Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs) have been shown to be involved in multiple biological pathways that can influence tumor progression and metastasis and they can serve as prognostic biomarkers in many cancers. The present study examined the prognostic significance of miR-215 in cervical cancer. The paraffin-embedded paired cervical scrape samples and tumor tissue samples from 302 patients with stage II cervical cancer were detected for the expression of miR-215 by using qRT-PCR. A miR-215-based classifier was established by using the Cox regression model. The prognostic and predictive accuracy of this classifier was determined in both the internal testing group of 138 patients, and the external independent group of 280 patients. Moreover, cervical cancer HeLa cells overexpressing miR-215 (HeLa-miR-215) were constructed and subcutaneously injected into the nude mice to examine the effect of miR-215 on tumor growth and metastasis in vivo. The results showed that the expression level of miR-215 was significantly higher in cervical cancer tissues than in paired normal tissues (P<0.0001). When patients were classified into high- and low-risk cancer progression groups according to miR-215 level, the 5-year disease-free survival in high- and low-risk groups were 43% (95% CI: 32.1-51.6) and 67% (95% CI: 48.6-77.3) (hazard ratio [HR] 2.02, 95% CI: 1.16-3.52; P=0.013) respectively. Moreover, the expression level of miR-215 was negatively associated with survival rate in patients at TNM stage T3 (HR: 3.317; 95% CI: 1.18-5.14, P=0.017) and TNM stage T4 (HR: 3.48; 95% CI: 1.49-4.45, P=0.008). Tumor volume in nude mice injected with HeLa-miR-215 cells was significantly larger than that in mice injected with control HeLa cells. It was concluded that the expression level of miR-215 is associated with cervical tumor progression and worse survival rate, suggesting that it may serve as a potential prognostic marker to identify patients at higher risk of recurrence.

Objective To evaluate the clinical safety and efficacy of HIFU treatment of hepatic metastases from colorectal cancer.Methods 20 tumor lesions in 14 patients with hepatic metastases from colonectal cancer were treated with HIFU therapy.The vital signs,main organs'functions,examination of MRI and complications were observed.Results Vital signs of all the 14 patients were stable.The function of liver and kidney were normal and life quality were improved with elevation of Karnofsky in 5 patients.On MRI examination,the MRI signals of treating area of 20 tumor lesion in 14 patients decreased remarkably with disappearance of blood supply and a thin layer of edematous intensified zone was detected on the margin of lesion.6 patients were found to have cord-like burning scar on skin.Conclusion HIFU treatment is safe and effective in treatment of hepatic metastases from colorectal cancer.

This study is to investigate the effect of the effective components group of Xiaoshuantongluo (XECG) on neuronal injury induced by oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) in primary cortical cultures isolated from SD rat cortex at day 3 and the possible mechanism. Cells were divided into control group, OGD model group and XECG group (1, 3 and 10 mg x L(-1)). The cell viability was assessed with MTT assay and the LDH release rate was measured by enzyme label kit. The cell apoptosis was analyzed using Hoechst staining. RT-PCR was applied to detect the mRNA levels of JAK2 and STAT3. Western blotting was used to detect the expressions of Bcl-2, Bax, p-JAK2 and p-STAT3 proteins. Results showed that XECG resulted in an obvious resistance to oxygen-glucose deprivation-induced cell apoptosis and decrement of cell viability, decrease the cell LDH release rate. XECG could adjust the expression of Bcl-2 and Bax proteins and increase Bcl-2/Bax ratio, up-regulate the expression of p-JAK2 and p-STAT3. In conclusion, XECG could protect against the neuronal injury cells exposed to OGD, which may be relevant to the promotion of JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway, and impact the expression of Bax and Bcl-2.
Animals ; Apoptosis ; Cell Survival ; Cells, Cultured ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Glucose ; Janus Kinase 2 ; metabolism ; Neurons ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Neuroprotective Agents ; pharmacology ; Oxygen ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 ; metabolism ; Rats ; STAT3 Transcription Factor ; metabolism ; Signal Transduction ; bcl-2-Associated X Protein ; metabolism

