Effects of IL-1ß on hippocampus cell apoptosis and learning ability of vascular dementia rats.

The article "Effects of IL-1ß on hippocampus cell apoptosis and learning ability of vascular dementia rats, by L.-L. Guo, D.-S. Wang, Y.-Y. Xu, K.-G. Cui, published in Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci 2018; 22 (18): 6042-6048-DOI: 10.26355/eurrev_201809_15941-PMID: 30280789" has been withdrawn from the authors due to  substantial deficiency in the experimental design. The Publisher apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause. https://www.europeanreview.org/article/15941.

Effects of IL-1ß on hippocampus cell apoptosis and learning ability of vascular dementia rats.

OBJECTIVE: Vascular dementia (VD) is a type of memory, cognition, and behavior disorder caused by ischemic stroke or hemorrhagic stroke. It is a common pathogenesis of dementia that is only second to Alzheimer's disease. Inflammation plays a key role in VD. Interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß) is a kind of pro-inflammatory cytokine, while its mechanism in VD occurrence and development is still unclear. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The healthy male rats were randomly divided into three groups, including sham group, VD model group (established by bilateral common carotid artery ligation), and IL-1ß group (treated by IL-1ß monoclonal antibody intracerebroventricular injection on based on model group). Rat learning ability was evaluated by Morris water maze assay. IL-1ß expression in brain tissue and peripheral blood was examined by using Real Time-PCR and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), respectively. Hippocampus apoptosis was detected by caspase 3 activity detection kit. B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) protein levels were assessed by Western blot assay. RESULTS: IL-1ß expression was increased, caspase 3 activity was enhanced, Bcl-2 level was declined, and p-P38 phosphorylation was elevated in brain tissue and peripheral blood from VD model group compared to sham group (p<0.05). IL-1ß monoclonal antibody significantly reduced IL-1ß expression, improved learning ability, attenuated caspase 3 activity, increased Bcl-2 level, and declined p-P38 expression in VD rats compared to model group (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: IL-1ß can delay VD occurrence and development through the P38-MAPK signaling pathway to regulate cell apoptosis and improve learning ability.

Upregulation of serum miR-103 predicts unfavorable prognosis in patients with colorectal cancer.

OBJECTIVE: Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) have been reported as biomarkers for the early detection of colorectal cancer (CRC). We aimed at evaluating the diagnostic and prognostic value of serum miR-103 in CRC patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Quantitative reverse-transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) was applied to measure the miR-103 levels in blood samples of 96 patients and 60 controls. RESULTS: Our results demonstrated that serum miR-103 was overexpressed in CRC subjects and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed that serum miR-103 could differentiate CRC cases from controls with relatively high accuracy. In addition, serum miR-103 level was more frequently detected in CRC patients with positive lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis and advanced tumor stage. Moreover, serum miR-103 levels in 23 postoperative blood samples were lower than paired preoperative plasma specimens, and serum miR-103 levels were re-elevated in seven patients at recurrence. Furthermore, serum miR-103 was significantly correlated with worse clinical factors, as well as poorer recurrence-free survival or overall survival. Finally, multivariate analysis confirmed that serum miR-103 was an independent prognostic marker for CRC. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, serum miR-103 might be a promising biomarker for diagnosis and prognosis of CRC.

Hepatitis B virus infection is associated with gastric cancer in China: an endemic area of both diseases.

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection was demonstrated to be a risk factor of several cancers of the digestive system. In addition, liver cirrhosis, which could possibly result from chronic HBV infection, was associated with a higher risk of gastric cancer. However, the association of HBV infection and gastric cancer has not been investigated. METHODS: A retrospective case-control study with 580 cases and 580 controls matched for age, sex and year of diagnosis was conducted. The associations between gastric cancer and HBV infection were explored with univariate and multivariate unconditional logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) was positively associated with gastric cancer (AOR (95% CI): 1.49 (1.06-2.10)). This association remained significant in patients without family history of gastric cancer (AOR (95% CI): (1.06-2.11)). For HBsAg-negative population, being anti-HBc positive/anti-HBs negative, which possibly indicated occult HBV infection, was also found to have some associations with gastric cancer. In addition, some synergistic effects between HBV infection and blood type A in gastric cancer were identified. CONCLUSIONS: The HBV infection was positively related with gastric cancer, especially for patients without family history of gastric cancer. Further prospective studies are warranted to confirm this relationship.

