Characterization of ZmPMP3g function in drought tolerance of maize.

The genes enconding proteins containing plasma membrane proteolipid 3 (PMP3) domain are responsive to abiotic stresses, but their functions in maize drought tolerance remain largely unknown. In this study, the transgenic maize lines overexpressing maize ZmPMP3g gene were featured by enhanced drought tolerance; increases in total root length, activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase, and leaf water content; and decreases in leaf water potential, levels of O2-·and H2O2, and malondialdehyde content under drought. Under treatments with foliar spraying with abscisic acid (ABA), drought tolerance of both transgenic line Y7-1 overexpressing ZmPMP3g and wild type Ye478 was enhanced, of which Y7-1 showed an increased endogenous ABA and decreased endogenous gibberellin (GA) 1 (significantly) and GA3 (very slightly but not significantly) and Ye478 had a relatively lower ABA and no changes in GA1 and GA3. ZmPMP3g overexpression in Y7-1 affected the expression of multiple key transcription factor genes in ABA-dependent and -independent drought signaling pathways. These results indicate that ZmPMP3g overexpression plays a role in maize drought tolerance by harmonizing ABA-GA1-GA3 homeostasis/balance, improving root growth, enhancing antioxidant capacity, maintaining membrane lipid integrity, and regulating intracellular osmotic pressure. A working model on ABA-GA-ZmPMP3g was proposed and discussed.

Spatial-temporal variations of forest and grassland phenology in the Yellow River Basin during 2000-2018.

The study of vegetation phenology is of great significance for understanding global climate change. The Yellow River basin has a wide spatial range and a complex ecological environment. The phenological characteristics of forest and grassland need further clarification. Based on the MODIS-EVI data from 2000 to 2018, we extracted the phenology of forest and grassland in the Yellow River basin using piecewise logistic and double logistic phenological models with the corresponding curvature change extremum method and derivative method, respectively. The temporal and spatial variations of phenological parameters were analyzed. The start of growing season (SOS) was at 90-165 day of year (DOY), and gradually delayed from southeast to northwest. The increase of 100 m elevation delayed SOS 0.94 d, and the SOS of forest was earlier than that of grassland. The end of growing season (EOS) was at 270-315 DOY, which delayed from west to southeast. For every 100 m increase in altitude, the EOS advanced 0.63 d, with EOS of forest being later than that of grassland. The length of growing season (LOS) was 110-230 d, which shortened gradually from southeast to northwest. The LOS of forest was larger than that of grassland. During the study, SOS showed an advance trend from 2000 to 2018 with a rate of 4.1 d·(10 a)-1, and the proportion of spatial advance area was 73.2%. There was an obvious advance in the central part of the basin. EOS generally showed a significant postponement trend with a rate of 2.3 d·(10 a)-1, and the proportion of spatially delayed area was 63.4%, the phenological advance and delay of forest was less stronger than that of grassland. LOS showed a significant prolongation trend with a rate of 6.4 d·(10 a)-1, and the proportion of spatial extension was 71.8%. The piecewise Logistic and double Logistic phenological models and the corresponding curvature extremum method and derivative method were suitable for the extraction of natural vegetation in the Yellow River Basin. The overall LOS of forest and grassland showed a prolonging trend, which was shortened with the increases of altitude. The LOS of forest was longer than that of grassland in the study area.

Altered fecal microbiome and metabolome in adult patients with non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis.

