Plasma microRNA expression profiles in Chinese patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

The outstanding characteristics of circulatory microRNAs (miRNAs) attract much attention in research on disease biomarkers and disease pathogenesis. This study aimed to identify the expression profiles of plasma miRNAs in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Thirty-three miRNAs were screened using an miRNA array, of which 9 miRNAs were validated as differentially expressed in the plasma of RA patients compared with healthy controls (HCs).

Associations between CTLA-4 +49 A/G (rs231775) polymorphism and cancer risk: a meta-analysis based on 52 case-control studies.

Objectives: To date, a number of epidemiological studies have explored the association between CTLA-4 +49 A/G polymorphism and cancer risk with elusive results. To address this gap, we carried out a comprehensive meta-analysis.

Design And Methods: Two reviewers independently searched the PubMed, EMBASE, CBM (Chinese BioMedical Disc) and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) Databases for relevant studies up to December 20, 2014.

[CCL21 promotes the metastasis of human pancreatic cancer Panc-1 cells via epithelial- mesenchymal transition].

Objective: To investigate the mechanism underlying that chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 21 (CCL21) promotes the metastasis ability of human pancreatic cancer Panc-1 cells.

Methods: Transwell(TM) was used to access the chemotaxis effect of CCL21 on Panc-1 cells. Real-time quantitative PCR was performed to detect the expression of C-C chemokine receptor type 7 (CCR7) mRNA in the upper and lower chambers.

Functional characterization of myeloid-derived suppressor cell subpopulations during the development of experimental arthritis.

Recent evidence indicates the existence of subpopulations of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) with distinct phenotypes and functions. Here, we characterized the role of MDSC subpopulations in the pathogenesis of autoimmune arthritis in a collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) mouse model. The splenic CD11b(+) Gr-1(+) MDSC population expanded in CIA mice, and these cells could be subdivided into polymorphonuclear (PMN) and mononuclear (MO) MDSC subpopulations based on Ly6C and Ly6G expression.