Zinc protoporphyrin IX enhances chemotherapeutic response of hepatoma cells to cisplatin.

Aim: To investigate the effect of zinc protoporphyrin IX on the response of hepatoma cells to cisplatin and the possible mechanism involved.

Methods: Cytotoxicity was determined using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. Apoptosis was determined by a flow cytometric assay.

Genome-wide association study identifies a novel susceptibility gene for serum TSH levels in Chinese populations.

Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) is a sensitive indicator of thyroid function. High and low TSH levels reflect hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism, respectively. Even within the normal range, small differences in TSH levels, on the order of 0.

MiR-324-5p inhibits proliferation of glioma by target regulation of GLI1.

Objectives: To study the effects of the miR-324-5p on the glioma cells proliferation via the targeted regulation of the glioma-associated oncogene 1.

Methods: The luciferase reporter gene was used to test whether the glioma-associated oncogene 1 was the target of the miR-324-5p microRNA. The glioma-associated oncogene 1 expression was detected by Western blot.

Sox9 gene transfer enhanced regenerative effect of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells on the degenerated intervertebral disc in a rabbit model.

Objective: The effect of Sox9 on the differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) to nucleus pulposus (NP)-like (chondrocyte-like) cells in vitro has been demonstrated. The objective of this study is to investigate the efficacy and feasibility of Sox9-transduced BMSCs to repair the degenerated intervertebral disc in a rabbit model.

Materials And Methods: Fifty skeletally mature New Zealand white rabbits were used.

Genetic heterogeneity of susceptibility gene in different ethnic populations: refining association study of PTPN22 for Graves' disease in a Chinese Han population.

In our previous studies, we presumed subtypes of Graves' disease (GD) may be caused by different major susceptibility genes or different variants of a single susceptibility gene. However, more evidence is needed to support this hypothesis. Single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs2476601 in PTPN22 is the susceptibility loci of GD in the European population.

Dioscin inhibits osteoclast differentiation and bone resorption though down-regulating the Akt signaling cascades.

Bone resorption is the unique function of osteoclasts (OCs) and is critical for both bone homeostasis and pathologic bone diseases including osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis and tumor bone metastasis. Thus, searching for natural compounds that may suppress osteoclast formation and/or function is promising for the treatment of osteoclast-related diseases. In this study, we for the first time demonstrated that dioscin suppressed RANKL-mediated osteoclast differentiation and bone resorption in vitro in a dose-dependent manner.

Expressions of ER, PR, HER-2, COX-2, and VEGF in primary and relapsed/metastatic breast cancers.

In the present study, we evaluated expressions of estrogen receptor (ER), progestin receptor (PR), human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER-2), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in primary and relapsed/metastatic breast cancers to elucidate the clinical significance of these markers. The markers were evaluated by immunohistochemistry in specimens of 50 patients with primary or metastatic breast cancer. Positive rates of ER were significantly (p = 0.

In vitro and in vivo evaluation of the antitumor efficiency of resveratrol against lung cancer.

Lung cancer remains a deadly disease with unsatisfactory overall survival. Resveratrol (Res) has the potential to inhibit growth of several types of cancer such as prostate and colorectal examples. In the current study, we evaluated in vitro and in vivo anticancer efficiency of Res in a xenograft model with A549 cells.

Effects of 5-aminolevulinic acid-mediated photodynamic therapy on antibiotic-resistant staphylococcal biofilm: an in vitro study.

Background: Treatments of infections are not always successful because of multi-antibiotic-resistant organisms. It is therefore particularly urgent to provide more effective anti-infective strategy against these organisms. 5-Aminolevulinic acid (ALA), with the chemical structure C5H9NO3, is the only photodynamic therapy agent that is a biochemical precursor of a photosensitizer (protoporphyrin IX [PpIX]), which is naturally produced by the body.

In vivo evaluation of curcumin-loaded nanoparticles in a A549 xenograft mice model.

Curcumin (Cum) has been reported to have potential chemo-preventive and chemotherapeutic activity through influencing various processes, inducing cell cycle arrest, differentiation and apoptosis in a series of cancers. However, the poor solubility of Cum limits its further applications in the treatment of cancer. We have previously reported Cum-loaded nanoparticles (Cum-NPs) prepared with amphilic methoxy poly(ethylene glycol)-polycaprolactone (mPEG-PCL) block copolymers.

[Surgical treatment for hemophilic pseudotumor in maxillofacial region].

Objective: To present 4 cases of hemophilic pseudotumor and to investigate the treatment outcome.

Methods: Four cases of hemophilic pseudotumor were reviewed. The patients were treated by internal medicine combined with surgery and followed up for two years.

Synergistic effects of serum uric acid and cardiometabolic risk factors on early stage atherosclerosis: the cardiometabolic risk in Chinese study.

Objective: To comprehensively examine the associations of serum uric acid (SUA) with central and peripheral arterial stiffness in Chinese adults, and particularly assess the interactions between SUA and other cardiometabolic risk factors.

Methods: The study included 3,772 Chinese men and women with carotid radial pulse wave velocity (crPWV), carotid femoral PWV (cfPWV), carotid artery dorsalis pedis PWV (cdPWV) and SUA measured.

Results: After adjustment for age, sex, and BMI, the levels of SUA were significantly associated with increasing trend of cfPWV, crPWV and cdPWV (P for trend <0.

Mitral valve myxoma: a large-scale collective review.

Purpose: Despite the review articles repeatedly published with respect to mitral valve myxomas, hardly could we find one based upon complete literature retrieval. We took an effort on complete literature retrieval and made a comprehensive review of the mitral valve myxomas.

Methods: An instant thorough literature retrieval of the heart myxoma was made by using the MEDLINE and EMBASE databases, as well as secondary references cited in the articles obtained from the MEDLINE search.

Hemoglobin A1c levels and aortic arterial stiffness: the Cardiometabolic Risk in Chinese (CRC) study.

Objective: The American Diabetes Association (ADA) recently published new clinical guidelines in which hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) was recommended as a diagnostic test for diabetes. The present study was to investigate the association between HbA1c and cardiovascular risk, and compare the associations with fasting glucose and 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test (2 h OGTT).

Research Design And Methods: The study samples are from a community-based health examination survey in central China.

Serum uric acid and prehypertension among Chinese adults.

Background: Raised blood pressure is emerging as an independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. We examined the relation between serum uric acid and prehypertension and the modification effects of age, obesity, fasting glucose, and lipids in Chinese adults.

Methods: The study samples are from a community-based health examination survey in China.