Research progress on ferroptosis in the treatment of oral cancer / 口腔疾病防治

@#Ferroptosis is a newly discovered method of programmed cell death. Current studies have shown that activation of ferroptosis-related pathways can inhibit the growth and proliferation of tumor cells and reverse their drug resistance. Oral cancer is a common malignant tumor with a high recurrence rate and high drug resistance. Inducing ferroptosis is a potential treatment strategy. There are still many uncertainties in the application of ferroptosis in the treatment of oral cancer, which need to be further explored. This article systematically introduces the mechanism of ferroptosis and its recent progress in oral cancer treatment to provide new mechanisms and methods for the clinical treatment of oral cancer. Current research shows that the mechanism of ferroptosis is mainly related to amino acid metabolism, Fe2+ metabolism, and lipid metabolism. Ferroptosis in oral cancer cells can reverse drug resistance in cancer cells and improve the activity of immune cells. New drugs, such as curcumin analogs and triptolide, can induce ferroptosis in oral cancer, and the development of nanomaterials has improved the utilization rate of drugs. Inhibiting the expression of the ferroptosis-related factors SLC7A11, NF-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), and ferritin heavy chain 1 (FTH1) can promote ferroptosis in oral cancer cells. It is a potential target for the clinical treatment of oral cancer, but its translation into clinical practice still needs further research.

Characteristic of immune function decline in the process of “Declined of Vital Qi” caused by aging in mice / 中国肿瘤生物治疗杂志

@#[摘 要] 目的：基于小鼠渐进衰老模型探讨衰老所致“正虚”的免疫功能衰退表征的特点。方法：使用不同月龄（2、6、15月龄）C57BL/6小鼠，通过流式细胞术检测并比较小鼠外周血和脾组织中T细胞、髓源性抑制细胞（MDSC）及其亚群的丰度变化。结果：外周血中T细胞亚群表型为CD3+CD4+CD44-CD62L+的幼稚CD4+ T细胞（2 vs 6月龄，P=0.137；2 vs 15月龄，P=0.004；6 vs 15月龄，P=0.105）和表型为CD3+CD8+CD44-CD62L+的幼稚CD8+ T细胞（2 vs 6月龄，P=0.179；2 vs 15月龄，P=0.001；6 vs 15月龄，P=0.015）出现与衰老有关的细胞比例降低，差异具有统计学意义。表型为CD3+CD4+CD44+CD62L+的中央记忆CD8+ T细胞出现与衰老有关的比例升高，差异具有统计学意义（2 vs 6月龄，P=0.01；2 vs 15月龄，P=0.007；6 vs 15月龄，P=0.164）。对脾组织的检测结果具有与外周血相同特点。同时，CD8+ T细胞比例随衰老逐渐升高（2 vs 6月龄，P=0.027；2 vs 15月龄，P<0.001；6 vs 15月龄，P<0.001）；表型为CD8+CD28+的活化CD8+ T细胞亚群比例也出现随月龄增长的上升（2 vs 6月龄，P=0.863； 2 vs 15月龄，P=0.016；6 vs 15月龄，P=0.024），差异均具有统计学意义。结论：衰老所致“正虚”过程中，不同免疫细胞亚群变化并不都反映免疫抑制特点，虽然总体免疫功能下降，但单一表型难以反应整体免疫功能变化。

iPSCs ameliorate hypoxia-induced autophagy and atrophy in C2C12 myotubes via the AMPK/ULK1 pathway