BACKGROUND: Emerging experimental and epidemiological evidence highlights a crucial cross-talk between the intestinal flora and the lungs, termed the "gut-lung axis". However, the function of the gut microbiota in bronchiectasis remains undefined. In this study, we aimed to perform a multi-omics-based approach to identify the gut microbiome and metabolic profiles in patients with bronchiectasis. METHODS: Fecal samples collected from non-CF bronchiectasis patients (BE group, n = 61) and healthy volunteers (HC group, n = 37) were analyzed by 16 S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) sequencing. The BE group was divided into two groups based on their clinical status: acute exacerbation (AE group, n = 31) and stable phase (SP group, n = 30). Further, metabolome (lipid chromatography-mass spectrometry, LC-MS) analyses were conducted in randomly selected patients (n = 29) and healthy volunteers (n = 31). RESULTS: Decreased fecal microbial diversity and differential microbial and metabolic compositions were observed in bronchiectasis patients. Correlation analyses indicated associations between the differential genera and clinical parameters such as bronchiectasis severity index (BSI). Disease-associated gut microbiota was screened out, with eight genera exhibited high accuracy in distinguishing SP patients from HCs in the discovery cohort and validation cohort using a random forest model. Further correlation networks were applied to illustrate the relations connecting disease-associated genera and metabolites. CONCLUSION: The study uncovered the relationships among the decreased fecal microbial diversity, differential microbial and metabolic compositions in bronchiectasis patients by performing a multi-omics-based approach. It is the first study to characterize the gut microbiome and metabolome in bronchiectasis, and to uncover the gut microbiota's potentiality as biomarkers for bronchiectasis. TRIAL REGISTRATION:  This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT04490447.

Machine learning models predict lymph node metastasis in patients with stage T1-T2 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: For patients with stage T1-T2 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), accurately predicting lymph node metastasis (LNM) remains challenging. We aimed to investigate the performance of machine learning (ML) models for predicting LNM in patients with stage T1-T2 ESCC. Methods: Patients with T1-T2 ESCC at three centers between January 2014 and December 2019 were included in this retrospective study and divided into training and external test sets. All patients underwent esophagectomy and were pathologically examined to determine the LNM status. Thirty-six ML models were developed using six modeling algorithms and six feature selection techniques. The optimal model was determined by the bootstrap method. An external test set was used to further assess the model's generalizability and effectiveness. To evaluate prediction performance, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was applied. Results: Of the 1097 included patients, 294 (26.8%) had LNM. The ML models based on clinical features showed good predictive performance for LNM status, with a median bootstrapped AUC of 0.659 (range: 0.592, 0.715). The optimal model using the naive Bayes algorithm with feature selection by determination coefficient had the highest AUC of 0.715 (95% CI: 0.671, 0.763). In the external test set, the optimal ML model achieved an AUC of 0.752 (95% CI: 0.674, 0.829), which was superior to that of T stage (0.624, 95% CI: 0.547, 0.701). Conclusions: ML models provide good LNM prediction value for stage T1-T2 ESCC patients, and the naive Bayes algorithm with feature selection by determination coefficient performed best.

Special epithelioid trophoblastic tumor: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Epithelioid trophoblastic tumor (ETT) is a special type of gestational trophoblastic tumor. However, its pathogenesis has been incompletely elucidated. ETT rarely occurs in the ovaries and fallopian tubes, unlike placental site trophoblastic tumor, requiring a histopathological biopsy and immunohistochemistry for further diagnosis. CASE SUMMARY: A 29-year-old woman with irregular vaginal bleeding and elevated serum chorionic gonadotropin (ß-hCG) levels presented similar symptoms to ectopic pregnancy. Transvaginal ultrasound revealed abnormal echoes of the left adnexa. Postoperatively, the pathology of the left ovary and fallopian tube was reported as ETT. The patient was followed up with regular hCG measurements and ultrasounds. The blood hCG values showed an upward trend 3 mo after the operation and then chemotherapy was prescribed. The current health status is normal. CONCLUSION: For women of childbearing age with elevated serum ß-hCG levels, practitioners should consider ETT and be alert to the poor prognosis of the disease. After surgery, the patient's condition should be closely observed to prevent recurrence and metastasis. Postoperative chemotherapy is only helpful for treating the disease to a certain extent.

[Mitochondrial DNA and cGAS-STING Innate Immune Signaling Pathway: Latest Research Progress].

