Efficacy and Safety of Platelet-Rich Plasma for Pressure Ulcers: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Pressure ulcers are common chronic wounds in clinical practice, severely affecting patients' quality of life and causing substantial economic burdens. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has been explored for its potential in treating pressure ulcers. Herein, a study was carried out to evaluate the efficacy and safety of PRP in comparison to conventional treatments for pressure ulcers. A comprehensive search was conducted in databases including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library, covering studies published from the inception to May 20, 2023, with only randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the effect of PRP on the healing of pressure ulcers included. The outcomes of interest included healing rates, ulcer area, ulcer volume, Pressure Ulcer Scale for Healing (PUSH) score, healing time, and complications. Finally, 9 RCTs, involving 511 patients with 523 pressure ulcers, met the inclusion criteria. Our meta-analysis revealed a significant improvement in the healing rate, as evidenced by a weighted odds ratio (OR) of 3.40 (95% CI = 1.87 to 6.21, I2 = 32%, P < 0.0001). Additionally, the standard mean difference (SMD) for healed ulcer area favored the PRP group, reflecting an improvement of 1.38 cm2 (P = 0.02). Furthermore, the reduction in PUSH scores within the PRP group outperformed that observed in the control group, demonstrating a SMD of 1.69 (P = 0.01). Nevertheless, complications and the SMD for ulcer volume reduction revealed no statistically significant differences between the groups. From these findings, PRP stands out as a promising and safe therapeutic approach for pressure ulcers. For a deeper understanding of PRP's role in pressure ulcer healing, it is crucial to conduct more well-structured, high-quality RCTs in upcoming studies.

Extracellular Vesicles of Commensal Skin Microbiota Alleviate Cutaneous Inflammation in Atopic Dermatitis Mouse Model by Re-Establishing Skin Homeostasis.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory cutaneous disorder in which the skin is affected by microbial dysbiosis. The role of commensal skin microbiota in AD is of great interest. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are important regulators of skin homeostasis and pathology. The mechanism of preventing AD pathogenesis through commensal skin microbiota-derived EVs remains poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the role of commensal skin bacterium Staphylococcus epidermidis-derived EVs (SE-EVs). We showed that SE-EVs significantly decreased the expression of proinflammatory genes (TNFα, IL1ß, IL6, IL8, and iNOS) through lipoteichoic acid and increased the proliferation and migration of calcipotriene (MC903)-treated HaCaT cells. Furthermore, SE-EVs increased the expression of human ß-defensins 2 and 3 in MC903-treated HaCaT cells through toll-like receptor 2, enhancing resistance to S. aureus growth. In addition, topical SE-EV application remarkably attenuated inflammatory cell infiltration (CD4+ T cells and Gr1+ cells), T helper 2 cytokine gene expression (Il4, Il13, and Tlsp), and IgE levels in MC903-induced AD-like dermatitis mice. Intriguingly, SE-EVs induced IL-17A+ CD8+ T-cell accumulation in the epidermis, which may represent heterologous protection. Taken together, our findings showed that SE-EVs reduced AD-like skin inflammation in mice and may potentially be a bioactive nanocarrier for the treatment of AD.

Background construction for tracing metal inputs in estuarine sediments of the Liaodong Bay (NE China): Linear-regression method.

Intertidal sediments are a significant reservoir of trace metals originating from human activities and natural weathering. However, the absence of geochemical background levels and the heterogeneity of sediment components are challenging to quantify the extent of trace metal contamination. For distinguishing the contribution of natural and anthropogenic inputs, dynamic background functions were established by linear regressions of trace metals (i.e., Zn, Cr, Ni, Cu, Cd, and Pb) against normalizer Al in three cores of the Daliao River estuary. Lead-210 geochronology indicated that trace metals have accumulated rapidly in the sediments since 1985 CE. The calculation results of enrichment factors and excess fluxes confirmed that the increased contents of Zn and Cd were contaminated by human activities. Conversely, the increased contents of others (i.e., Cr, Ni, Cu, and Pb) were attributed to variations in geological background levels, driven by the combination of grain size and organic matter. Overall levels of trace metals were at medium-low ecological risks (MSQG-Q: 0.19-0.38), and Ni at high-medium ecological risks (PEL-QNi > 0.5) in recent decades. Interestingly, these Ni probably originated from natural weathering rather than anthropogenic inputs because sediment quality guidelines lacked consideration for the differences in regional background levels and grain size. This procedure could provide the fundamental framework for regional investigations of spatial and temporal contamination, applied to other similar intertidal zones of sediment quality management.

