Long non-coding RNA EPB41L4A-AS2 inhibited non-small cell lung cancer proliferation, invasion and promoted cell apoptosis.

The aim of the research was to investigate the expression of lncRNA EPB41L4A-AS2 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and evaluate its influence on the proliferation, invasion and apoptosis of NSCLC. A total of 56 NSCLC tissues and its corresponding adjacent tissues were collected. Quantitative Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was performed to evaluate the lncRNA EPB41L4A-AS2 expression level in tissues and cell lines. Proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) protein level was determined by western blot assay. CCK8 assay, EdU assay, flow cytometry (FCM) and transwell assay were performed to access cell proliferation, apoptosis and invasion. EPB41L4A-AS2 expression was significantly downregulated in cancer tissues and cells compared with the adjacent tissues and normal cells (P<0.05). After cells were transfected with pcDNA3.1-EPB41L4A-AS2, cell viability and PCNA protein level was decreased, and cells were arrested in the G0/G1 phase with higher apoptosis rate. Transwell assay showed that over-expressed EPB41L4A-AS2 could reduce cells invasion ability. Expression of low levels of EPB41L4A-AS2 is associated with poor survival in NSCLC and the over-expression of lncRNA EPB41L4A-AS2 inhibits NSCLC cell proliferation, invasion and promote cell apoptosis.

Dynamic changes of the various cytokines following carotid artery stenting.

OBJECTIVE: To observe the serum inflammatory and coagulation factors changes and clinical significance following carotid artery stenting. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The expressions of serum inflammatory factors including IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, sICAM-1, hs-CRP, and TNF-α and serum coagulation factors including prothrombin time (PT), active partial thromboplastin time (APTT), fibrinogen (FIB), D-dimer (DD), and fibrin degradation products (FDP) were determined in 92 patients who had undergone carotid artery stenting before, 24h, 48 h, 3 days and 1 week after the surgery. As well, 92 subjects who did not receive stenting were enrolled in the angiography group, amongst whom the same variables were determined. RESULTS: In the stenting group, the expressions of hs-CRP, TNF-α, sICAM-1, IL-6, IL-8, FIB, and DD were significantly increased after the surgery (p < 0.05): hs-CRP reached a peak 48 h after the surgery; TNF-α, sICAM-1, and IL-6 maintained at high levels at days 3-7; and FIB and DD increased 48 h and 3d after the surgery. Compared with the angiography group, the expressions of hs-CRP, TNF-α, sICAM-1, and IL-8 (24h after the surgery) as well as FIB and DD (48 h and 3d after the surgery) were significantly higher in the stenting group. CONCLUSIONS: The hs-CRP, TNF-α, sICAM-1, IL-8, FIB, and DD increased after carotid artery stenting and, therefore, can serve as important factors for monitoring for acute postoperative complications.

Clinical effects and safety review of self-expanding stent surgery for extracranial carotid artery stenosis treatment.

This study aimed to investigate the clinical effects and safety review of self-expanding stent surgery in the treatment of extracranial carotid artery stenosis. Seventy-eight patients with carotid artery stenosis were applied with the self-expanding stent for endovascular interventional therapy. Eighty-one stents were implanted into 80 blood vessels of the 78 patients, in which protective umbrellas were used in 56 cases, and the success rate of stent implantation was 100%. The stenosis degree decreased from the preoperative (86.72 ± 9.5%) to the postoperative (13.43 ± 5.62%) stage, and the blood peak velocity of the stenosed vessels decreased from 189.58 ± 13.5 to 83.73 ± 5.61 cm/s. Transient blood pressure and heart rate decreases occurred in 21 cases, continuously low blood pressure and heart rate decreasing occurred in 29 cases, and acute occlusion of the ipsilateral middle cerebral artery occurred in 1 case, which was resolved through thrombolysis and thrombus breaking in time. Over-perfusion symptoms were observed in 13 cases, although without serious complications such as cerebral hemorrhage. The follow-up period continued for 6-32 months, and ultrasonography revealed that 77 cases had no stent-restenosis, while 1 case had restenosis. The application of self-expanding stents had good clinical effects, with fewer complications and higher safety for the treatment of extracranial carotid artery stenosis.