Mitochondria are important organelles that present extensively in cells, serving diverse functions. In addition to controlling cell energy production and metabolism, mitochondria are also involved in various biological processes, including anti-infection, apoptosis, and autophagy. Harmful stimuli from external environment or those generated by the cells themselves can damage mitochondria and cause mitochondrial stress response, during which the mitochondrial matrix containing mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) can leak into the cytoplasm. Cytoplasmic mtDNA, acting as a damage-associated molecular pattern (DAMP), can activate a panel of DNA sensors and elicit innate immune response in organisms. Cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS), a key intracellular DNA sensor, can catalyze the conversion of GTP and ATP to cyclic GMP-AMP (2'3'-cGAMP), which serves as second messenger to bind and activate stimulator of interferon gene (STING), an endoplasmic adaptor protein. Beyond its critical roles in anti-microbial immunity, cGAS-STING pathway also serves important functions in many pathological and physiological processes such as autoimmunity, tumor and senescence. In this review, we focus on how the mtDNA released during mitochonrial stress response activates the cGAS-STING innate immune signaling pathway and the associated diseases, in order to help promote basic research about the role of mitochondria in innate immunity and provide new strategies for developing mitochondria-targeting drugs.

Enhanced response to PD-L1 silencing by modulation of TME via balancing glucose metabolism and robust co-delivery of siRNA/Resveratrol with dual-responsive polyplexes.

Since cellular metabolism reprogramming is one of the crucial hallmarks of tumor, glucose metabolic pathways are emerging as an important target for modulating immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) in favor of anti-PD-L1 therapy. Aiming at boosting immune response by modulation immunosuppressive TME via balancing the glycolysis and mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) of tumor cells, we developed a dual-responsive mPEG-PLA-PHis-ss-PEI polyplexes (DRP/Res/siP) for robust co-delivery of PD-L1 siRNA and resveratrol (Res). Isothermal titration calorimetry confirmed the non-electrostatic interactions between PD-L1 siRNA and PHis block of the copolymer, which contributed to the efficient and synchronized release of siRNA with Res in response to the acidic and reductive environment by destabilizing the siRNA polyplexes. The extracellular acidification rate (ECAR) and the oxygen consumption rate (OCR) as well as some key enzymes involved in glycolysis and mitochondrial OXPHOS pathways were determined to quantify the glucose metabolism balance. Effective downregulation of glycolysis and upregulation of mitochondrial OXPHOS were observed in the tumor cells treated with DRP/Res/siP, leading to remarkably reduced lactate production and glucose consumption. In vivo anti-tumor results showed that upregulation of mitochondrial OXPHOS pathways not only significantly promoted CD8+ and CD4+ T cells infiltration, IFN-γ secretion but also significantly suppressed the Treg cells and MDSCs at the same glycolysis level, resulting in superior anti-tumor effect in combination with PD-L1 silencing. Our findings indicate that balancing glucose metabolic pathways of glycolysis and mitochondrial OXPHOS provides a more reliable immune boosting strategy to PD-L1 silencing than exclusive glycolysis inhibition.

Changes in NK Cell Subsets and Receptor Expressions in HIV-1 Infected Chronic Patients and HIV Controllers.

Natural killer (NK) cells are major effectors of the innate immune response and purported to play an influential role in the spontaneous control of HIV infection. In the present study, we compared the phenotypes of NK cells in the peripheral blood of three groups of subjects with chronic HIV-1 infection, HIV controllers, and healthy donors. The results showed that CD56+/CD16- NK cell subsets decreased in chronic patients and remained unchanged in controllers. Notably, we found that people living with chronic HIV-1 infection had suppressed NKp80, NKp46, and NKG2D expressions on NK cells compared to healthy donors, while HIV controllers remained unchanged. In contrast, NKG2D expression was substantially higher in controllers than in chronic patients (M=97.67, p<0.001). There were no significant differences in inhibitory receptors KIR3DL1 and KIR2DL1 expressions. In addition, plasma cytokine IFN-γ, TNF-α and IL-12showed higher levels in HIV controllers compared to chronic patients. Overall, our study revealed that, as compared to chronic patients, HIV controllers show an increased activating receptors expression and higher number ofCD56+/CD16-NK cell subset, with increased expression levels of plasma cytokines, suggesting that higher immune activation in controllers may have a key role in killing and suppressing HIV.

