Association of anxiety, depression symptoms and sleep quality with chronic kidney disease among older Chinese.

This study aimed to explore the association of anxiety, depression symptoms and sleep quality with chronic kidney disease (CKD) among older Chinese adults. A total of 1025 participants from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS, 2011-2012) were included in our study. The Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale was used to assess anxiety and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale was used to evaluate depressive symptoms. Logistic regression models were conducted to explore the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidential intervals (CIs). We found that anxiety, depression symptoms and poor sleep quality were positively associated with albuminuria, impaired estimated glomerular filtration (eGFR) and CKD, after adjusting for other covariates. For anxiety symptom, the ORs and 95% CIs were 1.20 (1.15-1.38) for albuminuria, 1.16 (1.12-1.35) for impaired eGFR and 1.18 (1.12-1.36) for CKD, respectively. For depression symptom, the ORs and 95% CIs were 1.15 (1.05-1.23) for albuminuria, 1.14 (1.05-1.20) for impaired eGFR and 1.14 (1.05-1.22) for CKD, respectively. Compared with good sleep quality, the OR and 95% CI of poor sleep quality were 1.12 (1.04-1.35) for albuminuria, 1.10 (1.02-1.30) for impaired eGFR and 1.11 (1.03-1.32) for CKD, respectively. And the positive association was more evident among females, body mass index ≥ 28, smoking and drinking adults. Anxiety, depression symptoms and poor sleep quality are positively associated with CKD. Future cohort studies are needed to confirm the results.

Curcumin Attenuates Periodontal Injury via Inhibiting Ferroptosis of Ligature-Induced Periodontitis in Mice.

Periodontitis is a chronic infectious disease characterized by the destruction of connective tissue and alveolar bone that eventually leads to tooth loss. Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent regulated cell death and is involved in ligature-induced periodontitis in vivo. Studies have demonstrated that curcumin has a potential therapeutic effect on periodontitis, but the mechanism is still unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the protective effects of curcumin on alleviating ferroptosis in periodontitis. Ligature-induced periodontal-diseased mice were used to detect the protective effect of curcumin. The level of superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA) and total glutathione (GSH) in gingiva and alveolar bone were assayed. Furthermore, the mRNA expression levels of acsl4, slc7a11, gpx4 and tfr1 were measured using qPCR and the protein expression of ACSL4, SLC7A11, GPX4 and TfR1 were investigated by Western blot and immunocytochemistry (IHC). Curcumin reduced the level of MDA and increased the level of GSH. Additionally, curcumin was proven to significantly increase the expression levels of SLC7A11 and GPX4 and inhibit the expression of ACSL4 and TfR1. In conclusion, curcumin plays a protective role by inhibiting ferroptosis in ligature-induced periodontal-diseased mice.

Advances in mesenchymal stem cell conditioned medium-mediated periodontal tissue regeneration.

Periodontitis is a chronic inflammatory disease that leads to the destruction of both soft and hard periodontal tissues. Complete periodontal regeneration in clinics using the currently available treatment approaches is still a challenge. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have shown promising potential to regenerate periodontal tissue in various preclinical and clinical studies. The poor survival rate of MSCs during in vivo transplantation and host immunogenic reaction towards MSCs are the main drawbacks of direct use of MSCs in periodontal tissue regeneration. Autologous MSCs have limited sources and possess patient morbidity during harvesting. Direct use of allogenic MSCs could induce host immune reaction. Therefore, the MSC-based indirect treatment approach could be beneficial for periodontal regeneration in clinics. MSC culture conditioned medium (CM) contains secretomes that had shown immunomodulatory and tissue regenerative potential in pre-clinical and clinical studies. MSC-CM contains a cocktail of growth factors, cytokines, chemokines, enzymes, and exosomes, extracellular vesicles, etc. MSC-CM-based indirect treatment has the potential to eliminate the drawbacks of direct use of MSCs for periodontal tissue regeneration. MSC-CM holds the tremendous potential of bench-to-bed translation in periodontal regeneration applications. This review focuses on the accumulating evidence indicating the therapeutic potential of the MSC-CM in periodontal regeneration-related pre-clinical and clinical studies. Recent advances on MSC-CM-based periodontal regeneration, existing challenges, and prospects are well summarized as guidance to improve the effectiveness of MSC-CM on periodontal regeneration in clinics.

