Danshensu methyl ester attenuated LPS-induced acute lung injury by inhibiting TLR4/NF-κB pathway.

Acute Lung Injury (ALI) manifests as an acute exacerbation of pulmonary inflammation with high mortality. The potential application of Danshensu methyl ester (DME, synthesized in our lab) in ameliorating ALI has not been elucidated. Our results demonstrated that DME led to a remarkable reduction in lung injury. DME promoted a marked increase in antioxidant enzymes, like superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione (GSH), accompanied by a substantial decrease in reactive oxygen species (ROS), myeloperoxidase (MPO), and malondialdehyde (MDA). Moreover, DME decreased the production of IL-1ß, TNF-α and IL-6, in vitro and in vivo. TLR4 and MyD88 expression is reduced in the DME-treated cells or tissues, which further leading to a decrease of p-p65 and p-IκBα. Meanwhile, DME effectively facilitated an elevation in cytoplasmic p65 expression. In summary, DME could ameliorate ALI by its antioxidant functionality and anti-inflammation effects through TLR4/NF-κB, which implied that DME may be a viable medicine for lung injury.

MiR-138-5p suppresses the progression of lung cancer by targeting SNIP1.

BACKGROUND: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play crucial roles in the development of various cancers. Here, we aimed to evaluate the roles of miR-138-5p in lung cancer progression and the value of miR-138-5p in lung cancer diagnosis. METHODS: Quantitative real-time PCR was performed to examine the expressions of miR-138-5p and smad nuclear interacting protein 1 (SNIP1) mRNA. The diagnostic value of miR-138-5p was analyzed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, sensitivity, and specificity. We explored the effect of miR-138-5p on cell proliferation and metastasis by CCK-8, colony formation, wound healing and transwell assays. Western blot was employed to detect the protein expression of SNIP1 and related genes. Lung cancer cell growth was evaluated in vivo using xenograft tumor assay. RESULTS: MiR-138-5p was decreased in the serum of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and in NSCLC cells and tissues. The area under the ROC curve of serum miR-138-5p in the diagnosis of NSCLC was 0.922. This finding indicates the high diagnostic efficiency for lung cancer. MiR-138-5p suppressed but its inhibitor promoted cell proliferation and migration compared with control treatment in vitro and in vivo. MiR-138-5p directly binds to the 3'-untranslated region of SNIP1 and negatively regulated the expression of SNIP1, thereby inhibiting the expression of cyclin D1 and c-Myc. Moreover, overexpression of SNIP1 rescues the miR-138-5p-mediated inhibition in NSCLC cells. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggested that miR-138-5p suppressed lung cancer cell proliferation and migration by targeting SNIP1. Serum miR-138-5p is a novel and valuable biomarker for NSCLC diagnosis.

Statins Are Associated with Improved Survival of Patients with Gastric Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Statins are associated with gastric cancer (GC) risk. The present study aimed to clarify the efficacy of statins on the overall survival (OS) benefits in patients with GC. Publications were retrieved from PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library as of April 2022. Data from the eligible cohort, case-control studies, and randomized control trials (RCTs) were extracted for the meta-analysis. Hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used to assess the association between statins users and OS in GC patients. Subgroup analysis was performed based on the study design (prospective vs. retrospective). A total of 6 studies encompassing 5693 GC patients were included. Statins added to the standard treatment prolonged the patient's OS outcome (HR (95% CI): 0.72 (0.53-0.97), p = 0.032; I 2 = 88.0%, p heterogeneity < 0.001). A prospective study did not find any statistically significant difference in OS between statins users vs. nonstatin users (HR (95% CI): 0.92 (0.68-1.26), p = 0.614; I 2 = 11.7%, p heterogeneity = 0.322), whereas the retrospective studies showed prolonged OS in statins users (HR (95% CI): 0.63 (0.42-0.961), p = 0.032; I 2 = 94.6%, p heterogeneity < 0.001). Statin users had significantly improved OS compared to nonstatin users in GC treatment. This long-term survival benefit was only observed in the pooled analysis of retrospective studies but not in prospective studies.

Disseminated Trichosporon asahii infection presenting as eosinophilia in an immunocompetent patient: A case report.

Trichosporon are naturally found in external environments and are a part of the normal flora of the human skin, respiratory tract, and gastrointestinal tract. Disseminated Trichosporon infection occurs sporadically in patients with immunodeficiency, and is mainly manifested as blood, urine, catheter, and thorax/peritoneum infections, rarely as lymphatic, liver and spleen infections. Elevated blood eosinophil granulocyte from Trichosporon infection have rarely been reported. Here, we report a rare Case of eosinophilia associated with lymphatic and liver and spleen infections due to Trichosporon asahii in an immunocompetent patient. No reports of eosinophilia from Trichosporon infections other than lung, to our knowledge, have been published.

Association between CD14 gene promoter polymorphisms with serum total-IgE and eosinophil levels in atopic and non-atopic asthma patients in a Chinese Han population.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between CD14 gene promoter SNPs with serum total-IgE and eosinophil levels in atopic asthma and non-atopic asthma in Chinese Han. METHODS: A total of 152 patients with asthma were divided into atopic asthma (n = 100) and non-atopic asthma (n = 52) groups for this study. Six CD14 gene SNPs were analyzed using PCR and gene sequencing. Serum total-IgE and eosinophil levels were measured. The association between genotype frequencies of the CD14 gene loci with total-IgE and eosinophil levels in atopic asthma and non-atopic asthma was evaluated by the ANOVA test method. Hundred and sixteen healthy subjects constitute the control group. RESULTS: We found that serum total-IgE and eosinophil levels were significantly higher in individuals with atopic asthma when compared to individuals with non-atopic asthma (p < 0.01). For non-atopic asthma, the total-IgE levels of the heterozygous genotypes were significantly higher than the corresponding levels for the homozygous genotypes in CD14-260C > T, CD-651C > T, CD-911A > C and CD-1247A > G (p < 0.01). In atopic asthma, there was no statistical significance for either serum total-IgE or eosinophil levels among the genotypes of the CD14 gene SNPs. In addition, allele A frequency of CD14-1247A > G was significantly different between the atopic asthma and non-atopic asthma groups (p = 0.025). CONCLUSIONS: There was a statistical association between the serum total-IgE level and the CD14 gene promoter SNPs in the non-atopic asthma group. The eosinophil level was not found to be statistically associated with the CD14 gene promoter SNPs in either the atopic asthma or non-atopic asthma groups.