A ZBP1 isoform blocks ZBP1-mediated cell death.

ZBP1 is an interferon (IFN)-induced nucleic acid (NA) sensor that senses unusual Z-form NA (Z-NA) to promote cell death and inflammation. However, the mechanisms that dampen ZBP1 activation to fine-tune inflammatory responses are unclear. Here, we characterize a short isoform of ZBP1 (referred to as ZBP1-S) as an intrinsic suppressor of the inflammatory signaling mediated by full-length ZBP1.

Assessing the predictive value of clinical factors to pathological complete response for locally advanced rectal cancer: An analysis of 124 patients.

Purpose: To investigate the clinical factors affecting pathological complete response (pCR) after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) in locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC).

Methods: Clinical data of 124 LARC patients treated with nCRT and surgery in the fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University from 2014 to 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. In this study, univariate analysis and logistic dichotomous multivariate regression analysis were used to study the clinical factors affecting pCR, and the receiver operator characteristic curve (ROC) analysis was used to further verify the accuracy of partial indexes in predicting pCR.

The reduction of F-FDG uptake ability of tumor tissue after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy in locally advanced rectal cancer can effectively reflect the degree of tumor regression.

Introduction: To evaluate the predictive value of F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography (F-FDG PET-CT) imaging parameters for the response to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) in locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC).

Methods: From January 2016 to March 2020, 52 LARC patients who underwent F-FDG PET-CT scans within 1 week before and 8-9 weeks after nCRT, were enrolled in this study according to a pre-designed screening criteria. After total mesorectal excision (TME) surgery, we assessed tumor response to treatment and analyzed the correlation between imaging parameters obtained from two PET-CT scans and tumor regression status.

Chemically stable piperidinium cations for anion exchange membranes.

The chemical stability of the anion exchange membranes (AEMs) is determinative towards the engineering applications of anion exchange membrane fuel cells (AEMFCs) and other AEM-based electrochemical devices, yet remains a challenge due to deficiencies in the structural design of cations. In this work, an effective design strategy for ultra-stable piperidinium cations is presented based on the systematic investigation of the chemical stability of piperidinium in harsh alkaline media. Firstly, benzyl-substituted piperidinium was degraded by about 23% in a 7 M KOH solution at 100 °C after 1436 h, which was much more stable than pyrrolidinium due to its lower ring strain.

Spermidine Ameliorates Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis through Thyroid Hormone-Responsive Protein Signaling and the Gut Microbiota-Mediated Metabolism of Bile Acids.

Spermidine, a natural polyamine and physiological autophagy inducer, is involved in various physiological processes. However, the impact and mechanism of spermidine on nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) remains unclarified. We found that daily spermidine intake was significantly lower in volunteers with liver dysfunction than the healthy controls, and the serum and fecal spermidine levels were negatively correlated with the NASH phenotypes.

Screening of MicroRNA Related to Irradiation Response and the Regulation Mechanism of miRNA-96-5p in Rectal Cancer Cells.

Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy has been widely used in the treatment of locally advanced rectal cancer due to the excellent advantages of irradiation in cancer therapy. Unfortunately, not every patient can benefit from this treatment, therefore, it is of great significance to explore biomarkers that can predict irradiation sensitivity. In this study, we screened microRNAs (miRNAs) which were positively correlated with irradiation resistance and found that miRNA-552 and miRNA-183 families were positively correlated with the irradiation resistance of rectal cancer, and found that high expression of miRNA-96-5p enhanced the irradiation resistance of rectal cancer cells through direct regulation of the GPC3 gene and abnormal activation of the canonical Wnt signal transduction pathway.

Analysis of influencing factors of no/low response to preoperative concurrent chemoradiotherapy in locally advanced rectal cancer.

The aim of this study is to investigate the influencing factors associated with no/low response to preoperative concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) for locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) patients. A total of 79 patients were included in this prospective study. Fifteen factors that might affect the resistance to CCRT were included in this logistic regression analysis, these factors include the general clinical data of patients, the expression status of tumor stem cell marker CD44v6 and the volumetric imaging parameters of primary tumor lesions.

Volumetric imaging parameters are significant for predicting the pathological complete response of preoperative concurrent chemoradiotherapy in local advanced rectal cancer.

Preoperative concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) as the standard treatment for locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) has been widely used in clinic. Its efficiency influences the prognosis and the selection of subsequent treatment. The current criteria for evaluating the prognosis of patients with extremely sensitive preoperative CCRT include the clinical complete remission response (cCR) and pathological complete response (pCR), but those with cCR may not necessarily achieve pCR, and the pCR can be confirmed only after surgery.

ADAMTS8 targets ERK to suppress cell proliferation, invasion, and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Introduction: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant tumors of the digestive system. A disintegrin and metallopeptidase with thrombospondin motif (ADAMTS) has been identified as a secreted metalloproteinase that participates in the inhibition of tumor cell growth and invasion. The aims of the present study were to investigate the clinical significance of ADAMTS8 in patients with HCC and to determine the effect of ADAMTS8 on HCC cell biological activity in vitro and in vivo.

