Comparison of the efficacy and safety of methotrexate injection and methotrexate tablets in active active rheumatoid arthritis.

Objectives: This study aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of subcutaneous methotrexate (SC MTX) and oral MTX (OR MTX) in treating Chinese patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: This study included patients with active RA in China. All patients were randomly assigned to receive SC MTX or OR MTX.

[Pirfenidone Inhibits Cytokines/chemokines Release from Alveolar Macrophages].

Objective To investigate the effect of pirfenidone on cytokine/chemokine production by alveolar macrophages(AMs)in patients with idiopathic nonspecific interstitial pneumonia(iNSIP)or idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis(IPF).Methods We prospectively enrolled 10 iNSIP patients,11 IPF patients,and 8 non-interstitial lung disease(non-ILD)patients(control group)from our center from January 2015 to December 2018.AMs from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid(BALF)were cultured with or without lipopolysaccharide(LPS)stimulation.

Targeting PI3K/AKT/mTOR-mediated autophagy for tumor therapy.

Autophagy is a highly conserved catabolic process and participates in a variety of cellular biological activities. The phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway, as a critical regulator of autophagy, is involved in the initiation and promotion of a series of pathological disorders including various tumors. Autophagy also participates in regulating the balance between the tumor and the tumor microenvironment.

The miR-15a/16 gene cluster in human cancer: A systematic review.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are an important class of endogenous small noncoding single-stranded RNAs that suppress the expression of their target genes through messenger RNA (mRNA) degradation to inhibit transcription and translation. MiRNAs play a crucial regulatory role in many biological processes including proliferation, metabolism, and cellular malignancy. miR-15a/16 is an important tumor suppressor gene cluster with a variety of factors that regulate its transcriptional activity.

[CALM-AF10 fusion transcripts in primary leukemia with t(10;11) and in vitro chemotherapy sensitivity of leukemic cells with t(10;11)].

In order to determine the involvement of CALM-AF10 fusion transcripted in primary leukaemias with t(10;11) and its chemotherapy sensitivity in vitro, the AF10-CALM fusion transcripts were detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and the chemotherapy sensitivity testing in vitro was undergone by MTT assay in five t(10;11) leukemia samples from patients with ALL, AML and lymphoblastic lymphoma. The results showed that five different-sized AF10-CALM product and four different-sized CALM-AF10 products were detected. The chemotherapy sensitivity of leukemic cells with t(10;11) in vitro to drugs is lower than that of leukemic cells without t(10;11).

Endothelin-1, an important mitogen of smooth muscle cells of spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Objective: To study the features of vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) proliferation induced by endothelin-1 (ET-1).

Methods: VSMCs of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and Wistar-Kyoto rats were cultured and treated with ET-1. Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) gene expression was measured using both Northern blot and an enzyme-linked immunoassay.

Probucol inhibits oxidized-low density lipoprotein-induced adhesion of monocytes to endothelial cells in vitro.

Aim: To investigate the mechanism by which probucol (PBC) affected adhesion of monocytes to human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC).

Methods: Effects of PBC on expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), P-selectin, a nd E-selectin in human umbilical vein endothelial cells were examined. Moreover, the inhibitory effect of PBC were compared with that of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to ICAM-1, VCAM-1, P-selectin, and E-select in on adhesion induced by oxidized-low density lipoprotein(Ox-LDL).