NKD1 correlates with a poor prognosis and inhibits cell proliferation by inducing p53 expression in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Naked cuticle 1 (NKD1), a negative regulator of the Wnt signaling pathway, is abnormally expressed in many types of malignant tumors. Yet the role and mechanism of NKD1 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell proliferation and its relationship with HCC patients' prognosis have been poorly characterized. In the present study, real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to examine the mRNA expression patterns of NKD1 in the tissues of 60 patients with HCC and corresponding adjacent non-tumor tissues and found that NKD1 mRNA expression in HCC tissues was relatively lower than that in non-tumor tissues and negatively correlated with tumor size.

Rescued expression of WIF-1 in gallbladder cancer inhibits tumor growth and induces tumor cell apoptosis with altered expression of proteins.

As a highly conserved metabolic pathway, the Wnt signaling pathway is involved in cell differentiation, proliferation and several other processes. In normal cells, this pathway is suppressed, and abnormal activation is often associated with tumor occurrence and development. In certain types of tumor, Wnt inhibitory factor 1 (WIF‑1), an inhibitor of the Wnt pathway, inhibits tumor growth.

Early-life stress leads to impaired spatial learning and memory in middle-aged ApoE4-TR mice.

Background: Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) is a major lipid carrier that supports lipid transport and injury repair in the brain. The APOE ε4 allele is associated with depression, mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia; however, the precise molecular mechanism through which ApoE4 influences the risk of disease development remains unknown. To address this gap in knowledge, we investigated the potential effects of chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) on ApoE3 and ApoE4 target replacement (ApoE3-TR and ApoE4-TR) mice.

Fabrication and multifunctional properties of ultrasmall water-soluble tungsten oxide quantum dots.

A facile and green method has been demonstrated to synthesize ultrasmall tungsten oxide quantum dots (WOx QDs). The water-soluble WOx QDs present high luminescence stability, strong peroxidase-like activity, and excellent electrochemiluminescence properties. This work provides an eco-friendly strategy to prepare multifunctional WOx QDs, and opens the door for bioapplications of the WOx QDs.

miR-299-5p promotes cell growth and regulates G1/S transition by targeting p21Cip1/Waf1 in acute promyelocytic leukemia.

MicroRNAs (miRs) are often located in genomic breakpoint regions and are hypothesized to be important regulators involved in the regulation of critical cell processes, including cell apoptosis, proliferation and differentiation. miR-299 has been reported to be upregulated in acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL); however, the function and mechanistic role of miR-299 in APL remains unknown. The present study demonstrated mir-299 significantly induced cell growth and cell cycle progression at the G1/S transition in APL cells.

Axillary radiotherapy: an alternative treatment option for adjuvant axillary management of breast cancer.

Axillary lymph node dissection is standard management of axilla in invasive breast cancer. Radiotherapy also is important in local treatment. It is controversial as to whether axillary radiotherapy can displace axillary lymph node dissection.

Ilexonin A Promotes Neuronal Proliferation and Regeneration via Activation of the Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathway after Cerebral Ischemia Reperfusion in Rats.

Aims. Ilexonin A (IA), a component of the Chinese medicine Ilex pubescens, has been shown to be neuroprotective during ischemic injury. However, the specific mechanism underlying this neuroprotective effect remains unclear.

Feasibility and strategy for left tracheobronchial lymph node dissection in thoracolaparoscopic esophageal cancer surgery.

Background: This study evaluates the feasibility and strategy of left tracheobronchial lymph node (LN) dissection in the surgical treatment of esophageal cancer, and its impact on surgical outcomes following thoracoscopic esophagectomy.

Methods: Data of 265 patients with thoracic esophageal cancer who underwent thoracoscopic and laparoscopic esophagectomy was retrospectively reviewed. In 80 cases, thoracoscopic esophagectomy was performed without left tracheobronchial LN dissection (group non-4L), while 185 cases underwent thoracoscopic esophageal mobilization with routine left tracheobronchial node dissection (group 4L).

Neuroprotective effects of Ilexonin A following transient focal cerebral ischemia in rats.