Effect of Medical Image Fusion in the Treatment of Poststroke Limb Dysfunction with Acupuncture and Moxibustion of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

According to relevant data, the morbidity and mortality of strokes in China remain high. Without effective treatment, stroke morbidity and mortality will continue to rise, which may become the second leading disease in the world. With the nonstop advancement and improvement of clinical innovation in China, the death pace of stroke patients has dropped altogether. After clinical treatment, the patient actually showed a progression of sequelae, which made it challenging to work on the personal satisfaction of the patient. The purpose for this paper was to concentrate on the impact of medical image fusion in the treatment of poststroke appendage brokenness with TCM needle therapy. The related concepts of medical image fusion and the meaning of acupuncture and moxibustion in traditional Chinese medicine, stroke, and limb dysfunction were introduced. In this study, acupuncture and moxibustion were analyzed to explore the therapeutic effect of this type of therapy on upper extremity dysfunction caused by phlegm and blood stasis blocking collaterals and to provide a scientific method for the treatment and efficacy judgment of upper extremity motor dysfunction after stroke. Before the treatment measures were taken, there was no significant difference in the general data and all index scores between the two groups (P > 0.05), and there was no significant difference in the baseline data, reflecting high balance and comparability. In the following 3 months of treatment, the FMA score, NIHSS score, BI list, and VAS score of the two groups of patients were essentially not quite the same as those before treatment (P < 0.05). When treatment, there was a huge contrast between the trial group and the control group (P < 0.05). The finish of the trial in this paper is that needle therapy joined with pricking and measuring can essentially work on the engine capability of stroke patients with furthest point brokenness brought about by mucus and blood balance impeding securities.

Coupling with high-resolution remote sensing data to evaluate urban non-point source pollution in Tongzhou, China.

Urban non-point source (NPS) pollution has gradually become one of the important factors affecting the urban water environment. The quantitative evaluation of urban NPS pollution is the priority to identify key control area of urban NPS pollution. Current model applied in China is mainly focused on small-scale area, large-scale spatial continuous simulation is lacking. In this study A spatial continuous evaluation method coupled with high-resolution remote sensing data has been established and the method was applied to Tongzhou, China. With the spatial distribution of land-use type and built-up area which were been obtained by remote sensing technology, the accumulative and wash-off load of urban NPS nitrogen and phosphorus were estimated for the prominent problems of nitrogen and phosphorus nutrient pollution in the rivers in the study area. The main sources of urban NPS Nitrogen and phosphorus pollution are roof and road rainfall runoff respectively. Compared to other urban NPS pollution models, the method developed in this study can quickly realize spatial visualization assessment of urban NPS pollution and provide a means to estimate urban NPS loads in entire city or urban agglomeration, it is applicable for common urban NPS pollutants and also has advantages in areas without data.

Comparing the Accuracy of ABCD-10 and SCORTEN in Predicting the In-Hospital Mortality of Stevens-Johnson Syndrome/Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis: A Multi-Institutional Study from Central China.

