Quantitative proteomics analysis to identify biomarkers of chronic myofascial pain and therapeutic targets of dry needling in a rat model of myofascial trigger points.

Background: Proteomics analysis may provide important information regarding the pathogenesis of chronic myofascial pain and the mechanisms underlying the treatment effects of dry needling.

Materials And Methods: This study used a rat model of myofascial trigger points (MTrPs) to perform a proteomics analysis. Three biological replicate experiments were used to compare the proteomes of healthy control rats, a rat model of MTrP, MTrP model rats following dry needling of MTrPs, and MTrP model rats following dry needling of non-MTrPs.

MiR-134-5p attenuates neuropathic pain progression through targeting Twist1.

Neuropathic pain is a kind of chronic pain because of dysfunctions of somatosensory nerve system. Recently, many studies have demonstrated that microRNAs (miRs) play crucial roles in neuropathic pain development. This study was designed to investigate the effects of miR-134-5p on the process of neuropathic pain progression in a rat model established by chronic sciatic nerve injury (CCI).

Association between serum β2-microglobulin levels and frailty in an elderly Chinese population: results from RuLAS.

Objective: To examine the association between serum β2-microglobulin (B2M) levels and frailty in an elderly Chinese population.

Design: A population-based cohort study.

Setting And Participants: We used data on 1,663 elderly participants (aged 70-84 years) from the aging arm of the Rugao Longevity and Ageing study, a population-based observational two-arm cohort study conducted in Rugao, China.

MiR-150 alleviates neuropathic pain via inhibiting toll-like receptor 5.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are reported as vital participators in the pathophysiological course of neuropathic pain. However, the underlying mechanisms of the functional roles of miRNAs in neuropathic pain are largely unknown. This study was designed to explore the potential role of miR-150 in regulating the process of neuropathic pain in a rat model established by chronic sciatic nerve injury (CCI).

Identification of Key Gene Modules of Neuropathic Pain by Co-Expression Analysis.

Neuropathic pain (NP) is a substantial clinical problem causing great injury to people word-widely. Although gene expression analyses had been performed previously, the mechanisms underlying the etiology and development of NP are still poorly understood. To understand the function genes involved in the etiology and development of NP, we built the co-expression modules and performed function enrichment analysis for neuropathic pain.

MicroRNA-93 alleviates neuropathic pain through targeting signal transducer and activator of transcription 3.

Emerging evidence suggests that microRNAs (miRNAs) play a critical role in the pathogenesis of neuropathic pain. However, the exact role of miRNAs in regulating neuropathic pain remains largely unknown. In this study, we aimed to investigate the potential role of miR-93 in a rat model of neuropathic pain induced by chronic constriction sciatic nerve injury (CCI).

All-Trans Retinoic Acid Attenuates Hypoxia-Induced Injury in NRK52E Cells via Inhibiting NF-x03BA;B/VEGF and TGF-β2/VEGF Pathway.

Background/aims: Hypoxia has recently been proposed as one of the most important factors in progressive renal injury. Hypoxia-induced vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression may play a critical role in maintaining peritubular capillary endothelium in renal disease. This study was designed to investigate the effect and underlying mechanism of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) on hypoxia-induced injury in NRK52E cells.

CRISPR-Cas9 for medical genetic screens: applications and future perspectives.

CRISPR-Cas9 (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats-CRISPR associated nuclease 9) systems have emerged as versatile and convenient (epi)genome editing tools and have become an important player in medical genetic research. CRISPR-Cas9 and its variants such as catalytically inactivated Cas9 (dead Cas9, dCas9) and scaffold-incorporating single guide sgRNA (scRNA) have been applied in various genomic screen studies. CRISPR screens enable high-throughput interrogation of gene functions in health and diseases.

Tolerability and efficacy of gamma knife radiosurgery on hepatocellular carcinoma with portal vein tumor thrombosis.

This is a retrospective study on the safety and efficacy of gamma knife radiosurgery (GKR) in treating hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with portal vein tumor thrombosis (PVTT). Patients with confirmed HCC and PVTT were allocated into two groups based on the treatments they received (palliative or GKR). A total of 138 patients were included (74 in the palliative group, 64 in GKR group).

