MicroRNAs derived from urinary exosomes act as novel biomarkers in the diagnosis of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy.

We aimed to investigate the value of cholestasis-related miRNAs in the diagnosis of intra-hepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) as well as the molecular mechanisms underlying the role of these miRNAs in the pathogenesis of ICP. In this study, electron microscopy was utilized to observe the exosomes present in the urine samples collected from both ICP patients and healthy pregnant women. Real-time PCR and area under curve (AUC) analysis were performed to predict the values of several miRNAs in the diagnosis of ICP. Bioinformatics analysis and luciferase assays were conducted to identify the target genes of miR-21, miR-29a and miR-590-3p, whose regulatory relationships were then established using real-time PCR, immunohistochemistry (IHC) assay and Western Blot. In the exosomes isolated from urine samples, several miRNAs, including miR-21, miR-29a and miR-590-3p, were differentially expressed between ICP patients and healthy pregnant women. In addition, the gene of intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM1) was identified as a shared target of miR-21, miR-29a and miR-590-3p, all of which inhibited ICAM1 expression. Therefore, up-regulated expression of miR-21, miR-29a and miR-590-3p in urinary exosomes reduced the expression of ICAM1, which in turn increased the incidence of ICP.

Protective effects of apigenin on LPS-induced endometritis via activating Nrf2 signaling pathway.

Endometritis is a puzzling disease that often associates with severe pelvic pain. In this study, we aimed to detect whether apigenin had protective effect against LPS-induced endometritis, if so, the underlying mechanism was further investigated. Apigenin was administrated 1 h before LPS treatment. The levels of inflammatory cytokines were measured by ELISA. The expression of NF-κB and Nrf2 were detected by Western blot analysis. The results showed that LPS treatment induced severe histological alteration of uterus and this change was attenuated by the treatment of apigenin. Apigenin significantly attenuated LPS-induced MPO activity, MDA content, and inflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-1ß production. LPS-induced NF-κB activation was suppressed by apigenin. Furthermore, apigenin elevated the expression of Nrf2 and HO-1 in uterine tissues. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that apigenin protected against LPS-induced endometritis through activation of Nrf2 signaling pathway and inhibition of NF-κB signaling pathway.

Fish intake and ovarian cancer risk: a meta-analysis of 15 case-control and cohort studies.

BACKGROUND: Previous epidemiological studies have shown that fish consumption may modify the risk of ovarian cancer. However, these studies yielded controversial results. The present meta-analysis was undertaken to evaluate the relationship between fish intake and ovarian cancer risk. METHODS: A literature search was carried out using Pubmed, Embase, and Cochrane Library Central database for all relevant studies up to August 2013. We pooled the relative risks (RR) from individual studies using fixed-effect or random-effect model, and carried out heterogeneity and publication bias analyses. RESULTS: A total of 15 (ten case-control, and five cohort) studies were included in the present meta-analysis, representing data for 889,033 female subjects and 6,087 ovarian cancer cases. We found that total fish intake was not significantly associated with the risk of ovarian cancer among cohort studies (RR = 1.04 95% CI [0.89, 1.22]) as well as case-control studies (RR = 0.90, 95% CI [0.73,1.12]). There was no evidence of publication bias as suggested by Begg's test (P = 0.55) and Egger's test(P = 0.29). CONCLUSIONS: The present meta-analysis showed that total fish consumption was not significantly associated with the risk of ovarian cancer. Further analysis on different fish species and food preparation methods should be conducted in future studies.