Clinicopathologic significance of LAIR-1 expression in hepatocellular carcinoma

Aim

Leukocyte-associated immunoglobulin-like receptor-1 (LAIR-1) is an immune inhibitory receptor which is expressed within most types of hematopoietic cells and negatively regulates immune responses. Recently, we found LAIR-1 expression to be present within tumors of nonhematopoietic lineages. However, the roles of LAIR-1 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have yet to be examined. The purpose of this study was to investigate the expression of LAIR-1 in HCC tissue and assess its clinical significance at this site.

染料木黄酮对前列腺癌细胞增殖、迁移和侵袭的影响及机制

本研究拟探讨染料木黄酮对前列腺癌细胞LNCaP和CWR22RV1的增殖、迁移和侵袭能力的影响。一、材料与方法1.材料:前列腺癌细胞株LNCaP和CWR22RV1(中国科学院上海生命科学研究院);Genistein(天津科瑞泰科技有限公司);RPMI 1640、胎牛血清(FBS)、胰蛋白酶(美国Gibco公司);E-钙黏蛋白(E-cadherin)、N-钙黏蛋白(N-cadherin)、波形蛋白(Vimentin,Abcam公司);聚氰基丙烯酸正丁酯(BCA)试剂盒、十二烷基硫酸钠-聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳(SDS-PAGE)上样缓冲液(×5)及蛋白质印迹法(Western blot)试剂盒(上海市碧云天生物公司);2.实验方法:采用噻唑蓝(MTT)实验、划痕实验和Transwell实验检测Genistein对细胞增殖、迁移及侵袭能力的影响。采用Western blot检测E-cadherin、N-cadherin、Vimentin、CD44和Oct-4的表达水平。     

Hyodeoxycholic acid protects the neurovascular unit against oxygen-glucose deprivation and reoxygenation-induced injury in vitro

Calculus bovis is commonly used for the treatment of stroke in traditional Chinese medicine. Hyodeoxycholic acid(HDCA) is a bioactive compound extracted from calculus bovis. When combined with cholic acid, baicalin and jas-minoidin, HDCA prevents hypoxia-reoxygenation-induced brain injury by suppressing endoplasmic reticulum stress-mediated apoptotic signaling. However, the effects of HDCA in ischemic stroke injury have not yet been studied. Neurovascular unit(NVU) dysfunction occurs in ischemic stroke. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the effects of HDCA on the NVU under ischemic conditions in vitro. We co-cultured primary brain microvascular endothelial cells, neurons and astrocytes using a transwell chamber co-culture system. The NVU was pre-treated with 10.16 or 2.54 μg/mL HDCA for 24 hours before exposure to oxygen-glucose deprivation for 1 hour. The cell counting kit-8 assay was used to detect cell activity. Flow cytometry and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling were used to assess apoptosis. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to measure the expression levels of inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin-1β, interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α, and neurotrophic factors, including brain-derived neurotrophic factor and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor. Oxidative stress-related factors, such as superoxide dismutase, nitric oxide, malondialdehyde and γ-glutamyltransferase, were measured using kits. Pretreatment with HDCA significantly decreased blood-brain barrier permeability and neuronal apoptosis, significantly increased transendothelial electrical resistance and γ-glutamyltransferase activity, attenuated oxidative stress damage and the release of inflammatory cytokines, and increased brain-derived neurotrophic factor and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor expression. Our findings suggest that HDCA maintains NVU morphological integrity and function by modulating inflammation, oxidation stress, apoptosis, and the expression of neurotrophic factors. Therefore, HDCA may have therapeutic potential in the clinical management of ischemic stroke. This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Experimental Animals of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine(approval No. BUCM-3-2016040201-2003) in April 2016.     

Cardiac Denervation for Arrhythmia Treatment with Transesophageal Ultrasonic Strategy in Canine Models

Stellate ganglion (SG) modification has been investigated for arrhythmia treatment. In this study, transesophageal SG imaging and intervention were explored using a homemade 30F integrated focused ultrasonic catheter in healthy mongrel canines in vivo. Anatomic details of SGs were ultrasonically imaged and evaluated. SG had a heterogeneous echoic structure and characteristic profiles sketched by hyper-echoic outlines in an ultrasonogram. Left SGs in the experimental group were successfully ablated through the esophagus under ultrasonic guidance provided by the catheter itself. Two weeks after the ablation, the QT and QTc of the experimental group decreased compared with those of the sham group and at baseline (both p values < 0.001). Histologic examination revealed that left SGs were destroyed. No major complications were observed. This approach may be further explored as a method for ganglia remodeling evaluation and as a strategy of ganglia modification for arrhythmia and for other diseases.     

浙江省2007－2017年罕见病住院病例特征分析

目的 分析2007-2017年浙江省24 388例罕见病住院病例特征，为制定罕见病防控策略提供依据。方法 收集2007-2017年浙江省10家三级甲等（三甲）医院罕见病住院病例资料和各年度住院数，进行描述性统计分析。结果 罕见病病例共24 388例，占住院总例数的2.69‰（24 388/9 054 201），病例数居前3位的疾病类型依次为"血液和造血器官疾病以及某些涉及免疫机能的异常"（占32.81%，8 001/24 388）、"先天性畸形、变形和染色体异常"（占24.87%，6 065/24 388）和"神经系统疾病"（占19.01%，4 635/24 388）；2007-2017年罕见病病例数呈逐年增长趋势，年均增幅19.69%，而罕见病例数占同期住院总例数比例仅在2016-2017年明显上升，各类型罕见病时间分布呈不同特征；罕见病的病例数男女性别比为1.35：1（13 990/10 398），男女性别比最高的3类疾病依次为"消化系统疾病"（4.45：1，1 180/265）、"损伤、中毒和外因的某些其他后果"（3.51：1，281/80）和"神经系统疾病"（2.26：1，3 213/1 422）；各年龄段罕见病类型、各类型罕见病年龄分布均呈不同特征；病例数居前10位的疾病占全部罕见病例数的53.55%（13 060/24 388），其中前3位疾病分别为成人粒细胞缺乏症（14.41%，3 515/24 388）、皮质基底核退化症（7.60%，1 854/24 388）和亨诺克-舍恩莱因紫癜（6.01%，1 466/24 388）。结论 本研究分析的浙江省2007-2017年24 388例罕见病住院病例的特征资料，是推动我国罕见病的研究、监测或登记数据库构建、制定防控策略的参考依据。     

