Erratum: [Corrigendum] Chloroquine potentiates the anticancer effect of sunitinib on renal cell carcinoma by inhibiting autophagy and inducing apoptosis.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3892/ol.2017.7635.].

Incontinentia pigmenti with intracranial arachnoid cyst: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Incontinentia pigmenti (IP) is a rare X-linked dominant genetic disorder that can be fatal in male infants. It is a disease that affects many systems of the human body. In addition to characteristic skin changes, patients may also have pathological features of the eyes, teeth, and central nervous system. Therefore, the lesions in these systems may be the first symptoms for which patients seek treatment. To date, no cases of IP complicated by intracranial arachnoid cyst (IAC) have been reported. This paper aims to report a case of IP with IAC in order to share the diagnosis and treatment experience of this rare case with other clinicians. CASE SUMMARY: An 11-year-old female patient suffered intermittent limb convulsions for five months and was sent to hospital. In the initial stage, the patient was considered to have primary epilepsy. Further investigation of the patient's medical history, physical examination and imaging examination led to the diagnosis of IP combined with intracranial space-occupying lesions, and secondary epilepsy. The patient was treated with craniotomy, and postoperative pathology revealed an IAC. The patient recovered well after craniotomy and had no obvious surgery-related complications. During the follow-up period, the patient did not have recurrent epilepsy symptoms. CONCLUSION: IP is a multi-system disease that presents with typical skin lesions at birth, but the long-term prognosis of this disease depends on the involvement of systems other than the skin, especially nervous system and ocular lesions.

Activation of the Nrf2/ARE signaling pathway protects against palmitic acid-induced renal tubular epithelial cell injury by ameliorating mitochondrial reactive oxygen species-mediated mitochondrial dysfunction.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is often accompanied by dyslipidemia, and abnormal lipid metabolism in proximal tubule cells is considered closely related to the dysfunction of proximal tubule cells and eventually leads to accelerated kidney damage. Nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), known as a redox-sensitive transcription factor, is responsible for regulating cellular redox homeostasis. However, the exact role of Nrf2 in dyslipidemia-induced dysfunction of proximal tubule cells is still not fully elucidated. In the present study, we showed that palmitic acid (PA) induced mitochondrial damage, excessive mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) (mtROS) generation, and cell injury in HK-2 cells. We further found that mtROS generation was involved in PA-induced mitochondrial dysfunction, cytoskeletal damage, and cell apoptosis in HK-2 cells. In addition, we demonstrated that the Nrf2/ARE signaling pathway was activated in PA-induced HK-2 cells and that silencing Nrf2 dramatically aggravated PA-induced mtROS production, mitochondrial damage, cytoskeletal damage and cell apoptosis in HK-2 cells. However, the mitochondrial antioxidant MitoTEMPOL effectively eliminated these negative effects of Nrf2 silencing in HK-2 cells under PA stimulation. Moreover, activation of the Nrf2/ARE signaling pathway with tBHQ attenuated renal injury, significantly reduced mtROS generation, and improved mitochondrial function in rats with HFD-induced obesity. Taken together, these results suggest that the Nrf2/ARE-mediated antioxidant response plays a protective role in hyperlipidemia-induced renal injury by ameliorating mtROS-mediated mitochondrial dysfunction and that enhancing Nrf2 antioxidant signaling provides a potential therapeutic strategy for kidney injury in CKD with hyperlipidemia.

Primary intracranial synovial sarcoma with hemorrhage: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Synovial sarcoma (SS) is a highly malignant tumor of unknown histological origin. This tumor can occur in various parts of the body, including those without synovial structures, but mainly in and around the joints, mostly in the lower extremities. Primary intracranial SSs are remarkably rare. This paper aims to report a case of primary intracranial SS with hemorrhage. CASE SUMMARY: A 35-year-old male patient suffered a headache and slurred speech during manual labor and was sent to the emergency department. Through imaging examination, the patient was considered to have high-grade glioma complicated with hemorrhage and was treated with craniotomy. Postoperative pathology revealed SS. positron emission tomography/computed tomography was performed, which ruled out the possibility of metastasis to the intracranial from other parts of the body. Postoperative radiotherapy was given to the patient, during which radiation necrosis occurred. Sixteen months after craniotomy, cranial magnetic resonance imaging revealed recurrence of the tumor. CONCLUSION: Primary intracranial SS is a rare malignant tumor. Primary intracranial SS with hemorrhage and radiation necrosis should be carefully monitored during postoperative radiotherapy. Surgical resection of the tumor combined with postoperative radiotherapy and chemotherapy is currently used, but the prognosis is poor.

In Vitro and In Vivo Evaluation of Antitumor Activity of Ligustrum robustum, A Chinese Herbal Tea / 中国结合医学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To examine the effect of the aqueous extract of Ligustrum robustum on tumor growth in vitro and in vivo and explore the possible molecular mechanisms.@*METHODS@#In in vitro study, cell viabilities of human cervical carcinoma cells (HeLa), human breast cancer cells (MCF-7), human prostate cancer cells (PC-3), human hepatoma cells (7721) and human colon carcinoma cells (SW480) were evaluated with cell counting kit-8. For L. robustum-treated Hela cells, early or late apoptosis were evaluated by annexin V/PI staining. Mitochondrial membrane potential was measured by staining cells with JC-1. Apoptosis was monitored by nuclear morphology based on chromatin condensation and fragmentation by 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylinole (DAPI) staining. Caspase-3 and -8 activity levels were measured by a colorimetric assay. In vivo, to evaluate the possible mechanism of L. robustum-mediated antitumor effect, nude mouse xenograft study was also conducted.@*RESULTS@#In in vitro study, L. robustum was found to be toxic to HeLa, MCF-7, PC-3, 7721, SW480, with an half maximal inhibitory concentration value of 2-5 mg/mL (P<0.05). Moreover, externalization of phosphatidylserine, loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, DNA fragmentation and activation of caspase-3 and -8 were detected in L. robustum-treated Hela cells. Using a nude mouse model bearing Hela xenografts, we found that L. robustum reduced tumor volume and tumor weight (P<0.05), but had no effect on body weight and histological damage of important organs. Intraperitoneal injection of L. robustum caused a significant reduction in serum aspartate transaminase and alanine transaminase levels (P<0.05). Furthermore, cleaved caspase-3-positive and terminal nucleotidyl transferase-mediated nick end labeling (TUNEL)-positive cells were observed in L. robustum-treated tumor tissues.@*CONCLUSIONS@#L. robustum inhibits tumor cell growth both in vitro and in vivo by inducing apoptosis in a caspase-dependent way without apparent hepatic toxicity and histological damage, which may offer partial scientific support for the ethnopharmacological claims of L. robustum as a herbal tea for its antitumor activity.

Chloroquine potentiates the anticancer effect of sunitinib on renal cell carcinoma by inhibiting autophagy and inducing apoptosis.

