Causal relationship between key genes and metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease risk mediated by immune cells: A Mendelian randomization and mediation analysis.

Aim: Non-invasive diagnostics for metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) remain challenging. We aimed to identify novel key genes as non-invasive biomarkers for MAFLD, elucidate causal relationships between biomarkers and MAFLD and determine the role of immune cells as potential mediators.

Materials And Methods: Utilizing published transcriptome data of patients with biopsy-proven MAFLD, we applied linear models for microarray data, least absolute shrinkage and selector operation (LASSO) regressions and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses to identify and validate biomarkers for MAFLD.

Polydopamine-Based Biomaterials in Orthopedic Therapeutics: Properties, Applications, and Future Perspectives.

Polydopamine is a versatile and modifiable polymer, known for its excellent biocompatibility and adhesiveness. It can also be engineered into a variety of nanoparticles and biomaterials for drug delivery, functional modification, making it an excellent choice to enhance the prevention and treatment of orthopedic diseases. Currently, the application of polydopamine biomaterials in orthopedic disease prevention and treatment is in its early stages, despite some initial achievements.

Machine learning algorithm outperforms fibrosis markers in predicting significant fibrosis in biopsy-confirmed NAFLD.

Background: The presence of significant liver fibrosis is a key determinant of long-term prognosis in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). We aimed to develop a novel machine learning algorithm (MLA) to predict fibrosis severity in NAFLD and compared it with the most widely used non-invasive fibrosis biomarkers.

Methods: We used a cohort of 553 adults with biopsy-proven NAFLD, who were randomly divided into a training cohort (n = 278) for the development of both logistic regression model (LRM) and MLA, and a validation cohort (n = 275).

Clinical Features of COVID-19 Patients in Xiaogan City.

On February 6, 2020, Xiaogan City became the second most seriously affected city with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), outside Wuhan district, Hubei Province, China. The objectives are to study the clinical features of COVID-19 patients and assess the relationship between the severity of COVID-19, age, and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels. The retrospective data of 134 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in 3 hospitals of Xiaogan City, between February 1 and March 1, 2020, was collected.

The advantage of polyethylene glycol electrolyte solution combined with lactulose in patients with long interval preparation-to-colonoscopy.

Background/aims: The main aim of the present study was to assess the efficacy of polyethylene glycol electrolyte (PEG) solution combined with lactulose in bowel preparation to find a new method for colonoscopy preparation to improve the quality of colonoscopy in patients with long interval preparation-to-colonoscopy (P-C).

Materials And Methods: A prospective, randomized, endoscopist-blinded and placebo-controlled study was conducted. Three hundred sixty patients who were scheduled for colonoscopy were enrolled in the study.

A simpler diagnostic formula for screening nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Objective: To increase the accuracy of non-invasive diagnosis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), clinical and laboratory NAFLD indicators were integrated into a diagnostic formula.

Methods: A total of 141 patients with clinically diagnosed NAFLD and 30 healthy controls were enrolled. We collected case history, body weight, height and mass index (BMI), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), gamma glutamyl transpeptidase, blood urea nitrogen and blood uric acid (UA), serum creatinine, plasma total cholesterol, triglyceride, low density lipoprotein, glycosylated hemoglobin, fasting plasma glucose, fasting insulin, ultrasonic tests, Fibroscans, and other data.

Downregulation of Thromboxane A Receptor Occurs Mainly via Nuclear Factor-KappaB Signaling Pathway in Rat Renal Artery.

Thromboxane A (TXA) acts on TXA receptors (TP) to regulate renal artery blood flow and subsequently contributes to the pathogenesis of renal ischemia. The present study was designed to examine if nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-B) signaling pathway is involved in the downregulation of TP receptors in rat renal artery. Rat renal artery segments were organ cultured for 6 or 24 h.

[Lily polysaccharide 1 enhances the effect of metformin on proliferation and apoptosis of human breast carcinoma cells].

Objective To investigate the effect of metformin, alone or in combination with Lily polysaccharide 1 (LP1), on cell viability and apoptosis in MCF-7 human breast cancer cells. Methods LP1 (0.5, 1.

[Photothermal effects of metallic carbon nanotubes on human breast cancer cells].

SWNTs are a mixture of 1/3 metallic SWNTs (m-SWNTs) and 2/3 semiconducting SWNTs (s-SWNTs). It is desirable to separate the metallic SWNTs from the semi-conducting ones. In this study m-SWNTs was separated by using a poly[(m-phenylenevinylene)-alt-(p-phenylenevinylene)] (PmPV) derivative and used as photo-thermal media instead of SWNTs.

Apple polysaccharide reduces NF-Kb mediated colitis-associated colon carcinogenesis.

Nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) is an important molecule in mediating inflammatory colitis, which can lead to colorectal cancer (CRC). The aim of this study was to evaluate the chemopreventive efficacy of apple polysaccharide extract (AP) in inhibiting NF-κB-mediated inflammation pathways in CRC. We evaluated AP in vitro in HT-29 and SW620 human CRC cells.

[Effect of xy2004, a centchroman derivative, on proliferation of MCF-7 cells in vitro and the mechanism].

Objective: To investigate the effect of xy2004, a centchroman derivative, on the proliferation of MCF-7 cells and the mechanisms.

