Replacing the tropolonic methoxyl group of colchicine with methylamino increases tubulin binding affinity with improved therapeutic index and overcomes paclitaxel cross-resistance.

Aims: Microtubule inhibitors are widely used in first line cancer therapy, though drug resistance often develops and causes treatment failure. Colchicine binds to tubulins and inhibits tumor growth, but is not approved for cancer therapy due to systemic toxicity. In this study, we aim to improve the therapeutic index of colchicine through structural modification.

Intestinal microbiota and melatonin in the treatment of secondary injury and complications after spinal cord injury.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a central nervous system (CNS) disease that can cause sensory and motor impairment below the level of injury. Currently, the treatment scheme for SCI mainly focuses on secondary injury and complications. Recent studies have shown that SCI leads to an imbalance of intestinal microbiota and the imbalance is also associated with complications after SCI, possibly through the microbial-brain-gut axis.

Expression and mechanisms of interferon-stimulated genes in viral infection of the central nervous system (CNS) and neurological diseases.

Interferons (IFNs) bind to cell surface receptors and activate the expression of interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) through intracellular signaling cascades. ISGs and their expression products have various biological functions, such as antiviral and immunomodulatory effects, and are essential effector molecules for IFN function. ISGs limit the invasion and replication of the virus in a cell-specific and region-specific manner in the central nervous system (CNS).

Reduced PTCH2 expression is associated with glioma development through its regulation of the PTEN/AKT signaling pathway.

Mutations in the human protein patched homolog (PTCH) gene have been demonstrated to be associated with cancer development in several types of malignancy. However, the underlying mechanism of PTCH-associated cancer development remains poorly understood, to the best of our knowledge. In the present study, the expression of PTCH2 in glioma tumor tissues from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and clinical patients with glioma were measured.

Neutrophils as emerging immunotherapeutic targets: Indirect treatment of tumors by regulating the tumor immune environment based on a sialic acid derivative-modified nanocomplex platform.

Tumor cells are dependent on their microenvironment; thus, targeting the non-cancerous components surrounding the tumor may be beneficial. Neutrophils are important inflammatory cells in the tumor microenvironment that significantly affect tumor cell proliferation, metastasis, and immune regulation. Targeted regulation of tumor-associated neutrophil-related pathways is expected to become a new therapeutic approach.

Design, synthesis and evaluation of N-hydroxypropenamides based on adamantane to overcome resistance in NSCLC.

A series of novel N-hydroxypropenamides containing adamantane moiety were identified and most of them exhibited HDAC inhibitory activity and could reverse the resistance of cisplatin in NSCLC cell lines. In this process, molecular docking was employed to verify the rationality of designing, subsequently, target compounds were synthesized and conducted to enzyme- and cell-based biological evaluation. Most of synthesized compounds could inhibit HDAC activity with the IC values lower than 50 nM and result in the increase of Ac-H4 and p21 in A549 cells.

Blockade of Interleukin-7 Receptor Shapes Macrophage Alternative Activation and Promotes Functional Recovery After Spinal Cord Injury.

Macrophages are implicated in the pathological processes and functional recovery of spinal cord injury (SCI). Macrophage activation following inflammation depends on networks of interferons and cytokines. Recent evidence indicate that IL-7 signaling can influence the release of proinflammatory factors, however, its roles in modulating macrophage phenotype and function and whether it could affect the functional recovery of SCI are poorly understood.

Laminoplasty using the Posterior Midline Approach in the Treatment of C1-2 Spinal Tumors.

Aim: This study aimed to investigate the method and efficacy of vertebral reconstruction using the posterior midline approach (PMA) in the treatment of C1-2 spinal tumors.

Material And Methods: Twenty-seven patients with C1-2 spinal tumors from the Affiliated Hospital of Luzhou Medical College, who underwent microsurgical tumor resection through an occipitocervical PMA and spinal reset-reconstruction from January 2007 to December 2013, were enrolled in the study. The clinical data and results of these patients were analyzed and summarized.

Surgical treatment of Chiari I malformation complicated with syringomyelia.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the curative effects of various surgical procedures on Chiari I malformation (CMI) complicated with syringomyelia. A total of 185 patients with CMI complicated with syringomyelia who received treatment between January 1997 and December 2011 were recruited. All patients underwent posterior fossa decompression in which the lamina of the first cervical vertebra was removed, with the removal of the second or third depending on the severity of the cerebellar tonsil herniation.