Cationic liposomes co-deliver chemotherapeutics and siRNA for the treatment of breast cancer.

In order to improve the targeting efficiency and reduce anti-breast cancer therapeutic side effects, paclitaxel (PTX), crizotinib (CRI), and Bcl-xL siRNA were co-loaded in cationic liposomes (CTL), which exhibited a substantial enhanced permeability and retention effect (EPR effect) in breast cancer. CTL containing crizotinib and paclitaxel (CRI-PTX-CTL) had particle sizes of (138.63 ± 1.53) nm and zeta potentials of (50.90 ± 0.30) mV, respectively. It was spherical and uniformly dispersed under TEM. The in vitro release of CRI-PTX-CTL showed that the cumulative release rates of CRI and PTX within 12 h were 64.37% and 54.71%, and released from liposomes at the same time. At the cellular level, CRI and PTX were discovered to have synergistic effects. Cell uptake experiments demonstrated that CRI, PTX, and siRNA contained in CTL can be effectively taken up by MCF-7 cells. It was further proved that CTL-siRNA could effectively inhibit the expression of Bcl-xL in cells. CRI, PTX and Bcl-xL siRNA delivered by CTL showed enhanced cytotoxicity during in vitro experiments. Therefore, this study proved that the CRI-PTX-CTL-siRNA was a very promising delivery system for the treatment of breast cancer.

[Study of Mycoplasma pirum infection and related factors among male HIV/AIDS patients].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the infection status of Mycoplasma pirum among male HIV/AIDS patients in Jiangsu and analyze the risk factors. The genome sequencing of Mycoplasma pirum was completed for the first time. METHODS: Male HIV infected individuals and AIDS patients confirmed in Jiangsu province were enrolled for 4 repeated cross-sectional studies by means of detecting the first flow urine sample and venous blood sample collected and questionnaire survey after informed consent. Genome sequencing was conducted for Mycoplasma pirum by using Illumina Hiseq 2000 sequencing platform. RESULTS: A total of 1 541 HIV/AIDS patients were surveyed in this study. The infection rates of Mycoplasma pirum was 15.4%. The patients who received no HAART had higher risk to be infected with Mycoplasma pirum (OR = 1.344, 95% CI: 1.008-1.792). Otherwise, high CD4⁺T counts was a protective factor for Mycoplasma pirum infection (OR = 0.600, 95% CI: 0.444-0.810). Based on the sequencing result, the genome size of Mycoplasma pirum was 850 704 bp, the GC content was 24.21% the genome contained 708 genes, the total length of genes was 734 085 bp, the average length was 1 037 bp, accounting for 86.29% of genome. CONCLUSION: More attention should be paid to the high infection rate of Mycoplasma pirum among male HIV/AIDS patients in the future AIDS prevention and control. The first genome sequencing of standard Mycoplasma pirum strain was completed in this study (registering serial number: AZHZ00000001), which can provide evidence for the further research of gene function and pathogenic mechanism of Mycoplasma pirum.

Toxicological Characteristics of Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticle in Rats.

In an effort to examine liver, heart and kidney injury, immune response, and other physiological effect in rats caused by intratracheal instillation of nano titanium dioxide (TiO2) for 28 days, we assessed T lymphocytes counts, hematological indices, biochemical parameters, cytokines assay and histopathological changes in nano TiO2 treated rats. Indeed, rats treated with nano TiO2 displayed a reduction in body weight and coefficients of the hearts. Edema and loose cytoplasm on liver cells were found in nano groups. The results showed that a statistically significant increased in the BUN, HTC and AST levels than those in control group. Our data suggested that the immunologically competent cells of CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+ caused by nano TiO2 32 mg/kg group were significantly lower than control group. The ratio of CD4+ to CD8+ from the nano 32 mg/kg group was significantly increased and showed a disturbance of cellular immune function. But ELISA analysis showed that no significant changes in IFN-γ and IL-4 were observed throughout the experimental period in this study.

Variant rs1421085 in the FTO gene contribute childhood obesity in Chinese children aged 3-6 years.