Comparison of elective nodal irradiation and involved-field irradiation in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: a meta-analysis.

It remains controversial whether radical radiotherapy in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) still requires elective nodal irradiation (ENI), or only involved-field irradiation (IFI). In this study, a meta-analysis was conducted to compare ENI and IFI in the treatment of ESCC, in order to provide guidance for clinical practice. Literature on the use of ENI and IFI in the treatment of ESCC was retrieved, and the last access date was 31 December 2017.

[Lymph node metastasis patterns and influencing factors in patients with limited esophageal small cell carcinoma].

Objective: To explore the patterns and influencing factors of lymph node metastasis in limited esophageal small cell carcinoma (PESCC).

Methods: A total of 98 limited stage PESCC patients who underwent surgery were selected for this study. The lymph node metastasis ratio at different sites, depth of invasion, tumor length and other factors were analyzed to assess their influence on lymph node metastasis.

[Relationship between hypoxia inducible factor-1α and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: a meta analysis].

Objective: To explore the expression of hypoxia inducible factor-1α(HIF-1α) in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and its correlation with clinicopathological features.

Methods: Original literatures in foreign languages regarding correlation between HIF-1α and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma were identified from Cochrane Library, PubMed, EMbase database, and Chinese original literatures were from CBM, CNKI. All analyses were performed by Stata 11.

miR‑210 regulates esophageal cancer cell proliferation by inducing G2/M phase cell cycle arrest through targeting PLK1.

micro (mi)RNAs are short regulatory RNAs that negatively modulate protein expression at the post‑transcriptional level, and are being considered as novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of cancer. In the present study, an elevated expression level of circulating miR‑210 was observed in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, and the induction of miR‑210 under hypoxic conditions in ESCC was confirmed. Cell counting kit‑8 assay and bromodeoxyuridine incorporation assay indicated that miR‑210 markedly inhibited the proliferation of ESCC cells.

Association of EMP1 with gastric carcinoma invasion, survival and prognosis.

The aim of this study was to determine the expression and function of epithelial membrane protein 1 (EMP1) in gastric carcinoma. Gastric samples were taken from cancer lesions and adjacent normal tissue in gastric cancer patients immediately after endoscopic biopsy. A portion of the sample was either fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde and embedded in paraffin for immunohistochemistry or stored in liquid nitrogen for western blotting.

Inhibiting UHRF1 expression enhances radiosensitivity in human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Radiotherapy is an effective treatment for some esophageal cancers, but the molecular mechanisms of radiosensitivity remain unknown. Ubiquitin-like with PHD and ring finger domains 1 (UHRF1) is a novel nuclear protein which is overexpressed in various cancers but not yet examined in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). The correlation between UHRF1 and the radioresistance in ESCC is still unclear.

Effect of nitric oxide on esophageal cancer cell line TE-1.

Objective: To investigate the radiosensitizing effect of nitric oxide (NO) combined with radiation on esophageal cancer cell line TE-1.

Methods: Methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay was used to assess the effects of NO and radiation on TE-1 cells regarding inhibition of cell proliferation. Flow cytometry was used to examine the effect of NO and radiation on cell apoptosis and cycle.

Characteristics of recurrence after radical esophagectomy with two-field lymph node dissection for thoracic esophageal cancer.

Postoperative radiotherapy has shown positive efficacy in lowering the recurrence rate and improving the survival rate in cases involving lymph node (LN) metastasis. However, the radiotherapy target volume remains controversial. Certain published studies have paid more attention to LNs found to be affected during surgery, while little effort has been made to study the LN metastatic pattern following surgery and its influence on the determination of the target volume of postoperative radiotherapy.

HIF-1α contributes to hypoxia-induced invasion and metastasis of esophageal carcinoma via inhibiting E-cadherin and promoting MMP-2 expression.

Hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) has been found to enhance tumor invasion and metastasis, but no study has reported its action in esophageal carcinoma. The goal of this study was to explore the probable mechanism of HIF-1α in the invasion and metastasis of esophageal carcinoma Eca109 cells in vitro and in vivo. mRNA and protein expression of HIF-1α, E-cadherin and matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) under hypoxia were detected by RT-PCR and Western blotting.

Bidirectional regulation of manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) on the radiosensitivity of esophageal cancer cells.

The mitochondrial antioxidant protein manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) may represent a new type of tumor suppressor protein. Overexpression of the cDNA of this gene by plasmid or recombinant lentiviral transfection in various types of cancer leads to growth suppression both in vitro and in vivo. We previously determined that changes in MnSOD expression had bidirectional effects on adriamycin (ADR) when combined with nitric oxide (NO).

[Effect of HIF-1α and its mechanism on invasion and metastasis of esophageal carcinoma Eca109 cells in vitro and in vivo].

Aim: To investigate the effects of HIF-1α by RNAi on invasion and metastasis of esophageal carcinoma Eca109 cells in vitro and in vivo, in order to explore its probable mechanism.

Methods: CoCl(2); was used to mimic tumor hypoxic microenvironment. mRNA and protein levels of HIF-1α, E-cadherin and MMP-2 under hypoxia were detected by RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry.