RNF213 suppresses carcinogenesis in glioblastoma by affecting MAPK/JNK signaling pathway.

PURPOSE: Glioblastoma is the most common malignant brain tumor in central nervous system. Due to absence of the mechanism underlying glioblastoma, the clinical outcome is poor. RNF213 is a ring finger protein and mutation in RNF213 gene is detected in cancers. But the role of RNF213 in glioblastoma is unknown. METHODS: RNF213 expression was detected by qPCR, western blotting, IHC technology. RNF213 was overexpressed in plasmid pcDNA3.1. Assays including CCK-8, plate colony formation, wound healing, transwell and FITC/PI dye were used to detect cell behaviors. RESULTS: RNF213 was shown to express much lower in tumor tissues and in tumor cell lines compared to control. The patients with higher RNF213 expression displayed longer survival time. When RNF213 was overexpressed in U87MG cells, cell proliferation and colony formation were inhibited significantly. The ability of cell migration and invasion was also suppressed. FAC analysis demonstrated that cell apoptosis was increased after RNF213 overexpression. But cell cycle distribution was not affected by RNF213. Then the expression level of MEKK1, JNK, c-Jun, and cdc42 was decreased after RNF213 overexpression, but increased reversely when RNF213 was knocked down by RNAi technology. CONCLUSIONS: RNF213 suppresses carcinogenesis and affects MAPK/JNK signaling pathway in glioblastoma. This study suggests that RNF213 might be a promising target for therapy of glioblastoma.

Cerebrospinal fluid-contacting nucleus mediates nociception via release of fractalkine.

Increasing evidence suggests that the cerebrospinal fluid-contacting nucleus (CSF-contacting nucleus) mediates the transduction and regulation of pain signals. However, the precise molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Studies show that release of fractalkine (FKN) from neurons plays a critical role in nerve injury-related pain. We tested the hypothesis that release of FKN from the CSF-contacting nucleus regulates neuropathic pain, in a chronic constriction injury rat model. The results show that FKN is expressed by neurons, via expression of its only receptor CX3CR1 in the microglia. The levels of soluble FKN (sFKN) were markedly upregulated along with the increase in FKN mRNA level in rats subjected to chronic constriction injury. In addition, injection of FKN-neutralizing antibody into the lateral ventricle alleviated neuropathic pain-related behavior followed by reduction in microglial activation in the CSF-contacting nucleus. The results indicate that inhibition of FKN release by the CSF-contacting nucleus may ameliorate neuropathic pain clinically.

Application of data mining techniques to explore predictors of upper urinary tract damage in patients with neurogenic bladder.

This study proposed a decision tree model to screen upper urinary tract damage (UUTD) for patients with neurogenic bladder (NGB). Thirty-four NGB patients with UUTD were recruited in the case group, while 78 without UUTD were included in the control group. A decision tree method, classification and regression tree (CART), was then applied to develop the model in which UUTD was used as a dependent variable and history of urinary tract infections, bladder management, conservative treatment, and urodynamic findings were used as independent variables. The urethra function factor was found to be the primary screening information of patients and treated as the root node of the tree; Pabd max (maximum abdominal pressure, >14 cmH2O), Pves max (maximum intravesical pressure, ≤89 cmH2O), and gender (female) were also variables associated with UUTD. The accuracy of the proposed model was 84.8%, and the area under curve was 0.901 (95%CI=0.844-0.958), suggesting that the decision tree model might provide a new and convenient way to screen UUTD for NGB patients in both undeveloped and developing areas.

Application of data mining techniques to explore predictors of upper urinary tract damage in patients with neurogenic bladder

This study proposed a decision tree model to screen upper urinary tract damage (UUTD) for patients with neurogenic bladder (NGB). Thirty-four NGB patients with UUTD were recruited in the case group, while 78 without UUTD were included in the control group. A decision tree method, classification and regression tree (CART), was then applied to develop the model in which UUTD was used as a dependent variable and history of urinary tract infections, bladder management, conservative treatment, and urodynamic findings were used as independent variables. The urethra function factor was found to be the primary screening information of patients and treated as the root node of the tree; Pabd max (maximum abdominal pressure, >14 cmH2O), Pves max (maximum intravesical pressure, ≤89 cmH2O), and gender (female) were also variables associated with UUTD. The accuracy of the proposed model was 84.8%, and the area under curve was 0.901 (95%CI=0.844-0.958), suggesting that the decision tree model might provide a new and convenient way to screen UUTD for NGB patients in both undeveloped and developing areas.

A cultured endophyte community is associated with the plant Clerodendrum inerme and antifungal activity.

Fungal endophytes live in the inner tissues of Clerodendrum inerme and may be significant resources for new chemicals in drug discovery. A total of 242 endophytic fungi were recovered from 602 sample segments of C. inerme; 66 were purified. The 66 fungi belonging to 16 taxa and 11 genera (Alternaria, Nigrospora, Bartalinia, Pestalotiopsis, Fusarium, Mycoleptodiscus, Trichoderma, Phomopsis, Diaporthe, Lasiodiplodia, and Curvularia) were identified by morphological characteristics and fungal internal transcribed spacer sequences. The most abundant genera were Alternaria and Lasiodiplodia. Some of the endophytes exhibited tissue specificity. The colonization frequencies of endophytes in the stems were evidently higher than those in the roots and leaves. The crude ethyl acetate extracts were tested against 6 endophytes isolated from C. inerme. Three of 10 (33.3%) endophytes, which were identified as Phomopsis sp, Curvularia sp, and Mycoleptodiscus sp, displayed distinct antifungal activity against ≥3 tested fungi. To our knowledge, this is the first report of an endophytic community associated with C. inerme in China and its antifungal activity in vitro.