Ubiquitination of NOTCH2 by DTX3 suppresses the proliferation and migration of human esophageal carcinoma.

The NOTCH2 gene plays a role in the development of many tumors. Deltex E3 ubiquitin ligase 3 (DTX3) was identified as a novel E3 ligase for NOTCH2 and as a potential therapeutic target for esophageal cancer. However, whether DTX3 could regulate NOTCH2 to suppress the progression of esophageal carcinoma remains unknown. In our study, NOTCH2 had higher expression in human esophageal carcinoma cell lines compared to normal human esophageal epithelial cell line, and ablation of NOTCH2 suppressed the proliferation and migration of esophageal carcinoma cells. A novel E3 ligase for NOTCH2 was identified by yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) screening, and DTX3 promoted the ubiquitination and degradation of NOTCH2. Further study showed that DTX3 overexpression suppressed the proliferation and tumorigenicity of human oesophageal carcinoma cells. The analysis of tissue samples from patients revealed that the expression of NOTCH2 was high while the expression of DTX3 was low in esophageal cancer. Furthermore, the expression of DTX3 and NOTCH2 showed a significant negative correlation in human oesophageal cancer samples. Our study suggested that the DTX3-NOTCH2 axis plays an important role in the progression of esophageal cancer, and DTX3 acts as an anti-oncogene in esophageal carcinoma, potentially offering a therapeutic target for esophageal cancer.

WZ66, a novel acetyl-CoA carboxylase inhibitor, alleviates nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) in mice.

The global prevalence of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) increases incredibly. NASH ends up to advanced liver disease, which is highly threatening to human health. Currently, treatment of NASH is very limited. Acetyl-CoA carboxylases (ACC1/ACC2) are proved as effective drug targets for NASH. We aimed to develop novel ACC inhibitors and evaluate their therapeutic value for NASH prevention. ACC inhibitors were obtained through structure-based drug design, synthesized, screened from ACC enzymatic measurement platform and elucidated in cell culture-based assays and animal models. The lipidome and microbiome analysis were integrated to assess the effects of WZ66 on lipids profiles in liver and plasma as well as gut microbiota in the intestine. WZ66 was identified as a novel ACC1/2 inhibitor. It entered systemic circulation rapidly and could accumulate in liver. WZ66 alleviated NASH-related liver features including steatosis, Kupffer cells and hepatic stellate cells activation in diet-induced obese mice. The triglycerides (TGs) and other lipids including diglycerides (DGs), phosphatidylcholine (PC) and sphingomyelin (SM) were decreased in WZ66-treated mice as evidenced by lipidome analysis in livers. The lipids profiles in plasma were also altered with WZ66 treatment. Plasma TG were moderately increased, while the activation of SREBP1c was not detected. WZ66 also downregulated the abundance of Allobaculum, Mucispirillum and Prevotella genera as well as Mucispirillum schaedleri species in gut microbiota. WZ66 is an ideal lead compound and a potential drug candidate deserving further investigation in the therapeutics of NASH.

HIV prevalence in suspected Ebola cases during the 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone.

BACKGROUND: The 2014-2016 Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa was the largest outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in history. Clarifying the influence of other prevalent diseases such as human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) will help improve treatment and supportive care of patients with EVD. CASE PRESENTATION: We examined HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibody prevalence among suspected EVD cases from the Sierra Leone-China Friendship Biological Safety Laboratory during the epidemic in Sierra Leone. HIV and HCV antibodies were tested in 678 EVD-negative samples by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. A high HIV prevalence (17.6%) and low HCV prevalence (0.22%) were observed among the suspected cases. Notably, we found decreased HIV positive rates among the suspected cases over the course of the epidemic. This suggests a potentially beneficial effect of an improved public health system after assistance from the World Health Organization and other international aid organizations. CONCLUSIONS: This EVD epidemic had a considerable impact on the public health system and influenced the prevalence of HIV found among suspected cases in Sierra Leone, but also provided an opportunity to establish a better surveillance network for infectious diseases.

