[Bibliometric and visual analysis of current status and trends of international research on keloids].

Objective: To conduct a bibliometric and visual analysis of the current status and trends of international research on keloids. Methods: The articles on keloid research from 2000 to 2020 in the core collection of Web of Science database were retrieved. The bibliometrics method was applied to analyze the number of articles published per year, journals and the first authors, countries and institutions, research fields, the annual citation frequency of cumulative published articles, highly cited articles, keywords. CiteSpace5.6.R2 software was applied to visually cluster keywords of the included articles, while VOSviewer1.6.13 software was applied to visually cluster keywords in titles and abstracts of the included articles in order to analyze research directions and development trends. Results: A total of 2 693 keloid-related articles were retrieved. From 2000 to 2020, the number of keloid-related articles published every year showed a significant upward trend. Totally 777 journals published keloid-related articles, of which Dermatologic Surgery published the most. Rei Ogawa published the largest number of keloid-related articles as the first author of 52 related articles. Keloid-related researches were conducted in a total of 98 countries, of which the United States published the largest number of related articles (613 articles), followed by China (524 articles) and Japan (107 articles). A total of 2 656 institutions conducted keloid-related research, and the institution with the largest number of related articles published was Shanghai Jiao Tong University of China (67 articles). According to the subject classification of the Web of Science database, the included articles involved 110 research fields, and the top three were dermatology, surgery, and medicine, research and experimental. The included articles were cited 47 746 times in total, and the citation frequency of cumulative published articles increased by year. The most frequently cited article (152 times) was published in 2011. There were a total of 45 571 keywords in the included literature. The top 5 keywords ranked according to the number of articles involved from high to low were keloid (588 articles), hypertrophic scar (385 articles), expression (198 articles), fibroblast (155 articles), and scar (133 articles). The keyword map visualized by CiteSpace5.6.R2 software further displayed that the research focused on the cause, performance, and composition of keloids. VOSviewer1.6.13 software analysis showed that the research direction of keloids was divided into two categories of clinical keloid management and keloid mechanism research, the initial research hotspots were mainly to explore the diagnosis and treatment of keloids from individual cases, with a preference for apparent research, while in the later stage, the focus was on the overall management of keloids, in which the mechanism research went to the molecular level. Conclusions: At present, international research interest on keloids is showing an upward trend. Both foreign (the United States, etc.) and domestic research institutions are conducting in-depth explorations of keloids. With dermatology as the leader, the research trend is gradually shifting from observational research to molecular research.

Long non-coding RNA SUMO1P3 promotes glioma progression via the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway.

OBJECTIVE: Long non-coding RNA SUMO1P3 has been reported to act as an oncogene in the tumorigenesis of several types of human malignancy. However, to the best of our knowledge, the exact biological functions and potential mechanism of lncRNA SUMO1P3 in glioma remains unknown. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the potential role of SUMO1P3 in glioma and to explore the underlying mechanism. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The present study examined SUMO1P3 expression in glioma tissues and cell lines using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) and transwell assays were used to examine the effects of SUMO1P3 on the proliferation and invasion of glioma cells, respectively. Furthermore, Western blot was used to detect the expression levels of proteins in the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process. RESULTS: The expression level of SUMO1P3 was higher in glioma tissues compared with corresponding adjacent normal tissues. In addition, a high expression level of SUMO1P3 was significantly associated with clinical progression and poor survival for patients with glioma. Furthermore, the knockdown of SUMO1P3 inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion of U87 and U251 cells. In addition, the knockdown of SUMO1P3 inhibits glioma growth in vivo. Finally, the knockdown of SUMO1P3 inhibited the epithelial-mesenchymal transition and reduced the expression levels of active ß-catenin, C-myc, and cyclin D1 in U87 and U251 cells. By contrast, the overexpression of SUMO1P3 promoted glioma cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. CONCLUSIONS: SUMO1P3 promotes glioma cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, and may be involved in Wnt/ß-catenin signaling.

[Risk factors and sonographic findings associated with the type of placenta accreta spectrum disorders].

Objective: To evaluate the risk factors and sonographic findings of pregnancies complicated by placenta increta or placenta percreta. Methods: Totally, 2 219 cases were retrospectively analyzed from 20 tertiary hospitals in China from January 2011 to December 2015. The data were collected based on the original case records. All cases were divided into two groups, the placenta increta (PI) group (79.1%, 1 755/2 219) and the placenta percreta (PP) group (20.9%, 464/2 219) , according to the degree of placental implantation. The risk factors and sonographic findings of placenta increta or percreta were analyzed by uni-factor and logistic regression statistic methods. Results: The risk factors associated with the degree of placental implantation were age, gravida, previous abortion or miscarriage, previous cesarean sections, and placenta previa (all P<0.05), especially, previous cesarean sections (χ(2)=157.961) and placenta previa (χ(2)=91.759). Sonographic findings could be used to predict the degree of placental invasion especially the boundaries between placenta and uterine serosa, the boundary between placenta and myometrium, the disruption of the placental-uterine wall interface and loss of the normal retroplacental hypoechoic zone(all P<0.01). Conclusions: Previous cesarean sections and placenta previa are the main independent risk factors associated with the degree of placenta implantation. Ultrasound could be used to make a prenatal suggestive diagnosis of placenta accreta spectrum disorders.

