The Role of H2-Calponin Antigen in Cancer Metastasis: Presence of Autoantibodies in Liver Cancer Patients.

To investigate the potential of H2-calponin (CNN2) as a serum biomarker for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), this study employed the serological analysis of recombinantly expressed cDNA clone (SEREX) technique to identify the presence of CNN2 antibody in the serum of patients with HCC and other tumors. The CNN2 protein was produced through genetic engineering and used as an antigen to determine the positive rate of serum CNN2 autoantibodies via indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In addition, the mRNA and protein expressions of CNN2 in cells and tissues were evaluated using RT-PCR, in situ RT-PCR, and immunohistochemistry methods. The HCC group exhibited a significantly higher positive rate of anti-CNN2 antibody (54.8%) compared to gastric cancer (6.5%), lung cancer (3.2%), rectal cancer (9.7%), hepatitis (3.2%), liver cirrhosis (3.2%), and normal tissues (3.1%). The positive rates of CNN2 mRNA in HCC with metastasis, non-metastatic HCC, lung cancer, gastric cancer, nasopharyngeal cancer, liver cirrhosis, and hepatitis were 56.67%, 41.67%, 17.5%, 10.0%, 20.0%, 53.13%, and 41.67%, respectively. Meanwhile, the positive rates of CNN2 protein were 63.33%, 37.5%, 17.5%, 27.5%, 45%, 31.25%, and 20.83%, respectively. The down-regulation of CNN2 could inhibit the migration and invasion of liver cancer cells. CNN2 is a newly identified HCC-associated antigen that is implicated in the migration and invasion of liver cancer cells, making it a promising target for liver cancer therapy.

Associations between Health-Related Physical Fitness and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in Overweight and Obese University Staff.

PURPOSE: This cross-sectional study examined the associations between health-related physical fitness (HPF) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in overweight and obese university staff. METHODS: A total of 340 university staff (109 women, mean age 43.1 ± 9.7 years) with overweight (n = 284) and obesity (n = 56) were included. The HPF indicators included skeletal muscle mass index (SMI), body fat percentage (BFP), grip strength (GS), sit-and-reach test (SRT), and vital capacity index (VCI). CVD risk factors were measured, including uric acid (UA), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and glucose (GLU). RESULTS: BFP, SMI, and GS were positively associated with UA level (ß = 0.239, ß = 0.159, ß = 0.139, p < 0.05). BFP was positively associated with TG and TG/HDL-C levels (ß = 0.421, ß = 0.259, p < 0.05). GS was positively associated with HDL-C level (ß = 0.244, p < 0.05). SRT was negatively associated with GLU level (ß = -0.130, p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: In overweight and obese university staff, body composition, muscle strength, and flexibility were associated with CVD risk factors. An HPF test may be a practical nonmedical method to assess CVD risk.

Does ICSI for in vitro fertilization cause more aneuploid embryos?

BACKGROUND: High proportion of human embryos produced by in vitro fertilization (IVF) is aneuploidy. Many factors are related to the prevalence of embryonic aneuploidies, such as maternal age, sperm quality, and in vitro manipulation of oocytes. Oocytes are usually inseminated by intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) procedures for preimplantation genetic testing. There is still no available information whether insemination procedures, regular IVF or ICSI, affect embryonic aneuploidies. METHODS: In this case report, a patient at her age of 47 years old received donated oocytes from a young donor for infertility treatment. Half of oocytes were inseminated by regular IVF and other half of oocytes were inseminated by ICSI. Fertilized oocytes were cultured to blastocyst stage and then biopsied for preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidies (PGT-A). The proportions of aneuploidies were compared between two insemination procedures. RESULTS: Forty-seven oocytes were retrieved, 23 were inseminated by regular IVF and 24 were removed from enclosed cumulus cells for ICSI. Out of 24 oocytes, 21 oocytes at metaphase II were inseminated by ICSI. After fertilization assessment, it was found that 12 oocytes from regular IVF fertilized normally. Nine blastocysts (75%) were biopsied and 1 (11.1%) was aneuploidy. By contrast, 19 out of 21 oocytes inseminated by ICSI fertilized normally, 14 blastocysts (73.7%) were obtained and 7 (50.0%) were aneuploidy. Transfer of a euploid blastocyst from regular IVF resulted in a healthy baby delivery. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that more embryos produced by ICSI are aneuploidy as compared with embryos produced by regular IVF. The results indicate that in vitro manipulation of oocytes for ICSI procedure may have adverse effect on human oocytes, and it may be one of the reasons causing aneuploid embryos in human IVF.

Diagnostic Value of Serum SMP30 and Anti-SMP30 Antibody in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical value of senescence marker protein 30 (SMP30) and anti-SMP30 antibody in serum. METHODS: We used enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to analytically validate serum levels of SMP30 and anti-SMP30 antibody in 143 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), compared with those levels in serum from 137 patients with chronic hepatitis (CH), 51 with liver cirrhosis (LC), and 165 healthy control individuals. RESULTS: The positivity rate of SMP30 in the HCC group (8.39%) was significantly higher than that rate in the CH group (.73%) and in the healthy control group (1.21%). The positivity rate for anti-SMP30 antibody in patients with HCC was 25.87%, that in the CH group was 4.38%, and that in the LC group was 3.92%. CONCLUSION: Anti-SMP30 antibody levels can be used as a biomarker for diagnosing HCC; marked results have been observed for patients with alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) negativity, in particular.