Sunitinib based adjuvant chemotherapy combined with chloroquine (CQ) for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is in clinical trials; however, its anti-RCC effect and the mechanism remain unclear. In the present study, the anti-RCC effect of sunitinib with CQ and the underlying mechanism was investigated. An MTT assay demonstrated that CQ enhanced the proliferation inhibitory effect of sunitinib against the OS-RC-2 RCC cell line. CQ inhibited sunitinib-induced autophagy in OS-RC-2, which was evidenced by the inhibition of autophagic vacuoles, acidic vesicular organelle formation, light chain 3 (LC3)-II recruitment to the autophagosomes and the conversion of LC3-I to LC3-II, as induced by sunitinib. The inhibition of autophagy by CQ enhanced sunitinib-induced apoptosis, which was characterized by the activation of caspase-3, caspase-9, Bcl-2 and p53. Additionally, the exposure of OS-RC-2 cells to CQ and sunitinib resulted in the inhibition of AKT, tuberous sclerosis complex 2, mechanistic target of rapamycin and p70 ribosomal S6 kinase, which are associated with cell proliferation. In in vivo study, a combination of sunitinib with CQ in mice significantly reduced OS-RC-2 cell xenograft growth compared with the sunitinib alone group. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that CQ may enhance the anti-RCC effect of sunitinib by inhibiting the autophagy induced by sunitinib, and enhance the rate of apoptosis. Inhibiting cell proliferation may also serve a role in the synergistic antitumor effect of sunitinib and CQ. These data suggest that combination therapy of sunitinib with CQ may be a promising strategy for adjuvant chemotherapy in RCC.

[Study on the effect of extracts from the leaves of Phyllanthus emblica on immune function of mice].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of extracts from the leaves of Phyllanthus emblica (PLFs) on the immune function of mice. METHODS: 70 Kunming mice were choosed to conduct the acute toxicity test of PLFs. The mice were randomly divided into four groups: PLFs high-dosage group, mid-dosage group, low-dosage group and control group. The high,mid,low-dosage groups were treated with PLFs 1.982, 0.991 and 0.496 g/kg respectively per day. The same volume of double distilled water was given to the control group. All by intragastric administration for 7 d. The animals were killed and indexes of thymus and spleen were calculated. The expurgation index K and phagocyte index a were detected after the mice being injected with a dilute India ink through caudal vein. In addition, prepared spleen cells conventionally,the activity of Natural Killer cells was measured and the proliferation of T and B cells were detected. The effect of the extracts on serum hemolysin was detected after the SRBC was injected into the enterocoelia. RESULTS: The LD50 of PLFs was 9. 911 g/kg. Compared with the control group, the indexes of thymus and spleen in the treatment groups had no markedly difference (P > 0.05). The high- and mid-dosage groups could obviously improve the expurgation index K (P < 0.05), phagocyte index alpha (P < 0.05) and NK cell activity (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The extracts from Phyllanthus emblica leaves can promote nonspecific immunity immune function in mice.

[Study on the willingness of care and related influencing factors among caregivers of those stranded children under 7 years in Chinese rural areas].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the willingness of care and related influencing factors among caregivers of those 'left at hometown' children under 7 years in Chinese rural areas. METHODS: Questionnaires were used to survey caregivers (n = 7585) who were identified by multi-stage stratified cluster sampling. Multi-factor ordinal logistic regression analysis was used to screen the influencing factors on the willingness of care among them. RESULTS: The percentage on 'very willing', 'willing', 'unwilling' on those 'left at home' children were 41.1%, 55.4% and 3.5% respectively in the group with single parent while 19.5%, 71.4% and 9.1% respectively in the group of both parents having left home. Data from the multi-factor ordinal logistic regression analysis showed that factors including the age of the caregiver, annual per capita income for caregivers' families, social connections and the length of children's mother being absent, amount of fees for living provided by parent/parents, and the child's age and lifestyle, being the only child or not, and the age of the child when the parent/parents left the residence etc, were related to the willingness of care of the givers. CONCLUSION: Willingness of care calls for attention and urgent improvement. Influencing factors and measures need to be taken when necessary.

Breakdown of the gut barrier in patients with multiple organ dysfunction syndrome is attenuated by continuous blood purification: effects on tight junction structural proteins.

