The roles of ING5 in gliomas: a good marker for tumorigenesis and a potential target for gene therapy.

To elucidate the anti-tumor effects and molecular mechanisms of ING5 on glioma cells, we overexpressed it in U87 cells, and examined the phenotypes and their relevant molecules. It was found that ING5 overexpression suppressed proliferation, energy metabolism, migration, invasion, and induced G2/M arrest, apoptosis, dedifferentiation, senescence, mesenchymal- epithelial transition and chemoresistance to cisplatin, MG132, paclitaxel and SAHA in U87 cells. There appeared a lower expression of N-cadherin, Twist, Slug, Zeb1, Zeb2, Snail, Ac-H3, Ac-H4, Cdc2, Cdk4 and XIAP, but a higher expression of Claudin 1, Histones 3 and 4, p21, p53, Bax, ß-catenin, PI3K, Akt, and p-Akt in ING5 transfectants. ING5 overexpression suppressed tumor growth of U87 cells in nude mice by inhibiting proliferation and inducing apoptosis. Down-regulated ING5 expression was closely linked to the tumorigenesis and histogenesis of glioma. These data indicated that ING5 expression might be considered as a good marker for the tumorigenesis and histogenesis of gliomas. It might be employed as a potential target for gene therapy of glioma. PI3K/Akt or ß-catenin/TCF-4 activation might be positively linked to chemotherapeutic resistance, mediated by ING5.

Hyperbaric oxygen for experimental intracerebral haemorrhage: Systematic review and stratified meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) is widely used in treating various neurological diseases. However, HBO for treatment of intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) remains controversial, in either animal or clinical studies. Therefore, we conducted this systematic review and meta-analysis on studies describing the efficacy of HBO in animal models of ICH. METHODS: Studies were identified by searching mainstream databases through November 2015. The efficacy of HBO in animal models of ICH was assessed by changes in the brain water content (BWC), neurobehavioural outcome (NO) or both. Subgroup analyses were performed according to different design characteristics. RESULTS: In total 15 studies met our inclusion criteria. HBO can reduce the BWC (-0.982, 95% CI, -1.148 to -0.817; P < 0.01; 57 comparisons), and improve NO (-0.767, 95% CI, -1.376 to -0.159; P < 0.01; eight comparisons). HBO was most effective in reducing BWC when given 72 h after ICH for a 4- to 5-day consecutive treatment at the chamber pressure of 3.0 atmosphere absolute. Efficacy was higher with phenobarbital anaesthesia, the blood infusion model and in rabbits. CONCLUSION: Although HBO was found to be effective in experimental ICH, additional confirmation is needed due to possible publication bias, poor study quality and the limited number of studies conducting clinical trials.

Cytokeratin 19 promoter directs the expression of Cre recombinase in various epithelia of transgenic mice.

Cytokeratin 19 (K19) is expressed in various differentiated cells, including gastric, intestinal and bronchial epithelial cells, and liver duct cells. Here, we generated a transgenic mouse line, K19-Cre, in which the expression of Cre recombinase was controlled by the promoter of K19. To test the tissue distribution and excision activity of Cre recombinase, K19-Cre transgenic mice were bred with Rosa26 reporter strain and a mouse strain that carries PTEN conditional alleles (PTENLoxp/Loxp). At mRNA level, Cre was strongly expressed in the stomach, lung and intestine, while in stomach, lung, and liver at protein level. The immunoreactivity to Cre was strongly observed the cytoplasm of gastric, bronchial and intestinal epithelial cells. Cre activity was detectable in gastric, bronchial and intestinal epithelial cells, according to LacZ staining. In K19-Cre/PTEN Loxp/Loxp mice, PTEN was abrogated in stomach, intestine, lung, liver and breast, the former two of which were verified by in situ PCR. There appeared breast cancer with PTEN loss. These data suggest that K19 promoter may be a useful tool to study the pathophysiological functions of cytokeratin 19-positive cells, especially gastrointestinal epithelial cells. Cell specificity of neoplasia is not completely attributable to the cell-specific expression of oncogenes and cell-specific loss of tumor suppressor genes.

