Upregulation of LHPP by saRNA inhibited hepatocellular cancer cell proliferation and xenograft tumor growth.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary liver cancer worldwide and no pharmacological treatment is available that can achieve complete remission of HCC. Phospholysine phosphohistidine inorganic pyrophosphate phosphatase (LHPP) is a recently identified HCC tumor suppressor gene which plays an important role in the development of HCC and its inactivation and reactivation has been shown to result in respectively HCC tumorigenesis and suppression. Small activating RNAs (saRNAs) have been used to achieve targeted activation of therapeutic genes for the restoration of their encoded protein through the RNAa mechanism. Here we designed and validated saRNAs that could activate LHPP expression at both the mRNA and protein levels in HCC cells. Activation of LHPP by its saRNAs led to the suppression of HCC proliferation, migration and the inhibition of Akt phosphorylation. When combined with targeted anticancer drugs (e.g., regorafenib), LHPP saRNA exhibited synergistic effect in inhibiting in vitro HCC proliferation and in vivo antitumor growth in a xenograft HCC model. Findings from this study provides further evidence for a tumor suppressor role of LHPP and potential therapeutic value of restoring the expression of LHPP by saRNA for the treatment of HCC.

[Effects of Earthworm, Straw, and Citric Acid on the Remediation of Zn, Pb, and Cd Contaminated Soil by Solanum photeinocarpum and Pterocypsela indica].

Regulation of exogenous substances and intercropping are effective methods to improve the efficiency of phytoremediation of heavy metal contaminated soil. A pot experiment was used to study the effects of earthworms, straw, and citric acid on the remediation of Zn, Pb, and Cd contaminated soil by monocropping and intercropping of Solanum photeinocarpum and Pterocypsela indica. The results showed that the bioaccumulation factors (BCF) of earthworms for Zn, Pb, and Cd were 0.07-0.13, 0.10-0.26, and 5.64-15.52, respectively. The addition of straw in the soil increased the biomass of earthworms by 22.29%-223.87% but reduced the heavy metal concentrations by 8.15%-62.58%. Straw and citric acid showed passivation and activation effects, respectively, but earthworms had no significant effect on the available concentrations of heavy metals in the soil. Earthworms had no significant effect on the heavy metal concentrations of P. indica but reduced the heavy metal concentrations of S. photeinocarpum. Straw showed an inhibitory effect on the concentrations of heavy metals in P. indica but promoted the concentrations of Cd in S. photeinocarpum. Citric acid had no significant effect on the heavy metal concentrations in S. photeinocarpum but significantly increased the Pb concentrations in P. indica. Intercropping significantly reduced the soil available heavy metal concentrations and increased the heavy metal concentrations in plant roots; however, it had no significant effect on heavy metal concentrations in plant shoots. The total extraction amounts of Zn, Pb, and Cd by plants were mainly manifested as P. indica>intercropping>S. photeinocarpum. The addition of earthworms increased the total extraction amounts of Zn, Pb, and Cd by 12.49%, 35.89%, and 29.01%, respectively, and the addition of straw+earthworms increased the total extraction amounts of Pb by 87.21%. The results indicated that straw significantly promoted the growth of earthworms and reduced their accumulation of heavy metals, and the addition of earthworms alone or in combination with straw can effectively improve the remediation potential of P. indica of Zn, Pb, and Cd contaminated soil.

AIDS complicated with plasmablastic lymphoma: Clinical analysis of 7 cases / 中华临床感染病杂志

Objective:To analyze the clinical characteristics of AIDS complicated with plasmablastic lymphoma (PBL).Methods:Clinical data and laboratory test of 7 AIDS patients complicated with PBL admitted to Yunnan Infectious Disease Hospital from January 2016 to October 2022 were retrospectively analyzed.Results:There were 6 male patients and 1 female patient with a median age of 48 years (41-56 years). All patients had oral and maxillofacial involvement, and only 1 case was stage Ⅱ at the initial Ann Arbor stage, while 6 cases were stage Ⅲ or higher. Six patients had systemic symptoms. All patients had a Ki-67 proliferation index greater than 80% and all presented MYC gene rearrangements, and 6 patients were positive for EBER. All patients received DA-EPOCH-based first-line chemotherapy and antiretroviral therapy (ART), Five patients initiated ART at the same time as chemotherapy, and 2 patients initiated ART before chemotherapy. Four patients achieved complete remission after chemotherapy according to PET-CT evaluation, and 3 patients died.Conclusions:Active chemotherapy combined with ART can maximize the therapeutic benefits of AIDS patients with PBL. The introduction of ART in the first chemotherapy cycle can avoid the rapid disease deterioration in the patients.

