Triptolide suppresses paraquat induced idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis by inhibiting TGFB1-dependent epithelial mesenchymal transition.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and tumor are highly similar to abnormal cell proliferation that damages the body. This malignant cell evolution in a stressful environment closely resembles that of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). As a popular EMT-inducing factor, TGFß plays an important role in the progression of multiple diseases. However, the drugs that target TGFB1 are limited. In this study, we found that triptolide (TPL), a Chinese medicine extract, exerts an anti-lung fibrosis effect by inhibiting the EMT of lung epithelial cells. In addition, triptolide directly binds to TGFß and subsequently increase E-cadherin expression and decrease vimentin expression. In in vivo studies, TPL improves the survival state and inhibits lung fibrosis in mice. In summary, this study revealed the potential therapeutic effect of paraquat induced TPL in lung fibrosis by regulating TGFß-dependent EMT progression.

Comparisons of multiple characteristics between young and old lung cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: Risk factors that contribute to younger patients with lung cancer are still relatively unknown. The aim of this study was to compare the clinical characteristics, histological types, stages at diagnosis, treatment modalities and survival rates between young and old patients with lung cancer. METHODS: The study was designed as a retrospective review of all lung cancer patients admitted to the Third Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University from 1998 to 2008. Survival analyses using univariate and multivariate approaches were performed to compare the survival rates between different age groups and to discover potential prognostic factors. RESULTS: This research included 3320 patients with primary lung cancer, of whom 626 (18.8%) were 45 years old or younger at the time of diagnosis. The percentage of smokers and the male to female ratios between the young and old patient groups were 51.27% vs. 70.6% (P < 0.001) and 1.99 vs. 2.13 (P = 0.4801), respectively. The young patient group had a higher incidence of adenocarcinoma and fewer surgeries. The 1-year, 3-year and 5-year survival rates in the young patient group were generally lower than those of the old patient group, with significant differences (P = 0.0232). The clinical stage of the tumor was a prognostic factor for both non-small cell lung cancer patients (P < 0.0001) and small cell lung cancer patients (P = 0.0002). Symptoms, diagnostic method, histology, smoking, treatment modality and body mass index were shown to have significant relationships with the survival of lung cancer patients (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with lung cancer who are younger than 45 years old might have a significantly poorer prognosis than that of older patients. Symptoms, diagnosis method, histology, smoking, treatment modality and body mass index can be independent prognostic factors for lung cancer.

[Effects of increasing surface ozone concentration on spikelet formation of hybrid rice cultivars].

To investigate the effects of high ozone concentration on spikelet formation of hybrid rice cultivars, an experiment using a unique free air ozone concentration enrichment (ozone-FACE) system was conducted in 2007. Two hybrid rice cultivars, Shanyou 63 (SY63) and Liangyoupeijiu (LYPJ), were grown at ambient and elevated (target at 50% above ambient) ozone concentration. The results showed that compared with ambient ozone concentration, elevated ozone reduced the spikelet number per panicle by 28 and 34 (relative decrease of 15% and 13%) for SY63 and LYPJ, respectively. This reduction in spikelet number per panicle was mainly contributed to the significant decrease in spikelet number on secondary branches (SB), while only minor response was detected for the spikelet number on primary branches (PB), resulting in an increase in percentage of primary branch spikelets and a decrease in percentage of secondary branch spikelets under ozone exposure. In terms of spikelet formation, the large ozone-induced reduction in spikelet number per panicle of the two hybrid cultivars was entirely due to the suppression of spikelet differentiation per panicle (especially that on SB), while the degenerated spikelets per panicle decreased rather than increased under ozone exposure. It was suggested that corresponding measures should be adopted to mitigate the detrimental effects of ozone on the spikelet differentiation to minimize yield loss under increasing surface ozone concentration.