The association of breastfeeding duration on metabolic syndrome among children and adolescents, stratified by birth weight for gestational age.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to examine the associations between breastfeeding duration and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in adolescents and to further investigate the role of birth weight for gestational age (GA) on these associations. METHODS: A total of 10 275 participants aged 7 to 18 years were included applying multistage cluster random sampling from a Chinese national survey. Birth weight was classified into small for GA (SGA), appropriate for GA (AGA) and large for GA (LGA). Information was collected through a self-administered questionnaire, physical examination and blood biochemical examination. Multivariable linear regression, logistic regression models, restricted cubic spline models were applied to assess the relationships of breastfeeding duration and MetS with different birth weight for GA. RESULTS: The prevalence of non-breastfeeding, 0-5, 6-12 and >12 months groups were 16.2%, 23.1%, 42.5% and 18.2%, and the prevalence of SGA and LGA was 11.9% and 12.7%, respectively. Prolonged breastfeeding duration was associated with higher odds of MetS (ß: 0.08, 95% CI: 0.03, 0.13), WC (ß: 3.49, 95% CI: 2.82, 4.16) and SBP (ß: 2.34, 95% CI: 1.80, 2.89). SGA and prolonged breastfeeding synergistically increased MetS risks, but LGA appeared to offset the adverse effects of prolonged breastfeeding. CONCLUSION: Prolonged breastfeeding may increase children's MetS risks. SGA synergies with prolonged breastfeeding increased MetS burden in children and adolescents, while LGA mitigated the risks. This reminds us that intensive attention should be paid to both early birth weight and subsequent living environment for children and adolescents' lifelong health.

Heterogeneous expression of mismatch repair proteins and interpretation of immunohistochemical results in colorectal cancer and endometrial cancer.

To investigate the heterogeneous expression patterns of four mismatch repair (MMR) proteins in colorectal cancer (CRC) and endometrial cancer (EC), and their effects on the interpretation of immunohistochemical (IHC) results. A total of 1636 CRC and EC specimens were collected from two hospitals. Seventy-eight cases had heterogeneous expression of MMR proteins, including 49 CRC and 29 EC cases. Polymerase chain reaction-capillary electrophoresis (PCR-CE) was then performed to detect the microsatellite instability (MSI) status, and 44 cases were further verified by targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS). Heterogeneous expression of MMR proteins was observed in 66 cases (66/78, 84.6%) of proficient MMR (pMMR) and 12 cases (12/78, 15.4%) of deficient MMR (dMMR). The proportion of heterogeneous MMR protein expression in EC (12.0%) was higher than that in CRC (3.5%). The heterogeneous expression patterns were divided into focal clonal heterogeneity (6/78, 7.7%) and glandular mosaic heterogeneity (72/78, 92.3%). Surprisingly, three pMMR CRC cases showed isolated small focal clonal heterogeneity of mutS homologue 6 (MSH6), with < 15% positive tumour cells, which was validated as high MSI (MSI-H) with PCR-CE and NGS. However, the other three EC pMMR cases with > 50% focal clonal heterogeneity of MMR proteins were verified as microsatellite stable (MSS) or low MSI (MSI-L). Fifteen EC cases with glandular mosaic heterogeneous expression of MMR proteins included two MSI-H cases, which were validated using PCR-CE and NGS. Among the dMMR cases, only two EC cases with mutL homologue 1 (MLH1)/PMS1 homologue 2, mismatch repair system component (PMS2) loss and MSH2/MSH6 mosaic heterogeneous expression were confirmed as MSS using PCR-CE and NGS, which may be related to the mechanism of MLH1 promoter methylation. Thus, in CRC, only cases with small focal clonal heterogeneous expression of MSH6 have a high likelihood of MSI-H, and further PCR-CE or NGS testing is recommended. The possibility of MSI-H cannot be ruled out in EC cases with glandular mosaic heterogeneous expression of MMR proteins; PCR-CE or NGS detection is therefore necessary.