A case-control study of Guillain-Barré syndrome in Harbin, China.

We evaluated the putative factors for the onset of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) in Harbin, China by a case-control study based on the information from GBS patients identified from a population-based incidence survey, which is the first study of this kind in China. Sixty-nine GBS patients were identified during a 1-year period from 1 October 1997 to 30 September 1998, and they were matched with 69 controls for gender and age (+/-5 years). GBS diagnosis was validated by senior neurologists and GBS patients were followed up for 6 months after onset. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for each putative factor for the onset of GBS were calculated and compared between GBS cases and controls. Precedent respiratory infections within 2 months before onset were found to be significantly more frequent in GBS patients than in controls (OR = 1.68, 95% CI: 1.21-2.33). Although the number of cases with gastroenteritis among GBS patients was more than double of that in the controls, the difference was not statistically significant (OR = 2.25, 95% CI: 0.73-6.96). Other putative factors as well as characteristics regarding family situation, education level, occupation, etc., were not found to be statistically different between GBS patients and controls.

Potentiation, activation and blockade of GABAA receptors by etomidate in the rat sacral dorsal commissural neurons.

Etomidate (ET), an imidazole general anesthetic, has been medically widely used. Recent evidence suggests that the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA receptor may be one of the important molecular target(s) of general anesthetics. Up to date, little attention has been directed toward the sacral dorsal commissural nucleus (SDCN), which serves as a relay of sensory information from the pelvic viscera in the spinal cord. Therefore, the effect of ET on GABA(A) receptor function in neurons acutely dissociated from the SDCN was investigated using the nystatin-perforated patch-recording configuration under voltage-clamp conditions. At a holding potential of -40 mV, ET (above 10 microM) induced an inward ET-activated current (I(ET)) with the EC(50) value of 33 +/- 3 microM, which was reversibly blocked by bicuculline and picrotoxin. The reversal potential of I(ET) was close to the Cl(-) equilibrium potential. ET also displayed a biphasic modulatory effect on GABA responses. At lower concentrations (0.1-100 microM), ET reversibly potentiated GABA (1 microM)-activated Cl(-) currents in a bell-shaped manner, with the maximal facilitative effect at 10 microM, whereas at concentrations >100 microM, the peak of the ET-induced current was suppressed in the absence or presence of GABA (1 microM). These results suggest that in SDCN, in addition to the potentiation of GABA(A) receptor-mediated responses at low concentrations and the direct activation of GABA(A) receptors at moderate concentrations as expected, ET produced a fast blocking action at high concentrations. The general anesthetic-induced effects in SDCN, at least the potentiation of GABA responses, may significantly contribute to anesthesia of pelvic viscera during the general anesthesia.

Genetic structure of Asian populations of Bombus ignitus (Hymenoptera: Apidae).

The genetic structure of seven mainland and island Asian populations of Bombus ignitus was investigated using nine microsatellite markers and the sequences of part of the mitochondrial cytochrome b (cytb) gene. While microsatellite markers showed high genetic variability, no sequence variation was found in the cytb gene fragment analyzed. The number of microsatellite alleles ranged from 9 to 24. Gene diversities per locus per population ranged from 0.378 to 0.992. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) and most pairwise F(ST) values showed significant genetic differentiation between mainland and island populations. Cytb sequences data and microsatellite bottleneck tests indicated that almost all populations were subjected to recent bottlenecks. Our results suggest that B. ignitus populations diverged due to recent bottlenecks and geographic isolation.