The clinical significance of neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio in patients treated with hemodialysis complicated with lung infection.

ABSTRACT: The goal of this work was to investigate the potential significance of neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in patients treated with maintenance hemodialysis (MHD).Herein, we retrospectively reviewed the electronic medical records of 100 patients with end-stage renal failure who were treated with MHD. All patients enrolled in this study met the inclusion criteria and were followed. The differences in each indicator between the two groups were compared using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test. On the other hand, Spearman correlation and logistic regression analysis were used to explore the correlation and risk factors for pulmonary infection between NLR and other indicators. Finally, we determined the optimal cut-off values for NLR, hypersensitive c-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and procalcitonin (PCT) diagnosis of pulmonary infection using the receiver operating characteristic curve.We found that NLR was positively correlated with age, PCT, hs-CRP, and hospital stay, but negatively correlated with hemoglobin, red blood cell, and Albumin. The expression levels of PCT, hs-CRP, and NLR in the infected group decreased significantly than those before treatment. Multiple regression analysis revealed that NLR is an important independent risk factor for MHD patients with pulmonary infection. Additionally, receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that the sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve were 87.76%, 100%, and 0.920 when using NLR combined with hs-CRP to predict pulmonary infection in MHD patients, whereas that of NLR combined with PCT were 87.76%, 96.08%, and 0.944, respectively.Findings from this study suggested that NLR is an independent risk factor for MHD patients with pulmonary infection, which can effectively predict pulmonary infection. Moreover, sensitivity and specificity were greatly enhanced when using NLR combined with PCT/hs-CRP to predict pulmonary infection in MHD patients.

A brief review concerning Chimeric Antigen Receptors T cell therapy.

The understanding concerning the function of immune system in cancer has achieved considerable advance with time passes by. Manipulating genetically engineered immune cells were investigated as a novel strategy for treating cancer. Chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) are recombinant protein molecules by merging the exquisite targeting the potent cytotoxicity of T cells and specificity of monoclonal antibodies and, which could trigger serial cascades of signal transduction and thereby activate T cells to directly destroy the tumor cells. Manufacturing CAR-modified T lymphocytes were successfully implemented in treating cancer derived from they could specifically retarget tumor-associated antigens, causing effective elimination of tumor cells, which spurred the optimization and development of new CAR-T cell technology. The advancement of synthetic biology methodologies of cell therapy in CAR-T would ultimately provide us with a much safer, reliable and efficient modality to against cancer. This review primarily described the emergence, development and application of cell therapy in CAR-T, then discuss the side effects and the potential factors of tumor reccurrence caused by CAR-T cell therapy, in addition to the corresponding countermeasure concerning complications.

Current Status of Research on the Role of Circular RNAs in Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Clinical Implications.

The latest statistics show that rates of morbidity and mortality for hepatocellular carcinoma are gradually increasing over time. Accumulating evidence indicates that circular RNAs (circRNAs) participate in the regulation of gene transcription and translation and exert a crucial role in endogenous RNA network. circRNAs are implicated in the pathogenesis of numerous tumors including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), gastric carcinoma and bladder cancer. Of note, the effect of circRNAs in HCC has drawn increasing public attention. Previous studies revealed that the function of circRNAs mainly consists of sponges of miRNA and RNA-binding proteins, alternative splicing of pre-mRNAs, transcriptional and translational regulators, and potential to encode proteins. In addition, recent research data indicate that the expression level of circRNAs is closely correlated with metastasis, invasion, and occurrence of HCC in patients. These findings imply that circRNAs may be useful as biomarkers for diagnosis and prediction of prognosis of HCC. In this review, we have systemically summarized current viewpoints regarding the role of circRNAs expression in HCC to provide an important reference illustrating the underlying mechanism of HCC.

Integrated Analysis of Transcriptomic Data Reveals Key Anti-CKD Targets and Anti-ESRD Targets.

BACKGROUND: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a kidney disease in which there is gradual loss of kidney function over time and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) is the final stage of CKD. Both CKD and ESRD are worldwide health problems with a high economic cost to health systems. However, the molecular mechanisms of the development of CKD and ESRD remain poorly understood. This study aimed to systematically elucidate the molecular mechanisms of the development of CKD and ESRD. METHODS: Transcriptome data of CKD and ESRD were downloaded from the NCBI-GEO database. Differentially expressed genes between cases and controls (chronic kidney disease patients vs. controls, end-stage renal disease patients vs. controls) were calculated using the empirical Bayes algorithm. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was used for analyzing the KEGG pathway difference between cases and controls. Furthermore, CKD and ESRD target genes were obtained from the Thomson Reuters Integrity database. Tissue-specific gene interaction network analysis was performed using the GIANT web server. RESULTS: There were multiple damaged pathways in ESRD but only a few pathways were disturbed in CKD. Furthermore, we identified 9 dysregulated anti-ESRD genes but no dysregulated anti-CKD genes. Network analysis revealed that the NF-kB signaling pathway was essential for ESRD. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed several crucial anti-ESRD genes that are involved in the regulation of the NF-kB signaling pathway. This information may be helpful for the treatment of ESRD.

