In vivo epigenetic effects induced by engineered nanomaterials: A case study of copper oxide and laser printer-emitted engineered nanoparticles

Evidence continues to grow on potential environmental health hazards associated with engineered nanomaterials (ENMs). While the geno- and cytotoxic effects of ENMs have been investigated, their potential to target the epigenome remains largely unknown. The aim of this study is two-fold: 1) determining whether or not industry relevant ENMs can affect the epigenome in vivo and 2) validating a recently developed in vitro epigenetic screening platform for inhaled ENMs. Laser printer-emitted engineered nanoparticles (PEPs) released from nano-enabled toners during consumer use and copper oxide (CuO) were chosen since these particles induced significant epigenetic changes in a recent in vitro companion study. In this study, the epigenetic alterations in lung tissue, alveolar macrophages and peripheral blood from intratracheally instilled mice were evaluated. The methylation of global DNA and transposable elements (TEs), the expression of the DNA methylation machinery and TEs, in addition to general toxicological effects in the lung were assessed. CuO exhibited higher cell-damaging potential to the lung, while PEPs showed a greater ability to target the epigenome. Alterations in the methylation status of global DNA and TEs, and expression of TEs and DNA machinery in mouse lung were observed after exposure to CuO and PEPs. Additionally, epigenetic changes were detected in the peripheral blood after PEPs exposure. Altogether, CuO and PEPs can induce epigenetic alterations in a mouse experimental model, which in turn confirms that the recently developed in vitro epigenetic platform using macrophage and epithelial cell lines can be successfully utilized in the epigenetic screening of ENMs.     

Clinical Diagnostic Implications of Body Fluid MiRNA in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Meta-Analysis

Oral cancer, predominantly oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), is one of the most leading causes of cancers worldwide. Due to a low 5-year survival rate, highly effective methods for the early detection of OSCC are totally needed. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), as promising biomarkers, can bring insights into tumorigenesis of oral cancers. However, studies on the accuracy of miRNAs detection in OSCC have inconsistent conclusions, leading us to conduct this meta-analysis. The aim of this study was to systematically review the articles investigating the diagnostic value of miRNAs in OSCC.The PubMed, Embase, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Web of Science were searched (updated to June 11th, 2015) to identify all articles evaluating the diagnostic yield of miRNAs for OSCC. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, and other diagnostic parameters were used to assess the performance of miRNAs assays on OSCC detection. Statistical analysis was conducted by employing the R software.The present meta-analysis comprised 23 studies from 10 articles, including 598 OSCC patients and 320 healthy individuals, available for analysis. The summary receiver operator characteristic (SROC) curve was plotted. Meanwhile, the pooled diagnostic parameters and the area under curve (AUC) were calculated based on all included studies. The pooled diagnostic parameters calculated from all 23 studies were as follows: pooled sensitivity of 0.759 (95% CI: 0.701–0.809), pooled specificity of 0.773 (95% CI: 0.713–0.823) and AUC of 0.832, which indicates a relatively high diagnostic accuracy of miRNAs in differentiating OSCC patients from healthy controls. Meanwhile, In addition, subgroup analyses were conducted to access the heterogeneity between studies, which is based on specimen (serum/plasma/blood/saliva/ tissue) and ethnicity (Asian/Caucasian).In summary, our meta-analysis suggests that miRNAs might be used in noninvasive screening tests for OSCC, which needs further large-scale studies to be validated.     

Stress Testing Versus CT Angiography in Patients With Diabetes and Suspected Coronary Artery Disease

Background

The optimal noninvasive test (NIT) for patients with diabetes and stable symptoms of coronary artery disease (CAD) is unknown.

基于医院信息系统的乳腺癌临床特征及中西医用药特征分析

目的 解析真实世界中乳腺恶性肿瘤患者的人群特征、诊断特征、中西医用药特征，为乳腺癌的临床防治提供参考。方法 采集2002年2月至2015年5月全国60家三级甲等医 院信息系统（Hospital Information System，HIS）中，出院诊断为“乳腺癌”的患者用药信息，采用SAS9.3统计软件，对人口学信息、诊断信息、医嘱用药信息等进行描述性分析。结果 39798例乳腺癌患者，平均年龄（50.93者，平均年龄）岁；多以门诊入院，入院病情以“一般”为主;合并疾病主要为高血压，骨肿瘤，联用西药以抑制肿瘤细胞增殖、治疗并发症、缓解放化疗不良反应为主；中医辨证以痰瘀互结证，气阴两虚证，肝气淤滞证，脾气亏虚证型最为常见，临床清热解毒剂、益气扶正剂，活血化瘀剂应用较多。结论 乳腺癌中西医结合治疗，联用药物广泛，临床治疗基本符合临床指南。     

原发性肝癌患者手术切除术后早期复发影响因素分析

目的:探究原发性肝癌患者手术切除术后早期复发影响因素分析。方法:对广州市番禺区中医院2017年2月-2019年2月收治的原发性肝癌患者98例进行回顾性分析,依据各项临床指标分析手术切除术后早期复发的影响因素。结果:原发性肝癌患者经由手术切除后出现复发的可能性较高,同时手术切缘有残留、包膜不完整、肿瘤结节、心理因素、甲胎蛋白、血管侵犯、肝硬化及肿瘤直径等均是影响原发性肝癌手术期后再复发的高危因素。结论:原发性肝癌通常具有术后复发的生物学特性,依据对手术切除术之后早期复发因素的分析,对手术风险与治疗方案进行充分评估,同时要求患者进行定期复查及随访等工作,可对患者手术成功以及并发症的防治等均具有积极意义。