[Desmocollin-1 significant correlated with the tumorigenesis and prognosis of HNSCC].

Objective:To explore the correlation between the expression of desmocollin1and the tumorigenesis and prognosis of HNSCC.Method:Five datasets of HNSCC from the GEO were analyzed. A tumor tissue microassay was chosen for further test. The expression of DSC1 of TMA was detected by immunohistochemical staining. Result:The expression of DSC1 was significantly increased in HNSCC. Meanwhile, the expression of DSC1 was much higher in poor-differentiated tumor than the welldifferentiated tumor in HNSCC. What's more, the HNSCC patients with lower expression of DSC1 had better outcomes. Conclusion:The results were according with the results of statistical analysis with the bioinformatics data from GEO, indicating that DSC1 significant correlated with the tumorigenesis and prognosis of HNSCC.

Hypericum perforatum L. preparations for menopause: a meta-analysis of efficacy and safety.

OBJECTIVE: To compare by meta-analysis the efficacy and adverse events of Hypericum perforatum L. (St. John's Wort), or its combinations, and placebo for menopausal women. DESIGN: A systematic review and meta-analysis were carried out by searching in Pubmed, Cochrane Library, Embase and the Web of Science database. RESULTS: Extracts of Hypericum perforatum L. and its combination with herbs were significantly superior to placebo (standard mean difference = -1.08; 95% confidence interval -1.38 to -0.77); extracts of Hypericum perforatum L. proved to be more effective than placebo in the treatment of menopause. Adverse events occurred in 53 (17.4%) patients on Hypericum perforatum L. preparations and 45 (15.4%) patients on placebo (relative risk = 1.16; 95% confidence interval 0.81-1.66). CONCLUSION: Extracts of Hypericum perforatum L. have possibly fewer side-effects than placebo for the treatment of menopausal women.

Lactoferrin administration into the nostril alleviates murine allergic rhinitis and its mechanisms.

Lactoferrin (LF) can downregulate allergic airway inflammation in asthma. However, the in vivo effect of exogenous LF on allergic rhinitis (AR), a disease attributed to airway inflammation, has yet to be determined. We investigated the effect of intranasal administration recombinant human (rh) LF and its underlying mechanisms on AR in BALB/c mice. Multiple parameters of allergic responses were evaluated to determine the effect of rhLF. We found that the number of eosinophils and goblet cells, as well as mRNA and protein expression of type 2 helper T (Th2), Th17 and regulatory T (Treg) cells in the nasal cavity, was significantly upregulated in AR mice compared with the controls, Conversely, administration of rhLF prior to or after intranasal ovalbumin challenge markedly downregulated these same parameters. Th1-specific mRNA and protein expression in the nasal cavity of the controls was not different from that in AR mice, but expression significantly increased with rhLF treatment. The mRNA and protein expression of endogenous LF in the nasal cavity was significantly downregulated in AR mice compared with the controls. However, after rhLF treatment, endogenous LF mRNA and protein expression was significantly upregulated. Exogenous rhLF inhibited allergic inflammation in AR mice, most likely by promoting the endogenous LF expression and skewing T cells to a Th1, but not a Th2 and Th17 phenotype in the nasal mucosa. Our findings suggest that rhLF treatment may be a novel therapeutic approach for prevention and treatment AR.

Telomerase inhibition alters telomere maintenance mechanisms in laryngeal squamous carcinoma cells.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Telomere length must be maintained throughout cancer cell progression and proliferation. In most tumours, telomerase activity maintains telomere length. Therefore, telomerase is a target for cancer treatments. However, some cancer cells maintain telomere length through an alternative mechanism termed 'alternative lengthening of telomeres'. To determine how telomerase inhibition relates to the initiation of the alternative lengthening of telomeres pathway, we investigated telomerase activity and telomere maintenance in Hep-2 cells with and without reduced telomerase activity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We investigated telomerase activity levels in a normal Hep-2 cell line and in residual cells following telomerase inhibition treatment. Additionally, we looked for expression of a marker protein for the alternative lengthening of telomeres mechanism. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: In the residual cells, telomerase activity was eliminated. However, these cells had higher levels of the alternative lengthening of telomeres biomarker, suggesting an alternative mechanism for telomere maintenance following telomerase inhibition. These results could have a major impact on the design of new cancer treatments.

Association between single nucleotide polymorphisms of surfactant protein D and allergic rhinitis in Chinese patients.

