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Background: In the intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) era, great improvement has been made in survival of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). The 7th edition of the International Union against Cancer/American Joint Committee on Cancer (UICC/AJCC) staging system seems "outdated " as it mainly based on the study in 2D/3D era, and thus the 8th edition has made some amendments according to recent studies. We aimed to compare and evaluate these two editions of staging system for NPC in patients treated with intensity-modulated radiotherapy.Methods: A total of 1317 patients with biopsy-proven, non-metastatic NPC treated with IMRT between 2009 and 2014 at two institutions were retrospectively assessed. All patients were assessed by magnetic resonance imaging and restaged according to the 7th and 8th editions. Prognostic factors for local relapse-free survival (LRFS), distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were assessed and compared using the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test. The Cox proportional hazards model was also used to calculate the hazard ratio (HR).Results: In both 7th and 8th edition, insignificant difference could be observed between T2 and T3 disease, T2 and T4 disease (all P > 0.05) for LRFS, while the difference of LRFS between T3 and T4 disease was significant in the previous edition (P = 0.001) but insignificant (P = 0.279) after revision. For OS, highly similar survival curve could be seen between T2 and T3 disease in both edition (all P > 0.1). DMFS and OS were not significantly different between N3a and N1-3b categories of the 7th edition (all P > 0.05). In contrast, obvious segregation was observed between N3 and the other N categories after the revision and combination in the 8th edition (all P < 0.05). DFS and OS were not significantly different between stage IVA and IVB of the 7th edition (P = 0.057 and P = 0.365, respectively); therefore, combining these stages in the 8th edition was reasonable.Conclusion: The overall stages and N categories of the 8th edition of the UICC/AJCC staging system provide better segregation of survival outcomes than the 7th edition. The 8th edition is also more clinically applicable as it has reduced ambiguity and revised out-of-date definitions. However, the T categories need further optimizing as the 8th edition failed to solve the problem of similar survival between adjacent T-classification, which has been exited since 7th edition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate the effect of propofol on brain development in neonatal mice and long-term neurocognitive impact in adult mice. Method: The offspring of female C57Bl/6 and male CD-1 mice were administered propofol at concentrations of 2.5 and 5.0 mg/kg (treatment group) or normal saline (control) on postnatal day 7. Thereafter, histological and immunohistochemical examinations were performed on the mice brain. Apoptotic assay, neuronal nuclei antigen immunohistochemistry (to assess neuron density), and behavioral and neurocognitive tests were conducted on the adult mice. Results: Propofol induced cellular degeneration and apoptosis in the brains of neonatal mice. It also modulated physiological parameters (pH, PO2, glucose and lactate), among which decreased blood glucose might be associated with cellular degeneration in the brain. Propofol also caused long-term neuronal deficits in adults, which showed impaired neurocognitive functions. Upon reaching adulthood, propofol-treated mice showed slow learning response and poor memory compared to controls. Conclusion: Propofol causes neurodegeneration in neonatal mice and has long-term neurocognitive consequences in adults, indicating that the use of propofol anesthetics in neonates requires careful consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human TRIM5α (TRIM5αhu) only modestly inhibits human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and does not inhibit simian immunodeficiency virus (SIVmac). Alteration of arginine 332 in the TRIM5αhu B30.2 domain to proline, the residue found in rhesus monkey TRIM5α, has been shown to create a potent restricting factor for both HIV-1 and SIVmac. Here we demonstrate that the potentiation of HIV-1 inhibition results from the removal of a positively charged residue at position 332 of TRIM5αhu. The increase in restricting activity correlated with an increase in the ability of TRIM5αhu mutants lacking arginine 332 to bind HIV-1 capsid complexes. A change in the cyclophilin A-binding loop of the HIV-1 capsid decreased TRIM5αhu R332P binding and allowed escape from restriction. The ability of TRIM5αhu to restrict SIVmac could be disrupted by the presence of any charged residue at position 332. Thus, charged residues in the v1 region of the TRIM5αhu B30.2 domain can modulate capsid binding and restriction potency. Therapeutic strategies designed to neutralize arginine 332 of TRIM5αhu might potentiate the innate resistance of human cells to HIV-1 infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Qixuehe capsule (QXH), a Chinese patent medicine, has been demonstrated to be effective in the treatment of menstrual disorders. In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) theory, qi stagnation and blood stasis syndrome (QS-BSS) is the main syndrome type of menstrual disorders. However, the pharmacodynamic effect of QXH in treating QS-BSS is not clear, and the main active compounds and underlying mechanisms remain unknown. Methods. A rat model of QS-BSS was established to evaluate the pharmacodynamic effect of QXH. Thereafter, a network pharmacology approach was performed to decipher the active compounds and underlying mechanisms of QXH. Results. QXH could significantly reduce the rising whole blood viscosity (WBV) and plasma viscosity (PV) but also normalize prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), thrombin time (TT), and fibrinogen (FIB) content in QS-BSS rats. Based on partial least-squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), the low-dose QXH-intervened (QXH-L) and the high-dose QXH-intervened (QXH-H) groups seemed the most effective by calculating the relative distance to normality. Through