Diagnostic accuracy of urine HE4 in patients with ovarian cancer: a meta-analysis.

Urine HE4 has been reported as the potential novel diagnostic biomarker for ovarian cancer in several studies, but their results were inconsistent. Therefore, we conducted a systematic analysis to evaluate the diagnostic value of urine HE4 in detecting ovarian cancer. A comprehensive electronic and manual search was conducted for relevant literatures through several databases up to May 5, 2016. The quality of the studies included in the systematic review was assessed using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS-2) tool. All analyses were conducted using Meta-DiSc 1.4 and STATA 12.0 software. A total of seven publications were included in this study, and these studies included 413 ovarian cancer patients and 573 controls. The summary estimates were: sensitivity 0.76 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.72-0.80), specificity 0.92 (95% CI: 0.89-0.94), positive likelihood ratio 8.39 (95%CI: 4.81-14.63), negative likelihood ratio 0.23 (95% CI: 0.13-0.39), diagnostic odds ratio 37.90 (95% CI: 18.69-76.83), and area under the curve 0.93. According to our results, urine HE4 has greater diagnostic value in detecting ovarian cancer. In addition, considering the high heterogeneity, further research studies with more well-designed and large sample sizes are needed in the future.

[Application of Attenuated Total Reflectance Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) for Amber Identification and Research].

Infrared spectral analysis is a commonly used means to research the characteristics of mineral material. Attenuated total internal reflectance infrared spectroscopy (ATR -FTIR) is widely used dues to its advantages such as rapidness, non-destructiveness and micro region detection. This paper focuses on different areas of amber, copal resin, coated amber to further study its ATR-FTIR through the BRUKER LUMOS independent type infrared microscope. The result shows: the two infrared absorption spectrum which are 1 643 cm-1 due to stretching vibration of ν(CC) and 889 cm-1 due to deformation vibration of δ(arene C­H)are present in the amber originated in Dominica and Russia; the infrared absorption spectrum band lies at 1 300～925 cm-1 due to stretching vibration of ν(C­O) has a certain instruction significance for the origin of amber; the three absorption spectrum of 3 080 cm-1 which is due to dis-symmetry stretching vibration of νas(CH2), 1 643 and 887 cm-1 can be used as characteristic of copal resin and have identification significance; coated amber displays amber and artificial resin mixing infrared spectrum, which besides the characteristic infrared spectrum of amber, 760 and 702 cm-1 infrared spectrum are caused by out-plane bending vibration of γ(arene C­H) of resin. ATR-FTIR has important significance in the identification of cause, origin and enhancement varieties of amber.

Emodin-provoked oxidative stress induces apoptosis in human colon cancer HCT116 cells through a p53-mitochondrial apoptotic pathway.

Emodin, a natural anthraquinone isolated from the traditional Chinese medicine Radix rhizoma Rhei, can induce apoptosis in many kinds of cancer cells. This study demonstrated that emodin induces apoptosis in human colon cancer HCT116 cells by provoking oxidative stress, which subsequently triggers a p53-mitochondrial apoptotic pathway. Emodin induced mitochondrial transmembrane potential loss, increase in Bax and decrease in Bcl-2 expression and mitochondrial translocation and release of cytochrome c to cytosol in HCT116 cells. In response to emodin-treatment, ROS increased rapidly, and subsequently p53 was overexpressed. Pretreatment with the antioxidant NAC diminished apoptosis and p53 overexpression induced by emodin. Transfecting p53 siRNA also attenuated apoptosis induced by emodin, Bax expression and mitochondrial translocation being reduced compared to treatment with emodin alone. Taken together, these results indicate that ROS is a trigger of emodin-induced apoptosis in HCT116 cells, and p53 expression increases under oxidative stress, leading to Bax-mediated mitochondrial apoptosis.

Ursolic acid induces U937 cells differentiation by PI3K/Akt pathway activation.

AIM: Ursolic acid (UA), a pentacyclic triterpenoid, is used as an anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer agent. There were few studies on the effects of UA on differentiation, and this is the first time to elucidate the potential effect and molecular mechanism of UA on inducing differentiation in the human leukemia cell line U937. METHODS: Wright-Giemsa staining, nitroblue tetrazolium reduction assay and flow cytometric analysis were utilized to demonstrate the differentiation of U937 cells induced by UA. Western blotting and immunofluorescence assay were used to investigate the possible mechanism. RESULTS: It was found that UA could induce the differentiation of U937cells and Akt-activity was significantly increased during differentiation. Additionally, LY294002, a PI3K-Akt inhibitor, could block the differentiation of U937 cells induced by UA. CONCLUSION: UA could induce the differentiation of U937 cells by activating the PI3K/Akt pathway, and it could be a potential candidate as a differentiation-inducing agent for the therapy of leukemia.

Properties of novel polyvinyl alcohol/cellulose nanocrystals/silver nanoparticles blend membranes.

Novel polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) blend membranes containing cellulose nanocrystals (CNs) and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were prepared via a simple method. CNs were prepared by sulfuric acid treatment of microcrystalline cellulose. AgNO3 aqueous solution mixed with the CNs aqueous suspension and was reduced by NaBH4 at room temperature. Purified CNs/AgNPs nanocomposites as functional fillers mixed with polyvinyl alcohol to prepare blend membrane. The morphology, mechanical properties, and antibacterial activities of PVA/CNs/AgNPs composite films were investigated. The PVA/CNs/AgNPs composite films were stable and homogeneous. The tensile strength of PVA was increased from 57.02 MPa to 81.21 MPa when filled with CNs/AgNPs. Antibacterial ratio of PVA/CNs/AgNPs composite against Gram-negative Escherichia coli and Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus was 96.9% and 88.2%, respectively. The CNs/AgNPs nanocomposites could be applied as bi-functional nanofillers within PVA to improve the mechanical properties and antibacterial activities.

