Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels are associated with insulin-like growth factor-1 in short-stature children and adolescents: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels in childhood have recently been found to be the strongest predictive risk factor for coronary artery disease in adulthood. There is an increased level of LDL-C in children and adolescents with short stature. However, the underlying factors associated with increased LDL-C levels in children and adolescents with short stature are unknown.

Mesenchymal stem cells derived from multiple myeloma patients protect against chemotherapy through autophagy-dependent activation of NF-κB signaling.

Chemotherapy resistance has been considered as a major problem for multiple myeloma (MM) treatment and bone marrow microenvironment plays a crucial role in the MM progression and chemoresistance. Recent studies reported that bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells derived from MM patients (MM-MSCs) revealed various characteristics compared with these from healthy subjects (NM-MSCs). However, the functions and mechanisms by which MM-MSCs mediate the chemotherapy resistance of MM remain unclear.

Approaches to Optimize Gene Therapy for the Treatment of Hematologic Malignancies: Overcoming the Obstacles.

Gene transfer and oncolytic viruses provide new therapeutic approaches for the treatment of hematologic malignancies. However, it is still too early to introduce gene delivery or oncolytic viruses into standard clinical protocol. It is very important to discuss the obstacles that gene transfer and oncolytic virotherapy face for the further clinical application for the treatment of hematologic malignancies, and updating the advances made to overcome them.

Cytoplasmic calcium increase via fusion with inactivated Sendai virus induces apoptosis in human multiple myeloma cells by downregulation of c-Myc oncogene.

Because the emergence of drug resistance is a major limitation of current treatments for multiple myeloma (MM), it is necessary to continuously develop novel anticancer strategies. Here, using an inactivated Sendai virus (Hemagglutinating Virus of Japan; HVJ) envelope (HVJ-E), we discovered that increase of cytoplasmic Ca2+ by virus-cell fusion significantly induced apoptosis against human MM cells but not peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy donors. Interaction of F protein of HVJ-E with MM cells increased intracellular Ca2+ level of MMs by the induction of Ca2+ efflux from endoplasmic reticulum but not influx from extracellular region.