Rg1 inhibits high glucose-induced mesenchymal activation and fibrosis via regulating miR-2113/RP11-982M15.8/Zeb1 pathway.

Recent study has showed that Ginsenoside Rg1, the mian active compound of Panax ginseng, could ameliorate oxidative stress and myocardial apoptosis in diabetes mellitus. However, the roles and mechanisms of Rg1 in proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) are still unclear. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the effects of Rg1 on mesenchymal activation of high-glucose (HG) cultured müller cells. High glucose conditions up-regulate MMP-2, MMP-9 and down-regulate TIMP-2, and promote mesenchymal activation in Müller cells. And Rg1 inhibits the HG-induced mesenchymal activation and HG-increased MMP-2 and MMP-9 and HG-decreased TIMP-2 in Müller cells. HG up-regulates Zeb1 and lncRNA RP11-982M15.8, and down-regulates miR-2113, and Rg1 inhibits these effects of HG. Both inhibition of miR-2113 and over-expression of RP11-982M15.8 significantly restored the HG induced mesenchymal activasion. Taken together, our findings suggested that Rg1 inhibited HG-induced mesenchymal activation and fibrosis via regulating miR-2113/RP11-982M15.8/Zeb1 pathway.

Discriminative analysis of mild Alzheimer's disease and normal aging using volume of hippocampal subfields and hippocampal mean diffusivity: an in vivo magnetic resonance imaging study.

BACKGROUND: Studies discovered that the hippocampal subfields are differentially affected by pathological damage, and magnetic resonance (MR) diffusion tensor imaging parameters might be more sensitive measures of early degeneration in Alzheimer's disease (AD) than conventional MR imaging techniques. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the significance of the volume of hippocampal subfields and the mean diffusivity (MD) value of hippocampus in discrimination between mild AD and normal aging. METHODS: A total of 29 patients with mild AD and 30 normal aging were scanned. Binary logistic regression analysis was applied to assess the diagnostic significance of the volumes of hippocampal subfields and the MD value of hippocampus. RESULTS: All hippocampal subfields except right tail atrophied significantly in the mild AD group (P < .05). The relative volumes of right CA1 and subiculum subfields entered the binary logistic regression model. The accuracy was 91.8%, which was improved to 93.9% as the MD value of right hippocampus entered the model. CONCLUSION: Atrophy was present in almost all hippocampal subfields at mild AD stage. The volumes of CA1 and subiculum were of the most diagnostic significance in discrimination of mild AD, which can be improved by the combination of volume and diffusivity analysis.

Discriminative analysis of early-stage Alzheimer's disease and normal aging with automatic segmentation technique in subcortical gray matter structures: a multicenter in vivo MRI volumetric and DTI study.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have revealed that amyloid depositions exist in not only the hippocampus but in other subcortical gray matter structures as well. Diffusion-tensor imaging (DTI) parameters might be more sensitive measures of early degeneration in Alzheimer's disease (AD) than conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques. PURPOSE: To evaluate the significance of the volumes and the mean diffusivity (MD) values of subcortical gray matter structures in discrimination between early-stage AD and normal subjects using the Integrated Registration and Segmentation Tool in FMRIB's Software Library. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Fifty-three cases of early-stage AD and 30 normal aging volunteers from two hospitals were scanned with 3D-FSPGRIR and SSSE-EPI sequences using two similar 1.5T MR systems. The mean relative volumes and mean MD values of subcortical gray matter structures were compared between early-stage AD and control groups. Binary logistic regression analysis and receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves were applied to assess the diagnostic significance of every structure's relative volume, MD value, and combination of both. RESULTS: The relative volumes of the left hippocampus, right amygdala, bilateral thalamus, right caudate, left putamen, and bilateral pallidum were significantly lower in the early-stage AD group than in the control group (P < 0.05). The MD values of the bilateral hippocampus and pallidum, and of the right thalamus and caudate were significantly elevated in the early-stage AD group (P < 0.05). In binary logistic regression analysis, the relative volume of left hippocampus and age entered the final model of volumetric analysis. The MD values of bilateral hippocampi and pallidums entered the final model of MD analysis. The MD values of bilateral hippocampi and pallidums, and the relative volume of left pallidum, entered the final model of combination analysis. The accuracy of three models was 84.7%, 88.9%, and 93.1%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Pathological changes takes place in the hippocampus and other subcortical gray matter structures in early-stage AD. Diffusive imaging has great diagnostic significance in early-stage AD. The combination of both imaging modalities can lead to better discrimination between early-stage AD and normal aging.

The evaluation of basic fibroblast growth factor and fibroblastic growth factor receptor 1 levels in saliva and serum of patients with salivary gland tumor.

Basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF2) is a well-known endothelial mitogen that regulates endothelial cell proliferation, migration, differentiation, and survival. In the present study, we investigated the levels of FGF2 and fibroblastic growth factor receptor 1 (FGFR1) in saliva and serum of patients with salivary gland tumors. Saliva and serum samples were collected from 43 patients with salivary gland tumors and 40 healthy volunteers. The FGF2 and FGFR1 concentrations in saliva and serum samples were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. We found that the levels of FGF2 and FGFR1 in saliva and serum from patients with salivary gland tumors were significantly higher than those from healthy control subjects. These results suggest that salivary FGF2 and FGFR1 can be used as potential biomarkers in the diagnosis of salivary gland tumors.

Association between MSX1 variants and oral clefts in Han Chinese in western China.

Previous animal and association studies have shown that the MSX1 gene is associated with oral clefts. Our aim was to investigate association between variants in the MSX1 gene and oral clefts in a Han Chinese population. Our study group consisted of 206 nonsyndromic oral cleft (NSOC) nuclear families (including the patients and their parents) and 224 controls. The three variants evaluated in this study were single-nucleotide polymorphisms rs3821949 and rs12532 and a missense mutation P147Q. Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism was used to genotype the three markers. Case-control and family-based association analyses were carried out. In the case-control analysis, no significant differences in genotypic or allelic frequencies were observed in any of the two single-nucleotide polymorphisms between patients and controls. Although the homozygous T allele for P147Q was not detected in any sample in this population, heterozygotes were more prevalent in NSOC (1.2%) when compared with the controls (0%). The analyses for family-based association did not suggest association between any of the three variants and NSOC. No significant association was found between NSOC and rs3821949 or rs12532 in MSX1 gene, whereas an association was observed between the P147Q variant and cleft lip with cleft palate in the case-control analysis.

Retroperitoneal hemangiopericytoma: case report and literature review.

Retroperitoneal hemangiopericytoma is a kind of uncommon tumor. We report a case of 41-year-old man who was diagnosed retroperitoneal tumor without significant symptoms by abdominal ultrasonography. Abdominal CT and MRI scans show a 6 cm × 5 cm solid tumor delineated clearly from adjacent organs. Excision of the tumor was performed and the histopathological examination confirmed the diagnosis of hemangiopericytoma.