BACKGROUND: The newly described ABCD-10 (age, bicarbonate, cancer, dialysis, 10% body surface area [BSA]) is a 5-item mortality prediction model for patients with Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS)/toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN). It was developed in the United States, has at present been externally tested only in the United States, Spain, and Singapore, and remains to be validated in resource-restricted settings. We sought to compare the accuracy of ABCD-10 and Score of Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (SCORTEN) in predicting in-hospital mortality in a cohort from central China. Due to disease progression affecting the accuracy of the prediction model during hospitalization, for example, higher predictive accuracy of SCORTEN based on parameters collected on day 3 of hospitalization, we also assessed the overall predictive value of ABCD-10 on days 1 and 3, respectively. METHODS: A retrospective study was performed over a 10-year period (2010-2020) from 3 medical institutions in Wuhan. The performance of predictive models was assessed by both discrimination and calibration. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves, Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit tests and calibration plots were used to evaluate the model discrimination and calibration. RESULTS: Of 84 included patients, 11 (13.1%) did not survive. The discrimination power of ABCD-10 was not significantly different from that of SCORTEN (area under the curve: day 1, p > 0.05; day 3, p > 0.05). Although the calibration of ABCD-10 was good, it was inferior to SCORTEN as it underestimated total mortality (Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test: day 1, p = 0.17 vs. p = 0.63; day 3, p = 0.35 vs. p = 0.93). Besides, the performance of ABCD-10 was slightly better on day 3 relative to day 1. During hospitalization, bacteremia developed in 21 (25.0%) patients, which was associated with a higher risk of death in our cohort (odds ratio, 22.88; 95% CI, 4.38-119.40; p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: ABCD-10 showed acceptable overall performance, but revealed mortality underestimation and was inferior to the performance of SCORTEN. In consistence with SCORTEN, ABCD-10 was a better model when using values collected at day 3 of hospitalization relative to day 1.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of early diagnosis and treatment of hypertensive stroke under calcium channel blockers.

BACKGROUND: A systematic evaluation of the therapeutic effects of calcium channel blockers (CCB) on stroke is carried out to provide clinical evidence for their application. METHODS: A search for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of CCB in the treatment of stroke patients in the electronic databases of PubMed, Embase, Medline, Spring, and Ovid from their establishment to January 31, 2021 was performed, and the collected studies were then screened for the exclusion criteria. The Cochrane Handbook version 5.0.2 system evaluation writing manual was adopted to evaluate the risk of bias for the included literature, and a meta-analysis using Review Manager 5.3 software was applied. RESULTS: A total of 13 RCTs were included, comprising 1,067 subjects. The meta-analysis showed that the recurrence rate of stroke in patients from the observation group reduced sharply after CCB treatment [mean difference (MD) =0.41, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.24-0.70, Z=3.31, P=0.0009], the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score improved markedly (MD =2.82, 95% CI: 1.69-3.95, Z=4.89, P<0.00001), and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score was obviously increased (MD =6.07, 95% CI: 0.34-11.81, Z=2.08, P=0.04). Moreover, the diastolic blood pressure of the observation group decreased steeply after CCB treatment (MD =-1.11, 95% CI: -2.06-0.15, Z=2.27, and P=0.02). However, the effective rate of clinical treatment did not increase hugely (MD =1.70, 95% CI: 0.50-5.83, Z=0.85, P=0.40), and systolic blood pressure did not drop sharply (MD =-1.24, 95% CI: -2.85-0.37, Z=1.51, P=0.13). DISCUSSION: CCB treatment of stroke effectively prevented stroke recurrence, and showed faster recovery of cognitive function, and better lowering of blood pressure, all of which makes CCBs suitable for the treatment of stroke.

Relationship between the changes in thromboxane B2, 6-keto-prostaglandin Fla, and blood glucose levels and progressive ischemic stroke.