OBJECTIVE: Childhood obesity has become a public health crisis worldwide due to an alarming increase in its prevalence. Numerous studies have demonstrated that the common variants (rs1421085 and rs17817449) of the fat mass and obesity associated (FTO) gene are associated with the obesity in adult and children in European. However, these two variants of FTO gene in childhood obesity have not been established in Chinese populations. METHODS: In this population-based case-control study, 158 obese preschooler and 397 normal population controls aged 3-6 years were recruited between June 2007 and April 2008 from 6 kindergartens of Huai-an city in Jiangsu Province, China. All the children were conducted the body examinations and provided blood sample to detect the serum lipid levels and FTO rs1421085 T>C and rs17817449 T>G genetic variances. RESULTS: In the association analysis between the FTO gene variant and risk of childhood obesity, compared with the rs1421085TT wide-type genotype, rs1421085 CC and CT/CC genotypes were associated with 59% and 71% increased risks of childhood obesity (adjusted OR = 1.59, 95%CI = 1.00-2.53 for CC; adjusted OR = 1.71, 95%CI = 1.10-2.65 for CT/CC), while the rs17817449 T > G variant was not associated with the significantly increased risk of childhood obesity. In addition, the higher level of serum TG (>0.64 mmol/l) was associated with 93% increased risk of childhood obesity (adjusted OR = 1.93, 95%CI = 1.30-2.87), and the higher serum HDL-C level (>1.14 mmol/l) was associated with 45% decreased risk of childhood obesity (adjusted OR = 0.55, 95%CI = 0.37-0.81). But the quantitative phenotypes analysis regarding the levels of TC, TG, HDL-C, and LDL-C were not found to be significantly associated with the variants of rs1421085 and rs17817449 both in the cases and controls. CONCLUSION: The FTO rs1421085 T>C polymorphism may modulate the magnitude of dyslipidemia in Chinese early-onset obesity.

Mycoplasmas infection in male HIV/AIDS patients in Jiangsu, China.

Mycoplasmas are widely distributed among animals, plants, and human. The four species namely, Mycoplasmas genitalium(Mg), Mycoplasmas fermentans(Mf), Mycoplasmas pentrans(Mpe), Mycoplasmas pirum(Mpi) are also called AIDS-associated mycoplasmas due to their involvement in the development and outcome of AIDS. To investigate the infection prevalence of Mg, Mf, Mpe and Mpi among male HIV/AIDS patients in Jiangsu Province and to analyze the relationship between pathogenic mycoplasmas and cellular immune function of them. First void urine and venous blood samples were collected and epidemiology questionnaires were administered after informed consent. Nested PCR was performed to determine the infection of Mg, Mf, Mpe and Mpi while ELISA assay was applied to detect interleukin-2(IL-2), interferon-γ(IFN-γ) and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α). SAS 9.0 software was applied to analyze the data. A total of 713 HIV/AIDS patients were recruited in this study. The overall infection rates of Mg, Mf, Mpe and Mpi are 27.9%, 9.7%, 1.0% and 18.4% respectively. Generally, the infection rates of Mg(χ(2) = 10.311, P = 0.006) and Mpi were declined as the CD4+ cell counts increased, while Mf infection was higher in CD4+ T cell>350/µl group. The levels of cytokines are different with the variance of mycoplasmas infection. Mycoplasma infection among male HIV/AIDS patients is associated with changes in cellular immune response (cytokines). However, the affect of mycoplasmas on the immune function is complex, further studies are still required to elucidate whether mycoplasmas interact with HIV by interfering host immune system.

[Analysis on Mycoplasma pirum infection in male HIV/AIDS patients and related 16S rRNA genes in Jiangsu province].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence of Mycoplasma pirum (Mpi) in male HIV infected patients, and to identify the 16S rRNA gene of Mpi. METHODS: The first void urine of male HIV/AIDS patients in Jiangsu province was collected for Mpi detection. Purified 16S rRNA gene PCR production was sequenced for analysis on its identification, homogeneity and phylogenetic tree. P1 protein sequence of Mpi was analyzed by Vector NTI Advance 11.0 to calculate the coded amino acid sequence. Homogeneity analysis was conducted between the theoretical amino acid sequence of Mpi and other Mycoplasmas. RESULTS: The prevalence of Mpi in male HIV/AIDS patients was 21.5% while the Mpi prevalence rates in different age groups were significantly different (χ² Mpi = 124.63, P < 0.01). The homogeneity of 18 strains of Mpi was higher than 90%. CONCLUSION: The Mpi prevalence seemed much higher than the results from previous detection on HIV/AIDS patients, suggesting that more attention should be paid on AIDS treatment. More bioinformatic research on gene/nucleotide sequence analysis and forecast should be carried out to identify the molecular characteristics of Mpi.