[Survey of prevalence of iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia in pregnant women in urban areas of China].

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of iron deficiency (ID) and iron deficiency anemia (IDA) in pregnant women in urban areas of China. Methods: The study was a national cross-sectional survey conducted from September 19th, 2016 to November 20th, 2016. According to the classification of the National Bureau of Statistics, all survey sites were set up in 6 regions of the country.Pregnant women were continuously selected using multistage stratified sampling. A total of 12 403 pregnant women were collected and examined for serum ferritin and hemoglobin levels. Results: The median serum ferritin level during pregnancy was 20.60 µg/L (11.78-36.98 µg/L) , the hemoglobin level was (118±12) g/L. With the progress of pregnancy, the levels of serum ferritin and hemoglobin decreased gradually. The median serum ferritin levels in the first, second trimester and third trimester were 54.30 µg/L (34.48-94.01 µg/L) , 28.60 µg/L (16.40-50.52 µg/L) , and 16.70 µg/L (10.20-27.00 µg/L) respectively (P<0.01) . The mean hemoglobin levels were (127±10) g/L, (119±11) g/L and (117±11) g/L respectively (P<0.01) . The prevalence of ID in urban pregnant women was 48.16% (5 973/12 403) , and IDA prevalence was 13.87% (1 720/12 403) . The prevalence of IDA in the first, second trimester and third trimester were 1.96% (20/1 019) , 8.40% (293/3 487) and 17.82% (1 407/7 897) ,respectively (P<0.01) . The prevalence of standardized ID and IDA were significantly different in various regions of China (P<0.01) . The standardized prevalence of ID were relatively higher in East China and Northeast China, 57.37% and 53.41% respectively, while it was the lowest in Southwest China, 30.51%. The standardized prevalence of IDA in South Central, Northwest, and East China were relatively high, 21.30%, 16.97% and 17.53% respectively, and the standardized prevalence of IDA in Southwest China was the lowest, 5.44%, the differents in various regions were significant (all P<0.01) . Conclusion: The current phenomenon of ID and IDA in pregnant women is still very common, and nutrition and health care during pregnancy should be strengthened.

[The role of immune cells and inflammatory mediators in pathogenesis of intestinal inflammation].

The initiators of intestinal inflammation are greatly variable, but the mechanisms underlying the immunologically mediated mucosal damage are similar. A great progress in our understanding of the functions of gut-associated lymphoid tissue was achieved because of the advances in immuno-biology and molecular immunology. At the beginning of an inflammation microorganisms and hither to derived products or allergen firstly stimulate and activate the specific and nonspecific immune cells, and then intestine epithelials, macrophages and lymphocytes release various cytokines. These cytokines are able to recruit more immune cells to be activated and more cytokines to be released. A "cascade" is then generated between epithelials, macrophages and lymphocytes. Finally the inflammation in certain area of intestinal tract is generated. The balance between inflammatory factors and anti-inflammatory molecules depends the results of the inflammation. Therefore, the better understanding of the mechanisms on inflammatory and anti-inflammatory factors is helpful for the diagnosis and treatment of intestinal inflammation.

Naltrexone suppresses the rejection of cardiac tissue transplantation.

The present study demonstrates the following: 1. Transplantation of cardiac tissue induces an inflammatory response that ultimately leads to the rejection of the tissue by the host within 9 days; 2. Treatment with the opiate antagonist, naltrexone, significantly increased the survival of the transplanted cardiac tissue to 13 days, suggesting the involvement of opioid signaling molecules in tissue rejection; 3. In further experiments it was demonstrated that in mixed lymphocyte populations from different mice, the DNA synthesis inhibitor, mitomycin C, reduced the lymphocyte proliferative response as did naltrexone; 4. Mice injected with naltrexone for 10 days and given concanavalin A exhibited a suppressed spleen lymphocyte proliferative response compared to controls. Taken together, these data suggest that endogenous opioid signals not only activate immunocytes, but also stimulate DNA synthesis.

A suppressive protein generated in peripheral lymph tissue induced by restraint stress.

The results discussed here indicate that under the conditions of restraint stress and under the control of CNS, a suppressive protein (NIP) was generated in peripheral lymph tissue and released into the blood stream, which acts as a immune suppressor. It is potentially a very important molecule that could be very important to our understanding of the interaction between CNS and immune function.

[Intracerebroventricular injection of interleukin 1 receptor antagonist antagonises on the generation of immuno-suppressive factor in restraint mice].

Our previous work showed that a lymphocyte proliferation suppressing factor could be found in the serum of restraint mice. In the present work, it was found that intracerebroventricular (icv) injection of IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) was found capable of suppressing the production of such a serum protein under restraint stress. Nearly complete suppression could be achieved by 5.0 micrograms IL-1Ra. Intracerebroventricular injection of IL-1 beta (1 pg), however, increased the generation of the supressive protein. Neither intraperitoneal (ip) injection of IL-1Ra or IL-1 beta had any effect on the generation of the protein. The fact that icv. injection of a very small dose of IL-1 beta (0.06 fmol) was effective on the generation of the supressive protein led us to suggest that IL-1 in brain might act as an important mediator between CNS and the immune system.

