C-reactive Protein -717A>G and -286C>T>A Gene Polymorphism and Ischemic Stroke.

BACKGROUND: Inflammation plays a pivotal role in the formation and progression of ischemic stroke. Recently, more and more epidemiological studies have focused on the association between C-reactive protein (CRP) -717A > G and -286C > T > A genetic polymorphisms and ischemic stroke. However, the findings of these researches are not conclusive. METHODS: We performed a meta-analysis to determine whether these two polymorphisms are associated with the risk of ischemic stroke. Eligible studies were identified from the database of PubMed, Medline, Embase, Web of Science, CNKI, Weipu, and Wanfang. We calculated odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to assess the strength of the association. RESULTS: Four articles were included in our study, including 1926 cases and 2678 controls for -717A > G polymorphism, 652 cases and 1103 controls for -286C > T > A polymorphism. The results of meta-analysis showed that single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) -717A > G was not significantly associated with the risk of ischemic stroke (GG vs. AA, OR = 1.12, 95% CI = 0.83-1.50, P = 0.207; GG + GA vs. AA, OR = 1.04, 95% CI = 0.93-1.17, P = 0.533; GG vs. GA + AA, OR = 1.10, 95% CI = 0.82-1.47, P = 0.220). Meta-analysis of SNP - 286C > T > A also demonstrated no statistical evidence of a significant association with the risk of ischemic stroke (AA vs. CC, OR = 0.86, 95% CI = 0.59-1.25, P = 0.348; AA vs. CC, OR = 0.92, 95% CI = 0.80-1.06, P = 0.609; AA vs. CC, OR = 0.89, 95% CI = 0.62-1.30, P = 0.374). CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis demonstrated little evidence to support a role of CRP gene -717A > G, -286C > T > A polymorphisms in ischemic stroke predisposition. However, to draw comprehensive and more reliable conclusions, further larger studies are needed to validate the association between CRP gene polymorphisms and ischemic stroke in various ethnic groups.

Antitumor activity of triterpenoid saponin-rich Adisia gigantifolia extract on human breast adenocarcinoma cells in vitro and in vivo.

The aim of this study was to explore whether the ethanolic extract of Ardisia gigantifolia rhizomes (AGB-5), a traditional herbal medicine from China, could affect the proliferation of human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) cells in vitro and to explore the antitumor effects of AGB-5 in BALB/c mice engrafted with MCF-7 cells. The results showed that AGB-5 markedly inhibited the proliferation of MCF-7 cells with an IC50 value of 11.89±1.12 µg/mL, increased the S phase and decreased the G2/M phase without influence on G1 phase. MCF-7 cells treated with AGB-5 presented a dose-dependent increase of apoptosis compared with the control group. AGB-5 also significantly increased the activity of caspase-3 and -9 in a dose-dependent manner in MCF-7 cells. Furthermore, in an in vivo model, AGB-5 reduced tumor volume, brought back the red blood cell (RBC) and white blood cell (WBC) count near to normal value, enhanced superoxide dismutase and catalase level of MCF-7 bearing mice. This is the first study to verify the antitumor activity of A. gigantifolia in vivo. The results suggest that AGB-5 may have potential beneficial effects against human breast adenocarcinoma.