Dietary sodium butyrate alleviates the oxidative stress induced by corticosterone exposure and improves meat quality in broiler chickens.

The present study was to investigate the effects of dietary microencapsulated sodium butyrate (SB) and acute pre-slaughter stress, mimicked by subcutaneous corticosterone (CORT) administration, on BW, carcass characteristics, muscle antioxidant status, and meat quality of broiler chickens. A total of 120 1-d-old broiler chickens were fed a control diet (without SB) or a 0.4-g microencapsulated SB/kg diet. On 42 d, half of the birds from each treatment were given 1 single subcutaneous injection of CORT (4 mg/kg of BW in corn oil) to mimic acute stress, whereas the other half were injected with the same amount of corn oil (sham control). Three hours later, BW loss was determined and breast meat samples were collected. The results showed that the BW of the CORT-challenged groups lost much more than the sham control group (P < 0.001), whereas it was alleviated by the dietary microencapsulated SB (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, the catalase activity was decreased and malondialdehyde level was increased by the stress (P < 0.05), and the microencapsulated-SB diet significantly inhibited this effect (P < 0.05). Lower pH values and higher yellowness values were also observed in CORT-challenged chickens (P < 0.05), and the microencapsulated-SB diet treatment partially exerted a preventive effect. Microencapsulated SB significantly decreased the contents of saturated fatty acids and C18:0 (P < 0.01 and P < 0.001), and increased C20:0 and C20:4 contents. However, the effect of the stress treatment on fatty acid composition was insignificant (P > 0.05). In addition, diet and stress did not significantly influence carcass characteristics and the chemical composition of breast meat (P > 0.05). These results suggest that microencapsulated SB was favorable for chickens in the presence of stress, which may be partially ascribed to the ability of SB to decrease catabolism and oxidative injury of tissues.

Sodium butyrate maintains growth performance by regulating the immune response in broiler chickens.

1. The experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary sodium butyrate on the growth performance and immune response of broiler chickens. In experiment 1, 240 1-d-old chickens were allocated into 4 dietary groups (0, 0·25, 0·50 or 1·00 g sodium butyrate/kg) with 6 replicates each. In experiment 2, 120 1-d-old chickens were fed a control diet (without sodium butyrate) or 1·00 g sodium butyrate/kg diet. Half of the chickens fed on each diet were injected intra-peritoneally with 0·5 g/kg body weight of Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS) at 16, 18 and 20 d of age. 2. There was no effect of dietary sodium butyrate on growth performance. On d 21, serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) were decreased in chickens given 1·00 g sodium butyrate/kg, serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase activities were significantly increased, and malondialdehyde (MDA) was decreased by dietary sodium butyrate at 0·50 or 1·00 g/kg. On d 42, serum IL-6 was markedly decreased by dietary sodium butyrate, while 1·00 g sodium butyrate/kg greatly reduced MDA and increased catalase. 3. LPS challenge significantly reduced the growth performance of chickens. Serum IL-1ß, IL-6, TNF-α, corticosterone, alpha-1 acid glycoprotein (AGP) and prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) were increased in LPS-challenged chickens. Dietary sodium butyrate supplementation maintained the body weight gain and feed intake. Sodium butyrate supplementation inhibited the increase in IL-6 and AGP in serum at 16 d of age and TNF-α, corticosterone, AGP and PGE(2) at 20 d of age. Similar inhibitory effects of sodium butyrate in serum glucose and total protein concentrations were also found at 20 d of age. 4. The results indicated that dietary sodium butyrate supplementation can improve the growth performance in chickens under stress and that this may be used to moderate the immune response and reduce tissue damage.

