Stem Cell Division and Its Critical Role in Mammary Gland Development and Tumorigenesis: Current Progress and Remaining Challenges.

The origin of breast cancer (BC) has traditionally been a focus of medical research. It is widely acknowledged that BC originates from immortal mammary stem cells and that these stem cells participate in two division modes: symmetric cell division (SCD) and asymmetrical cell division (ACD). Although both of these modes are key to the process of breast development and their imbalance is closely associated with the onset of BC, the molecular mechanisms underlying these phenomena deserve in-depth exploration.

[Correlation between frailty and erectile dysfunction in elderly males].

Objective: To investigate the correlation of frailty with ED in Chinese elderly men.

Methods: This community-based study was conducted with a sample of 258 Chinese men aged 60 to 83 years old in Fuyang City, Anhui Province. All the participants completed a standard questionnaire on demographics, lifestyle, underlying diseases and medical and sexual histories.

A central amygdala input to the dorsal vagal complex controls gastric motility in mice under restraint stress.

Psychological and physiological stress can cause gastrointestinal motility disorders. Acupuncture has a benign regulatory effect on gastrointestinal motility. However, the mechanisms underlying these processes remain unclear.

 (Rubiaceae), a new species from limestone mountain areas in Guizhou, China.

L. Wu & W. J.

Epigenetic modifications in esophageal cancer: An evolving biomarker.

Esophageal cancer is a widespread cancer of the digestive system that has two main subtypes: esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and esophageal adenocarcinoma (EA). In the diverse range of cancer therapy schemes, the side effects of conventional treatments remain an urgent challenge to be addressed. Therefore, the pursuit of novel drugs with multiple targets, good efficacy, low side effects, and low cost has become a hot research topic in anticancer therapy.

Inter-Critically Reheated CGHAZ of Ultra-High-Strength Martensitic Steel with Different Cooling Rates.

The mechanical properties of steel's inter-critically reheated coarse-grained heat-affected zone (ICR CGHAZ) directly affects the service life of machinery equipment. The hardness and toughness of ICR CGHAZ can be optimized simultaneously through tailoring microstructure where cooling rate plays a key role. In this work, the samples with different cooling rates was prepared using thermal simulation.

[CaMKIIα-positive excitatory hippocampal neurons mediate "Zusanli" (ST36) electroacupuncture induced increase of gastric function in mice].

Objective: To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) stimulation of "Zusanli"(ST36)on gastric function (food consumption and gastric emptying rate) and excitability of hippocampal glutamatergic neurons in mice, so as to explore its mechanism underlying enhancing gastrointestinal function.

Methods: The present study includes 2 parts. 1) C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into normal and EA groups (=12 in each group).

Acupuncture at Gastric Back-Shu and Front-Mu Acupoints Enhances Gastric Motility via the Inhibition of the Glutamatergic System in the Hippocampus.

Acupuncture strongly alleviates gastrointestinal symptoms and especially promotes gastrointestinal motility. However, the mechanism underlying these processes is poorly understood. This study was designed to examine the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) at gastric back-shu (BL21) and front-mu (RN12) acupoints on gastric motility in functional dyspepsia (FD) rats and to investigate the mechanisms of its effects on the glutamatergic system in the hippocampus.

NSE from diffuse large B-cell lymphoma cells regulates macrophage polarization.

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is a highly common type of malignant and heterogeneous non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Tumor-associated macrophages, specially the M2-type, promote tumor progression and drug resistance. The clinical outcome of patients with high neuron-specific enolase (NSE) expression is worse than that with low NSE expression.

Elevated BNP caused by recombinant human interleukin-11 treatment in patients with chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia.

Thrombocytopenia is a condition characterized by abnormally low levels of thrombocytes and often induced by chemotherapy. Recombinant human interleukin-11 (rhIL-11) is a cytokine that can stimulate thrombopoiesis and is commonly used to treat thrombocytopenia. We observed the side effects of rhIL-11 in 24 leukemia patients with chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia.

(Rubiaceae), a new species from Yunnan, China.

