The Clinical Impact of Metagenomic Next-Generation Sequencing (mNGS) Test in Hospitalized Patients with Suspected Sepsis: A Multicenter Prospective Study.

Background: Metagenomic Next Generation Sequencing (mNGS) has the potential to detect pathogens rapidly. We aimed to assess the diagnostic performance of mNGS in hospitalized patients with suspected sepsis and evaluate its role in guiding antimicrobial therapy. Methods: A multicenter, prospective cohort study was performed.

The requirement of mitochondrial RNA polymerase for non-small cell lung cancer cell growth.

POLRMT (RNA polymerase mitochondrial) is responsible for the transcription of mitochondrial genome encoding key components of oxidative phosphorylation. This process is important for cancer cell growth. The current study tested expression and potential functions of POLRMT in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

The anti-infection drug furazolidone inhibits NF-κB signaling and induces cell apoptosis in small cell lung cancer.

Targeting nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathway has become a promising strategy for the development of new antitumor drugs. In this paper, we found that anti-infection drug furazolidone (FZD) could significantly inhibit NF-κB-driven luciferase activity, and FZD could markedly inhibit both of the constitutive and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα)-triggered phosphorylation of NF-κB p65 in small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Further studies revealed that FZD inhibited the expression of inhibitor of kappa B kinase β (IKKβ) in SCLC cells.

Somatic and germline mutations in the tumor suppressor gene PARK2 impair PINK1/Parkin-mediated mitophagy in lung cancer cells.

PARK2, which encodes Parkin, is a disease-causing gene for both neurodegenerative disorders and cancer. Parkin can function as a neuroprotector that plays a crucial role in the regulation of mitophagy, and germline mutations in PARK2 are associated with Parkinson's disease (PD). Intriguingly, recent studies suggest that Parkin can also function as a tumor suppressor and that somatic and germline mutations in PARK2 are associated with various human cancers, including lung cancer.

Nitroxoline induces cell apoptosis by inducing MDM2 degradation in small-cell lung cancer.

The proto-oncogene MDM2 is a nuclear-localized E3 ubiquitin ligase, which promotes tumor formation by targeting tumor suppressor proteins, such as p53, for proteasomal degradation. In this study, the anti-infective drug nitroxoline (NXQ) was screened out to effectively inhibit cell survival of small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) cells, and induce SCLC cell apoptosis by suppressing antiapoptotic proteins (such as Bcl-2 and MCL1) and upregulating proapoptotic protein Bim. In the mechanistic study, NXQ was found to downregulate MDM2 expression by inducing its proteasomal degradation, and thus upregulated p53 expression, which was a substrate protein of MDM2.

MicroRNA-26b suppresses tumorigenicity and promotes apoptosis in small cell lung cancer cells by targeting myeloid cell leukemia 1 protein.

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of microRNA-26b (miR-26b) in regulating the proliferation, migration, and apoptosis of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) cells. First, we examined the expression level of miR-26b in human normal fetal lung fibroblasts (NFLFs) and three SCLC cell lines NCI-H466, NCI-H1688, and NCI-H196. In the following experiments, the three SCLC cell lines were transfected with miR-26b mimic and inhibitor.

Multicenter study of diagnostic procedures, genetic aberration analysis, and first-line treatment of lung cancer in Jiangsu Province, China.

Background: Jiangsu Province, China, is highly developed economically and culturally, and has a high prevalence of lung cancer. We aimed to evaluate the diagnostic procedures, genetic aberration analysis status, and first-line treatment models of lung cancer in Jiangsu Province.

Methods: Lung cancer patients diagnosed in 2016 at 22 tertiary care hospitals were evaluated.

Bacterial contamination of medical uniforms: a cross-sectional study from Suzhou city, China.

Few studies have been conducted which evaluate the prevalence of contamination of medical uniforms in China. The present study was designed to explore the characteristics of uniform contamination and associated factors. A total of 120 participants were enrolled in the study and 122 uniforms were sampled.

The impact of PM2.5 on the human respiratory system.

Recently, many researchers paid more attentions to the association between air pollution and respiratory system disease. In the past few years, levels of smog have increased throughout China resulting in the deterioration of air quality, raising worldwide concerns. PM2.

-148 C/T polymorphism of Axin2 contributes to a decreased risk of cancer: evidence from a meta-analysis.

Several studies have reported an association between -148 C/T polymorphism of Axis inhibition protein 2 (Axin2) and cancer risk; however, the results are inconsistent. In this study, a meta-analysis was performed to assess the association between -148 C/T polymorphism of Axin2 and susceptibility to cancer. Published case-control and cohort-based studies from PubMed, Embase, Wanfang, and CNKI were retrieved, and data were manually extracted.

