Prognostic relevance and therapeutic implications of centromere protein F expression in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Centromere protein F (CENP-F), a cell cycle-regulated centromere protein, has been shown to affect numerous tumorigenic processes. This study aimed to clarify the prognostic significance of CENP-F expression in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). The levels of CENP-F messenger RNA and protein were higher in ESCC cell lines than in the normal tissues. An immunohistochemical analysis of paired tissue specimens showed that the CENP-F expression was higher in tumorous tissues than in the adjacent non-tumorous tissues (P < 0.001). Moreover, there was a significant correlation between CENP-F expression and gender (P = 0.012), clinical stage (P = 0.039), and T classification (P = 0.026). Patients with higher CENP-F expression had shorter overall survival than those with lower CENP-F expression (P = 0.009). Multivariate Cox analysis indicated that CENP-F expression is an independent prognostic factor for overall survival (hazard ratio = 0.582, 95% confidence interval = 0.397-0.804, P = 0.041). Importantly, it was found that zoledronic acid (ZOL) could significantly enhance the chemotherapeutic sensitivity of ESCC cell lines with high CENP-F expression to cisplatin, although ZOL alone only exhibited a minor inhibitory effect to ESCC cells. In summary, these findings demonstrate that CENP-F may serve as a valuable molecular marker for predicting the prognosis of ESCC patients. In addition, the data indicate a potential benefit of combining ZOL with cisplatin in ESCC, suggesting that CENP-F expression may have therapeutic implications.

Type 2 diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance in North-China-based rural community adults.

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the prevalence of type 2 diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), and to identify potential risk factors among adults in rural areas in North China. STUDY DESIGN: Multistage random cluster sampling in a cross-sectional study. METHODS: Data were collected in 2005 from 1058 adults aged >20 years. Body mass index (BMI), waist and hip circumferences, 2-hour postprandial glucose (2-hPG) and other data were collected. RESULTS: The prevalence of diabetes and IGT was higher for both men and women in the study group compared with the national averages (diabetes: 7.17% and 7.01%, respectively; IGT: 7.55% and 7.95%, respectively). Men aged ≥60 years and women aged 50-59 years had the highest prevalence of diabetes compared with other age groups (9.62% and 9.21% respectively). Both men and women aged ≥60 years had the highest prevalence of IGT. A sudden increase in 2-hPG level was seen in women aged ≥40 years. Those with BMI ≥28 kg/m(2) were at two-fold higher risk than normal. The risk for glucose tolerance abnormalities was almost 1.55-fold higher in subjects with waist/height ratio (WHtR) ≥0.50. The odds ratio for diabetes was 0.32 (95% confidence interval 0.10-0.98) in subjects with an annual family income ≥30,000 yuan compared with those with lower incomes. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that rural populations in North China have a higher prevalence of type 2 diabetes and IGT compared with national averages. Women aged ≥40 years warrant more attention to avoid glucose tolerance abnormalities. BMI and WHtR are predictive of the prevalence of glucose tolerance abnormalities. High annual family income appears to be a protective factor for type 2 diabetes.

Association of vitamin D binding protein variants with susceptibility to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by chronic airflow limitation and it is thought that neutrophils play a major role in the disease pathogenesis. Genetic polymorphism of the vitamin-D-binding protein (VDBP) gene is considered one of the candidates for variation in susceptibility to COPD. To evaluate the potential influences of VDBP gene polymorphisms on COPD, a case-control study was conducted in the Han population of north-east China. The VDBP polymorphic site was genotyped in 100 COPD patients and 100 controls. Genotypes were determined by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism. A significantly higher proportion of VDBP-1F homozygosity was found in COPD patients, while the frequency of VDBP-2 homozygosity was significantly lower in COPD patients, which seemed to suggest that VDBP-2 homozygocity provided a protective effect. These data suggest that the VDBP gene may be involved in COPD susceptibility in Chinese Han population.

The combination of polymorphisms within MCP-1 and IL-1beta associated with ulcerative colitis.

Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) is a chemokine involved in monocyte recruitment to sites of inflammation. Raised level of MCP-1 has been widely demonstrated in the intestinal mucosa of patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), suggesting an important role of MCP-1 in the pathogenesis of UC. The -2518A/G polymorphism in the promoter region of MCP-1 gene affecting its transcriptional activation has been reported recently. In order to assess the potential role of this polymorphism in UC, we examined its distribution in 162 unrelated UC patients and 203 healthy controls. In addition, considering the gene regulatory association between interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) and MCP-1, we further examined whether the gene polymorphisms between MCP-1 and IL-1beta exert synergetic effects on risk of UC. Our results show that the distribution of MCP-1 genotype or allele frequencies between UC patients and controls was not significantly different; however, the association between the polymorphism of MCP-1 -2518 GG and the polymorphism of IL-1beta-511 T in UC patients is significant (OR 2.062, 95% CI 1.034-4.113, P = 0.038). This is the first report describing the association between MCP-1 polymorphism and UC, and our data suggest that the MCP-1 -2518 polymorphism itself does not represent an independent genetic risk factor for UC. In contrast, the combination polymorphisms between MCP-1 and IL-1beta can increase UC risk significantly, which might help us understand the molecular mechanism underlying the development of UC.