Research on the mechanism of sea buckthorn leaf Fu tea in the treatment of hyperlipidemia.

Background: Hyperlipidemia (HLP) presents a significant challenge to global public health. Mounting evidence suggests that statins, the recommended first-line lipid-lowering agents, have significant adverse effects. Consequently, the quest for natural and efficacious alternative therapies is steadily emerging as a research priority for HLP prevention and treatment. Consumption of tea, which is rich in diverse biologically active compounds with the capacity to regulate lipid metabolism and combat obesity, has emerged as a promising alternative therapy. Sea buckthorn leaves are rich in a multitude of biologically active substances, have a hypolipidemic effect, and can be used as a raw material for tea because of their unique flavor. There is a suggestion that combining Aspergillus cristatus with tea could modify or boost the lipid-lowering active compounds present in tea, thereby increasing its efficacy in regulating lipid metabolism. Results: Sea Buckthorn Leaf Fu Tea (SBLFT) was obtained by fermentation when sea buckthorn leaves contained 42 % moisture, inoculated with Aspergillus cristatus 0.2 mL/g, and incubated for 8 d at constant temperature. Animal experiments demonstrated that SBLFT significantly inhibited body weight gain in HLP rats and reduced lipid content and serum oxidative stress. In addition, liver tissue sections and functional indices showed that SBLFT can improve liver morphology and function abnormalities. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction results indicated that the expression of Liver kinase B1 (LKB1), adenosine 5'-monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinase (AMPK), acetyl CoA carboxylase 1 (ACC1), and sterol-regulatory element binding protein-1 (SREBP1c) gene related to lipid metabolism was altered. Conclusion: SBLFT improved HLP, specifically via promoting the expression of LKB1 in the liver of HLP rats, activating AMPK, and inhibiting ACC1 and SREBP1c expression, resulting in the inhibition of fatty acid and triglyceride synthesis-related enzymes at the transcriptional level.

Thyroidectomy Using the Lateral Cervical Small Incision Approach for Early Thyroid Cancer.

Objective: Surgical resection is the main treatment for thyroid cancer, but while traditional open thyroidectomy improves prognosis, it also results in poor cosmetic outcomes. Therefore, we devised the lateral cervical small incision approach to thyroidectomy and will evaluate its efficacy. Methods: The clinicopathological data of 191 patients who underwent unilateral thyroidectomy and isthmusectomy for early thyroid cancer were collected retrospectively. Of these, 100 patients underwent a traditional thyroidectomy using the median cervical approach (control group), and 91 patients underwent a thyroidectomy using the lateral cervical small incision approach (experimental group). The differences in perioperative prognosis, postoperative complications, and cosmetic outcomes between the two groups were evaluated. Results: There was no significant difference in sex, age, tumor size, lymph node dissection, number of metastases, or postoperative complications between the experimental group and the control group (P > 0.05). There were significant differences in the duration of the operation; postoperative blood loss, drainage, and hospital stay; and scar color, blood circulation, hardness, and thickness between the groups (P < 0.05). The cosmetic outcomes of the incisions in the experimental group were more satisfactory than in the control group (P < 0.05). Conclusion: When compared with traditional open thyroidectomy, the lateral cervical small incision approach has a lower incidence of complications, a better perioperative prognosis, and an improved cosmetic outcome.

The role of microRNA-4723-5p regulated by c-myc in triple-negative breast cancer.

