OBJECTIVETo explore the effect of curcumin (CUR) on cycteinyl aspirate specific protease-12 (Caspase-12) and pneumocyte apoptosis in pulmonary ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury mice.

METHODSThe in vivo unilateral in situ pulmonary I/R injury mouse model was established in C57BL/6J mice. Sixty experimental mice were randomly divided into six groups by random digit table, i. e., the sham-operation group (Sham), the I/R group, the I/R + dimethyl sulfoxide group (I/R + DMSO), the I/R + low dose CUR pre-treated group (I/R + CUR-100), the I/R + middle dose CUR pre-treated group (I/R + CUR-150), the I/R + high dose CUR pre-treated group (I/R + CUR-200), 10 in each group. Mice were euthanized and their left lungs were excised. Wet lung weight to dry lung weight (W/D) and the total lung water content (TLW) were tested. The morphological changes of the lung tissue were observed and index of quantitative evaluation for alveolar damage (IQA) detected under light microscope. The ultra-microstructure of the lung tissue was observed under electron microscope. The mRNA and protein expression levels of Caspase-12 and glucose regulated protein (GRP78) were detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot. Apoptosis index (AI) of the lung tissue was determined by terminal-deoxynucleoitidyl transferase mediated nick end labeling (TUNEL) method.

RESULTSCompared with the Sham group, expression levels of Caspase-12, GRP78 mRNA and protein all significantly increased in the I/R group (P < 0.05); W/D, TLW, IQA, and AI were all notably higher (P < 0.05, P < 0.01); the morphological and ultrastructural injury of the lung tissue were notably observed in I/R group. Compared with the I/R + DMSO group, expression levels of GRP78 mRNA and protein were increasingly higher in the I/R + CUR-100 group, the I/R + CUR-150 group, and the I/R +CUR-200 group (P < 0.05), expression levels of Caspase-12 mRNA and protein were lower (P < 0.05); W/D, TLW, IQA, and AI also decreased (P < 0.05, P < 0.01); the morphological and ultrastructural injury of the lung tissue were gradually alleviated in the I/R + CUR groups.

CONCLUSIONCUR had better effect on the lung protection against I/R injury, which might be related to inhibition for pneumocyte apoptosis associated with Caspase-12 in excessive unfolded protein response (UPR).

Animals ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Caspase 12 ; metabolism ; Curcumin ; pharmacology ; Heat-Shock Proteins ; metabolism ; Lung ; blood supply ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Reperfusion Injury ; metabolism ; pathology ; prevention & control

Acute Kidney Injury ; etiology ; Child, Preschool ; Favism ; complications ; Humans ; Male

OBJECTIVETo summarize the etiology and treatment of gynecomastia in male children.

METHODSThe clinical data of 38 boys with gynecomastia at ages of 2-14 years were retrospectively studied.

RESULTSIn the 38 cases, 17 cases were identified as adolescent breast hyperplasia, 2 cases were relevant to primary disease, 4 cases were caused by ingestion of drugs containing hormone, and 15 cases did not show identifiable causes and were diagnosed as idiopathic gynecomastia. For the 3 children with breast development in B3 stage, oral rupixiao was administered (1.34 g, tid) for one month. For 16 children at ages of over 12 years with breast development in B2 stage and with obvious clinical symptoms, oral rupixiao was administered (1.34 g, tid) for 3-5 days. The other patients did not receive drug treatment. In a one month to one year follow-up, most of the patients recovered well.

CONCLUSIONSThe etiology of gynecomastia in male children includes adolescent breast hyperplasia, ingestion of drugs containing hormone and secondary causes. Most gynecomastia can be attributed to physiological reasons. Only a few children with obvious clinical symptoms need drug treatment.

Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Gynecomastia ; etiology ; therapy ; Humans ; Male ; Retrospective Studies

Alzheimer disease (AD) is one of the most common types of dementia.Serotonin (5-HT) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of AD,causing alterations in patients' cognitive abilities,as well as learning and memory capabilities,by regulating the cholinergic and glutamatergic neurotransmission through the signal transduction pathway.Patients suffer from emotional disorders including depression and apathy and clinical manifestations such as unrestrained diet,which are all related to the signaling function of 5-HT receptors.Strengthening the 5-HT receptor-mediated transduction pathway and increasing the concentration of synaptic 5-HT have been used as a novel therapy for delaying the progression of AD.This articles reviews the AD therapies targeting 5-HT transduction pathway.