Central retinal vein occlusion with moyamoya disease: a case report.

Moyamoya disease is mainly caused by stenosis or occlusion of the terminal internal carotid artery, anterior cerebral artery, and proximal middle cerebral artery, and an abnormal vascular network is formed near the stenosis or occlusion of vascular lesions. Moyamoya disease can lead to a series of complications such as transient cerebral ischemia, cerebral infarction, and cerebral hemorrhage, which have been reported in the literature. Eye involvement with moyamoya disease is relatively rare in the literature. This article introduces a case of central retinal vein occlusion in a teenager related to moyamoya disease. The patient was only 16 years old and suddenly suffered from vision loss in the left eye. After detailed ophthalmological examination, she was diagnosed with central retinal vein occlusion in the left eye. In order to find the exact cause, we conducted head and neck CTA and brain DSA examinations on the patient, and finally found that the main cause of central retinal vein occlusion in this patient was moyamoya disease, which indicated that central retinal vein occlusion in young people may be caused by moyamoya disease in the early stage. This discovery has great clinical significance, for characteristic manifestations of the eye, suggesting that examination of moyamoya disease is a routine item for such patients, so as to achieve early detection, early diagnosis and early treatment, in order to avoid cerebral infarction, cerebral palsy, and serious or even life-threatening complications such as bleeding.

A simple and accurate method to quantify real-time contraction of vascular smooth muscle cell in vitro.

Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) constitute the medial layer of the blood vessel wall. Their contractile state regulates blood flow in physiological and pathological conditions. Current methods for assessing the contractility of VSMCs are not amenable to the high-throughput screening of pharmaceutical compounds. This study aimed to develop a method to address this shortcoming in the field. Real-time contraction was visualized in living VSMCs using the exogenous expression of green fluorescent protein (GFP). Image-Pro Plus software (IPPS) was used to measure various morphological cell indices. In phenylephrine-treated VSMCs, GFP fluorescence imaging was more accurate than brightfield imaging or phalloidin staining in representing VSMC morphology, as measured using IPPS. Among the multiple indices of VSMC shape, area and mean-diameter were more sensitive than length in reflecting the morphological changes in VSMC. We developed a new index, compound length, by combining the mean-diameter and length to differentiate contracted and uncontracted VSMCs. Based on the compound length, we further generated a contraction index to define a single-VSMC contractile status as single-VSMC contraction-index (SVCI). Finally, compound length and SVCI were validated to effectively assess cell contraction in VSMCs challenged with U46619 and KCl. In conclusion, GFP-based indices of compound length and SVCI can accurately quantify the real-time contraction of VSMCs. In future, the new method will be applied to high-throughput drug screening or basic cardiovascular research.