The development of allergic rhinitis is considered to be determined by the interaction between genetic and environmental factors. Surfactant protein D (SP-D) has been proposed to offer protection against allergenic challenge at various levels in allergic responses. The present study aimed to investigate whether polymorphisms within the SFTPD gene (Met11Thr, Ala160Thr, and Ser270Thr) are associated with allergic rhinitis. Genotyping of SFTPD polymorphisms was performed using the pyrosequencing method. The study population comprised 216 patients with allergic rhinitis and 84 normal controls. The frequency of 11Thr/Thr genotype and Thr allele in the patient group was significantly higher than that in the control group after applying Bonferroni corrections (P = 0.007 and P = 0.006, respectively). Our subjects with the 11Thr/Thr genotype are more susceptible to allergic rhinitis. There were no significant differences between the patient group and the control group for frequencies of genotypes and alleles in either Ala160Thr or Ser270Thr single nucleotide polymorphisms (P > 0.05). No significant associations could be detected between any of these three SFTPD gene polymorphisms and the skin prick test response (P > 0.05). Meanwhile, there was a lack of association between the three loci and the levels of serum total immunoglobulin E (P > 0.05). In summary, our results suggest that the Met11Thr polymorphism in SP-D plays a major role in the genetic predisposition to allergic rhinitis in Chinese adult population, whereas the other two SP-D polymorphisms displayed no significant association with allergic rhinitis.

Protective effect of melatonin against gentamicin ototoxicity.

OBJECTIVE: To research the protective effect of melatonin against gentamicin ototoxicity. METHODS: Guinea pigs were randomly divided into four groups. The first group received intramuscular gentamicin (120 mg/kg body weight/day) for 17 days. Over the same time period, a second group simultaneously received intramuscular gentamicin (120 mg/kg body weight/day) plus (on the other side) intramuscular melatonin (0.3 ml kg body weight/day). Two groups of controls were treated for 17 days with either intramuscular melatonin or intramuscular saline. After the 17 days, each animal underwent distortion product otoacoustic emission testing (both ears). The guinea pigs were sacrificed by decapitation just after the final injection. Their cochleae were used to produce a tissue section, surface preparation and scanning electron microscope preparation. RESULTS: Distortion product otoacoustic emission testing indicated gentamicin-induced hearing loss at 3, 4, 6 and 8 kHz in gentamicin-treated animals. Animals receiving melatonin co-therapy had significantly attenuated hearing loss and their cochleae showed lower rates of outer hair cell loss (comparing the same cochlear turns), compared with gentamicin-treated animals (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: These findings confirm the occurrence of outer hair cell loss after gentamicin treatment, and the attenuation of such loss following simultaneous melatonin injection, using the method of morphological evaluation. These results suggest that melatonin protects against gentamicin ototoxicity by interfering with cytotoxic mechanisms.

[Telomerase activity in human head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and adjacent tissues].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the telomerase activity in human head and neck squamous cell carcinomas and their adjacent tissues and to explore its possibility of being tumor biological marker. METHOD: Thirty-two patient samples of primary head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and 15 adjacent tissues were assayed using TRA-PCR-ELISA for detection of telomerase activity. RESULT: Twenty-seven of 32 (84.4%) cancer samples and 5 of 15 (33.3%) adjacent samples were telomerase positive (P < 0.05, Chi-Square Test). The frequency of telomerase activation was lower in cancer without lymph node involvement (82.4%) than that with lymph node involvement(86.7%), but the difference has no statistical significance. Detection rate of telomerase activity in poor grading cancer (90%) is higher than that in moderate and high differentiation cancer (81.8%), although no statistical significance. No obvious correlation was found between the telomerase activity and the other clinical parameters such as primary site and staging. CONCLUSION: The finding of telomerase activity in 84.4% of primary head and neck squamous cell carcinoma samples is consistent with the concept of telomerase playing a key role in tumorigenesis. Further study is needed to determine the usefulness of this enzyme as a new molecular marker.

[Expression of CD44s and CD44v6 in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma and their significance].

OBJECTIVE: To study the correlation between the expression of CD44s, CD44v6 and the clinicopathological characters of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) so as to analyze the role of them in occurrence and progression of LSCC. METHOD: Expression of CD44 and CD44v6 in 46 cases of LSCC and 20 cases of adjacent normal tissues was inspected with immunohistochemical SP method. RESULT: The expression of CD44s increased significantly in lymphnode metastasis group (94.4%) and stage III-IV group (96.2%), but decreased in non-lymphnode metastasis group (67.9%) and stage I-II group (55.0%). The expression of CD44v6 was lower (21.7%), which wasn't associated with any clinicopathological characters. CONCLUSION: The role of CD44 and CD44v6 in carcinoma maybe dependent on the species, type of carcinoma, and the expression of CD44s may be a biologic marker to evaluate metastasis of LSCC.