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The membrane-associated RING-CH 8 protein (MARCH8), a member of the E3 ubiquitin ligase family, has broad-spectrum antiviral activity. However, some viruses hijack MARCH8 to promote virus replication, highlighting its dual role in the viral lifecycle. Most studies on MARCH8 have focused on RNA viruses, leaving its role in DNA viruses largely unexplored. Pseudorabies virus (PRV) is a large DNA virus that poses a potential threat to humans. In this study, we found that MARCH8 inhibited PRV replication at the cell-to-cell fusion stage. Interestingly, our findings proved that MARCH8 blocks gB cleavage by recruiting furin but this activity does not inhibit viral infection in vitro. Furthermore, we confirmed that MARCH8 inhibits cell-to-cell fusion independent of its E3 ubiquitin ligase activity but dependent on the interaction with the cell-to-cell fusion complex (gB, gD, gH, and gL). Finally, we discovered that the distribution of the cell-to-cell fusion complex is significantly altered and trapped within the trans-Golgi network. Overall, our results indicate that human MARCH8 acts as a potent antiviral host factor against PRV via trapping the cell-to-cell fusion complex in the trans-Golgi network., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Mornaphthoate E (MPE) is a prenylated naphthoic acid methyl ester isolated from the roots of a famous Chinese medicinal plant Morinda officinalis and shows remarkable cytotoxicity against several human tumor cell lines. In the current project, the first total synthesis of (±)-MPE was achieved in seven steps and 5.6% overall yield. Then the in vitro anti-tumor activity of MPE was first assessed for both enantiomers in two breast cancer cells, with the levoisomer exerting slightly better potency. The in vivo anti-tumor effect was further verified by applying the racemate in an orthotopic autograft mouse model. Notably, MPE exerted promising anti-metastasis activity both in vitro and in vivo and showed no obvious toxicity on mice at the therapeutic dosage. Mechanistic investigations demonstrated that MPE acted as a tubulin polymerization stabilizer and disturbed the dynamic equilibrium of microtubules via regulating PI3K/Akt signaling. In conclusion, our work has provided a new chemical template for the future design and development of next-generation tubulin-targeting chemotherapies., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Background: Debate exists on the prognostic significance of spontaneous myocardial infarction (SMI) and periprocedural myocardial infarction (PMI), which could be diagnosed by various definitions., Methods and Results: A total of 10,724 patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) were consecutively enrolled and followed up for a median of 2.4 years. We evaluated outcomes of all-cause death, cardiac death, and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). Patients were stratified into three groups, including the No MI group, PMI group, and SMI group. PMI was defined based on different diagnostic criteria, including the third and fourth universal myocardial infarction (MI) definitions, the society for cardiovascular angiography and interventions (SCAI) definition, and the independent biomarker definition. Regardless of these definitions, the PMI groups were all associated with a significantly increased MACE risk at one year or 1000 days (all P < 0.05), but not all-cause or cardiac death. The SMI group was associated with a markedly elevated risk of death and MACE, but it showed no significant different risk of MACE to PMI using varying definitions., Conclusions: According to various PMI definitions, PMI and SMI were associated with an increased risk of MACE, but not death for PMI. No significantly different risk of MACE was observed between PMI and SMI., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Hemifacial spasm (HFS) is generally caused by the root exit zone of the facial nerve compressed by an overlying arterial loop. HFS can also be caused by various types of tumor, aneurysm, or arteriovenous malformation. We retrospectively analyzed patients to evaluate possible differences in the demographic and clinical features between primary and secondary HFS., Methods: A retrospective study of 3140 cases of HFS treated in our department between January 2009 and June 2016. Among the 3140 total cases, 26 patients had secondary HFS., Results: The 26 tumors of secondary HFS included 11 meningiomas, 8 epidermoid cysts, and 7 vestibular schwannomas. Compared to those with idiopathic HFS, those patients with tumor-induced HFS were significantly younger (P < 0.05). Secondary HFS tended to have responsible vessels, and were observed in 20 (76.92%) of these 26 patients. The long-term effective rate of operation was 84% in the secondary HFS group and was 96.45% in the primary HFS group (P < 0.05); the incidence rate of complication was 12% in the secondary HFS group and was 3.06% in the primary HFS group (P < 0.05)., Conclusions: In cases of secondary HFS, facial nerves of most patients were compressed by blood vessels, so microvascular decompression after tumor resection plays an important role. We should examine the entire nerve root for possible vascular compression., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Extraaxial lymphoma involving the trigeminal nerve, an uncommon condition that presents as a trigeminal schwannoma, resulted in misdiagnosis and a flawed surgical strategy. We report 2 cases: a primary lymphoma of the Meckel cave and a metastasis lymphoma in the prepontine cistern arising from the supraclavicular lymph node., Case Description: The first patient presented with a 3-month history of persistent, sharp facial pain across the area innervated by the V2 nerve. She was misdiagnosed with primary trigeminal neuralgia and underwent microvascular decompression. Intraoperatively, the trigeminal nerve was swollen to a large extent and surrounded by red granuloma-like tissue. The second case was a 75-year-old woman; she had a history of a malignant lymphoma of the supraclavicular lymph node and presented with right facial pain. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed that the cisternal portion of the right trigeminal nerve was swollen. A specimen was taken from the 2 patients, and histopathologic examinations revealed a diffuse large B cell lymphoma., Conclusions: The diagnosis of a malignant lymphoma should be considered for lesions in the trigeminal region. Extracting a specimen for biopsy is the most suitable surgical strategy. Our report indicates that postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy for malignant lymphomas is essential., (Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Background: Microvascular decompression (MVD) has become widely accepted as first-line therapy for hemifacial spasm. However, not all patients are candidates for the procedure, and some surgeons ignore arterioles that represent the actual underlying cause of the condition. The aim of this study was to address the role of involved arterioles in management of MVD in patients with hemifacial spasm., Methods: Data were collected from 765 consecutive patients who underwent MVD from January 2009 to August 2010 in our hospital. Electromyographic abnormal muscle response and Z-L response were used to identify the involved arterioles. All patients were followed for 25-35 months., Results: Compression by the involved arterioles was identified in 20 patients. The most commonly involved arteriole was a branch of the anterior inferior cerebellar artery, followed by the posterior inferior cerebellar artery. During follow-up, effective outcomes were achieved in 93.6% of patients with involved arterioles. There was no MVD-related mortality., Conclusions: The main reason for failed MVD is that the involved offending vessel is not correctly identified. Intraoperative abnormal muscle response and Z-L response are good supplementary measures to identify involved arterioles. In addition, not isolating or coagulating the involved arterioles increases the risk associated with the operation., (Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Objective: Owing to increasing use of Gamma Knife surgery (GKS) for trigeminal neuralgia (TN), physicians are challenged over the problem of choosing an appropriate treatment if GKS fails. The aim of this study was to determine whether microvascular decompression (MVD) is a safe and effective alternative therapy for trigeminal neuralgia in patients with failed GKS., Methods: Between January 1, 2010, and January 1, 2012, data of 32 patients with trigeminal neuralgia who presented with persistent or recurrent pain after GKS and elected to undergo MVD were collected. Clinical characteristics, operative findings, outcomes of MVD, and complications were reviewed., Results: Mean interval time between GKS and MVD was 16 ± 5.64 months (range, 6-27 months). During MVD, the most common offending vessel was the superior cerebellar artery, followed by the anterior inferior cerebellar artery and vertebral artery. Immediately after MVD, 29 patients (90.63%) experienced complete pain relief without medication. At the end of the follow-up period, 25 patients were pain-free without medication., Conclusions: Our data confirm that MVD is an effective and safe alternative therapy after GKS, although the risk of facial numbness seems higher in patients with a history of GKS than in patients without a history of GKS., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: A variety of risk models have been developed to predict acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in-hospital mortality risk. As a distinct, higher-risk population, women with AMI have different risk profiles from their men counterparts. Published researches have indicated that the interaction between variables in these models for in-hospital mortality and gender are significant. Due to the interaction and gender differences, the predicting value of these risk models for women could be controversial., Methods: Databases from the China Patient-centered Evaluative Assessment of Cardiac Events (China PEACE) Retrospective AMI Study were utilized for model derivation (n=16,100, women were 4896) and databases from the China