Increased YKL-40 levels are linked with disease severity of initially diagnosed Graves' disease.

YKL-40, which is also known as Chitiniase 3-like 1, has been found to be up-regulated in many autoimmune diseases including asthma, systemic sclerosis and systemic lupus, etc. However, the relationship between serum levels of YKL-40 and one another common autoinmmue thyroid disease - Graves' disease (GD) has not yet been investigated. The current study was performed to investigate the correlation of serum YKL-40 levels with disease severity of initially diagnosed GD.

Specimen mammography for intraoperative margin assessment in breast conserving surgery: a meta-analysis.

In breast conserving surgery (BCS), specimen mammography is one of the most widely used intraoperative methods of assessing margin status. We performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of specimen mammography. Literature databases including PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and EMBASE were searched prior to Jun 2022.

EEG and ECG Power Spectrum Analysis of Sedative Effects on Propofol-Anesthetized Rats with Electroacupuncture.

Background: In previous studies, electroacupuncture (EA) with 2/15 Hz has been shown to enhance the sedative effects in general anesthesia patients. Central lateral thalamic stimulation of 50 Hz showed an arousal effect in macaques. Therefore, it is worth studying the sedative effect of EA at peripheral acupoints with different frequencies, especially the frequency of around 50 Hz.

Exosomal DEK removes chemoradiotherapy resistance by triggering quiescence exit of breast cancer stem cells.

Tumor therapeutics often target the primary tumor bulk but fail to eradicate therapy-resistant cancer stem cells (CSCs) in quiescent state. These can then become activated to initiate recurrence and/or metastasis beyond therapy. Here, we identified and isolated chemoradiotherapy-resistant CSCs in quiescent state with high capacity of tumor-initiation and tumorsphere formation from three types of breast tumors in mice.

A Statistical Prediction Model for Survival After Kidney Transplantation from Deceased Donors.

BACKGROUND In an environment of limited kidney donation resources, patient recovery and survival after kidney transplantation (KT) are highly important. We used pre-operative data of kidney recipients to build a statistical model for predicting survivability after kidney transplantation. MATERIAL AND METHODS A dataset was constructed from a pool of patients who received a first KT in our hospital.

-196 to -174del, rs4696480, rs3804099 polymorphisms of Toll-like receptor 2 gene impact the susceptibility of cancers: evidence from 37053 subjects.

Relationship between Toll-like receptor-2 (TLR2) and cancer risk has been illustrated in some studies, but their conclusions are inconsistent. Therefore, we designed this meta-analysis to explore a more accurate conclusion of whether TLR2 affects cancer risks. Articles were retrieved from various literature databases according to the criteria.

SET Domain-Containing Protein 4 Epigenetically Controls Breast Cancer Stem Cell Quiescence.

Quiescent cancer stem cells (CSC) play important roles in tumorigenesis, relapse, and resistance to chemoradiotherapy. However, the determinants of CSC quiescence and how they sustain themselves to generate tumors and relapse beyond resistance to chemoradiotherapy remains unclear. Here, we found that SET domain-containing protein 4 (SETD4) epigenetically controls breast CSC (BCSC) quiescence by facilitating heterochromatin formation via H4K20me3 catalysis.

The Neuropeptide Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide Levels in Serum are Inversely Related to Disease Severity of Postmenopausal Osteoporosis: A Cross-Sectional Study.

The neuropeptide vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) has been identified as inhibiting osteoclastogenesis and suppressing inflammation. This study was conducted to examine serum VIP levels in postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMOP) patients and explore the correlation of serum VIP levels with disease severity of PMOP. A total of 106 postmenopausal women diagnosed as osteoporotic were enrolled in the study and 102 postmenopausal women with normal bone mineral density (BMD) were enrolled as controls.

Serum C-C Motif Ligand 11/eotaxin-1 May Serve as a Candidate Biomarker for Postmenopausal Osteoporosis.

