The Sagittal Parameters and Efficacy of Pedicle Subtraction Osteotomy in Patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis and Kyphosis Under Different Lumbar Sagittal Morphologies.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to compare the changes in sagittal parameters and the efficacy of pedicle subtraction osteotomy (PSO) in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and kyphosis under different lumbar sagittal morphologies and to explore the effect of sagittal morphology on the selection of PSO levels. METHODS: A total of 24 patients with AS and thoracolumbar kyphosis (TK) who were admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University between 2008 and 2019 were enrolled in this study. They were divided into two groups: a lumbar lordosis group (n = 14) and a lumbar kyphosis group (n = 10). Changes in sagittal parameters, lumbar Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) scores, and visual analog scale (VAS) scores for lumbar pain before and after operation were compared between the two groups to evaluate postoperative efficacy. RESULTS: The preoperative lumbar lordosis (LL) was -29.29 ± 5.40 (lordosis) and 13.50 ± 3.65 (kyphosis) (P < 0.01), and the preoperative sagittal vertical axis (SVA) was 171.35 ± 25.46 (lordosis) and 223.58 ± 21.87 (kyphosis) (P < 0.01). Preoperative global kyphosis (GK) was 75.71 ± 5.26 (lordosis) and 86.30 ± 10.32 (kyphosis) (P < 0.05). All patients in the lordosis group underwent PSO surgery at the twelfth thoracic vertebra (T12) or the first lumbar spinal vertebra (L1), while all patients in the kyphosis group underwent the surgery at the second or third lumbar spinal vertebra (L2 or L3). The differences in postoperative GK, LL, and SVA between the two groups were not significant (P > 0.05). The JOA scores of the two groups increased from 13.00 ± 0.83 (lordosis) and 11.30 ± 0.93 (kyphosis) before surgery to 21.00 ± 0.67 and 19.70 ± 0.60 after surgery (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Preoperative lumbar sagittal morphology needs to be considered when selecting the optimal osteotomy plane. An osteotomy can achieve the greatest success in patients with lumbar kyphosis at L2/L3; for patients with lumbar lordosis, it can achieve satisfactory outcomes at T12/L1.

AT-533, a novel Hsp90 inhibitor, inhibits breast cancer growth and HIF-1α/VEGF/VEGFR-2-mediated angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo.

The inhibition of angiogenesis is suggested to be an attractive strategy for cancer therapeutics. Heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) is closely related to tumorigenesis as it regulates the stabilization and activated states of many client proteins that are essential for cell survival and tumor growth. Here, we investigated the mechanism whereby AT-533, a novel Hsp90 inhibitor, inhibits breast cancer growth and tumor angiogenesis. Based on our results, AT-533 suppressed the tube formation, cell migration, and invasion of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), and was more effective than the Hsp90 inhibitor, 17-AAG. Furthermore, AT-533 inhibited angiogenesis in the aortic ring, Matrigel plug, and chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) models. Mechanically, AT-533 inhibited the activation of VEGFR-2 and the downstream pathways, including Akt/mTOR/p70S6K, Erk1/2 and FAK, in HUVECs, and the viability of breast cancer cells and the HIF-1α/VEGF signaling pathway under hypoxia. In vivo, AT-533 also inhibited tumor growth and angiogenesis by inducing apoptosis and the HIF-1α/VEGF signaling pathway in breast cancer cells. Taken together, our findings indicate that the Hsp90 inhibitor, AT-533, suppresses breast cancer growth and angiogenesis by blocking the HIF-1α/VEGF/VEGFR-2 signaling pathway. AT-533 may thus be a potentially useful drug candidate for breast cancer therapy.

Isolation and genetic characterization of avian-like H1N1 and novel ressortant H1N2 influenza viruses from pigs in China.

As pigs are susceptible to both human and avian influenza viruses, they have been proposed to be intermediate hosts or mixing vessels for the generation of pandemic influenza viruses through reassortment or adaptation to the mammalian host. In this study, we reported avian-like H1N1 and novel ressortant H1N2 influenza viruses from pigs in China. Homology and phylogenetic analyses showed that the H1N1 virus (A/swine/Zhejiang/1/07) was closely to avian-like H1N1 viruses and seemed to be derived from the European swine H1N1 viruses, which was for the first time reported in China; and the two H1N2 viruses (A/swine/Shanghai/1/07 and A/swine/Guangxi/13/06) were novel ressortant H1N2 influenza viruses containing genes from the classical swine (HA, NP, M and NS), human (NA and PB1) and avian (PB2 and PA) lineages, which indicted that the reassortment among human, avian, and swine influenza viruses had taken place in pigs in China and resulted in the generation of new viruses. The isolation of avian-like H1N1 influenza virus originated from the European swine H1N1 viruses, especially the emergence of two novel ressortant H1N2 influenza viruses provides further evidence that pigs serve as intermediate hosts or "mixing vessels", and swine influenza virus surveillance in China should be given a high priority.

Metabolic adaptations to mercury-induced oxidative stress in roots of Medicago sativa L.

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) roots were treated with mercuric ions in a concentration- and time-dependent manner, and lipid peroxidation was studied biochemically as well as histochemically along with other physiological responses. Histochemical staining with Schiff's reagent and Evans blue revealed that the peroxidation of membrane lipids and loss of plasma membrane integrity in Hg-treated roots occurred in the meristem and the elongation zone. The histochemical observations were supported by the quantitative determinations of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS). However, under the mercuric ions stress, the alfalfa plants showed no significant alteration of hydrogen peroxide in roots. Analysis of lipoxygenase activity by non-denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) showed that there were two isoforms in the root of alfalfa plants, but they showed quite different patterns under the Hg exposure. Also, using non-denaturing PAGE, activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) were determined in roots after treatment with Hg ions. The total activities of SOD and POD increased in roots after Hg treatment of roots. Activity of ascorbate peroxides (APX) was stimulated at relatively high concentration of Hg (40microM), and after prolonged Hg exposure (20microM, 24h). In contrast, glutathione reductase activity was depressed at higher concentrations of Hg (10-20microM). Treatments of seedlings with 10-40microM Hg decreased the ascorbate and glutathione amounts but increased total non-protein thiols. The above results indicated that Hg exerted its toxic effect on the root growth of alfalfa by induction of oxidative stress.