Brain network mechanism of Xingnao Kaiqiao acupuncture treatment for stroke / 国际中医中药杂志

Objective:To explore the effect of Xingnao Kaiqiao acupuncture treatment on brain network reorganization for the patients with stroke recovery, and therefore understand the neural mechanism underlying Xingnao Kaiqiao acupuncture treatment.Methods:Prospective case series study. Thirteen acute ischemia stroke patients were recruited from the Department of Neurology, Shanghai Minhang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine from Aug 2018 to Oct 2019. They were treated with Xingnao Kaiqiao acupuncture once a day for 10 consecutive days in addition to routine treatments, and received clinical assessments before treatment and 14 days after treatment onset. EEG signals were recorded during the first acupuncture treatment, from before inserting the needles (the baseline), during needle retention, to after removal of the needles. The brain network was constructed using phase locking index, and its clustering coefficient (CC), characteristic path length (PL) and small-worldness (S) were analyzed using one-way repeated ANOVA.Results:Compared with the baseline, the CC of delta-band network (sparsity=0.10: t=3.306, P=0.006; 0.12: t=2.909, P=0.013; 0.14: t=2.331, P=0.038) and the PL of delta-band (sparsity=0.12: t=3.236, P=0.007; 0.14: t=2.754, P=0.017, 0.18: t=2.878, P=0.014) and alpha-band (sparsity=0.10: t=2.432, P=0.032) networks were significantly decreased during the needle retention stage. Clinical assessments demonstrated a significant treatment efficacy of Xingnao Kaiqiao acupuncture, and its efficacy which was indicated by improved NIHSS score, was significantly correlated with the CC changes in the delta band network from baseline to needle retention. The correlation was strongest when the network sparsity was 0.12 ( r=0.78, P=0.002). Conclusion:Xingnao Kaiqiao acupuncture can regulate the brain network of stroke patients in real time, and this immediate regulation maybe associated with its treatment effect.

Clinical characteristics of eight human immunodeficiency virus positive patients with systemic lupus erythematosus / 中华传染病杂志

Objective:To analyze the clinical characteristics, diagnosis and treatment process, and prognosis of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).Methods:A retrospective study was used to collect and analyze the clinical characteristics, treatment and prognosis of eight HIV-positive patients with SLE treated in Yunnan Provincial Infectious Diseases Hospital from August 2017 to January 2020.Results:All of the eight patients were diagnosed with SLE after HIV infection. All of the patients were female. CD4 + T lymphocyte counts were >500/μL in four cases, 350 to 499/μL in two cases, and 200 to 349/μL in the remaining two cases. Case 6 presented with butterfly erythema on the face. In Case 1, hemoglobin was 40 g/L and urine occult blood was (+ + ). The hemoglobin of Case 2 was 76 g/L, the platelet count was 2×10 9/L, and the granulocyte count was 0.6×10 9/L. The lung computed tomography (CT) examination of Case 3 showed diffuse exudative lesions in both lungs. The 24 h urinary protein levels of Case 4 and 5 were 2 231.6 mg and 2 761.0 mg, respectively, and urine occult blood were (+ + ). The total bilirubin of Case 4 was 70.0 μmol/L and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) was 49 U/L. The total bilirubin of Case 7 was 129.6 μmol/L and ALT was 56 U/L. The lung CT examination of Case 8 showed moderate to massive pericardial effusion in the pericardium. Seven patients received antiviral therapy and immunotherapy, and their conditions were stable without relapse. Case 1 was refractory SLE complicated with autoimmune hemolytic anemia. After treated with rituximab combined with cyclophosphamide the patient achieved clinical remission. Case 7 was injection drug user and died after giving up treatment. Conclusions:The clinical characteristics of HIV-positive patients with SLE are heterogeneous, and the prognosis is generally good after antiviral therapy and immunotherapy. For patients with refractory SLE complicated with autoimmune hemolytic anemia, clinical remission can also be achieved through active treatment.

[Physiological responses of cucumber seedlings grafted on different salt-tolerant rootstocks to NaCI stress].

Based on the salt-tolerance identification of a series of cucumber rootstock varieties, the cucumber cultivar 'Xintaimici' grafted on different salt-tolerant rootstock varieties 'Sherpa', 'Shintosa' , 'Tielizhen' , and 'Figleaf gourd' was selected to study its seedlings physiological responses to NaCl stress, taking the self-rooted ones as the control. Under the stress of 100 mmol NaCl x L(-1), the leaf electrolyte leakage rate and malondialdehyde (MDA) content of the grafted seedlings were significantly lower than those of self-rooted seedlings, and the seedlings grafted on 'Figleaf gourd' showed the lowest electrolyte leakage rate and malondialdehyde (MDA) content, followed by the seedlings grafted on 'Tielizhen', 'Shintosa' , and 'Sherpa'. The leaf proline and soluble sugar contents and peroxidase (POD), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activities of the grafted seedlings were significantly higher than those of the self-rooted seedlings, and the POD, SOD, CAT, and APX activities were the highest for the seedlings grafted on 'Figleaf gourd' and the lowest for the seedlings grafted on 'Sherpa', but had no significant differences for the seedlings grafted on 'Tielizhen' and 'Shintosa'. The leaf Na+ content of the seedlings grafted on different rootstock varieties ranked as 'Figleaf gourd' < 'Tielizhen' < 'Shintosa' < 'Sherpa', while the leaf K+ content had little difference for the seedlings grafted on 'Figleaf gourd', 'Tielizhen', and 'Shintosa' but was significantly higher than that for the seedlings grafted on 'Sherpa'. The self-rooted seedlings had the highest leaf Na+ content but the lowest leaf K+ content. The leaf Na+/K+ ratio of grafted seedlings was significantly lower than that of self-rooted ones, and the seedlings grafted on 'Figleaf gourd' had the lowest leaf Na+/K+ ratio.