Significance of correlation between interferon-γ and soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and interleukin-17 in hepatitis B virus-related cirrhosis.

Background And Objective: Hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related cirrhosis is known to be associated with chronic hepatic inflammation. The present study aimed to examine the correlation between inflammatory mediators INF-γ, IL-17, and sICAM-1 in HBV cirrhotic patients.

Methods: The levels of sICAM-1, interleukin-17, and IFN-γ were measured with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays in 120 cirrhotic patients with HBV and 270 sex- and age-matched healthy controls.

Role of epidermal growth factor receptor in breast cancer.

Decades of research in molecular oncology have brought about promising new therapies which are designed to target specific molecules which promote tumor growth and survival. The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is one of the first identified important targets of these novel antitumor agents. Approximately half of cases of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) overexpress EGFR.

Facile method for large scale synthesis of magnetic inorganic-organic hybrid anisotropic Janus particles.

Anisotropic Janus particles with strong magnetic iron oxide domain and polymer microsphere domain were prepared with large scale in one batch through a facile method via the solvothermal method in the presence of poly(methylenebisacrylmide-co-methacrylic acid) (P(MBA-co-MAA)) microspheres. The coordination interaction between the carboxyl acid groups and inorganic species played an essential role during the formation of uniform P(MBA-co-MAA)/iron oxide core-shell microspheres via the controlled hydrolysis of ferric chloride in the initial stage. The formation of P(MBA-co-MAA)/Fe(3)O(4) Janus particles may be originated from a thermodynamic incompatibility between the P(MBA-co-MAA) domain and the Fe(3)O(4) domain during the partial reduction and crystallization of inorganic component to lower the interfacial energy change via reducing the interfacial area between the polymeric and inorganic magnetic domain.

[Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy of prefrontal lobe and thalamus in schizophrenics: correlation with clinical characteristics].

Objective: To explore the characteristics of different subtypes of schizophrenics on prefrontal lobe and thalamus by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H-MRS) and its relationship.

Methods: From August 2007 to April 2010 at our center, a total of 159 schizophrenics fulfilling the third edition criteria of Chinese Classification of Mental Disorders (CCMD-III) were recruited. And prefrontal lobe and thalamus were evaluated by multi-voxel (1)H-MRS.

Antifibrotic effects of curcumin are associated with overexpression of cathepsins K and L in bleomycin treated mice and human fibroblasts.

Background: Lung fibrosis is characterized by fibroblast proliferation and the deposition of collagens. Curcumin, a polyphenol antioxidant from the spice tumeric, has been shown to effectively counteract fibroblast proliferation and reducing inflammation and fibrotic progression in animal models of bleomycin-induced lung injury. However, there is little mechanistic insight in the biological activity of curcumin.

Targeting EGFR in Triple Negative Breast Cancer.

Our preliminary data show that erlotinib inhibits Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) in a xenograft model. However, inhibition of metastasis by erlotinib is accompanied by nonspecific effects because erlotinib can inhibit other kinases; thus, more direct targets that regulate TNBC metastasis need to be identified to improve its therapeutic efficacy.

Crystal structure of a novel esterase Rv0045c from Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

There are at least 250 enzymes in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) involved in lipid metabolism. Some of the enzymes are required for bacterial survival and full virulence.

The effect of cathepsin K deficiency on airway development and TGF-β1 degradation.

Background: Cathepsin K, a cysteine protease predominantly expressed in osteoclasts, is a major drug target for the treatment of osteoporosis. Recent findings, however, indicate that cathepsin K is also involved in non-skeletal metabolism. The development of fibrotic phenotypes in lung and skin is a concern for cathepsin K inhibitors presently evaluated in clinical trials.

Silencing kinase-interacting stathmin gene enhances erlotinib sensitivity by inhibiting Ser¹⁰ p27 phosphorylation in epidermal growth factor receptor-expressing breast cancer.

The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling pathway has emerged as a promising target for cancer therapy. EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) such as erlotinib have been approved for cancer treatment but have shown very limited activity in breast cancer patients. Clarifying the molecular mechanism underlying resistance to EGFR TKIs could lead to more effective treatment against breast cancer.

[Clinical research of electroacupuncture combined with acupoint-injection of botulinum toxin A in treating the muscle spasticity by spinal cord injury].

Objective: To explore clinical safety and efficiency of electroacupuncture combined with acupoint-injection of botulinum toxin A for the treatment of muscle spasticity by spinal cord injury.

Methods: Thirty-eight patients with muscle spasticity by spinal cord injury were treated from December 2006 to December 2009 including 26 males and 12 females, with an average age of 45.4 years old ranging from 21 to 68 years.

Targeting p70S6K prevented lung metastasis in a breast cancer xenograft model.

Overexpression of p70S6K in breast cancer patients is associated with aggressive disease and poor prognosis. Recent studies showed that patients with breast cancer with increased p70S6K phosphorylation had poor survival and increased metastasis. The purpose of our study was to determine whether knockdown of p70S6K would inhibit cell growth, invasion, and metastasis in breast cancer.

PEA-15 inhibits tumorigenesis in an MDA-MB-468 triple-negative breast cancer xenograft model through increased cytoplasmic localization of activated extracellular signal-regulated kinase.

Purpose: To determine the role of PEA-15 in breast cancer.

Experimental Design: A reverse-phase protein array was used to measure PEA-15 expression levels in 320 human breast cancers; these levels were correlated with clinical and tumor characteristics. PEA-15 was overexpressed by an adenovirus vector or by stably expressing PEA-15 in different breast cancer cell lines.

