Chinese Herbal Medicine for Osteosarcoma in the Mouse: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To summarize and critically assess the inhibitory effects of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) on tumor volume and tumor weight for the treatment of osteosarcoma (OS) in mouse models. METHODS: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, China Knowledge Resource Integrated Database (CNKI), Wanfang Database, VIP Database, and Chinese BioMedical (CBM) were searched since their inception dates to March 10, 2016. Two reviewers independently selected the controlled studies estimating effects of CHM on mouse OS by administration in vivo. A pair-wise meta-analysis was performed. Twenty-five studies with adequate randomization were included in the systematic review. RESULTS: CHM may significantly inhibit OS growth in mice, as assessed using the tumor weight [20 studies, n=443; 290 for CHM and 153 for the control: pooled mean difference (MD)=-2.90; 95% confidence interval (Cl): -3.50 to -2.31: P<0.01], tumor volume (16 studies, n=382; 257 for CHM and 125 for the control; pooled MD =-2.57; 95% Cl: -3.33 to -1.80; P<0.01) and tumor growth inhibition rate. CONCLUSION: CHM could significantly inhibit the growth of OS in mouse models, which might be supportive for the design of preclinical and clinical trials in future.

Germacrone induces apoptosis in human hepatoma HepG2 cells through inhibition of the JAK2/STAT3 signalling pathway.

Previous studies have shown that STAT3 plays a vital role in the genesis and progression of cancer. In this study, we investigated the relationship between the JAK2/STAT3 signalling pathway and germacrone-induced apoptosis in HepG2 cells. HepG2 cells were incubated with germacrone for 24 h, the protein expression of p-STAT3, STAT3, p-JAK2 and JAK2 was detected by Western Blotting, and RT-PCR was used to determine the expression of STAT3, p53, Bcl-2 and Bax at transcriptional levels. Besides that, HepG2 cells were pre-treated with AG490 or IL-6 for 2 h, and then incubated with germacrone for 24 h. The expression of p-JAK2, JAK2, p-STAT3, STAT3, p53, Bax and Bcl-2 was detected by Western blotting. The activity of HepG2 cells was tested by MTT assay. The apoptosis of HepG2 cells and levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) were flow cytometrically measured. The results showed that germacrone exposure decreased p-STAT3 and p-JAK2 and regulated expression of p53 and Bcl-2 family members at the same time. Moreover, IL-6 enhanced the activation of the JAK2/STAT3 signalling pathway and therefore attenuated the germacrone-induced apoptosis. Suppression of JAK2/STAT3 signalling pathway by AG490, an inhibitor of JAK2, resulted in apoptosis and an increase in ROS in response to germacrone exposure. We therefore conclude that germacrone induces apoptosis through the JAK2/STAT3 signalling pathway.

The Subsystems of Visual Mental Imagery Processing / 现代生物医学进展

Background mental imagery is a multi-componential process involving different mental operations. Objective The present study investigated the subsystems of visual mental imagery processing and their interactions. Methods: Four experimental tasks were done: (1) object, the ability to generate global mental images; (2) resolution, the ability to generate vivid,high-resolution mental images; (3) transformation,the ability to mentally rotate patterns in images, and (4) spatial imagery,spatial cognition. 91 university students (77 males, 14 females) participated in this study. Results: Object task was highly correlated with resolution task, and the same the tendency was found between transformation task and spatial task. Conclusion: The results indicate there are different subsystems of visual mental imagery and corresponding operative strategies, but with strong correlation among these processes and abilities.

The Subsystems of Visual Mental Imagery Processing / 现代生物医学进展

Background mental imagery is a multi-componential process involving different mental operations. Objective The present study investigated the subsystems of visual mental imagery processing and their interactions. Methods: Four experimental tasks were done: (1) object, the ability to generate global mental images; (2) resolution, the ability to generate vivid,high-resolution mental images; (3) transformation,the ability to mentally rotate patterns in images, and (4) spatial imagery,spatial cognition. 91 university students (77 males, 14 females) participated in this study. Results: Object task was highly correlated with resolution task, and the same the tendency was found between transformation task and spatial task. Conclusion: The results indicate there are different subsystems of visual mental imagery and corresponding operative strategies, but with strong correlation among these processes and abilities.