沙利度胺联合TACE治疗原发性肝癌疗效与安全性的系统评价

目的:系统评价沙利度胺(thalidomide,TLD)联合肝动脉化疗栓塞术(transcatheter arterial chemoembolization,TACE)治疗原发性肝癌(primary hepatic carcinomas,PHC)的疗效和安全性.方法:计算机检索Cochrane Library(2014年第3期)、Web of Science(1986/2014-03)、Pub Med(1966/2014-03)、CNKI(1917/2014-03)、维普(1989/2014-03)、万方数据库(1998/2014-03),收集所有TLD联合TACE治疗PHC的随机对照试验.由两名评价员严格按照纳入标准选择文献,提取资料,并参照Cochrane系统评价的要求,对选择纳入的随机对照试验进行方法学质量评估后,采用Cochrane协作网提供的Rev Man 5.2软件对总有效率、疾病控制率、生活质量KPS评分、不同年限生存率、甲胎蛋白的变化、血管内皮生长因子(vascular endothelial growth factor,VEGF)的变化及不良反应发生率进行Meta分析.结果:最终纳入22项随机对照试验,包括1590例PHC患者,Meta分析结果显示,TLD联合TA C E组治疗P H C的总有效率(R R合并=1.29,95%C I:1.15-1.44)、疾病控制率(R R合并=1.27,95%CI:1.16-1.39)、生活质量KPS评分(MD合并=9.23,95%CI:6.90-11.55)、半年生存率(RR合并=1.10,95%C I:1.01-1.20)、1年生存率(RR合并=1.25,95%C I:1.13-1.39)、2年生存率(RR合并=1.45,95%CI:1.18-1.78)、3年生存率(R R合并=1.7 0,9 5%C I:1.1 6-2.5 0)、V E G F水平的变化(M D合并=-123.64,95%C I:-143.72--103.55)优于单纯TACE组,差异有统计学意义(均P0.05);不良反应发生率:在药物性皮疹发生率方面,TLD联合TACE组明显高于单纯TACE组,差异有统计学意义(RR=4.50,95%CI:2.34-8.64,P0.00001);在减少消化系应发生率(RR=1.08,95%CI:0.93-1.25)、降低骨髓抑制发生率(RR=1.12,95%CI:0.82-1.52)、降低肝功能异常发生率方面(R R=1.00,95%C I:0.72-1.39),T L D联合TA C E组与单纯TA C E组相近似,差异无统计学意义(均P0.05).结论:目前研究显示,与单纯TACE疗法相比,TLD联合TACE治疗PHC在总有效率、疾病控制率、生活质量KPS评分、半年生存率、1、2、3年生存率、降低V E G F方面具有明显的优势,但在安全性方面,TLD联合TACE组在药物性皮疹发生率方面明显高于单纯TACE组,而在消化系反应、骨髓抑制率、肝功能异常方面与单纯TACE组相似.     

HIFα Regulates Developmental Myelination Independent of Autocrine Wnt Signaling

The developing CNS is exposed to physiological hypoxia, under which hypoxia-inducible factor α (HIFα) is stabilized and plays a crucial role in regulating neural development. The cellular and molecular mechanisms of HIFα in developmental myelination remain incompletely understood. A previous concept proposes that HIFα regulates CNS developmental myelination by activating the autocrine Wnt/β-catenin signaling in oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs). Here, by analyzing a battery of genetic mice of both sexes, we presented in vivo evidence supporting an alternative understanding of oligodendroglial HIFα-regulated developmental myelination. At the cellular level, we found that HIFα was required for developmental myelination by transiently controlling upstream OPC differentiation but not downstream oligodendrocyte maturation and that HIFα dysregulation in OPCs but not oligodendrocytes disturbed normal developmental myelination. We demonstrated that HIFα played a minor, if any, role in regulating canonical Wnt signaling in the oligodendroglial lineage or in the CNS. At the molecular level, blocking autocrine Wnt signaling did not affect HIFα-regulated OPC differentiation and myelination. We further identified HIFα–Sox9 regulatory axis as an underlying molecular mechanism in HIFα-regulated OPC differentiation. Our findings support a concept shift in our mechanistic understanding of HIFα-regulated CNS myelination from the previous Wnt-dependent view to a Wnt-independent one and unveil a previously unappreciated HIFα–Sox9 pathway in regulating OPC differentiation.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Promoting disturbed developmental myelination is a promising option in treating diffuse white matter injury, previously called periventricular leukomalacia, a major form of brain injury affecting premature infants. In the developing CNS, hypoxia-inducible factor α (HIFα) is a key regulator that adapts neural cells to physiological and pathologic hypoxic cues. The role and mechanism of HIFα in oligodendroglial myelination, which is severely disturbed in preterm infants affected with diffuse white matter injury, is incompletely understood. Our findings presented here represent a concept shift in our mechanistic understanding of HIFα-regulated developmental myelination and suggest the potential of intervening with an oligodendroglial HIFα-mediated signaling pathway to mitigate disturbed myelination in premature white matter injury.