Ang2-Targeted Combination Therapy for Cancer Treatment.

Angiopoietin-2 (Ang2), a member of the angiopoietin family, is widely involved in the process of vascular physiology, bone physiology, adipose tissue physiology and the occurrence and development of inflammation, cardiac hypertrophy, rheumatoid, tumor and other diseases under pathological conditions. Proliferation and metastasis of cancer largely depend on angiogenesis. Therefore, anti-angiogenesis has become the target of tumor therapy. Due to the Ang2 plays a key role in promoting angiogenesis and stability in vascular physiology, the imbalance of its expression is an important condition for the occurrence and development of cancer. It has been proved that blocking Ang2 can inhibit the growth, invasion and metastasis of cancer cells. In recent years, research has been constantly supplemented. We focus on the mechanisms that regulate the expression of Ang2 mRNA and protein levels in different cancers, contributing to a better understanding of how Ang2 exerts different effects in different cancers and stages, as well as facilitating more specific targeting of relevant molecules in cancer therapy. At the same time, the importance of Ang2 in cancer growth, metastasis, prognosis and combination therapy is pointed out. And finally, we will discuss the current investigations and future challenges of combining Ang2 inhibition with chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and radiotherapy to increase its efficacy in cancer patients. This review provides a theoretical reference for the development of new targets and effective combination therapy strategies for cancer treatment in the future.

Acetyl-CoA Synthetase 2 as a Therapeutic Target in Tumor Metabolism.

Acetyl-CoA Synthetase 2 (ACSS2) belongs to a member of the acyl-CoA short-chain synthase family, which can convert acetate in the cytoplasm and nucleus into acetyl-CoA. It has been proven that ACSS2 is highly expressed in glioblastoma, breast cancer, liver cancer, prostate cancer, bladder cancer, renal cancer, and other tumors, and is closely related to tumor stage and the overall survival rate of patients. Accumulating studies show that hypoxia and a low serum level induce ACSS2 expression to help tumor cells cope with this nutrient-poor environment. The potential mechanisms are associated with the ability of ACSS2 to promote the synthesis of lipids in the cytoplasm, induce the acetylation of histones in the nucleus, and facilitate the expression of autophagy genes. Novel-specific inhibitors of ACSS2 are developed and confirmed to the effectiveness in pre-clinical tumor models. Targeting ACSS2 may provide novel approaches for tumor treatment. This review summarizes the biological function of ACSS2, its relation to survival and prognosis in different tumors, and how ACSS2 mediates different pathways to promote tumor metastasis, invasion, and drug resistance.

Factors associated with menopausal symptoms among middle-aged registered nurses in Beijing.

OBJECTIVE: To determine factors related to menopause symptoms among middle-aged registered nurses in Beijing. METHODS: Self-administered questionnaires that included closed-ended questions on many factors possibly related to menopausal symptoms were distributed to 2100 registered nurses aged 40-55 at 20 hospitals in Beijing, China. RESULTS: Menopausal status was most associated with menopausal symptoms (p < 0.01), including hot flashes and sweating, paresthesiae, insomnia, arthralgia/myalgia, palpitations, skin formication and an unsatisfactory sexual life. The odds ratios (ORs) were highest for hot flashes and sweating. Upsetting events in the past year and being pessimistic were significantly inversely correlated with almost all the symptoms analyzed. Hot flashes and sweating (p < 0.01), paresthesiae (p < 0.01), unsatisfactory sexual life (p < 0.01), irritability (p < 0.05), depression or suspicion (p < 0.05) and dizziness (p < 0.05) were negatively correlated with the frequency of sexual activity. CONCLUSION: Many factors may influence symptoms of the menopause. We found that menopausal status was most strongly associated with most menopausal symptoms, especially hot flashes and sweating. Psychosocial factors also played an important role. A higher frequency of sexual activity negatively correlated with most menopausal symptoms.

The effect of vacuum freeze-drying and radiation on allogeneic aorta grafts.

