Anti-pancreatic cancer activity of cassane diterpenoids isolated from the seeds of Caesalpinia sappan mediated by autophagy activation via ROS/AMPK/mTORC1 pathway.

Three undescribed cassane diterpenoids, caesalpanins D-F (1-3), and seven known ones were isolated from the seeds of Caesalpinia sappan. Structures and absolute configurations of 1-3 were elucidated based on the extensive spectroscopic analysis, single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis, and ECD calculations. Structurally, compound 1 was the first example of 18-norcassane diterpenoid and 2 was a rare 20-norcassane diterpenoid having an unusual five-membered oxygen bridge between C-10/C-18.

Prognostic Significance of CCDC137 Expression and Its Association with Immune Infiltration in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Globally, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common causes of cancer-associated mortalities. The clinical outcome of HCC patients remains poor due to distant metastasis and recurrence. In recent years, growing evidences have confirmed that the coiled-coil domain-containing (CCDC) family proteins are involved in the progression of several diseases.

Clinical application of Chinese Nanjing persistent vegetative state scale.

Background: It is a challenge to characterize the consciousness level of patients with severe disturbance of consciousness and predict their prognosis effectively for Chinese doctors. We aimed to investigate the psychometric property and the diagnostic practicality of severe disturbance of consciousness by Chinese Nanjing persistent vegetative state scale (CNPVSS) which was first set up in 1996 and modified in 2001 and 2011.

Methods: The concurrent validity, inter-rater consistency and diagnostic accuracy of CNPVSS and Chinese version of coma recovery scale-revised (CRS-R) were investigated by assessment of 380 patients with severe disorders of consciousness.

Caesalpanins A-C, Three Dimeric Cassane Diterpenoids from the Seeds of Caesalpinia sappan L.

Three dimeric cassane diterpenoids, caesalpanins A-C, were isolated from the seeds of Caesalpinia sappan L., as well as three known compounds. Their structures were determined via analysis of 1D-, 2D-NMR, and HR-ESI-MS data.

Sesquiterpenes from the Leaves of Magnolia delavayi Franch. and Their Cytotoxic Activities.

Thirteen sesquiterpenes including eight new ones, magnodelavins A-H (1-8), were obtained from the 95 % ethanolic extract of the leaves of Magnolia delavayi Franch. The structures of the new compounds were determined by exhaustive H-, C-, 2D-NMR, UV, IR, and HR-ESI-MS data, as well as X-ray crystallographic analysis. Compounds 9 and 10 showed potent cytotoxic activities against HL-60, A-549, SMMC-7721, MCF-7, and SW480 human cancer cell lines in vitro using MTS assay.

LncRNA ameliorates brain microvascular endothelial cell injury by targeting miR-199a.

Long non-coding RNAs regulate brain microvascular endothelial cell death, the inflammatory response and angiogenesis during and after ischemia/reperfusion and oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R) insults. The long non-coding RNA, SNHG12, is upregulated after ischemia/reperfusion and OGD/R in microvascular endothelial cells of the mouse brain. However, its role in ischemic stroke has not been studied.

Pathologic study of tumour extension for clinically localized unilateral nasopharyngeal carcinoma: Should the contralateral side be included in the clinical target volume?

Introduction: The clinical target volume (CTV) delineation is crucial for tumour control and normal tissue protection. This study investigated the contralateral extension of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in patients with a clinically diagnosed unilateral tumour to pursue the possibility of CTV reduction.

Methods: Twenty NPC patients with localized tumours confined to only one side of the nasopharynx as shown by magnetic resonance imaging and fibreoptic endoscopy were selected for biopsy.

KRT8 upregulation promotes tumor metastasis and is predictive of a poor prognosis in clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

Keratin 8 (KRT8) plays an essential role in the development and metastasis of multiple human cancers. However, its role in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) remains unexplored. Here, we investigated the expression pattern, clinical significance, and function of KRT8 in ccRCC.

Reprogramming of glucose metabolism in hepatocellular carcinoma: Progress and prospects.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most lethal cancers, and its rate of incidence is rising annually. Despite the progress in diagnosis and treatment, the overall prognoses of HCC patients remain dismal due to the difficulties in early diagnosis and the high level of tumor invasion, metastasis and recurrence. It is urgent to explore the underlying mechanism of HCC carcinogenesis and progression to find out the specific biomarkers for HCC early diagnosis and the promising target for HCC chemotherapy.

Fuzhisan Ameliorates the Memory Deficits in Aged SAMP8 Mice via Decreasing Aβ Production and Tau Hyperphosphorylation of the Hippocampus.

The pathological features of Alzheimer's disease (AD) include extracellular neuritic plaques containing β-amyloid (Aβ) peptide, a cleaved fragment of amyloid precursor protein (APP) via β-site amyloid precursor protein-cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1) and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) composed of hyperphosphorylated tau. Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) is increasingly thought to play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of AD, both as a regulator of the production of Aβ and through its well-established role as a tau kinase. Fuzhisan (FZS), a Chinese herbal complex prescription, has been used for the treatment AD for over 20 years, and is known to enhance the cognitive ability in AD patients as well as in AD model rats.

Fuzhisan ameliorates Aβ production and tau phosphorylation in hippocampal of 11month old APP/PS1 transgenic mice: A Western blot study.

