Soluble ST2 is a biomarker associated with left ventricular hypertrophy and concentric hypertrophy in patients with essential hypertension.

BACKGROUND: Elevated soluble stimulating factor 2 (sST2) level is observed in cardiovascular diseases, such as heart failure and acute coronary syndrome, which reflects myocardial fibrosis and hypertrophy, indicating adverse clinical outcomes. However, the association between sST2 and hypertensive heart disease are less understood. This study aimed to determine the relationship of sST2 with left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and geometric remodeling in essential hypertension (EH). METHODS: We enrolled 483 patients (aged 18-80 years; 51.35% female). sST2 measurements and echocardiographic analyses were performed. RESULTS: Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis showed significant associations between sST2, left ventricular (LV) mass, and LV mass index. The prevalence of LVH and concentric hypertrophy (CH) increased with higher sST2 grade levels (p for trend<0.05). Logistic regression analysis suggested that the highest tertile of sST2 was significantly associated with increased LVH risk, compared with the lowest tertile (multivariate-adjusted odds ratio [OR] of highest group: 6.61; p<0.001). Similar results were observed in the left ventricular geometric remodeling; the highest tertile of sST2 was significantly associated with increased CH risk (multivariate-adjusted OR of highest group: 5.80; p<0.001). The receiver operating characteristic analysis results revealed that sST2 had potential predictive value for LVH (area under the curve [AUC]: 0.752, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.704-0.800) and CH (AUC: 0.750, 95% CI: 0.699-0.802) in patients with EH. CONCLUSIONS: High sST2 level is strongly related to LVH and CH in patients with EH and can be used as a biomarker for the diagnosis and risk assessment of hypertensive heart disease.

Molecular Mechanisms Underlying the Anticancer Properties of Pitavastatin against Cervical Cancer Cells.

Cervical cancer ranks as the fourth most prevalent form of cancer and is a significant contributor to female mortality on a global scale. Pitavastatin is an anti-hyperlipidemic medication and has been demonstrated to exert anticancer and anti-inflammatory effects. Thus, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the anticancer effect of pitavastatin on cervical cancer and the underlying molecular mechanisms involved. The results showed that pitavastatin significantly inhibited cell viability by targeting cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis in Ca Ski, HeLa and C-33 A cells. Pitavastatin caused sub-G1- and G0/G1-phase arrest in Ca Ski and HeLa cells and sub-G1- and G2/M-phase arrest in C-33 A cells. Moreover, pitavastatin induced apoptosis via the activation of poly-ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP), Bax and cleaved caspase 3; inactivated the expression of Bcl-2; and increased mitochondrial membrane depolarization. Furthermore, pitavastatin induced apoptosis and slowed the migration of all three cervical cell lines, mediated by the PI3K/AKT and MAPK (JNK, p38 and ERK1/2) pathways. Pitavastatin markedly inhibited tumor growth in vivo in a cancer cell-originated xenograft mouse model. Overall, our results identified pitavastatin as an anticancer agent for cervical cancer, which might be expanded to clinical use in the future.

Rapid Volumetric Additive Manufacturing in Solid State: A Demonstration to Produce Water-Content-Dependent Cooling/Heating/Water-Responsive Shape Memory Hydrogels.

In this study, we demonstrate the feasibility of rapid volumetric additive manufacturing in the solid state. This additive manufacturing technology is particularly useful in outer space missions (microgravity) and/or for harsh environment (e.g., on ships and vehicles during maneuvering, or on airplanes during flight). A special thermal gel is applied here to demonstrate the concept, that is, ultraviolet crosslinking in the solid state. The produced hydrogels are characterized and the water-content-dependent heating/cooling/water-responsive shape memory effect is revealed. Here, the shape memory feature is required to eliminate the deformation induced in the process of removing the uncrosslinked part from the crosslinked part in the last step of this additive manufacturing process.