Effect of hydrocolloid dressings in the management of different grades of pressure wound ulcers in critically ill adult subjects: A meta-analysis.

A meta-analysis was implemented to appraise the effect of hydrocolloid dressings (HCDs) in the management of different grades of pressure wound ulcers (PWUs) in critically ill adult subjects (CIUSs). Inclusive literature research until April 2023 was done, and 969 interconnected researches were revised. The 8 picked researches, enclosed 679 critically ill adult persons at the utilized researchers' starting point; 355 of them were utilizing HCDs, and 324 were controls. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were utilized to appraise the consequences of HCDs in treating CIUSs by the dichotomous approach and a fixed or random model. HCDs had significantly higher PWU complete healing (OR, 2.15; 95% CI, 1.54-3.02, p < 0.001), PWU stage II ulcers complete healing (OR, 2.82; 95% CI, 1.40-5.69, p = 0.004), and PWU stage III ulcers complete healing (OR, 3.73; 95% CI, 1.23-11.35, p = 0.02) compared to control in critically ill adult persons. HCDs had significantly higher PWU complete healing, PWU stage II ulcers complete healing, and PWU stage III ulcers complete healing compared with control in critically ill adult persons. However, caution needs to be taken when interacting with its values since there was a low sample size of most of the chosen research found for the comparisons in the meta-analysis.

MAGEA10 gene expression in non-small cell lung cancer and A549 cells, and the affinity of epitopes with the complex of HLA-A(∗)0201 alleles.

MAGEA10, a cancer/testis antigens expressed in tumors but not in normal tissues with the exception of testis and placenta, represents an attractive target for cancer immunotherapy. However, suppressive cytoenvironment and requirement of specific HLA-alleles presentation frequently led to immunotherapy failure. In this study MAGEA10 was scarcely expressed in cancer patients, but enhanced by viili polysaccharides, which indicates a possibility of increasing epitopes presentation. Furthermore the correlation of gene expression with methylation, indicated by R(2) value for MAGEA10 that was 3 times higher than the value for other MAGE genes tested, provides an explanation of why MAGEA10 was highly inhibited, this is also seen by Kaplan-Meier analysis because MAGEA10 did not change the patients' lifespan. By using Molecular-Docking method, 3 MAGEA10 peptides were found binding to the groove position of HLA-A(∗)0210 as same as MAGEA4 peptide co-crystallized with HLA-A(∗)0210, which indicates that they could be promising for HLA-A(∗)0201 presentation in immunotherapy.

Prognostic significance of microRNA-141 expression and its tumor suppressor function in human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Increasing evidence shows that dysregulation of microRNAs is correlated with tumor development. This study was performed to determine the expression of miR-141 and investigate its clinical significance in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Taqman quantitative RT-PCR was used to detect miR-141 expressions in 94 PDAC tissues and 16 nontumorous pancreatic tissues. Correlations between miR-141 expression and clinicopathologic features and prognosis of patients were statistically analyzed. The effects of miR-141 expression on growth and apoptosis of PDAC cell line (PANC-1) were determined by MTT, colony formation, and flow cytometry assays. Potential target genes were identified by luciferase reporter and Western blot assays. The expression level of miR-141 in PDAC tissues was significantly lower than that in corresponding nontumorous tissues. Downregulation of miR-141 correlated with poorer pT and pN status, advanced clinical stage, and lymphatic invasion. Also, low miR-141 expression in PDAC tissues was significantly correlated with shorter overall survival, and multivariate analysis showed that miR-141 was an independent prognostic factor for PDAC patients. Further, functional researches suggested that miR-141 inhibits growth and colony formation, and enhances caspase-3-dependent apoptosis in PANC-1 cells by targeting Yes-associated protein-1 (YAP1). Therefore, miR-141 is an independent prognostic factor for PDAC patients, and functions as a tumor suppressor gene by targeting YAP1.

Expression of microRNA-218 in human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and its correlation with tumor progression and patient survival.

