Objective: To evaluate the safety of a herbal pilatory for external use. Methods : An acute eye irritation test were employed to detect the eye irritation of the herbal pilatory;a skin irritation test,a skin sensitization test and a skin phototoxicity test were employed to detect the dermal toxicity;Salmonella typhimurium reverse mutation assay（Ames test）and chromosome aberration test in CHL cells were employed to detect the effects of the pilatory on gene mutation and chromosome aberration in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. Results: When the eyes of rabbits exposed to the pilatory without rinse during the first 24 hours,the conjunctiva showed congestion and edema with the highest score of 2,corneal opacity was observed with the highest score of 1;however,these symptoms returned to normal within 72 hours,with the score reduced to 0. No irritation to the skin of rabits was found after exposed to the pilatory for fourteen days,no skin sensitization was introduced by Buehler test and no skin phototoxicity on guinea pigs was detected. There was no abnormal growth of reverse mutation colonies induced by the pilatory under S9 acitivation or not. There was no statistically significant rise of chromosome aberration rate in the exposed CHL cells compared to the control groups（P>0.05）. Conclusion Under the condition,the herbal pilatory showed mild and reversible irritation to eyes,while no dermal toxicity and genetic toxicity were observed. The safety of the herbal pilatory for external use is acceptable.

BACKGROUND: The role of sex hormones and their receptors has drawn much attention in the process of cartilage regeneration. This study aimed to investigate the effect of androgen receptor (AR) on the chondrogenic ability of articular chondrocytes and the related mechanism. METHODS: Articular chondrocytes were isolated, cultured, identified by toluidine blue staining and then transduced with lentivirus carrying the AR gene. The cell viability was determined using Cell Counting Kit-8, and cell apoptosis was assessed by flow cytometry analysis. The effects of AR overexpression on the expression of cartilage-specific proteins and some signalling molecules were evaluated by real-time PCR and Western blotting. Using 24 New Zealand rabbits, the regeneration of rabbit articular cartilage defects was further investigated in vivo and evaluated histologically. RESULTS: The overexpression of AR significantly reduced the apoptosis rate of chondrocytes but did not affect their proliferation. The overexpression of AR also promoted the expression of Sry-related HMG box 9, collagen II and aggrecan, decreased the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-13, and downregulated p-S6 and RICTOR. The experimental group with AR-overexpressing chondrocytes exhibited superior regeneration of cartilage defects. CONCLUSION AR overexpression can maintain the phenotype of chondrocytes and promote chondrogenesis in vitro and in vivo. mTOR-related signalling was inhibited.

BACKGROUND: The role of sex hormones and their receptors has drawn much attention in the process of cartilage regeneration. This study aimed to investigate the effect of androgen receptor (AR) on the chondrogenic ability of articular chondrocytes and the related mechanism. METHODS: Articular chondrocytes were isolated, cultured, identified by toluidine blue staining and then transduced with lentivirus carrying the AR gene. The cell viability was determined using Cell Counting Kit-8, and cell apoptosis was assessed by flow cytometry analysis. The effects of AR overexpression on the expression of cartilage-specific proteins and some signalling molecules were evaluated by real-time PCR and Western blotting. Using 24 New Zealand rabbits, the regeneration of rabbit articular cartilage defects was further investigated in vivo and evaluated histologically. RESULTS: The overexpression of AR significantly reduced the apoptosis rate of chondrocytes but did not affect their proliferation. The overexpression of AR also promoted the expression of Sry-related HMG box 9, collagen II and aggrecan, decreased the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-13, and downregulated p-S6 and RICTOR. The experimental group with AR-overexpressing chondrocytes exhibited superior regeneration of cartilage defects. CONCLUSION AR overexpression can maintain the phenotype of chondrocytes and promote chondrogenesis in vitro and in vivo. mTOR-related signalling was inhibited.

Objective:To study the specific mechanism of LINC01018 involved in the pathogenesis of colon cancer.Methods:The expression of LINC01018 in colon cancer tissues and cells and normal colon tissues and cells were detected by real time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). HT-29 cell line which overexpresses LINC01018 stably was established. RNA binding protein immunoprecipitation (RIP) assay was used to detect the interaction between LINC01018 and E2F1 protein. Dual luciferase assay was used to detect the regulatory effect of E2F1 on CDK6 promoter. The expression of E2F1 or CDK6 was up-regulated in HT-29 cell line which overexpresses LINC01018, then the proliferation, invasion and migration of HT-29 cells and the expression of CDK6 and matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) in HT-29 cells were detected by cell counting method (CCK-8) assay, Transwell assay and Western blot.Results:The expression of LINC01018 was abnormally low in colon cancer tissues and cells. The result of RIP assay showed that LINC01018 interacted with E2F1 protein. The result of dual luciferase assay showed that E2F1 protein could enhance the efficiency of CDK6 promoter, and E2F1 had a positive regulatory effect on CDK6. Overexpression of LINC01018 could attenuate the positive regulatory effect of E2F1 on CDK6. Up-regulation of E2F1 or CDK6 expression could attenuate the effects of LINC01018 overexpression on the proliferation, invasion, migration and expression of CDK6 and MMP-2 in HT-29 cells.Conclusions:The expression of LINC01018 was abnormally low in colon cancer tissues and cells. LINC01018 may regulate the proliferation, invasion and migration of HT-29 cells through E2F1/CDK6/MMP-2 axis, and participate in the pathogenesis of colon cancer.

Accurately delineating tumor boundaries is key to predicting survival rates of cancer patients and assessing response of tumor microenvironment to various therapeutic techniques such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy. This review discusses various strategies that have been deployed to accurately delineate tumor boundaries with particular emphasis on the potential of chemotherapeutic nanomaterials in tumor boundary delineation. It also compiles the types of tumors that have been successfully delineated by currently available strategies. Finally, the challenges that still abound in accurate tumor boundary delineation are presented alongside possible perspective strategies to either ameliorate or solve the problems. It is expected that the information communicated herein will form the first compendious baseline information on tumor boundary delineation with chemotherapeutic nanomaterials and provide useful insights into future possible paths to advancing current available tumor boundary delineation approaches to achieve efficacious tumor therapy.

Since December 2019, the novel coronavirus (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)) has spread to many countries around the world, developing into a global pandemic with increasing numbers of deaths reported worldwide. To data, although some vaccines have been developed, there are no ideal drugs to treat novel coronavirus pneumonia (coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)). By examining the structure of the coronavirus and briefly describing its possible pathogenesis based on recent autopsy reports conducted by various teams worldwide, this review analyzes the possible structural and functional changes of the human body upon infection with SARS-CoV-2. We observed that the most prominent pathological changes in COVID-19 patients are diffuse alveolar damage (DAD) of the lungs and microthrombus formation, resulting in an imbalance of the ventilation/perfusion ratio and respiratory failure. Although direct evidence of viral infection can also be found in other organs and tissues, the viral load is relatively small. The conclusion that the injuries of the extra-pulmonary organs are directly caused by the virus needs further investigation.
COVID-19/physiopathology* ; Human Body ; Humans ; Immune Evasion ; Lung/virology* ; Viral Load