Association of Total Airway Count on Computed Tomography with Pulmonary Function Decline in Early-Stage COPD: A Population-Based Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: It has been found that the degree of terminal bronchiole destruction is associated with the severity of COPD. However, total airway count (TAC) of CT-visible and its relationship with COPD lung function severity and pulmonary function decline remains controversial. The present study aimed to determine whether TAC is significantly reduced in early-stage COPD (GOLD stage I-II) compared with healthy control subjects and whether TAC is associated with annual decline in pulmonary function in Chinese patients with early-stage COPD.

Lung Features in Individuals with Biomass Smoke Exposure Characterized by CT Scan and Changes in Pulmonary Function.

Background And Objective: To determine the effects of BSE (biomass smoke exposure) on pulmonary and non-pulmonary changes in patients with COPD compared with normal individuals.

Methods: Using a cohort, we recruited 16 healthy individuals with BSE (BSE normal), 19 patients with BSE+COPD, 13 healthy individuals with cigarette smoke exposure (CSE normal), 25 patients with CSE+COPD, and 25 healthy controls. Patients with GOLD stage I and II COPD were included.

Small airway disease: A different phenotype of early stage COPD associated with biomass smoke exposure.

Background And Objective: Chronic exposure to biomass smoke (BS) can significantly compromise pulmonary function and lead to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). To determine whether BS exposure induces a unique phenotype of COPD from an early stage, with different physiopathological features compared with COPD associated with smoking (cigarette-smoke (CS) COPD), we assessed the physiopathology of early COPD associated with BS exposure (BS COPD) by incorporating spirometry, high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) imaging, bronchoscopy and pathological examinations.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we recruited 29 patients with BS COPD, 31 patients with CS COPD and 22 healthy controls, including 12 BS-exposed subjects who did not smoke and 10 healthy smokers without BS exposure.

Two susceptibility variants for COPD are genetic determinants of emphysema and chest computed tomography manifestations in Chinese patients.

Quantitative computed tomography (CT) measures of emphysema have been shown to be associated with increased mortality in humans, but genetic variants affecting the quantitative parameters of chest CT that measure degree of emphysema have not yet been examined. In this study, using available chest CT data from a total of 344 emphysema patients, we assessed the correlations between five chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) susceptibility variants in the cholinergic receptor nicotinic () genes and the degree of emphysema and chest CT manifestations. We verified that most of the parameters were significantly correlated with the degree of emphysema.

CT-diagnosed severe skull base bone destruction predicts distant bone metastasis in early N-stage nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Bone metastasis is the most frequent type of distant metastasis in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). In this study, we investigated the correlation between the skull base bone destruction and the distant bone metastasis in patients with NPC. A total of 449 cases with NPC who were diagnosed and had definitive radiotherapy from 2001 to 2006 were enrolled in this study.

An efficient method to genotype the polymorphisms of cholinergic nicotinic receptor subunit genes and their associations with COPD onset risk.

Background: Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the cholinergic nicotinic receptor subunit genes on chromosome 15q25.1, including CHRNA3, CHRNB4 and CHRNA5, are well-established biomarkers of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer. Thus, there is great demand for a rapid, easy and inexpensive method to detect these variations for purpose of risk prediction in large populations.

The involvement of neuronal nitric oxide synthase in the anti-epileptic action of curcumin on pentylenetetrazol-kindled rats.

In this study, it was investigated whether a NO signaling pathway is involved in the anti-epileptic effect of curcumin on pentylenetetrazol (PTZ)-kindled rats. PTZ-kindled rats received different doses of curcumin that were administered intraperitoneally for 24 days. Either a non-selective inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) (N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME)), a selective inhibitor of neuronal NOS (7-Nitroindazole (7-NI)), a selective inhibitor of inducible NOS (aminoguanidine (AG)), or a NO precursor (L-arginine (L-ARG)) was administered chronically to evaluate the role of NO in curcumin's anti-seizure effect.

In vivo tracking of human adipose-derived stem cells labeled with ferumoxytol in rats with middle cerebral artery occlusion by magnetic resonance imaging.

Ferumoxytol, an iron replacement product, is a new type of superparamagnetic iron oxide approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. Herein, we assessed the feasibility of tracking transplanted human adipose-derived stem cells labeled with ferumoxytol in middle cerebral artery occlusion-injured rats by 3.0 T MRI in vivo.

BRCC3 acts as a prognostic marker in nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients treated with radiotherapy and mediates radiation resistance in vitro.

Background: BRCC3 has been found to be aberrantly expressed in breast tumors and involved in DNA damage response. The contribution of BRCC3 to nasopharyngeal carcinoma prognosis and radiosensitivity is still unclear.

Methods: Immunohistochemical analysis of BRCC3 was carried out in 100 nasopharyngeal carcinoma tissues, and the protein level was correlated to patient survival.

Role for pro-inflammatory cytokines in regulating expression of GABA transporter type 1 and 3 in specific brain regions of kainic acid-induced status epilepticus.

