Histone deacetylase inhibitor, AR-42, exerts antitumor effects by inducing apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in Y79 cells.

Retinoblastoma (RB) is the most common type of intraocular malignant tumor that occurs in childhood. AR-42, a member of a newly discovered class of phenylbutyrate-derived histone deacetylase inhibitors, exerts antitumor effects on many cancers. In the present study, we initially evaluated the effect of AR-42 towards RB cells and explored the underlying mechanism in this disease. Our results found that AR-42 showed powerful antitumor effects at low micromolar concentrations by inhibiting cell viability, blocking cell cycle, stimulating apoptosis in vitro, and suppressing RB growth in a mouse subcutaneous tumor xenograft model. Furthermore, the AKT/nuclear factor-kappa B signaling pathway was disrupted in Y79 cells treated with AR-42. In conclusion, we propose that AR-42 might be a promising drug treatment for RB.

Diagnostic performance of a novel ESAT6-CFP10 skin test for tuberculosis infection in school tuberculosis outbreak in China.

Background: The ESAT6-CFP10 (EC) skin test is recommended by the World Health Organization for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI). However, it is still unknown how the EC skin test performs in students during a school tuberculosis outbreak. Methods: We conducted an epidemiological investigation to assess the performance of the EC skin test in this high-risk population. Results: A total of 9 active student patients were confirmed in the same class as the index case, with an incidence rate of 18.0% (9/50). Among the 50 close contacts, 14 (28%) were over 15 years old and had a chest X-ray (CXR), and none of them had abnormal CXR findings. The rates of positive tuberculin skin test (TST) ≥ 5 mm and < 10 mm, ≥ 10 mm and < 15 mm, and ≥ 15 mm were 12.0% (6/50), 16.0% (8/50), and 10.0% (5/50), respectively. On the second screening, 44 students with the same class as the index case had the EC skin test, of which 31 (70.5%) had positive EC tests. All patients had negative sputum smear results, of whom 4 (44.4%) had positive Xpert results; three had a TST induration diameter between 5 mm and 10 mm, but all of them had an EC diameter > 15 mm; 5 (55.6%) had abnormal CXR results, but all the confirmed patients had abnormal CT results; Except for four cases that were diagnosed by Xpert, the remaining five were confirmed by CT scan. Conclusion: The novel EC skin test performed well in students during the school tuberculosis outbreak. In some special conditions, such as when the index case is bacteriologically positive for tuberculosis and the rate of LTBI is higher than the average for the local same-age group, secondary screening is recommended 2-3 months after the first screening. Furthermore, we cannot ignore the role of CT in the diagnosis of early student tuberculosis.

Enhancing membrane surface antifouling by implanting amphiphilic polymer brushes using a swelling induced entrapment technique.

In this work, a swelling induced entrapment technique was developed to enhance the hydrophilicity and antifouling performances of polypropylene (PP) microfiltration membranes. By this method, three amphiphilic polymers with different chemical structures (i.e., a homopolymer (polypropylene glycol), a di-block copolymer (oligoethylene glycol monooctadecylether), and a tri-block copolymer of ethylene glycol (EO) and propylene glycol) were successfully implanted onto membrane surfaces to be polymer brushes with high density, without having a significant effect on the membrane pore structure. The polymer brushes significantly enhanced the hydrophilicity and protein fouling resistance of the membrane. In particular, when using the di-block copolymer with a short hydrophilic EO chain, the modified membrane showed a low water contact angle, down to 20°, and low adsorption of bovine serum albumin of 1.1 µg cm-2. Furthermore, the implanted polymer brushes exhibited excellent durability. The hydrophobic segments of amphiphilic polymers played a leading role in the implantation and stability of the brushes on the PP membrane surface. This work provides a feasible strategy to achieve surface hydrophilicity and antifouling performances in a hydrophobic membrane for use in high-efficiency water treatment.

Treg/Th17 imbalance and its clinical significance in patients with hepatitis B-associated liver cirrhosis.