Modeling cancer processes with CRISPR-Cas9.

CRISPR-Cas9 is an RNA-guided site-specific DNA editing tool which, together with its reprogrammed versions such as nickase Cas9 and dead Cas9, enables quick modeling of desired combinations of cancer-associated genomic and/or epigenetic aberrations simultaneously or sequentially, thus facilitating massive functional interrogations and therapy testing.

CRISPR-Cas9: a new and promising player in gene therapy.

First introduced into mammalian organisms in 2013, the RNA-guided genome editing tool CRISPR-Cas9 (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated nuclease 9) offers several advantages over conventional ones, such as simple-to-design, easy-to-use and multiplexing (capable of editing multiple genes simultaneously). Consequently, it has become a cost-effective and convenient tool for various genome editing purposes including gene therapy studies. In cell lines or animal models, CRISPR-Cas9 can be applied for therapeutic purposes in several ways.

[Effect of quercetin on doxorubicin-induced expression of MDR1 gene in HL-60 cells].

Objective: Leukemia cells can acquire a multidrug resistant (MDR) phenotype in response to a wide variety of chemotherapeutic agents including doxorubicin (Dox). In addition to the constitutive expression in the leukemia prior to chemotherapy, a complex phenotype of pleiotropic resistance is presented in the residual or recurrent leukemia. Recent studies showed Dox-induced coexpression of COX2 and MDR1 genes in human leukaemia cells, and whether Dox-induced MDR1 up-regulation in acute leukaemia cells is dependent on COX2-transcriptional activity and thus might be overcome or prevented with COX2-promotor inhibitor quercetin interfering with COX2 expression and activity.

Competing endogenous RNA interplay in cancer: mechanism, methodology, and perspectives.

Competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) refer to RNA transcripts, such as mRNAs, non-coding RNAs, pseudogene transcripts, and circular RNAs, that can regulate each other by competing for the same pool of miRNAs. ceRNAs involve in the pathogenesis of several common cancers such as prostate cancer, liver cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, gastric cancer, endometrial cancer, and so on. ceRNA activity is determined by factors such as miRNA/ceRNA abundance, ceRNAs binding affinity to miRNAs, RNA editing, and RNA-binding proteins.

Safety profile of combined therapy inhibiting EFGR and VEGF pathways in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer: A meta-analysis of 15 phase II/III randomized trials.

The efficacy of combined vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibition in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) was well studied. However, few studies focused on the risk and adverse events (AEs) of combined targeted therapy. The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the safety profile of combined targeted therapy against EFGR and VEGF in patients with advanced NSCLC.

Pseudogene in cancer: real functions and promising signature.

Pseudogenes were initially regarded as non-functional genomic fossils resulted from inactivating gene mutations during evolution. However, later studies revealed that they play a plethora of roles at multiple levels (DNA, RNA and/or protein) in diverse physiological and pathological processes, especially in cancer, both parental-gene-dependently and parental-gene-independently. Pseudogenes can interact with parental genes or other gene loci, leading to alteration in their sequences and/or transcriptional activities.

Metabolomic profiling of neoplastic lesions in mice.

Most cancers develop upon the accumulation of genetic alterations that provoke and sustain the transformed phenotype. Several metabolomic approaches now allow for the global assessment of intermediate metabolites, generating profound insights into the metabolic rewiring associated with malignant transformation. The metabolomic profiling of neoplastic lesions growing in mice, irrespective of their origin, can provide invaluable information on the mechanisms underlying oncogenesis, tumor progression, and response to therapy.

Effect of tramadol on perioperative immune function in patients undergoing gastric cancer surgeries.

Background: A prospective randomized controlled trial was designed to observe the effect of tramadol on T-lymphocyte subsets, activated T cell and natural killer (NK) cells of patients undergoing gastric cancer surgeries.

Subjects And Methods: Thirty patients undergoing elective gastric cancer surgeries under general anesthesia were randomly divided into two groups. Before anesthesia induction, Group I did not receive any drugs and Group II received intramuscular tramadol 1 mg/kg.