Potential shared therapeutic and hepatotoxic mechanisms of Tripterygium wilfordii polyglycosides treating three kinds of autoimmune skin diseases by regulating IL-17 signaling pathway and Th17 cell differentiation.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Tripterygium wilfordii polyglycosides (TWP) are extracted from Tripterygium wilfordii Hook. f., which has the significant effects of anti-inflammation and immunosuppression and has been widely used to treat autoimmune diseases in traditional Chinese medicine. AIM OF STUDY: In Chinese clinical dermatology, TWP was generally used for the treatment of autoimmune skin diseases including psoriasis (PSO), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and pemphigus (PEM). However, the potential hepatotoxicity (HPT) induced by TWP was also existing with the long-term use of TWP. This study aims to explore the potential shared therapeutic mechanism of TWP treating PSO, SLE, PEM and the possible hepatotoxic mechanism induced by TWP. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Network pharmacology was used to predict the potential targets and pathways in this study. The main bioactive compounds in TWP was screened according to TCMSP, PubChem, ChEMBL databases and Lipinski's Rule of Five. The potential targets of these chemical constituents were obtained from PharmMapper, SEA and SIB databases. The related targets of PSO, SLE, PEM and HPT were collected from GeneCards, DrugBank, DisGeNET and CTD databases. The target network construction was performed through STRING database and Cytoscape. GO enrichment, KEGG enrichment and molecular docking were then performed, respectively. In particular, imiquimod (IMQ)-induced PSO model was selected as the representative for the experimental verification of effects and shared therapeutic mechanisms of TWP. RESULTS: 41 targets were considered as the potential shared targets of TWP treating PSO, SLE and PEM. KEGG enrichment indicated that IL-17 signaling pathway and Th17 cell differentiation were significant in the potential shared therapeutic mechanism of TWP. The animal experimental verification demonstrated that TWP could notably ameliorate skin lesions (P˂0.001), decrease inflammatory response (P˂0.05, P˂0.01, P˂0.001) and inhibit the differentiation of Th1/Th17 cells (P˂0.05, P˂0.01) compared to PSO model group. The molecular docking and qPCR validation then showed that TWP could effectively act on MAPK14, IL-2, IL-6 and suppress Th17 cell differentiation and IL-17 signaling pathway. The possible hepatotoxic mechanism of TWP indicated that there were 145 hepatotoxic targets and it was also associated with IL-17 signaling pathway and Th17 cell differentiation, especially for the key role of ALB, CASP3 and HSP90AA1. Meanwhile, the potential correlations between efficacy and hepatotoxicity of TWP showed that 28 targets were shared by therapeutic and hepatotoxic mechanisms such as IL-6, IL-2, MAPK14, MMP9, ALB, CASP3 and HSP90AA1. These significant relevant targets were also involved in IL-17 signaling pathway and Th17 cell differentiation. CONCLUSIONS: There were shared disease targets in PSO, SLE and PEM, and TWP could treat them by potential shared therapeutic mechanisms of suppressing IL-17 signaling pathway and Th17 cell differentiation. The possible hepatotoxicity induced by TWP was also significantly associated with the regulation of IL-17 signaling pathway and Th17 cell differentiation. Meanwhile, the potential correlations between efficacy and hepatotoxicity of TWP also mainly focused on IL-17 signaling pathway and Th17 cell differentiation, which provided a potential direction for the study of the mechanism of "You Gu Wu Yun" theory of TWP treating autoimmune skin diseases in the future.

Synergistic effects of CP-25 and 5-fluorouracil on the hepatocellular carcinoma in vivo and in vitro through regulating activating mitochondrial pathway.

Paeoniflorin-6'-O-benzene sulfonate (CP-25) has therapeutic potential for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). 5-Fluorouracil (5-Fu) has been a conventional chemotherapeutic agent for HCC. Unfortunately, the nonspecific cytotoxicity and multidrug resistance caused by long-term use limited the clinical efficacy of 5-Fu. This study was aimed to investigate whether the combination of CP-25 and 5-Fu could generate synergistic effect in inhibiting HCC. The experiments on the diethylnitrosamine (DEN) -induced mice showed that compared with applying single drugs, the combination of CP-25 and 5-Fu presented stronger inhibition in tumor nodule and volume. Meanwhile, CP-25 and 5-Fu activated the intrinsic mitochondrial apoptosis pathway induced by P53, inhibited anti-apoptotic B-cell lymphoma (Bcl-2), induced the pro-apoptotic Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax), Cytochrome-C and caspases. In addition, the synergistic effect was also validated in Bel-7402 and HepG-2 cells in vitro. This research not only provides a novel and effective combination strategy for the therapy of HCC but also provides an experimental basis for the development of CP-25 and 5-Fu compound preparation.

18[Formula: see text]-Glycyrrhetinic Acid Inhibits TGF-[Formula: see text]-Induced Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition and Metastasis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma by Targeting STAT3.

