Search

A novel, minimally invasive interventional technique, radiofrequency heat (RFH), has been suggested to improve the efficacy of chemotherapy for solid organ tumors. However, the treatment for prostate cancer has not been completely characterized. The aim of the present study was to investigate the in vitro and in vivo efficiency of chemotherapy in combination with RFH for the treatment of prostate cancer. The following four treatment groups were included: i) No treatment (control); ii) RFH‑only; iii) chemotherapy (docetaxel)‑only; and iv) combination therapy of docetaxel and RFH in human prostate cancer (HPC) cell lines and mice with HPC xenografts. In the in vitro experiments, a heating guidewire was attached under the bottom of the last chamber of the four‑chamber cell culture slide, and was then connected to a radiofrequency (RF) generator. In the in vivo experiments, a tumor model was generated by subcutaneously injecting human prostate cancer cells into 24 male nu/nu mice. RFH was conducted by inserting the 0.022‑inch heating‑guidewire into the tumor. The follow‑up magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated a significant reduction in the average tumor size in animals treated with combination therapy compared with those receiving RFH‑only and chemotherapy‑only. The number of apoptotic cells and the average apoptotic index of the combination therapy group were significantly higher compared with those of the other three treatment groups. In conclusion, the results of the present study suggested that RFH is able to increase the therapeutic efficiency of docetaxel in prostate cancer, and this study serves as a foundation for the future development of an interventional molecular image‑guided local treatment strategy for prostate cancer that integrates RF technology, interventional oncology and direct intratumoral chemotherapy, as a replacement for systemic chemotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gastric cancer (GC) is the fourth most common cancer globally. Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs) have been suggested to be closely associated with tumorigenesis. Aberrant expression of miR-509-3p has been reported in cancer studies. However, the expression and mechanism of its function in GC remain unclear. Here we showed that miR-509-3p was downregulated in GC specimens, which was associated with overall survival. Functional investigations demonstrated that the overexpression of miR-509-3p inhibited the migration and proliferation of the GC cells. Additionally, we identified X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP) as a direct target of miR-509-3p. Knockdown of XIAP significantly attenuated the ability of proliferation, migration, and invasion of GC cells. The data therefore suggest that miR-509-3p plays an important role in the development and progression of GC, implicating possible applications in the clinic as a biomarker and a potential new target. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adsorption characteristics of pure gases N2 and O2 on various silver exchanged low silica X-type (AgxLi96-x-LSX) zeolites were investigated. The equilibrium adsorption isotherms of N2 and O2 were measured at 273 and 298 K. Textual and structural properties of parent and resultant AgxLi96-x-LSX were characterized by XRD, BET surface area, and SEM techniques. Kinetics of their thermal dehydration were studied by exploiting thermogravimetric and differential data (TG-DTG) obtained at three heating rates (5, 10 and 15 K) using two model-free (Kissinger and Flynn-Wall-Ozawa) and one model fitting (Coats-Redfern) methods. Forty one mechanism functions were used to evaluate kinetic triplet (activation energy, frequency factor, and most probable mechanism/model) for different stages of dehydration. Results revealed that the impact of very small content of silver on the adsorption of N2 is pronounced and attributed to weak chemical bonds formed between N2 and Ag+ clusters due to strong adsorption of N2 at low pressure, whereas O2 adsorption is affected to a negligible extent. In addition, the N2/O2 adsorption selectivity shows unexpected low values for Ag87.08Li7.94Na0.98-LSX with higher Ag+ content (91.00%), which might be due to low crystalline water content as well as Ag+ clusters located at SIII sites. N2 adsorption strongly depends on temperature as higher adsorption occurs at low temperature 273 K as compared to 298 K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adsorption characteristics of pure gases N2 and O2 on various silver exchanged low silica X-type (AgxLi96-x-LSX) zeolites were investigated. The equilibrium adsorption isotherms of N2 and O2 were measured at 273 and 298 K. Textual and structural properties of parent and resultant AgxLi96-x-LSX were characterized by XRD, BET surface area, and SEM techniques. Kinetics of their thermal dehydration were studied by exploiting thermogravimetric and differential data (TG-DTG) obtained at three heating rates (5, 10 and 15 K) using two model-free (Kissinger and Flynn-Wall-Ozawa) and one model fitting (Coats-Redfern) methods. Forty one mechanism functions were used to evaluate kinetic triplet (activation energy, frequency factor, and most probable mechanism/model) for different stages of dehydration. Results revealed that the impact of very small content of silver on the adsorption of N2 is pronounced and attributed to weak chemical bonds formed between N2 and Ag+ clusters due to strong adsorption of N2 at low pressure, whereas O2 adsorption is affected to a negligible extent. In addition, the N2/O2 adsorption selectivity shows unexpected low values for Ag87.08Li7.94Na0.98-LSX with higher Ag+ content (91.00%), which might be due to low crystalline water content as well as Ag+ clusters located at SIII sites. N2 adsorption strongly depends on temperature as higher adsorption occurs at low temperature 273 K as compared to 298 K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bimodal mesoporous silicas (BMMs) have been proved to be a good drug-loaded carrier. However, it did not provide stimuli sensitivity or controlled release performance yet. In the present work, a "smart" mesoporous silica-based pH-dependent [poly(methacrylic acid)]-silica hybrid nanoparticles (P/NN-BMMs) drug delivery system was developed and evaluated with ibuprofen (IBU) as a model drug. P/NN-BMMs were prepared by coating poly(methacrylic acid) (PMAA) onto amino-modified surface of BMMs via the "graft to" strategy. The structure and texture of resultant hybrid nanoparticles were determined with X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared, thermogravimetric analysis, N2 sorption isotherms, and elemental analysis. The PMAA acts as a molecular switch to achieve controlled drug release and the amount of grafted-PMAA can remarkably affect its performance. The drug-loading rate is decreased markedly with the increasing of the amount of grafted-PMAA, meanwhile, the drug-loading kinetics on P/NN-BMMs fits Korsmeyer-Peppas model. In addition, the drug-release amount from drug-loaded P/NN-BMMs is pH dependent, showing an increasing tendency with the increase of pH value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Europium (Eu) is a paramagnetic lanthanide element that possesses an outstanding luminescent property. Eu complexes are ideal fluorescence imaging (FI) agents. Eu2+ has satisfactory relaxivity and optical properties, and can realize magnetic resonance (MRI)-fidual imaging applications when used with appropriate cryptands that render it oxidatively stable. By contrast, based on the chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) mechanism, Eu3+ complexes can provide enhanced MRI sensitivity when used with optimal cryptands, incorporated into polymeric CEST agents or blended with Gd3+. Eu complexes are promising in MRI-fidual imaging applications and have a bright future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A characteristic feature of atherosclerosis is its diffuse involvement of arteries across the entire human body. Bone marrow cells (BMC) can be simultaneously transferred with therapeutic genes and magnetic resonance (MR) contrast agents prior to their transplantation. Via systemic transplantation, these dual-transferred BMCs can circulate through the entire body and thus function as vehicles to carry genes/contrast agents to multiple atherosclerosis. This study was to evaluate the feasibility of using in vivo MR imaging (MRI) to monitor BMC-mediated interleukin-10 (IL-10) gene therapy of atherosclerosis. Methodology: For in vitro confirmation, donor mouse BMCs were transduced by IL-10/lentivirus, and then labeled with a T2- MR contrast agent (Feridex). For in vivo validation, atherosclerotic apoE-/- mice were intravenously transplanted with IL-10/ Feridex-BMCs (Group I, n = 5) and Feridex-BMCs (Group II, n = 5), compared to controls without BMC transplantation (Group III, n = 5). The cell migration to aortic atherosclerotic lesions was monitored in vivo using 3.0T MRI with subsequent histology correlation. To evaluate the therapeutic effect of BMC-mediated IL-10 gene therapy, we statistically compared the normalized wall indexes (NWI) of ascending aortas amongst different mouse groups with various treatments. Principal Findings: Of in vitro experiments, simultaneous IL-10 transduction and Feridex labeling of BMCs were successfully achieved, with high cell viability and cell labeling efficiency, as well as IL-10 expression efficiency (≥90%). Of in vivo experiments, MRI of animal groups I and II showed signal voids within the aortic walls due to Feridex-created artifacts from the migrated BMCs in the atherosclerotic plaques, which were confirmed by histology. Histological quantification showed that the mean NWI of group I was significantly lower than those of group II and group III (P<0.05). Conclusion: This study has confirmed the possibility of using MRI to track, in vivo, IL-10/Feridex-BMCs recruited to atherosclerotic lesions, where IL-10 genes function to prevent the progression of atherosclerosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on a study that is conducted to develop a nanoparticle-based magnetic resonance colonography (NMRC) method. It describes the synthesis of two solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) with gadolinium diethylenetriaminepenta acetic acid and otcadecylamine-fluorescein-isothiocyanate to validate the MR results. It focuses on the testing of SLN validity by in vivo and in vitro experiments, in addition to the provision of evidence that the NMRC is a useful diagnostic tool.

