Arsenic trioxide potentiates the anti-cancer activities of sorafenib against hepatocellular carcinoma by inhibiting Akt activation.

Sorafenib is the standard first-line systemic drug for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but it also induces the activation of Akt, which contributes to the mechanisms for the resistance to sorafenib. Arsenic trioxide (ATO) is a currently clinically used anticancer drug and displays its anticancer activities by inhibiting Akt activation. Therefore, we hypothesized that ATO may potentiate the anti-cancer activities of sorafenib against HCC.

High-level expression and characterization of carboxypeptidase Y from Saccharomyces cerevisiae in Pichia pastoris GS115.

Carboxypeptidase Y is widely used in peptide sequencing and mass spectrometry. PRC1 coding for proteinase C from Saccharomyces cerevisiae was expressed in Pichia pastoris GS115 as procarboxypeptidase Y with a yield of ~605 mg/l in shake-flasks after 168 h induction with 1 % (v/v) methanol. This precursor of carboxypeptidase Y was cleaved by endogenous proteinases of P.

Traditional Chinese medicine for chronic fatigue syndrome: a systematic review of randomized clinical trials.

Background: There is no curative treatment for chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is widely used in the treatment of CFS in China.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of TCM for CFS.

No relationship between mode of delivery and neonatal mortality and neurodevelopment in very low birth weight infants aged two years.

Background: To compare neonatal mortality and neurodevelopmental outcomes at two years of age in very low birth weight infants (≤1500 g) born by cesarean with those by vaginal delivery.

Methods: In this retrospective, case-control study, we evaluated neonatal mortality, medical conditions and neurodevelopmental outcomes at two years of corrected age in 710 very low birth weight (VLBW) infants born between January 2005 and December 2010. Of the 710 infants, 351 were born by the cesarean and 359/710 by vaginal route.

Dipeptidyl peptidase inhibition prevents diastolic dysfunction and reduces myocardial fibrosis in a mouse model of Western diet induced obesity.

Objective: Consumption of a high-fat/high-fructose Western diet (WD) is linked to rising obesity and heart disease, particularly diastolic dysfunction which characterizes early obesity/metabolic cardiomyopathy. Mounting evidence supports a role for inflammation, oxidative stress and fibrosis in the pathophysiology of metabolic cardiomyopathy. Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) is a circulating exopeptidase recently reported to be elevated in the plasma of patients with insulin resistance (IR), obesity and heart failure.

Histological, cellular and behavioral assessments of stroke outcomes after photothrombosis-induced ischemia in adult mice.

Background: Following the onset of focal ischemic stroke, the brain experiences a series of alterations including infarct evolvement, cellular proliferation in the penumbra, and behavioral deficits. However, systematic study on the temporal and spatial dependence of these alterations has not been provided.

Results: Using multiple approaches, we assessed stroke outcomes by measuring brain injury, dynamic cellular and glial proliferation, and functional deficits at different times up to two weeks after photothrombosis (PT)-induced ischemic stroke in adult mice.

Anatomical and physiological responses of Colorado blue spruce to vehicle exhausts.

In order to examine whether the leaves of the Colorado blue spruce (Picea pungens) are damaged or not by traffic pollution, the traits of the anatomy and physiology of its leaves are investigated by exposure to vehicle exhausts in a laboratory experiment lasting 30 days. The results show that both the anatomical structures and physiological traits of the leaves are significantly affected by vehicle exhausts. The anatomical structures, including epidermis, cuticle, palisade, and spongy parenchyma are modified when exposed to the high concentrations (≥ 0.

Association between STAT5 polymorphisms and glioblastoma risk in Han Chinese population.

The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between STAT5 gene polymorphisms and glioblastoma (GBM) risk predisposition. We undertook a case-control study to analyze two STAT5 polymorphisms (STAT5a rs11079041 and STAT5b rs2293157) in a Han Chinese population, by extraction of genomic DNA from the peripheral blood of 328 patients with glioma and 342 control participants, and performed STAT5 genotyping using DNA sequencing. The obtained results indicated that overall, no statistically significant association was observed in STAT5a rs11079041.

Systematic screening of common wastewater-marking pharmaceuticals in urban aquatic environments: implications for environmental risk control.

In this report, we refer to pharmaceuticals that are widespread in the urban aquatic environment and that mainly originate from wastewater treatment plants or non-point source sewage as "wastewater-marking pharmaceuticals" (WWMPs). To some extent, they reflect the condition or trend of water contamination and also contribute to aquatic environmental risk assessment. The method reported here for screening typical WWMPs was proposed based on academic concerns about them and their concentrations present in the urban aquatic environment, as well as their properties of accumulation, persistence, eco-toxicity and related environmental risks caused by them.