YEATS domain-containing 2 (YEATS2), targeted by microRNA miR-378a-5p, regulates growth and metastasis in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the sixth most common cancer worldwide with poor prognosis and the development of HNSCC is a complex process. Some research have found that YEATS domain-containing 2 (YEATS2) is highly expressed in non-small cell lung cancer and pancreatic cancer, whereas its function in HNSCC is left to be studied. The primary aim was to investigate the role of YEATS2 in proliferation, apoptosis, invasion and migration in HNSCC cells and explore the possible mechanisms. We found YEATS2 expression was elevated in HNSCC clinical samples. Our work also indicated YEATS2 knockdown inhibited cell proliferation, induced apoptosis, and diminished the migration and invasion capability in HNSCC cell lines, including Detroit562 and FaDu cells. Besides, these inhibiting effects of YEATS2 knockdown could be crippled by microRNA-378a-5p (miR-378a-5p) inhibitor. In conclusion, our data suggested that YEATS2 expression was regulated by miR-378a-5p and YEATS2 knockdown inhibited proliferation and metastasis while induced apoptosis in HNSCC cells.

NCAPG, mediated by miR-378a-3p, regulates cell proliferation, cell cycle progression, and apoptosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma through the GSK-3ß/ß-catenin signaling.

Exploring the molecular mechanism of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) pathogenesis is of great significance for its improvement and therapy. Non-structural maintenance of chromatin condensin I complex subunit G (NCAPG) is responsible for chromatin condensation and is associated with the progression of many malignant tumors. This study was aimed to investigate the role of NCAPG on OSCC pathogenesis. NCAPG mRNA expression data in OSCC tissues were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and NCAPG protein expression in OSCC cell lines was determined by western blotting analysis. The results demonstrated that NCAPG expression in OSCC tissues and cells was higher than that of normal control. Following the short interfering RNA (siRNA) knockdown of NCAPG in two OSCC cell lines, we observed that NCAPG depletion notably inhibited OSCC proliferation and cell cycle progression, as well as promoted apoptosis in vitro. Besides, silencing of NCAPG specifically inhibited the GSK-3ß/ß-catenin signaling. Furthermore, we demonstrated that NCAPG was a downstream target of miR-378a-3p. NCAPG silencing counteracted the effect of the miR-378a-3p inhibitor on cell proliferation/cycle induction. Collectively, these findings suggest that NCAPG is crucial in OSCC progression and development, and may serve as a potential therapeutic target for OSCC.

ADAMTS8 targets ERK to suppress cell proliferation, invasion, and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma.

INTRODUCTION: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant tumors of the digestive system. A disintegrin and metallopeptidase with thrombospondin motif (ADAMTS) has been identified as a secreted metalloproteinase that participates in the inhibition of tumor cell growth and invasion. The aims of the present study were to investigate the clinical significance of ADAMTS8 in patients with HCC and to determine the effect of ADAMTS8 on HCC cell biological activity in vitro and in vivo. METHODS: The tumor tissues and matched adjacent non-tumor tissues were collected from 61 patients with HCC, and ADAMTS8 expression was detected with immunohistochemistry. Flow cytometry and MTT assays were used to assess cell apoptosis and cell viability, respectively, and ERK, p-ERK, Stat3, p-Stat3, Akt, and p-Akt protein expressions were measured by Western blot. RESULTS: The results showed that ADAMTS8 expression was significantly lower in HCC tissues than that in adjacent non-tumor tissues. Moreover, ADAMTS8 expression was inversely associated with clinical stages and metastasis in patients with HCC. Furthermore, we found that transfection with exogenous ADAMTS8 inhibited proliferation and migration and induced apoptosis in HepG2 cells. In the in vivo study, tumor growth of upregulated HepG2 cells in nude mice was significantly slower. Moreover, decreased ERK activity was detected after transfection with ADAMTS8. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that low ADAMTS8 expression is a predictor of a poor prognosis in patients with HCC and that ADAMTS8 plays an important role in regulating HCC growth, invasion, and apoptosis by modulating the ERK signaling pathway. ADAMTS8 maybe a new target in HCC treatment.

Prognostic significance of fibroblast growth factor receptor 4 polymorphisms on biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy in a Chinese population.

Fibroblast growth factor receptor 4 (FGFR4) is a transmembrane receptor with ligand-induced tyrosine kinase activity and is involved in various biological and pathological processes. Several polymorphisms of FGFR4 are associated with the incidence and mortality of numerous cancers, including prostate cancer. In this study, we investigated whether the polymorphisms of FGFR4 influence the biochemical recurrence of prostate cancer in Chinese men after radical prostatectomy. Three common polymorphisms (rs1966265, rs2011077, and rs351855) of FGFR4 were genotyped from 346 patients with prostate cancer by using the Sequenom MassARRAY system. Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox proportional hazard models were used for survival analysis. Results showed biochemical recurrence (BCR) free survival was significantly affected by the genotypes of rs351855 but not influenced by rs1966265 and rs2011077. After adjusting for other variables in multivariable analysis, patients with rs351855 AA/AG genotypes showed significantly worse BCR-free survival than those with the GG genotype (HR = 1.873; 95% CI, 1.209-2.901; P = 0.005). Hence, FGFR4 rs351855 could be a novel independent prognostic factor of BCR after radical prostatectomy in the Chinese population. This functional polymorphism may also provide a basis for surveillance programs. Additional large-scale studies must be performed to validate the significance of this polymorphism in prostate cancer.