18[Formula: see text]-glycyrrhetinic acid (GA) is the active ingredient of the traditional Chinese medicinal herb Glycyrrhizae radix et rhizoma. We previously demonstrated that GA inhibited tumor growth in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the effect of GA on transforming growth factor-[Formula: see text] (TGF-[Formula: see text]-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and metastasis were still unclear. In this study, in vitro transwell assays and immunofluorescence (IF) demonstrated that GA inhibited TGF-[Formula: see text]-induced migration, invasion and EMT of HCC cells. However, it had little effect on the inhibition of proliferation by TGF-[Formula: see text]. Moreover, we confirmed that GA suppressed the metastasis of HCC cells in vivousing an ectopic lung metastasis model. Furthermore, we found that GA inhibited TGF-[Formula: see text]-induced EMT mainly by reducing the phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), which played an essential role in TGF-[Formula: see text]-induced EMT and cell mobility. Mechanistically, GA inhibited the phosphorylation of STAT3 by increasing the expression of Src homology 2 domain-containing protein tyrosine phosphatases 1 and 2 (SHP1 and SHP2). Therefore, we concluded that GA inhibited TGF-[Formula: see text]-induced EMT and metastasis via the SHP1&SHP2/STAT3/Snail pathway. Our data provide an attractive therapeutic target for future multimodal management of HCC.

Obesity increases neuropathic pain via the AMPK-ERK-NOX4 pathway in rats.

This study focused on the relationship between extracellular-regulated kinase (ERK) and obesity-induced increases in neuropathic pain. We fed rats a high-fat diet to establish the obesity model, and rats were given surgery to establish the chronic compression of the dorsal root ganglia (CCD) model. U0126 was applied to inhibit ERK, and metformin or 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribonucleoside (AICAR) was applied to cause AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activation. Paw withdrawal mechanical threshold (PWMT) were calculated to indicate the level of neuropathic pain. The data indicated that compared with normal CCD rats, the PWMT of obese CCD rats were decreased, accompanied with an increase of ERK phosphorylation, NAD(P)H oxidase 4 (NOX4) protein expression, oxidative stress and inflammatory level in the L4 to L5 spinal cord and dorsal root ganglia (DRG). Administration of U0126 could partially elevate the PWMT and reduce the protein expression of NOX4 and the above pathological changes in obese CCD rats. In vitro, ERK phosphorylation, NOX4 protein expression increased significantly in DRG neurons under the stimulation of palmitic acid (PA), accompanied with increased secretion of inflammatory factors, oxidative stress and apoptosis level, while U0126 partially attenuated the PA-induced upregulation of NOX4 and other pathological changes. In the rescue experiment, overexpression of NOX4 abolished the above protective effect of U0126 on DRG neurons in high-fat environment. Next, we explore upstream mechanisms. Metformin gavage significantly reduced neuropathic pain in obese CCD rats. For the mechanisms, activating AMPK with metformin (obese CCD rats) or AICAR (DRG neurons in a high-fat environment) not only inhibited the ERK-NOX4 pathway, but also improved oxidative stress and inflammation caused by high-fat. In conclusion, the AMPK-ERK-NOX4 pathway may has a pivotal role in mediating obesity-induced increases in neuropathic pain.

TLR4/AP-1-Targeted Anti-Inflammatory Intervention Attenuates Insulin Sensitivity and Liver Steatosis.

