ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: This study aims at investigating whether TUG1 (Taurine Upregulated Gene 1) can regulate FOXO3 expression through competitive binding to microRNA-9, thus leading to increased neuronal death and promoting the occurrence and development of acute cerebral infarction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: TUG1 and FOXO3 expressions in cerebral cortical neurons of MCAO mice, control mice and primary neurons were detected by quantitative Real Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR). The effects of TUG1 and FOXO3 on neuronal apoptosis were determined by TUNEL after cerebral infarction area was stained with TTC. The binding condition of microRNA-9, TUG1 and FOXO3 was verified by the Luciferase reporter gene assay. Western blot was performed to detect the protein expressions of B-cell lymphoma-2 (BCL-2) and BCL2-Associated X (BAX) after altering the TUG1 or FOXO3 expression in primary neurons. RESULTS: TUG1 and FOXO3 were overexpressed in cerebral cortical neurons of MCAO mice and primary neurons. The inhibition of TUG1 or FOXO3 resulted in less neuronal apoptosis. Luciferase reporter gene assay demonstrated that TUG1 regulates FOXO3 via TUG1/microRNA-9/FOXO3 regulatory network. Besides, TUG1 inhibited BCL-2 but promoted BAX expression in primary neurons. CONCLUSIONS: The overexpression of TUG1 can promote neuronal death after cerebral infarction in mice by competitive binding to microRNA-9 and promotion of FOXO3 expression.
Subject(s)
Cell Death/genetics , Cerebral Infarction/genetics , Cerebral Infarction/pathology , MicroRNAs/genetics , Neurons/pathology , RNA, Long Noncoding/biosynthesis , Animals , Animals, Newborn , Apoptosis/genetics , Forkhead Box Protein O3/biosynthesis , Forkhead Box Protein O3/genetics , Genes, bcl-2/genetics , Mice , MicroRNAs/biosynthesis , Primary Cell Culture , RNA, Long Noncoding/genetics , Up-Regulation/genetics , bcl-2-Associated X Protein/geneticsABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Gastrointestinal (gi) symptoms are the most notable side effects of chemotherapeutic drugs; such symptoms are currently treated with drugs. In the present study, we investigated the effect of acupuncture on gi symptoms induced by chemotherapy in patients with advanced gastric cancer. METHODS: A cohort of 56 patients was randomly divided into an experimental group and a control group. All patients received combination chemotherapy with oxaliplatin-paclitaxel. Patients in the experimental group received 30 minutes of acupuncture therapy daily for 2 weeks. The frequency and duration of nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea, the average days and costs of hospitalization, and quality-of-life scores were compared between the groups. RESULTS: Nausea was sustained for 32 ± 5 minutes and 11 ± 3 minutes daily in the control and experimental groups respectively (p < 0.05). On average, vomiting occurred 2 ± 1 times daily in the experimental group and 4 ± 1 times daily in the control group (p < 0.05). Abdominal pain persisted for 7 ± 2 minutes and 16 ± 5 minutes daily in the experimental and control groups respectively (p < 0.05). On average, diarrhea occurred 1 ± 1 times daily in the experimental group and 3 ± 1 times daily in the control group (p < 0.05). The average quality-of-life score was higher in the experimental group than in the control group (p < 0.05). No adverse events were observed for the patients receiving acupuncture. CONCLUSIONS: Acupuncture, a safe technique, could significantly reduce gi symptoms induced by chemotherapy and enhance quality of life in patients with advanced gastric cancer.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: During radiotherapy for breast cancer, patients are greatly affected by pain, infection, and delayed healing of wounds caused by radiodermatitis. In the present study, we aimed to determine the efficacy of Liu-He-Dan in treating radiodermatitis. METHODS: In 26 breast cancer patients who experienced moist decrustation while receiving radiotherapy, 5 g Liu-He-Dan was applied externally once daily after the wound surface had been cleaned and dried. The healing time was recorded, and a Kaplan-Meier survival curve was applied to analyze the treatment course. Meanwhile, a pain assessment using the Numeric Rating Scale (nrs) recorded the pain level experienced by patients after application of the Liu-He-Dan. RESULTS: After application of Liu-He-Dan, the average healing time for the surface of the moist decrustation wounds was 14.17 ± 2.03 days (range: 5-22 days). Inflammatory seepage decreased significantly and exudation almost disappeared in 3 days. The pain trend line indicated that the average nrs score declined with treatment in all patients. The average nrs scores at days 1, 4, and 7 were 6.13, 3.62, and 2.58 respectively. After 3 days of treatment, pain was remarkably alleviated in 80.76% of patients. After treatment for 1 week, the pain remission rate was 96.15%, without any obvious adverse reactions. CONCLUSIONS: Liu-He-Dan was efficacious in treating radiation skin injury with little toxicity and few side effects; the economic efficiency of the treatment was also favourable. The Liu-He-Dan was generally well tolerated by patients. In future, randomized control trials will be established for further observation of the value of Liu-He-Dan in treating radiodermatitis in breast cancer.
ABSTRACT
By using the natural birefringence of an a-cut Nd:GdVO(4) crystal, we experimentally investigate laser operation under different light polarizations (pi- and sigma-polarized emissions) and compare their performance. The laser performance is further compared with a diode-pumped c-cut Nd:GdVO(4) laser of the same parameters. We show experimentally that the c-cut Nd:GdVO(4) laser could have good passively Q-switched performance in a low-pump-power region but is influenced by other intrinsic laser effects, such as the thermally induced cavity losses; its performance is severely degraded under high pump power. The best passively Q-switched performance obtained in our experiments is from the a-cut pi-polarized laser, which gives the narrowest pulse of 5.4 ns with the highest peak power of 20 kW. Our experimental results show that, to achieve the best performance of the passively Q-switched laser operation, an overall consideration of laser parameters is important.