Methods: The effects of xy2004 on MCF-7 cell proliferation and apoptosis were evaluated with MTT assay and flow cytometry, respectively. The expressions of the apoptosis-related proteins were examined with Western blotting.

Berberine sensitizes rapamycin‑mediated human hepatoma cell death in vitro.

Rapamycin is clinically used as an immunosuppressant. Increasing evidence suggests that rapamycin has an important inhibitory role in the development and progression of different types of cancer and that it is a promising candidate for cancer chemotherapy. Berberine is an isoquinoline alkaloid isolated from medicinal plant species, which has been used in traditional Chinese medicine with no significant side effects.

[The combined effects of insulin and selenium in improving insulin signal transduction in skeletal muscles of diabetic rats].

Objective: To investigate the combined effects of insulin and selenium in improving the physiological parameters and insulin signal transduction in the skeletal muscles of diabetic rats.

Methods: 35 male SD rats were randomly divided into five groups: normal, diabetes, diabetes with insulin treatment (D-In group), diabetes with sodium selenite treatment (D-In-S group), and diabetes with insulin and sodium combination treatment (D-In-Se group), 7 rats in each group. The levels of blood glucose were measured using One Touch Sure Step Blood Glucose Meter.

Modified apple polysaccharides suppress the migration and invasion of colorectal cancer cells induced by lipopolysaccharide.

Metastasis is the major cause of death in colorectal cancer (CRC). In colitis-associated carcinogenesis, the activation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) occurs via lipopolysaccharide (LPS) binding to the toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4). The LPS/TLR4/NF-κB pathway contributes to the development and metastasis of colitis-associated colon cancer.

Isoflavones for hypercholesterolaemia in adults.

Background: Hypercholesterolaemia is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Isoflavones may be effective in improving hypercholesterolaemia.

Objectives: To assess the effects of isoflavones for hypercholesterolaemia.

[Changes of cholinergic nerves and tumor necrosis factor-α in doxorubicin-induced rat failing heart].

Objective: To investigate the changes of cholinergic nerves in doxorubicin (DOX)-induced rat failing heart and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in the heart tissue and serum.

Methods: Adult Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized into control (n=10) and DOX-induced chronic heart failure (CHF) groups (n=15), and in the latter group, the rats were given intraperitoneal injections of 2.5 mg/kg DOX once a week for 6 weeks, with a total cumulative dose of 15 mg/kg.

CD147/EMMPRIN: an effective therapeutic target for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is characterized by high resistance to conventional systemic therapies, rapid progression, easy metastasis and frequent recurrence. There is therefore an urgent requirement to develop novel systemic agents which specifically target hepatoma-associated antigen in the tumors of HCC patients. CD147, a transmembrane glycoprotein, is highly expressed by HCC cells and is strongly associated with HCC progression and prognosis.

[Dynamic correlation of TNF-α and IL-10 with myocardial remodeling induced by pressure overload in rats].

Aim: To observe the expression changes of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) during the developing process of pressure overload-induced myocardial remodeling in rats, and investigate the dynamic correlation between TNF-α and left ventricular mass index (LVMI) as well as myocardial collagen volume fraction (CVF).

Methods: The rats (n=56) were randomly divided into control group, sham operation group and model group. Animal models were induced by abdominal aortic constriction (AAC).

Apple polysaccharides induce apoptosis in colorectal cancer cells.

Certain components of apples have been shown to prevent cancer growth and impede cancer progression. We hypothesized that extracted apple polysaccharides (APs) might, therefore, have anticancer effects, through a mechanism involving the induction of apoptosis in cancer cells, partly via the NF-κB pathway. Two human colorectal cancer (CRC) cell lines, HT-29 and SW620, were exposed to different concentrations of APs (0.

Influences of lovastatin on membrane ion flow and intracellular signaling in breast cancer cells.

Lovastatin, an inhibitor of cellular cholesterol synthesis, has an apparent anti-cancer property, but the detailed mechanisms of its anti-cancer effects remain poorly understood. We investigated the molecular mechanism of Lovastatin anti-tumor function through the study of its effect on membrane ion flow, gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC), and the pathways of related signals in MCF-7 mammary cancer cells. After treatment for 24-72 h with 4, 8 or 16 micromol/L Lovastatin, cellular proliferation was examined via the MTT assay, and changes in membrane potential and cellular [Ca(2+)](i) were monitored using confocal laser microscopy.

[Effect of genistein on expression of angiogenesis related factors in HER-2/neu-overexpressing breast cancer cells].

To study the molecular mechanism of inhibition of angiogenesis in HER-2/neu-overexpressing breast cancer by genistein, HER-2/neu negative expression breast cancer MCF-7 cells were transfected with HER-2/neu to establish HER-2/neu-overexpressing MCF-7 cells (named MCF-7/HER-2). Expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA), matrix metalloproteinase-2,9 (MMP-2,9) in MCF-7, MCF-7/HER-2 as well as genistein-treated MCF-7/HER-2 were measured by immunocytochemistry and Western blot. We found that the expression of VEGF, MMP-2,9 and uPA in MCF-7/HER-2 cells were highter than that in MCF-7 cells, those angiogenesis related factors expression in MCF-7/HER-2 cells significantly decreased after treatment with genistein.