BACKGROUND: Progressive ischemic stroke is a common cerebrovascular disease with high morbidity. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between changes of Thromboxane B2 (TXB2), 6-keto-prostaglandin Fla (6-k-PGFla), and blood glucose (BG) levels with progressive ischemic stroke. METHODS: A total of 106 patients with progressive ischemic stroke admitted to our hospital from December 2016 to December 2018 were recruited as the observation group, and 110 patients who received physical examination in our hospital during the same period were selected as the control group. The levels of TXB2, 6-k-PGFla, and BG in different groups were compared, the related risk factors affecting the prognosis of patients with progressive ischemic stroke were analyzed, and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was drawn to evaluate the predictive value of TXB2, 6-k-PGFla, and BG for the prognostic mortality of patients with progressive ischemic stroke. RESULTS: The levels of TXB2, 6-k-PGFla, and BG in the observation group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P<0.05). The prognostic mortality of participants with abnormally increased expression of TXB2, 6-k-PGFla, and BG was significantly higher than that of patients with normal expression of TXB2, 6-k-PGFla, and BG (P<0.05). Hypertension, diabetes, collateral circulatory disorders, hyperlipidemia, TXB2 (abnormal increase), 6-k-PGFla (abnormal increase), and BG (abnormal increase) were risk factors affecting the prognosis of patients with progressive ischemic stroke (P<0.05). The area under the curve (AUC) of the ROC curve showed that TXB2, 6-k-PGFla, BG, and the combination of them were 0.846, 0.893, 0.835, and 0.971, respectively, showing that the AUC of the combination of them was the largest. CONCLUSIONS: Hypertension, diabetes, collateral circulatory disorders, hyperlipidemia, TXB2 (abnormal increase), 6-k-PGFla (abnormal increase), and BG (abnormal increase) are risk factors affecting the prognosis of patients with progressive ischemic stroke. The combined detection of the 3 indicators showed high sensitivity and specificity in evaluating the prognostic mortality of patients with progressive ischemic stroke, indicating that clinicians might improve the early diagnosis rate of progressive ischemic stroke by combining the detection of TXB2, 6-k-PGFla, and BG to predict the prognosis of patients.

[Assessment of Potential Risk of Diffuse Pollution in Haihe River Basin Based Using DPeRS Model].

Considering the Haihe River Basin as an example, the DPeRS model was used to analyze the spatial distribution characteristics and pollution sources of the diffuse pollution by remote sensing pixel scale. Combined with the evaluation standard of surface water quality, a potential risk grading method for diffuse pollution was constructed to assess the potential risk of diffuse pollution in Haihe River Basin. The results showed that, in 2016, the diffuse discharge loads of total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), ammonia nitrogen (NH4+-N), and chemical oxygen demand (COD) were 429.2, 25.7, 288.3, and 1017.0 kg ·km-2, respectively, with the amount of river entry being 2.5×104 ton, 1597.2 ton, 1.7×104 ton, and 6.6×104 ton in Haihe River Basin, respectively. Farmland runoff is the most important source of diffuse pollution of TN, TP and NH4+-N in the Haihe River Basin. For COD index, urban life is the primary type of pollution, followed by livestock. The diffuse pollution is relatively severe in the central and southern areas of Haihe River Basin, and this area is also a high-risk concentrated distribution area of diffuse pollution in the basin. The distribution of high-risk areas of nitrogen-phosphorus diffuse pollution are relatively concentrated, and the chemical oxygen demand is relatively scattered. More than 36% of the Haihe River Basin has a nitrogen-phosphorus diffuse pollution risk, and 2.94% of the area has a chemical oxygen demand diffuse pollution risk.

Recent history of metal contamination in the Fangcheng Bay (Beibu Gulf, South China) utilizing spatially-distributed sediment cores: Responding to local urbanization and industrialization.

In this study, the recent history of heavy metal pollution in the Fangcheng Bay (South China) was reconstructed utilizing three 210Pb-dated sediment cores. The metal concentration profiles display three trends since the 1970s and clearly reflect local urbanization and industrialization. The metals in the Fangcheng Bay started to accumulate in the 1970s but remained relatively low until the 1990s which corresponds to the slow urbanization and industrialization. The metal accumulation in the eastern Fangcheng Bay peaked in the early 2000s following the steep increases in accordance with the rapid industrialization of the eastern Fangcheng Bay where the core HSL was collected. Conversely, the heavy metal profiles in the western Fangcheng Bay present slight step increases in the early 2000s followed by a dramatic metal enrichment in the late 2000s; the expansion of these two cores, which begins in the early 2000s, concurs well with the rapid local urbanization and industrialization.

Distribution and pollution assessment of heavy metals in the intertidal zone environments of typical sea areas in China.