Aim To investigate the effect of alpinetin on the biological behavior of lung cancer cells,and fur-ther to analyze the relation between its anti-tumor mechanism and the regulation of miR-654-3p/high mobility group protein B1(HMGB1)axis.Methods The lung cancer A549 cells were divided into 0 μmol·L-1 group,alpinetin(50,100,200 μmol·L-1)group,miR-NC group,miR-654-3p mimic group,si-NC group,si-HMGB1 Group,alpinetin+miR-654-3p in-hibitor group,alpinetin+pcDNA-HMGB1 group.Cell counting kit-8(CCK-8)method and flow cytometry were performed to detect the inhibition rate and apopto-sis rate respectively.Plate cloning assay and Transwell chamber method were applied to detect the numbers of clone formation and migration.Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction(RT-qPCR)was employed to analyze the expression of miR-654-3p and HMGB1 mRNA.Dual luciferase reporter assay was used to confirm the targeting effect of miR-654-3p on HMGB1.Western blotting was performed to detect pro-tein expression.Results Compared with the 0 μmol·L-1 group,the inhibition rate,apoptosis rate and miR-654-3p expression of A549 cells in the alpinetin group(50,100,200 μmol·L-1)increased,while clone formation numbers,migration numbers and HMGB1 expression were reduced(P＜0.01).Com-pared with the miR-NC group,the inhibition rate and apoptosis rate of A549 cells in the miR-654-3p mimic group increased,while clone formation numbers,migra-tion number and HMGB1 expression decreased(P＜0.01).Compared with the si-NC group,the inhi-bition rate and apoptosis rate of A549 cells in the si-HMGB1 group increased,while clone formation num-bers and migration were reduced(P＜0.01).MiR-654-3 p directly and specifically bound to HMGB1.Compared with the alpinism group,the inhibition rate and apoptosis rate of A549 cell and BCL2-associated x protein(Bax)and E-cadherin protein expression in al-pinetin+miR-654-3p inhibitor group,alpinetin+pcD-NA-HMGB1 group were reduced,while clone formation numbers,migration and B-cell lymphoma-2(Bcl-2)and N-cadherin protein expresison increased(P＜0.01).Conclusion Alpinetin exerts anti-prolif-eration,anti-migration and pro-apoptosis effects in lung cancer,and its mechanism is related to the up-regula-tion of the miR-654-3p/HMGB1 axis.

Objective Aim of this paper was to explore the trend and characteristics of cancer incidence in 11 areas (5 cities and 6 counties) in China. Methods Data from cancer registries during 1988 to 2002 collected from the 11 cancer registry points were used to analyze the trends and characteristics of cancer incidence rates. Results There were 695 050 newly developed cancer cases in this study. The crude rate of incidence and the world age-adjusted incidence were 215.50/105 and 170.97/105 respectively. The leading cancer sites were lung, stomach, liver, esophagus, breast, colon, rectum, pancreas, bladder and leukemia. The sixteen key cancers accounted for 85.56% of all the cancer cases. The crude incidence rate of all cancers had been significantly increased from 1988 to 2002. Among them, prostate (185.48%) ranked the fastest growing one followed by cancers of the gallbladder, breast, colon, ovarian, lymphoma, bladder, pancreas, rectum, lung, leukemia and liver. The one that had reduced the most was cervix uteri (17.00%), followed by esophagus, stomach and nasopharynx. Conclusion Crude cancer incidence rate increased in the 11 areas in China from 1988 to 2002. The ranking of pancreas cancer, bladder cancer and leukemia came into the top ten. Even though the incidence rates of prostate and gallbladder cancer were relative low but had a fast increase. The results of this study provided a scientific base for the development of a better strategy on cancer prevention and control in China.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of curcumin (CUR) on pneumocyte apoptosis and CCAAT/enhancer binding protein homologous protein (CHOP) in pulmonary ischemia/reperfusion injury (PIRI) in mice.

METHODSSixty C57BL/6J mice were randomly allocated into six groups (n = 10): Sham operation group (Sham group), ischemia/reperfusion group (I/R group), ischemia/reperfusion + dimethyl sulfoxide group (DMSO group), ischemia/reperfusion + curcumin pre-treated with respectively 100 mg/kg, 150 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg groups (CUR-100 group, CUR-150 group and CUR-200 group). Left lung tissue of each group was excised after reperfusion for 3 h. Wet lung weight to dry lung weight (W/D) and total lung water content (TLW) were tested. The morphological and ultrastructural changes of lung tissue were observed under light microscope and electron microscope, and index of quantitative evaluation for alveolar damage (IQA) was calculated. The expression levels of CHOP and glucose regulated protein 78 (GRP78) were detected by RT-PCR and Western Blot. Apoptosis index (AI) of lung tissue was determined by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) method.

RESULTSCompared with Sham group, the expression levels of CHOP, GRP78 mRNA and protein were all significantly increased (P < 0.05) in I/R group and DMSO group, W/D, TLW, IQA and AI were all notably higher (P < 0.01); morphological and ultrastructural injury in lung tissue were notably observed in I/R group. Compared with DMSO group, the expression levels of GRP78 mRNA and protein were increased higher (P < 0. 05) in CUR-100 group, CUR-150 group, and CUR-200 group, but the expression levels of CHOP mRNA and protein were decreased lower (P < 0.05), W/D, TLW, IQA and AI were also decreased (P < 0.05, P < 0.01); morphological and ultrastructural injury in lung tissue were gradually alleviated in CUR groups.

