However, we find that there is no effect on the hippocampus and hypothalamus. Further investigation shows that ERβ suppression is due to LNG-mediated altered methylation on the ERβ promoter and results in tissue damage with oxidative stress and the dysfunction of mitochondria and fatty acid metabolism, which subsequently triggers autism-like behavior. Overexpression of ERβ in the amygdala completely restores LNG-induced ERβ suppression and autism-like behaviors in offspring, while ERβ knockdown mimics this effect, indicating that ERβ expression in the amygdala plays an important role in autism-like behavior development.

CONCLUSIONS

We conclude that prenatal levonorgestrel exposure induces autism-like behavior in offspring through ERβ suppression in the amygdala. To our knowledge, this is the first time the potential effect of oral contraceptives on the contribution of autism-like behavior in offspring has been discovered.

Perinatal testosterone exposure potentiates vascular dysfunction by ERβ suppression in endothelial progenitor cells

Recent clinical cohort study shows that testosterone therapy increases cardiovascular diseases in men with low testosterone levels, excessive circulating androgen levels may play a detrimental role in the vascular system, while the potential mechanism and effect of testosterone exposure on the vascular function in offspring is still unknown. Our preliminary results showed that perinatal testosterone exposure in mice induces estrogen receptor β (ERβ) suppression in endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) in offspring but not mothers, while estradiol (E2) had no effect. Further investigation showed that ERβ suppression is due to perinatal testosterone exposure-induced epigenetic changes with altered DNA methylation on the ERβ promoter. During aging, EPCs with ERβ suppression mobilize to the vascular wall, differentiate into ERβ-suppressed mouse endothelial cells (MECs) with downregulated expression of SOD2 (mitochondrial superoxide dismutase) and ERRα (estrogen-related receptor α). This results in reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and DNA damage, and the dysfunction of mitochondria and fatty acid metabolism, subsequently potentiating vascular dysfunction. Bone marrow transplantation of EPCs that overexpressed with either ERβ or a SIRT1 single mutant SIRT1-C152(D) that could modulate SIRT1 phosphorylation significantly ameliorated vascular dysfunction, while ERβ knockdown worsened the problem. We conclude that perinatal testosterone exposure potentiates vascular dysfunction through ERβ suppression in EPCs.

Two-dimensional grid-free compressive beamforming

Compressive beamforming realizes the direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation and strength quantification of acoustic sources by solving an underdetermined system of equations relating microphone pressures to a source distribution via compressive sensing. The conventional method assumes DOAs of sources to lie on a grid. Its performance degrades due to basis mismatch when the assumption is not satisfied. To overcome this limitation for the measurement with plane microphone arrays, a two-dimensional grid-free compressive beamforming is developed. First, a continuum based atomic norm minimization is defined to denoise the measured pressure and thus obtain the pressure from sources. Next, a positive semidefinite programming is formulated to approximate the atomic norm minimization. Subsequently, a reasonably fast algorithm based on alternating direction method of multipliers is presented to solve the positive semidefinite programming. Finally, the matrix enhancement and matrix pencil method is introduced to process the obtained pressure and reconstruct the source distribution. Both simulations and experiments demonstrate that under certain conditions, the grid-free compressive beamforming can provide high-resolution and low-contamination imaging, allowing accurate and fast estimation of two-dimensional DOAs and quantification of source strengths, even with non-uniform arrays and noisy measurements.

Combination of betulinic acid and chidamide synergistically inhibits Epstein-Barr virus replication through over-generation of reactive oxygen species

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has widely infected more than 90% of human populations. Currently, there is no efficient way to remove the virus because the EBV carriers are usually in a latent stage that allows them to escape the immune system and common antiviral drugs. In the effort to develop an efficient strategy for the removal of the EBV virus, we have shown that betulinic acid (BA) slightly suppresses EBV replication through SOD2 suppression with subsequent reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and DNA damage in EBV-transformed LCL (lymphoblastoid cell line) cells. Chidamide (CDM, CS055), a novel histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi), could significantly switch EBV from the latent stage to the lytic stage with increased gene expression of BZLF1 and BMRF1, but has a small effect on EBV replication due to the suppression effect of CDM-mediated ROS generation. Interestingly, a combination of BA and CDM synergistically inhibits EBV replication with ROS over-generation and subsequent DNA damage and apoptosis. Overexpression of SOD2 diminishes this effect, while SOD2 knockdown mimics this effect. An in vivo xenograft tumor development study with the tail vein injection of EBV-transformed LCL cells in nude mice proves that the combination of BA and CDM synergistically increases superoxide anion release in tumor tissues and suppresses EBV replication and tumor growth, and significantly prolongs mouse survival. We conclude that the combination of BA and CDM could be an efficient strategy for clinical EBV removal.

A refined wideband acoustical holography based on equivalent source method

This paper is concerned with acoustical engineering and mathematical physics problem for the near-field acoustical holography based on equivalent source method (ESM-based NAH). An important mathematical physics problem in ESM-based NAH is to solve the equivalent source strength, which has multiple solving algorithms, such as Tikhonov regularization ESM (TRESM), iterative weighted ESM (IWESM) and steepest descent iteration ESM (SDIESM). To explore a new solving algorithm which can achieve better reconstruction performance in wide frequency band, a refined wideband acoustical holography (RWAH) is proposed. RWAH adopts IWESM below a transition frequency and switches to SDIESM above that transition frequency, and the principal components of input data in RWAH have been truncated. Further, the superiority of RWAH is verified by the comparison of comprehensive performance of TRESM, IWESM, SDIESM and RWAH. Finally, the experiments are conducted, confirming that RWAH can achieve better reconstruction performance in wide frequency band.