BACKGROUND: Our aim was to analyze clinicopathologic and prognostic values of microRNA (miR)-218 in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinima (PDAC). METHODS: TaqMan quantitative RT-PCR was used to determine the expression of miR-218 in human PDAC cells and tissue samples. The association of miR-218 expression with clinicopathologic variables was analyzed. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was performed to analyze the association of miR-218 expression with recurrence-free survival or overall survival of patients. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed. RESULTS: The relative level of miR-218 in PDAC cells was significantly lower than that in normal human pancreatic duct epithelial cell line. Also, the mean level of miR-218 in PDAC tissues was significantly lower than that in normal pancreatic tissues. Statistical analyses indicated that low miR-218 expression was closely associated with poor tumor differentiation, advanced tumor stage, higher incidence of lymph node metastasis, and tumor recurrence. Kaplan-Meier survival analyses showed that patients with low miR-218 expression had lower recurrence-free and overall survival than those with high miR-218 expression. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses showed that miR-218 might be an independent prognostic factor. CONCLUSION: Reduced miR-218 in PDAC tissues was correlated with tumor progression, and might be an independent poor prognostic factor for patients.

Portal inflow preservation during portal diversion in small-for-size syndrome.

AIM: To investigate the impact of portal inflow on liver remnants in a stable pig model of small-for-size syndrome. METHODS: Twenty pigs underwent mesocaval shunt (MCS) surgery followed by 85%-90% hepatectomy. The control group had no shunt placement; the S1 group had portal flow maintained at an average of 2.0 times the baseline values; and the S2 group had portal flow maintained at an average of 3.2 times the baseline flow. The effect of portal functional competition on the liver remnant was investigated for 48 h postoperatively. Data were presented as mean ± SD. Statistical significance was determined using Student's t test (SPSS, Chicago, IL, United States). Values of P < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. RESULTS: At 24 h after hepatectomy, biochemical and histological changes were not significantly different between the S1 and S2 groups, but changes in both sets of variables were significantly less than in the control group. At 48 h, biochemical and histological changes were significantly less in the S2 group than in the S1 or control group. The regeneration index was significantly higher in the S2 group than in the S1 group, and was similar to that in the control group. Apoptosis index, serum lipopolysaccharide, and bacterial DNA levels were significantly lower in the S2 group than in the other two groups. CONCLUSION: Diversion of portal inflow using MCS reduces portal overflow injury. Excessive diversion of portal inflow inhibits liver regeneration following major hepatectomy. Maintaining portal inflow at an average of 3.2 times above baseline helps promote hypertrophy of the liver remnant and reduce apoptosis.

Preparation of a chemically stable quercetin formulation using nanosuspension technology.

In the present study the evaporative precipitation into aqueous solution (EPAS) process and the high homogenization press (HPH) process were compared to evaluate their feasibility to form a chemically stable quercetin nanosuspension. The particle size and Zeta potential of the EPAS nanosuspension were similar to those of the HPH nanosuspension. Differences in results of differential scanning calorimetery and X-ray measures were observed between the two processes. The crystalline-to-amorphous phase transition was shown in the profile of EPAS dried powder. On the contrary the initial crystalline state of drug was maintained throughout the HPH process. Dissolution test results indicated that the EPAS process showed a higher improvement in the drug solubility and dissolution rate than the HPH process. At last the high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis proved the superiority of both nanosuspensions over QCT solution formulation for the chemical and photo-stability. As a result, it can be concluded that the EPAS and HPH techniques were feasible to prepare a chemically stable QCT nanosuspension with significantly enhanced dissolution rate.

Human serum and glucocorticoid-inducible kinase-like kinase (SGKL) phosphorylates glycogen syntheses kinase 3 beta (GSK-3beta) at serine-9 through direct interaction.

Serum and glucocorticoid-inducible kinase-like kinase (SGKL) has been identified as a new integrator that decodes lipid signals produced by the activation of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K). SGKL is activated via its lipid-binding domain (phox homology domain) in response to PI3K signaling. However, downstream targets of SGKL as well as the role of SGKL as a mediator in PI3K signaling in human tissues remain to be established. In this study, we identified human glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta (GSK-3beta) as a specific interacting partner with SGKL in a yeast two-hybrid screening of human brain cDNA library. The association between these two proteins is confirmed independently in human embryonic kidney (HEK293) cells by co-immunoprecipitation. Furthermore, the kinase activity of wild-type SGKL was required for the in vitro phosphorylation of a GSK-3 crosstide fusion protein at serine-21/9 as demonstrated with a Phospho-GSK-3alpha/beta (Ser21/9) specific antibody. The present results provide strong evidences that SGKL could utilize GSK-3beta as a direct downstream target by phosphorylating GSK-3beta at serine-9.