Urine α-fetoprotein and orosomucoid 1 as biomarkers of hepatitis B virus-associated hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the sixth common malignant tumor worldwide, but current efficient and convenient screening methods remain lacking. This study aimed to discover a diagnostic or a screening biomarker from the urine of hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related HCC patients. We used iTRAQ coupled with mass spectrometry to identify candidate urinary proteins in a discovery cohort (n = 40). The selected proteins were confirmed using ELISA in a validation cohort (n = 140). Diagnostic performance of the selected proteins was assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and qualitative diagnostic analysis. A total of 96 differentially expressed proteins were identified. Urinary α-fetoprotein (u-AFP) and orosomucoid 1 (u-ORM1) were selected as target proteins by bioinformatics analysis and were significantly higher in HCC than in non-HCC patients, as validated by Western blot analysis and ELISA. u-AFP had a strong correlation with serum AFP-L3 (Pearson's r = 0.944, P < 0.0001), indicating that u-AFP may be derived from circulating blood. The area under the curve (AUC) of u-AFP was 0.795 with a sensitivity of 62.5% and a specificity of 95.4%, which showed no significantly difference with serum AFP (se-AFP). The AUC was 0.864 as u-AFP and u-ORM1 were combined, and they performed much better than u-AFP or u-ORM1 alone. Qualitative diagnostic analysis showed that the positive predictive value of u-AFP was 90.1% and the diagnostic sensitivity of parallel combination of u-AFP and u-ORM1 was 85.1%. Taken together, AFP and ORM1 in the urine may be used as a diagnostic or screening biomarker of HCC, and studies on large samples are needed to validate the result.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This study provides a novel way to find biomarkers of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and a new perspective of α-fetoprotein clinical application. The urine reagent strips may be helpful in high epidemic areas of HCC and in low-resource settings.

Protective Effect of Ethanol Extracts of the Chinese Caterpillar Mushroom, Ophiocordyceps sinensis (Ascomycetes), on the Experimental Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion/Reperfusion (MCAO/R) Model.

In this study, we investigated the effects of ethanol extracts of Ophiocordyceps sinensis (EEOS) on neuroprotective efficacy in a rat model of focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (IR). The effects of EEOS on mortality rate, neurobehavior, grip strength, polymorphonuclear (PMN) cells, interleukin (IL)-1ß, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, intracellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1), and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunohistochemistry. The cerebral infarction was examined through tetrazolium chloride staining. EEOS significantly inhibited IR-induced brain production of IL-1ß, TNF-α, iNOS, ICAM-1, and COX-2. Moreover, EEOS suppressed infiltration of PMN cells. EEOS caused a significant reduction in the infarct size compared with the middle cerebral artery occlusion group. The study demonstrates the neuroprotective potential of EEOS inhibition of IR through anti-inflammatory activity in a rat model of IR.

[Protective effect of jiedu tongluo injection on cerebral edema in rats with lesion of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the protective effects of Jiedu Tongluo injection on cerebral edema induced by focal lesion of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion, the hydrous content of brain and the expressions of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), E-selectin and MMP-9 in rats. METHOD: The model of brain middle cerebral artery ischemia/reperfusion was established by the thread approach. After 24 hours of reperfusion, cerebral edema formation was determined by the hydrous content of brain. The permeability of blood brain barrier was evaluated based on the leakage of Evans blue. Enzyme-linked immunoadsordent assay (ELISA)was used to examine the expression of ICAM-1, VCAM-1, E-selectin. The expression of MMP-9 was measured by immunohistochemistry. RESULT: JDTL, in the dose of 2 mL x kg(-1) and 4 mL x kg(-1), relieved cerebral edema (P < 0.05, P < 0.01), reduced the expressions of ICAM-1, VCAM-land E-selectin and decreased MMP-9 activity (P < 0. 05, P < 0.01) in model rats. CONCLUSION: Jiedu Tongluo injection has a protective effect on rat brain from cerebral edema induced by the injury of focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion. The mechanism is related to that Jiedu Tongluo injection can reduce the expressions of ICAM-1, VCAM-1 and E-selectin and inhibit of MMP-9 activation in rat brain.