Vacuum freeze-dried aorta is a satisfactory material for blood vessel grafting. Previous studies have focused on immunity, however, vacuum freeze-drying is a complicated process of heat and mass transfer, and adopting a programmed cooling process may more completely preserve the mechanical properties of the blood vessels. Irradiation, as a method of removing pathogens, lowers the antigenic activity of the blood vessels. In our study, vacuum freeze-drying combined with radiation was used as a treatment for porcine aorta prior to grafting, aimed at deactivating endogenous retrovirus, shielding masses of endothelial cells and lowering the immunogenicity of the blood vessels. As for the mechanical properties, compared with normal aorta, the maximum axial tensile stress (ATS) decreased by 20%, the maximum circumferential tensile stress (CTS) increased by 30% and the maximum puncture stress (PT) decreased by 20%. Our results revealed that 2 months after of grafting, the host cells had migrated into the graft tissue and propagated to initiate endothelialization, the inflammatory reaction was abated and the PT had returned to normal levels.

A health survey of Beijing middle-aged registered nurses during menopause.

OBJECTIVE: To collect health information of Beijing middle-aged registered nurses during menopause. METHODS: We distributed self-administered questionnaires to 2100 registered nurses aged 40-55 from 20 hospitals in Beijing. The objects of interest were selected by cluster sampling. RESULTS: A total of 1686 questionnaires met the criteria and were used for statistical analysis. The average natural menopause age was 48.68 ± 3.61 years old. We determined that 37.83% of the objects had modified Kupperman Menopausal Index (KMI) scores ≥ 15. The top three menopause symptoms were fatigue (82.72%), irritability (70.24%), and arthralgia/myalgia (69.55%); hot flashes ranked eleventh (30.83%). CONCLUSIONS: A total of 37.83% Beijing middle-aged registered nurses had menopause syndrome, and the top three symptoms were fatigue, irritability, and arthralgia/myalgia.

[Structural change analysis of pig aorta before and after freeze-drying].

Pig aortic vessels were processed by vacuum freeze-drying and then the aotic vessels were scanned and compared by CT, microscopic and texture analyzer. These processes presented a new method for preserving the vessels. Morphological changes of the vessels were tracked by Micro-CT, and mechanical properties were compared by texture analyzer combining with microscopic observation for structures and tissues. Results showed that the wall of the vessels became thinner by freeze-drying. After rehydration, the membrane structure was generally maintained, and the elastic fibers were more orderly arranged so that they were close to fresh vessels. In the area of mechanical property, the maximum puncture stress and axial tensile stress of rehydrated blood vessels were stronger than that of the fresh, while circumferential tensile stress was weaker than that of the fresh. Finally, analysis also showed that the freeze-dried vessel was basically remained the original morphological structure. The pores in vessel fiber and stratification during drying may be beneficial to the host cell invasion and angiogenesis, so it is expected to be a new effective means to save the blood vessels. Currently, four pigs have been transplanted with the rehydrated vessels, and all of the four have survived for more than 3 weeks.

Effect of pre-freezing rate on porosity ratio and mechanical property of pig aorta.

Vacuum freeze-dried blood is a good material for vascular grafts. However, studies on this technology are few, particularly on physical performance change of freeze-dried blood vessel at different pre-freezing rate. In our study, pig aortas were non-invasively scanned by micro-CT in each stage of freeze-drying at different pre-freezing rates, then comparing the porosity ratio and grey level under different conditions with each other to analysis the influence of different methods on the aorta. The mechanical properties of rehydrated pig aorta and fresh one were compared by texture profile analyzer to investigate the influence of different pre-freezing rates on mechanical properties in pig aorta. Our results showed that the proper pre-freezing rate for freeze-drying were 1 C/min. The changing rates of porosity rate and the average gray scale value were 16.6% and 3.64% respectively after freeze-dried. The puncture tolerance (PT) and circumferential tensile stress were increased about 20% and 30% respectively, and the axial tensile stress (ATS) were decreased about 20% in rehydrated aorta compared with fresh aorta. We otherwise conclude that under optimized process conditions, freeze-dried aorta with proper porosity rate and mechanical properties approximate fresh aorta could be preparation.