PEACE Prospective AMI Study for model validation (n=6207, women were 2090). A multivariable backward stepwise logistic regression was used to examine correlates of in-hospital mortality, and the variables were subsequently weighted and integrated into a scoring system., Results: We constructed a novel risk-predicting tool to estimate the baseline risk of in-hospital mortality among women with AMI. The risk score includes 8 variables [age, systolic blood pressure, heart rate, initial glomerular filtration rate (GFR), serum glucose, Killip class, cardiac arrest, ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation (VT/VF)]. The prognostic discriminatory capacity of the Women Acute Myocardial Infarction in-Hospital Mortality (WAMI) risk score was excellent (c statistic 0.84, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.83 to 0.86, p<0.001). External validation of the model showed better prognostic capacity (c statistic 0.87, 95% CI: 0.84 to 0.90, p<0.001) than the GRACE risk score (0.77, 95% CI 0.72-0.82, p<0.001) and TIMI risk score (0.72, 95% CI 0.68-0.77, p<0.001)., Conclusions: The WAMI Score is a simple robust tool for predicting the in-hospital mortality risk of women with AMI., Trial Registration: "China PEACE-Retrospective AMI Study", NCT01624883, retrospectively registered: April 2012. Date of enrolment of the first participant to the trial: June 17, 2012. "China PEACE-Prospective AMI Study", NCT01624909, prospectively registered: December 2012. Date of enrolment of the first participant to the trial: June 17, 2012., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Hemifacial spasm (HFS) is a disorder characterized by intermittent, involuntary facial muscle contractions. Microvascular decompression (MVD) is the gold treatment for HFS. The aim of this research was to discuss whether patients undergoing MVD as their initial surgical intervention experience greater spasm control than patients experiencing an MVD performed as a subsequent surgical intervention., Methods: The study included 976 patients with HFS, 452 of whom (group A) underwent MVD as their initial surgical intervention and 524 of whom (group B) underwent subsequent MVD. Relevant clinical data including outcome of MVD, operative findings, complications, and so on were collected immediately after MVD operation and at follow-up., Results: The follow-up period was 7-9 years (mean, 7.96 ± 0.87 years). The mean age at intervention was 53.14 years and 55.43 years in the 2 groups, respectively. The long-term postoperative relief rate of patients in the 2 groups was 98.23% and 87.21%, respectively. There was a significant difference in long-term postoperative relief rate of patients between the 2 groups (P < 0.05)., Conclusions: Patients undergoing MVD for HFS as the primary treatment experience better long-term efficacy than patients first treated with botulinum neurotoxin type A., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Bilateral trigeminal neuralgia is a relatively rare disease. Microvascular decompression (MVD) is a safe and effective treatment for unilateral trigeminal neuralgia; however, its utility in bilateral trigeminal neuralgia is unclear. Here, we report our experience with MVD in 13 cases of primary bilateral trigeminal neuralgia., Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 13 cases of bilateral trigeminal neuralgia that were treated with MVD between January 2013 and January 2015. Surgical outcomes and complications were explored in each case., Results: Postoperatively, 11 patients had excellent outcomes and 2 patients had good outcomes on the operative side. Three patients also reported the amelioration of contralateral symptoms after MVD. Of 10 cases indicating no contralateral improvement, 1 refused to undergo a second MVD procedure on the opposite side and 9 underwent a second MVD procedure and experienced symptom relief. The superior cerebellar artery was the most common offending vessel. There were no severe MVD-related complications., Conclusion: Vascular compression plays a causative role in bilateral and unilateral trigeminal neuralgia. MVD appears to be a safe and effective treatment option in patients who are refractory to pharmacotherapy., (Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Background: Microvascular decompression (MVD) is the most effective treatment for hemifacial spasm (HFS). During MVD surgery, abnormal muscle response (AMR) is widely used. Z-L response (ZLR) is a new monitoring method for HFS. We compared the effectiveness of AMR plus ZLR and simple AMR., Methods: In a retrospective study of 1868 cases of HFS treated using intraoperative monitoring between January 2013 and December 2015, 896 patients underwent simple AMR monitoring and 972 underwent combined intraoperative monitoring of AMR and ZLR., Results: AMR waveforms were observed in 837 (93.42%) patients in the AMR group and in 898 (92.39%) patients in the AMR plus ZLR group (P > 0.05). During MVD, AMR waveforms disappeared in 772 patients in the AMR group and 854 patients in the AMR plus ZLR group (P < 0.05). The efficacy rate of MVD in the AMR plus ZLR group was higher compared