Objective To study the inhibitory effect of berberine on human nasopharyngeal cancer cell line CNE-2 in vivo and in vitro. Methods CNE-2 cell proliferation was measured by MTT assay and cell cycle was analyzed by flow cytometry. Cell morphology was observed with transmission electron microscopy. The cell cycle relative protein was detected by Western blotting. DNA and protein syntheses were assessed by the cellular incorporation of ~ 3 H-TdR and ~ 3 H-Leu, respectively. Anti-tumor activity of berberine in the experimental transplantation tumor CNE-2 was evaluated by relative tumor growth ratio. Results Berberine inhibited CEN-2 cells growth in a time-and dose-dependent manner. MTT Assay showed that the IC_ 50 values of 48 and 72 h were (49.5?5.8) and (13.3?2.0) ?mol/L, respectively. Cell cycle analyses of 50.0 ?mol/L berberine-treated CNE-2 cells by flow cytometry showed the accumulation of cells in the G_2/M phase while 25.0 ?mol/L berberine treatments for 48 h induced apoptosis with the index of (48.9?10.4)%. The inhibition of CNE-2 cell growth by berberine was associated with suppression of cyclin B1, CDK1, and cdc25c proteins. After the treatment of berberine at dose of 30 mg/kg, the median tumor volume was 317.9 mm~3 which was much lower than that in control group (P

Vascular disrupting agents (VDAs) have presented a new kind of anti-cancer drug in recent years. VDAs take advantage of the weakness of established tumor endothelial cells and their supporting structures. In contrast to anti-angiogenic therapy, which inhibits the outgrowth of new blood vessels, vascular targeting treatments selectively attack the existing tumor vasculature. Here we summarized the anti-tumor activities, mechanisms and clinical applications of small molecule VDAs.

Background：Global Handwashing Day (GHD) is a handwashing promotion campaign organized by the Global Public-Private Partnership of Handwashing with Soap. In China, it has been promoted by the Chinese public health authorities, international organizations and multinational corporations through various channels including social media such as Sina Weibo, the leading Chinese microblogging site similar to Twitter. The objective of this study is to qualitatively assess Chinese social media users’ reactions to a health promotion campaign using Global Handwashing Day (GHD) 2012 as an example.Methods：We conducted a qualitative content analysis of 552 Weibo posts generated on GHD 2012 by Weibo users with 1000 or more followers with the Chinese keyword for “handwashing.” We categorized the Weibo posts into groups by keywords that frequently appeared in the data set. These groups were either exact reposts of an original post, or they conveyed similar information.Results：We observed the interconnections between traditional media and social media in handwashing promotion. Social media were found to serve as amplifiers of contents provided by traditional media. We observed the contextualization of global hygiene messages in a unique national social media market in China.Discussion：Our study showed that social media and traditional media are two interconnected arms of the GHD campaign in China. Our analysis demonstrated that public health campaigns in China can be evaluated using social media data. The themes and topics identified in this study will help public health practitioners evaluate future social media handwashing promotion campaigns.

This study was aimed to prepare the spraying agent of prescriptions of Miao nationality herb and investigate the effect of Miao nationality herbs spray for serum SOD, MDA, and expression of Fas and Caspase-3 mRNA in lung tissues of silica-treated rats. The healthy SD rats were divided into 5 groups. Silica dust suspension was used in the model establishment of 4 groups. After the model was successfully established, 3 groups were randomly selected and given glucocorticoids atomization inhalation, Miao nationality herbs spray, Miao nationality herbs spray combined with intragastric administration of herbal medicine, respectively. After 40-day treatment, water-solubletetrazolium salt (WST-1) was used in the detection of serum superoxide dismutase (SOD). Thiobarbituric acid (TBA) was used in the detection of malondialdehyde (MDA). The mRNA expression variance of the Fas and Caspase-3 were detected by RT-PCR. The results showed that compared with the silica dust suspension group, the SOD activity of serum in the Miao nationality herbs spray group was significantly increased (P< 0.05). MDA content and the mRNA of Fas and Caspase-3 were significantly lower in the Miao nationality herbs spray group (P< 0.05). It was concluded that Miao nationality herbs spray group was able to increase the SOD activity of serum, decrease MDA content, and obviously decrease the expression of Fas and Caspase-3 of lung tissues among silica dust suspension rats.

