Genome-wide DNA methylation drives human embryonic stem cell erythropoiesis by remodeling gene expression dynamics.

Aim: To investigate the role of DNA methylation during erythrocyte production by human embryonic stem cells (hESCs).

Methods: We employed an erythroid differentiation model from hESCs, and then tracked the genome-wide DNA methylation maps and gene expression patterns through an Infinium HumanMethylation450K BeadChip and an Ilumina Human HT-12 v4 Expression Beadchip, respectively.

Results: A negative correlation between DNA methylation and gene expression was substantially enriched during the later differentiation stage and was present in both the promoter and the gene body.

Single nucleotide polymorphism rs2274084 of gap junction protein beta 2 gene among Epstein-Barr virus-associated tumors.

Background: Gap junction protein beta 2 gene (GJB2) encodes one of connexins- Connexin 26 (Cx26), which mainly expressed in epithelial cells. Cx26 is usually considered a channel to exchange information between cells, which plays a critical role in tumor cell proliferation.

Objective: We investigated GJB2 rs2274084 polymorphism in three types of tumors, including nasophoryngeal carcinoma (NPC), gastric cancer (GC) and lymphoma.

Humanin analogue, S14G-humanin, has neuroprotective effects against oxygen glucose deprivation/reoxygenation by reactivating Jak2/Stat3 signaling through the PI3K/AKT pathway.

Stroke, characterized by a disruption of blood supply to the brain, is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Although humanin, a 24-amino acid polypeptide, has been identified to have multiple neuroprotective functions, the level of humanin in plasma has been demonstrated to decrease with age, which likely limits the effects against stroke injury. A potent humanin analogue, S14G-humanin (HNG), generated by replacement of Ser14 with glycine, has been demonstrated to have 1,000-fold stronger biological activity than humanin.

Autophagy is essential for flavopiridol‑induced cytotoxicity against MCF‑7 breast cancer cells.

Flavopiridol (FP) exerts antitumoral effects by triggering tumor cell cycle arrest and cytotoxicity in human breast cancer cell lines. The potent antitumor activity of FP is through its inhibition of cyclin‑dependent kinases; however, this may not be the only mechanism of action. The present study aimed to investigate whether FP is able to induce autophagy and to examine the effects of autophagy on cell death in FP‑treated MCF‑7 human breast cancer cells.

Down-regulation of TGF-β RII expression is correlated with tumor growth and invasion in non-functioning pituitary adenomas.

The two types of TGF-β receptors play a crucial role in TGF-β signaling. It has been reported that TGF-β signaling activity may be associated with the development and invasion of NFPAs. However, the role of TGF-β receptor signaling in NFPAs has not been fully explored.

Factors associating with the presence of residual thrombosis after 3-month treatment of acute pulmonary embolism.

The present study aimed to investigate the factors associating with the presence of residual thrombosis in patients with acute pulmonary embolism (APE) after at least 3-month anticoagulant therapy. Demographic and clinical data of 180 cases in the affiliated hospital of Qingdao University from January 2005 to June 2015 were retrospectively analyzed. APE in all patients were confirmed by computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA).

Overexpression of constitutively active MAP3K7 in ameloblasts causes enamel defects of mouse teeth.

Objective: Compelling evidence suggests that mitogen-activated protein kinases (Mapks) play an important role in amelogenesis. However, the role of transforming growth factor (TGF)-β-activating kinase 1 (Tak1, Map3k7), which is a known upstream kinase of Mapks, during amelogenesis remains to be determined. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible involvement of Map3k7 in amelogenesis.

Clinical Study of Mitomycin C in Reducing Haze Formation After Ultraviolet A/Riboflavin Crosslinking for Keratoconus.

Objectives: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of mitomycin C (MMC) in haze formation after ultraviolet A/riboflavin corneal crosslinking (CXL) for progressive keratoconus.

Methods: A total of 60 keratoconic eyes of 48 patients were enrolled in this prospective comparative study after obtaining informed consent. In the CXL group, standard corneal CXL was performed, whereas in the CXL+MMC group, 0.

Protein kinase Cα stimulates hypoxia‑induced pulmonary artery smooth muscle cell proliferation in rats through activating the extracellular signal‑regulated kinase 1/2 pathway.