The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of miRNA regulated by c-myc and its mechanism in three negative breast cancer (TNBC). We constructed MDA-MB-231 cell line with low expression of c-myc by lentivirus short hairpin RNA (shRNA), analyzed the miRNA expression profile of MDA-MB-231 cell line with different expression levels of c-myc by high-throughput sequencing technology, obtained differential miRNA by bioinformatics analysis and statistical analysis, and verified hsa-mir-4723-5p by Quantitative Real-time polymerase chain reaction(QRT-PCR). The target gene of hsa-mir-4723-5p was analyzed by miRDB and miRWalk database. The results showed that there were significant differences in 126 miRNAs in c-myc knockdown cell lines compared with the control group, of which 84 were significantly up-regulated and 42 were significantly down regulated. According to the results of miRNA sequencing, the miRNA closely related to the expression of c-myc was hsa-mir-4723-5p. QRT PCR showed that the expression of hsa-mir-4723-5p was down regulated in TNBC cell line MDA-MB-231 with low expression of c-myc, which was positively correlated with the expression. The target genes of hsa-mir-4723-5p were predicted according to mirdb and mirwalk database. A total of 112 target genes were obtained, and 107 target genes were related to hsa-mir-4723-5p. Through mirdb and mirwalk databases, it was found that the target gene TRAF4 of hsa-mir-4723-5p may be related to cancer pathway and affect tumor metastasis. In conclusion, the hsa-miR-4723-5p regulated by c-myc may be involved.

Long-term survival after partial hepatectomy for sub-stage patients with intermediate stage hepatocellular carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: The current study aimed to examine the long-term survival after partial hepatectomy for patients with BCLC intermediate stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) stratified by the Bolondi's sub-staging model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cohort consisted of 360 patients with BCLC intermediate stage HCC who underwent partial hepatectomy between January 2008 and February 2010. Patients were stratified into 3 subgroups (B1-B3) based on the Bolondi's sub-staging model. The last follow-up was conducted at February 2014. RESULTS: Of these patients, 166, 171 and 23 patients had B1, B2, and B3 sub-stage HCC, respectively. The postoperative 5-year Overall survival (OS) rate for patients with these three sub-stages was 49.5%, 33.7% and 12.9%, respectively (P < 0.001). Compared with the reported survival outcomes from previous studies which used transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) as first-line treatment, hepatectomy had a better median survival than TACE in B1 and B2 patients. On multivariable analysis, presence of esophageal and gastric varices, higher NDR score, presence of microvascular invasion, differentiation grade III-IV, and patterns of AFP decreases after surgery were the independent risk factors of OS in the sub-stages B1 and B2 patients. A nomogram which integrated all these independent risk factors was developed, with a C-index of 0.71 for OS prediction. The calibration curve showed an optimal agreement between prediction by the nomogram and actual observation. CONCLUSIONS: The patients with intermediate stage HCC clarified as sub-stages B1 and B2 according to Bolondi's model had an optimal long-term survival following partial hepatectomy than TACE. Their postoperative prognosis could be accurately predicted by our proposed nomogram.

Targeting of AUF1 to vascular endothelial cells as a novel anti-aging therapy.

BACKGROUND: Inhibition of aging of vascular endothelial cells (VECs) may delay aging and prolong life. The goal of this study was to prepare anti-CD31 monoclonal antibody conjugated PEG-modified liposomes containing the AU-rich region connecting factor 1 (AUF1) gene (CD31-PILs-AUF1) and to explore the effects of targeting CD31-PILs-AUF1 to aging VECs. METHODS: The mean particle sizes of various PEGylated immunoliposomes (PILs) were measured using a Zetasizer Nano ZS. Gel retardation assay was used to confirm whether PILs had encapsulated the AUF1 plasmid successfully. Fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry were used to quantify binding of CD31-PILs-AUF1 to target cells. Flow cytometry was also used to analyze the cell cycles of aging bEnd3 cells treated with CD31-PILs-AUF1. We also developed an aging mouse model by treating mice with D-galactose. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to evaluate the levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). The malondialdehyde (MDA) and the superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels were detected by commercial kits. Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining was used to determine whether treatment with CD31-PILs-AUF1 was toxic to the mice. RESULTS: CD31-PILs-AUF1 specifically could targeted bEnd3 VECs and increased the percentage of cells in the S and G2/M phases of aging bEnd3 cells. ELISA showed that content of the IL-6 and TNF-α decreased in CD31-PILs-AUF1 group. The level of SOD increased, whereas MDA decreased in the CD31-PILs-AUF1 group. Additionally, CD31-PILs-AUF1 was not toxic to the mice. CONCLUSION: CD31-PILs-AUF1 targets VECs and may delay their senescence.