Ursolic acid induces HL60 monocytic differentiation and upregulates C/EBPß expression by ERK pathway activation.

Ursolic acid (UA), a pentacyclic triterpenoid compound, is widely distributed in the plant kingdom and has a broad range of biological effects. This study was carried out for the first time to investigate the potential role of UA in the differentiation of human leukemia HL60 cells and the underlying mechanisms in it. UA could induce differentiation of HL60 cells into the monocytic lineage, as assessed by the morphological change, nitroblue tetrazolium reduction assay, and expression of CD14 and CD11b surface antigens. Moreover, UA activated the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway in both dose-dependent and time-dependent manners. Inhibiting ERK pathway activation with PD98059 could significantly block the differentiation induced by UA. Consistent with the induced differentiation, the upregulation of CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein ß by UA was also eliminated by PD98059. Taken together, the results reported here show that UA can promote the monocytic differentiation of HL60 cells and increase the expression of CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein ß by activating the ERK pathway, suggesting that UA could be a potential candidate as a differentiation-inducing agent for the therapeutic treatment of leukemia.

Rapid screening and characterization of metabolites from a marine-derived actinomycete by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

A rapid and reliable method has been optimized and established for the analysis of the metabolites from a marine actinomycete by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HPLC/QTOF MS/MS). From MS/MS spectra, the product ions of [M + H](+) were recorded to provide abundant structural information of the mother nucleus and peptide moieties. Using the QTOF MS/MS and in-source collision-induced dissociation (in-source CID) techniques, three main metabolites including actinomycin D, actinomycin V and actinomycin I were determined and characterized by elemental compositions of precursor and product ions (<7 ppm). Additionally, this method provided information about the compositions of the peptide residues and the sequences of the amino acid from a series of fragment ions. It proved useful for the identification of the metabolites in marine samples which have similar structures especially when there were no reference compounds available.

[Effects of water-fertilizer spatial coupling in root zone on winter wheat growth and yield].

A soil column experiment was conducted to study the winter wheat growth and yield under effects of different soil wetting (overall wetting, upper part wetting, and lower part wetting) and fertilization (overall fertilization, upper part fertilization, and lower part fertilization). The plant height and leaf area at tillering stage decreased significantly under lower part fertilization, compared with those under upper part and overall soil fertilization, but had no significant differences under different soil wetting. At jointing stage, the plant height was higher when the soil wetting and fertilization were at same location than at different location, manifesting a synergistic coupling effect of water and fertilizer. Lower part soil wetting and lower part fertilization decreased the root-, shoot-, and total dry biomass significantly, upper part fertilization benefited the biomass accumulation of winter wheat, and upper part soil wetting combined with upper part fertilization had an obvious coupling effect on the shoot- and total dry biomass. Soil wetting and fertilization at same location induced a higher ratio of root to shoot, compared with soil wetting and fertilization at different location, and lower part soil wetting resulted in the maximum water use efficiency (WUE), compared with upper part and overall soil wetting. A higher WUE was observed in the soil wetting and fertilization at same location than at different location, but a lower WUE was induced by lower part fertilization. The grain number per spike under upper part and overall soil wetting was increased by 41.7% and 61.9%, respectively, compared with that under lower part soil wetting, and this yield component under upper part and overall soil fertilization was also higher, compared with that under lower part fertilization. Upper part soil wetting and fertilization had an obvious coupling effect of water-fertilizer on the yield and yield components (except for 1000-grain mass). Different soil wetting and fertilization affected the yield mainly through affecting the grain number per spike.

Downregulation of survivin and activation of caspase-3 through the PI3K/Akt pathway in ursolic acid-induced HepG2 cell apoptosis.

Ursolic acid (UA), a naturally occurring pentacyclic triterpene, is a potent in-vitro anticancer agent, acting through control of growth, apoptosis and differentiation. As the mechanism of its proapoptotic effects on human hepatocellular carcinoma cells has not been extensively studied, we performed an in depth evaluation of the effects of UA on apoptosis in human HepG2 cells. UA was found to inhibit the proliferation of HepG2 cells in a concentration and time-dependent manner. After treatment, cells showed evidence of activation of apoptosis, including the presence of apoptotic bodies and DNA fragmentation. UA-induced apoptosis was accompanied by a significant decrease in bcl-2 and survivin expression, with the corresponding ratio of bax/bcl-2 increased. The treatment with UA also increased the protein level and enzymatic activity of caspase-3. Z-DEVD-fmk, a specific caspase-3 inhibitor, significantly inhibited both the cytotoxic effect and the DNA fragmentation induced by UA, demonstrating the requirement for caspase-3 activity in UA-induced apoptosis. Inactivation of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt signaling pathway was also involved, as inhibition of PI3K by LY294002 significantly increased UA-induced apoptosis. Kinetic experiments indicated that UA downregulated PI3K/p85 subunit (PI3K/p85) and phospho-Akt, before downregulating survivin. The further results also confirmed that LY294002 not only downregulated survivin alone, but considerably enhanced the repression of survivin combined with UA. UA therefore seemed to downregulate the expression of survivin by blocking PI3K/Akt. Taken together, the data suggest that the proapoptotic effect of UA on HepG2 cells is mediated by activation of caspase-3, and is highly correlated with inactivation of PI3K/Akt/survivin pathway.