The heavy metals (Cu, Cr, Zn, Cd, Pb) were analysed for 217 surface sediment samples collected across 14 typical intertidal zone areas in China. The data reveals the heavy metals spatial distribution patterns and correlations among their concentrations. Cu, Zn, Cd and Cr showed similar trends of spatial variation and the correlations between the concentrations of every two heavy metals were significantly positive except for the correlation between Pb and Cr concentrations. By using Nemerow index method, Enrichment factor and Sediment Quality Guidelines, it is found that Hangzhou Bay and Jiulong River Estuary were polluted, Yingluo Bay and Dongzhaigang Bay were Cd-rich areas. Except Beidaihe shoal, Sishili Bay and Yingluo Bay that were not exposed to any ecological risk of heavy metals and had no adverse biotoxic effects, the other 11 typical intertidal zone areas were exposed to moderate ecological risk of heavy metals in the sediment with potential adverse biotoxic effects.

Three-dimensional (3D) morphology of Sansha Yongle Blue Hole in the South China Sea revealed by underwater remotely operated vehicle.

The Sansha Yongle Blue Hole (SYBH) is the deepest blue hole found anywhere to date. Study of the SYBH can provide insight into the interactions between hole wall morphology and many geological/hydrological mechanisms. A comprehensive investigation of the SYBH was carried out for the first time in 2017 using a professional-grade underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to obtain accurate depth and three-dimensional (3D) topographic data. The SYBH resembles a ballet dancer's shoe and has a volume of ~499609 m3. The observed deepest portion of the SYBH is at 301.19 m below the local 10-year mean sea level. The cave bottom laterally deviates from its entrance by 118 m at an azimuth of 219 degrees. The cave entrance is shaped like a comma and has an average width of 130 m; the widest part is 162.3 m wide, while the narrowest part is 26.2 m wide and is at 279 mbsl (meters below sea level). The 3D topography of the SYBH and underwater photography revealed two large transitions at ~76 to 78 mbsl and at 158 mbsl, indicating that the initiation of the blue hole was likely a step wise process and that the hole wall morphology was subsequently remolded through a paleo-sea level stillstand (at or near Younger Dryas). The topographic data also indicated that the blue hole is situated within an isolated environment with no water or material exchange with the outside open sea.

Association of down-regulation of CD109 expression with up-expression of Smad7 in pathogenesis of psoriasis.

Transforming growth factor (TGF)-ß signaling plays an important role in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. CD109, a novel TGF-ß co-receptor, which inhibits TGF-ß signaling by enhancing Smad7-dependent degradation of TGF-ß type I receptor (TGF-ß RI), is abnormally expressed in psoriasis. To date, the expression of Smad7 and the correlation between CD109 and Smad7 expression in psoriasis have not been fully elucidated. This study was designed to investigate the expression and the correlation of CD109 and TGF-ß signaling associated proteins in psoriasis and their roles in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. Thirty-two psoriasis specimens were subjected to immunohistochemical staining for CD109, Smad7, TGF-ß RI and Ki67. Ten normal skin (NS) specimens served as controls. The positive expression rate (% positive cells) of Smad7 and Ki67 in psoriasis was significantly higher than in NS (62.6%±19.9% vs. 17.2%±4.4%, and 50.7%±14.3% vs. 19.5%±3.2%, respectively, P<0.001), and the expression levels of CD109 and TGF-ß RI were reduced significantly in psoriasis as compared with NS (8.1%±6.7% vs. 35.8%±6.7% and 27.3%±3.4% vs. 3.0%±3.4%, respectively, P<0.001). There were significantly negative correlations between CD109 and Smad7 (r=-0.831, P<0.01). These findings indicated that CD109 might play a certain role in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. Lower expression of CD109 and TGF-ß RI was highly correlated with higher expression of Smad7 and Ki67, suggesting that CD109 may induce the pathogenesis of psoriasis through Smad7-mediated degradation of TGF-ß RI, and lead to the termination of TGF-ß signaling.

Lipoxin A4 inhibits lipopolysaccharide-induced production of inflammatory cytokines in keratinocytes by up-regulating SOCS2 and down-regulating TRAF6.

