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Intracranial aneurysm (IA) is a type of cerebrovascular disease that mainly occurs in the circle of Willis. Abnormalities in RNA methylation at the N6-methyladenosine (m6A) site have been associated with numerous types of human diseases. WTAP recruits the m6A methyltransferase complexes to the mRNA targets, and its expression is positively correlated with m6A methylation levels. This research aimed to explore the potential mechanisms of m6A methylation in IA. A selective arterial ligation method was used to establish an IA rat model; thereafter, the m6A methylation level and m6A methylation-related genes were determined in blood and circle of Willis samples using a commercial kit and real-time quantitative PCR, respectively. Subsequently, rat brain microvascular endothelial cells (rBMVECs) were treated with TNF-α, and the expression of m6A methylation-related genes within the cells were assessed. Lastly, the effects of WTAP on TNF-α-induced rBMVECs were further investigated through in vitro experiments. In result, the m6A RNA methylation level evidently declined in the blood and circle of Willis’ samples of the IA rats, as compared to the corresponding samples from the control rats (P < 0.05). Compared to the results in the control rats/cells, WTAP expression was significantly downregulated, whereas ALKBH1 expression was evidently upregulated in the blood and circle of Willis samples of the TNF-α-induced rBMVECs of IA rats. Consequently, TNF-α-induced rBMVECs and rBMVECs with WTAP overexpression were successfully established. TNF-α inhibited the viability of the rBMVECs, promoted apoptosis, and significantly upregulated cleaved-caspase3 and downregulated WTAP expression. In contrast, WTAP overexpression significantly reversed these changes caused by TNF-α (P < 0.05). In conclusion, WTAP overexpression may modulate the growth of TNF-α-induced rBMVECs by enhancing WTAP expression and its m6A methylation.

Background Cerebral angiography is an important means for the assessment of cerebrovascular diseases. In recent years, distal transradial artery approach (dTRA) has gradually been used in cerebral angiography, but there are few reports on its effectiveness and safety. Objective To compare the effectiveness, patient safety and satisfaction between transradial artery approach (TRA) and dTRA in cerebral angiography. Methods Totally 135 patients who were hospitalized in Department of Neurosurgery, Wujin Hospital Affiliated to Jiangsu University from January 2020 to June 2022 for cerebral angiography were selected. They were divided into TRA group (n=72) and dTRA group (n=63) by the approach used in cerebral angiography, and the puncture time, duration of cerebral angiography, puncture success rate, X-ray exposure time, incidence of puncture site complications and serious cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events within three days after cerebral angiography, and levels of pain and satisfaction within 24 hours after cerebral angiography were compared between the groups. Results The mean puncture time in dTRA group was much longer than that of TRA group (P0.05) . No serious cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events occurred in both groups within three days after cerebral angiography. dTRA group had much lighter pain level and significantly higher satisfaction within 24 hours after cerebral angiography than TRA group (P

DHDK is a novel diaryl heptanone analog isolated from mistletoe. (1 E, 4 E) 1,7‐bis (4‐hydroxyphenyl) hept‐1,4‐diene‐3‐one (DHDK) exhibits good antitumor activity and excellent stability, but it doesn't have good solubility or bioavailability. In order to improve this deficiency, the structure was modified and five new DHDK derivatives were successfully synthesized. The in vitro cytotoxic activity of DHDK derivatives against four cancer cell lines was determined by Cell Counting Kit‐8 (CCK‐8) assay. The results show that DHDK derivatives exhibit excellent potential, especially for human multiple myeloma cells (KMS‐11) and triple‐negative breast cancer cell line (MDA‐MB 231). The equilibrium solubility and oil‐water partition coefficient of DHDK derivatives were better improved by structural modification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article titled "[Retracted] Tremella polysaccharides inhibit cellular apoptosis and autophagy induced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa lipopolysaccharide in A549 cells through sirtuin 1 activation" was published in Oncology Letters in 2018. However, it has since been retracted due to the discovery that some of the data presented had already been published in previous articles by different authors at different research institutes. The authors of the article accepted the decision to retract it. The Editor of the journal apologizes for any inconvenience caused. [Extracted from the article]

Background: The aim of this study was to measure the level of translocator protein (TSPO) in patients with intracerebral hematoma (ICH) and to determine whether TSPO can predict ICH outcomes. Method: Patients with ICH were recruited at Wujin Hospital Affiliated with Jiangsu University between January 2018 and May 2020. The level of TSPO and inflammatory factors were analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). A receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis was applied to assess the accuracy of TSPO for predicting patient outcomes. Result: The median of TSPO was 2.26 ng/ml. The lower- (46 cases) and higher-(51 cases) TSPO groups were thus divided based on the median value. The perihematomal edema (PHE) volume in the lower TSPO group was 6.3 ± 1.3 ml which was significantly lower than that in higher-TSPO group (14.8 ± 3.5 ml) (p < 0.05). The serum level of the interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and C-reactive protein (CRP) in the higher-TSPO group was significantly higher than that in the lower TSPO group (p < 0.05). The Spearman's correlation found that TSPO concentrations significantly correlated with PHE volume, modified Rankin Scale score (MRS), IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, and CRP concentrations. The area under the ROC (AUC), specificity, sensitivity, positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR), and Diagnostic Odds Ratio (DOR) of TSPO was 0.932, 82.1%, 89.9%, 5.02, 0.12, and 40.8, respectively, which was more reliable than other inflammatory factors. Conclusion: The TSPO may a reliable biomarker in predicting the prognosis of ICH patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, the role of Tremella polysaccharides in cellular apoptosis and autophagy induced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in human epithelial A549 lung‑cancer cells was investigated. Initially, it was demonstrated that LPS attenuated A549 cell viability in a time‑ and dose‑dependent manner. Furthermore, LPS induced apoptotic cell death and autophagy in A549 cells and increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in a time‑dependent manner. In addition, LPS treatment was demonstrated to markedly suppress sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) protein expression in A549 cells. Notably, it was demonstrated that Tremella polysaccharides activate SIRT1, leading to increased p62 expression, decreased p53 acetylation and B‑cell lymphoma 2‑associated X protein expression, and subsequently attenuate LPS‑induced apoptotic cell death and autophagy. The results of the present study demonstrated that Tremella polysaccharides activate SIRT1 and inhibit LPS‑induced ROS production, apoptosis and autophagy. This may have critical implications for the treatment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]