Insulin resistance has been shown to be the common pathogenesis of many metabolic diseases. Metainflammation is one of the important characteristics of insulin resistance. Macrophage polarization mediates the production and development of metainflammation. Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) mediates macrophage activity and is probably the intersection of immunity and metabolism, but the detailed mechanism is probably not fully understood. Activated protein 1 (AP1) signaling pathway is very important in macrophage activation-mediated inflammation. However, it is unclear whether AP1 signaling pathway mediates metabolic inflammation in the liver. We aimed to investigate the effects of macrophage TLR4-AP1 signaling pathway on hepatocyte metabolic inflammation, insulin sensitivity, and lipid deposition, as well as to explore the potential of TLR4-AP1 as new intervention targets of insulin resistance and liver steatosis. TLR4 and AP1 were silenced in the RAW264.7 cells by lentiviral siRNA transfection. In vivo transduction of lentivirus was administered in mice fed with high-fat diet. Insulin sensitivity and inflammation were evaluated in the treated cells or animals. Our results indicated that TLR4/AP-1 siRNA transfection alleviated high-fat diet-induced systemic and hepatic inflammation, obesity, and insulin resistance in mice. Additionally, TLR4/AP-1 siRNA transfection mitigated palmitic acid- (PA-) induced inflammation in RAW264.7 cells and metabolic abnormalities in cocultured AML hepatocytes. Herein, we propose that TLR4-AP1 signaling pathway activation plays a crucial role in high fat- or PA-induced metabolic inflammation and insulin resistance in hepatocytes. Intervention of the TLR4 expression regulates macrophage polarization and metabolic inflammation and further alleviates insulin resistance and lipid deposition in hepatocytes.

Flavonoids as human carboxylesterase 2 inhibitors: Inhibition potentials and molecular docking simulations.

In our search for natural human carboxylesterase 2 (hCE 2) inhibitors from natural products, we investigated inhibitory effects and mechanisms of flavonoids (1-16) against hCE 2. The results demonstrated that kurarinone (1), baicalein (2), 2-[(2'-(1-hydroxy-1-methylethyl)-7'-(3-methyl-2-butenyl)-2',3'-dihydrobenzofuran)-5-yl]-7-hydroxy-8-(3-methyl-2-butenyl)chroman-4-one (5), luteolin (6), kushenol X (9), and kushenol C (11) displayed significantly inhibitory effects against hCE 2 with IC50 values of 1.46 ±â€¯0.43, 5.22 ±â€¯0.89, 1.13 ±â€¯0.19, 9.78 ±â€¯0.98, 3.05 ±â€¯0.46, and 2.61 ±â€¯0.52 µM, respectively. Compounds 1, 5, 6, 9, and 11 were all uncompetitive inhibitors with Ki values of 1.73, 1.59, 16.89, 1.72, and 0.79 µM, respectively, and their Km values ranged from 2.08 µM to 5.41 µM. Furthermore, molecular docking was conducted for investigating mechanisms of compounds 1, 5, 6, 9, and 11 with hCE 2. These results suggested that compounds 1, 5, 6, 9, and 11 could be served as lead compounds for the development of novel hCE 2 inhibitors.

The Functional Role of the 3' Untranslated Region and Poly(A) Tail of Duck Hepatitis A Virus Type 1 in Viral Replication and Regulation of IRES-Mediated Translation.

The duck hepatitis A virus type 1 (DHAV-1) is a member of Picornaviridae family, the genome of the virus contains a 5' untranslated region (5' UTR), a large open reading frame that encodes a polyprotein precursor and a 3' UTR followed by a poly(A) tail. The translation initiation of virus proteins depends on the internal ribosome-entry site (IRES) element within the 5' UTR. So far, little information is known about the role of the 3' UTR and poly(A) tail during the virus proliferation. In this study, the function of the 3' UTR and poly(A) tail of DHAV-1 in viral replication and IRES-mediated translation was investigated. The results showed that both 3' UTR and poly(A) tail are important for maintaining viral genome RNA stability and viral genome replication. During DHAV-1 proliferation, at least 20 adenines were required for the optimal genome replication and the virus replication could be severely impaired when the poly (A) tail was curtailed to 10 adenines. In addition to facilitating viral genome replication, the presence of 3' UTR and poly(A) tail significantly enhance IRES-mediated translation efficiency. Furthermore, 3' UTR or poly(A) tail could function as an individual element to enhance the DHAV-1 IRES-mediated translation, during which process, the 3' UTR exerts a greater initiation efficiency than the poly(A)25 tail.