Presents information on a study investigated the structure of silica xerogels through small angle X-ray scattering with synchrotron radiation as X-ray source. Two methods used for calculating the specific surface of a scattering system; Experimental procedures; Results and discussion.

The article reports that Mounting evidence suggests that immunotherapies are a promising new class of anticancer therapies. However, the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME), poor immunogenicity, and off-target toxicity hinder the broader implementation of immunotherapies. It mentions effective immunotherapy combination regimen to convert uninflamed "cold" tumors into "hot" tumors, addressing the major challenges immunotherapies faced.

Objective: The triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index, a reliable substitute indicator of insulin resistance (IR), is considered an independent risk factor for long-term outcomes in patients with cardiovascular disease. However, studies investigating the association between TyG and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) are limited and lack direct evidence. We aim to examine the relationship between the TyG index and ASCVD through a comprehensive cross-sectional study., Methods: Overall, 7212 participants from the 1999-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were included. The baseline TyG index was calculated as ln [fasting triglyceride (mg/dL) × fasting blood glucose (mg/dL)/2]. Restricted cubic spline (RCS) regression, univariate logistic regression, and multivariate logistic regression analysis were used to evaluate the association between the TyG index and ASCVD., Results: In the overall population, a multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the TyG level was not only positively associated with ASCVD [OR (95%CI): 1.29 (1.01,1.64), P =0.042], coronary artery disease (CAD) [OR (95%CI): 1.82(1.33,2.48), P <0.001], and stroke [OR (95%CI): 2.68(1.54,4.69), P =0.002], but also linearly correlated with all three ( P -overall<0.001; P -non-linear >0.05). Although the TyG index was not associated with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) [OR (95%CI): 1.00 (0.73,1.36), P >0.900], it showed a U-shaped correlation with PAD ( P -overall <0.001; P -non-linear= 0.0085), and the risk of PAD was minimized when TyG=8.67. By incorporating the TyG index into the baseline risk model, the accuracy of ASCVD prediction was improved [AUC: baseline risk model, 0.7183 vs. baseline risk model + TyG index, 0.7203, P for comparison=0.034]. The results of the subgroup analysis were consistent with those of the main analysis., Conclusion: The TyG index was independently associated with ASCVD, CAD, and stroke, suggesting that it may serve as a valid indicator for predicting ASCVD in the entire population., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Jihong, Xiaojie, He and Yifan.)