PURPOSE: Immune suppression is common in patients with advanced breast cancer but the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon have not been sufficiently studied. In this study, we aimed to identify B7 family members that were able to predict the immune status of patients, and which may serve as potential targets for the treatment of breast cancer. We also aimed to identify microRNAs that may regulate the expression of B7 family members. METHODS: The Cancer Genome Atlas data from 1,092 patients with breast cancer, including gene expression, microRNA expression and survival data, were used for statistical and survival analyses. Polymerase chain reaction and Western blot were used to measure messenger RNA and protein expression, respectively. Luciferase assay was used to investigate direct microRNA target. RESULTS: Bioinformatic analysis predicted that microRNA (miR)-93, miR-195, miR-497, and miR-340 are potential regulators of the immune evasion of breast cancer cells, and that they exert this function by targeting CD274, PDCD1LG2, and NCR3LG1. We chose CD274 for further investigations. We found that miR-195, miR-497, and CD274 expression levels were inversely correlated in MDA-MB-231 cells, and miR-195 and miR-497 expressions mimic inhibited CD274 expression in vitro. Mechanistic investigations demonstrated that miR-195 and miR-497 directly target CD274 3′ untranslated region. CONCLUSION: Our data indicated that the level of B7 family members can predict the prognosis of breast cancer patients, and miR-195/miR-497 regulate CD274 expression in triple negative breast cancer. This regulation may further influence tumor progression and the immune tolerance mechanism in breast cancer and may be able to predict the effect of immunotherapy on patients.
Antigens, CD274 ; B7 Antigens ; Blotting, Western ; Breast Neoplasms ; Computational Biology ; Gene Expression ; Genome ; Humans ; Immune Evasion ; Immune Tolerance ; Immunotherapy ; In Vitro Techniques ; Ligands* ; Luciferases ; MicroRNAs ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Prognosis ; RNA, Messenger ; Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms* ; Untranslated Regions

Objective:To evaluate the long-term health-related quality of life (QOL) in pediatric patients with acute leukemia after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and to analyze potential influence factors.Methods:Patients with acute leukemia aging 8-18 years who received HSCT in the Hematology Oncology Center of Beijing Children′s Hospital from June 2009 to June 2012 with more than 80 months survival postoperatively were recruited.All of them were subjected to a short-term QOL survey in 2013.PedsQL? Transplantation Module 3.0 in Chinese mandarin version was completed.QOL data and influence factors were analyzed.Results:Forty-one patients completed the questionnaires, involving 32 males and 9 females with the mean age of(14.29±2.72) years.The mean scores of overall long-term QOL after HSCT were above 75 (total scores: 100), which was above the average.The age, disease status before transplantation, donor sources, post-transplant complications and the parental education level were the influential factors for the long-term QOL in pediatric patients with acute leukemia at post-HSCT, which could affect a certain dimension in QOL.Conclusions:The overall long-term QOL of pediatric patients with acute leukemia who survived for more than 80 months at post-HSCT is acceptable, which is significantly better than the short-term QOL after 4 months of HSCT.The age, disease status before transplantation, donor sources, post-transplant complications and the education level of parents could affect a certain dimension of QOL.