Ilexonin A is a compound isolated from the root of a plant commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine. The aim of the present study was to investigate the possible protective mechanism of Ilexonin A in rats subjected to occlusion of the middle cerebral artery (MCAO). Transient focal cerebral ischemia was induced by 2 h of MCAO, followed by reperfusion.

The membrane complement regulatory protein CD59 promotes tumor growth and predicts poor prognosis in breast cancer.

Breast cancer is the most prevalent type of cancer among women. CD59, a membrane complement regulatory protein, has been demonstrated to be overexpressed in most solid tumors, where it facilitates tumor cell escape from complement surveillance. However, the role of CD59 in breast cancer growth and clinical prognosis is not fully revealed.

Curcumin Ameliorates Memory Decline via Inhibiting BACE1 Expression and β-Amyloid Pathology in 5×FAD Transgenic Mice.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common dementia and the trigger of its pathological cascade is widely believed to be the overproduction and accumulation of β-amyloid protein (Aβ) in the affected brain. However, effective AD remedies are still anxiously awaited. Recent evidence suggests that curcumin may be a potential agent for AD treatment.

Analysis on the metabolite composition of serum samples from patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma using nuclear magnetic resonance.

Objective: Analysis of the metabolic differences among the papillary thyroid carcinoma (group T) patients, benign thyroid tumor patients (group B) and healthy controls (group H) by nuclear magnetic resonance hydrogen spectrum.

Methods: collect twenty serum specimens each from group T, group B and group H. Collect image archive.

Effect of high mobility group box 1 on the human retinal pigment epithelial cell in high-glucose condition.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) remains a prevalent complication of diabetes and one of the leading causes of blindness among working-age adults. However, the detailed molecular mechanism of the development of DR was still unclear by now. HMGB1 is a non-histone DNA-binding protein and serves as a structural component to facilitate the assembly of nucleoprotein complexes in the nucleus.

Circadian gene expression predicts patient response to neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy for rectal cancer.

Preoperative neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy may be useful in patients with operable rectal cancer, but treatment responses are variable. We examined whether expression levels of circadian clock genes could be used as biomarkers to predict treatment response. We retrospectively analyzed clinical data from 250 patients with rectal cancer, treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy in a single institute between 2011 and 2013.

Effects of gradual low-flow reperfusion postconditioning on ischemia-reperfusion injury involving incomplete testicular torsion in rabbits.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the impacts of gradual low-flow reperfusion postconditioning (GLFRP) on testicular ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI).

Methods: A rabbit testicular ischemia model was established, and rabbits were divided into mild ischemia groups (the IRm, IPm1, IPm2, IPm3, and IPm4 groups) and moderate ischemia groups (the IRM, IPM1, IPM2, IPM3, and IPM4 groups). The IRm and IRM groups underwent direct reperfusion.

Identifying clinically relevant drug resistance genes in drug-induced resistant cancer cell lines and post-chemotherapy tissues.

Until recently, few molecular signatures of drug resistance identified in drug-induced resistant cancer cell models can be translated into clinical practice. Here, we defined differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between pre-chemotherapy colorectal cancer (CRC) tissue samples of non-responders and responders for 5-fluorouracil and oxaliplatin-based therapy as clinically relevant drug resistance genes (CRG5-FU/L-OHP). Taking CRG5-FU/L-OHP as reference, we evaluated the clinical relevance of several types of genes derived from HCT116 CRC cells with resistance to 5-fluorouracil and oxaliplatin, respectively.

Propofol requirement for induction of unconsciousness is reduced in patients with Parkinson's disease: a case control study.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most prevalent neurodegenerative disease, but whether the neurodegenerative process influences the pharmacodynamics of propofol remains unclear. We aimed to evaluate the effect of PD on pharmacodynamics of propofol. A total of 31 PD patients undergoing surgical treatment (PD group) and 31 pair-controlled non-PD patients undergoing intracranial surgery (NPD group) were recruited to investigate the propofol requirement for unconsciousness induction.