Hypoxic pulmonary hypertension (HPH) may contribute to vascular remodeling, and pulmonary artery smooth muscle cell (PASMC) proliferation has an important role in this process. However, no relevant information concerning the role and mechanism of protein kinase C (PKC)α in hypoxia‑induced rat PASMC proliferation has been elucidated. The present study aimed to further investigate this by comparison of rat PASMC proliferation among normoxia for 72 h (21% O2), hypoxia for 72 h (3% O2), hypoxia + promoter 12‑myristate 13‑acetate control, hypoxia + safingol control, hypoxia + PD98059 control and hypoxia + U0126 control groups.

Bufalin attenuates cancer-induced pain and bone destruction in a model of bone cancer.

Bufalin is a natural anti-inflammatory small molecule. Given the close relationship between inflammation and cancer, many scholars have studied the effect of bufalin on cancer in vitro, but in vivo research is still lacking. A murine bone cancer model was used in this study.

Rhabdoid Meningioma Arising Concurrent in Pulmonary and Intracranial with a Rare Malignant Clinical Progression: Case Report and Literature Review.

Background: Rhabdoid meningioma (RM) is an unusual variant of meningioma, classified as World Health Organization grade III. Although its recurrence is common, extracranial metastasis is rare and usually misdiagnosed. The transfer mechanism and pathway are ambiguous; once the metastasis occurs, the prognosis is poor, and there is no effective management.

Drug therapy for chronic subdural hematoma: Bench to bedside.

Chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) is a common neurosurgical condition. Currently, surgery is the most effective medical intervention for treatment of this disorder. Because CSDH is an inflammatory angiogenic disease involving multifactorial mechanisms, a better understanding of CSDH pathogenesis should facilitate clinical management.

Urinary albumin, immunoglobulin G and Beta-microglobulin in the diagnosis of diabetes in the elderly.

Diabetes shows no obvious clinical symptoms in the early stage, which makes it difficult to be detected; however, as a common and frequently occurring disease, its morbidity increases with the improvement in the standard of living. Therefore, early detection, diagnosis and treatment of diabetes are of great importance. This study investigated the application values of urinary albumin (Alb), immunoglobulin G (IgG) and Beta-microglobulin (β2mG) in the diagnosis of diabetes.

Functional analysis of p.Ala253_Leu254insAsn mutation in PLS3 responsible for X-linked osteoporosis.

Mutations in Plastin-3 (PLS3) have been identified as a cause of X-linked osteoporosis. To reveal the molecular mechanism of PLS3 on osteoporosis, we characterized the p.Ala253_Leu254insAsn mutation in PLS3.

Expression of Dicer in rheumatoid arthritis is associated with disease activity and balances the production of TNF‑α.

Gene expression can be altered through RNA interference (RNAi), including microRNA (miRNA) or small interfering RNA. Alterations of miRNAs in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have been reported, however, the components of the RNAi machinery in RA remain to be fully elucidated. The aim of the present study was to detect the levels of Dicer, Argonaute2 and Drosha, components of the RNAi machinery, in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with RAusingreverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and to compare the results with disease activity and clinical features.

Isoliquiritigenin alleviates early brain injury after experimental intracerebral hemorrhage via suppressing ROS- and/or NF-κB-mediated NLRP3 inflammasome activation by promoting Nrf2 antioxidant pathway.

Background: Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) induces potently oxidative stress responses and inflammatory processes. Isoliquiritigenin (ILG) is a flavonoid with a chalcone structure and can activate nuclear factor erythroid-2 related factor 2 (Nrf2)-mediated antioxidant system, negatively regulate nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and nod-like receptor family, pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome pathways, but its role and potential molecular mechanisms in the pathology following ICH remain unclear. The present study aimed to explore the effects of ILG after ICH and underlying mechanisms.

Diagnostic value of combined diffusion-weighted imaging with dynamic contrast enhancement MRI in differentiating malignant from benign bone lesions.

Aim: To determine the diagnostic value of combined diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) with dynamic contrast enhancement magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) in differentiating malignant from benign bone lesions.

