Five novel globin gene mutations identified in five Chinese families by next-generation sequencing.

Background: Thalassemia is one of the most common inherited diseases worldwide. This report presents three novel cases of α-thalassemia and two novel cases of β-thalassemia caused by five different mutations in the globin gene.

Methods: Next-generation sequencing (NGS) was used to identify novel α- and β-thalassemia in five individuals, which was confirmed by Sanger sequencing of the globin gene.

Pregnancy outcomes of women with elevated second-trimester maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the overall distribution of pregnancy outcomes in women with elevated second-trimester maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (MS-AFP), and to determine the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes (APOs) by MS-AFP level.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 429 women with elevated MS-AFP (≥2.5 multiple of the median (MOM)) and 1555 women with normal MS-AFP (0.

Marsdenia Tenacissima Extract Inhibits Proliferation and Promotes Apoptosis in Human Ovarian Cancer Cells.

BACKGROUND Marsdenia tenacissima extract (MTE) is a traditional Chinese medicine that can be effectively used against various cancers. However, to the best of our knowledge, its role in ovarian cancer is not known. This study investigated the effects of MTE on human ovarian cancer SKOV3 cells.

Forkhead box C2 promotes the invasion ability of human trophoblast cells through Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway.

Embryonic development depends on the normal invasion of trophoblast cells. Forkhead box C2 (FOXC2) is a member of Forkhead box family, which is involved in the tumor cells invasion. The aim of this study was to explore the roles of FOXC2 on the invasion of human trophoblast cells, and further study its molecular mechanism.