A comparison of NBI and WLI cystoscopy in detecting non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer: A prospective, randomized and multi-center study.

Several single-center studies have investigated whether narrow-band imaging (NBI) cystoscopy is more effective in detecting primary and recurrent non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) compared with white-light imaging (WLI) cystoscopy. In this study, we further evaluated the diagnostic value of NBI cystoscopy compared with WLI cystoscopy for primary NMIBC in a multi-center study. Suspected bladder cancer patients from 8 research centers received both NBI and WLI. Two experienced doctors in each center were responsible for the NBI and WLI assessments, respectively. The number of tumors and position of each tumor were recorded, and suspicious tissues were clamped and histologically examined. The sensitivity, specificity, and false-positive rate of NBI and WLI were evaluated. Of the 384 patients, 78 had a confirmed urothelial carcinoma (UC). The sensitivities of NBI and WLI were 97.70%, and 66.67%, respectively (P < 0.0001); the specificities were 50% and 25%, respectively; and the false positive rates were 50% and 75%, respectively. Based on 300 valid biopsy specimens, the NBI and WLI sensitivities were 98.80% and 75.45%, respectively (P < 0.0001). These results suggest that NBI has a high sensitivity and has superior early bladder tumor and carcinoma in situ (CIS) detection rates compared with WLI cystoscopy.

Prevalence of hepatitis C infection among intravenous drug users in Shanghai.

AIM: To characterize the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among Chinese intravenous drug users (IDUs). METHODS: A total of 432 adult IDUs (95 women and 337 men) in Shanghai were included in the study. The third-generation Elecsys Anti-HCV assay (Roche Diagnostics GmbH, Sandhofer Strasse 116, D-68305, Mannheim, Germany) was used to screen for antibodies against HCV. The RIBA strip, a supplemental anti-HCV test with high specificity, was performed on all of the samples that tested positive during the initial screening. All of the anti-HCV positive samples were analyzed with a Cobas TaqMan 48 Analyzer (Roche Diagnostics) for direct detection of HCV RNA. All of the HCV RNA-positive samples were sequenced for genotype determination. RESULTS: The preliminary screening identified 262 (60.6%) subjects who were seropositive for HCV. Of the 62 females and 200 males seropositive subjects, 16 (16.7%) and 65 (19.3%), respectively, were confirmed by RIBA, yielding an overall HCV seropositive rate of 18.8%. Four female (6.5%) and 14 male (7.0%) subjects tested positive for HCV RNA, indicating an active infection rate of 4.2% for the entire study population. The 18 HCV RNA-positive serum samples were genotyped. Seven individuals were genotype 1b, and four were genotype 1a. One individual each was infected with genotypes 2a, 2b and 3a. Four subjects were co-infected with multiple strains: two with genotypes 1a and 2a, and two with genotypes 1b and 2a. The active infection rate among HCV-seropositive individuals was 22.2%, which was significantly lower than most estimates. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of HCV is relatively low among IDUs in Shanghai, with a spontaneous recovery rate much higher than previous estimates.

Degradation of phenanthrene by bacterial strain isolated from soil in oil refinery fields in Shanghai China.

A bacterial strain Pseudomonas stutzeri ZP2 was identified with phenanthrene-degrading ability based on Gram staining, oxydase reaction, biochemical tests, FAME analysis, G+C content and 16S rDNA gene sequence analysis. It is the first time that P. stutzeri is reported to process the capability for phenanthrene degradation. The strain was isolated from soil samples contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-containing waste from an oil refinery field in Shanghai, China. Strain P sp. ZP2 can utilize naphthalene, phenanthrene and Tween 80 as its sole carbon source and can degrade phenanthrene very fast, 6 days for 96% phenanthrene at 250 ppm concentration. The optimal growth conditions of strain ZP2 was determined to be at pH 8.0, 37 degrees C, respectively. The results also indicate that strain ZP2 can remove more than 90% of phenanthrene at any concentrations ranged from 250 to 1000 ppm in 6 days. It suggests that strain ZP2 can endure high concentrations of phenanthrene. Besides, the effects of non-ionic surfactants such as Brij 30, Triton X100 and Tween 80, on the phenanthrene degradation were examined. Therefore, this strain may find great application in bioremediation practices.