Background: The chemokine C-C motif ligand 11, also known as eotaxin-1, has been identified as a novel mediator of inflammatory bone resorption. However, little is known regarding a potential role for CCL11/Eotaxin-1 in postmenopausal osteoporosis.

Objective: The scope of this study was to explore the relationship between serum CCL11/Eotaxin-1 concentrations and disease progression of postmenopausal females with osteoporosis.

Prevalence and clinical outcomes of germline mutations in BRCA1/2 and PALB2 genes in 2769 unselected breast cancer patients in China.

To gain more information on the prevalence of germline mutations in BRCA1/2 and PALB2 genes in the Chinese population, and to explore the effects of the mutation status of these genes on clinical outcomes in patients with breast cancer, we performed a screening for BRCA1/2 and PALB2 mutations in a consecutive series of unselected breast cancer patients in the Chinese population. A total of 2,769 cases were enrolled between June 1993 and September 2017. All of the exons and exon-intron boundaries of the BRCA1/2 and PALB2 genes were screened with next-generation sequencing.

Polydopamine-Functionalized CA-(PCL--PLA) Nanoparticles for Target Delivery of Docetaxel and Chemo-photothermal Therapy of Breast Cancer.

Current limitations of cancer therapy include the lack of effective strategy for target delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs, and the difficulty of achieving significant efficacy by single treatment. Herein, we reported a synergistic chemo-photothermal strategy based on aptamer (Apt)-polydopamine (pD) functionalized CA-(PCL--PLA) nanoparticles (NPs) for effective delivery of docetaxel (DTX) and enhanced therapeutic effect. The developed DTX-loaded Apt-pD-CA-(PCL--PLA) NPs achieved promising advantages, such as (i) improved drug loading content (LC) and encapsulation efficiency (EE) initiated by star-shaped copolymer CA-(PCL--PLA); (ii) effective target delivery of drugs to tumor sites by incorporating AS1411 aptamers; (iii) significant therapeutic efficacy caused by synergistic chemo-photothermal treatment.

Role of number of sentinel nodes in predicting non-sentinel node metastasis in breast cancer.

Objective The aim of the present study was to determine how many sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) are appropriate for predicting non-SLN metastasis in breast cancer. Methods The association between clinicopathological features and non-SLN metastasis was retrospectively analyzed in 472 patients who underwent axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) following SLN biopsy. Another 251 patients who underwent only SLN biopsy without ALND were analyzed and followed up for 2 years.

RNA-Sequence Analysis Reveals Differentially Expressed Genes (DEGs) in Patients Exhibiting Different Risks of Tumor Metastasis.

BACKGROUND Breast cancer is one of the most common malignancies in women. In a previous study, we found that for two patients who had a high risk of lymphatic metastasis, lymphatic metastasis did not occur; whereas, for two patients who had a low risk of lymphatic metastasis, lymphatic metastasis did occur. MATERIAL AND METHODS We analyzed the differential gene expressions of these four patients by RNA-sequence.

Serum CX3CL1/fractalkine concentrations are positively associated with disease severity in postmenopausal osteoporotic patients.

Background: The chemokine (C-X3-C motif) ligand 1 (CX3CL1), also called fractalkine (FKN), has recently been reported to be involved in osteoclastogenic process and pathological bone destruction.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the link between serum CX3CL1/FKN levels with disease progression of postmenopausal osteoporotic patients.

Methods: A total of 53 women with postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMOP group), 51 postmenopausal non-osteoporotic female patients (PMNOP group) and 50 premenopausal non-osteoporotic healthy women of childbearing age (control group) were enrolled in the study.

Identification of Estrogen Response Element in Aquaporin-3 Gene that Mediates Estrogen-induced Cell Migration and Invasion in Estrogen Receptor-positive Breast Cancer.

Accumulating evidence suggests that aquaporins (AQPs) may facilitate tumor development. The molecular pathways connecting the pathological functions of AQPs are unclear and need to be better defined. This study aimed to investigate whether AQP3, one of the AQPs expressed highly in breast cancer, had any clinical implication in estrogen-receptor (ER) positive breast cancer, and explore the regulatory mechanisms of AQP3 in estrogen-related breast cancer progression.

