Search

To investigate the effects of inspiratory muscle training followed by non-invasive positive pressure ventilation in patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).This investigator-initiated randomized, controlled trial recruited 88 patients with stable GOLD stage IV COPD, who were randomized into 4 equal groups to continue oxygen therapy (control group) or to receive inspiratory muscle training followed by non-invasive positive pressure ventilation (IMT-NPPV group), inspiratory muscle training only (IMT group), or noninvasive positive pressure ventilation only (NPPV group) for at least 8 weeks. The outcomes of the patients were assessed including the quality of life (SRI scores), maximum inspiratory pressure (MIP), maximum expiratory pressure (MEP), dyspnea (MRC scores), 6-min walking distance (6MWD) and lung function.s Compared to baseline values, SRI scores, 6MWT and MRC scores increased significantly after 8 weeks in IMT-NPPV, IMT and NPPV groups, and the improvements were significantly greater in IMT-NPPV group than in IMT and NPPV groups (P0.05 for all). In IMT-NPPV and IMT groups, MIP and MEP increased significantly after the training (P0.05), and the improvement was more prominent in IMT-NPPV group (P0.05). No significant changes were found in pulmonary functions in the groups after 8 weeks of treatment (P0.05).Inspiratory muscle training followed by non-invasive positive pressure ventilation, compared with inspiratory muscle training or non-invasive positive pressure ventilation alone, can better enhance the quality of life, strengthen the respiratory muscles, improve exercise tolerance and relieve the dyspnea in patients with COPD.

Activin, a member of the TGF-beta superfamily, inhibits the proliferation of breast cancer cells. Activin interacts with its type I and type II receptors to induce phosphorylation of intracellular signaling molecules known as Smads. Previous studies showed that mouse ARIP2 can reduce activin signaling by interacting with activin type II receptors (ActRIIs); however, the activity of ARIP2 in breast cancer is still unclear. In this study, we used RT-PCR to obtain a human homologue of mouse ARIP2, human activin receptor-interacting protein 2 (hARIP2). Like murine ARIP2, hARIP2 has a PDZ domain in its NH2-terminal region and can interact specifically with ActRIIs. Overexpression of hARIP2 reduced activin-induced transcriptional activity and enhanced cell proliferation and colony formation in human breast adenocarcinoma MCF-7 cells and MDA-MB-231 cells. However, down-regulation of hARIP2 expression by RNAi enhanced activin-induced transcriptional activity and reduced cell proliferation and colony formation. Immunohistochemistry revealed that hARIP2 was expressed more frequently and much more intensely in malignant breast tissues such as simple carcinoma, invasive ductal carcinoma and mucinous adenocarcinoma than in benign hyperplasia or fibroadenoma cases. These results suggest that hARIP2 is a putative growth-promoting factor involved in breast tumorigenesis and tumor development.

Studies have shown that SCC-S2 can be detected in cancer cells, but its relation with thyroid cancer remains uncertain. In the current study, we investigated SCC-S2 expression in thyroid cancer from the immune cell perspective and tumor tissue perspective. Levels of SCC-S2 in CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, monocytes, natural killer (NK) T cells, tumor tissues, and adjacent noncancerous thyroid tissues were tested by real-time reverse transcription PCR and Western blot. Results revealed that mRNA and protein levels of SCC-S2 were significantly increased in peripheral CD4+ (mRNA, 1.90-fold; protein, 1.55-fold) and CD8+ T cells (mRNA, 2.37-fold; protein, 1.72-fold) but not monocytes and NKT cells in patients than in healthy donors. Further elevated mRNA level but not protein expression was observed in tumor-infiltrating CD4+ T cells, whereas both mRNA level and protein expression were further increased in tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cells. Also, mRNA and protein levels of SCC-S2 in thyroid tissues were significantly elevated than those in adjacent noncancerous thyroid tissues. Moreover, patients with cervical lymph node metastasis presented clearly higher mRNA and protein expression of SCC-S2 compared to those without cervical lymph node metastasis (p

