[Clinical application value of γ-IFN release assay combined with CA-125 in diagnosis of active pulmonary tuberculosis].

Objective: To evaluate the diagnosis of interferon gamma release assay (IGRA) combined with tumor marker carbohydrate antigen-125 (CA-125) in active pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB). Methods: One hundred and three patients with active PTB (48 definite and 55 clinical diagnosed), 646 patients with non-PTB pulmonary disease and 60 normal controls hospitalized in Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University between January 2014 and December 2016 were retrospectively investigated. Blood samples were collected to determine the IGRA and CA-125 level by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and electrochemiluminescence, respectively. The CA-125 level of patients with active PTB, non-PTB pulmonary disease and normal controls were compared. Subsequently, the best cut-off value of CA-125 for diagnosing PTB was calculated based on 60 active PTB cases and 60 normal controls. Methodological evaluation of IGRA, CA-125 and combination of these two tests (both positive) for active PTB diagnosing were performed based on 43 active PTB cases and all the non-PTB pulmonary disease cases. Results: The median values of CA-125 among definite and clinical diagnosis groups of active PTB were 55.00 (25.35, 156.90) U/ml and 81.50 (39.40, 138.00) U/ml, respectively. There was no difference between the two groups (U=1 093.00, P>0.05). And the CA-125 level of male and female PTB patients were also undifferentiated (U=1 124.00, P>0.05). There were statistically significant differences in CA-125 levels between the active PTB group and all other non-PTB groups (all P<0.001), including those who had ever closely contacted with TB patients. The area under the ROC curve constructed by CA-125 for diagnosing active PTB was 0.933. And the best cut-off value of CA-125 was 22.00 U/ml. Based on this cut-off value, the accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of CA-125 for diagnosing active PTB were 70.5% (486/689), 86.0% (37/43) and 69.5% (449/646). The accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of IGRA for diagnosing active PTB were 73.3% (480/689), 90.7% (39/43) and 68.3%(441/64). The accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of IGRA combined with CA-125 for diagnosing active PTB were 90.6% (624/689), 76.7% (33/43), 91.5% (591/646). Both of the accuracy and the false positive ratio of this combinational method (8.5%, 55/646) were significantly lower than two indexes individually used (χ(2)=94.461, 88.261, P<0.001). However, the false negative ratio was increased to 23.3% (10/43) by combinational method. Conclusion: IGRA combined with CA-125 has a certain clinical value in diagnosis of active PTB, especially when the evidences of bacterial is not available.

Layering Poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid)-based electrospun membranes and co-culture cell sheets for engineering temporomandibular joint disc.

The temporomandibular joint disk (TMJD) lacks blood vessels and is characterized by slow self-repair. Qualitative lesions in TMJD are difficult to repair. In this study, electrospun poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) scaffolds were used to reconstruct temporomandibular joint discs by tissue engineering. Rabbit temporomandibular joint disc cells (TMJDCs) and rabbit synovium-derived mesenchymal stem cells (SMSCs) were co-cultured in 1:1 ratios. Cell sheets were induced by ascorbic acid incubated with electrospun PLGA scaffolds for 14 days in the presence (10 ng/ml in culture medium) or absence of TGF-ß3. Dimethylmethylene Blue Assay (DMMB) was used to determine the content of glycosaminoglycans in the extracellular matrix. The expression of Col1a1, Col2a1, Sox-9 and Runx-2 was quantified by RT-PCR, and the expression of type II collagen was observed by immunofluorescent staining. After 14 days of cultivation, the electrospun PLGA scaffold-loaded cell sheets could form an articular disc tissue with certain morphological characteristics. The expression of chondrogenic-related genes (Col2a1, Sox-9) and the secretion of extracellular matrix (GAG, type II collagen) in the co-culture group were close to those in the TMJDC group alone. The results suggest that PLGA electrospun scaffold-loaded co-cultured cell membrane could be used in the tissue engineering reconstruction of the temporomandibular joint disc.

Long noncoding RNA PROX1-AS1 promoted ovarian cancer cell proliferation and metastasis by suppressing KLF6.

