Low-dose tubacin promotes BMSCs proliferation and morphological changes through the ERK pathway.

Histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6) plays critical roles in many cellular processes related to cancer, but its epigenetic regulation in bone marrow stromal stem cells (BMSCs) remains unexplored. This study investigated the beneficial effects of Tubulin Acetylation Inducer (tubacin), a novel specific HDAC6 inhibitor, on the proliferation and migration of BMSCs. A low concentration of tubacin promoted BMSC commitment and enhanced proliferation of BMSCs. Atomic force microscopy results showed that tubacin induced morphological changes and enhanced the mechanical properties of BMSCs. Furthermore, low tubacin concentrations significantly upregulated protein expression of acetylated α-tubulin, VCAM-1, and ICAM-1, which could be suppressed by an ERK inhibitor. Protein chip analysis showed that there were significant changes in the expression levels of 49 cytokines after tubacin treatment, which participate in inflammatory responses and cell activation, proliferation, and differentiation. Our findings suggest that the protective effects of tubacin on BMSCs involve HDAC6 inhibition by activating the ERK pathway.

Development of a HPLC Method for the Quantitative Determination of Capsaicin in Collagen Sponge.

Controlling the concentration of drugs in pharmaceutical products is essential to patient's safety. In this study, a simple and sensitive HPLC method is developed to quantitatively analyze capsaicin in collagen sponge. The capsaicin from sponge was extracted for 30 min with ultrasonic wave extraction technique and methanol was used as solvent. The chromatographic method was performed by using isocratic system composed of acetonitrile-water (70 : 30) with a flow rate of 1 mL/min and the detection wavelength was at 280 nm. Capsaicin can be successfully separated with good linearity (the regression equation is A = 9.7182C + 0.8547; R (2) = 1.0) and perfect recovery (99.72%). The mean capsaicin concentration in collagen sponge was 49.32 mg/g (RSD = 1.30%; n = 3). In conclusion, the ultrasonic wave extraction method is simple and the extracting efficiency is high. The HPLC assay has excellent sensitivity and specificity and is a convenient method for capsaicin detection in collagen sponge. This paper firstly discusses the quantitative analysis of capsaicin in collagen sponge.

[Preparation and in vitro study on diffusion of capsaicin cubosome].

This study was to investigate the permeability and absorbability of capsaicin cubosome across abdominal skin of the SD rats in vitro. Diffusion of capsaicin cubosome and cream was performed with the modified Franz diffusion cell technique. The capsaicin cubosome showed no enhancement of skin permeation within 24 hours. However, the deposition amounts of capsaicin in the rat skin in the cubosome group was markedly higher than those in the commercial cream group (P < 0.01). Cubosome showed excellent characetristic of skin-targed which could be a good carrier for the local transdermal drug delivery system.

The MDM2 SNP309T>G polymorphism increases bladder cancer risk among Caucasians: a meta-analysis.

Published studies have evaluated associations between the MDM2 SNP309T>G polymorphism and bladder cancer susceptibility. However, these generated inconsistent results. The aim of the present investigation was to quantify the strength of association between MDM2 SNP309T>G polymorphism and bladder cancer risk by conducting a meta-analysis. We searched PubMed and Embase for related studies that had been published in English before April 1, 2014 and associations were assessed by summarizing the odds ratios (ORs) with the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Five case-control studies with a total of 972 cases and 1,012 controls were finally identified to be eligible for the meta-analysis. Overall, the results indicated that there was no significant association between the MDM2 SNP309T>G polymorphism and bladder cancer risk (for the allele model G vs. T: OR=1.08, 95% CI 0.85-1.36, p=0.54; for the co-dominant model GG vs. TT: OR=1.20, 95% CI 0.74-1.93, p=0.46; for the dominant model GG+GT vs. TT: OR=0.98, 95% CI 0.80-1.20, p=0.83; for the recessive model GG vs. GT+TT: OR=1.20, 95% CI 0.83-1.74, p=0.33). However, on subgroup analysis by ethnicity, significant associations were found in Caucasians in three models (for the allele model G vs. T: OR=1.41, 95% CI 1.10-1.81, p=0.006; for the co-dominant model GG vs. TT: OR=2.16, 95% CI 1.28-3.63, p=0.004; for the recessive model GG vs. GT+TT: OR=2.06, 95% CI 1.31-3.22, p=0.002). In summary, the present meta-analysis provides evidence that the genotype for the MDM2 SNP309T>G polymorphism may be associated with genetic susceptibility to bladder cancer among Caucasians.