What may cause fetus loss from acute pancreatitis in pregnancy: Analysis of 54 cases.

Acute pancreatitis in pregnancy (APIP) poses a serious threat to the mother and her fetus, and might lead to fetal loss including miscarriage and stillbirth in certain patients. We sought to identify possible factors that affect fetal distress and evaluated outcomes of patients with APIP.We retrospectively reviewed clinical records of 54 pregnant women with APIP, who were treated at 2 tertiary clinical centers over a 6-year period. Clinical characteristics including etiology and severity of APIP, fetal monitoring data, and maternofetal outcomes were analyzed.Etiology of APIP included acute biliary pancreatitis (ABP, n = 14), hyperlipidemic pancreatitis (HLP, n = 22), and other etiologies (n = 18). Severity was classified as mild acute pancreatitis (MAP, n = 23), moderately severe acute pancreatitis (MSAP, n = 24), and severe acute pancreatitis (SAP, n = 7). The incidence of preterm delivery, fetal distress, and fetal loss increased with the progression of severity of APIP (P < .05). The severity of HLP was significantly higher than that of ABP and APIP of other etiology (P < .01). HLP was more likely to lead to fetal distress than other APs (P < .01). Only 12 (22.2%) patients had fetal monitoring including non-stress test (NST); 1 case of SAP (14.3%) and 15 cases of MSAP (62.5%) were not transferred to intensive care unit for intensive monitoring.The incidence of fetal distress and fetal loss increased with worsening of APIP severity. HLP tends to result in worse fetal outcomes. The deficiencies of fetal state monitoring, lack of assessment, and management of pregnant women might increase the fetal loss in APIP.

Protective effects of Celastrol on diethylnitrosamine-induced hepatocellular carcinoma in rats and its mechanisms.

Celastrol, an active ingredient of Tripterygium Wilfordii, is a traditional Chinese medicinal herb, which has attracted interests for its potential anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer activities. The aim of this study was to evaluate the anti-tumor effect of Celastrol against diethylnitrosamine (DEN)-induced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in rats and furthermore, to explore the underlying mechanism. Sprague-Dawley rats were intragastrically administered with DEN (10mg/kg) for 6 days every week and persisting 16 weeks. The number of nodules was calculated. Hematoxylin-Eosin (HE) staining was used to evaluate the hepatic pathological lesions. The levels of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), glutamic oxalacetic transaminase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and alpha fetoprotein (AFP) were analyzed by Elisa kits, and the protein levels of p53, Murine double minute (MDM) 2, Bax, Bcl-2, Bcl-xl, cytochrome C, Caspase-3, Caspase-9 and Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) were analyzed by western blot. The results showed that Celastrol could significantly decrease the mortality, the number of tumor nodules and the index of liver in the Celastrol groups compared with DEN-treated group. Moreover, Celastrol obviously improved the hepatic pathological lesions and decreased the elevated levels of ALT, AST, ALP and AFP. Meanwhile, Celastrol suppressed the expression of the protein MDM2, activated the intrinsic mitochondrial apoptosis pathway induced by p53, inhibited anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 and Bcl-xl, induced the pro-apoptotic Bax, cytochrome C, PARP and caspases. These results suggested that Celastrol had a good therapeutic action in reversing DEN-induced HCC rats, which may be associated with the apoptosis of hepatoma cells induced by Celastrol.

[Effect of puerarin on hypoxia induced proliferation of PASMCs by regulating reactive oxygen].

