ABSTRACT
Lyme borreliosis is caused by the Gram-negative spirochetes Borrelia spp., particularly Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex. The disease is transmitted through the bite of the infected black-legged Ixodes tick. Lyme borreliosis extensively occurs in the Northern Hemisphere, mainly in the United States. Lyme borreliosis cases are also detected in Asian countries including Korea, Nepal, China, Taiwan, and Japan. However, there is an inadequate understanding of Lyme borreliosis in the Southeast Asian region. Hence, this review aims to provide a brief update on the prevalence of Lyme borreliosis infection in Southeast Asia based on the latest literature on this issue. Lyme borreliosis has been discovered in human serum in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. The human serum samples were mainly examined with ELISA test using Borrelia spp. IgG and IgM antigens. Borrelia spp. also has been detected in ticks found on host animals such as Sundamys muelleri and Python in Malaysia, Thailand, and Laos. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is used to detect the presence of Borrelia DNAs in the samples. The published studies have demonstrated that Borrelia spp. exists in Southeast Asia and although the incidence is relatively low, it is believed that Lyme disease cases are under-reported.
Subject(s)
Borrelia burgdorferi , Ixodes , Lyme Disease , Animals , Humans , United States , Lyme Disease/diagnosis , Lyme Disease/epidemiology , Borrelia burgdorferi/genetics , Polymerase Chain Reaction/methods , MalaysiaABSTRACT
No abstract available.
Subject(s)
Accidental Falls , Hospital Departments , Hospitals, Teaching , Syncope/therapy , Accidental Falls/prevention & control , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Emergency Service, Hospital/organization & administration , Emergency Service, Hospital/statistics & numerical data , Female , Health Services Accessibility/organization & administration , Hospital Departments/methods , Hospital Departments/organization & administration , Hospital Departments/statistics & numerical data , Hospitals, Teaching/methods , Hospitals, Teaching/organization & administration , Hospitals, Teaching/statistics & numerical data , Humans , Malaysia , Male , Syncope/diagnosisABSTRACT
AIM: Deregulation of microRNA has been associated with cancer progression and the modification of cancer phenotypes could be achieved by targeting microRNA expression. This study aimed to determine the effects of miR-372 on cell progression and gene expression in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell line, TW01. MATERIALS AND METHODS: NPC TW01 cells were transfected with the miR-372 precursor molecules. Gene expression studies were conducted using RT-PCR assays for nine cancer related genes. The effects of miR-372 on cell proliferation, cell cycle arrest and apoptosis were also investigated. RESULTS: Expression of -miR-372 caused cell cycle arrest at the S phase that was accompanied by an overall decrease of cells entering the G2/M phase. miR-372 did not have any significant effect on apoptosis. Of the nine genes studied, four were up-regulated, namely CDKN1A, INCA1, LATS2 and BIRC5. The other five genes - CDK2, CCNA1, TP53, BAX and BCL2 were down-regulated by miR-372. CONCLUSION: This preliminary study indicated the tumor suppressing roles of miR-372 in cell cycle progression of TW01 cells, possibly via the down-regulation of CDK2 and CCNA1 as well as the up-regulation of CDKN1A and INCA1.Key Words: apoptosis, microRNA, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, miR-372, CDK2, CCNA1.
Subject(s)
Apoptosis , Biomarkers, Tumor/genetics , Cell Proliferation , MicroRNAs/genetics , Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms/genetics , Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms/pathology , Biomarkers, Tumor/metabolism , Blotting, Western , Carcinoma , Cell Cycle , Cyclin A1/genetics , Cyclin A1/metabolism , Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 2/genetics , Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 2/metabolism , Gene Expression Profiling , Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic , Humans , Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma , Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis , RNA, Messenger/genetics , Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction , Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction , Tumor Cells, CulturedABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The clinical features and risk factors of pericardial effusion complicating radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) in a large sample of Chinese Han patients with tachyarrhythmias have rarely been reported. METHODS: We summarized the clinical characteristics and analyzed the risk factors of pericardial effusion complicating RFCA in 1,756 Chinese Han patients with tachyarrhythmias. RESULTS: There were 27 patients with pericardial effusion after RFCA. Of these patients, 10 developed cardiac tamponade; the symptoms of 9 patients were relieved after pericardiocentesis and drainage, while 1 patient was discharged after emergency surgical repair. The rate of pericardial effusion in patients with atrial fibrillation was significantly higher than in those with other tachyarrhythmias (P < 0.001). The proportion of female patients, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, coronary heart disease, age, left atrial size, and length of hospitalization in the pericardial effusion group was significantly increased compared with the non-pericardial effusion group (P < 0.01). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that female sex and atrial fibrillation were independent risk factors of complications by pericardial effusion after RFCA in patients with tachyarrhythmias. Age and left atrial size in female patients and those with atrial fibrillation were significantly higher than in male patients and patients without atrial fibrillation. CONCLUSION: Pericardial effusion complicating RFCA is not rare in patients with tachyarrhythmias, and it tends to develop into cardiac tamponade. Emergency pericardiocentesis and drainage are the most effective therapy. Female sex and atrial fibrillation may be independent risk factors of pericardial effusion after RFCA in patients with tachyarrhythmias.
Subject(s)
Catheter Ablation/statistics & numerical data , Pericardial Effusion/ethnology , Postoperative Complications/ethnology , Tachycardia/ethnology , Tachycardia/surgery , Adolescent , Adult , Age Distribution , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Causality , Child , China/epidemiology , Comorbidity , Ethnicity/statistics & numerical data , Female , Humans , Incidence , Male , Middle Aged , Risk Assessment , Sex Distribution , Young AdultABSTRACT
UNLABELLED: The aim of this study is to investigate whether IL-6, IL-10 and TGF-ß are able to confer resistance to apoptosis in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells by upregulating the expression of survivin. METHODS: The human nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell line TW01 (WHO NPC Type I) was cultured in DMEM-F12 Ham medium containing 10% FBS in a humidified atmosphere of 5% CO(2) and 37°C and treated with different concentrations of IL-6, IL-10 and TGF-ß. Survivin mRNA expression was measured by real-time quantitative PCR and Western blot. Apoptosis was determined based on the assay for caspase-3 activity. RESULTS: Of all the cytokines tested, only TGF-ß (10 pg/mL) induced the over-expression of survivin at a significant level and this correlated with resistance to apoptosis (p ≤ 0.05). To confirm if survivin is responsible for resistance to apoptosis, YM155 which is a survivin inhibitor was used and the results showed that YM155 abrogated the protective effect of TGF-ß. Interestingly, IL-10 did not significantly alter the expression of survivin. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that TGF-ß up-regulates the expression of survivin leading to the resistance to apoptosis in NPC TW01 cells.
