Soluble interleukin‑2 receptor as a factor associated with angiogenesis in gastric cancer.

Angiogenesis serves a role in the growth, metastasis and prognosis of tumors. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the angiogenic ability and clinical significance of the immune biomarker soluble interleukin‑2 receptor (sIL‑2R) in gastric cancer (GC) patients. Serum levels of sIL‑2R were measured in 35 GC patients with different stages of disease and 32 healthy individuals, and it was investigated whether the levels were associated with angiogenesis factors, including vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and transforming growth factor (TGF)‑β1.

Autologous cytokine-induced killer cell transfusion increases overall survival in advanced pancreatic cancer.

Background: Advanced pancreatic cancer (PC) has very poor prognosis with present treatments, thus necessitating continued efforts to find improved therapeutic approaches. Both preclinical and preliminary clinical data indicate that cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells are an effective tool against various types of solid tumors. Here, we conducted a study to determine whether CIK cell-based therapy (CBT) can improve the outcomes of advanced PC.

Quantitative assessment of the association between DNMT3B-579G>T polymorphism and cancer risk.

Background: DNA methyltransferase 3B (DNMT3B) has been discovered to play an important role in tumorigenesis. However, the association between DNMT3B-579G>T and the cancer risk has not been demonstrated.

Objective: The aim of this study is to provide a precise quantification for the association between DNMT3B-579G>T and the cancer susceptibility.

Hepatocyte-targeted psiRNA delivery mediated by galactosylated poly(ethylene glycol)-graft-polyethylenimine in vitro.

Gene silencing in liver disease could be achieved by delivering siRNA with nonviral vectors. However, the transfection efficiency of plasmid siRNA (psiRNA) applied through this approach in hepatocytes is generally low. Based on the fact that the asialoglycoprotein receptors present on hepatocytes can recognize galactose, we synthesized galactosylated poly(ethylene glycol)-graft-polyethylenimine (Gal-PEG-PEI) as a nonviral psiRNA carrier for hepatocyte targeting.

Quantification of bcr/abl mRNA expression level in leukemia cells by FQ-RT-PCR.

Objective: To establish a fluorogenic probe quantitative RT-PCR (FQ-RT-PCR) method for detection of bcr/abl mRNA fusion gene expression level in leukemia cells, and provide a useful tool for leukaemia diagnosis and minimal residual disease inspectation.

Method: The conventional RT-PCR was used to amplify bcr/abl gene from cultured K562 cells, the quantitative standard template was constructed with A-T clone method. The fluo-rogenic quantitative RT-PCR method by using Applied Biosystems 7700 Sequence Detector for detecting the expression of bcr/abl fusion gene was successfully.