with the AMR group when AMR was not detected or disappeared during the operation (P < 0.05). When AMR persisted during the operation, there was no significant difference between the 2 groups in efficacy of the operation (P > 0.05)., Conclusions: Regardless of whether the compression vessels of the facial nerve are simple or complicated, combined intraoperative monitoring of AMR plus ZLR monitoring provides more valuable neurosurgical guidance than simple AMR during MVD for HFS., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Microvascular decompression (MVD) of the trigeminal nerve is the most effective treatment for trigeminal neuralgia (TN). However, many patients respond poorly to initial MVD. For these patients, redo MVD is commonly done. There has been no research regarding the effectiveness of nerve combing (NC) plus MVD in patients with TN and failed prior MVD. We compared the clinical outcome of NC plus MVD and simple redo MVD in patients with TN and failed prior MVD., Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of 148 patients with recurrent or persistent TN symptoms who underwent surgery between January 2007 and December 2015. Simple MVD was performed in 62 patients, and NC plus MVD was performed in 86 patients., Results: For simple MVD, success rates at 1 day, 7 days, 1 month, 3 months, and 1 year after surgery all were approximately 80%. Success rates of NC plus MVD were significantly (P < 0.05) higher than success rates of simple MVD, by 17.02%, 18.64%, 16.47%, 17.21%, and 14.80% at 1 day, 7 days, 1 month, 3 months, and 1 year. The incidence rates of facial numbness in the simple MVD group were 48.39%, 45.16%, 36.67%, 16.95%, and 1.75% at 1 day, 7 days, 1 month, 3 months, and 1 year; the incidence rates in the NC plus MVD group were 60.47%, 55.81%, 48.24%, 21.69%, and 3.75% (P > 0.05)., Conclusions: In patients with TN who failed prior MVD, NC plus MVD significantly improved the success rate of the operation compared with simple redo MVD. We obtained good short-term and long-term surgical outcomes with NC combined with MVD., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Although microvascular decompression (MVD) surgery is considered the gold standard treatment for hemifacial spasm, there are some MVD-related complications., Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 1548 patients with hemifacial spasm who underwent retromastoid suboccipital craniectomy with MVD from January 2009 to June 2013. All patients were followed for >2 years., Results: Excellent and good results were 92.5% and 4.2%, respectively. Postoperative complications were recorded in 16.09% (n = 249). There was no MVD-related mortality. After MVD surgery, the most frequent complications were occipital sensory disturbance (7.3%), facial nerve palsy (9.7%), and hearing impairment (3.5%). Other complications were as follows: cerebrospinal fluid leakage (n = 24), poor healing wound (n = 14), lower cranial nerve palsy (n = 12), wound infection (n = 4), and hemorrhage (n = 2)., Conclusions: MVD operation is a safe treatment for hemifacial spasm. Facial nerve palsy is the most common MVD-related complication; preservation of the lesser occipital nerve during MVD surgery can decrease the rate of occipital sensory disturbance. Permanent or serious complications are comparatively rare in MVD surgery., (Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Background: Few studies have examined atypical hemifacial spasm (AHFS), and the mechanism of AHFS remains unclear. In this study, we examined the etiology, prognosis, and treatment of AHFS., Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data for 14 consecutive patients that underwent microvascular decompression (MVD) for AHFS between January 2014 and December 2015. Clinical features, outcomes, and complications were evaluated., Results: The incidence of AHFS is 1.52%. There were no significant differences in sex, age, side and duration between the typical hemifacial spasm and AHFS. During the follow-up period, the effective rate of MVD for patients with AHFS was 92.3%. Three patients developed delayed facial nerve palsy postoperatively, 1 patient experienced occipital sensory disturbance, and 1 patient suffered hearing loss., Conclusions: Most of the cases of AHFS studied here were caused by neurovascular conflict in zone IV of the facial nerve distal to the root entry zone. MVD surgery is the first choice treatment for AHFS., (Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Objective: To examine operative findings and outcome of microvascular decompression (MVD) for glossopharyngeal neuralgia (GPN). This research displayed the long-term outcomes of a large series of 35 cases with GPN treated with MVD., Methods: From January 2004 to June 2006, 35 consecutive patients were diagnosed with GPN. All of them underwent MVD. Demographic data, clinical presentation, operative findings, clinical results, operative complications were reviewed., Results: A total of 33 patients (94.3%) experienced complete pain relief immediately after MVD. Long-term follow-up was available for 30 of these 35 patients, and 28 of these 30 patients continued