OBJECTIVEData accumulated over the past years have led to widespread recognition that neurogenesis, the emergence of new neurons, persists in the hippocampal dentate gyrus of the adult mammalian brain, and can be increased by seizures in multiple models. Also, aberrant reorganization of dentate granule cell axons, the mossy fiber sprouting, occurs in human temporal lobe epilepsy and rodent epilepsy models. However a number of studies suggest that the immature brain is less vulnerable to the morphologic alteration of hippocampus after seizures. The goal of this study was to determine whether the seizures can induce dentate granule cell neurogenesis and mossy fiber sprouting in the immature rat.

METHODSSeizures was elicited by unilateral microinfusion of kainic acid (KA, 1 micro g) into the amygdula at postnatal day 15 (P15). Rat pups were given bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) intraperitoneally on day 5 after KA administration and killed 7 d or 21 d later. The brains were processed for BrdU mitotic labeling combined with double-label immunohistochemistry using neuron-specific, early differentiation marker TuJ1 (betaIII tubulin) or granule-specific marker CaBP (calcium-binding protein calbindin D28k) as well as glia-specific marker GFAP (glial fibrillary acidic protein). Mossy fiber sprouting in intermolecular layer and CA3 subfield was assessed in Timm-stained sections both 1 month and 3 months after KA administration by using a rating scale and density measurement.

RESULTSThe dentate BrdU-immunoreactive cells of the KA-treated rats increased significantly compared with those of control rats on day 7 and 21 after BrdU administration (7 d: 244 +/- 15 vs. 190 +/- 10; 21 d: 218 +/- 19 vs. 133 +/- 12, P < 0.05). Approximately 80.2% and 78.7% of BrdU-labeled cells coexpressed TuJ1 in KA-treated rats and control rats on day 7 after BrdU respectively (P > 0.05). On 21 d after BrdU, 60.2% and 58.2% of dentate BrdU-labeled cells coexpressed GaBP in KA-treated rats and control rats respectively (P > 0.05). GFAP colocalized with 3%-5% dentate BrdU-labeled cells in the rats of both groups on day 7 and 21 after BrdU. It was also demonstrated that status epilepticus at P15 did not result in any detectable mossy fiber sprouting within the hippocampus both 1 month and 3 months after KA administration.

CONCLUSIONSKA induced seizures can increase granule cell neurogenesis in the immature rat. Most of newly appeared cells migrate from subgranular proliferation zone (SGZ) into granule cell layer, the hilus as well as the molecular layer, and there they can differentiate into granule neurons. These observations also indicate that there is an early developmental resistance to seizure-induced mossy fiber sprouting in the immature brain.

Animals ; Cell Differentiation ; Cell Proliferation ; Dentate Gyrus ; cytology ; physiopathology ; Disease Models, Animal ; Excitatory Amino Acid Agonists ; adverse effects ; Kainic Acid ; adverse effects ; Mossy Fibers, Hippocampal ; physiopathology ; Neurogenesis ; physiology ; Rats ; Seizures ; chemically induced ; physiopathology

Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs) have been shown to be involved in multiple biological pathways that can influence tumor progression and metastasis and they can serve as prognostic biomarkers in many cancers. The present study examined the prognostic significance of miR-215 in cervical cancer. The paraffin-embedded paired cervical scrape samples and tumor tissue samples from 302 patients with stage II cervical cancer were detected for the expression of miR-215 by using qRT-PCR. A miR-215-based classifier was established by using the Cox regression model. The prognostic and predictive accuracy of this classifier was determined in both the internal testing group of 138 patients, and the external independent group of 280 patients. Moreover, cervical cancer HeLa cells overexpressing miR-215 (HeLa-miR-215) were constructed and subcutaneously injected into the nude mice to examine the effect of miR-215 on tumor growth and metastasis in vivo. The results showed that the expression level of miR-215 was significantly higher in cervical cancer tissues than in paired normal tissues (P<0.0001). When patients were classified into high- and low-risk cancer progression groups according to miR-215 level, the 5-year disease-free survival in high- and low-risk groups were 43% (95% CI: 32.1-51.6) and 67% (95% CI: 48.6-77.3) (hazard ratio [HR] 2.02, 95% CI: 1.16-3.52; P=0.013) respectively. Moreover, the expression level of miR-215 was negatively associated with survival rate in patients at TNM stage T3 (HR: 3.317; 95% CI: 1.18-5.14, P=0.017) and TNM stage T4 (HR: 3.48; 95% CI: 1.49-4.45, P=0.008). Tumor volume in nude mice injected with HeLa-miR-215 cells was significantly larger than that in mice injected with control HeLa cells. It was concluded that the expression level of miR-215 is associated with cervical tumor progression and worse survival rate, suggesting that it may serve as a potential prognostic marker to identify patients at higher risk of recurrence.
Aged ; Animals ; Biomarkers, Tumor ; genetics ; Disease-Free Survival ; Female ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; HeLa Cells ; Humans ; Male ; Mice ; MicroRNAs ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; Prognosis ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms ; genetics ; pathology

The study was aimed to investigate the effect of deriving hematopoietic cells from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) by the erythropoietin gene-modified conditioned medium of human mesenchymal cells. The mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) steadily expressing EPO were established by lentiviral system. The expression of exogenous EPO was detected by RT-PCR and Western blot. After suspension culture, hESCs developed into embryonic bodies (EBs). Then the EB cells were cultured in conditional medium. The hESCs-derived hematopoietic cells were analyzed by immunofluorescence, CFU assay and RT-PCR. The results indicated that the exogenous EPO successfully expressed in the EPO transfected MSCs (EPO/MSCs). The supernatant from EPO/MSCs increased CD34(+) cell population and the expression of globin, and enhanced colony forming unit incidence. These effects were obviously higher than that of control. It is concluded that the EPO gene-modified conditioned medium of human mesenchymal cells can induce the hESCs to differentiate into hematopoietic cells.
Cell Culture Techniques ; Cell Differentiation ; drug effects ; Culture Media, Conditioned ; pharmacology ; Embryonic Stem Cells ; cytology ; drug effects ; Erythropoietin ; genetics ; pharmacology ; Hematopoietic System ; Humans ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; cytology ; metabolism ; Organisms, Genetically Modified

