Annexin A2 promotion of hepatocellular carcinoma tumorigenesis via the immune microenvironment.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary liver cancer with a dismal prognosis, especially when diagnosed at advanced stages. Annexin A2 (ANXA2), is found to promote cancer progression and therapeutic resistance. However, the underlining mechanisms of ANXA2 in immune escape of HCC remain poorly understood up to now. Herein, we summarized the molecular function of ANXA2 in HCC and its relationship with prognosis. Furthermore, we tentatively elucidated the underlying mechanism of ANXA2 immune escape of HCC by upregulating the proportion of regulatory T cells and the expression of several inhibitory molecules, and by downregulating the proportion of natural killer cells and dendritic cells and the expression of several inhibitory molecules or effector molecules. We expect a lot of in-depth studies to further reveal the underlying mechanism of ANXA2 in immune escape of HCC in the future.

17ß-estradiol protects against doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity in male Sprague-Dawley rats by regulating NADPH oxidase and apoptosis genes.

Doxorubicin (DOX) is one of the most effective chemotherapeutic agents for the treatment of a number of malignancies. However, its use is limited by serious cardiotoxic effects, for which there are currently no reliable pharmacologic therapies. Estrogen has exhibited protective effects against cardiac stressors in male and female animal models; however, its effects on DOX­induced cardiotoxicity remain unknown. High mortality and morbidity rates have been observed in patients with cancer worldwide, and DOX is often administered to a greater number of men than women. Therefore, the present study employed male Sprague-Dawley rats to evaluate the protective effects of 17ß-estradiol (E2) against DOX-induced cardiotoxicity. A total of 4 mg/kg DOX was administered to 14­week­old male Sprague­Dawley rats by intraperitoneal injection twice a week for 2 weeks. At 3 weeks following the first injection of DOX, an echocardiographic study revealed that DOX administration significantly decreased cardiac ejection fraction and fractional shortening by 20 and 29%, respectively, when compared with the vehicle­treated control rats (P<0.05). This was associated with decreased heart weight, myofibrillar disorganization and myofiber loss. The serum biomarkers for heart injury, including alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, lactate dehydrogenase and creatine kinase, were increased in DOX vs. vehicle­treated rats (P<0.05). E2 treatment by a daily subcutaneous injection of 2 mg/kg body weight attenuated the cardiotoxic effects of DOX. In addition, E2 treatment inhibited the DOX­induced increase in the expression of cardiac genes, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase (NOX) 2, NOX4, B­cell lymphoma 2­associated X protein and caspase 3. These results demonstrate that E2 treatment may protect the heart against DOX-induced cardiotoxicity in male rats potentially through the regulation of NOX2, NOX4 and apoptosis genes.

Trend of non-communicable disease mortality for three common conditions in the elderly population from 2002 to 2010: A population-based study in China.

OBJECTIVE: There is a lack of data focusing on non-communicable disease (NCD) mortality in the Chinese elderly population over the past decade. METHODS: Using mortality data from the Chinese Health Statistics, we explored the crude and age-standardized mortality trend of three major NCDs in the Chinese population ≥65 years of age from 2002 to 2010, namely, malignant neoplasms, heart diseases, and cerebrovascular diseases. Subpopulations characterized as rural and urban residence, and by gender and age were examined separately. RESULTS: Mortality increased with age and was higher among males than among females across the three NCDs, with the gender difference being most remarkable for malignant neoplasms and least for heart diseases mortality. Condition-specific crude mortalities increased between 2002 and 2010, overall and in all the pre-specified subpopulations. After age-standardization, rising trends were observed for people ≥65 years old, and condition-specific mortalities generally increased in rural regions and decreased in urban regions, especially for cerebrovascular diseases. CONCLUSIONS: There were increasing trends for mortality due to malignant neoplasms, heart diseases, and cerebrovascular diseases in China between 2002 and 2010, which were largely driven by the population aging. Disparities existed by rural and urban residence, gender, and age.