to be pain-free. There was no long-term operative morbidity in all cases. One patient had a cerebrospinal fluid leak and 1 case presented with delayed facial palsy., Conclusions: Classic GPN is usually caused by pulsatile neurovascular compression of the glossopharyngeal and vagus rootlets. MVD is a safe, effective, and durable operation for GPN., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Microvascular decompression (MVD) of the facial nerve monitored intraoperatively by abnormal muscle response (AMR) activity is a common treatment for hemifacial spasm. AMR frequently persists after MVD, however, for which electromyography (EMG)-guided nerve combing sometimes is recommended. Because no research regarding the success of EMG-guided nerve combing has been published, we compared the effectiveness of nerve combing after MVD with simple MVD in cases including persistent AMR., Methods: A retrospective study of 127 cases of hemifacial spasm treated with persistent AMR after MVD treatment occurring between January 2011 and June 2015 was conducted. Among the 127 total cases, EMG-guided nerve combing was used in 72 patients and simple MVD in 55 patients., Results: For simple MVD, success rates at 1 day, 7 days, 1 month, 3 months, and 1 year after surgery were all approximately 80%; the success rates of MVD with nerve combing were significantly greater (P < 0.05) than those of simple MVD, by 15.83%, 15.4%, 17.22%, 17.65%, and 17.65%, respectively. The incidence rates of facial palsy in simple MVD were 12.73%, 14.55%, 10.91%, 3.64%, and 1.82%, respectively; those in the nerve combing group were 27.78% (P < 0.05 vs. simple MVD), 33.33% (P < 0.05), 25.00% (P = 0.05), 5.55% (P > 0.05), and 2.78% (P > 0.05), respectively., Conclusions: In cases of hemifacial spasm with persistent AMR after MVD, EMG-guided nerve combing significantly improved the success rate of the operation. Although it also significantly increased the incidence of postoperative facial palsy over the short term (up to 1 week), incidences in the long term were not significantly different., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Microvascular decompression (MVD) is the most useful treatment for hemifacial spasm (HFS). During MVD surgery, traditional abnormal muscle response (tAMR) is widely used to monitor success in decompressing the facial nerve. Dual AMR (dAMR) is a new monitoring method used during MVD for HFS. We compared the sensitivities and reliabilities of tAMR and dAMR., Methods: We performed a retrospective study of 1301 cases of HFS treated using MVD between January 2014 and March 2016. Among the 1301 cases, 587 patients underwent tAMR monitoring and 714 underwent dAMR monitoring., Results: Typical abnormal muscle response (AMR) waveforms were observed in 484 patients (82.5%) in the tAMR group and in 688 patients (96.4%) in the dAMR group (P < 0.05). AMR waveforms disappeared in 459 patients in the tAMR group and in 655 patients in the dAMR group during MVD. One day, 7 days, 1 month, and 3 months after MVD surgeries with AMR disappearance, the effective rate of MVD was 95.0%, 94.3%, 94.5%, and 95.0%, respectively, in the tAMR group. The corresponding rates were 97.7%, 96.9%, 97.3%, and 98.0% in the dAMR group (P < 0.05). One day, 7 days, 1 month, and 3 months after MVD surgeries with AMR persistence, the effective rate of MVD was 68.0%, 64.0%, 64.0%, and 64.0%, respectively, in the tAMR group. The corresponding rates were 90.9%, 87.9%, 87.9%, and 90.9% in the dAMR group (P < 0.05)., Conclusions: AMR monitoring provides valuable neurosurgical guidance during MVD for HFS. dAMR monitoring has better sensitivity and reliability than tAMR monitoring., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Microvascular decompression (MVD) has become the best treatment for hemifacial spasm (HFS); however, some patients do not obtain complete relief after the initial MVD. We analyzed a group of patients who underwent a second MVD, to identify the factors that prevented relief after the initial MVD and those that promote the success of the second procedure., Methods: Of a group of 1400 patients with typical primary unilateral HFS treated with MVD between January 2014 and October 2015, we focused on 42 patients with poor postoperative outcomes. All patients underwent abnormal muscle response (AMR) monitoring again the day after surgery. Of those patients, 35 underwent a second MVD surgery within a week. We analyzed their AMRs after each operation., Results: After the first operation, AMR was positive in 40 patients and negative in 2 patients. The latter 2 patients reported spontaneous relief within 1 week. Among the 40 positive patients, 35 and 4 patients underwent a second MVD within a week and 6-11 months, respectively. Thirty-nine patients reported relief after the second MVD; 1 patient remained unchanged at follow-up (<12 months)., Conclusions: When initial MVD does not provide relief, a repeat MVD should be performed as soon as possible. In 2/42 cases, relief was delayed enough that AMR had a false-negative result. Combinative monitoring of AMR and Z-L responses was important in identifying the real cause of