Methylation of miR-155-3p in mantle cell lymphoma and other non-Hodgkin's lymphomas.

Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is an aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). In cancers, tumor suppressive microRNAs may be silenced by DNA hypermethylation. By microRNA profiling of representative EBV-negative MCL cell lines before and after demethylation treatment, miR-155-3p was found significantly restored.

Protective roles of Cordyceps on lung fibrosis in cellular and rat models.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Cordyceps sinensis is a fungus used in traditional Chinese medicine as a tonic to soothe the lung for the treatment of fatigue and respiratory diseases. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a chronic, irreversible and debilitating lung disease showing fibroblast/myofibroblast expansion and excessive deposition of extracellular matrix in the interstitium leading to breathing difficulty. Our previous observation revealed a partial relief of lung fibrosis in patients suffering from severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

Epigenetic inactivation of the hsa-miR-203 in haematological malignancies.

miR-203 is a tumour suppressor microRNA (miRNA). We studied the methylation of hsa-miR-203 in 150 samples including acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML), chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) by methylation-specific PCR, and miRNA expression by stem-loop RT-qPCR. hsa-miR-203 promoter was unmethylated in normal controls but homozygously methylated in two AML and four lymphoma cell lines, in which 5-Aza-2'-deoxycytidine treatment led to promoter demethylation and miR-203 re-expression.

Association of human-leukocyte-antigen class I (B*0703) and class II (DRB1*0301) genotypes with susceptibility and resistance to the development of severe acute respiratory syndrome.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a public health concern worldwide. By studying the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) types A, B, DR, and DQ alleles in 90 Chinese patients with serologically confirmed SARS infections, we identified a strong association between HLA-B*0703 (OR, 4.08; 95% CI, 2.

Lung pathology of fatal severe acute respiratory syndrome.

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a novel infectious disease with global impact. A virus from the family Coronaviridae has been identified as the cause, but the pathogenesis is still unclear.

Methods: Post-mortem tissue samples from six patients who died from SARS in February and March, 2003, and an open lung biopsy from one of these patients were studied by histology and virology.

Hepatitis B associated fulminant polyarteritis nodosa: successful treatment with pulse cyclophosphamide, prednisolone and lamivudine following emergency surgery.

For hepatitis B virus associated polyarteritis nodosa, alpha interferon and plasma exchanges have been proposed to be the first-line treatment. We report a case of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive fulminant polyarteritis nodosa with predominant gastrointestinal involvement who showed good response to pulse cyclophosphamide, prednisolone, and lamivudine therapy. The patient, a 22-year-old man, presented with a short history of epigastric pain.