Prognostic value of Interleukin-36s in cancers: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Interleukin-36s (IL-36s) are a category of inflammatory cytokines and an increasing number of studies over the past decade have found that different kinds of IL-36s play different roles in cancers. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of IL-36s in different cancer types. METHOD: Two reviewers independently searched in PubMed, Cochrane Library and EMBASE up to December 13, 2022. We extracted the hazard ratio (HR) and the confidence intervals (CIs) of the related prognostic outcomes and analyzed the pooled HR. RESULTS: We included 12 studies including 1925 patients. In all, six studies including IL-36α, five including IL-36γ and one including IL-36ß. A high expression of IL-36α was associated with better overall survival (OS) (HR = 0.48, 95 %CI: 0.37-0.62, P < 0.001) of cancer patients. The expression of IL-36γ was not related with cancers. Further, subgroup analysis showed that the expression of IL-36γ had no correlation with the OS of colorectal cancer (CRC) and non­small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Interestingly, a high expression of IL-36γ played contrasting prognostic roles in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (HR = 0.43, 95 %CI: 0.27-0.69, P < 0.001) patients and gastric cancer (GC) (HR = 1.58, 95 %CI: 1.33-1.87, P < 0.001) patients. The only IL-36ß related study showed the expression of IL-36ß was not correlated with the prognosis of CRC patients (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: IL-36α, IL-36ß and IL-36γ possibly play different roles in different cancers. High expression of IL-36α may be associated with good prognostic value in cancer patients, especially in CRC patients. The association between cancers prognosis and expression of IL-36ß or IL-36γ needs further evaluation. These conclusions need more clinical prognostic data for confirmation.

Prenatal diagnosis of fetal inferior vena cava malformation using HDlive flow combined with spatiotemporal image correlation.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to examine the application value of high-definition live (HDlive) flow combined with spatiotemporal image correlation (STIC) in the diagnosis of fetal inferior vena cava malformation (IVCM). METHODS: Twenty cases of IVCMs were diagnosed using two-dimensional HDlive flow and HDlive flow combined with STIC and retrospectively analyzed to examine the impact of using HDlive flow combined with STIC in the diagnosis of IVCM. RESULTS: HDlive flow combined with STIC detected one case of duplicated IVC, four cases of left IVC (two cases with complex malformations), and 15 cases of interrupted IVC (two cases of isolated IVC disconnection, five cases with left atrial heterogeneous syndrome, and eight cases with other complex malformations). CONCLUSION: HDlive flow combined with STIC can help in the diagnosis of IVCM, and this technique has important clinical value.

Prenatal Ultrasound Diagnosis of Persistent Hyperplastic Primary Vitreous with Retinoblastoma.

INTRODUCTION: Persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous (PHPV) involves a spectrum of congenital ocular abnormalities characterized by the presence of a vascular membrane behind the lens. Retinoblastoma is a life-threatening intraocular malignancy that can cause blindness, eye loss, or even death. PHPV and retinoblastoma are extremely rare prenatal diseases. CASE PRESENTATION: Here, we present a case of fetal PHPV with retinoblastoma diagnosed using prenatal ultrasound. The unilateral lenses were hyperechoic, and irregular echogenic bands between the lenses and posterior eye walls were observed. In cases where the blood flow signal continues in the band-shaped hyperechoic area, PHPV with retinoblastoma should be suspected. CONCLUSION: PHPV with retinoblastoma can be prenatally diagnosed.

Prostaglandin E2 accelerates invasion by upregulating Snail in hepatocellular carcinoma cells.

Our previous studies showed that prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) promotes hepatoma cell growth and migration, as well as invasion; however, the precise mechanism remains elusive. Snail and p65 protein levels were detected in human samples with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining. HCC cell lines (Huh-7 and Hep3B) were used for in vitro experiments. PGE2/Akt/NF-κB pathway was investigated in Huh-7 and Hep3B cells after treatment with PGE2, EP4 receptor (EP4R) agonist, Akt inhibitor, and NF-κB inhibitor, respectively, by real-time reverse transcription (RT)-PCR, Western blotting, and immunofluorescence (IF) staining. In vitro cell invasion assay was performed to evaluate the effect of PGE2 on tumor invasiveness. Knockdown of EP4R was carried out in Huh-7 cells through plasmid-based small interfering RNA (siRNA) approach to confirm the regulation of PGE2 on Snail by EP4R. Dual luciferase reporter assay was performed to assess Snail promoter activity in Huh-7 cell after treatment with EP4R agonist. We found that the protein levels of Snail were higher in HCC tissues than those in control and that PGE2 and EP4R agonist treatment significantly increased Snail expression in Huh-7 and Hep3B cells. EP4R agonist also profoundly promoted invasiveness of Huh-7 cells. Knockdown of the EP4R by siRNA completely blocked the PGE2-induced upregulation of Snail expression and reduced invasiveness of Huh-7 cells. We failed to find that EP4R-induced upregulation of Snail was reversed by inhibition of cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB), a canonical downstream target of EP4R. Alternatively, EP4R agonist treatment significantly increased the levels of phosphorylated EGFR and Akt both in Huh-7 and Hep3B cells. AG1478, an EGFR inhibitor, blocked the phosphorylation of Akt. The levels of phosphorylated IκB increased in Huh-7 cells after treatment with EP4R agonist for 30 min. The levels of phosphorylated p65 started to increase in Huh-7 cells treated with EP4R agonist for 4 h, and p65 translocated into the nucleus. In EP4R-agonist-treated Hep3B, the levels of phosphorylated p65 were also increased compared to the control group. The phosphorylation levels of p65 were significantly decreased in Huh-7 and Hep3B cells after treatment with the Akt signaling inhibitor LY294002 and EP4R agonist for 24 h. Treatment with the NF-κB inhibitor pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC) at 10 µM for 24 h blocked EP4R-agonist-induced Snail upregulation in Huh-7 and Hep3B cells. Furthermore, we obtained human Snail promoter sequence from TRED-Promoter Database and identified a putative binding site of NF-κB in the sequence through TFSEARCH analysis. Subsequently, we treated Huh-7 cells with EP4R agonist or EP4R agonist and PDTC (NF-κB antagonist) and found significantly increased Snail promoter activity after EP4R agonist treatment for 12 h. The increased Snail promoter activity could be partially abolished by additional PDTC treatment. In addition, p65 protein levels were found increased together with Snail in HCC tissues compared to normal liver tissues. In conclusion, PGE2 activates Akt/NF-κB signaling and then upregulates Snail via the EP4R/EGFR to promote migration and invasion in hepatoma cells. These findings may help future evaluation of novel chemo-preventive strategies for HCC.