HFS., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) causes a persistent threat to the swine industry, especially when highly pathogenic PRRSV (HP-PRRSV) emerges. Previous studies have indicated that PRRSV RNA synthesis was correlated with HP-PRRSV virulence. PRRSV RNA synthesis includes genomic RNA and sub-genomic mRNA, and these processes require minus-strand RNA as a template. However, the mechanisms involved in PRRSV minus-strand RNA synthesis are not fully understood. A mini-genome system can be used to assess viral replication mechanisms and to evaluate the effects of potential antiviral drugs on viral replicase activities. In this study, we developed a mini-genome system that uses firefly luciferase as a reporter. Based on this system, we found that PRRSV RNA-dependent RNA polymerase nsp9 alone failed to activate virus minus-strand RNA synthesis. We also demonstrated that combinations of open reading frames 1a (ORF1a) and ORF1b are necessary for viral minus-strand RNA synthesis., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The existence of innate, host-specific restriction factors is a major obstacle to the development of nonhuman primate models for AIDS studies, and TRIM5α is one of the most important of these restriction factors. In recent years, a TRIM5 chimeric gene that was retrotransposed by a cyclophilin A (CypA) cDNA was identified in certain macaque species. The TRIM5α-CypA fusion protein, TRIMCyp, which was expressed in these monkeys, had lost its restriction ability toward HIV-1. We previously found that TRIMe7-CypA, an alternative splicing isoform of the TRIMCyp transcripts, was expressed in pig-tailed and rhesus macaques but absent in long-tailed macaques. In this study, the anti-HIV-1 activity of TRIMe7-CypA in the rhesus macaque (RhTRIMe7-CypA) was investigated. The over-expression of RhTRIMe7-CypA in CrFK, HeLa and HEK293T cells did not restrict the infection or replication of an HIV-1-GFP reporter virus in these cells. As a positive control, rhesus (rh)TRIM5α strongly inhibited the reporter virus. Intriguingly, the anti-HIV-1 activity of RhTRIM5α was significantly reduced in a dose-dependent manner by the co-repression of RhTRIMe7-CypA. Our data indicate that although the RhTRIMe7-CypA isoform does not appear to restrict HIV-1, it may act as a negative modulator of TRIM family proteins, presumably by competitive inhibition., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The anticoagulation properties of biomaterials are crucial for biomedical applications, especially for blood-contacting materials. In this work, a range of functional graphene oxide based on the biomimetic monomer 2-(methacryloyloxy) ethyl phosphorylcholine (GO-g-pMPC) were synthesized by RATRP in alcoholic media using peroxide groups as initiator, and then filled into the polyurethane matrix to obtain the polyurethane (PU)/functional graphene oxide nanocomposite films (PU/GO-g-pMPC). The tensile strength and elongation and morphology of the PU/GO-g-pMPC were characterized by mechanical properties test, Transmission electron microscope (TEM), respectively. The results showed that a small amount of graphene oxide can improve the mechanical properties of PU. The blood compatibility of the PU substrates was evaluated by protein adsorption tests and platelet adhesion tests in vitro. It was found that all the PU/GO-g-pMPC showed improved resistance to nonspecific protein adsorption and platelet adhesion., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Statins are commonly administrated daily, while rosuvastatin can be given every other day due to its longer half-lives. We evaluated the potential efficacy of alternate-day dosing of 10mg rosuvastatin compared with daily dosing of 10mg rosuvastatin with regarding to lipid and inflammatory markers in patients with dyslipidemia., Methods: Thirty-seven patients were randomly divided into the 2 groups: alternate-day group (rosuvastatin 10mg every other day, n=19) and once-daily group (rosuvastatin 10mg every day, n=18) for 6 weeks. The primary endpoints of the study were changes of the serum concentrations of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) following 6-week rosuvastatin therapy., Results: Baseline characteristics of the 2 groups were well balanced. LDL-C decreased by 37.5% after the once-daily dosing period and by 36.9% after alternate-day dosing period (p>0.05). Both dosing regimens provided similar improvement in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglyceride. And also, both dosing regimens significantly decreased serum concentrations of CRP, which had an 18.3% reduction in once-daily dosing and a 16.7% reduction in alternate-day dosing of rosuvastatin (p>0.05). Moreover, the pattern of plasma IL-6 concentrations was also similar between the two groups (p>0.05)., Conclusions: Alternate-day dosing of rosuvastatin could be effective comparable with once-daily dosing of rosuvastatin in Chinese patients in improving not only lipid profile but also inflammatory markers, which may provide some cost savings and increase the compliance of patients., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)