Applications of Yttrium-90 (Y) in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary liver cancer, affecting millions of people worldwide. Due to the lack of systemic radiation therapy in hepatocellular carcinoma, researchers have been investigating the use of yttrium-90 (Y) radioembolization for local-regional tumor control since the 1960s. With the development of glass and resin Y microspheres and the durable local control, good long-term efficacy, and equivalent tumor responsiveness and tolerability of Y-selective internal irradiation compared with alternative therapies such as transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) and sorafenib, Y radioembolization has gradually been applied in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma of all stages.

miR-9 induces cell arrest and apoptosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma via CDK 4/6 pathway.

Oral cancer remains a major public concern with considerable socioeconomic impact in the world, especially in southeast Asia. Despite substantial advancements have been made in treating oral cancer, the five-year survival rate for OSCC remained undesirable, and 35-55% patients developed recurrence within two years even with multimodality therapeutic strategies. Hence, identification of novel biomarkers for diagnosis and evaluating clinical outcome is of vital importance.

The Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway mechanism for pancreatic cancer chemoresistance in a three-dimensional cancer microenvironment.

β-catenin is a key protein that is encoded by the gene in the Wnt signaling pathway. This study investigated the associations between β-catenin expression and implications for the efficacy of gemcitabine on pancreatic cancer cells in a three-dimensional (3-D) cancer microenvironment. For low β-catenin expression pancreatic carcinoma cells, the inhibition rates (IRs) for low, middle, and high doses of gemcitabine were 0.

Estimation of critical gap based on Raff's definition.

Critical gap is an important parameter used to calculate the capacity and delay of minor road in gap acceptance theory of unsignalized intersections. At an unsignalized intersection with two one-way traffic flows, it is assumed that two events are independent between vehicles' arrival of major stream and vehicles' arrival of minor stream. The headways of major stream follow M3 distribution.

Polymorphism in Integrin ITGA2 is Associated with Ischemic Stroke and Altered Serum Cholesterol in Chinese Individuals.

Background: Recent studies have reported contrasting results regarding the association of polymorphisms in two integrin genes, ITGA2 and ITGB3, with ischemic stroke.

Aims: The present study aimed to investigate the correlation between the ITGA2 C807T and ITGB3 T176C polymorphic loci with ischemic stroke, as well as plasma lipid and lipoprotein levels.

Study Design: Case control study.

Osteopontin knockdown suppresses the growth and angiogenesis of colon cancer cells.

Aim: To investigate the effects of osteopontin (OPN) gene expression knockdown on colon cancer Lovo cells in vitro.

Methods: Four candidate small interfering RNA (siRNA) constructs targeting the OPN gene and a scrambled control sequence (NC-siRNA) were synthesized and inserted into a pGPU6/GFP/Neo expression vector. After confirmation by restriction enzyme digestion and DNA sequencing, the recombinant plasmids were subsequently transfected into a human colon cancer cell line (Lovo) using a liposome transfection method.

Correlation between interleukin-18 promoter -607C/A polymorphism and susceptibility to ischemic stroke.

Single nucleotide polymorphisms in the promoter region of interleukin-18 (IL-18), an inflammatory cytokine, have been linked to susceptibility to many diseases, including cancer and immune dysfunction. Here, we explored the potential association between the IL-18 -607C/A (rs1946518) promoter region polymorphism and susceptibility to ischemic stroke (IS). This locus was amplified from peripheral blood samples of 386 IS patients (cases) and 364 healthy individuals (controls) by the polymerase chain reaction with sequence-specific primers.

[Plasma homocysteine levels in ischemic stroke patients with obstructive sleep apnea].

Objective: To investigate the association of plasma homocysteine and OSA (obstructive sleep apnea) syndrome in ischemic stroke (IS).

Methods: A total of 92 male IS patients were classified by apnea hypopnea index (AHI) into 2 groups: non-OSA group (AHI < 5/h) and OSA group (AHI > or = 5). All patients were tested for plasma homocysteine when polysomnography was finished at (14 +/- 2) d after the onset of IS.

[Detection of tumor cells in peripheral blood of patients with gastric cancer using mRNA of MAGE genes as markers].

Objective: To develop a sensitive and specific RT-PCR assay using the mRNA of MAGE-1 and MAGE-3 genes as specific tumor markers for the detection of the tumor cells in the peripheral blood of patients with gastric cancer.

Methods: Peripheral blood was obtained from 40 patients with gastric cancer and from 20 healthy volunteers. The mRNA of MAGE-1 and MAGE-3 genes in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) was detected by RT-PCR.

Effects of 5-hydroxytamine and its antagonists on hepatic stellate cells.

Background: Hepatic stellate cell (HSC) plays a key role in hepatic fibrosis. This study was undertaken to investigate the expression of 5-hydroxytamine receptors in HSC and the effect of 5-hydroxytamine on biological characteristics of HSC.

Methods: Liver ex vivo perfusion of collagenase and density gradient centrifugation were used to isolate HSCs.

Expression of cancer-testis antigens in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Aim: To investigate the expression of cancer-testis (CT) antigens MAGE-1, SSX-1,CTp11 and HCA587 genes in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and the possibility of applying these antigens as targets for specific immunotherapy for HCC.

Methods: Expression levels of MAGE-1, SSX-1, CTp11 and HCA587 mRNA were detected with reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in HCC tissues and corresponding adjacent non-cancerous tissues from 105 HCC patients, 40 samples of cirrhosis and normal liver tissues. Genes of five samples with positive PCR results were sequenced.

[Expression of MAGE-B genes in hepatocellular carcinoma].

Objective: To investigate the expression of MAGE-B genes in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in order to find new targets for immunotherapy.

Methods: The expression of MAGE-B1, B2, A1 and A3 mRNA was detected using RT-PCR in HCC tissues and the corresponding adjacent non-HCC tissues from 47 HCC patients, 30 samples of cirrhosis and normal liver tissues. Four samples selected randomly from MAGE-B1 or B2 with positive RT-PCR results were sequenced to confirm the results of RT-PCR.

[Expression and clinical significance of hepatocellular cancer antigen genes in human hepatocellular carcinoma].

Objective: To investigate the expression of four hepatocellular cancer antigen (HCA) gene mRNA in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Methods: The expression of HCA90, HCA519, HCA520, HCA587 mRNA was detected using RT-PCR in HCC tissues and the corresponding adjacent non-HCC tissues from 46 HCC patients, cirrhosis tissues from 10 samples and normal liver tissues from 10 samples. The relationship between positive expression rate of HCA gene and clinical and lab data was evaluated.

[Expression of 5-hydroxytamine receptors in hepatic stellate cell and action of 5-hydroxytamine on biological characteristics of hepatic stellate cell].

Objective: To investigate the expression of 5-hydroxytamine receptors in hepatic stellate cells HSCs and action of 5-hydroxytamine on biological characteristics of HSC.

Methods: Liver ex vivo perfusion of collagenase and density gradient centrifugation were used to isolate hepatic stellate cell. RT-PCR was used to detect the expression of 5-hydroxytamine receptor subtypes 1A, 2A, 2B and 3.