Since this article has been suspected of research misconduct and the corresponding authors did not respond to our request to prove originality of data and figures, "Long noncoding RNA PROX1-AS1 promoted ovarian cancer cell proliferation and metastasis by suppressing KLF6, by L. Zhao, J.-F. Li, X.-J. Tong, published in Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci 2020; 24 (12): 6561-6568-DOI: 10.26355/eurrev_202006_21640-PMID: 32633343" has been withdrawn. The Publisher apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause. https://www.europeanreview.org/article/21640.

Long noncoding RNA PROX1-AS1 promoted ovarian cancer cell proliferation and metastasis by suppressing KLF6.

OBJECTIVE: Recently, the role of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in tumor progression has attracted much attention worldwide. Numerous studies have identified lncRNA PROX1-AS1 as an oncogene in cancers. Therefore, the aim of this research was to explore the function of PROX1-AS1 in the development of ovarian cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: PROX1-AS1 expression in both ovarian cancer patients and normal subjects was detected by quantitative Real Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR). Subsequently, PROX1-AS1 shRNA was constructed and transfected in vitro. 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, colony formation assay, transwell assay, and Matrigel assay were utilized to detect the function of PROX1-AS1 in ovarian cancer. In addition, the potential mechanism was explored using qRT-PCR and Western blot assay. RESULTS: PROX1-AS1 was highly expressed in ovarian carcinoma samples and cell lines (p<0.05). The proliferation, migration, and invasion of ovarian cells were significantly inhibited after PROX1-AS1 was downregulated in vitro (p<0.05). Besides, the mRNA and protein expressions of KLF6 were significantly promoted after PROX1-AS1 knockdown in ovarian cancer cells (p<0.05). Further functional assays showed that KLF6 expression was negatively correlated with PROX1-AS1 expression in ovarian cancer samples. CONCLUSIONS: PROX1-AS1 enhances the metastasis and proliferation of ovarian cancer cells via suppressing KLF6. Our findings suggest that PROX1-AS1 may be applied as a novel target for therapy of ovarian cancer.

Involvement of Cyr61 in growth, migration, and metastasis of prostate cancer cells.

Cyr61 has been reported to participate in the development and progression of various cancers; however, its role in prostate cancer (PCa) still remains poorly understood. In this study, we explored the function of Cyr61 in a series of malignant PCa cell lines, including LnCap, Du145, and PC3. 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and crystal violet assays demonstrated that Cyr61 was essential for the proliferation of PCa cells. Soft agar assay and xenograft analysis showed that downregulation of Cyr61 suppressed the tumorigenicity of Du145 cells both in vitro and in vivo. Either silencing the cellular Cyr61 by RNA interference or neutralising the endogenous Cyr61 by antibody inhibited the migration of Du145 cells. In contrast, purified protein of Cyr61 promoted the migration of LnCap cells in a dose-dependent manner. These results suggested that Cyr61 was involved in the migration of PCa cells. We also observed the accumulation of mature focal adhesion complexes associated with the impaired migration through Cyr61 downregulation. Also, further studies showed that Cyr61 regulated the level of activated Rac1 as well as its downstream targets, including phosphorylated JNK, E-cadherin, and p27(kip1), which are key molecules involved in cell growth, migration, and invasion. The in vivo mouse tail vein injection experiment revealed that Cyr61 affected the metastatic capacity of Du145 cells, suggesting that Cyr61 was required for prostate tumour metastasis. Altogether, our results demonstrated that Cyr61 played an important role in the tumorigenicity and metastasis of PCa cells, which will benefit the development of therapeutic strategy for PCas.

Treadmill exercise enhances synaptic plasticity, but does not alter ß-amyloid deposition in hippocampi of aged APP/PS1 transgenic mice.