To discuss the effect of puerarin (Pue) on the proliferation of hypoxia-induced pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) and discuss whether its mechanism is achieved by regulating reactive oxygen. PASMCs of primarily cultured rats (2-5 generations) were selected in the experiment. MTT, Western blot, FCM and DCFH-DA were used to observe Pue's effect the proliferation of PASMCs. The Western blot was adopted to detect whether ROS participated in Pue's effect in inhibiting PASMC proliferation. The PASMCs were divided into five groups: the normoxia group, the hypoxia group, the hypoxia + Pue group, the hypoxia + Pue + Rotenone group and the hypoxia + Rotenone group, with Rotenone as the ROS blocker. According to the results, under the conditions of normoxia, Pue had no effect on the PASMC proliferation; But, under the conditions of hypoxia, it could inhibit the PASMC proliferation; Under the conditions of normoxia and hypoxia, Pue had no effect on the expression of the tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) among PASMCs, could down-regulate the expression of hypoxia-induced cell cycle protein Cyclin A and proliferative nuclear antigen (PCNA). DCFH-DA proved Pue could reverse ROS rise caused by hypoxia. Both Rotenone and Pue could inhibit the up-regulated expressions of HIF-1α, Cyclin A, PCNA caused by anoxia, with a synergistic effect. The results suggested that Pue could inhibit the hypoxia-induced PASMC proliferation. Its mechanism may be achieved by regulating ROS.

[Effect of puerarin on PI3K/AKT pathway-mediated apoptosis of PASMCs].

To discuss the effect of puerarin (Pue) on the proliferation of hypoxia-induced pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) and discuss whether the extracellular signal PI3K/AKT pathway was involved in the Pue-induced PASMC apoptosis. With the serum starvation group (SD group) as the control group, the MTT colorimetry method, Annexin V-FITC apoptosis detection kit and Western blot were used to detect Pue's effect on apoptosis of rat PASMCs. The protein immunoblot assay was used to detect whether PI3K/AKT pathway was involved in the inhibition of hypoxia-induced PASMC apoptosis process. The results show that under normoxic conditions, Pue had no effect on PASMC apoptosis; Under hypoxia conditions, Pue can inhibit PASMC apoptosis; Under normoxic and hypoxic conditions, Pue had no effect on TNF-α expression. Pue can reverse hypoxia-induced Bcl-2 (P <0.01), up-regulate it and down-regulated Bax (P <0.01). Under normoxic conditions, Pue had no effect on P-AKT expression. Both LY294002 and Pue can inhibit hypoxia-induced Bcl-2, up-regulation of P-AKT expression and down-regulation of Bax expression. Compared with the hypoxia + Pue group or the hypoxia + LY294002 group, the hypoxia + Pue + LY294002 group showed more significantly changes in Bcl-2, Bax, P-AKT expressions. The results show that, Pue can inhibit the hypoxic-induced PASMC apoptosis, which may be regulated through PI3K/AKT pathway.

Celastrol induces mitochondria-mediated apoptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma Bel-7402 cells.

Celastrol is a natural terpenoid isolated from Tripterygium wilfordii, a well-known Chinese medicinal herb that presents anti-proliferative activities in several cancer cell lines. Here, we investigated whether celastrol induces apoptosis on hepatocellular carcinoma Bel-7402 cells and further explored the underlying molecular mechanisms. Celastrol caused a dose- and time-dependent growth inhibition and apoptosis of Bel-7402 cells. It increased apoptosis through the up-regulation of Bax and the down-regulation of Bcl-2 in Bel-7402 cells. Moreover, celastrol induced the release of cytochrome c and increased the activation of caspase-3 and caspase-9, suggesting that celastrol-induced apoptosis was related to the mitochondrial pathway. These results indicated that celastrol could induce apoptosis in Bel-7402 cells, which may be associated with the activation of the mitochondria-mediated pathway.

Use of epidermal growth factor receptor antibody-gold cluster conjugates with good renal excretion in targeted cancer radiation treatment.