Objective:To investigate the effect of IKKε on autophagy during abdominal aortic aneurysm formation in mice.Methods:We stimulated ApoE -/- mice and ApoE -/-IKKε -/- mice with AngⅡ and saline for 28 days. Metaboilic levels and aortic diameter of ApoE -/- mice and ApoE -/-IKKε -/- mice were measured. The arterial fibrosis of mice was detected by Masson staining and HE staining, mitochondrial reactive oxides were detected by fluorescence assay, the expression levels of autophagy factors LC3B and Beclin-1 were detected by immunohistochemistry, and the protein level of LC3B was detected by Western blot. Results:There was no significant difference in metaboilic levels between ApoE -/- mice and ApoE -/- IKKε -/- mice. However, the aortic diameterf ApoE -/-IKKε -/- mice was significantly less than that of ApoE -/- mice. The fibrosis level of ApoE -/-IKKε -/- mice was significantly lower than that of ApoE -/- mice. Furthermore, ROS in ApoE -/-IKKε -/- mice was lower than that in ApoE -/- mice. In addition, immunohistochemical and western blot showed that the expression levels of LC3B and Beclin-1 in ApoE -/-IKKε -/- mice were significantly lower than in ApoE -/- mice. Conclusion:IKKε -/- deficiency can significantly inhibit autophagy, thus reducing the development of abdominal aortic aneurysm in mice.

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a life-threatening disease associated with chronic inflammation in the vascular wall while its specific pathogenesis is not fully understood. Recently, a growing number of studies have indicated that pyroptosis, which is a pro-inflammatory kind of programmed cell death might play a vital role in AAA. In this review, we first summarize the role of pyroptosis in AAA progression by not only providing a literature review on the expression changes of NLRP3 inflammasome components and effector mediators in clinical and experimental AAAs, but also discussing the effects of genetic defects or pharmacological inhibition of NLRP3 inflammasome components on experimental AAAs. Next, we introduce the mechanism of canonical and non-canonical pathway of pyroptosis and its activation and execution process. Finally, we discuss several pyroptosis-related drug targets for treating AAA by inhibiting the assembly of NLRP3 inflammasome and its effector mediators. In conclusion, we believe that pyroptosis might be a new treatment target of AAA.

Pancreatic cancer is a kind of digestive system tumor with insidious clinical manifestations,rapid development and very poor prognosis,and its early diagnosis and surgical treatment can significantly improve the survival rate and prognosis of patients.So far,no tumor marker with sufficient sensitivity and specificity for early pancreatic cancer has been found for tumor screening.In recent years,more and more pancreatic canc-er-related tumor markers have been discovered and studied.Liquid biopsy has shown potential utility in a range of applications,with the advantages of non-invasive,non-destructive,real-time,multiple,and has broad prospects in many aspects of tumor diagnosis and treatment.This article discusses and summarizes the screen-ing and early diagnosis of circulating tumor cells and circulating tumor DNA in liquid biopsy,so as to provide reference for early detection and early treatment of pancreatic cancer.

The treatment of bone defects caused by fractures or bone tissue lesions has always been a difficult problem in the field of orthopedics.Implantation of high-performance titanium alloy prosthesis is an effective method to treat bone defects.3D printing technology can produce low-modulus titanium alloy implants with porous structures,providing a better solution to the above problems.This technology is convenient to design and has a huge advantage in making orthopedic implants.The article used electron beam melting in 3D printing technology to create two samples of Ti-6Al-4V prosthesis,including solid structural pelvic prosthesis and porous structural pelvic prosthesis.The mechanical properties of the prosthesis showed that the yield and tensile strengths of the rod tensile specimen were 894 MPa and 956 MPa,respectively,and the compressive modulus and compressive strength of the porous pelvic prosthesis were 55 GPa and 65.2 MPa,respectively.The results of the L929 cytotoxicity assay and the MC3T3-E1 cell adhesion assay demonstrated good biocompatibility of the prosthetic samples.New Zealand white rabbits were used to prepare the femoral joint cavity defect models and two pelvic prostheses were implanted.A microscopic CT scan 4 weeks after implantation showed that the bone defect caused by the drill had healed and that the porous structure of the pelvic prosthesis formed a new trabecular structure within the hole.In conclusion,the 3D printed Ti-6Al-4V pelvic prosthesis has excellent mechanical properties,biocompatibility,and the ability to promote new bone growth.