BACKGROUND: Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is an X-linked lethal genetic disorder for which there is no effective treatment. Previous studies have shown that stem cell transplantation into mdx mice can promote muscle regeneration and improve muscle function, however, the specific molecular mechanisms remain unclear. DMD suffers varying degrees of hypoxic damage during disease progression. This study aimed to investigate whether induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have protective effects against hypoxia-induced skeletal muscle injury. RESULTS: In this study, we co-cultured iPSCs with C2C12 myoblasts using a Transwell nested system and placed them in a DG250 anaerobic workstation for oxygen deprivation for 24 h. We found that iPSCs reduced the levels of lactate dehydrogenase and reactive oxygen species and downregulated the mRNA and protein levels of BAX/BCL2 and LC3II/ LC3I in hypoxia-induced C2C12 myoblasts. Meanwhile, iPSCs decreased the mRNA and protein levels of atrogin-1 and MuRF-1 and increased myotube width. Furthermore, iPSCs downregulated the phosphorylation of AMPKA and ULK1 in C2C12 myotubes exposed to hypoxic damage. CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed that iPSCs enhanced the resistance of C2C12 myoblasts to hypoxia and inhibited apoptosis and autophagy in the presence of oxidative stress. Further, iPSCs improved hypoxia-induced autophagy and atrophy of C2C12 myotubes through the AMPK/ULK1 pathway. This study may provide a new theoretical basis for the treatment of muscular dystrophy in stem cells.

Effect of electroacupuncture on rehabilitation of knee joint movement after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction / 中国针灸

OBJECTIVE@#To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on the rehabilitation of knee joint function after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction.@*METHODS@#A total of 140 patients with ACL reconstruction were randomly divided into an observation group (58 cases recruited, 12 cases dropped out) and a control group (65 cases recruited, 5 cases dropped out). The patients in the control group were treated with routine rehabilitation treatment. The patients in the observation group, on the basis of the treatment in the control group, were treated with EA at Fengshi (GB 31), Futu (ST 32), Zusanli (ST 36), Shangjuxu (ST 37), Fenglong (ST 40), Xuanzhong (GB 39), Diji (SP 8) and Sanyinjiao (SP 6) on the affected side (2 Hz/100 Hz of dilatational wave, 2-5 mA). Each EA treatment lasted 20-30 min, twice a day for 7 days. The swelling degree (d), pain visual analogue scale (VAS), knee joint range of motion (ROM), scores of International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) subjective short form and scores of Lysholm were observed in the two groups 1 day, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and 1 year after operation.@*RESULTS@#One month and 3 months after operation, the swelling degree (d) and VAS scores in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (0.05). One month, 3 months, 6 months and 1 year after operation, the ROM of the knee joint in the observation group was higher than that in the control group (<0.05), the IKDC score and Lysholm score were higher than those in the control group (<0.05). Within one year, there were no relaxations, fractures and other related complications in the two groups. The pivot shift test, anterior drawer test and the Lachman test were all negative.@*CONCLUSION@#EA combined with routine rehabilitation training could obviously reduce the pain of knee joint, improve the swelling degree, increase the ROM of knee joint, promote the functional recovery in patients with ACL reconstruction, which are superior to rehabilitation training alone.

Upregulation of lncRNA BANCR associated with the lymph node metastasis and poor prognosis in colorectal cancer

BACKGROUND: Growing evidence has supported that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) could play vital roles in the development, progression, and prognosis of colorectal cancer (CRC). However, little is known about the clinical significance of BRAF-activated non-coding RNA (BANCR) in CRC. The aim of this study is to explore the clinical value of lncRNA BANCR in CRC patients. METHODS: The expression of lncRNA BANCR was measured in 106 CRC tissues and 65 adjacent normal tissues using the quantitative real-time PCR. RESULTS: The study showed that lncRNA BANCR was highly expressed in CRC tissues compared with adjacent normal tissues (P < 0.001). In addition, high expression of lncRNA BANCR was positively correlated with the lymph node metastasis (P < 0.001). Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that patients with high lncRNA BANCR expression had a shorter overall survival (OS) compared with the low lncRNA BANCR expression group (P = 0.001). Interestingly, for the group of patients with the lymph node metastasis, we found the similar result that high lncRNA BANCR expression was related to poor OS (P = 0.004). Furthermore, the multivariate Cox regression model analysis indicated that high expression of lncRNA BANCR was an independent poor prognostic factor in CRC patients (HR 2.24, 95% CI 1.22-4.16, P = 0.009). CONCLUSIONS: Upregulation of lncRNA BANCR may be associated with the lymph node metastasis and poor survival of CRC. LncRNA BANCR could be served as a novel and useful biomarker for CRC lymph node metastasis and prognosis.