PLZF mediates the PTEN/AKT/FOXO3a signaling in suppression of prostate tumorigenesis.

Promyelocytic leukemia zinc finger (PLZF) protein expression is closely related to the progression of human cancers, including prostate cancer (PCa). However, the according context of a signaling pathway for PLZF to suppress prostate tumorigenesis remains greatly unknown. Here we report that PLZF is a downstream mediator of the PTEN signaling pathway in PCa.

Metformin as a Rare Cause of Drug-Induced Liver Injury, a Case Report and Literature Review.

Metformin is an oral hypoglycemic agent that is commonly used in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Although metformin-associated gastrointestinal upset and metabolic acidosis is widely recognized side effect of this drug, metformin-induced liver injury has been rarely reported in the literature. In most cases reported, metformin-induced liver injury was associated with concomitant intake of other hepatotoxic drugs.

Cross-language opinion lexicon extraction using mutual-reinforcement label propagation.

There is a growing interest in automatically building opinion lexicon from sources such as product reviews. Most of these methods depend on abundant external resources such as WordNet, which limits the applicability of these methods. Unsupervised or semi-supervised learning provides an optional solution to multilingual opinion lexicon extraction.

[Clinical analysis of real-time iris recognition guided LASIK with femtosecond laser flap creation for myopic astigmatism].

Objective: To assess the safety, efficacy, stability and changes in cylindrical degree and axis after real-time iris recognition guided LASIK with femtosecond laser flap creation for the correction of myopic astigmatism.

Methods: Retrospective case series. This observational case study comprised 136 patients (249 eyes) with myopic astigmatism in a 6-month trial.

[Detection of fetal RASSF1A gene in maternal plasma for noninvasive prenatal diagnosis].

The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of using RASSF1A gene as a universal fetal marker in maternal plasma. Two methods of circulating cell-free fetal DNA (cffDNA) extracted from maternal plasma were compared. The better one was chosen for extraction of cffDNA in the 20 pregnant samples.

Simultaneous determination of human plasma protein binding of bioactive flavonoids in by equilibrium dialysis combined with UPLC-MS/MS.

A simple and selective ultra performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI-MS/MS) assay was developed for the determination of the human plasma protein binding of four bioactive flavonoids (such as orientin and vitexin in . Protein precipitation was used for sample preparation. Equilibrium dialysis technique was applied to determine the plasma protein binding under physiological conditions.

The interaction of BDNF and NTRK2 gene increases the susceptibility of paranoid schizophrenia.

The association between BDNF gene functional Val66Met polymorphism rs6265 and the schizophrenia is far from being consistent. In addition to the heterogeneous in schizophrenia per se leading to the inconsistent results, the interaction among multi-genes is probably playing the main role in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia, but not a single gene. Neurotrophic tyrosine kinase receptor 2 (NTRK2) is the high-affinity receptor of BDNF, and was reported to be associated with mood disorders, though no literature reported the association with schizophrenia.

The role of ursodeoxycholic acid in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis: a systematic review.

Background: Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a condition that occurs during the progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Effective therapy for NASH is still lacking. In this study, we investigated the effects of Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) in the treatment of NASH.

Nutlin-3 inhibits epithelial-mesenchymal transition by interfering with canonical transforming growth factor-β1-Smad-Snail/Slug axis.

Enormous efforts have been made to explore small molecules that interfere with the TGF-β signaling pathway, so as to inhibit EMT and the cancer metastasis, but few agents have been identified. In this study, we demonstrated that Nutlin-3 could abolish the down-regulation of E-cadherin induced by TGF-β1 in p53-deficient cancer cells. Further studies revealed that Nutlin-3 prohibited EMT by blocking the phosphorylation of Smad2/3, resulting in the decreased transcription of Snail/Slug.

Comparison of in vitro digestion characteristics and antioxidant activity of hot- and cold-pressed peanut meals.

Due to the poor protein solubility, hot-pressed peanut meal (HPM) has less value than cold-pressed peanut meal (CPM) in the food industry. The objective of this study was to determine whether the denatured proteins in HPM were suitable for hydrolysis by digestive enzymes. The hydrolysis characteristics and antioxidant activity of HPM and CPM during in vitro digestion were compared.

Intracellular localization of amyloid-β peptide in SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells.

Amyloid-β peptide (Aβ), the main component of Alzheimer's disease (AD) senile plaques, has been found to accumulate within the lysosomal compartment of AD neurons. We have previously shown that in differentiated SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells cultured under normal conditions, the majority of Aβ is localized extralysosomally, while oxidative stress significantly increases intralysosomal Aβ content through activation of macroautophagy. It is, however, not clear which cellular compartments contain extralysosomal Aβ in intact SH-SY5Y cells, and how oxidative stress influences the distribution of extralysosomal Aβ.

[Evaluation of coronary artery diameter in normal children by echocardiography and its clinical significance].

Objective: To obtain normal range of coronary artery diameter with body surface area (BSA) dynamic changes in normal children at different age.

Method: The left main coronary artery (LCA), left anterior descending artery (LAD), left circumflex artery (LCX) and the right coronary artery (RCA) diameter were measured in 400 normal subjects from Chinese population aged 0 d to 18 years [(6.43 ± 4.

[Molecular epidemiological analysis of α- and β-thalassemia in Fujian province].

Objective: To investigate the gene prevalence and spectrum of alpha- and beta-thalassemia in Fujian province.

Methods: A total of 11 234 of neonatal cord blood samples were collected for a prevalence study of alpha- and beta-thalassemia. All subjects included in this study were registered in 9 cities of Fujian province.

