A novel aging-associated lncRNA signature for predicting prognosis in osteosarcoma.

Osteosarcoma (OS) is one of the most prevalent bone tumors in adolescents, and the correlation between aging and OS remains unclear. Currently, few accurate and reliable biomarkers have been determined for OS prognosis. To address this issue, we carried out a detailed bioinformatics analysis based on OS with data from the Cancer Genome Atlas data portal and Human Aging Genomic Resources database, as well as in vitro experiments.

Intervertebral Disc Degeneration and Low Back Pain Depends on Duration and Magnitude of Axial Compression.

Purpose: The pathological role of axial stress in intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) is controversial, and there was no quantified study until now. Here, we tried to clarify the correlation between IDD or low back pain (LBP) and axial stress at different duration and magnitude in vitro and in vivo.

Method: In vitro, the gene expression of aggrecan, matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP3), calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), and substance P (SP) was measured when nucleus pulposus cells (NPCs) were compressed under gradual severity.

Propionibacterium acnes contributes to low back pain via upregulation of NGF in TLR2-NF-κB/JNK or ROS pathway.

Propionibacterium acnes infection in intervertebral discs (IVDs) is a newly identified cause of low back pain (LBP). In the present study, we aimed to determine whether the nerve growth factor (NGF), a critical pro-algesic factor, is involved in P. acnes-induced LBP.

When Onco-Immunotherapy Meets Cold Atmospheric Plasma: Implications on CAR-T Therapies.

T cells engineered with chimeric antigen receptors (CAR) have demonstrated its widespread efficacy as a targeted immunotherapeutic modality. Yet, concerns on its specificity, efficacy and generalization prevented it from being established into a first-line approach against cancers. By reviewing challenges limiting its clinical application, ongoing efforts trying to resolve them, and opportunities that emerging oncotherapeutic modalities may bring to temper these challenges, we conclude that careful CAR design should be done to avoid the off-tumor effect, enhance the efficacy of solid tumor treatment, improve product comparability, and resolve problems such as differential efficacies of co-stimulatory molecules, cytokine storm, tumor lysis syndrome, myelosuppression and severe hepatotoxicity.

G-Protein Coupled Receptor 35 Induces Intervertebral Disc Degeneration by Mediating the Influx of Calcium Ions and Upregulating Reactive Oxygen Species.

Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) is a chronic disease affecting millions of patients; however, its specific etiology is unknown. G protein-coupled receptors (GPRs) are a superfamily of integral membrane receptors in cells, and the receptors respond to a diverse range of stimuli and participate in multiple cellular activities. Here, using RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) methods and immunohistochemistry, we revealed that G protein-coupled receptor 35 (GPR35) may have a relationship with IDD.

Reactive Oxygen Species Mediate Low Back Pain by Upregulating Substance P in Intervertebral Disc Degeneration.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are thought to have a strong correlation with a number of intervertebral disc (IVD) diseases. Here, we aimed to determine whether ROS represent an etiology of low back pain (LBP) during IVD degeneration. Thirty degenerated intervertebral disc samples were obtained from patients, and ROS levels were quantified using dihydroethidium (DHE) staining.

Extracellular vesicle-associated repetitive element DNAs as candidate osteosarcoma biomarkers.

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common malignant bone tumor in children and young adults. Despite that high-risk factors have been identified, no test for early detection is available. This study aimed to identify circulating nucleic acid sequences associated with serum extracellular vesicle (EV) preparations at the time of OS diagnosis, as a step towards an OS early detection assay.

Using protein microarray to identify and evaluate autoantibodies to tumor-associated antigens in ovarian cancer.

The aim of this study was to develop a noninvasive serological diagnostic approach in identifying and evaluating a panel of candidate autoantibodies to tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) based on protein microarray technology for early detection of ovarian cancer (OC). Protein microarray based on 154 proteins encoded by 138 cancer driver genes was used to screen candidate anti-TAA autoantibodies in a discovery cohort containing 17 OC and 27 normal controls (NC). Indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect the content of candidate anti-TAA autoantibodies in sera from 140 subjects in the training cohort.

Icariin Ameliorates Lower Back Pain in Rats via Suppressing the Secretion of Cytokine-Induced Neutrophil Chemoatractant-1.

Purpose: To investigate whether icariin (ICA), a well-known medicine extracted from the stem and leaf of Maxim, had analgesic effect on lower back pain (LBP) in rats.

Methods: In a puncture-induced LBP rat model, the severity of LBP was quantified using the paw/foot withdrawal threshold method after intragastric administration of ICA at a dosage of 50 mg/kg/d or 100 mg/kg/d. The pain-related peptides of substance P (SP) and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) were also measured in intervertebral disc (IVD) tissue using RT-PCR after ICA treatment.

Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of 671 COVID-19 patients in Henan Province, China.

Background: Despite many reports on the characteristics of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Wuhan, China, relatively little is known about the transmission features of COVID-19 outside Wuhan, especially at the provincial level.

Methods: We collected epidemiological, demographic, clinical, laboratory, radiological and occupation information, along with contact history, of 671 patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 reported from January 23 to February 5, 2020, in Henan province, China. We described characteristics of these cases, compared the diagnostic accuracy and features of blood testing, computed tomography (CT) scans and X-rays, and analysed SARS-CoV-2 transmission sources and patients' occupations in Henan province.

Identification of Symptoms Prognostic of COVID-19 Severity: Multivariate Data Analysis of a Case Series in Henan Province.

Background: The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes coronavirus disease (COVID-19), has been declared a global pandemic. Identifying individuals whose infection can potentially become severe is critical to control the case fatality rate of COVID-19. However, knowledge of symptoms that are prognostic of COVID-19 severity is lacking.

Characterization of lncRNA LINC00520 and functional polymorphisms associated with breast cancer susceptibility in Chinese Han population.

Background: The aim was to evaluate the association between the LINC00520 genetic polymorphisms and breast cancer (BC) susceptibility.

Methods: Nine single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on LINC00520 genotyping were performed in 504 BC patients and 505 cancer-free controls in Chinese Han population to study the relationship between LINC00520 polymorphism and BC susceptibility. qRT-PCR and luciferase tests were used to explore how rs12880540 affected the expression of LINC00520.