Meta-analysis on the possible association between in vitro fertilization and cancer risk.

Objective: We aimed to examine the association between in vitro fertilization (IVF) and risk of cancers through conducting a meta-analysis of cohort studies.

Methods: Relevant studies were identified by using PubMed, ISI Web of knowledge, and Scopus through March 2012. Reference lists from retrieved articles were also reviewed.

[A case-control study on risk factors of female breast cancer in Zhejiang province].

Objective: To investigate the risk factors on female breast cancer in Zhejiang province.

Methods: A case-control study was conducted in 200 cases of female breast cancer with histopathological diagnosis and 200 matched controls from Zhejiang province.

Results: Univariate conditional logistic regression showed that family history of malignant tumor and breast cancer, housing decoration in last 10 years, mammary hyperplasia, adverse life events, bra with steel rings, sleeping with bra, high fat and pickle intake, poor sleep were positively related to breast cancer; whereas environmental friendly decoration materials, long decoration time interval, workplace condition, more lactation and parity, high fruits intake, sufficient sleep were negatively related to breast cancer.

[Effect of Evn-50 on cell growth and apoptosis in tamoxifen-resistance human breast cancer cell line MCF-7/TAM-R].

Objective: To investigate the effect of Evn-50 extracted from Vitex negundo on human breast cancer cell line MCF-7 and MCF-7/TAM-R cells in vitro.

Methods: MCF-7 and tamoxifen-resistant MCF-7/TAM-R cells were treated with Evn-50,tamoxifen or combination of Evn-50 and tamoxifen. Cell proliferation inhibition rates were determined by MTT assay.

Analysis of urinary proteomic patterns for type 2 diabetic nephropathy by ProteinChip.

Objective: To detect urinary proteomic profiling of patients with type 2 diabetes by using ProteinChip array technology, for searching new potential biomarkers in early diagnosis of type 2 diabetic nephropathy (T2DN).

Methods: A total of 95 urine samples from type 2 diabetic patients with normoalbuminuria (DM, n=30), microalbuminuria (DNl, n=25) and macroalbuminuria (DN2, n=20), and healthy controls (n=20) were analyzed by SELDI-TOF-MS (the surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry) technology combined with bioinformatics tools.

Results: Over 300 proteins or peptides from 1 to 80 kDa were obtained using ProteinChip.

Urinary proteomics as a novel tool for biomarker discovery in kidney diseases.

Urine has become one of the most attractive biofluids in clinical proteomics, for its procurement is easy and noninvasive and it contains sufficient proteins and peptides. Urinary proteomics has thus rapidly developed and has been extensively applied to biomarker discovery in clinical diseases, especially kidney diseases. In this review, we discuss two important aspects of urinary proteomics in detail, namely, sample preparation and proteomic technologies.

[Classification and diagnostic prediction of colorectal cancer using protein profiling of serum and bioinformatics].

Objective: To develop a bioinformatic tool and to use it to identify proteomic patterns in serum, distinguishing colorectal cancer from colorectal adenoma and healthy individuals.

Methods: 182 serum samples including 55 colorectal cancer patients, 35 colorectal adenoma and 92 healthy individuals were subjected to analysis by surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization (SELDI) mass spectrometry.

Result: The diagnostic pattern combined of 4 candidate biomarkers (M/Z 5911, 8922, 8 944, and 8817) could separate colorectal patients from healthy control with a specificity of 93.

Mining novel biomarkers for prognosis of gastric cancer with serum proteomics.

Background: Although gastric cancer (GC) remains the second cause of cancer-related death, useful biomarkers for prognosis are still unavailable. We present here the attempt of mining novel biomarkers for GC prognosis by using serum proteomics.

Methods: Sera from 43 GC patients and 41 controls with gastritis as Group 1 and 11 GC patients as Group 2 was successively detected by Surface Enhanced Laser Desorption/ionization Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (SELDI-TOF-MS) with Q10 chip.