Objective To investigate the effets of three mood stabilizers on ouabain?induced ERK1/2 phosphorylation in astrocytes. Methods As?trocytes were treated with different agents and divided into different groups accordingly,namely,the control group with saline,the group with oua?bain,the group with mood stabilizers(lithium carbonate,carbamazepine,sodium valproate)and the group with ouabain+mood stabilizers. The phosphorylation of ERK1/2 in each group was analyzed by Western blot. Results Compared with saline and mood stabilizer groups,the phosphoryla?tion of ERK1/2 was increased in the ouabain group,with statistical significance(P<0.05). There was no significant difference in ERK1/2 phosphoryla?tion between the group with ouabain+mood stabilizers and the control or mood stabilizer group. Conclusion The three kinds of mood stabilizers can inhibit ouabain?induced ERK1/2 phosphorylation in astrocytes.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the correlation between the expressions of glypican-3 (GPC3) and Notch1 and their roles in the tumorigenesis and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

METHODSImmunohistochemistry and computerized image analysis were utilized to quantitatively detect the expressions of GPC3 and Notch1 in 30 HCC tissue specimens.

RESULTSIn the 30 HCC specimens, GPC3 expression decreased significantly as the grade of tumor differentiation increased (P<0.05 or P<0.01), while Notch1 expression presented with a reverse pattern of changes (P<0.05 or P<0.01). An obvious negative correlation was found between the expressions of GPC3 and Notch1 in HCC tissues (rp=-0.607, P=0.000; r=-0.692, P=0.000).

CONCLUSIONThe expressions of GPC3 and Notch1 show a negative correlation in HCC, suggesting a possible mechanism for mutual regulation between them to contribute to the tumorigenesis and progression of HCC.

Adult ; Aged ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; metabolism ; pathology ; Female ; Glypicans ; metabolism ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Receptor, Notch1 ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo explore the expression of hsa-mir-186 in colorectal cancer and study its role in regulating the biological behaviors of human colorectal cancer SW620 cells in vitro.

METHODSThe expression of hsa-miR-186 in colon cancer tissue and the adjacent tissues as well as 5 colon carcinoma cells were analyzed using real-time quantitative RT-PCR. The precursor sequence of miR-186 gene was amplified from the genomic DNA by PCR and cloned into the lentiviral vector PLVTHM labeled with GFP. The colorectal cancer cell line SW620 was transfected with PLVTHM-miR186 vector and the lentivirus-infected cells were sorted with flow cytometry. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay was used to detect the proliferation of the cells. The migration and invasion of SW620 cells were investigated using Transwell assay and scratch test. Western blotting was used to detect the expression of YY1 protein in SW620 cell lines.

RESULTSThe relative expression of miR-186 in the cancer tissues was 0.0024∓0.0027, significantly lower than that in the adjacent tissues (0.066∓0.068, P=0.008); the relative expression level of hsa-miR-186 in SW620 and LoVo cells with a high metastatic potential was 0.118∓0.138 and 0.157∓0.001, respectively, significantly lower than that in HT-29 cells with a low metastatic potential (1.000∓0.00, P<0.05). The recombinant lentiviral vector PLVTHM-miR186, verified by enzyme digestion, sequencing and qPCR, caused significant inhibition of cell proliferation, migration and invasion and suppressed the expression of YY1 protein in SW620 cells.

CONCLUSIONAs a tumor suppressor gene, Hsa-miR-186 is down-regulated in colon carcinoma tissues and in highly metastatic SW620 and LoVo cells. Has-miR-186 can inhibit the cell proliferation, migration and invasion of colon carcinoma cells in vitro possibly by suppressing YY1 expression.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Movement ; Cell Proliferation ; Colonic Neoplasms ; genetics ; pathology ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Genes, Tumor Suppressor ; Genetic Vectors ; Humans ; Lentivirus ; genetics ; MicroRNAs ; Middle Aged ; Transfection ; YY1 Transcription Factor ; metabolism

Objective: To study the survival time and its risk factors of patients with occupational pneumoconiosis. Methods: A total of 11 011 newly diagnosed occupational pneumoconiosis patients in Guangdong Province from 1980 to 2019 were selected as study subjects. The life table method was used for survival analysis. The influencing factors of survival time of occupational pneumoconiosis patients were analyzed using the WilCoxon (Gehan) test and Cox proportional hazards regression model. Results: The median survival time of pneumoconiosis patients was 26.0 years. The median survival period of stage Ⅰpatients was 3.5 years longer than that of stage Ⅱ patients and 10.1 years longer than that of stage Ⅲ patients. The median survival time of patients with an initial diagnosis age under 40.0 years old was 34.8 years longer than that of patients with an initial diagnosis age over 60.0 years old. The median survival time of patients with dust exposure duration under 25.0 years old was 13.6 years longer than patients with dust exposure duration age over 45.0 years old. The results of the Cox proportional hazards regression model showed that the initial diagnosis stage, initial diagnosis age, dust exposure duration, and medical insurance were risk factors of the survival time of occupational pneumoconiosis patients (all P<0.01). The risk of reduced survival time for patients with stage Ⅱ and stage Ⅲ as the initial diagnosis stage was 1.15 and 2.04 times higher, respectively, compared with stage Ⅰ patients (both P<0.01). The risk of reduced survival time for patients without medical insurance was 60.22 times higher than those with medical insurance (P<0.01). Conclusion: The risk factors of the survival time of occupational pneumoconiosis patients in Guangdong Province are initial diagnosis stage, initial diagnosis age, the dust exposure age, and medical insurance. Earlier detection, earlier diagnosis, and improvement of medical insurance coverage for patients can effectively improve the survival time of occupational pneumoconiosis patients.

Purpose: Effective predictors of the response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) are still insufficient. This study aimed to investigate the predictive value of serum lipid profiles for the response to NAC in breast cancer patients. Methods: A total of 533 breast cancer patients who had received NAC were retrospectively studied. The pretreatment of serum lipids, including total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and lipoprotein-α, and clinicopathological characteristics were collected to assess their predictive roles. Results: Breast cancer patients had significantly lower TC, TG, HDL-C, and LDL-C levels than normal individuals. Among these indicators, TG and LDL-C levels and HDL-C level increased and decreased significantly after NAC, respectively. In estrogen receptor (ER)-positive patients, increased LDL-C level was associated with better outcomes. Moreover, the receiver operating characteristic curve analyses suggested that TG and HDL-C levels at diagnosis can be used as predictors of the response to NAC only in the ER-positive subgroup.According to univariate analyses, patients with low TG level (< 1.155 mmol/L) or high HDL-C level (≥ 1.305 mmol/L) in the ER-positive subgroup had more favorable clinical responses than the other patients in the subgroup. Furthermore, according to multivariate analyses, a high HDL-C level (≥ 1.305 mmol/L, p = 0.007) was an independent predictor of NAC efficacy. Conclusion High HDL-C level (≥ 1.305 mmol/L) before NAC and increased LDL-C level after NAC were associated with the better treatment response in ER-positive breast cancer patients.These results are potentially considered beneficial in establishing treatment decisions.