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have shown that T cell-mediated cellular immune mechanisms play important roles in the progression of hepatitis B to liver cirrhosis, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. This present study was aimed to determine the relationship between Treg/Th17 and hepatitis B-associated liver cirrhosis. METHODS: The Treg and Th17 cell frequencies in the peripheral blood of all participants, including 93 patients with hepatitis B-associated liver cirrhosis and 40 healthy subjects, were measured by flow cytometer. Cox regression model and receiver operating characteristic(ROC) curves were applied to investigate the prognostic significance of Treg/Th17 ratio in decompensated liver cirrhosis. RESULTS: We observed the Treg/Th17 imbalance was present in patients with hepatitis B-associated liver cirrhosis, with reduced Treg cells in their peripheral blood, increased Th17 cells and decreased Treg/Th17 ratio. Treg and Th17 cells were negatively correlated. Treg/Th17 imbalance was closely related to the clinical stage of hepatitis B-associated liver cirrhosis. The Virus load, Treg frequencies and the Treg/Th17 ratio were independent factors predicting decompensated liver cirrhosis from a Cox regression model. The ROC analysis showed that the Treg/Th17 ratio was the best marker for predicting decompensated liver cirrhosis. CONCLUSIONS: Treg/Th17 imbalance is involved in the pathogenesis of hepatitis B-associated liver cirrhosis and the Treg/Th17 ratio can be used as a potential marker for predicting decompensated liver cirrhosis.

Clinical significance of the detection of procalcitonin and C-reactive protein in the intensive care unit.

The identification significance of C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin (PCT) levels in the intensive care unit patients with combined infection and their prognostic effects of patients with sepsis was investigated. A total of 203 patients were divided into the sepsis (n=60) and the non-sepsis group (n=143). The predictive effects of CRP and PCT levels in patients in the intensive care unit on sepsis and their effects on the prognosis of patients with sepsis were analyzed. The results showed that CRP and PCT levels in patients in the sepsis were higher than those in the non-sepsis group (P<0.05); CRP and PCT levels in patients who died of sepsis at 1 week and 2 weeks after admission were not statistically different to those before admission (P>0.05); CRP and PCT levels in patients surviving sepsis at 1 week after admission were significantly decreased compared with those at admission (P<0.05). CRP and PCT levels in patients at 2 weeks after admission were significantly decreased compared with those at admission (P<0.05). CRP and PCT levels in patients who died of sepsis were higher than those surviving sepsis (P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that the higher the CRP and PCT levels were, the worse the patients' conditions would be, and the higher the risk of death would be (r=0.732, P=0.012; r=0.826, P=0.007); besides, PCT had a higher value in predicting the poor prognosis of patients [PCT: Area under the curve (AUC)=0.734, CRP: AUC=0.699]; the univariate Cox regression analysis revealed that CRP, PCT and age may be the risk factors for poor prognosis in patients. CRP and PCT can be used to identify whether the patients in the intensive care unit are infected or not. The dynamic monitoring of CRP and PCT has important clinical significance in predicting the prognosis of patients with sepsis.

Effects of captopril and valsartan on ventricular remodeling and inflammatory cytokines after interventional therapy for AMI.

The effects of captopril and valsartan on ventricular remodeling and inflammatory cytokines after interventional therapy for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) were investigated. A total of 94 patients with AMI admitted to Honggang Hospital of Dongying from July 2016 to June 2017 were selected as study subjects. The patients were treated with interventional therapy and randomly divided into the observation group (n=47) and the control group (n=47). The control group received aspirin after operation, while the observation group received captopril and valsartan after operation. Three-dimensional ultrasonography was performed to evaluate ventricular remodeling. The related parameters included left ventricular end-diastolic volume (LVEDV), left ventricular end-systolic volume (LVESV), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), end-systolic sphericity index/end-diastolic sphericity index (ESSI/EDSI), systolic dyssynchrony index (SDI), diastolic dyssynchrony index (DDI), dispersion end systole (DISPES), DDI-late and DISPED-late. The levels of inflammatory cytokines were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The incidence of adverse reactions after treatment was compared. After treatment, LVEF in the control group was significantly lower than that in the observation group, while LVEDV, LVESV and the ratio of early diastolic (E) and late diastolic (A) (E/A) in the control group were significantly higher than those in the observation group (p<0.05). EDSI, DDI-late and DISPED-late in the control group were significantly higher than those in the observation group (p<0.05). ESSI, SDI and DISPES in the control group were significantly higher than those in the observation group (p<0.05). The levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group at 1, 4 and 8 weeks after treatment (p<0.05). The administration of captopril and valsartan after interventional therapy for AMI can effectively improve the cardiac function of patients, improve the synchronism of left ventricular diastole and contraction, and reduce the level of inflammation. It is safe and reliable, and has important clinical significance.