Screening of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)-related datasets and identification of NASH-related genes.

Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a common liver disease in the western world. The mechanisms behind NASH formation are poorly understood, but there may be multiple targets considering the disease's multifactorial nature. To explore the genes related to the pathogenesis of NASH, we downloaded clinical data and gene expression of NASH patients from the Gene Expression Omnibus database (GEO).

PLG inhibits Hippo signaling pathway through SRC in the hepatitis B virus-induced hepatocellular-carcinoma progression.

Purpose: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is one main cause of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but the mechanisms of pathogenesis still remain unclear.

Methods: We screened the 1351 differentially expressed genes related to HBV-induced HCC by bioinformatics analysis from databases and found that Plasminogen (PLG) may be a key gene in HBV-induced HCC progression. Then, we used a series of experiments and to explore the roles of PLG in HBV-HCC progression, such as qRT-PCR, western blot, ELISA, flow cytometry and TUNEL assay, subcutaneous xenografts and histopathological analysis to reveal the underlying mechanisms.

DTNA promotes HBV-induced hepatocellular carcinoma progression by activating STAT3 and regulating TGFβ1 and P53 signaling.

Objective: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection causes liver fibrosis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development, but the underlying mechanism remains poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate the roles and molecular mechanisms of Dystrobrevin-α (DTNA) in HBV-induced liver cirrhosis and HCC pathogenesis.

Methods: DTNA expression was bioinformatically analyzed using the GEO database.

Spinal cord injury in rats treated using bone marrow mesenchymal stem-cell transplantation.

The aim of this study was to observe the effects of bone marrow mesenchymal stem-cell transplantation (BMSCs) in repairing acute spinal cord damage in rats and to examine the potential beneficial effects. 192 Wistar rats were randomized into 8 groups. Spinal cord injury was created.

A preliminary study on the radiation-resistance mechanism in ovarian cancer.

Aim: The present study was designed to explore the radiation-resistance mechanism by interfering in checkpoints kinase 1 (CHK1) and DNA-activated protein kinase (DNA-PK) genes with short hairpin RNA (shRNA) transfection into Skov3 cells derived from ovarian cancer and HeLa cells derived from cervical cancer.

Materials And Methods: The cultured Skov3 and HeLa cells were transfected with plasmid vectors containing CHK1 shRNA and DNA-PK shRNA, respectively, through Lipofectimine™ 2000 mediation, and cultured for 20 hours before exposure to 2 Gy X-radiation. The cells were harvested 4 and 28 after X-irradiation respectively then washed 3 times with PBS.

Rapid prototyping drill guide template for lumbar pedicle screw placement.

Objective: To develop a novel method of spinal pedical stereotaxy by reverse engineering and rapid prototyping techniques, and to validate its accuracy by experimental and clinical studies.

Methods: A 3D reconstruction model for the desired lumbar vertebra was generated by using the Mimics 10.11 software, and the optimal screw size and orientation were determined using the reverse engineering software.

[Influence of gene transduction mediated by lentivirus vector on gene expression of human CD34+ cord blood cells].

Objective: To investigate the influence of gene transduction mediated by lentivirus vector on human CD34+ cord blood cell (CBCs) gene expression.

Methods: CD34+ cells were isolated and transduced with the third-generation self-inactivating ( SIN) lentiviral vector carrying green fluorescent protein (GFP). The total RNA from transduced cells was extracted and the differences of genotypes between the transduced and non-transduced CD34+ cells were determined with cDNA microarray analysis.