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) control gene expression by destabilizing target transcripts and inhibiting their translation. Aberrant expression of miRNAs has been described in many human diseases, including schizophrenia. However, the effects on miRNA expression in response to antipsychotic treatment in peripheral circulation have not been thoroughly examined.Using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), We quantified the expression of seven candidate miRNAs in plasma samples of 40 first-episode schizophrenics before and after antipsychotic treatment. The patients were all treated with risperidone and achieved remission in 1 year.Compared with the baseline, the expression levels of miR-365 and miR-520c-3p were significantly down-regulated after 1 year of risperidone treatment (P0.001). There were no significant correlations between the clinical symptoms and the expression levels of these two miRNAs (P0.05).This study analyzed possible circulating miRNAs in response to antipsychotic monotherapy for schizophrenia, the further mechanism need to be confirmed.

Xiaomei Pan, Dong Duan, Yuquan Zhu, Hua Pang, Lili Guan, Zhixiang Lv Department of Nuclear Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, People’s Republic of China Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the use of 99mTc-methoxyisobutylisonitrile (MIBI) imaging for evaluating the treatment response of differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) after the first administration of a high dose of 131I.Methods: Patients with DTC who received 131I therapy underwent 99mTc-MIBI imaging after successive increases in the therapeutic dose of 131I, and the serum levels of thyroglobulin (Tg) were measured.Results: A total of 191 patients were enrolled in the final analysis, including 65 metastases and/or thyroid remnant-positive patients (22 patients with metastases and 43 patients with thyroid remnants). The sensitivity of 99mTc-MIBI imaging for detecting positive cases and thyroid remnants was 56.9% and 39.5%, respectively, which was significantly lower than that of 131I imaging (92.3% and 100%, respectively, P0.05). The Tg levels in the positive group were significantly higher than that in the negative group (P

Nucleophosmin plays a critical role in embryonic development. This study aimed to examine the expression pattern of nucleophosmin in glandular epithelium of human endometrium during the menstrual cycle.Endometrial tissues used for this study were obtained from 46 non-pregnant patients who underwent hysterectomy which had been performed to treat benign diseases. Nucleophosmin expression was assessed by in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry.At the early-, mid- and late-proliferative phase, nucleophosmin mRNA was highly expressed in glandular epithelium of human endometrium. At the secretory phase, the expression of nucleophosmin mRNA was reduced in glandular epithelium in early-secretory phase, and the expression in mid- and late-secretory phases was not detected. Similarly, nucleophosmin protein was strongly expressed in endometrial glands throughout the proliferative phase, but was gradually reduced during secretory phase.Nucleophosmin mRNA and protein are expressed in glandular epithelium of human endometrium throughout the menstrual cycle.

Background Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is characterized by fat accumulation in the hepatocyte, inflammation, liver cell injury, and varying degrees of fibrosis, and can lead to oxidative stress in liver. Here, we investigated whether Salidroside, a natural phenolic antioxidant product, can protect rat from liver injury during NASH. Methods NASH model was established by feeding the male SD rats with high-fat and high-cholesterol diet for 14 weeks. Four groups of male SD rats including, normal diet control group, NASH model group, and Salidroside treatment group with150mg/kg and 300 mg/kg respectively, were studied. Salidroside was given by oral administration to NASH in rats from 9 weeks to 14 weeks. At the end of 14 weeks, liver and serum were harvested, and the liver injury, oxidative stress and histological features were evaluated. Results NASH rats exhibited significant increases in the following parameters as compared to normal diet control rats: fat droplets with foci of inflammatory cell infiltration in the liver. ALT, AST in serum and TG, TC in hepatocyte elevated. Oxidative responsive genes including CYP2E1 and Nox2 increased. Additionally, NASH model decreased antioxidant enzymes SOD, GSH, GPX, and CAT in the liver due to their rapid depletion after battling against oxidative stress. Compared to NASH model group, treatment rats with Salidroside effectively reduced lipid accumulation, inhibited liver injury in a does-dependent manner. Salidroside treatment restored antioxidant enzyme levels, inhibited expression of CYP2E1 and Nox2 mRNA in liver, which prevented the initial step of generating free radicals from NASH. Conclusion The data presented here show that oral administration of Salidroside prevented liver injury in the NASH model, likely through exerting antioxidant actions to suppress oxidative stress and the free radical–generating CYP2E1 enzyme, Nox2 in liver.