Materials And Methods: DWI and DCE-MRI were performed in 36 patients (14 were benign and 22 were malignant). The mean apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values and signal enhanced extent (SEE), slope value, and time-signal intensity curve (TIC) type were recorded by two observers.

Synergistic Activity of an Antimetabolite Drug and Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors against Breast Cancer Cells.

Antimetabolite drugs, including the adenosine deaminase inhibitor cladribine, have been shown to induce apoptosis in a variety of cancer cells, and have been widely used in clinical trials of various cancers in conjunction with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). Combination treatment with cladribine and gefitinib or dasatinib is expected to have a synergistic inhibitory effect on breast cancer cell growth. Our results demonstrated that the combination treatment had synergistic activity against human breast cancer (MCF-7) cells, enhanced G/M cell arrest and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, and increased the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and cell apoptosis.

Role of citrullination modification catalyzed by peptidylarginine deiminase 4 in gene transcriptional regulation.

Peptidylarginine deiminase 4 (PADI4), a new histone modification enzyme, which converts both arginine and monomethyl-arginine to citrulline, has gained massive attention in recent years as a potential regulator of gene transcription. Recent studies have shown that arginine residues R2, R8, R17, and R26 in the H3 tail and R3 in the H4 tail can be deiminated by PADI4. This kind of histone post-translational modification has the potential to antagonize histone methylation and coordinate with histone deacetylation to regulate gene transcription.

Filaggrin gene polymorphism associated with Epstein-Barr virus-associated tumors in China.

Mutations of filaggrin gene (FLG) have been identified as the cause of ichthyosis vulgaris, while recently FLG mutations were found to be associated with gastric cancer. This study aimed to investigate the association of filaggrin polymorphism with Epstein-Barr virus-associated tumors in China. A total of 200 patients with three types of tumors and 117 normal control samples were genotyped at three common FLG mutation loci (rs3126085, K4671X, R501X) by using Sequenom MassARRAY technique.

Efficacy of Emotion Regulation for Patients Suffering from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Background: To study the influence values of self-management program intervention on efficacy of emotion regulation for patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Methods: Eighty-six diagnosed chronic COPD patients in stable phase in Linzi District People's Hospital, Zibo Shandong Province, PR China from June 2014 to June 2015 were selected in succession. They were divided into control group and observation group randomly with 43 cases in each group.

Association of the ACE, GSTM1, IL-6, NOS3, and CYP1A1 polymorphisms with susceptibility of mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia in Chinese children.

Mycoplasma pneumoniae is a common cause of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and the clinical presentation of mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (MPP) varies widely. Genetic variability affecting the host response may also influence the susceptibility to MPP. Several studies have investigated the association between single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of some genes and the risks of CAP; however, the results were inconsistent.

Continuous Aspirin Use Does Not Increase Bleeding Risk of Split-Thickness Skin Transplantation Repair to Chronic Wounds.

Background: Discontinuation of aspirin therapy before cutaneous surgery may cause serious complications.

Objectives: The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate the bleeding risk of split-thickness skin transplantation repair to chronic wounds in patients on aspirin therapy.

Methods: A total of 97 patients who underwent split-thickness skin transplantation surgery of chronic wounds during a 2-year period were enrolled.

Dietary epigallocatechin 3-gallate supplement improves maternal and neonatal treatment outcome of gestational diabetes mellitus: a double-blind randomised controlled trial.

Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is an increasing prevalent health risk in pregnant women. Epigallocatechin 3-gallate (EGCG) is known to benefit the insulin secretory machinery. We aimed to investigate the effect of daily dietary EGCG supplementation on both the maternal and neonatal treatment outcomes in GDM-affected pregnancies.

Outcomes of autograft alone versus PEEK+ autograft interbody fusion in the treatment of adult lumbar isthmic spondylolisthesis.

Objectives: Bone resulting from a complete resection of the posterior arch can be cut into an autograft bone that contains the facet joint structure and morselised bone for interbody fusion. However, whether a strut autograft that contains this trimmed facet joint can produce the same clinical and radiographic outcomes as a cage for interbody fusion remains unclear. The aim of this study was to compare the outcomes of a local facet joint autograft alone to those of polyetheretherketone (PEEK)+autograft for posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) in the treatment of adult isthmic spondylolisthesis.