, a new species of (Rubiaceae) collected from Yunnan, China, is described for the first time. It is morphologically close to , but differs from the latter mainly by its inflorescences with 5-9 flowers, its 1.5-2.

Stilbenoids from aerial parts of .

Chemical investigation of Lindl resulted in the isolation and identification of one new bibenzyl, 2-chloro-3, 4'-dihydroxy-3',5-dimethoxybibenzyl (), as well as 15 known stilbenoids. The structures of this new compound was elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analysis, including HRESIMS, H and C NMR, DEPT, HMBC, COSY, HMQC, NOESY. Compounds , and were obtained from this genus for the first time, compounds , and were obtained from this plant for the first time.

Asparagine synthetase expression is associated with the sensitivity to asparaginase in extranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma in vivo and in vitro.

Background: Although asparagine synthetase (AsnS) is associated with drug resistance in leukemia, its function in extranodal natural killer (NK)/T-cell lymphoma (ENKTL) remains unclear.

Methods: The present study investigated the relationship between baseline AsnS mRNA levels and response to asparaginase in ENKTL cell lines. It also determined whether upregulating or downregulating the AsnS mRNA level induces or reverses asparaginase-resistant phenotype.

Natural borneol is a novel chemosensitizer that enhances temozolomide-induced anticancer efficiency against human glioma by triggering mitochondrial dysfunction and reactive oxide species-mediated oxidative damage.

Background: Temozolomide (TMZ)-based chemotherapy represents an effective way for treating human glioma. However, its clinical application is limited because of its side effects and resistance to standard chemotherapy. Hence, the search for novel chemosensitizers to augment their anticancer efficiency has attracted much attention.

ENO2 Promotes Cell Proliferation, Glycolysis, and Glucocorticoid-Resistance in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

Background/aims: The metabolic features of cancer cells have long been acknowledged to be altered and to provide new therapeutic opportunities. The expression of glycolytic enzyme enolase 2 (ENO2) was found to be closely associated with the clinical features of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients, but its functions remain unclear in ALL.

Methods: We evaluated the association between ENO2 mRNA expression in bone marrow mononuclear cells (BM-MNCs) and the efficacy of chemotherapy, and further explored the function of ENO2 in ALL.

Design and synthesis of 4-(2,3-dihydro-1H-benzo[d]pyrrolo[1,2-a]imidazol-7-yl)-N-(5-(piperazin-1-ylmethyl)pyridine-2-yl)pyrimidin-2-amine as a highly potent and selective cyclin-dependent kinases 4 and 6 inhibitors and the discovery of structure-activity relationships.

Cyclin-dependent kinases 4/6 play an important role in regulation of cell cycle, and overexpress in a variety of cancers. Up to now, new CDK inhibitors still need to be developed due to its poor selectivity. Herein we report a novel series of 4-(2,3-dihydro-1H-benzo[d]pyrrolo[1,2-a]imidazole-7-yl)-N-(5-(piperazin-1-ylmethyl)pyridine-2-yl)pyrimidin-2-amine anologues as potent CDK 4/6 inhibitors based on LY2835219 (Abemaciclib).

[A study on identification of edible bird's nests by DNA barcodes].

To provide theoretical basis for the traceability and quality evaluation of edible bird's nests (EBNs), the Cytb sequence was applied to identify the origin of EBNs. A total of 39 experiment samples were collected from Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand. Genomic DNA was extracted for the PCR reaction.

Two new stilbenoids from aerial parts of Flickingeria fimbriata.

Two new stilbenoids, named 2,3 -dimethoxyl-7-hydroxyl-1,4-phenanthrenedione (1) and 2-methoxyl-3-methyl-7-hydroxyl-9,10-dihydro-1,4-phenanthrenedione (2), together with two known stilbenoids including densiflorol B (3) and ephemeranthoquinone (4), were isolated from aerial parts of Flickingeria fimbriata (Bl.) Hawkes. The structures of two new compounds were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analysis, including HRESIMS, H and C NMR, DEPT, HMBC, COSY, HMQC, NOESY.

