Collagen type VIII alpha 2 chain (COL8A2), an important component of the basement membrane of the corneal endothelium, facilitates the malignant development of glioblastoma cells via inducing EMT.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is one of the most lethal tumor of all human cancers. Due to its poor response to chemotherapy and radiotherapy as well as its high rate of recurrence after treatment, the treatment is still undesired. The identification of potential related genes and bio-markers in the development of GBM could provide some new targets for the treatment of GBM. Our purpose in this study was to evaluate the mission of COL8A2 in GBM. Combined with TCGA, Oncomine databases, CGGA, GEPIA website and qRT-PCR analyses, we found that COL8A2 was up-regulated both in GBM tissues and cells compared to the controls. Moreover, the high COL8A2 expression was associated with the shorter overall survival of patients with GBM. The expression of COL8A2 was also positively correlated with metastasis-associated genes including vimentin, snail, slug, MMP2 and MMP7 according to GEPIA website. Knockdown of COL8A2 could suppress the cell proliferation, cell migration and invasion, whereas the overexpression of COL8A2 significantly expedited these processes. What's more, the outcome of western blot analysis manifested that COL8A2 could induced the expression of vimentin, snail, slug, MMP2 and MMP7. Taken together, COL8A2 activated cell proliferation, cell migration and invasion via raising the relative expression of EMT-related proteins in GBM. Therefore, our investigation suggests the oncogenic role of COL8A2 in GBM and provides a potential application of COL8A2 for GBM therapy.

Rapid Pore Cranial Drilling With External Ventricular Drainage for Treatment of Intraventricular Hemorrhage: A 36-Year Case Series.

This study aimed to describe the technique details of rapid pore cranial drilling with external ventricular drainage and document its clinical outcomes by highlighting the advantages over the traditional and modified cranial drilling technique. Intraventricular hemorrhage is one of the most severe subtypes of hemorrhagic stroke with high mortality. The amount of blood in the ventricles is associated with severity of outcomes, and fast removal of the blood clot is the key to a good prognosis. Between 1977 and 2013, 3773 patients admitted for intraventricular hemorrhage underwent rapid pore cranial drilling drainage. The therapeutic effects and clinical outcomes were retrospectively analyzed. Of these patients, 1049 (27.8%) experienced complete remission, 1788 (47.4%) had improved condition, and 936 (24.8%) died. A total of 3229 (85.6%) patients gained immediate remission. One typical case was illustrated to demonstrate the efficacy of the rapid pore drilling technique. Rapid pore cranial drilling drainage in patients with intraventricular hemorrhage is fast, effective, and provides immediate relief in patients with severe conditions. It could be a better alternative to the conventional drilling approach for treatment of intraventricular hemorrhage. A randomized controlled trial for direct comparison between the rapid pore cranial drilling drainage and conventional drilling technique is in urgent need.

Proteomic identification of differentially expressed proteins in vascular wall of patients with ruptured intracranial aneurysms.

OBJECTIVE: Intracranial aneurysms (IA) are serious cerebral vascular abnormalities, however, little is known about the mechanisms underlying IA formation, progression and rupture. Therefore, this study aimed to assess protein expression specific to the vascular tissues of IA patients. METHODS: IA samples were intraoperatively collected from 14 patients after microneurosurgical clipping and pooled. Matched superficial temporal artery (STA) tissues collected from the same patients were used as controls. Differentially expressed proteins were identified using isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification (iTRAQ) and two-dimensional liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (2D LC-MS/MS), validated by immunoblot. RESULTS: 816 proteins were found to be differently expressed in IA and healthy tissues. The expression level of 162 proteins differed by at least two fold. Expression of 80 proteins was up-regulated and expression of 82 was down-regulated. According to PANTHER, these proteins were involved in immune responses, cell adhesion, cellular component organization and developmental processes. Azurocidin-1 (AZU1, a known antimicrobial) and Transmembrane 9 superfamily member 1 (TM9SF1, a novel autophagy-related protein) were 8.0 and 8.6 fold up-regulated, respectively, in IA, while Sorbin and SH3 domain-containing protein 2 (SORBS2), involved in signaling complex assembly, was 12.1 fold down-regulated. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that IA formation and rupture might be related to autophagy and immune responses, which possibly accounts for proteolytic degradation of vessel wall connective tissues and cytoskeleton components.

Coexistence of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage and surgically identified pituitary apoplexy: a case report and review of the literature.

INTRODUCTION: A ruptured aneurysm associated with a pituitary apoplexy is rare. We present the first case report of the coexistence of a ruptured posterior communicating aneurysm with a surgically discovered pituitary apoplexy where the pituitary apoplexy had not been diagnosed by a pre-operative computerized tomography scan. CASE PRESENTATION: A 31-year-old right-handed Chinese woman began to experience severe headache, vomiting and blurred vision which continued for two days. On admission to the hospital, a brain computerized tomography scan demonstrated a small amount of increased signal in the basal cisterns; no evidence of intrasellar and suprasellar lesions was seen. The appearance of her brain suggested aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. She had nuchal rigidity and reduced vision. There was no extra-ocular palsy and no other neurological deficit. Our patient had no stigmata of Cushing's syndrome or acromegaly. During an interview for further history, she reported normal menses and denied reduced vision.Cerebral digital subtraction angiography was subsequently performed, which revealed a 6mm left posterior communicating aneurysm. Urgent left pterional craniotomy was performed. The left ruptured posterior communicating artery aneurysm was completely dissected prior to clipping. At surgery, a suprasellar mass was discovered, the tumor bulging the diaphragma sella and projecting anteriorly under the chiasm raising suspicion of a pituitary tumor. The anterior part of the tumor capsule was opened and a necrotic tumor mixed with dark old blood was removed. The appearance suggested pituitary apoplexy.Histopathology revealed pituitary adenoma with evidence of hemorrhagic necrosis. Our patient made a good recovery. CONCLUSION: Our case report proves that pituitary apoplexy can be coexistent with the rupture of a posterior communicating aneurysm. This association should be considered when evaluating any case of aneurysm. A normal computerized tomography scan does not exclude pituitary apoplexy. Pre-operative magnetic resonance imaging interpretation is required if a pituitary apoplexy is suspected. Craniotomy allows a coexisting aneurysm and pituitary apoplexy to be simultaneously treated.