Serum pleiotrophin could be an early indicator for diagnosis and prognosis of non-small cell lung cancer.

Aims: Pleiotrophin (PTN), an angiogenic factor, is associated with various types of cancer, including lung cancer. Our aim was to investigate the possibility of using serum PTN as an early indicator regarding disease diagnosis, classification and prognosis, for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods: Significant differences among PTN levels in patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC, n=40), NSCLC (n=136), and control subjects with benign pulmonary lesions (n=21), as well as patients with different pathological subtypes of NSCLC were observed.

[Effect of soluble PD-L1 released by lung cancer cells in regulating the function of T lymphocytes].

Objective: To explore the expression of soluble programmed death ligand-1 on lung cancer cells and to clarify its biological function through PD-1/PD-L1 pathway in regulating the function of T lymphocytes.

Methods: Labeled monoclonal antibody and flow cytometry were used to analyze the expression of PD-L1 and its receptor PD-l on lung cancer cells and human T lymphocytes, respectively. The level of sPD-L1 in the supernatant of lung cancer cells was determined with an ELISA kit.

[The level of soluble programmed death-1 in peripheral blood of patients with lung cancer and its clinical implications].

Objective: To analyze the expression of soluble programmed death-1 ligand 1 (sPD-L1) in the serum of patients with lung cancer and to explore its biological and clinical implications.

Methods: Fifty-five male and twenty-six female lung cancer patients ages 34 to 87 years (mean age 65 ± 6) were selected from the Department of Respiratory Diseases in The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University from June 2009 to March 2011. All lung cancer patients were newly-diagnosed, treatment-free and confirmed by histopathology or cytopathology.

[Analysis of expression profiles of some tumor growth-related genes after silencing of pleiotrophin in human small cell lung cancer H446 cells].

Objective: To investigate the changes in expression profiles of angiomotin (Amot), schlafen5 (Slfn5), metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and vascular endothelial cell growth factor (VEGF), which are genes associated with angiogenesis, tumor growth and invasion, after gene silencing of pleiotrophin (PTN) in human small cell lung cancer H446 cells.

Methods: PTN expression in H446 cells was determined by RT-PCR and Western blot. After constructing a lentiviral vector interfering PTN expression, it was packaged into virus in 293T cells.

[Construction of siRNA lentiviral expressing vector targeting pleiotrophin gene and its impact on growth and apoptosis in H446 cells of human small cell lung cancer].

Objective: To construct a siRNA lentiviral expressing vector targeting PTN (pleiotrophin) gene in human small cell lung cancer H446 cells and to study the RNAi effect on tumor growth and apoptosis.

Methods: Four pairs of small hairpin RNA specific for PTN were designed, synthesized and cloned into the Plvthm vector. The resulting lentiviral vector containing shPTN was confirmed by DNA sequencing named LV-shPTN.

Clinical evaluation of oral levofloxacin 500 mg once-daily dosage for treatment of lower respiratory tract infections and urinary tract infections: a prospective multicenter study in China.

Levofloxacin (LVFX), a fluoroquinolone agent, has a broad spectrum that covers Gram-positive and -negative bacteria and atypical pathogens. It demonstrates good clinical efficacy in the treatment of various infections, including lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) and urinary tract infections (UTIs). To evaluate the efficacy and safety of oral LVFX 500 mg once daily, a large open-label clinical trial was conducted in 1266 patients (899 with LRTIs and 367 with UTIs) at 32 centers in China.

[The significance of volumetric capnography in assessment of asthmatic acute exacerbation staging].

Objective: To investigate the diagnostic value of volumetric capnography in the assessment of asthmatic exacerbation.

Methods: Sixty-four patients with asthma exacerbation and 20 normal controls performed spirometry and volumetric capnography recording. The patients with asthma were divided into three sub-groups according to FEV1% pred (A: > 80%, B:40% - 80%, C: < 40%).

[Expression and clinical significance of a disintegrin and metalloprotease 8 (ADAM8) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in non-small cell lung cancer].

Background & Objective: Up-regulation of a disintegrin and metalloprotease 8 (ADAM8) is correlated with genesis, progression, invasion, and metastasis of tumors. However, the expression of ADAM8, especially its correlation to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), has seldom been reported in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This study was to investigate expressions of ADAM8 and EGFR in NSCLC, and to analyze their correlations.

Molecular and chemical characterization of blood cells by infrared spectroscopy: a new optical tool in hematology.

Infrared (IR) spectroscopy has made important contributions to the arena of hematology in the past decade. The normal physiology and pathologic modifications of the three cellular elements in blood, i.e.