Liopxin A4 (LXA4) is considered to be a crucial modulator in the inflammatory responses. In the present study, we aimed to study the effect of LXA4 on the inflammatory cytokines production induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and the possible mechanism in normal human epidermal keratinocytes (NHEKs). NHEKs were isolated and cultured. The expression of toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), LXA4 receptor (ALXR) and aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) in NHEKs was detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The mRNA and protein levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß) were determined in NHEKs stimulated by LPS (10 µg/mL) with or without preincubation with LXA4 (100 nmol/L) for 30 min by real-time quantitative PCR (real-time qPCR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), respectively. The expression levels of tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 6 (TRAF6) and suppressors of cytokine signaling 2 (SOCS2) mRNAs and proteins, and nuclear translocation of NF-kB-p65 were measured by real-time qPCR and Western blotting, respectively. The results showed that NHEKs expressed TLR4, ALXR and AhR. LXA4 significantly inhibited the mRNA and protein expression levels of TNF-α, IL-1ß and TRAF6 induced by LPS in NHEKs, and LXA4 obviously increased the expression of SOCS2 at mRNA and protein levels. The nuclear NF-kB-p65 protein expression induced by LPS was inhibited after preincubation with LXA4 in NHEKs. It was concluded that LXA4 inhibits the LPS-induced production of TNF-α and IL-1ß in NHEKs by up-regulating SOCS2 and down-regulating TRAF6.

Lipoxin A4 inhibits proliferation and inflammatory cytokine/chemokine production of human epidermal keratinocytes associated with the ERK1/2 and NF-κB pathways.

BACKGROUND: Current in vitro studies show that lipoxin A4 (LXA4) has multiple biological functions including inhibiting cell proliferation and inflammatory cytokine production. Our previous studies showed LXA4 could inhibit the expression of IL-6 and IL-8 in normal human epidermal keratinocytes (NHEKs). However, more specific effects including regulation of cell proliferation and anti-inflammatory mechanisms of LXA4 in NHEKs have not been previously studied. OBJECTIVE: We proposed to investigate the effects of LXA4 on cell proliferation and inflammatory cytokine/chemokine production in NHEKs, and the possible molecular mechanisms of cell cycle and anti-inflammatory signal transduction pathway. METHODS: NHEKs were stimulated with LPS, with or without preincubation with LXA4. Cell proliferation and cell cycle of NHEKs were examined by WST-8, CFSE assay and DNA staining, respectively. The mRNA and protein levels of inflammatory cytokines were quantified by real-time quantitative PCR and ELISA. The expressions of signaling proteins cyclin D1, P16INK4A, ERK1/2 and NF-κB-p65 were analyzed using Western blotting. RESULTS: Cell proliferation and inflammatory cytokine/chemokine production of NHEKs were suppressed by LXA4, which caused G0/G1 phase cell cycle arrest in NHEKs. The expression of cyclin D1 was down-regulated by LXA4, contrary to the results of P16INK4A. The ERK1/2 phosphorylation and NF-κB-p65 nuclear translocation of NHEKs were both suppressed by LXA4. CONCLUSION: Cell growth and inflammatory cytokine/chemokine production of NHEKs were inhibited by LXA4, and the inhibitory effects might be associated with the mechanisms of cyclin D1/P16INK4A, ERK1/2 and NF-κB signal transduction pathway.