Testes-specific protease 50 as an independent risk factor for poor prognosis in patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

Testes-specific protease 50 (TSP50) is normally expressed in the testes and is overexpressed in various types of human cancers, including breast cancer, colorectal carcinoma and laryngocarcinoma. However, little has been reported on the association between TSP50 and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The present study aimed to detect TSP50 expression in 198 strict follow-up cases of paired NSCLC and 15 cases of normal lung parenchymal specimens using immunohistochemical staining. The expression levels of TSP50 were then correlated with the clinicopathological factors of NSCLC to assess its potential diagnostic and prognostic value. The relationship between TSP50 expression and the clinicopathological parameters of NSCLC was evaluated using χ2 and Fisher's exact tests. Survival rates for the overall population (n=198) were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method, and univariate and multivariate analyses were performed using the Cox's proportional hazards regression model. P<0.05 was considered to indicate a statistically significant difference. The expression of TSP50 was significantly increased in NSCLC tissue compared with in adjacent non-tumor or normal lung parenchymal tissue (P<0.001). A significant association was revealed between high expression levels of TSP50 and clinicopathological characteristics including tumor differentiation (P=0.012), late tumor status (P=0.004) and late tumor node metastasis stage (P=0.026), as well as a reduced disease free survival (P=0.009) and overall survival rate (P=0.002) in all patients with NSCLC. Multivariate analyses demonstrated that high TSP50 expression in tumor tissues was significantly associated with a shorter disease-free survival rate [hazard ratio (HR) =1.590, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.035-2.441], and with a shorter overall survival rate (HR=1.814; 95% CI: 1.156-2.846). In conclusion, the present data demonstrated that increased TSP50 protein expression may be a potential predictor of early recurrence and poor prognosis in NSCLC, and that TSP50 expression levels possess the potential to be used as a biomarker and therapeutic target for the treatment of patients with NSCLC.

Is Lung Ultrasound Useful for Diagnosing Pneumonia in Children?: A Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Childhood mortality due to pneumonia is high. Chest radiography is the primary imaging modality used for the evaluation of pneumonia in children. Lung ultrasonography (LUS) is a newer, alternative diagnostic method that has been gaining popularity in recent years. We conducted a meta-analysis to summarize the diagnostic usefulness of LUS for childhood pneumonia. METHODS: All studies included in this meta-analysis were retrieved from PubMed, Elsevier's Science Direct, and Springer, and by manual searches including the use of reference lists, through March 31, 2017. Two researchers independently screened the literature, extracted the data, and evaluated risks of bias in accordance with the inclusion and exclusion criteria. For the meta-analysis, we calculated the pooled sensitivity and specificity, pooled positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio, and the diagnostic odds ratio. Summary receiver operating characteristic curve was used to assess the overall performance of LUS. RESULTS: Our search identified 1038 articles, and we selected 51 of these for detailed review. Eight studies containing 1013 patients met all the inclusion criteria and were included in the final meta-analysis. The pooled sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of pneumonia using LUS were 93.0% (95% confidence interval, 88.0%-96.0%) and 96.0% (95% confidence interval, 92.0%-98.0%), respectively. The pooled positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio, and diagnostic odds ratio were 25.8 (11.0, 60.4), 0.07 (0.05, 0.12), and 344 (104, 1140), respectively. In addition, the summary receiver operating characteristic area under the curve was calculated to be 0.98 (0.97, 0.99). A Fagan plot analysis demonstrated that when pretest probabilities were 25%, 50%, and 75%, the positive posttest probabilities were 90%, 96%, and 99%, respectively, and the negative posttest probabilities were 2%, 7%, and 18%, respectively. Four clinical signs were most frequently observed using LUS in the screening of children with pneumonia: pulmonary consolidation, positive air bronchogram, abnormal pleural line, and pleural effusion. CONCLUSIONS: Current evidence supports LUS as a useful imaging alternative for the diagnosis of childhood pneumonia. That it is easily carried out, readily available, relatively inexpensive, and free from the hazards of radiation make it an attractive alternative to chest radiography and physical examination for the diagnosis and the follow-up of pneumonia in children.