A factor in lymph node and spleen induced by restraint stress in mice and rats suppresses lymphocyte proliferation.

Extracts from lymph node and spleen in mice and rats subjected to restraint stress significantly suppressed lymphocyte proliferation, but extracts from brain, skeletal muscle, and thymus gland had no effect on lymphocyte proliferation, suggesting that a suppressive factor for lymphocyte proliferation might selectively be induced in lymph node and spleen. Further experiments showed that biochemical properties, molecular weight, correlation between suppressive factors in serum and in extract of the lymph tissue from stressed animals, and control of the generation, all indicated that under the conditions of restraint stress and under the control of central nervous system a suppressive factor was generated in peripheral lymph tissue and then released into the blood-stream, which acted as a strong suppressor of lymphocyte proliferation.

Brain interleukin-1 is involved in generation of the serum suppressive factor induced by restraint stress in mice.

Our previous work showed that a factor (a protein with a high molecular weight) in serum was induced by restraint stress in mice and rats, and suppressed lymphocyte proliferation induced by concanavalin A. It was also found that the generation of the serum suppressive factor was under the control of the central nervous system. The present work was designed to investigate the role of interleukin-1 (IL-1) in the brain in the serum suppressive factor. IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) was injected intracerebroventricularly in mice and the generation of the serum suppressive factor was found to be significantly decreased in a dose-dependent manner. When the dose of IL-1ra reached 5 micrograms, the generation of the suppressive factor was almost totally abolished. Intracerebroventricular injection of IL-1 beta (1.0 pg) enhanced the generation of the suppressive factor. Taken together, these results indicate the involvement of IL-1 in the brain in mediating generation of the suppressive factor.

[Effect of intracerebroventricular injection of IL-1 beta on generation of immuno-suppressive factor in lymphocytes in stressed mice].

Our previous work showed that a suppressive factor (a protein with large molecular weight) in serum was induced by restraint stress in mice and rats, which suppressed Con A induced lymphocyte proliferation. It was also found that the generation of serum suppressive factor was under control of the central nervous system. Our further study showed that intracerebroventricular (icv) injection of interleukin 1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) antagonised the generation of serum suppressive factor induced by restraint stress and icv injection of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) increased the generation of the suppressive factor. Our experiment also showed that the serum suppressive factor induced by restraint stress was first made in lymph tissue and then released into blood. The present work was designed to investigate the role of IL-1 in the brain in generation of the suppressive factor in lymph node in mice. Icv injection of IL-1 beta (1 pg/mouse) was shown to significantly increase the generation of the suppressive factor in lymph node. Icv injection of IL-1Ra, however, antagonised generation of the suppressive factor. In mice without restraint stress, both the suppressive factor in serum and in lymph node were found to be induced in dose-dependent manner by icv injection of IL-1 beta. Taken together, these results suggest that IL-1 beta in brain played a very important role in generation of the suppressive factor in lymph node. The positive correlation between the suppressive action of lymph node and of serum added to the evidence that lymph tissue is probably the source of the serum suppressive factor.

Excessive production of insulin-like growth factor-I by silicotic rat alveolar macrophages.

The supernatant of silicotic rat alveolar macrophages can stimulate fibroblast growth. The present study demonstrates that this activity is mainly attributed to insulin-like growth factor-I. Partial purification of the supernatant of alveolar macrophages, which were from silica-exposed 5 to 6-week-old rats, revealed a protein peak (peak 5) eluted from a molecular-sieve HPLC column, corresponding to a MW of 6-9 kDa. Activity assay and radioimmunoassay indicated that this peak is more potent with regard to stimulation of fibroblast growth and has higher insulin-like growth factor-I immunoreactivity, but there was no detectable activity of interleukin-1 or tumor necrosis factor. Quantification of insulin-like growth factor-I also manifests elevated insulin-like growth factor-I levels in silicotic rat bronchoalveolar lavage fluids which tend to increase with prolongation of silica exposure in vivo, but no alteration in insulin-like growth factor-I level can be found in sera. These findings suggest that excessive production of insulin-like growth factor-I by alveolar macrophages locally may play a pivotal role in silica-induced pulmonary interstitial fibrosis.

Probing the role of interleukin-1 beta convertase in interleukin-1 beta secretion.

Interleukin-1 beta must be processed from its precursor form of 31.5 kDa to its mature form of 17 kDa in order to elaborate its wide array of bioactivities. The recent identification of a monocyte-specific endoprotease, termed interleukin-1 beta-converting enzyme (ICE), capable of generating authentic, bioactive 17 kDa IL-1 beta suggests that this protease may serve a specific role in the processing and subsequent secretion of IL-1 beta. To test this hypothesis, we describe initial attempts to establish a monocytic cell-based system to test if mutant preIL-1 beta molecules which are poor substrates for ICE in vitro will be processed and secreted by monocytic cells.