Vascular smooth muscle-specific LRRC8A knockout ameliorates angiotensin II-induced cerebrovascular remodeling by inhibiting the WNK1/FOXO3a/MMP signaling pathway.

Hypertensive cerebrovascular remodeling involves the enlargement of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), which activates volume-regulated Cl channels (VRCCs). The leucine-rich repeat-containing family 8 A (LRRC8A) has been shown to be the molecular identity of VRCCs. However, its role in vascular remodeling during hypertension is unclear.

Antibiotic and Heavy Metal Co-Resistant Strain Isolated from Enrichment Culture of Marine Sediments, with Potential for Environmental Bioremediation Applications.

Antibiotics and heavy metals have caused serious contamination of the environment and even resulted in public health concerns. It has therefore become even more urgent to adopt a sustainable approach to combating these polluted environments. In this paper, we investigated the microbial community of marine sediment samples after 255 days of enrichment culture under Cu (II) and lincomycin stress and ZC255 was the most resistant strain obtained.

Antifatigue Effects of Ethanol Extracts and Polysaccharides Isolated from Abelmoschus esculentus.

Background: The aim of this study is to determine the antifatigue active fraction from Abelmoschus esculentus. The in vivo antifatigue effects of ethanol extracts and polysaccharides from A. esculentus fruit have been determined.

Elevated peripheral blood lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio predicts a favorable prognosis in the patients with metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Introduction: Patients with metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) have variable survival outcomes. We have previously shown that an elevated peripheral blood lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR) is associated with an increased metastatic risk in patients with primary NPC. The present study aimed to investigate the prognostic value of pretreatment LMR in a large cohort of metastatic NPC patients.

Plasminogen kringle 5 induces endothelial cell apoptosis by triggering a voltage-dependent anion channel 1 (VDAC1) positive feedback loop.

Human plasminogen kringle 5 (K5) is known to display its potent anti-angiogenesis effect through inducing endothelial cell (EC) apoptosis, and the voltage-dependent anion channel 1 (VDAC1) has been identified as a receptor of K5. However, the exact role and underlying mechanisms of VDAC1 in K5-induced EC apoptosis remain elusive. In the current study, we showed that K5 increased the protein level of VDAC1, which initiated the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway of ECs.

Elevated apolipoprotein A-I levels are associated with favorable prognosis in metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

The survival outcomes of patients with metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) differ significantly between individuals. Serum lipids and lipoproteins have been reported to be associated with prognosis in some cancers, but it has not been studied in metastatic NPC. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether serum lipid and lipoproteins could predict the prognosis of metastatic NPC patients.

Dual inhibition of plasminogen kringle 5 on angiogenesis and chemotaxis suppresses tumor metastasis by targeting HIF-1α pathway.

We had demonstrated that plasminogen kringle 5 (K5), a potent angiogenic inhibitor, inhibited retinal neovascularization and hepatocellular carcinoma growth by anti-angiogenesis. The current study investigated the effects and the underlying mechanisms of K5 on both tumor growth and spontaneous pulmonary metastasis in Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) implanted mouse model. Similarly, K5 could decrease expression of VEGF in LLC cells and grafted tissues and suppress tumor angiogenesis and growth.

[Reconstruction of the hemipelvis with saddle prosthesis after excision of malignant tumors around the pelvis and acetabulum: a report of 12 cases].

Background & Objective: Malignant tumors around the pelvis and acetabulum locate deeply with complex anatomic structure, meanwhile, the resection area involves the weight-loading alignment. Therefore, tumor resection plus acetabular joint reconstruction is a complicated operation. This study was to summarize our experience of tumor resection plus prosthesis reconstruction of the acetabular joint for this disease.

Novel method for expression and purification of human pigment epithelium-derived factor with biological activities in Escherichia coli.

We developed a novel method for the expression and purification of recombinant human PEDF in Escherchia coli, and proved it to be simple, convenient, and cheap to obtain this protein with biological activity intact. Human PEDF gene, amplified by PCR from human retinal cNDA library, was cloned into the prokaryotic expression vector pET-22b(+). The recombinant pET-22b(+)/PEDF was expressed in E.

[Variants of exon 4 and its flanking region of LPL Gene in patients with hyperlipidemia].

To elucidate abnormalities of LPL gene in hyperlipidemia in the Chinese population in Guangdong,genomic DNA was extracted from leukocyte of 258 patients with primary hyperlipidemia.A segment of LPL gene including exon 4 and its flanking sequences was analyzed by PCR-SSCP. The PCR products with abnormal SSCP pattern were cloned and sequenced.

[A deletion mutant of plasminogen kringle 5 inhibits retinal capillary endothelial cell proliferation].

Objective: To obtain purified deletion mutant of plasminogen kringle 5 (K5) using gene mutation and genetic recombination methods and assess its anti-angiogenic activity in vitro.

Methods: A deletion mutant of K5 was obtained by deleting 15 amino acids from K5 while retaining all the 3 disulfide bonds. This K5 mutant (Mut1) was expressed in E.

[High-dose glucose induces human retinal endothelial cell apoptosis].

Objective: To examine the direct effect of high glucose levels on primary cultured human retinal capillary endothelial cells (HRCEC).

Methods: HRCECs were isolated from donated eyes and cultured for 6 days in the media containing 5 or 25 mmol/L glucose. The cell viability was determined by trypan blue exclusion assay and cell cycle analyzed by flow cytometry, with the cell apoptosis assayed by TUNEL method.