Effect of novel anti-tumor and anti-angiogenesis drug taurolactone on angiogenic factor AGGF1 and angiogenesis mimicry in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: Our study was to investigate the impact of taurolactone, a novel anti-tumor and anti-angiogenic drug, on AGGF1, an angiogenic factor, and angiogenesis mimicry in patients diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: A total of 120 HCC patients were enrolled from the Department of Oncology and Hepatobiliary Surgery at our hospital between May 2021 and December 2022. HCC diagnoses were confirmed through imaging or tissue biopsy for all patients. The age of patients ranged from 37 to 72 years, with an average age of 64.29 ± 4.58 years. These participants were divided equally into two groups: the control group and the observation group, each consisting of 60 individuals. While the control group received standard drug treatment, the observation group was administered taurolactone treatment. Before being included in the study, all participants or their legal representatives provided signed informed consent. Patient demographic information was collected through a questionnaire survey. ELISA was used to measure the levels of VEGF and AGGF1 in patients following treatment. Western blot was applied to assess the protein expression of PDGF, Angiopoietin, and AGGF1. MRI imaging technology was utilized to assess the perfusion characteristics of tumor blood vessels in patients. Tumor vessel density was compared between patients using ultrasonography. We also conducted a comparison between the two groups in terms of progression-free survival and overall survival. RESULTS: General patient information between the two groups showed no significant differences (P > 0.05). Of note, the observation group exhibited greatly lower levels of VEGF and AGGF1 compared to the control group (P < 0.05). Moreover, the levels of PDGF, Angiopoietin, and AGGF1 protein expression were significantly reduced in the observation group compared to the control group (P < 0.05). In terms of tumor perfusion, the observation group displayed lower average and maximum perfusion volumes in tumor blood vessels compared to the control group (P < 0.05). Additionally, the observation group demonstrated delayed peak times and arrival times of tumor blood vessels in comparison to the control group (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the density of tumor blood vessels was notably lower in the observation group compared to the control group (P < 0.05). Patients in the observation group had longer progression-free survival and overall survival than the control group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: In HCC patients, our study highlighted the potential efficacy of taurolactone treatment as it effectively inhibited angiogenic factors and angiogenesis mimicry, ultimately leading to an improved prognosis for these patients.

Integrated analysis of circular RNA-associated ceRNA network in cervical cancer: Observational Study.

BACKGROUND: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have displayed dysregulated expression in several types of cancer. Nevertheless, their function and underlying mechanisms in cervical cancer remains largely unknown. This study aimed to describe the regulatory mechanisms in cervical cancer. METHODS: We downloaded the circRNAs expression profiles from Gene Expression Omnibus database, and RNAs expression profiles from The Cancer Genome Atlas database. We established a circRNA-miRNA-mRNA and circRNA-miRNA-hubgene network. The interactions between proteins were analyzed using the STRING database and hubgenes were identified using MCODE plugin. Then, we conducted a circRNA-miRNA-hubgenes regulatory module. Functional and pathway enrichment analyses were conducted using R packages "Clusterprofile". RESULTS: Six circRNAs, 15 miRNAs, and 158 mRNAs were identified to construct the ceRNA network of cervical cancer. PPI (protein-protein interaction) network and module analysis identified 7 hubgenes. Then, a circRNA-miRNA-hubgene subnetwork was constructed based on the 1 DEcircRNAs, 3 DEmiRNAs, and 3 DEmRNAs. The KEGG pathway analysis indicated DEmRNAs are involved in progesterone-mediated oocyte maturation, cell cycle, and oocyte meiosis. CONCLUSION: These ceRNAs are critical in the pathogenesis of cervical and may serve as future therapeutic biomarkers.

Frailty transitions and types of death in Chinese older adults: a population-based cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the adverse effects of frailty transitions. In this study, we aimed to characterize the transitions between frailty states and examine their associations with the type of death among older adults in China, a developing country with a rapidly growing aging population. METHODS: We used data of 11,165 older adults (aged 65-99 years) from the 2002 and 2005 waves of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS). Overall, 44 health deficits were used to construct frailty index (FI; range: 0-1), which was then categorized into a three-level variable: nonfrail (FI ≤0.10), prefrail (0.10< FI ≤0.21), and frail (FI >0.21). Outcome was four types of death based on bedridden days and suffering state (assessed in the 2008 wave of CLHLS). RESULTS: During the 3-year period, 3,394 (30.4%) participants had transitioned between different frailty states (nonfrail, prefrail, and frail), one-third transitioned to death, and one-third remained in previous frailty states. Transitions to greater frailty (ie, "worsening") were more common than transitions to lesser frailty (ie, "improvement"). Among four categories of frailty transitions, "worsening" and "remaining frail" had increased risks of painful death, eg, with odds ratios of 1.92 (95% confidence interval [CI] =1.41, 2.62) and 4.75 (95% CI =3.32, 6.80), respectively, for type 4 death (ie, ≥30 bedridden days with suffering before death). CONCLUSION: This large sample of older adults in China supports that frailty is a dynamic process, characterized by frequent types of transitions. Furthermore, those who remained frail had the highest likelihood of experiencing painful death, which raises concerns about the quality of life in frail populations.

MicroRNA-34a regulates high glucose-induced apoptosis in H9c2 cardiomyocytes.

Hyperglycemia is an important initiator of cardiovascular disease, contributing to the development of cardiomyocyte death and diabetic complications. The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether high glucose state could induce apoptosis of rat cardiomyocyte cell line H9c2 through microRNA-mediated Bcl-2 signaling pathway. The expression of miR-34a and Bcl-2 mRNA was detected by using real-time PCR. Western blotting was used to examine the changes in apoptosis-associated protein Bcl-2. Apoptosis of H9c2 cells was tested by using flow cytometry. The results showed that the expression of miR-34a was significantly elevated and that of Bcl-2 was strongly reduced, and apoptosis of cardiomyocytes was apparently increased in the high-glucose-treated H9c2 cells as compared with normal-glucose-treated controls. In addition, we identified Bcl-2 gene was the target of miR-34a. miR-34a mimics reduced the expression of Bcl-2 and increased glucose-induced apoptosis, but miR-34a inhibitor acted as the opposite mediator. Our data demonstrate that miR-34a contributes to high glucose-induced decreases in Bcl-2 expression and subsequent cardiomyocyte apoptosis.