Polarization properties of garnet and groove films on garnet in the transmission and reflection modes.

Stokes polarimeters are most commonly used to measure the state of polarization of optical wave. Dependence of Stokes parameters, degree of polarization on external magnetic field are presented for garnet and groove films on garnet in the transmission and reflection modes. The Stokes parameters S1, S2, S3 of different modes show different tendency and asymmetrically change when the external magnetic field change, while the degree of polarization basically unchange.

Upregulation of HIF-2α induced by sorafenib contributes to the resistance by activating the TGF-α/EGFR pathway in hepatocellular carcinoma cells.

Sorafenib, the first-line systemic drug for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), has demonstrated limited benefits with very low response rates. Thus it is essential to investigate the underlying mechanisms for the resistance to sorafenib and seek potential strategy to enhance its efficacy. Hypoxic cells inside solid tumors are extremely resistant to therapies as their survival ability is increased due to the cellular adaptive response to hypoxia, which is controlled by hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1 and HIF-2.

Dual-band Fourier domain optical coherence tomography with depth-related compensations.

Dual-band Fourier domain optical coherence tomography (FD-OCT) provides depth-resolved spectroscopic imaging that enhances tissue contrast and reduces image speckle. However, previous dual-band FD-OCT systems could not correctly give the tissue spectroscopic contrast due to depth-related discrepancy in the imaging method and attenuation in biological tissue samples. We designed a new dual-band full-range FD-OCT imaging system and developed an algorithm to compensate depth-related fall-off and light attenuation.

Lipid rafts and Fas/FasL pathway may involve in elaidic acid-induced apoptosis of human umbilical vein endothelial cells.

Our previous study showed that trans-fatty acids can cause apoptosis of endothelial cells through the caspase pathway and the mitochondrial pathway. The objective of this study was to explore how trans-fatty acids activate the caspase pathway, whether there exist specific receptors induced apoptosis by comparing normal cells and non-rafts cells treated with elaidic acid (9t18:1) and oleic acid (9c18:1), respectively. Compared to normal cells treated with 9t18:1, the cell viability increased by 13% and the number of apoptotic cells decreased by 3% in non-rafts cells treated with 9t18:1 (p < 0.

Four novel antimicrobial peptides derived from human C8α-MACPF.

Antimicrobial peptides are active against a diverse spectrum of microorganisms. Using a bioinformatics method, six potential novel antimicrobial peptides, A1, C1, A2, A3, C2 and A4, were identified in the C8α complement component. The corresponding genes were then cloned into a new vector as fusions with the self-cleavage protein N(pro) protein mutant EDDIE gene.

Salt loading exacerbates diastolic dysfunction and cardiac remodeling in young female Ren2 rats.

Objective: Recent data would suggest pre-menopausal insulin resistant women are more prone to diastolic dysfunction than men, yet it is unclear why. We and others have reported that transgenic (mRen2)27 (Ren2) rats overexpressing the murine renin transgene are insulin resistant due to oxidative stress in insulin sensitive tissues. As increased salt intake promotes inflammation and oxidative stress, we hypothesized that excess dietary salt would promote diastolic dysfunction in transgenic females under conditions of excess tissue Ang II and circulating aldosterone levels.

Synthesis and relaxivity studies of a DOTA-based nanomolecular chelator assembly supported by an icosahedral closo-B₁₂²⁻ core for MRI: a click chemistry approach.

An icosahedral closo-B₁₂²⁻ scaffold based nano-sized assembly capable of carrying a high payload of Gd³⁺-chelates in a sterically crowded configuration is developed by employing the azide-alkyne click reaction. The twelve copies of DO3A-t-Bu-ester ligands were covalently attached to an icosahedral closo-B₁₂²⁻ core via suitable linkers through click reaction. This nanomolecular structure supporting a high payload of Gd³⁺-chelate is a new member of the closomer MRI contrast agents that we are currently developing in our laboratory.

[Construction of directional T vector for gene cloning and expression].

Traditional T vector cloning method requires onerous procedures for identifying recombinant, and directional cloning was impossible. In order to overcome these problems, we have devised a directional T vector pETG based on pET-23a(+). For gene cloning, 7 bp partial LacO sequence was introduced into DNA fragment to reconstitute a full length LacO with Bfu I digested T vector.

The SUMOylation of zinc-fingers and homeoboxes 1 (ZHX1) by Ubc9 regulates its stability and transcriptional repression activity.