Binding effect of fluorescence labeled glycyrrhetinic acid with GA receptors in hepatocellular carcinoma cells.

Glycyrrhetinic acid (GA) is a natural active component from licorice, which is broadly used in traditional Chinese medicine. Lots of glycyrrhetinic acid receptors (GA-R) are proved to locate on the surface of liver cells. Many reports about the hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treatment were dependent on GA modified carriers. However, the reality of GA-R in HCC cells was not clear. In this paper, 18ß-glycyrrhetinic acid (18ß-GA) was labeled with fluorescence (FITC) by chemical synthesis. Together with the binding effect of fluorescence labeled glycyrrhetinic acid (FITC-GA), the competitive action of 18ß-GA with GA-R was investigated in HCC cells. The results showed that in HepG2 cells, 18ß-GA and FITC-GA presented similar cytotoxicity. The specific binding saturation of GA showed the dissociation constant (Kd) was 7.457±2.122pmol/L and the maximum binding counts (Bmax) was 2.385±0.175pmol/2.5×106 cells, respectively. FITC-GA bound to cytomembrane specifically and 18ß-GA competed to bind the sites significantly in HepG2 cells. Therefore, there is binding effect between fluorescence labeled GA and GA-R. The GA-R on HCC cells is confirmed as expected, which provides a useful reference of active target modified by GA and a novel approach for receptors and ligands study.

Ultrasound elastographic evaluation of the median nerve in hemodialysis with carpal tunnel syndrome.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to compare the elasticity of the median nerve (MN) between hemodialysis (HD) patients without carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and with CTS, and to evaluate the diagnostic usefulness of the elasticity of the MN in HD-CTS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The MN in 22 HD patients without CTS and 49 HD-CTS patients was studied. The cross-sectional area (CSA) and the elasticity of the MN, which was measured as the subcutaneous fat/median nerve (SF/MN) strain ratio, were evaluated. RESULTS: The mean SF/MN strain ratio in the groups that had received hemodialysis for 0-5, >5-10, and >10-15 years was 1.4 ± 0.28, 1.7 ± 0.18, and 2.0 ± 0.67, respectively. The mean CSA of the MN in the three groups was 9.9 ± 1.30, 11.6 ± 1.61, and 13.4 ± 2.14 mm2, respectively. The presence of CTS was predicted by means of SF/MN strain ratio and CSA cutoff values of 1.8 and 11 mm2, respectively. Both the SF/MN strain ratio and the CSA in the patients with CTS were higher than those in the patients without CTS (P < 0.05). The sensitivity and specificity of the SF/MN strain ratio and CSA of the MN were 75 and 92 % and 79.2 and 84 %, respectively. CONCLUSION: Sonoelastography helps to improve the diagnostic accuracy of the ultrasonographic assessment of CTS.

Lentivirus-mediated knockdown of TSP50 suppresses the growth of non-small cell lung cancer cells via G0/G1 phase arrest.