A retrospective analysis of lung metastasis in 64 patients with alveolar soft part sarcoma.

OBJECTIVES: To analyse the lung metastasis and possible factors influencing lung metastasis in alveolar soft part sarcoma (ASPS) patients. METHODS: The medical records of 64 consecutive ASPS patients were reviewed to analyse their treatments, features of lung metastasis, and possible factors influencing lung metastasis. RESULTS: Thirty-six females and 28 males with a median age of 27 years were included. The primary disease sites were the extremities in 51 patients and other locations in 13 patients. The median primary tumour size was 5 cm. Wide local excision of the primary tumour was performed on 56 patients (87.5 %). Thirteen patients (20.3 %) received postoperative adjuvant radiotherapy, and nine patients (14.1 %) underwent adjuvant chemotherapy. Twelve patients (18.8 %) presented with metastatic lung disease. Twenty-nine patients (45.3 %) developed metastatic lung disease during follow-up. Lung metastasis occurred in 64.1 % of the patients. Lung metastasis was detected at a median interval of 20 months after primary ASPS diagnosis. Being male, >20 years of age, having a primary tumour size ≥ 5 cm, and local recurrence were associated with a greater rate of lung metastasis. Median survival after the diagnosis of lung metastasis was 34 months. The 5-year survival rates were 64.1 and 95.2 % for patients with and without lung metastasis (P < 0.001). Thirty-seven patients with metastatic lung disease received anthracycline- and ifosfamide-based chemotherapy. One patient experienced a partial remission. CONCLUSIONS: ASPS patients have a high prevalence of lung metastasis. Sex, age, primary tumour size, and local recurrence are major factors influencing lung metastasis. Chemotherapy is not efficacious in ASPS patients with lung metastasis.

Association between single-nucleotide polymorphisms of fatty acid synthase gene and meat quality traits in Datong Yak (Bos grunniens).

Fatty acid synthase (FASN) is a key enzyme in fatty acid anabolism that plays an important role in the fat deposit of eukaryotic cells. Therefore, in this study, we detected 2 novel single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the FASN gene in 313 adult individuals of Datong yak using polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism and DNA sequencing techniques. SNP g.5477C>T is located in intron 3 of FASN, and 3 genotypes, HH, HG, and GG, were detected in this mutation site. SNP g.16930T>A is located in exon 37 of FASN, and 2 genotypes, EE and EF, were detected in this site. Association analysis of these 2 SNPs with meat quality traits showed that in SNP g.5477C>T, yaks with the HH genotype and HG genotype had significantly higher intramuscular fat content than individuals with the GG genotype (P < 0.01). In SNP g.16930T>A, yaks with the EE genotype also had significantly higher IMF content than individuals with the EF genotype (P < 0.01). The results indicate that FASN may be used as a candidate gene affecting intramuscular fat content in Datong yaks.

Clinical patterns of diarrhea in AIDS. A retrospective study at the Federal University Hospital, Rio de Janeiro.

Three hundred and fifty two medical records of AIDS inpatients were analysed in a retrospective study to establish the frequency, clinical patterns and etiology of AIDS-related diarrhea. Diarrhea was observed in 58.8% of the patients, being a chronic symptom in 65.7%, and the first complaint in 24.6%. The most common cause of diarrhea was coccidea and the etiology remained unknown in 56.1% of the patients. Routine stool examination was the most sensitive method in the diagnosis of diarrhea. In countries with limited resources, the use of stool examinations seems to provide appropriate clinical management. The implementation of an objective protocol could improve the etiologic diagnosis of AIDS-related diarrhea without the burden of more complex and invasive technologies.

The postnatal growth of motoneurons at three levels of the cat neuraxis.

The postnatal growth of motoneuron cell bodies located in the brainstem, cervical and lumbosacral spinal cord was investigated using retrograde transport of horseradish peroxidase in kittens ages 2, 12, 30, 55, 82 and 114 postnatal days and in an adult. The motoneurons innervating an extrinsic tongue muscle, the genioglossus, reached their adult size by eight weeks after birth. In contrast, the phrenic motoneurons innervating the diaphragm achieved adult size by 12 weeks and the motoneurons innervating the medial gastrocnemius muscle continued to grow beyond the twelfth postnatal week. The sizes of these motoneurons relative to one another remained constant during periods of development.

Morphology of developing motoneurons innervating the medial gastrocnemius of the cat.

The morphology of medial gastrocnemius (MG) motoneurons labeled by retrograde transport of horseradish peroxidase was quantified in 5 postnatal ages (3 to 79-86 days) and in adults. A bimodal distribution of somal volumes was evident at birth which permitted separating the motoneurons into alpha and gamma subpopulations for analysis. There was a significant increase in the axial dimensions, surface area and volume calculated for both alpha and gamma cell bodies between each of the age-groups studied. A greater relative growth of the major over minor axis for the gammas produced a significant decrease in the form factor (i.e. greater eccentricity) between the youngest and oldest age-groups. The number of primary dendrites observed remained constant throughout postnatal development. The surface area of alpha somata more than tripled while that of the gammas doubled from 3 days to the adult. The mean somal volume of an alpha motoneuron at birth was only 17% of its adult value while the gamma cell bodies were 33% of their adult volume. A positive correlation was found for both alpha and gamma motoneurons when their somal surface area was plotted against postnatal age and weight. The rate of growth of the MG somal surface area is compared to the changes found in axonal conduction velocity and axonal diameter for MG in the literature.