Hydrogen sulfide reduced renal tissue fibrosis by regulating autophagy in diabetic rats.

The present study aimed to explore the effect of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) on renal tissue fibrosis and its mechanism in diabetic rats. Rats were randomly divided into four groups (n=13/group): Control group; induced diabetes mellitus group (STZ); induced diabetes mellitus treated with H2S group (STZ + H2S); normal rats treated with H2S group (H2S). The diabetic model was induced by intraperitoneal (i.

Circulating miR155 expression level is positive with blood pressure parameters: Potential markers of target-organ damage.

Objectives: The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationship of miR155 with office and ambulatory blood pressure (BP) parameters and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in patients with hypertension and healthy controls.

Methods: We assessed the expression level of the miR155 in 50 patients with essential hypertension and 30 healthy individuals. All patients underwent two-dimensional echocardiography, office BP monitoring and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM).

RASSF1A inhibits gastric cancer cell proliferation by miR-711- mediated downregulation of CDK4 expression.

Although interaction with DNA repair proteins has demonstrated that RASSF1A is a tumour suppressor gene, much attention has been directed in recent years towards its roles in regulating the cell cycle. However, the precise mechanism remains unclear. Uncovering how RASSF1A participates in regulating the cell cycle is critical to exploring effective therapeutic targets for gastric cancer.

Neuron navigator 2 overexpression indicates poor prognosis of colorectal cancer and promotes invasion through the SSH1L/cofilin-1 pathway.

Background: Neuron navigator 2 (NAV2) encodes a member of the neuron navigator gene family, which plays a role in tumorigenesis and cell migration. However, the prognostic value of NAV2 expression in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients and the potential pathway through which NAV2 promotes migration and invasion in CRC cell lines is poorly understood.

Methods: The expression level of NAV2 was detected in CRC tissues from two different CRC cohorts by immunohistochemistry, qRT-PCR and Western blotting; the correlation between NAV2 expression and clinicopathological characters was analyzed, and the prognostic value of NAV2 expression was analyzed using a Cox regression model.

Regulation of human enteric α-defensins by NOD2 in the Paneth cell lineage.

Human enteric α-defensins (HD5 and HD6), major antimicrobial peptides produced by Paneth cells in the intestine, play important roles in intestinal innate immunity. Since their expression is decreased in Crohn's disease (CD), with decreased expression being more pronounced in the presence of NOD2 mutations, it would be extremely interesting to investigate the mechanism by which NOD2 may regulate expression of human enteric α-defensins. Here we show that although NOD2 by itself can slightly up-regulate expression of enteric α-defensins mainly through activation of the NF-κB pathway, it can strongly down-regulates their expression during differentiation of the Paneth cell lineage mainly by inhibiting activation of the MAPK pathway.

Casticin, a flavonoid, potentiates TRAIL-induced apoptosis through modulation of anti-apoptotic proteins and death receptor 5 in colon cancer cells.

We investigated the effect of casticin on apoptosis induced by tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL). We found that casticin potentiated TRAIL-induced apoptosis in human colon cancer cells. Casticin downregulated cell survival proteins including Bcl-xL, Bcl-2, survivin, XIAP and cFLIP, and induced death receptor 5 (DR5), but had no effect on DR4 and decoy receptors (DcR1 or DcR2).

Associations of polymorphisms in the β2-adrenergic receptor gene with essential hypertension in Han Chinese population.

The β2-adrenergic receptor (β2-AR) gene has been implicated in the pathogenesis of hypertension. However, the results have been conflicting. In this study, we performed a meta-analysis to assess the associations of 46A/G and 79C/G polymorphisms in β2-AR gene with hypertension risk in Han Chinese population.

Icaritin induces apoptosis of HepG2 cells via the JNK1 signaling pathway independent of the estrogen receptor.

Chinese herbs have become a focus in cancer treatment. Icaritin, a prenylflavonoid derivative from Chinese herbs of the Epimedium genus, has selective estrogen receptor (ER) modulating activity. This study evaluates the effects of icaritin on the apoptosis of HepG2 hepatocellular carcinoma cells.