Zinc-fingers and homeoboxes protein 1 (ZHX1) belongs to the ZF (zinc-fingers) class of homeodomain transcription factors, and its function remains largely unknown. ZHX1 has been previously found to interact with the activation domain of the nuclear factor Y subunit A (NFYA) and to have a transcriptional repression activity. Here, we report that the SUMO-E2 conjugating enzyme Ubc9 was identified to interact with ZHX1 by an interaction screen using a yeast two-hybrid system.

A single-step mixing cloning method for assembly of lentiviral short hairpin RNA expression vectors for gene silencing.

Lentiviral expression vectors encoding short hairpin RNA (shRNA) are widely used for RNAi-based gene silencing in mammalian cells. However, current methods for the construction of shRNA expression vectors require multiple steps, which are expensive, time-consuming, and error-prone. Here, we developed a single-step mixing cloning method for the generation of lentiviral shRNA expression vectors.

cRGD peptide-conjugated icosahedral closo-B12(2-) core carrying multiple Gd3+-DOTA chelates for α(v)β3 integrin-targeted tumor imaging (MRI).

A vertex-differentiated icosahedral closo-B(12)(2-) core was utilized to construct a α(v)β(3) integrin receptor-targeted (via cRGD peptide) high payload MRI contrast agent (CA-12) carrying 11 copies of Gd(3+)-DOTA chelates attached to the closo-B(12)(2-) surface via suitable linkers. The resulting polyfunctional MRI contrast agent possessed a higher relaxivity value per-Gd compared to Omniscan, a small molecular contrast agent commonly used in clinical settings. The α(v)β(3) integrin receptor specificity of CA-12 was confirmed via in vitro cellular binding experiments and in vivo MRI of mice bearing human PC-3 prostate cancer xenografts.

Near-infrared fluorescence imaging of gastrin releasing peptide receptor targeting in prostate cancer lymph node metastases.

Background: Development of high affinity and specificity molecular imaging probes that increase accuracy for early detection of lymph node (LN) metastases is important for improving survivorship in prostate cancer. We evaluated the specificity, sensitivity, and accuracy of fluorescence-labeled bombesin (BBN) peptides to detect LN and systematic metastases in orthotopic mouse models bearing gastrin releasing peptide receptor (GRPR)-positive human prostate cancer.

Methods: PC-3 cells were orthotopically implanted in severe combined immunedeficient or thymic nude (nu/nu) male mice.

Obesity-related alterations in cardiac lipid profile and nondipping blood pressure pattern during transition to diastolic dysfunction in male db/db mice.

Obesity and a nondipping circadian blood pressure (BP) pattern are associated with diastolic dysfunction. Ectopic lipid accumulation is increasingly recognized as an important metabolic abnormality contributing to diastolic dysfunction. However, little is known about the contribution of different lipids and the composition of lipid analytes to diastolic dysfunction.

Discrete nanomolecular polyhedral borane scaffold supporting multiple gadolinium(III) complexes as a high performance MRI contrast agent.

An icosahedral closo-B(12)(2-) scaffold supports 12 copies of Gd(3+)-chelate held in close proximity with each other by suitable linkers which employ azide-alkyne click chemistry. This design is the first member of a new class of polyfunctional MRI contrast agents carrying a high payload of Gd(3+)-chelate in a sterically constrained configuration. The resulting contrast agent shows higher relaxivity values at high magnetic fields.

Inhibition of metastatic tumor formation in vivo by a bacteriophage display-derived galectin-3 targeting peptide.

Galectin-3 (gal-3) is involved in the metastatic cascade and interacts with the cancer-associated carbohydrate, Thomsen-Freidenreich (TF) antigen during early stages of metastatic adhesion and tumor formation. Our laboratory previously utilized bacteriophage display to select a peptide, G3-C12, with high specificity and affinity for gal-3 that was able to inhibit cancer cell adhesion. We hypothesized that G3-C12 would inhibit TF/gal-3 and gal-3/gal-3 interactions in vitro and in vivo and would moderate early steps of the metastatic cascade leading to reduced carcinogenesis in vivo.

Synthesis and high expression of chitin deacetylase from Colletotrichum lindemuthianum in Pichia pastoris GS115.

A gene, ClCDA, encoding chitin deacetylase from Colletotrichum lindemuthianum, was optimized according to the codon usage bias of Pichia pastoris and synthesized in vitro by overlap extension PCR. It was secretorily expressed in P. pastoris GS115 using the constitutive expression vector pHMB905A.