CONCLUSIONI/R induces excessive unfolded protein response (UPR) in lung tissue, in which CHOP participates in pneumocyte apoptosis, leading to lung injury; CUR has notable effects on lung protection against I/R injury, which may be related to inhibition of apoptosis mediated by CHOP in excessive UPR.

Alveolar Epithelial Cells ; metabolism ; Animals ; Apoptosis ; Curcumin ; pharmacology ; Heat-Shock Proteins ; metabolism ; Lung ; metabolism ; pathology ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Reperfusion Injury ; metabolism ; pathology ; Transcription Factor CHOP ; metabolism

OBJECTIVEBoth microsurgical subinguinal varicocelectomy (MSIV) and microsurgical high inguinal varicocelectomy (MHIV) are recommended for the treatment of varicocele, but they differ in technical complexity. This study aimed to determine the microanatomy of spermatic blood vessels in the two surgical approaches.

METHODSWe recorded the numbers of spermatic veins, arteries and lymphatics in 80 cases of MSIV and 20 cases of MHIV. We also examined the spermatic cords from 10 adult male cadavers by histological staining.

RESULTSThe numbers of medium spermatic veins (2 -5 mm in diameter) were 1.80 +/- 0.83 and 3.98 +/- 1. 99 in MHIV and MSIV, respectively, with significant difference between the two groups (t = -7.536, P < 0.01), and the total numbers of spermatic veins were 6.40 +/- 1.67 and 9.01 +/- 2.70, also with significant difference between the two (t = -4.071, P < 0.01). However, there were no significant differences between MHIV and MSIV in the numbers of small spermatic veins (diameter < or = 2 mm), large spermatic veins (diameter > or = 5 mm), arteries and lymphatics, nor in the numbers of spermatic veins and arteries of the cadavers.

CONCLUSIONThe total number of spermatic veins and the number of medium spermatic veins may be larger in MSIV than in MHIV, but the medium spermatic veins do not increase surgical difficulty, and MSIV is not more complicated than MHIV.

Adult ; Arteries ; anatomy & histology ; Humans ; Male ; Micromanipulation ; Microsurgery ; Middle Aged ; Spermatic Cord ; anatomy & histology ; blood supply ; Varicocele ; pathology ; surgery ; Veins ; anatomy & histology ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo explore the possibility of using melanoma antigen (MAGE)-1 and MAGE-3 gene encoding proteins as an index of potential target for immunotherapy in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (IHCC) patients.

METHODSThe expressions of MAGE-1 and MAGE-3 genes in tumor tissues and tumor adjacent non-IHCC liver tissues were examined by RT-PCR method. The relationship between positive expression rates of MAGE-1 and MAGE-3 genes and clinical data including sex, age, tumor diameters, tumor envelope, tumor nodules number, and hepatitis B virus surface antigen were determined.

RESULTSThe positive expression rates of MAGE-1 (35%) and MAGE-3 genes (45%) were significantly higher in the tumor tissues than in tumor adjacent tissues (0) (P<0.01). The positive expression rates of MAGE-1 and MAGE-3 genes had no relationship with the clinical data (P >0.05), except the morphology of tumor (P <0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe high expression rates of MAGE-1 and MAGE-3 genes in IHCC suggests the MAGE-1 and MAGE-3 gene may be a target for immunotherapy in IHCC patients.

Adult ; Aged ; Antigens, Neoplasm ; genetics ; Bile Duct Neoplasms ; genetics ; Bile Ducts, Intrahepatic ; pathology ; Cholangiocarcinoma ; genetics ; Female ; Humans ; In Vitro Techniques ; Liver Neoplasms ; genetics ; Male ; Melanoma-Specific Antigens ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Proteins ; genetics ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction

OBJECTIVETo explore and identify the non-coding RNAs related to tumors.

METHODSWe used RT-PCR and Northern blot to analyze non-coding RNAs in tumor tissues and cell lines.

RESULTSTwo predicted non-coding RNAs were confirmed to be expressed in cancer tissues and cell lines by RT-PCR and DNA sequencing. We detected the expression of two non-coding RNA transcripts by Northern blot. The length of NC28 was about 1800 nt, and that of NC119 was about 1200nt.

CONCLUSIONSNC28 and NC119 have a tumor-associated expression pattern. The non-coding RNAs may play a role in the development of tumors.

Cell Line, Tumor ; Humans ; Neoplasms ; metabolism ; RNA, Untranslated ; biosynthesis