Surface-engineered mesenchymal stem cell for refractory asthma therapy: Reversing airway remodeling.

In the development of asthma, subepithelial fibrosis and vascular proliferation cause airway remodeling and narrowing, leading to disease deterioration and respiratory failure. In the clinic, the treatment of asthma was aimed at reducing the frequency of acute asthma attacks through inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs). However, ICSs cannot prevent the progression into refractory asthma due to the formation of airway remodeling mainly by subepithelial fibrosis and angiogenesis surrounding the tracheal lumen.

A validated estimate of visceral adipose tissue volume in relation to cancer risk.

Background: Despite the recognized role of visceral adipose tissue in carcinogenesis, its independent association with cancer risk beyond traditional obesity measures remains unknown because of limited availability of imaging data.

Methods: We developed an estimation equation for visceral adipose tissue volume using elastic net regression based on demographic and anthropometric data in a subcohort of participants in the UK Biobank (UKB; n = 23 148) with abdominal magnetic resonance imaging scans. This equation was externally validated in 2713 participants from the 2017-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey according to sex, age, and race groups.

BAFF Promotes FLS Activation Through BAFFR-Mediated Non-canonical NF-κB Pathway and the Effects of CP-25.

B cell activating factor (BAFF) has been shown to play a key role in regulating B cell function, but little is known about whether BAFF affects the function of fibroblast-like synoviocyte (FLS), an effector cell of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). CP-25, a new ester derivative of paeoniflorin, could alleviate the arthritis symptoms of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) mice by inhibiting BAFF-mediated abnormal activation of B cells. In this study, we aimed to understand the mechanism by which BAFF activates FLS and the effect of CP-25 on FLS function.

Genetic Predictors for Fecal Propionate and Butyrate-Producing Microbiome Pathway Are Not Associated with Colorectal Cancer Risk: A Mendelian Randomization Analysis.

Background: Mechanistic data indicate the benefit of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) produced by gut microbial fermentation of fiber on colorectal cancer, but direct epidemiologic evidence is limited. A recent study identified SNPs for two SCFA traits (fecal propionate and butyrate-producing microbiome pathway PWY-5022) in Europeans and showed metabolic benefits.

Methods: We conducted a two-sample Mendelian randomization analysis of the genetic instruments for the two SCFA traits (three SNPs for fecal propionate and nine for PWY-5022) in relation to colorectal cancer risk in three large European genetic consortia of 58,131 colorectal cancer cases and 67,347 controls.

Blockade of platelet glycoprotein receptor Ib ameliorates blood-brain barrier disruption following ischemic stroke via Epac pathway.

Glycoprotein (GP) Ib is a platelet membrane receptor complex exposed to vascular injury, proposed as an effective target for stroke therapy. Previously, we have observed that the GPIb antagonist anfibatide (ANF) could mitigate blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption following cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (CI/R) injury. The current study was designed to investigate whether the amelioration of the BBB by ANF is mediated via the Epac signaling pathway.

Potentially functional variants of ERAP1, PSMF1 and NCF2 in the MHC-I-related pathway predict non-small cell lung cancer survival.

Background: Cellular immunity against tumor cells is highly dependent on antigen presentation by major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) molecules. However, few published studies have investigated associations between functional variants of MHC-I-related genes and clinical outcomes of lung cancer patients.

Methods: We performed a two-phase Cox proportional hazards regression analysis by using two previously published genome-wide association studies to evaluate associations between genetic variants in the MHC-I-related gene set and the survival of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients, followed by expression quantitative trait loci analysis.

Mesenchymal stem cell-derived small extracellular vesicles in the treatment of human diseases: Progress and prospect.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are self-renewing, multipotent cells that could differentiate into multiple tissues. MSC-based therapy has become an attractive and promising strategy for treating human diseases through immune regulation and tissue repair. However, accumulating data have indicated that MSC-based therapeutic effects are mainly attributed to the properties of the MSC-sourced secretome, especially small extracellular vesicles (sEVs).

A Novel Fluorescent Probe Based on Pyrazole-Pyrazoline for Fe (III) Ions Recognition.

Firstly, a novel pyrazole-pyrazoline fluorescent probe was developed and synthesized. The probe can be used to determine Fe ions in a series of cations in tetrahydrofuran aqueous solution with high selectivity and high sensitivity. After the addition of iron ions, the fluorescence intensity is significantly reduced, Its structure was characterized by H NMR, C NMR and HR-ESI-MS.

Novel Variants of and in the Interferon Gamma Signaling Pathway Are Associated with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Survival.

Background: IFNγ is a pleiotropic cytokine that plays critical immunomodulatory roles in intercellular communication in innate and adaptive immune responses. Despite recognition of IFNγ signaling effects on host defense against viral infection and its utility in immunotherapy and tumor progression, the roles of genetic variants of the IFNγ signaling pathway genes in survival of patients with cancer remain unknown.