Ultra-small gold clusters have been shown to have great potential in biomedical applications; however, it is crucial that the targeting clusters can be rapidly excreted from the body. We prepared epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) antibody-gold cluster conjugates with tumour-specific targeting, which also enhanced the effects of therapeutic radiation and had good renal clearance properties. We systematically investigated the effects of these clusters on targeted radiation treatment, renal clearance and toxicity over a period of 25 days in mice. The as-prepared EGFR antibody-gold cluster conjugates showed higher in vitro uptakes than gold clusters alone in treated HeLa cells and resulted in enhanced cancer radiation treatment compared with non-specific gold clusters. The in vivo treatment and improved tumour uptake showed that the EGFR antibody-gold cluster conjugates could result in higher tumour uptake and higher tumour ablation. The EGFR antibody-gold cluster conjugates showed 43% excretion in urine after 24 h, only slightly lower than that of the pure gold clusters (52%). Haematological and biochemical studies showed that the conjugates did not cause liver or kidney toxicity 30 days after injection. Therefore, the use of targeting EGFR antibody-gold cluster conjugates with low toxicities and good renal excretion can enhance radiation treatment and is promising in a number of medical applications.

Storage of gold nanoclusters in muscle leads to their biphasic in vivo clearance.

Ultrasmall gold nanoclusters (Au NCs) show great potential in biomedical applications. Long-term biodistribution, retention, toxicity, and pharmacokinetics profiles are pre-requisites in their potential clinical applications. Here, the biodistribution, clearance, and toxicity of one widely used Au NC species-glutathione-protected Au NCs or GSH-Au NCs-are systematically investigated over a relatively long period of 90 days in mice. Most of the Au NCs are cleared at 30 days post injection (p.i.) with a major accumulation in liver and kidney. However, it is surprising that an abnormal increase of the Au amount in the heart, liver, spleen, lung, and testis is observed at 60 and 90 days p.i., indicating that the injected Au NCs form a V-shaped time-dependent distribution profile in various organs. Further investigations reveal that Au NCs are steadily accumulating in the muscle in the first 30 days p.i., and the as-stored Au NCs gradually release into the blood in 30-90 days p.i., which induces a re-distribution and re-accumulation of Au NCs in all blood-rich organs. Further hematology and biochemistry studies show that the re-accumulation of Au NCs still causes some liver toxicity at 30 days p.i. The muscle storage and subsequent release may give rise to the potential accumulation and toxicity risk of functional nanomaterials over long periods of time.

Passing through the renal clearance barrier: toward ultrasmall sizes with stable ligands for potential clinical applications.

The use of nanoparticles holds promise for medical applications, such as X-ray imaging, photothermal therapy and radiotherapy. However, the in vivo toxicity of inorganic nanoparticles raises some concern regarding undesirable side effects which prevent their further medical application. Ultrasmall sub-5.5 nm particles can pass through the barrier for renal clearance, minimizing their toxicity. In this letter we address some recent interesting work regarding in vivo toxicity and renal clearance, and discuss the possible strategy of utilizing ultrasmall nanomaterials. We propose that small hydrodynamic sized nanoclusters can achieve both nontoxic and therapeutic clinical features.

TGF-ß favors bone marrow-derived dendritic cells to acquire tolerogenic properties.

Dendritic cells (DCs) are the most powerful antigen-presenting cells that have an important role in the immunity and immune tolerance. Transforming growth factor ß (TGF-ß) is a pleiotropic cytokine widely expressing in various tissues and cells, which regulates cellular proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis of several immune cells and is considered to be a key factor in inducing immune tolerance. The effect of TGF-ß on DCs is very complex. In this study, we further investigated the effect of TGF-ß on inducing immune tolerance of DCs. DCs were differentiated from mice bone marrow cells in the absence or presence of TGF-ß. The phenotype as well as function was studied in detail. We found that TGF-ß limited the expression of CD40, CD83, CD86 and MHCII in DCs, increased CD45RB and indoleamine 2, 3-dioxygenase (IDO) expression in DCs, promoted IL-10 and limited IL-12 secretion by DCs. Moreover, TGF-ß increased the endocytosis ability of DCs and limited the ability of DCs in activating T cells. These results suggest that TGF-ß affects the immunity of DCs and enhances their tolerogenicity.