In general, pro-inflammatory cytokines (PICs) contribute to regulation of epilepsy-associated pathophysiological processes in the central nerve system. In this report, we examined the specific activation of PICs, namely IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α in rat brain after kainic acid (KA)-induced status epilepticus (SE). Also, we examined the role played by PICs in regulating expression of GABA transporter type 1 and 3 (GAT-1 and GAT-3, respectively), which are the two important subtypes of GATs responsible for the regulation of extracellular GABA levels in the brain.

The involvement of neuronal nitric oxide synthase in antiepileptic action of alpha-asarone on pentylenetetrazol molding rats.

The aim of the present study was to research the role of nitric oxide (NO) as a mediator of alpha (α)-asarone effect at the pentylenetetrazol (PTZ)-induced epileptiform discharge in rat. α-Asarone that was injected intraperitoneally twenty minutes before PTZ injection suppressed the clonic discharge effectively and the significant actions lasted for 30 min with no change of clonic amplitude. Administration of α-asarone did not influence interictal discharge.

A risk score model for the metastasis of level Ib lymph node based on the clinicopathological features of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in a large sample.

The aim of the present study was to develop a metastatic risk score model of neck level Ib lymph nodes in primary nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) to guide the level Ib radiotherapy. There were a total of 1,557 patients enrolled in the study, and of these patients, 1,145 were included in the training set. Univariate χ analysis and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to screen the independent risk factors to construct the risk score model.

Alternative endpoints to the 5-year overall survival and locoregional control for nasopharyngeal carcinoma: A retrospective analysis of 2,450 patients.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate alternative endpoints to the 5-year overall survival (OS) and locoregional control (LRC) for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). A total of 2,450 NPC patients were enrolled in this study, including 1,842 patients treated with two-dimensional (2D) radiotherapy (RT), 451 treated with 3D conformal RT (CRT) and 157 treated with intensity-modulated RT (IMRT). We sequentially calculated the 1-, 2-, 3- and 4-year survival rates using a life table and compared these with the 5-year survival rate using the McNemar method, with the survival rate of the last indifferent comparison being considered as the alternative endpoint.

The pro-proliferative effects of nicotine and its underlying mechanism on rat airway smooth muscle cells.

Recent studies have shown that nicotine, a major component of cigarette smoke, can stimulate the proliferation of non-neuronal cells. Cigarette smoking can promote a variety of pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), atherosclerosis, and cancer. A predominant feature of COPD is airway remodeling, which includes increased airway smooth muscle (ASM) mass.

Targeted induction of apoptosis in glioblastoma multiforme cells by an MRP3-specific TRAIL fusion protein in vitro.

Single-chain Fv fragments (scFvs) consist of the variable heavy-chain (VH) and variable light-chain (VL) domains, which are the smallest immunoglobulin fragments containing the whole antigen-binding site. Human soluble tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) proves to acquire a potent pro-apoptotic activity only after selective binding to a predefined tumor cell surface antigen and has no off-target effects towards normal cells. Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most frequent and aggressive type of brain tumor and overexpresses human multidrug resistance protein 3 (MRP3).

Electrophysiological properties and synaptic function of mesenchymal stem cells during neurogenic differentiation - a mini-review.

Introduction: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have gained considerable interest due to their potential use in cell therapies and tissue engineering. They have been reported to differentiate into various anchorage-dependent cell types, including bone, cartilage, and tendon. Our focus is on the differentiation of MSCs into neuron-like cells through the use of soluble chemical stimuli or specific growth factor supplements.

Identifying FGA peptides as nasopharyngeal carcinoma-associated biomarkers by magnetic beads.

Early diagnosis and treatment is known to improve prognosis for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). The study determined the specific peptide profiles by comparing the serum differences between NPC patients and healthy controls, and provided the basis for the diagnostic model and identification of specific biomarkers of NPC. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) can be used to detect the molecular mass of peptides.

Relationship between CYP1A1 genetic polymorphisms and renal cancer in China.

Aim: To study the potential role of cytochrome P450, family 1, subfamily A, polypeptide 1 (CYP1A1) polymorphisms in the risk of renal cell cancer in Chinese.

Methods: A total of 181 pathologically-proven renal cancers and 350 controls from the second Xiangya Hospital in Changsha were collected during the period from May 2007 to December 2010. CYP1A1 genetic polymorphisms were genotyped using PCRRFLP.

[Effect of DNA-PKcs antisense oligodeoxynucleotides on radiosensitivity of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell lines with different p53 function statuses].

Background & Objective: DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK) can repair DNA double-strand break. This study was to observe the effect of DNA-PKcs antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (ASODN) on the radiosensitivity of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) cell lines with normal or abnormal p53 functions.

Methods: DNA-PKcs ASODN was transfected into CNE-1 and CNE-1-wtp53 cells.

[Antigenicity and physicochemical properties of two human NR1a polypeptides related to activation of NMDA receptor].

Objective: To investigate the distribution of antigenic sites in two human NR1a polypeptides related to activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) and their physicochemical properties.

Methods: The amino acid sequences of two polypeptides, P1, a region containing 151 amino acid residues preceding the first transmembrane domain of the human NR1a, and P2 with 144 residues following the third transmembrane domain, were obtained from protein database by GOLDKEY software (4.0 version).