Knockdown of growth factor receptor bound protein 7 suppresses angiogenesis by inhibiting the secretion of vascular endothelial growth factor A in ovarian cancer cells.

Growth factor receptor bound protein 7 (GRB7) plays an important role in regulating the growth and metastasis of ovarian cancer. Angiogenesis is the basis for the growth, invasion, and metastasis of malignant tumors. In the current study, we aimed to determine whether GRB7 plays a role in regulating angiogenesis in ovarian cancer. Immunohistochemistry on tissue microarray showed that GRB7 and platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (PECAM-1/CD31) protein expression were positively correlated in ovarian cancer tissues. GRB7 knockdown suppressed vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) expression and reduced VEGFA secretion. The effects of GRB7-silenced SKOV-3 cells on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were evaluated using a transwell cell co-culture model, which showed that knockdown of GRB7 in SKOV-3 cells suppressed HUVEC proliferation, migration, invasion, and tube formation. Moreover, knockdown of GRB7 in SKOV-3 cells downregulated the expression of proteins associated with angiogenesis, including vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR2), mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 1 (MAP2K1/MEK1), extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2), notch receptor 1 (NOTCH1), and delta-like canonical Notch ligand 4 (DLL4) in HUVECs. In conclusion, knockdown of GRB7 in ovarian cancer cells is an attractive potential therapeutic target for the suppression of angiogenesis in ovarian cancer. GRB7 may regulate angiogenesis through VEGFA/VEGFR2 signaling and its downstream pathways.

Impact of epidural analgesia during labor on breastfeeding initiation and continuation: a retrospective study.

Objective: Although epidural analgesia is widely used during labor, its impact on breastfeeding has not yet reached a consensus. This retrospective cohort study was to investigate the association of patient-controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA) during labor with breastfeeding initiation and continuation.Methods: Medical records from 1 February, 2016 to 31 December, 2016 at Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center, China were reviewed for women received PCEA or not. Breastfeeding continuation was assessed by a questionnaire at 6 months after hospital discharge.Results: Nine hundred twenty-two women were enrolled in the study, with 527 of these women received PCEA for labor analgesia. The proportion of timely initiation of breastfeeding (within 1 h after birth), and exclusive or partial breastfeeding at any of the evaluation time points (1, 3, and 6 months) between two groups showed no statistically significant difference.Conclusion: Our data do not support an association between the PCEA and discontinuation of breastfeeding within 6 months postpartum.

Associations between maternal BMI as well as glucose tolerance and adverse pregnancy outcomes in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

This retrospective, cohort study examined the association between maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI), independent of glucose tolerance and adverse pregnancy outcomes in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), for which there are few previous studies. Medical records from 2012 to 2015 at Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center, China were reviewed for women previously diagnosed with PCOS with normal 2-h 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) results (n = 1249). The separate and joint effects of maternal BMI and glucose levels on pregnancy outcomes were assessed. Maternal pre-pregnancy BMI was associated with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) (OR: 1.22, 95% CI: 1.02-1.45), preterm birth (OR: 1.49, 95% CI: 1.08-2.17), and large for gestational age (LGA) (OR: 1.69, 95% CI: 1.16-2.20). Elevated fasting glucose and maternal pre-pregnancy BMI were jointly associated with increased risks of HDP, preterm birth, and LGA. Therefore, among women with PCOS and normal glucose tolerance, maternal pre-pregnancy BMI is an independent risk factor of adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Continuous surveillance of organochlorine pesticides in human milk from 1983 to 1998 in Beijing, China.

A study was carried out to study the accumulative levels and dynamic changes of organochlorine pesticides in human milk in Beijing from 1982 to 1998, and the effect of prohibition and restriction on the use of DDT and BHC (666) in China in 1983. The milk samples were collected from women during the lactation period in four districts of Beijing from 1982 to 1998, in 1991, 1993 and 1998, respectively. The contents of DDT and BHC in human milk were determined according to the standard method of biology-monitoring of PR China. The average fat content of human milk was about 3% from 1982-1998 in Beijing. The average concentration of pp-DDT and op-DDT in 1985 was less than 0.10 mg/kg and remained so until 1998. The average concentration of pp'-DDT decreased from 1.80 mg/kg in 1982 to 0.24 mg/kg in 1998 and that of pp-DDE descended from 5.87 mg/kg to 1.72 mg/kg and the total concentration of DDT dropped from 7.71 mg/kg to 2.04 mg/kg. Since prohibition of organochlorine pesticides 1983, the average concentration of beta-BHC and total BHC fell respectively from 9.66 mg/kg and 10.1 mg/kg in 1983 to 1.18 mg/kg in 1998. However, the accumulative concentration of DDT and BHC was much higher than that of some foreign countries. Therefore, it was important and necessary to monitor organochlorine compounds in human milk continuously.

[The investigation on basic contents of organochlorine pesticides in human milk during consecutive periods in Beijing urban areas].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the basic contents of organochlorine pesticides (DDT, BHC and HCB) in human milk of normal residents in Beijing urban areas. METHODS: Through continuous survey on the trend of organochlorine contents in human milk since DDT and BHC pesticides were forbidden in use in 1983, and to evaluate the effects of this program, the required lying-in women residents in urban districts for at least 5 years were enrolled in this study. All these lying-in women and also their family members were not exposed to or engaged in producing or selling organochlorine pesticides. In this study, the women chosen were giving birth to a child just after one week to 4 months. The detection method used is the national standard biological detection method. RESULTS: In 1982, the total amount of DDT and BHC contents in human milk were 6.45 mg/kg and 6.97 mg/kg, respectively, which were found the highest level in the word. The contents of organochlorine were descending apparently since the DDT and BHC pesticides were forbidden by Chinese government in 1983. According to the standards of FAO/WHO, the average intake of total DDT and beta-BHC in the infants born in 1998 was 11 and 6 microg/kg, respectively. Both of them were less than the allowable daily intake amount regulated by WHO and the Ministry of Health of Japan. CONCLUSION: The study might make clear that the basic levels of organochlorine pesticides (DDT, BHC and HCB) in human milk of normal residents and the attenuation trend of 2 pesticides cumulative levels in human body, through estimating the intake quantity of organochlorine by infants, showing that the DDT and BHC daily intake from human milk absorbed by infants, who were born after 1998, were at a safe level. It was indicated that the measure for forbidding use of DDT and BHC pesticides is contributory.