Comprehensive analysis of the Cullin family of genes reveals that CUL7 and CUL9 are the significant prognostic biomarkers in colorectal cancer.

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to decipher the role of Cullin family genes in colorectal cancer (CRC), drawing insights from comprehensive analyses encompassing multiple databases and experimental validations.

Methods: UALCAN, GEPIA2, Human Protein Atlas (HPA), KM plotter, cBioPortal, TISIDB, DAVID, colon cancer cell lines culturing, gene knockdown, CCK8 assay, colony formation, and Reverse Transcription Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR) assays.

Results: Initial scrutiny of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) CRC datasets through the UALCAN and GEPIA databases unveiled significant alterations in Cullin family gene expressions.

Taladegib controls early chondrocyte hypertrophy via inhibiting smoothened/Gli1 pathway.

Chondrocyte hypertrophy is a common phenomenon in osteoarthritis (OA). Indian hedgehog (Ihh) is secreted by pre-hypertrophic chondrocytes, which regulates the hypertrophy and mineralization of chondrocytes during cartilage osteogenesis. Smoothened (Smo) is a connecting protein among the Ihh signaling pathway that triggers glioma-associated oncogene homologue 1 (Gli1) to active the hypertrophic process.

Sulforaphane exerts neuroprotective effects via suppression of the inflammatory response in a rat model of focal cerebral ischemia.

Inflammatory damage plays an important role in cerebral ischemic pathogenesis and may represent a promising target for treatment. Sulforaphane exerts protective effects in a rat model of focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury by alleviating brain edema. However, the possible mechanisms of sulforaphane after cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury have not been fully elucidated.

The efficacy of high-dose versus moderate-dose chemotherapy in treating osteosarcoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: To evaluate whether the efficacy of high-dose chemotherapy in the treatment of primary well-differentiated osteosarcoma is superior to moderate-dose chemotherapy.

Methods: Cochrane systematic review method was used to retrieve literatures from MEDLINE, Embase, OVID, Cochrane Library database of clinical trials, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database CD-ROM, as well as manual searching from "China Oncology", "Chinese Journal of Clinical Oncology", "Cancer" etc. Meta-analysis was performed using the RevMan 5.

Clinical value of microRNA-23a upregulation in non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: MiR-23a function as an oncogene in several human cancers, however, its clinical value has not been investigated in NSCLC.

Methods: Tissue samples were obtained from 127 NSCLC patients who underwent complete resection at Yantaishan Hospital from March 2008 to January 2014. The expression level of miR-23a was detected in NSCLC tissues and the matched adjacent lung tissues by qRT-PCR.

Single nucleotide polymorphisms of HER2 related to osteosarcoma susceptibility.

Aims: The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation between single necleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) gene with osteosarcoma susceptibility in Chinese Han population.

Methods: 90 patients with osteosarcoma and 100 healthy controls who were frequency-matched with the former by age and gender were enrolled for a case-control study. 5 SNPs of HER2, namely rs2952155, rs1810132, rs2952156, rs1136201 and rs1058808, were tested by Sequenom time of flight mass spectrometry technique.

Neuroprotective effect of methylprednisolone combined with placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cell in rabbit model of spinal cord injury.

The aim of this study was to assess the ability of the combination treatment of methylprednisolone (MP) and placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells (PDMSCs) in a rabbit model of spinal cord injury (SCI). Rabbits were randomly divided into four groups: group 1 (control), group 2 (MP), group 3 (PDMSCs) and group 4 (MP + PDMSCs). In all groups, the spinal cord injury model was created by the weight drop method.

Effect of APE1 and XRCC1 gene polymorphism on susceptibility to hepatocellular carcinoma and sensitivity to cisplatin.

Objective: The relationship between APE1 and XRCC1 gene polymorphism and the susceptibility to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was discussed, and the effect of APE1 and XRCC1 gene polymorphism on the sensitivity of HCC to cisplatin was investigated.

Method: From January 2010 to August 2014, 118 HCC patients were admitted to our hospital. 120 patients treated for non-tumor diseases during this period were recruited as controls.

Protective effects of luteolin against cognitive impairment induced by infusion of Aβ peptide in rats.

Luteolin can be found in many traditional Chinese medicines, it's a falconoid compound derived from Lonicera japonica Thunb. This study aims to investigate the neuroprotective effects of luteolin against cognitive impairment induced by amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide and the underlying mechanisms in rats. The animal behavioral tests showed that luteolin could ameliorate Aβ-induced learning and memory impairment.

Diosgenin inhibits IL-1β-induced expression of inflammatory mediators in human osteoarthritis chondrocytes.

It is well known that the inflammatory cytokines play important roles in osteoarthritis (OA). Diosgenin is a steroidal saponin found in several plants including Solanum and Dioscorea species and possesses diverse biological activities including anti-inflammatory properties. However, the role of diosgenin in inflammatory responses in OA chondrocytes is still unclear.

Amyloid-β immunization enhances neurogenesis and cognitive ability in neonatal mice.

Whether Aβ actually has a physiological as well as a pathological role is not known. In order to investigate the effect of endogenous Aβ, wild type C57BL/6 mice were immunized with human or mouse derived Aβ1-42. The anti-Aβ antibody concentrations were increased in both treated groups.

Association between PON1 L55M polymorphism and ischemic stroke: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: The present study aims to evaluate the relation between PON1 L55M polymorphism and ischemic stroke by a meta-analysis method.

Methods: English and Chinese databases were retrieved to find qualified studies; a random or fixed effects model was used to merge the odds ratio (OR); Q test was used to assess the heterogeneity among studies, and Egger's test and funnel plot were used for the assessment of publication bias.

Results: 14 studies were included in the meta-analysis; in total populations, there was no association between PON1 gene L55M polymorphism and ischemic stroke in additive, dominant, and recessive model, respectively.

Shikonin protects chondrocytes from interleukin-1beta-induced apoptosis by regulating PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.

Chondrocyte apoptosis is mostly responsible for the development and progression of osteoarthritis. IL-1β is generally served as an agent that induces chondrocyte apoptosis. Shikonin exerts its anti-inflammatory effect on cartilage protection in vivo.

Poly-l-lactic acid/amorphous calcium phosphate bioabsorbable stent causes less inflammation than poly-l-lactic acid stent in coronary arteries.

Aim: Poly-l-lactic acid (PLLA) based bioabsorbable stents with or without amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP) were implanted and compared the inflammation in coronary arteries.

Methods: 6 PLLA and 6 PLLA/ACP based paclitaxel-eluting stents were randomly implanted into the coronary arteries of 12 healthy mini-pigs. The segments with stent were used to evaluate inflammation score and endothelialization score by hematoxylin-eosin staining.