Differentiating the extent of cartilage repair in rabbit ears using nonlinear optical microscopy.

Nonlinear optical microscopy (NLOM) was used as a noninvasive and label-free tool to detect and quantify the extent of the cartilage recovery. Two cartilage injury models were established in the outer ears of rabbits that created a different extent of cartilage recovery based on the presence or absence of the perichondrium. High-resolution NLOM images were used to measure cartilage repair, specifically through spectral analysis and image texture.

Monitoring the progression from intraductal carcinoma to invasive ductal carcinoma based on multiphoton microscopy.

Intraductal carcinoma is a precancerous lesion of the breast and the immediate precursor of invasive ductal carcinoma. Multiphoton microscopy (MPM) was used to monitor the progression from intraductal carcinoma to invasive ductal carcinoma, which can improve early detection of precursor lesions and halt progression to invasive neoplastic disease. It was found that MPM has the capability to reveal the qualitative changes in features of cells, structure of basement membranes, and architecture of collagens during the development from intraductal carcinoma to invasive ductal carcinoma, as well as the quantitative alterations in nuclear area, circle length of basement membrane, and collagen density.

Propofol Attenuates Early Brain Injury After Subarachnoid Hemorrhage in Rats.

Our previous studies demonstrated that propofol protects rat brain against focal cerebral ischemia. However, whether propofol attenuates early brain injury after subarachnoid hemorrhage in rats remains unknown until now. The present study was performed to evaluate the effect of propofol on early brain injury after subarachnoid hemorrhage in rats and further explore the potential mechanisms.

Reduction of Glucose Metabolism in Olfactory Bulb is an Earlier Alzheimer's Disease-related Biomarker in 5XFAD Mice.

Background: Early diagnosis assumes a vital role in an effective treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Most of the current studies can only make an AD diagnosis after the manifestation of typical clinical symptoms. The present study aimed to investigate typical and other biomarkers of AD to find a possible early biomarker.

Overexpression of PGC-1α Influences Mitochondrial Signal Transduction of Dopaminergic Neurons.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disease in the elderly. Mitochondrial dysfunction plays an important role in the pathogenesis of PD. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator 1α (PGC-1α) is a powerful transcription factor, interacting with multiple transcription factors and widely involving in the regulation of mitochondrial biogenesis, oxidative stress, and other processes.

The effects of DL-3-n-butylphthalide in patients with vascular cognitive impairment without dementia caused by subcortical ischemic small vessel disease: A multicentre, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Introduction: Vascular cognitive impairment without dementia is very common among the aged and tends to progress to dementia, but there have been no proper large-scale intervention trials dedicated to it. Vascular cognitive impairment without dementia caused by subcortical ischemic small vessel disease (hereinafter, subcortical Vascular cognitive impairment without dementia) represents a relatively homogeneous disease process and is a suitable target for therapeutic trials investigating Vascular cognitive impairment without dementia. Preclinical trials showed that dl-3-n-butylphthalide (NBP) is effective for cognitive impairment of vascular origin.

Dual-probe electrochemical DNA biosensor based on the "Y" junction structure and restriction endonuclease assisted cyclic enzymatic amplification for detection of double-strand DNA of PML/RARα related fusion gene.

Taking advantage of "Y" junction structure and restriction endonuclease assisted cyclic enzymatic amplification, a dual-probe electrochemical DNA (DE-DNA) biosensor was designed to detect double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) related gene. Two groups of detection probes were designed, and each group was composed of a biotinylated capture probe and an assisted probe. They were separately complementary with two strands of target dsDNA in order to prevent the reannealing of the two separate strands from target dsDNA.

Role of IL-17 in nucleus pulposus cell proliferation and metabolism cultured in vitro.

Objective: To explore the role of cytokine, interleukin-17 (IL-17) in human degenerative disc disease.

Methods: Through magnetic resonance imaging, human degenerative disc tissues were confirmed from the isolated nucleus pulposus cells, which were then cultured in vitro. The cells were cultured with and without different concentrations of IL-17.