Effects of curcumin on glucose metabolism in the brains of rats subjected to chronic unpredictable stress: a 18 F-FDG micro-PET study.

Background: Chronic unpredictable stress (CUS) can cause behavioral and physiological abnormalities that are important to the prediction of symptoms of depression that may be associated with cerebral glucose metabolic abnormalities. Curcumin showed potential antidepressant effects, but whether or not it can reverse cerebral functional abnormalities and so ameliorate depression remains unknown.

Methods: To investigate the effects of curcumin on brain activity in CUS rats, rats were subjected to 3 weeks of CUS and then treated with curcumin orally at a dose of 40 mg/kg/day for one month.

Helicobacter pylori and Crohn's disease: a retrospective single-center study from China.

Aim: To investigate the association between Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection and the prevalence of Crohn's disease (CD).

Methods: Subjects were selected from patients admitted the gastrointestinal (GI) department at The First Affiliated Hospital School of Medicine (Zhejiang University) for abdominal pain, hematochezia, diarrhea and other GI symptoms between January 2008 and September 2012.

Expression of lymphocyte coding genes in peripheral blood and lymphocyte infiltration in cardiac tissues influenced by cyclosporin A in heterotopic heart transplantation model in rats.

Unlabelled: To systematically compare the expression of coding genes with pathological changes of transplanted cardiac tissue and peripheral blood lymphocytes in an allo-heterotopic rat cardiac transplant model. Using SD rats as donors and Wistar rats as recipients, animals were divided into two groups, control and cyclosporine A intervention plus heart transplant groups. After transplant at 1, 3, 7, 10 and 12d, we assessed the ability of lymphocytes to infiltrate into cardiac tissues and levels of leukocyte coding genes in peripheral blood.

Awareness of osteoporosis and its relationship with calcaneus quantitative ultrasound in a large Chinese community population.

Background: The People's Republic of China has the largest population affected by osteoporosis in the world. However, no population-based survey of osteoporosis awareness in People's Republic of China has been reported. This study investigated the level of basic awareness of osteoporosis in a large community in People's Republic of China.

Metal-enhanced fluorescence of nano-core-shell structure used for sensitive detection of prion protein with a dual-aptamer strategy.

Metal-enhanced fluorescence (MEF) as a newly recognized technology is widespread throughout biological research. The use of fluorophore-metal interactions is recognized to be able to alleviate some of fluorophore photophysical constraints, favorably increase both the fluorophore emission intensity and photostability. In this contribution, we developed a novel metal-enhanced fluorescence (MEF) and dual-aptamer-based strategy to achieve the prion detection in solution and intracellular protein imaging simultaneously, which shows high promise for nanostructure-based biosensing.

A new type of pH-responsive coordination polymer sphere as a vehicle for targeted anticancer drug delivery and sustained release.

A new type of coordination polymer sphere prepared by combining 1,1'-(1,4-butanediyl)bis(imidazole) (bbi) and ferrous ions has been demonstrated as a targeted delivery system for in situ encapsulating anticancer drugs. These stable coordination polymer spheres can be fabricated simply by a deposition method. Drugs, doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX·HCl) for example, can be easily in situ encapsulated by simply mixing the drug with bbi ligand through the deposition method and results in a high drug loading efficiency up to 98% and a drug loading content of nearly 40%, which is remarkably high for not only metal-organic but also other materials.

Development of a gene/drug dual delivery system for brain tumor therapy: potent inhibition via RNA interference and synergistic effects.

Malignant brain tumors are characterized by three major physiological processes: proliferation, angiogenesis, and invasion. Traditional cytotoxic chemotherapies (e.g.

Efficacy of combined therapy in patients with hepatitis B virus-related decompensated cirrhosis.

Aim: To investigate the efficacy and safety of combined de novo lamivudine (LAM) and adefovir dipivoxil (ADV) therapy in hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related decompensated liver cirrhosis patients.

Methods: One hundred and forty patients with HBV-related decompensated cirrhosis were recruited, 70 patients were treated with combined LAM and ADV de novo therapy, and the other 70 patients were treated with LAM alone as controls. The follow-up period was 144 wk.

Autophagy is involved in adipogenic differentiation by repressesing proteasome-dependent PPARγ2 degradation.

Animal studies have shown that autophagy is essential in the process of obesity. Here, we performed daily injection of the autophagy inhibitor chloroquine (CQ) in mice and found that systemic administration of CQ blocks high-fat diet-induced obesity. To investigate the potential underlying molecular mechanism, we employed genetic and pharmacological interventions in cultured preadipocytes to investigate the role of autophagy in the control of the expression of the adipogenic regulator peroxisome proliferatior-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ).

Radiation-inducible protein RbAp48 contributes to radiosensitivity of cervical cancer cells.

Objective: Retinoblastoma-associated protein 48 (RbAp48) has been recently discovered as a radiosensitive gene. We aimed to investigate the role of RbAp48 in radiosensitivity of cervical cancer cells in vivo and in vitro.

Methods: We used real-time RT-PCR and Western blot assay to examine the expression of RbAp48 in irradiated cervical cancer cell lines, including SiHa, Caski, and HeLa cells.

MiR-339-5p regulates the growth, colony formation and metastasis of colorectal cancer cells by targeting PRL-1.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been suggested to play a vital role in regulate tumor progression and invasion. However, the expression of miR-339-5p in colorectal cancer and its effects are not known. Here, we report that miR-339-5p is a tumor suppressor by regulating expression of PRL-1.