A new pair of enantiomeric lignans from the fruits of Morinda citrifolia and their absolute configuration.

A new pair of sesamin-type lignan enantiomers (±)-morifolia A (1a/1b) together with eight known analogues (2-9) were isolated from the fruits of Morinda citrifolia. Their structures were established by spectroscopic data and the absolute configurations of 1a/1b were determined by ECD calculation. All compounds were examined for their inhibitory effects on the nitric oxide (NO) production induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in RAW 264.

High level of soluble interleukin-2 receptor in serum predicts treatment resistance and poor progression-free survival in multiple myeloma.

The IL-2/IL-2 receptor (IL-2R) system plays a central role in maintaining normal T cell immunity, and its disturbance is associated with several hematologic disorders. Studies have found in several types of lymphoma that abnormal amounts of soluble IL-2R (sIL-2R) may result in imbalance of the IL-2/IL-2R system and hence of the T cell immunoregulation. Whether the level of sIL-2R in blood could predict treatment outcomes or not needs to be investigated in multiple myeloma (MM) patients.

Phenolic compounds from the stems of Flickingeria fimbriata.

Chemical investigation of Flickingeria fimbriata (Bl.) Hawkes (Orchidaceae) resulted in the isolation and identification of one new dihydrophenanthrene, 1,2,5,6,7-pentamethoxy-9,10-dihydrophenanthrene (1), together with seven known dihydrophenanthrenes, erianthridin (2), coelonin (3), 4-methoxy-9,10-dihydrophenanthrene-1,2,7-triol (4), lusianthridin (5), ephemeranthol A (6), flavanthridin (7) and hircinol (8), four known phenanthrenes, epheranthol B (9), nudol (10), denthyrsinin (11) and confusarin (12), and one known bibenzyl, batatasin III (13). The structure of the new compound was elucidated by spectroscopic analysis (HRMS, 1D and 2D NMR).

Use of PEG-asparaginase in newly diagnosed adults with standard-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia compared with E. coli-asparaginase: a retrospective single-center study.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a heterogeneous disease, and the long-term survival varies with different ages. We performed a retrospective analysis of 122 newly diagnosed adults with standard-risk ALL treated with Escherichia coli asparaginase (E. coli-asparaginase, n = 50) and polyethylene glycol-conjugated asparaginase (PEG-asparaginase, n = 72).

PD-L1 is upregulated by EBV-driven LMP1 through NF-κB pathway and correlates with poor prognosis in natural killer/T-cell lymphoma.

Background: Natural killer/T-cell lymphoma (NKTCL) is an Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated, highly aggressive lymphoma. Treatment outcome remains sub-optimal, especially for advanced-stage or relapsed diseases. Programmed cell death receptor 1 (PD-1) and PD ligand 1 (PD-L1) have become promising therapeutic targets for various malignancies, but their role in the pathogenesis and their interactions with EBV in NKTCL remains to be investigated.

High post-treatment serum levels of soluble programmed cell death ligand 1 predict early relapse and poor prognosis in extranodal NK/T cell lymphoma patients.

The impact of serum levels of soluble programmed cell death ligand 1 (sPD-L1) on prognosis in patients with Epstein-Barr virus-associated malignancies has never been investigated. We prospectively measured pre- and post-treatment serum sPD-L1 levels and evaluated their prognostic value in 97 patients with newly diagnosed, early stage extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma (ENKTCL) treated with asparaginase-based chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy. For predicting survival outcomes, serum sPD-L1 levels of 3.

Neural mechanism of gastric motility regulation by electroacupuncture at RN12 and BL21: A paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus-dorsal vagal complex-vagus nerve-gastric channel pathway.

Aim: To study the neural mechanism by which electroacupuncture (EA) at RN12 (Zhongwan) and BL21 (Weishu) regulates gastric motility.

Methods: One hundred and forty-four adult Sprague Dawley rats were studied in four separate experiments. Intragastric pressure was measured using custom-made rubber balloons, and extracellular neuron firing activity, which is sensitive to gastric distention in the dorsal vagal complex (DVC), was recorded by an electrophysiological technique.