Synergistic Inhibitory Effect of Berberine and Low-Temperature Plasma on Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Cells via PI3K-AKT-Driven Signaling Axis.

Low-temperature plasma (LTP) is an emerging biomedical technique that has been proposed as a potential approach for cancer therapy. Meanwhile, berberine (BER), an active ingredient extracted from various medical herbs, such as Coptischinesis, has been proven antitumor effects in a broad spectrum of cancer cells. In this study, we seek to develop a novel dual cancer therapeutic method by integrating pre-administration of BER and LTP exposure and evaluating its comprehensive antitumor effect on the human non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell lines (A549 and H1299) in vitro. Cell viability, cell cycle, cell apoptosis, and intracellular and extracellular ROS were investigated. The results showed that cotreatment of BER and LTP significantly decreased the cell viability, arrested the cell cycle in the S phase, promoted cell apoptosis, and increased intracellular and extracellular ROS. Additionally, RNA Sequencing (RNA-Seq) technology was used to explore potential mechanisms. The differentially expressed genes among different treatment groups of NSCLC cells were analyzed and were mainly enriched in the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT) signaling pathway. Moreover, cotreatment of BER and LTP notably depressed the total protein expression level of PI3K and AKT with immunoblotting. In conclusion, BER and LTP have a synergistic inhibitory effect on NSCLC cells via the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway, which could provide a promising strategy for supplementary therapy in the anti-NSCLC battle.

[Development and Validation of Dynamic Intensity Modulated Accurate Radiotherapy System KylinRay-IMRT].

KylinRay-IMRT is the advanced radiotherapy treatment planning module of accurate radiotherapy system (KylinRay) aiming to provide accurate and efficient plan design platform. In this paper the system design, main functions and key technologies of KylinRay-IMRT were introduced. KylinRay-IMRT supports three dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT), intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and many other types of treatment plan design with function modules including patient data management, image registration and fusion, image contouring, image three dimensional reconstruction and visualization, three dimensional conformal radiotherapy planning, intensity modulated radiotherapy planning, plan evaluation and comparison, and report print. KylinRay-IMRT has been tested by the national standard YY/T 0889-2013, the results showed that the performance of KylinRay-IMRT can fully meet the standard requirements.

Studies of phantom-solution systems for boron neutron capture therapy.

This study aims to establish phantom-solution systems suitable for estimating doses in boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT). The phantom containing three typical solutions, H3BO3, LiOH, and Gd(NO3)3·6H2O with different concentrations and nuclide abundances have been studied since the nuclides 10B, 6Li, and 157Gd are capable of absorbing thermal neutrons. The results indicate that all three phantom-solution systems, with suitable concentrations and nuclide abundances, effectively distinguish between the nitrogen dose and the hydrogen dose for dose measurement in BNCT.

Cyclooxygenase­2­mediated upregulation of heme oxygenase 1 mitigates the toxicity of deuterium­tritium fusion radiation.

Utilizing the energy released from the nuclear fusion of deuterium with tritium (D­T) may be an important method of supplying energy in the future. The ionizing radiation emitted from nuclear fusion is a potential health risk to humans, including scientists who are currently performing nuclear fusion experiments and the employees of fusion nuclear plants, in the future. However, there have been few reports on the biological effects of fusion radiation. In the present study, using the High Intensity D­T Fusion Neutron Generator, the DNA damage and its regulation in normal human fibroblasts exposed to fusion radiation were investigated. Heme oxygenase 1 (HO­1), which is reported to induce anti­inflammatory activity, was upregulated in the irradiated cells. Pretreatment with the HO­1 inhibitor, protoporphyrin IX zinc (II), exacerbated double strand break formation following exposure to fusion radiation. The expression of cyclooxygenase­2 (COX­2) contributed to the upregulation of HO­1, as demonstrated by the result that its inhibitor, NS­398, inhibited the induction of HO­1 in irradiated cells. It was further clarified that the ataxia telangiectasia mutated DNA damage response was activated and it stimulated the phosphorylation of p38 mitogen­activated protein kinase, which was responsible for the upregulation of COX­2 and HO­1. These results provide novel information on fusion radiation­induced biological effects and potential targets for decreasing the associated health risks.