Several studies reveal that the beneficial effects of exercise interventions are dependent on the progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD). We have previously shown that long-term treadmill exercise begun before the onset of ß-amyloid (Aß) pathology prevents the deficits of cognition and long-term potentiation (LTP) in amyloid precursor protein (APP)/presenilin 1 (PS1) transgenic mice (8 months of age) paralleled by the reduction of soluble Aß levels and Aß deposition in the hippocampus. In the present study, treadmill exercise was initiated at a developed Aß deposition stage in order to further investigate whether or not treadmill exercise in this phase can delay the progression of AD in aged APP/PS1 mice (17 months of age). Our results show that 5-month treadmill exercise ameliorates the impairment of spatial learning and memory with age paralleled by synaptic plasticity enhancement in aged APP/PS1 mice. In addition, exercise-induced enhancement of synaptic plasticity was accompanied by a significant reduction of soluble Aß levels rather than Aß plaque deposition. Therefore, the investigation demonstrates that long-term treadmill exercise has beneficial effects on cognition and synaptic plasticity even when the brain has developed Aß deposition, and changes in soluble Aß levels rather than Aß plaque deposition may contribute to exercise-induced benefits.

Sciatic nerve regeneration navigated by laminin-fibronectin double coated biodegradable collagen grafts in rats.

Biodegradable type I collagen tube grafts filled longitudinally with laminin and fibronectin double coated collagen fiber bundles (L-F grafts) were implanted to promote sciatic nerve regeneration in rats. Grafts filled with uncoated collagen fibers were used as control. A 1 cm defect on the right sciatic nerve was filled with a graft in the manner of bridging. Thirty days after implantation, several newly developed nerve fasciculi were found at the middle portion of the L-F grafts in contrast to no developed nerves in the controls. After 60 days, the middle and distal portions of both grafts included well-developed nerve tissues with prominent myelinated and unmyelinated nerve fibers surrounded by perineural cells, but the control distal portion showed fewer nerve fibers. All artificial collagen elements were completely degraded and absorbed at 30 days, and new nerve tissues surrounded by an epineurium successfully connected the proximal stump to the distal stump of the initially separated nerve. Descending and ascending action potentials were evoked in all grafts at 60 days. These results indicated that laminin and fibronectin may promote the growth of axons in biodegradable collagen grafts, which guided nerve regeneration well and allowed the formation of epineurium.

[The assembly of low molecular weight neurofilament protein (NF-L) in vitro].

Neurofilaments were isolated from bovine spinal cords by ultra-speed centrifugation and examined by negative staining. The neurofilament triplet proteins: NF-L, NF-M and NF-H were purified by DE-52 anion exchange chromatography in the presence of 6 mol/L urea. The reassembly of NF-L under controlled conditions was studied. NF-L can reassemble into 10 nm width filaments within 60 minutes at physiological condition of around 0.15 mol/L NaCl, 2 mmol/L MgCl2, neutral pH(pH 6.8) and 37 degrees C. In 6 mol/L urea, NF-L was examined as 12 nm-diameter particle by low angle rotary shadowing. When dialyzed against reassembly buffer for 20 minutes, some irregular filaments were formed. Further dialyzed for another 40 minutes, the long smooth filaments appeared. Some filaments were unraveled at the end regions, where existed 2-4 subfilaments. Four subfilaments were more often observed. That is to say, the 10 nm-width filament was composed of 4 subfilaments. While dialyzed against the alkaline buffer containing 0.15 mol/L NaCl, NF-L reconstituted into 45-180 nm-long, 10 nm-width filaments, which were not able to elongate into long filaments.

Chemical Study on the Alkaloids of Corydalis hsuchowensis.

Ten alkaloids were isolated from the bulb of CORYDALIS HSUCHOWENSIS W. Y. Lian nov. ined. Among them nine alkaloids are known, identified as (-)-stylopine ( 1), cheilanthifoline ( 2), (+)-adlumidine ( 3), (+)-bicuculline ( 4), sibiricine ( 5), humosine A ( 6), (+)-bulbocapnine ( 7), (-)-scoulerine ( 8), and protopine ( 10), respectively. The other one is a new isoquinoline alkaloid. The structure was deduced as 9 based on spectroscopic analysis and chemical reactions. It was named coryximine.