BACKGROUND: Breakdown of the gut barrier increases intestinal permeability and allows movement of intraluminal contents across the mucosa, which can lead to distant organ injury and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS). Intestinal permeability is associated with alterations in cellular tight junctions involving the structural proteins occludin and zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1). The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of continuous blood purification (CBP) on gut barrier function in patients with MODS. METHOD: Serum diamine oxidase (DAO) and endotoxin, epithelial monolayer permeability, and transepithelial electrical resistance (TER) were used as markers for the assessment of gut barrier function in 22 patients with MODS who underwent continuous venovenous hemofiltration (CWH) for 24 hours. Blood samples were taken from patients at 0, 6, 12, and 24 hours during CWH therapy. Serum DAO and endotoxin were determined by spectrophotography. Permeability and TER were assessed using Caco-2 cell monolayers. Occludin and ZO-1 protein levels were analyzed by immunoblotting and immunofluorescence staining. And inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) mRNA levels and nitric oxide (NO) production were determined by real-time PCR and spectrophotography, respectively. RESULT: Gut barrier dysfunction was evident in patients with MODS compared with normal controls. Serum DAO, endotoxin levels, and epithelial permeability were elevated, while TER was decreased in patients with MODS, and this change was more pronounced in nonsurvivors. Breakdown and reorganization of occludin and ZO-1 away from tight junctions was found in all MODS patients. After CBP treatment, APACHE II and MODS scores improved significantly. Serum DAO and endotoxin levels and epithelial permeability also diminished, while TER increased in all patients; CBP significantly attenuated breakdown and reorganization of tight junction proteins, and also attenuated the inflammation-induced increase in iNOS mRNA expression and NO production. CONCLUSION: Breakdown of gut barrier function is present in patients with MODS and may be correlated with poor outcomes in the disease. CBP can not only improve the general conditions, as measured by the APACHE II score, but also improve gut barrier dysfunction by attenuating the breakdown and reorganization of occludin and ZO-1. This beneficial effect of CBP on gut barrier dysfunction is associated with down-regulation of iNOS.

[Research on predicting the qualities of stem of alfalfa hay by near infrared reflectance spectroscopy].

The present research was attempted to predict the qualities of stem of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L. ) without separation from the whole plant by near infrared reflectance spectroscopy and discussed the feasibility of using the near infrared reflectance spectra information of the whole object to predict the qualities of a certain part. Sixty six whole alfalfa hay samples of separated stems from leaves were collected and they were distinguishing by years, cultivars, cuts and growing periods. There were 138 calibration samples and 60 validation samplers. Fourier transform-near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (FT-NIRS) and partial least square (PLS) were used to set up the calibration models of stem's crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), crude ash (CA) and in vitro digestible dry matter (IVDDM) contents. All models showed great calibration and prediction performances except the one of stem's NDF content. The correlation coefficients of cross-validation (rCV) were between 0.8523 and 0.9007, the root mean square errors of cross-validation (RMSECV) were between 0.72% and 3.96% and the correlation coefficients of NIRS values and chemical values (r) were between 0.9255 and 0.9512. However, rCV, RMSECV and r of the model of stem's NDF content were 0.8214, 3.70% and 0.9020, respectively. It wasn't exact enough and would be used for rough predicting only. All of the results showed that near infrared reflectance spectra information of whole alfalfa hay could be used to predict some components of its stem exactly. It was the maiden attempt of using near infrared reflectance spectra information of the whole objects to evaluated the qualities of a certain part.

[Survey of the development of near-infrared spectroscopy instruments].

The technology of near-infrared spectroscopic analysis goes by the name of "superman" in the field of analytical chemistry. It is one of the most attention-attracting spectroscopic analysis technologies, and is developing rapidly nowadays. The first near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) instrument in the world is fifty years old. Although the authors only have a history of twenty years in NIRS instrument manufacturing, the achievements are exciting. The NIRS instruments are developing and emerging endlessly with the advancement of science. Firstly, the survey of the development of NIRS instruments is described in the present article. Secondly, the principles and the characteristics of five types of NIRS instruments are discussed, including interference filters, Fourier transform, acousto-optic tunable filter, and so on. In addition, the primary producers and their popular products are enumerated in the table. Finally, the direction of NIRS instrument development is viewed.