The suppressing effects of BTG3 expression on aggressive behaviors and phenotypes of colorectal cancer: An in vitro and vivo study.

Here, we found that down-regulated expression of BTG3 might be positively correlated with colorectal carcinogenesis and its overexpression suppressed proliferation, glycolysis, mitochondrial respiration, cell cycle progression, migration, and invasion, and induced apoptosis, senescence and differentiation in SW480 and SW620 cells. After treated with cisplatin, MG132, paclitaxel and SAHA, BTG3 transfectants exhibited lower viability and higher apoptosis than the control in both time- and dose-dependent manners. BTG3 overexpression up- regulated the protein expression of Cyclin E, p16, p27, NF-κB, p38α/ß, XIAP, Bcl-2, ATG14 and p53, but down-regulated the mRNA expression of MRP1, BCRP, and mTOR in SW480 and SW620 cells. BTG3 overexpression inhibited tumor growth of SW620 cells by suppressing proliferation and inducing apoptosis. It was suggested that down-regulated BTG3 expression might be considered as a marker for colorectal carcinogenesis. BTG3 overexpression might reverse the aggressive phenotypes and be employed as a potential target for gene therapy of colorectal cancer.

Prevalence and correlates of problematic smartphone use in a large random sample of Chinese undergraduates.

BACKGROUND: Smartphones are becoming a daily necessity for most undergraduates in Mainland China. Because the present scenario of problematic smartphone use (PSU) is largely unexplored, in the current study we aimed to estimate the prevalence of PSU and to screen suitable predictors for PSU among Chinese undergraduates in the framework of the stress-coping theory. METHODS: A sample of 1062 undergraduate smartphone users was recruited by means of the stratified cluster random sampling strategy between April and May 2015. The Problematic Cellular Phone Use Questionnaire was used to identify PSU. We evaluated five candidate risk factors for PSU by using logistic regression analysis while controlling for demographic characteristics and specific features of smartphone use. RESULTS: The prevalence of PSU among Chinese undergraduates was estimated to be 21.3%. The risk factors for PSU were majoring in the humanities, high monthly income from the family (≥1500 RMB), serious emotional symptoms, high perceived stress, and perfectionism-related factors (high doubts about actions, high parental expectations). CONCLUSIONS: PSU among undergraduates appears to be ubiquitous and thus constitutes a public health issue in Mainland China. Although further longitudinal studies are required to test whether PSU is a transient phenomenon or a chronic and progressive condition, our study successfully identified socio-demographic and psychological risk factors for PSU. These results, obtained from a random and thus representative sample of undergraduates, opens up new avenues in terms of prevention and regulation policies.

Efficacy of deferoxamine in animal models of intracerebral hemorrhage: a systematic review and stratified meta-analysis.

Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is a subtype of stroke associated with high morbidity and mortality rates. No proven treatments are available for this condition. Iron-mediated free radical injury is associated with secondary damage following ICH. Deferoxamine (DFX), a ferric-iron chelator, is a candidate drug for the treatment of ICH. We performed a systematic review of studies involving the administration of DFX following ICH. In total, 20 studies were identified that described the efficacy of DFX in animal models of ICH and assessed changes in the brain water content, neurobehavioral score, or both. DFX reduced the brain water content by 85.7% in animal models of ICH (-0.86, 95% CI: -.48- -0.23; P < 0.01; 23 comparisons), and improved the neurobehavioral score by -1.08 (95% CI: -1.23- -0.92; P < 0.01; 62 comparisons). DFX was most efficacious when administered 2-4 h after ICH at a dose of 10-50 mg/kg depending on species, and this beneficial effect remained for up to 24 h postinjury. The efficacy was higher with phenobarbital anesthesia, intramuscular injection, and lysed erythrocyte infusion, and in Fischer 344 rats or aged animals. Overall, although DFX was found to be effective in experimental ICH, additional confirmation is needed due to possible publication bias, poor study quality, and the limited number of studies conducting clinical trials.