[Evaluation of the role of combined TES-MEP and CSEP monitoring during the spinal surgery].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate of the role of transcranial electrical stimulation motor evoked potential (TES-MEP) in combination with cortical somatosensory evoked potential (CSEP) monitoring during the spinal surgery. METHODS: TES-MEP on bilateral anterior tibial muscle and flexor hallucal brevis and CSEP on bilateral posterior tibial nerve were observed simultaneously on 293 patients during spinal surgery from July 2006 to April 2009. Intravenous anesthesia was employed in all the patients, a part of which were added low dose of sevoflurane or muscle relaxant. The results of TES-MEP, CSEP and combined monitoring were analyzed statistically. Pre-operative and post-operative motor and sensory functions of spinal cord were compared. RESULTS: Success rate of TES-MEP, CSEP and combined monitoring was 90.8%, 96.9% and 100% respectively. For the judgment of motor function of spinal cord, the sensitivity of TES-MEP and CSEP was 100% and 89.3% respectively and the specificity of 98.4% and 96.9%. The Youden index of the two methods was 0.984 and 0.862. For sensory function, the sensitivity of them was 76.7% and 93.3% respectively and the specificity of 98.7% and 98.0%. The Youden index was 0.754 and 0.913. The sensitivity of combined monitoring was 100%, with the specificity of 96.9%. The Youden index was 0.969. CONCLUSIONS: The precision of monitoring motor function of spinal cord with TES-MEP is higher than that with CSEP, however, for sensory function, CSEP is more precise. The sensitivity and precision of combined monitoring for spinal cord function were apparently better than that of unitary TES-MEP or CSEP. The combined TES-MEP and CSEP monitoring is a relatively ideal method.

[Predictive value of three surgical scoring systems for estimation of life expectancy in patients with extradural spinal metastasis].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the predictive values of Tokuhashi score, revised Tokuhashi score and Tomita score systems for life expectancy and treatment options in patients with spinal metastasis. METHODS: From February 1996 to January 2009, spinal operations in 104 cases with spinal metastasis were performed in our hospital. There were 65 males and 39 females, with an average of 53.4 years (median 52.5 years). To calculate AUC (area under the curve) values of Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves of three scores, and to analyze the accuracy of prediction of life expectancy. To compare the actual survival time with the expected survival time of the three scores by Kaplan-Meier method. Spearman correlation analysis was performed between the survival time and three scoring systems. RESULTS: All cases were followed-up with an average duration of 10.9 months, and 77 patients died. AUC analysis of ROC curves showed that the difference of the accuracy of the three scores was not significant. AUC in all groups of Tokuhashi Score was low, with a poor diagnostic accuracy. In the "died within 3 months" and "died within 6 months" groups of revised Tokuhashi score, the accuracy was low, while high in the other two groups. The AUC values of Tomita score in "died within 6 months" and "died within 24 months" were high, with a great diagnostic accuracy while the other two groups were low with a low diagnostic accuracy. Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis showed that the actual survival time in all three scores was not entirely consistent with the expected survival time. Tokuhashi score and revised score were positively correlated with the survival time while that of Tomita score was negative. CONCLUSION: All the three prognosis scores in patients with spinal metastasis were closely related with survival time. The combination of Tokuhashi score and Tomita score may be applied to better predict postoperative survival prognosis and guide the surgical options for patients with spinal metastasis.

Langerhans' cell histiocytosis of the spine in children with soft tissue extension and chemotherapy.

The objectives of this paper were to look into the possible incidence of obvious soft tissue extension from Langerhans' cell histiocytosis (LCH) of the spine in children and to evaluate the effects of chemotherapy for those patients. Eighteen patients with histopathological diagnosis of LCH were reviewed and nine with obvious paravertebral soft tissue extension were included in this study. Soft tissue extension was involved in the spinal canal and/or around the vertebral body in eight cases and posterior involvement was prevalent in one case. Eight patients experienced neurological symptoms. All received chemotherapy and one had surgical treatment. The mean follow-up time was 30.3 months. Soft tissue extension disappeared completely in all patients. No clinical evidence of disease was observed at the most recent follow-up. The incidence of LCH of the spine in children with obvious soft tissue extension was up to 50%. Chemotherapy is safe and effective, and surgical decompression was probably not necessary for most patients.

[Veracity of cortical somatosensory evoked potential monitoring and influencing factors in operation for cervical spondylitic myelopathy].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the veracity of cortical somatosensory evoked potential (CSEP) and the influencing factors of manipulation of CSEP monitoring during the operation for cervical spondylitic myelopathy (CSM). METHODS: Sixty-eight CSM patients, 45 males and 23 females, aged 52.3, underwent CSEP monitoring at the ulnar, median, and posterior tibial nerves. The impact and level to CSEP of different period and manipulation during operation were recorded. The spinal cord function of post-operation were analyzed and evaluated. RESULTS: The CSEP monitoring was successful in all cases. CSEP pre-warning appeared 44 times in 24 cases. Among them 31 times of common pre-warning of CSEP were recorded because of operative manipulations and all of the 31 times of common pre-warning recovered after careful manipulation. Dangerous pre-warning was recorded for 11 times, and then the operation had to be stopped to search for the causes and awaken test was needed in one case. When the agents causing dangerous pre-warning of CSEP were found and corrected, the CSEP was able to recover. Not a patient showed aggravation of nervous function damage and no false negative result was found. CONCLUSION: CSEP can monitor the spinal cord function immediately and exactly. The main factors of operative manipulation causing pre-warning of CSEP include overextension and overflexion, overbrazing the space, operative manipulations for spinal cord thorough decompression, and overdeepening of graft.