Bioinformatics Analysis Identifies Protein Tyrosine Kinase 7 (PTK7) as a Potential Prognostic and Therapeutic Biomarker in Stages I to IV Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

BACKGROUND Worldwide, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accounts for 80-90% of all cases of primary liver cancer, and is one of the ten most common malignancies. This study used bioinformatics analysis to identify genes associated with patient outcome in stages I-IV HCC and the gene pathways that distinguished between normal liver and liver cells and HCC and human HCC cell lines. MATERIAL AND METHODS Target genes were defined as those that had marketed drugs or drugs under development targeting a specific gene and acquired from the Clarivate Analytics Integrity Database. Differential expression gene analysis, co-expression network analysis, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis, survival analysis and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis were used to explore the similarities and differences in gene expression profiles, functional associations, and survival in stage I-IV HCC. Normal liver cells (HL-7702) and HCC cell lines (HepaRG, HepG2, SK-Hep1, and Huh7) were studied using Western blot and quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR). RESULTS Hierarchical gene clustering identified target genes that distinguished between HCC and normal liver tissue. For stages I-IV HCC, there were seven commonly upregulated target genes EPHB1, LTK, NTRK2, PTK7, TBK1, TIE1, and TLR3, which were mainly involved in immune and signaling transduction pathways. PTK7 was highly expressed in stage I-IV HCC and was an independent prognostic marker for reduced overall survival (OS). CONCLUSIONS Bioinformatics analysis, combined with patient survival analysis, identified PTK7 gene expression as a potential therapeutic target and prognostic biomarker for all stages of HCC.

Authentication of the anti-tumor herb Baihuasheshecao with bioactive marker compounds and molecular sequences.

Baihuasheshecao (Hedyotis diffusa), a Chinese herb for cancer treatment, is frequently adulterated by a related species Hedyotis corymbosa. DNA sequencing of the complete internal transcribed spacer region was applied to differentiate H. diffusa from H. corymbosa and other closely related species. The molecular data showed that four out of seven herb samples of Baihuasheshecao were adulterants. Chemical analyses by TLC and HPLC were used to authenticate H. diffusa and H. corymbosa. Two marker compounds were identified exclusively in H. diffusa: 6-O-(E)-p-coumaroyl scandoside methyl ester (compound 1) and 10(S)-hydroxypheophytin a (compound 2). Both compounds showed moderate anti-proliferation effect on PC3 human androgen-independent prostate cancer cells, while compound 2 also showed strong anti-proliferation effect on LNCaP human androgen-sensitive prostate cancer cells. Accordingly, these bioactive marker compounds could be applied to verify the authenticity and assess the quality of Baihuasheshecao.

Lignans from Dysosma versipellis with inhibitory effects on prostate cancer cell lines.

A new monoepoxylignan, dysosmarol (1), along with eight known compounds, podophyllotoxin (2), 4'-demethylpodophyllotoxin (3), deoxypodophyllotoxin (4), 4'-demethyldeoxypodophyllotoxin (5), diphyllin (6), kaempferol, quercetin, and beta-sitosterol, were isolated from the roots of Dysosma versipellis. The structure of 1 was elucidated by spectroscopic methods. Aryltetralin lignans 2-4 showed the most potent inhibitory activities against the growth of androgen-sensitive (LNCaP) and androgen-independent (PC-3) human prostate cancer cell lines, with IC50 values in the ranges 0.030-0.056 and 0.032-0.082 microM, respectively. A quantitative HPLC analysis showed that compound 2 occurred at the highest concentration in the plant (37.21 mg/g) followed by compound 4 (5.01 mg/g) and compound 3 (2.75 mg/g). Furthermore, D. versipellis roots contain a similar content of compound 2 as compared with the rhizomes and roots of Podophyllum hexandrum, a commercial source of the lignan. Thus, cultivation of D. versipellis in suitable locations may serve as an alternative source for podophyllotoxin (2) production.