YybT is a signaling protein that contains a cyclic dinucleotide phosphodiesterase domain and a GGDEF domain with ATPase activity.

The cyclic dinucleotide c-di-AMP [corrected] synthesized by the diadenylate cyclase domain was discovered recently [corrected] as a messenger molecule for signaling DNA breaks in Bacillus subtilis. By searching bacterial genomes, we identified a family of DHH/DHHA1 domain proteins (COG3387) that co-occur with a subset of the diadenylate cyclase domain proteins. Here we report that the B.

Epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor reverses mesenchymal to epithelial phenotype and inhibits metastasis in inflammatory breast cancer.

Purpose: Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is a rare but aggressive type of advanced breast cancer. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expression is an independent poor prognostic factor in IBC. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect on IBC tumorigenicity and metastasis of blocking the EGFR pathway.

Deregulated direct targets of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) protein, HBx, identified through chromatin immunoprecipitation and expression microarray profiling.

The hepatitis B-X (HBx) protein is strongly associated with hepatocellular carcinoma. It is implicated not to directly cause cancer but to play a role in hepatocellular carcinoma as a co-factor. The oncogenic potential of HBx primarily lies in its interaction with transcriptional regulators resulting in aberrant gene expression and deregulated cellular pathways.

Effects of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids from seal oils on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease associated with hyperlipidemia.

Aim: To investigate the efficacy and safety of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) from seal oils for patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) associated with hyperlipidemia.

Methods: One hundred and forty-four patients with NAFLD associated with hyperlipidemia were included in the 24-wk, randomized, controlled trial. The patients were randomized into two groups.

Activity of lapatinib is independent of EGFR expression level in HER2-overexpressing breast cancer cells.

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR/ErbB1) and HER2 (ErbB2/neu), members of the ErbB receptor tyrosine kinase family, are frequently overexpressed in breast cancer and are known to drive tumor growth and progression, making them promising targets for cancer therapy. Lapatinib is a selective competitive inhibitor of both the HER2 and EGFR tyrosine kinases. Although lapatinib showed significant activity in patients with HER2-positive breast cancer, the role of EGFR in the response of breast cancer to lapatinib has not been defined.

Sensitivity of breast cancer cells to erlotinib depends on cyclin-dependent kinase 2 activity.

Inhibitors of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinases, such as erlotinib and gefitinib, have not been very effective in the treatment of breast cancer although many breast cancer cells express EGFR. To address this apparent paradox, we examined possible predictors of the sensitivity of 10 breast cancer cell lines to erlotinib in light of cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2), considered the farthest downstream kinase that controls cell cycling in the EGFR signaling pathway. Expression of EGFR and HER2 were not associated with sensitivity to erlotinib.

Acquired resistance to erlotinib in A-431 epidermoid cancer cells requires down-regulation of MMAC1/PTEN and up-regulation of phosphorylated Akt.

Erlotinib (Tarceva), an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor, has clinical activity in advanced lung cancer, but disease that initially responds to erlotinib eventually progresses. The mechanism of this acquired resistance is unclear. We established two erlotinib-resistant pools of A-431 cells, a well-characterized epidermoid cancer cell line that constitutively overexpresses EGFR and is sensitive to erlotinib, by continuous exposure to erlotinib over a 6-month period.

NDEL1 phosphorylation by Aurora-A kinase is essential for centrosomal maturation, separation, and TACC3 recruitment.

NDEL1 is a binding partner of LIS1 that participates in the regulation of cytoplasmic dynein function and microtubule organization during mitotic cell division and neuronal migration. NDEL1 preferentially localizes to the centrosome and is a likely target for cell cycle-activated kinases, including CDK1. In particular, NDEL1 phosphorylation by CDK1 facilitates katanin p60 recruitment to the centrosome and triggers microtubule remodeling.

FAT10, a gene up-regulated in various cancers, is cell-cycle regulated.

Background: FAT10 is a member of the ubiquitin-like-modifier family of proteins. Over-expression of the FAT10 gene was observed in the tumors of several epithelial cancers. High FAT10 expression was found to lead to increased chromosome instability via the reduction in the kinetochore localization of MAD2 during the prometaphase stage of the cell-cycle.

[Clinical analysis of gastroparesis syndrome after nongastrectomy abdominal operation: a report of 22 cases].

Objective: To investigate the causes, diagnosis and treatment of gastroparesis syndrome after nongastrectomy abdominal operation.

Methods: The clinical data of 22 cases with gastroparesis syndrome after nongastrectomy abdominal operation from 1972 to 2004 were retrospectively analyzed.

Results: Gastroparesis syndrome after nongastrectomy abdominal operation often occurred during 4-6 days postoperatively when the patients began to take in food, characterized by upper abdominal distension, nausea, vomiting, strong splashing bowel sound, weak bowel sound and large quantity of gastric drainage ranging from 1000 to 3000 ml every day.

Clinical analysis of patients with iatrogenic bile duct injury.

Background: The main cause of iatrogenic bile duct injury is misidentification of the common bile duct as the cystic duct. In this article, we summarize the experience in the treatment of 112 patients with iatrogenic bile duct injury.

Method: Clinical data of these patients treated at 10 hospitals of Songhua river area, Heilongjiang province, China from January 1978 to January 2005 were analyzed retrospectively.