Methods: We used a discovery genotyping dataset from the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial ( = 1,185) and a replication genotyping dataset from the Harvard Lung Cancer Susceptibility Study ( = 984) to evaluate associations between 14,553 genetic variants in 150 IFNγ pathway genes and survival of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Novel Genetic Variants of and of the Glycosylation Pathway Predict Cutaneous Melanoma-Specific Survival.

Because aberrant glycosylation is known to play a role in the progression of melanoma, we hypothesize that genetic variants of glycosylation pathway genes are associated with the survival of cutaneous melanoma (CM) patients. To test this hypothesis, we used a Cox proportional hazards regression model in a single-locus analysis to evaluate associations between 34,096 genetic variants of 227 glycosylation pathway genes and CM disease-specific survival (CMSS) using genotyping data from two previously published genome-wide association studies. The discovery dataset included 858 CM patients with 95 deaths from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and the replication dataset included 409 CM patients with 48 deaths from Harvard University nurse/physician cohorts.

Relationship between β-amyloid protein 1-42, thyroid hormone levels and the risk of cognitive impairment after ischemic stroke.

Background: Post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) is not only a common consequence of stroke but also an important factor for adverse prognosis of patients. Biochemical indicators such as blood lipids and blood pressure are affected by many factors, and the ability of evaluating the progress of patients with PSCI is insufficient. Therefore, it is necessary to find sensitive markers for predicting the progress of patients and avoiding PSCI.

Novel genetic variants in HDAC2 and PPARGC1A of the CREB-binding protein pathway predict survival of non-small-cell lung cancer.

The CREB-binding protein (CBP) pathway plays an important role in transcription and activity of acetyltransferase that acetylates lysine residues of histones and nonhistone proteins. In the present study, we hypothesized that genetic variants in the CBP pathway genes played a role in survival of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We tested this hypothesis using the genotyping data from the genome-wide association study (GWAS) dataset from the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial.

Two new species of Telnov (Coleoptera, Anthicidae) from China.

Two new species of the genus Telnov, 2002 are described based on the specimens collected in China. is collected from Yunnan and is from Guizhou. Photographes of the new species are provided, with a key to the three species of .

Layer-Structured Design and Fabrication of Cyanate Ester Nanocomposites for Excellent Electromagnetic Shielding with Absorption-Dominated Characteristic.

In this work, we propose novel layer-structured polymer composites (PCs) for manipulating the electromagnetic (EM) wave transport, which holds unique electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding features. The as-prepared PCs with a multilayered structure exhibits significant improvement in overall EMI shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) by adjusting the contents and distribution of electrical and magnetic loss fillers. The layer-structured PCs with low nanofiller content (5 wt % graphene nanosheets (GNSs) and 15 wt % Fe₃O₄) and a thickness of only 2 mm exhibited ultrahigh electrical conductivity and excellent EMI SE, reaching up to 2000 S/m and 45.

HIF-1α-dependent autophagy protects HeLa cells from fenretinide (4-HPR)-induced apoptosis in hypoxia.

Novel therapeutic strategies are needed to address and to solve the emerging problem of hypoxia-induced resistance to anticancer drugs. N-(4-Hydroxyphenyl)retinamide (4-HPR) exhibits potent anticancer and chemopreventive activities, but its inefficiency under hypoxia, through undetermined mechanisms, may contribute to its lack of activity in clinical trials. In this study, we showed that under normoxia, 4-HPR resulted in apoptosis and ultimate cell death; in contrast, under hypoxia, autophagy was preferentially induced by 4-HPR at an equivalent concentration, accompanied by microtubule associated protein light-chain 3 (LC3) conversion and acidic vesicular organelle formation.

Up-regulation of death receptor 4 and 5 by celastrol enhances the anti-cancer activity of TRAIL/Apo-2L.

Our previous study demonstrated that celastrol combined with tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL/Apo-2L) exhibited significant synergistic anti-cancer activities, thus we were promoted to investigate the molecular mechanism of this synergy. Here in this study, we show that celastrol up-regulates death receptor 4 (DR4) and 5 (DR5) expression at mRNA, total protein and cell surface levels, and the specific knockdown using DR4- or DR5-targeting siRNA transfection attenuates the PARP cleavage caused by the combination of celastrol and TRAIL/Apo-2L, denoting the critical roles of DR induction in this sensitization. Of note is that although celastrol activates p38 mitogen activated protein kinases (p38 MAPK), SB203580, one specific inhibitor of p38, fails to interrupt celastrol-induced DR4 expression and the enhanced apoptosis caused by celastrol plus TRAIL/Apo-2L.

[China coronary secondary prevention study (CCSPS): outcomes from analysis of coronary heart disease patients with diabetes].

Objective: To elucidate whether lipid-lowering therapy with Xuezhikang can induce a decrease of cardiac events and an attenuation of total mortality in coronary heart disease (CHD) patients with diabetes.

Methods: We designed a random, double-blinded, placebo controlled clinical trial in selected 591 patients. All patients were administrated with capsule Xuezhikang (0.