Association of vitamin D-binding protein variants with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a meta-analysis.

Gene polymorphism of vitamin D-binding protein (VDBP) correlates with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but the results remain inconclusive. We aimed to explore the association between VDBP gene polymorphism and COPD. We searched MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure for publications addressing the association between VDBP gene polymorphism and COPD. After qualitative evaluation, randomized controlled trials were pooled using either a fixed- or a random-effect model depending upon the degree of heterogeneity. Eleven studies with 3144 subjects were included. The genotype group-specific component (GC)*1F-1F was significantly associated with COPD in Asians [odds ratio (OR) = 1.73, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.07-2.81, P = 0.03], but not in Caucasians (OR = 1.44, 95%CI = 0.57-3.66, P = 0.45). A protective effect of GC*1F-1S was observed in Asians (OR = 0.70, 95%CI = 0.55-0.89, P = 0.003) but not in Caucasians (OR = 0.93, 95%CI = 0.69-1.24, P = 0.61). There was no association of GC*1S-1S, GC*2-1S and GC*1F-2 with COPD. As for alleles, GC*1F was a risk factor, whereas GC*1S was protective against COPD in Asians; GC*2 was not protective. The genotype GC*1F-1F or allele GC*1F was associated with increased susceptibility to COPD in Asians. No protective effect of genotype GC*2-2 against COPD was found. The protective effects of GC*1F-1S and GC*1S were observed in Asians but not in Caucasians. The VDBP gene polymorphism could be a potential marker for screening of COPD.

Meta-analytical association between angiotensin-converting enzyme gene polymorphisms and sarcoidosis risk.

Previous reports identified an association between sarcoidosis and an insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism in angiotensin-converting enzyme. Our meta-analysis of articles published between March 1996 and June 2013 identified studies in the PubMed, EMBASE, and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure databases. We examined whether angiotensin-converting enzyme polymorphisms influence sarcoidosis susceptibility. The strength of the association between I/D polymorphisms and sarcoidosis risk was measured based on the odds ratio and 95% confidence interval. Analysis was based on recessive and dominant models. Ethnic subgroup analysis from 18 articles (1882 cases and 3066 controls) showed that DD homozygote carriers were at a slightly increased risk of sarcoidosis compared with II homozygotes and DI heterozygotes (P = 0.03). Comparison of DD plus DI vs II revealed no significant association with sarcoidosis in group and ethnic subgroup analysis. We found that the I/D polymorphism in the angiotensin-converting enzyme gene was not associated with a major risk of sarcoidosis.

Ketamine used as an acesodyne in human breast cancer therapy causes an undesirable side effect, upregulating anti-apoptosis protein Bcl-2 expression.

Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic agent that has been widely used in surgery and for relieving pain in chronic cancer patients. We applied ketamine to breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 to detect the effect of treatment and molecular mechanisms involved. We found that ketamine can upregulate the level of anti-apoptosis protein Bcl-2, which promotes breast cancer cell invasion and proliferation. Knockdown of Bcl-2 could inhibit the increase of Bcl-2 and reduce the invasion and proliferation caused by ketamine in human breast cancer cells. Our findings provide new insight into the effects of ketamine in cancer treatment; we suggest that ketamine, which has been widely used in cancer operations and for relieving pain in chronic cancer patients, may be not the best choice because it can worsen the cancer through promotion of anti-apoptosis.