Accumulation of amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide and deposition of hyperphosphorylated tau protein are two major pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK3β) is increasingly thought to play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of AD, both as a regulator of the production of Aβ and through its well-established role on tau phosphorylation. The phosphoinositide 3 kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway plays an import role in neuronal survival and cognitive function, and is known as an upstream element of GSK3β.

[Effect of Electroacupuncture Intervention at Different Time-points on Levels of HSP 70, MDA, SOD and GSH-PX of Liver in Rats with Simulated Weightlessness].

Objective: To observe the effect of acupuncture intervention at different time-points on the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX), the content of malonaldehyde (MDA) and expression of heat shock protein 70 (HSP 70) of liver tissue in rats with simulated weightlessness, so as to explore its mechanism underlying improvement of liver injury in rats with simulated weightlessness.

Methods: Twenty male Wistar rats were randomly divided into control group, model group, pre-acupuncture group and EA group, 5 rats in each. The model of simulated weightlessness was established by tail suspension for 4 week.

[Effect of acupuncture at different time points on kidney function and oxygen free radical metabolism in rats with simulated weightlessness].

Objective: To explore the effects of pre-acupuncture and immediate acupuncture on kidney function and oxygen free radical metabolism in rats with simulated weightlessness.

Methods: Twenty male clean-grade Wister rats were randomly divided into a normal control group, a model group, a pre-acupuncture group and an immediate acupuncture group, 5 rats in each one. The rats in the normal control group did not receive any treatment but free activities for 4 weeks.

[Effect of electroacupuncture on morphological changes and myocardial metabolism in rats undergoing simulated weightlessness].

Objective: To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) stimulation of "Neiguan" (PC 6) and "Sanyinjiao" (SP 6) on morphological changes, myocardial energy metabolism in rats undergoing simulated weightlessness.

Methods: A total of 40 male Wistar rats were randomly divided into normal control, weightlessness model, Neiguan (PC 6) and Sanyinjiao (SP 6) groups (10 rats/group). EA was applied to PC 6 and SP 6 acupoints for 30 min, once every other day.

Reduction of α-dystroglycan expression is correlated with poor prognosis in glioma.

Dystroglycan (DG), a multifunctional protein dimer of non-covalently linked α and β subunits, is best known as an adhesion and transduction molecule linking the cytoskeleton and intracellular signaling pathways to extracellular matrix proteins. Loss of DG binding, possibly by degradation or disturbed glycosylation, has been reported in a variety of cancers. DG is abundant at astroglial endfeet forming the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and glia limitans; so, we examined if loss of expression is associated with glioma.

MicroRNA-183 is involved in cell proliferation, survival and poor prognosis in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma by regulating Bmi-1.

As a highly aggressive malignant disease, the prognosis of patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is poor. Yet, the mechanisms underlying the progression of PDAC remain unclear. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) may be involved in various human cancers as cancer suppressors or oncogenes.

Long non-coding RNA URHC regulates cell proliferation and apoptosis via ZAK through the ERK/MAPK signaling pathway in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have previously been implicated in human disease states, especially cancer. Although the aberrant expression of lncRNAs has been observed in cancer, the biological functions and molecular mechanisms underlying aberrantly expressed lncRNAs in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have not been widely established. In the present study, we investigated a novel lncRNA, termed URHC (up-regulated in hepatocellular carcinoma), and evaluated its role in the progression of HCC.

Epidermal growth factor receptor mutations in Chinese patients with laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

Conclusion: The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation is rare in patients with laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) in China.

Objective: To determine the incidence of EGFR mutations in patients with LSCC who underwent surgical resection in mainland China.

Methods: xTAG technology was used to detect the EGFR exon 19, exon 20, and exon 21 mutations in 132 patients with LSCC who underwent surgical treatment in our hospital from 2010 to 2013.

Notch signal protects non-parenchymal cells from ischemia/reperfusion injury in vitro by repressing ROS.

Background: We have previously reported that Notch signaling pathway protects hepatocytes from ischemia/ reperfusion (I/R) injury by repressing reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. However, apart from hepatocytes, non-parenchymal cells including vascular endothelia cells, Kupffer cells and hepatic stellate cells are also reported to be involved in hepatic I/R injury.

Aim: To clarify the role of Notch signaling in non-parenchymal cells subjected to I/R injury.

Effect of focal mild hypothermia on expression of MMP-9, TIMP-1, Tau-1 and β-APP in rats with cerebral ischaemia/reperfusion injury.

Primary Objective: Following stroke, hypothermia is reported to reduce both cellular and extracellular damage. This study aimed to examine the effects of focal mild hypothermia on proteins associated with both extracellular (matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and tissue inhibitor of MMP-9 (TIMP-1)) and cellular damage (Tau-1 and β-amyloid precursor protein (β-APP)) to characterize the protective effects of hypothermia.

Methods And Procedures: Male Wistar rats received ischaemic damage using a transient, focal ischaemia/reperfusion model.

MicroRNA-34a targets Bcl-2 and sensitizes human hepatocellular carcinoma cells to sorafenib treatment.

MiR-34a, a direct target of p53, has been shown to target several molecules associated with the cell cycle and cell survival pathways, and its dysregulation is implicated in cancer drug resistance or sensitivity in several human cancers. However, the correlation between miR-34a expression and chemoresistance has not been explored in HCC. In this study, we confirmed that miR-34a was significantly down-regulated in HCC tissues and HCC cell lines by qRT-PCR.