Effectiveness of aquatic exercise in lower limb osteoarthritis: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the short-term and follow-up effectiveness of aquatic training on the health status of lower limb osteoarthritis. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on related topics were systematically searched in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro), the China National Knowledge Infrastructure and Wanfang databases from inception to January 2021. RevMan 5.3 was used for statistical analysis, and the standardized mean difference (SMD) was used to present pooled effect sizes. As a result, 19 RCTs (1592 patients) were included. Compared with unsupervised home exercise or usual care (land-based training excluded), aquatic training showed short-term pain relief (SMD, -0.54; 95% CI, -0.81 to -0.28), physical function improvement (SMD, -0.64; 95% CI, -1.00 to -0.28), stiffness reduction (SMD, -0.40; 95% CI, -0.79 to -0.01) and improved function in sport and recreation (SMD, -0.30; 95% CI, -0.59 to -0.02). Analyses restricted to patients with knee osteoarthritis only also confirmed the positive effects of aquatic training on most dimensions excluding physical function. At medium-term follow-ups, improvements in physical function and function in sport and recreation were observed. No significant difference was observed between arms in the above four outcomes at long-term follow-ups. All studies reported no major adverse event with relation to aquatic training, and the minor adverse events were not common. It is concluded that aquatic training likely has short-term benefits on pain, physical function, stiffness and sport ability in lower limb osteoarthritis patients, but these positive effects may not last long.

Association between 20q12 rs13041247 polymorphism and risk of nonsyndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Previous genome-wide association studies have identified a link between the rs13041247 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the chromosome 20q12 locus and the development of the congenital malformation known as nonsyndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (NSCL/P). The present meta-analysis was therefore designed to formally assess the relationship between rs13041247 and NSCL/P. METHODS: We searched Embase, Web of Science, PubMed, the China National Knowledge Internet (CNKI), and the China Wanfang database in order to identify relevant published through 25 June 2019. This allowed us to identify 13 studies incorporating 4914 patients and 5981 controls for whom rs13041247 genotyping had been conducted, with STATA 12.0 then being used to conduct a meta-analysis of these pooled results. The I2 statistic was used to compare heterogeneity among studies. RESULTS: In total this analysis incorporated 13 case-control studies. No association between the rs13041247 polymorphism and NSCL/P risk was detected in individuals of Asian ethnicity (C vs T: OR = 0.847, 95% CI = 0.702-1.021; CC vs TT: OR = 0.725, 95% CI = 0.494-1.063; CC vs CT: OR = 0.837, 95% CI = 0.657-1.067; CT + TT vs CC: OR = 1.265, 95% CI = 0.951-1.684; CC + CT vs TT: OR = 0.805, 95% CI = 0.630-1.029) or Caucasian ethnicity (C vs T: OR = 0.936, 95% CI = 0.786-1.114; CC vs TT: OR = 0.988, 95% CI = 0.674-1.446; CC vs CT: OR = 1.197, 95% CI = 0.816-1.757; CT + TT vs CC: OR = 0.918, 95% CI = 0.639-1.318; CC + CT vs TT: OR = 0.855, 95% CI = 0.677-1.081). However, an overall analysis of all participants in these studies revealed the rs13041247 C allele, the CT genotype, and the CC + CT model to be linked to a reduced NSCL/P risk (C vs T: OR = 0.897, 95% CI: 0.723-1.114, P = 0.048; CT vs TT: OR = 0.839, 95% CI: 0.734-0.959, P = 0.01; CC + CT vs TT: OR = 0.824, 95% CI: 0.701-0.968, P = 0.019). CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the rs13041247 SNP located at the 20q12 chromosomal locus is associated with NSCL/P risk in an overall pooled study population, although this association was not significant in East Asian or Caucasian populations.

Association of single nucleotide polymorphisms at 20q12 with nonsyndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate in a Southern Chinese Han cohort.

BACKGROUND: Nonsyndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (NSCL/P) is a common congenital malformation in the world. Both environment and genetics are involved with the etiology of the disease. Genome-wide association studies have identified two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at chromosome 20q12 to be associated with NSCL/P. The current study aimed to explore the association of the two SNPs at 20q12 with NSCL/P and different subtypes in a Southern Chinese Han cohort. METHODS: A total of 430 NSCL/P patients and 451 controls were recruited in the current study. Two SNPs including rs17820943 and rs6072081 at 20q12 were genotyped in the study cohort using Taqman SNP genotyping analysis. Chi-Square test was used to compare allele and genotype frequencies of NSCL/P patients and control group. RESULTS: Case-control analysis showed that the allele and genotype of rs17820943 and rs6072081 were significantly associated with NSCL/P (p < .01). Comparison between subtypes of NSCL/P and controls showed that frequencies of the G allele and GG genotype of rs6072081 (p = 4.52 × 10-4 and p = .001 respectively), and those of the T allele and TT genotype of rs17820943 (p = 6.7 × 10-5 and p = 1.71 × 10-4 respectively) were decreased in cleft lip and palate (CLP). No significant association of the two SNPs with cleft lip only (CLO) and cleft palate only (CPO) was found (p > .05). CONCLUSION: These results showed that rs17820943 and rs6072081 at 20q12 were associated with NSCL/P, especially with the CLP subtype in a Southern Chinese Han cohort.

Gossypol inhibits phosphorylation of Bcl-2 in human leukemia HL-60 cells.

Gossypol is an attractive therapeutic anti-tumor agent as an apoptosis inducer and is being evaluated in preclinical tests. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying apoptosis induction by gossypol in malignant cells have not been completely enunciated. Here we investigate the alterations of Bcl-2/Bcl-xL/Mcl-1 protein levels and Bcl-2 phosphorylation in gossypol-induced apoptosis in human leukemia HL-60 cells. We found that gossypol treatment inhibited cell growth and induced apoptosis in HL-60 cells. Bcl-2/Bcl-xL/Mcl-1 protein levels were slightly reduced and phosphorylation of Bcl-2 at threonine 56 (phospho T56) was not altered. However, phosphorylation of Bcl-2 at serine 70 (phospho S70) was strikingly down-regulated in gossypol-exposed cells. This reduction was found to be not only in both dose- and time-dependent fashion but also obviated by phorbol l2,13-dibutyrate (PDBu), an activator of protein kinase C (PKC). In addition, pre-treatment of PDBu partially prevented gossypol-induced apoptosis in HL-60 cells. Collectively, gossypol treatment can reduce phosphorylation of Bcl-2 at serine 70 in leukemia HL-60 cells and gossypol may be a promising therapeutical candidate for leukemia patients especially expressing phosphorylated Bcl-2 at Ser70.