Telmisartan versus angiotension-converting enzyme inhibitors in the treatment of hypertension: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Telmisartan and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) are both effective and widely used antihypertensive drugs targeting renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. The study aimed to estimate the efficacy and tolerability of telmisartan in comparison with different ACEIs as monotherapy in the treatment of hypertension. Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PubMed and Embase were searched for relevant studies. A meta-analysis of all randomized controlled trials fulfilling the predefined criteria was performed. A random-effect model was used to account for heterogeneity among trials. Twenty-eight randomized controlled trials involving 5157 patients were ultimately identified out of 721 studies. Telmisartan had a greater diastolic blood pressure (DBP) reduction than enalapril (weighted mean difference (WMD) 1.82, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.66-2.99), ramipril (WMD 3.09, 95% CI 1.94-4.25) and perindopril (WMD 1.48, 95% CI 0.33-2.62). Telmisartan also showed a greater DBP response rate than enalapril (relative risk (RR) 1.15, 95% CI 1.05-1.26), ramipril (RR 1.34, 95% CI 1.11-1.61) and perindopril (RR 1.22, 95% CI 1.05-1.41). There was no statistical difference in DBP reduction or therapeutic response rate between telmisartan and lisinopril (WMD -0.30, 95% CI -0.65 to 0.05; RR 0.99, 95% CI 0.80-1.23, respectively). Telmisartan had fewer drug-related adverse events than enalapril (RR 0.57, 95% CI 0.44-0.74), ramipril (RR 0.44, 95% CI 0.26-0.75), lisinopril (RR 0.70, 95% CI 0.56-0.89) and perindopril (RR 0.52, 95% CI 0.28-0.98). The meta-analysis indicates that telmisartan provides a superior BP control to ACEIs (enalapril, ramipril and perindopril) and has fewer drug-related adverse events and better tolerability in hypertensive patients.

[Effect of heparinoid derived from porcine duodenum on the proliferation of cultured smooth muscle cells].

AIM: To study the antiproliferative effect of haparinoid derived from porcine duodenum (heparinoid) on cultured vascular smooth muscle cells. METHODS: Cultured bovine aortic smooth muscle cells (BASMCs) of 5-10 passages were seeded into 24 and 72-well cluster culture plates and were synchronized by 48 h serum deprivation. Then, the cells were re-stimulated by serum repletion with or without heparinoid. The antiproliferative effect of heparinoid was evaluated by crystal violet staining and MTT assay 72 h after serum repletion. To study the drug action on cytomorphological changes, three kinds of cells [quiescent cells, cells treated with 10% fetal calf serum (FCS) with or without heparinoid] were observed by transmission electron microscopy. After synchronized and re-stimulated as above, BASMCs were treated with heparinoid 0.8 mg.mL-1 at selected points during serum repletion. The cells were harvested at specified times after serum repletion, then cellular DNA contents (to estimate the proportions of cells in different phases of the cell cycle) and the contents of alpha-actin, c-myc and c-fos proteins were measured by flow cytometry. RESULTS: Heparinoid was shown to inhibit the proliferation of BASMCs induced by 10% FCS. The inhibitory effect was weakened when heparinoid was added 2 h after serum repletion, and there was no antiproliferative effect when heparinoid was added 12 h after serum repletion. Electron micrographs showed that cells treated with 10% FCS and heparinoid expressed a contractile phenotype, while cells treated with 10% FCS only expressed a synthetic phenotype. Flow cytometry study showed remarkable increase of alpha-actin, and decrease of c-myc and c-fos proteins in the cells treated with heparinoid. CONCLUSION: Heparinoid was found to inhibit the proliferation of BASMCs. The antiproliferative effect occurred at the early phase of the cell cycle. It might be due to the drug's influence on cell phenotype modulation and the down regulation of c-myc and c-fos proto-oncogenes expression.

[Capillary gas chromatographic analysis and mass spectrometric identification of modified DNA bases 5-methylcytosine and 8-hydroxyguanine].

The purpose of this paper was to establish a method for the determination of modified bases, 5-methylcytosine and 8-hydroxyguanine, in DNA by GC/FID. The experimental conditions were explored systematically for the quantitative analysis of these two modified bases, and the components were identified by GC/MS. The results showed that the variant components in DNA treated with Fenton's reaction can be derivatized and separated successfully. The relative molar reactive factors of 5-methylcytosine and 8-hydroxyguanine were 3.0 and 1.3, respectively. The sensitivity for them were 5.50 x 10(9) mV.s/g and 7.59 x 10(10) mV.s/g, respectively, while their detectable limits were 36.4 pg/s and 15.8 pg/s, respectively. The coefficients of variation for gas chromatograph were less than 5%, for derivatization, less than 6%, and for the whole analysis process, less than 20%.