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) as the most frequently diagnosed lethal cancer remains the major cause of overall cancer-related death worldwide. Testes-specific protease 50 (TSP50) has been proved as a critical biomarker in various cancers, and we previously reported that TSP50 protein expression is overexpressed in clinical resected NSCLC tumor tissues and related to poor prognosis in NSCLC patients. Hence, the present study was designed to further investigate the potential oncogenesis mechanism of TSP50 in NSCLC cells. Real-time quantitative PCR, immunohistochemical assay and western blot analysis were used to analyze the TSP50 mRNA and protein expression in 20 NSCLC cases, and TSP50 expression was observed to have high levels in the NSCLC specimens and paired metastatic lymph node tissues when compared to the levels in corresponding normal lung tissues and normal lymph nodes. In the experiments in NSCLC cell lines, lentiviral short hairpin RNA (shRNA) delivery system was applied to knock down TSP50 in 95D cells, and the following investigations revealed that downregulation of TSP50 expression markedly reduced cell proliferation, colony formation and migration ability in vitro. Furthermore, the inhibition of TSP50 induced G0/G1-phase arrest and decreased expression levels of cell cycle relative markers CDK4, CDK6, and CyclinD1 and increased expression of p21 and p53 in 95D cells. In conclusion, this study indicates that TSP50 plays a significant role in NSCLC cell proliferation and may act as a novel oncogene in the development and progression of NSCLC, offering a potential cancer therapeutic target for the treatment of NSCLC.

[Techniques and methods evaluation on pharmaceutical stability of liposomes].

Liposomes as a drug carrier is easy to form aggregation and cause drug leakage in vitro. In addition, the degradation and elimination in vivo happens frequently to reduce its delivery activity. Development and application of liposomes are restricted by the instability. The appropriate techniques and methods are great important in the study of pharmaceutical stability of liposomes. In this paper, the techniques and methods are reviewed on pharmaceutical stability evaluation of liposomes, which was done from physical, chemical and biological stability for the difference in stability of liposomes. The research strategies for establishing the stability evaluation system and improving the value of liposomes have been discussed to make full therapeutic advantage of it.

Mesenchymal stem cells suppress lung inflammation and airway remodeling in chronic asthma rat model via PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.

BACKGROUND: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) came out to attract wide attention and had become one of the hotspots of most diseases' research in decades. But at present, the mechanisms of how MSCs work on chronic asthma remain undefined. Our study aims at verifying whether MSCs play a role in preventing inflammation and airway remodeling via PI3K/AKT signaling pathway in the chronic asthma rats model. METHODS: First, an ovalbumin (OVA)-induced asthma model was built. MSCs were administered to ovalbumin-induced asthma rats. The total cells in a bronchial alveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and inflammatory mediators in BALF and serum were measured. Histological examination of lung tissue was performed to estimate the pathological changes. Additionally, the expression of phosphorylated-Akt (p-Akt) in all groups was measured by western blot and immunohistochemistry (IHC). RESULTS: Compared to normal control group, the degree of airway inflammation and airway remodeling was significantly increased in asthma group. On the contrary, they were obviously inhibited in MSCs transplantation group. Moreover, the expression of p-Akt was increased in lung tissues of asthmatic rats, and suppressed by MSCs transplantation. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrated that MSCs transplantation could suppress lung inflammation and airway remodeling via PI3K/Akt signaling pathway in rat asthma model.

Comparison of treatment outcomes between nonsurgical and surgical treatment of distal radius fracture in elderly: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: The best treatment of distal radius fractures (DRFs) in the elderly is uncertain. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to compare the outcomes of surgical and nonsurgical management of DRFs in persons 65 years of age or older. METHODS: Medline, Cochrane, EMBASE, and Google Scholar databases were searched until April 27, 2015 using the following search terms: distal radius fracture, conservative treatment, nonoperative treatment, nonsurgical treatment, surgical treatment, operative, elderly, and older. The primary outcome measure was DASH score, and secondary outcomes were functional and radiological assessments. The standard difference in post-treatment means was calculated for the outcomes to compare the two groups. RESULTS: Of 59 articles identified, eight studies with a total of 440 patients in the surgical groups and 449 in the control groups were included in the analysis. No significant differences in DASH score, VAS pain score, grip strength, wrist extension, pronation, or supination, and ulnar deviation were noted between the groups. The nonsurgical group had significantly greater wrist flexion, radial deviation, and ulnar variance and less radial inclination than the surgical group. CONCLUSIONS: Surgical and nonsurgical methods produce similar results in the treatment of DRFS in the elderly, and minor objective functional differences did not result an impact on subjective function outcome and quality of life.