High SIPA-1 expression in proximal tubules of human kidneys under pathological conditions.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and clear cell renal cell carcinoma (CC-RCC) are serious disorders and usually fatal, and always accompanied with pathological changes in the kidney. Signal-induced proliferation-associated protein 1 (SIPA-1) is a Rap1GTPase activating protein (Rap1GAP) expressed in the normal distal and collecting tubules of the murine kidney. Lupus-like autoimmune disease and leukemia have been observed in SIPA-1 deficient mice, suggesting a pathological relevance of SIPA-1 to SLE and carcinoma in human being. The expression pattern of SIPA-1 is as yet undefined and the pathogenesis of these diseases in humans remains elusive. In this study, we used both immunohistochemistry and quantum dot (QD)-based immunofluorescence staining to investigate the expression of SIPA-1 in renal specimens from SLE and CC-RCC patients. MTT assay and Western blotting were employed to evaluate the effects of SIPA-1 overexpression on the proliferation and apoptosis of renal cell lines. Semi-quantitative reverse transcriptase-PCR (RT-PCR) was applied to examine the changes of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) mRNA level. Results showed that SIPA-1 was highly expressed in the proximal and collecting tubules of nephrons in SLE patients compared to normal ones, and similar results were obtained in the specimens of CC-RCC patients. Although SIPA-1 overexpression did not affect cellular proliferation and apoptosis of both human 786-O renal cell carcinoma cells and rat NRK-52E renal epithelial cell lines, RT-PCR results showed that HIF-1α mRNA level was down-regulated by SIPA-1 overexpression in 786-O cells. These findings suggest that SIPA-1 may play critical roles in the pathological changes in kidney, and might provide a new biomarker to aid in the diagnosis of SLE and CC-RCC.

Molecular Markers to Detect the Formation of Heterokaryon and Homokaryon from Asexual Spores of the Caterpillar Medicinal Mushroom, Cordyceps militaris (Ascomycetes).

Cordyceps militaris is widely cultivated on artificial media in China; however, the cultures often are afflicted with the degeneration of nonfruiting strains. To understand the mechanism of degeneration of C. militaris, from the heterokaryotic strain into the homokaryotic strain, we examined the mating-type genes present in individual asexual spores. Further, we determined the distribution ratio of the different mating-type genes among a sample of asexual spores and the growth rate of heterokaryotic and homokaryotic strains of C. militaris. The distribution ratio of 3 groups of asexual spores from C. militaris heterokaryotic strains was determined as 1:1:1 by statistical analysis, whereas that of the two types of nuclei among asexual spores was 1:1. Nearly two-thirds of the asexual spore isolates were homokaryon, which showed a growth speed similar to the heterokaryon. However, the homokaryon (bearing mating-type MAT-HMG) grew significantly faster at times compared with the heterokaryon. Therefore, the purity of the spawn was difficult to establish. C. militaris heterokaryotic strains can transform into a homokaryotic strain following continued subculture.

Expression of USP15, TßR-I and Smad7 in psoriasis.

The deubiquitinating enzyme ubiquitin specific peptidase 15 (USP15) is regarded as a regulator of TGFß signaling pathway. This process depends on Smad7, the inhibitory factor of the TGFß signal, and type I TGFß receptor (TßR-I), one of the receptors of TGFß. The expression level of USP15 seems to play vital roles in the pathogenesis of many neoplasms, but so far there has been no report about USP15 in psoriasis. In this study, immunohistochemical staining of USP15, TßR-I and Smad7 was performed in 30 paraffin-embedded psoriasis specimens and 10 normal specimens to investigate the expression of USP15, TßR-I and Smad7 in psoriasis and to explore the relevance among them. And USP15 small interfering RNA (USP15 siRNA) was used to transfect Hacat cells to detect the mRNA expression of TßR-I and Smad7. Of 30 cases of psoriasis in active stage, 28, 24 and 26 cases were positive for USP15, TßR-I and Smad7 staining, respectively. The positive rates of USP15 and Smad7 were significantly higher in psoriasis specimens than in normal skin specimens (44.1%±26.0% vs. 6.1%±6.6%, 47.2%±27.1% vs. 6.6%±7.1%), and positive rate of TßR-I (20.3%±22.2%) in psoriasis was lower than that in normal skin specimens (46.7%±18.2%). There was a significant positive correlation between USP15 and Smad7 expression, and significant negative correlations between USP15 and TßR-expression, an I d between TßR- and Smad7 expression I in psoriasis. After transfection of USP15 siRNA in Hacat cells, the expression of TßR-mRNA was up I -regulated and that of Smad7 was down-regulated. It is concluded that USP15 may play a role in the pathogenesis of psoriasis through regulating the TßR-I/Smad7 pathway and there may be other cell signaling pathways interacting with USP15 to take part in the development of psoriasis.