To study the liver histopathological features that are distinctive between chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection patients who have normal serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT)/asparatate aminotransferase (AST) and those with mildly elevated serum ALT/AST. One-hundred-and-thrity-four chronic HBV infection patients with normal serum ALT/AST and 165 chronic HBV infection patients with mildly elevated serum ALT/AST were included in the study. Liver biopsies were performed and used to assess the histological changes by hematoxylin-eosin and reticular fiber staining; mild to severe scoring for inflammation was made as grade G0-G4 and for fibrosis stage as S0-S4. HBV DNA levels were detected by fluorescent quantitative PCR. HBV serological markers were examined by chemiluminescence. The mildly elevated serum ALT/AST group had more male patients than the normal serum ALT/AST group. In the normal serum ALT/AST group, 50.0% (67/134) of the patients had moderate histological changes and only 3.0% (4/134) had severe changes (G3-4 and/or S3-4). In the mildly elevated ALT/AST group, 65.7% (174/265) of patients had moderate histological changes and 16.2% (43/265) had severe changes (G3-4 and/or S3-4). Hepatic inflammation and fibrosis were significantly more severe in the mildly elevated serum ALT/AST group than in the normal ALT/AST group (x2 = 26.386, P less than 0.01; x2 = 15.299, P less than 0.01). In the normal ALT/AST group, the severity of inflammation and fibrosis were positively correlated with age (rs = 0.620, P less than 0.01; rs = 0.347, P less than 0.01). In the mildly elevated ALT/AST group, the severity of inflammation and fibrosis were negatively correlated with age (rs = -0.807, P less than 0.01; rs = -0.557, P less than 0.01). In both groups, the severity of inflammation and fibrosis were negatively correlated with HBV DNA levels (rs = -0.215, P less than 0.01, rs = -0.527, P less than 0.01, rs = -0.951, P less than 0.01; rs = -0.715, P less than 0.01) and were not positively correlated with HBeAg. The majority of the chronic HBV infection patients with normal serum ALT/AST and those with mildly elevated serum ALT/AST had moderate liver pathological changes. All patients with low HBV DNA levels were closely followed-up, regardless of HBeAg-positive status.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Age Factors ; Alanine Transaminase ; blood ; Aspartate Aminotransferases ; blood ; Biopsy, Needle ; Child ; DNA, Viral ; blood ; Fatty Liver ; pathology ; virology ; Female ; Hepatitis B e Antigens ; blood ; Hepatitis B virus ; genetics ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; blood ; pathology ; virology ; Humans ; Liver ; pathology ; virology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Viral Load ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo establish a GC fingerprint of the volatile oil of Houttuynia cordata.

METHODThe volatile oil was extracted from H. cordata by water stream distillation method, and analyzed by GC coupled with FID.

RESULT12 bathes of samples collected from different regions were analyzed; the GC fingerprint of the volatile oil of H. cordata was subsequently established.

CONCLUSIONThe established GC fingerprint can be used for the identification of H. cordata.

Aldehydes ; analysis ; standards ; Bornanes ; analysis ; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry ; methods ; Houttuynia ; chemistry ; Oils, Volatile ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Quality Control ; Reproducibility of Results

Objective· To investigate the value of three-dimensional spin-lattice relaxation (T1ρ) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for liver fibrosis detection and staging and compare with two-dimentional real-time shear wave elastography (SWE). Methods · Twenty-nine rabbit models of CCl4-induced liver fibrosis were established and six untreated rabbits served as controls. T1ρ MRI and two-dimentional real-time SWE examinations were performed at 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 weeks, respectively. T1ρ values and liver stiffness (LS) values were measured. Fibrosis was staged according to the METAVIR scoring system. Correlation test was performed among T1ρ values, LS values and fibrosis staging. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to compare the diagnostic performance of T1ρ and SWE in detection of fibrosis. Results · There was a moderate positive correlation between fibrosis staging and T1ρ values (r=0.566, P=0.000), and a significantly positive correlation between fibrosis staging and LS values (r=0.726, P=0.003).Areas under ROC were 0.861 for SWE and 0.856 for T1ρ(P=0.940),0.906 for SWE and 0.849 for T1ρ(P=0.414),0.870 for SWE and 0.799 for T1ρ (P=0.422), and 0.846 for SWE and 0.692 for T1ρ (P=0.137), when diagnosing liver fibrosis with ≥?F1, ≥?F2, ≥?F3 and F4 stage, respectively. Conclusion · T1ρ imaging has potential for liver fibrosis detection and staging with good diagnostic capability similar to that of SWE.

In recent years, micro/nano-scaled separation technique has attracted increasing attention due to its inherent advantages. The porous layer open tubular ( PLOT) capillary column is an important microcolumn form. Comparied to wide-bore PLOT capillary columns ( inner diameter >25 μm ) , the PLOT capillary columns with a narrow inner diameter yield higher separation efficiency and lower reagent consumption. In this paper, the preparation methods for porous layer open tubular capillary columns with narrow inner diameter, less than or equal to 25 μm, are reviewed. Detection techniques combined with mass spectrometry and their applications in liquid chromatography are also disussed.