Increasing prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity in a coastal province in China

BACKGROUND

The increasing prevalence of childhood obesity constitutes a serious public health problem in both developed and developing countries.

OBJECTIVES

The present study examined the prevalent trends in overweight and obesity among children and adolescents in Shandong, China spanning 29 years (1985-2014).

METHODS

Data for this study were obtained from four cross-sectional surveys of schoolchildren carried out in 1985, 1995, 2005 and 2014 in Shandong Province, China. A total of 39 943 students aged 7-18 years were included in this study (14 458 in 1985, 7 198 in 1995, 8 568 in 2005 and 9 719 in 2014).

RESULTS

Using IOTF criteria, the prevalence of overweight and obesity increased from 1.73% and 0.05% for boys, 1.67% and 0.04% for girls in 1985 to 20.83% and 10.39% for boys, 15.81% and 4.35% for girls in 2014; Using World Health Organization criteria, the prevalence of overweight and obesity increased from 2.76% and 0.45% for boys, 2.46% and 0.11% for girls in 1985 to 20.30% and 18.16% for boys, 18.89% and 6.58% for girls in 2014, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Childhood overweight and obesity has entered the extensively epidemic stage in this region at present. Comprehensive strategies of intervention should include periodical monitoring, education on pattern of nutrition, oxygen-consuming physical exercises and healthy dietary behaviour.

PRMT5 enhances generation of induced pluripotent stem cells from dairy goat embryonic fibroblasts via down-regulation of p53

OBJECTIVES

Protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5), is thought to play a role in epigenetic reprogramming of mouse germ cells. However, up to now there has been little information concerning its expression profile and effects on generation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from somatic cells, in livestock. Here, we have explored PRMT5 expression profiles in dairy goats and its consequences to derivation of iPSCs from dairy goat embryonic fibroblasts (GEFs).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We investigated effects of PRMT5 on iPS-like cells production in vitro. alkaline phosphatase (AP) staining, QRT-PCR and western blotting analysis of expression of related markers were used to evaluate efficiency of generation of iPSCs derived from GEFs.

RESULTS

These showed PRMT5 to be a conservative gene widely expressed in various tissues and different-aged testes. PRMT5 overexpression in combination with OCT3/4, SOX2, KLF4 and C-MYC (POSKM) significantly increased number of AP positive iPS-like colony-derived GEFs compared to OSKM alone, in our dairy goats. Moreover, our results demonstrated that PRMT5 overexpression stimulated GEF proliferation and down-regulated p53, p21 (a target gene of p53) and the apoptotic marker caspase 3, to enhance somatic cell reprogramming.

CONCLUSION

This study provides an efficient model for future studies on mechanisms underlying goat somatic cell reprogramming and differentiation.

Expression profile of Nanos2 gene in dairy goat and its inhibitory effect on Stra8 during meiosis

OBJECTIVES

Nanos2, an RNA-binding protein, belongs to the Nanos gene-coding family and contains two CCHC zinc-finger motifs. In mouse, it plays a pivotal role in male germ cell development, and self-renewal of spermatogonial stem cells. However, little is known of its expression pattern and functions in dairy goat testis.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Immunohistochemistry and quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) were used to generate the expression profile of Nanos2 in dairy goat testis. Furthermore, its overexpression effects on male germline stem cells (mGSCs) were studied using qRT-PCR, immunofluorescence, dual-luciferase reporter assay and western blotting.

RESULTS

Nanos2 is a conservative gene expressed widely in various tissues, especially in pancreas, and it displays higher expression in adult testes than in other age groups. Overexpression of Nanos2 significantly downregulated meiosis-related genes, including Stra8 and Scp3, which induced inhibition of meiosis. Results from dual-luciferase reporter assay and western blotting indicated that Nanos2 directly downregulated Stra8 in goat GmGSCs.

CONCLUSIONS

Taken together, these results suggest that Nanos2 plays an important role in spermatogonia and that its overexpression restrained meiosis in the dairy goat.

Detection of interleukin-33 in serum and carcinoma tissue from patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and its clinical implications

OBJECTIVE

To study the clinical significance of intercellular interleukin (IL)-33 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

METHODS

Using immunohistochemistry, this prospective study compared IL-33 protein levels in samples of HCC tissue and normal tissue adjacent to the tumour in 60 patients with HCC, and in normal liver tissue from six healthy controls. Interferon (IFN)-α, IFN-γ and IL-33 serum levels were also analysed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in HCC 30 patients and 10 healthy controls. The level of IL-33 immunohistochemical staining was compared with the rate of lymph node metastasis in HCC patients.

RESULTS

IL-33 was strongly positive in the cytoplasm of hepatocytes. The median percentage of IL-33-positive tissue was higher in HCC than in normal liver tissue samples (adjacent to the tumour or from controls). Serum IFN-α, IFN-γ and IL-33 levels were higher in pre- and postoperative samples from HCC patients than in control samples, and in patients with metastasis compared with those without metastasis.

CONCLUSIONS

Increased IL-33 protein levels were observed in serum and liver tissue from HCC patients; IL-33 may be a useful biological marker for monitoring HCC growth and metastasis.