Rapid immobilization of arsenic in contaminated soils by microwave irradiation combined with magnetic biochar: Microwave-induced electron transfer for oxidation and immobilization of arsenic (III).

Biochar with adjustable redox activity is an effective strategy for immobilization of excess arsenic (As(III)) contaminated soil. However, biochar exhibits limitations in terms of electron transfer efficiency and immobilization efficiency due to insufficient activation energy. In this study, As(III) in the soil was rapidly immobilized by adding magnetic biochar (Fe-BC) and introducing microwave irradiation energy to enhance electron transport efficiency. The results showed that the pore structure and iron species (ZVI, Fe3O4) loaded onto the biochar could be modulated by controlling the temperature and time of microwave pyrolysis, which enhanced the microwave absorption capacity and the immobilization performance of As. After adding Fe-BC (10 wt%) and treating with microwave irradiation for 3 h, the content of As(III) in the soil was reduced to 54.56 %. Compared with the conventional heating treatment, the percentage of stabilized As (residual form) increased by 11.21 %. The localized hot spots formed through the absorption of microwave energy by biochar promote the formation of arsenic-containing mineral crystals (FeAsO4 and Fe3AsO7), thus enhancing the immobilization efficiency. In addition, microwave-induced electron transfer facilitated the oxidation of As(III) to As(V) by surface quinone and carbonyl groups on the Fe-BC. Density functional theory calculation further proved that the surface groups of the Fe-BC had a stronger electron-withdrawing ability under microwave irradiation, thereby promoting the adsorption and immobilization of As(III). This work provided a new perspective on the technology of rapid remediation of heavy metals contaminated soil using biochar.

Association between CD10 expression and phyllodes tumor: A retrospective case control study.

The present study aimed to explore the association between immunohistochemical markers and phyllodes tumor (PT). The retrospective case control study included biopsies from patients with PT who underwent surgical treatment, and patients with fibronenoma (FA), diagnosed in our hospital from October 2014 to May 2021. Differences in microscopic histopathological characteristics and expressions of common immunohistochemical markers (CD10, cluster of differentiation 117 marker, cluster of differentiation 34 marker, tumor protein P53, cell proliferation antigen) for different grades of PT and FA were analyzed. A total of 69 patients were enrolled, of them 34 with PT (12 with benign PT, 13 with borderline PT, and 9 with malignant PT) and 35 with FA. With the increase of tumor malignancy, significant enlargement trend was noted; for FA, most tumor boundaries were well-defined, the stromal distribution was homogeneous, the stromal cellularity was small. In contrast for PT, as the degree of malignancy increased, tumor boundary gradually became ill-defined and the stromal distribution was heterogeneous; stromal cellularity and stromal overgrowth had increased significantly (All P < .05). Multivariate analysis showed that among other markers only CD10 expression (OR = 0.67, 95%CI: -0.88, 2.22, P < .05) was independently associated with PT. The study showed that in addition to histological features, CD10 expression was independently associated with PT and has a potential to be used as a differentiation marker.

High expression of Snail and NF-κB predicts poor survival in Chinese hepatocellular carcinoma patients.

In this study, we explored the roles of Snail and NF-κB in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Samples of HCC tumor tissue were collected from 83 Chinese HCC patients. Snail and NF-κB expression was then examined based on immunohistochemical staining, and the relations between Snail and NF-κB expression and the clinical characteristics of the patients were assessed using Cox model analysis. Snail and NF-κB were both expressed in HCC tissue, and their levels were strongly correlated. In addition, levels of both Snail and NF-κB expression were negatively related to tumor differentiation, which was an independent factor predictive of survival in HCC patients. Snail and NF-κB may thus be useful markers of tumor differentiation and survival in HCC, and may also be useful for guiding treatment and exploring molecular mechanisms.

Controlling chaotic robots with kinematical redundancy.

Robots with kinematical redundancy under the pseudoinverse control exhibit undesirable chaotic joint motion, which leads to erratic behaviors. In this study, we used the delayed feedback method to control chaotic motions of a planar 3R rigid and a planar 3R flexible redundant robot under the pseudoinverse control when the end-effector traces a closed-path repeatedly in the work space. It was demonstrated that chaotic motions of robots with kinematical redundancy can be turned into regular motion when the delayed feedback method was applied with some appropriate parameters. This study provides a new insight helpful to solve the repeatability problem of redundant manipulators.