network pharmacology, QXH may improve hemorheological abnormality mainly via 185 compounds-51 targets-28 pathways, whereas 184 compounds-68 targets-28 pathways were associated with QXH in improving coagulopathy. Subsequently, 25 active compounds of QXH were verified by UPLC-Q/TOF-MS. Furthermore, 174 active compounds of QXH were shared in improving hemorheological abnormality and coagulopathy in QS-BSS, each of which can act on multiple targets to be mainly involved in complement and coagulation cascades, leukocyte transendothelial migration, PPAR signaling pathway, VEGF signaling pathway, and arachidonic acid metabolism. The attribution of active compounds indicated that Angelicae Sinensis Radix (DG), Paeoniae Radix Rubra (CS), Carthami Flos (HH), Persicae Semen (TR), and Corydalis Rhizoma (YHS) were the vital herbs of QXH in treating QS-BSS. Conclusion. QXH can improve the hemorheology abnormality and coagulopathy of QS-BSS, which may result from the synergy of multiple compounds, targets, and pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Retinoids have been used for years as monotherapy and/or in combination for treatment and suppression of cutaneous malignancies in patients with basal cell nevus syndrome, xeroderma pigmentosum, or cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) basal cell carcinoma (BCC). We report 4 cases with BCC confirmed by histopathology who were treated by shortterm systemic acitretin combined with retinoic acid 0.1% cream. The 4 cases with BCC showed good response to the treatment without severe adverse effects during treatment and follow-up. The finding suggests that acitretin may be an appropriate treatment option for elderly patients who require less invasive treatment for BCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grifolic acid is a natural compound isolated from the fungus Albatrellus confluens . In the present study, we assessed the effects of grifolic acid on human osteosarcoma cells. We found that grifolic acid dose- and time-dependently induced cell death in the U-2 OS, MG-63, Saos-2, and 143B human osteosarcoma cell lines. Grifolic acid decreased osteosarcoma cell mitochondrial membrane potential, ATP production, and cellular NADH levels, but did not impact mitochondrial membrane potential in isolated mitochondria from human osteosarcoma cells. Intratumoral injection of grifolic acid also promoted tumor cell death and prolonged survival in nude mice bearing human osteosarcoma xenografts. Grifolic acid had no obvious toxicity in mice, with no histological changes in liver, kidney, lung, or heart, and no changes in blood cell counts or levels of plasma total protein, alanine aminotransferase, or aspartate aminotransferase. These results show that grifolic acid induces osteosarcoma cell death by inhibiting NADH generation and ATP production without obvious toxicity. Intratumoral injection of grifolic acid may be a promising anti-osteosarcoma therapeutic option in patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective(s): Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is associated with circadian disruption. Our previous experimental results have showed that dietary Lycium barbarum. polysaccharide (LBP-4a) exhibited hypoglycemic and improving insulin resistance (IR) activities. This study was to explore the mechanisms of LBP-4a for improving hyperglycemia and IR by regulating biological rhythms in T2DM rats. Materials and Methods: The rats of T2DM were prepared by the high-sucrose-fat diets and injection of streptozotocin (STZ). The levels of insulin, leptin and melatonin were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The effect of LBP-4a on mRNA expression of melatonin receptors (MT2) in epididymal adipose tissue was evaluated by RT-PCR. The expression of CLOCK and BMAL1 in pancreatic islet cells was detected by Western blotting. Results: Our data indicated that the 24-hr rhythm of blood glucose appeared to have consistent with normal rats after gavaged administration of LBP-4a for each day of the 4 weeks, and the effects of hypoglycemia and improving hyperinsulinemia in T2DM rats treated at high dose were much better than that at low dose. The mechanisms were related to increasing MT2 level in epididymal adipose tissue and affecting circadian clocks gene expression of CLOCK and BMAL1 in pancreatic islet cells. Conclusion: LBP-4a administration could treat T2DM rats. These observations provided the background for the further development of LBP-4a as a potential dietary therapeutic agent in the treatment of T2DM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) and interferon gamma (IFNγ) were originally identified to show potent anti-tumor activity and immunomodulatory capability. Unfortunately, several clinical studies of relevant cancer therapy did not observe significant response in maximum tolerated dose whether given alone or in combination. We have identified a tumor vasculature homing peptide (TCP-1 peptide) which targets only the vasculature of colorectal tumors but not normal blood vessels in animals and humans. In the current study, the antitumor effect of TCP-1/TNFα and TCP-1/IFNγ alone or in combination was studied in orthotopic colorectal tumor model.Methods: TCP-1/TNFα and TCP-1/IFNγ recombinant proteins were prepared and i.v. injected to study the in vivo anticancer effect in orthotopic colorectal tumor model. Tumor apoptosis was determined by TUNEL staining and cleaved caspase-3 immunofluorescent staining. Tumor infiltrating lymphocytes were analyzed by immunofluorescent staining and flow cytometry. Western-blot was performed to examine the expression of proteins. Cell apoptosis was measured by Annexin V/PI flow cytometry.Results: Targeted delivery of TNFα or IFNγ by TCP-1 peptide exhibited better antitumor activity than unconjugated format by inducing more tumor apoptosis and also enhancing antitumor immunity shown by increased infiltration of T lymphocytes inside the tumor. More importantly, combination therapy of TCP-1/TNFα and TCP-1/IFNγ synergistically suppressed tumor growth and alleviated systematic toxicity associated with untargeted therapy. This combination therapy induced massive apoptosis/secondary necrosis in the tumor.Conclusions: Taken together, our data demonstrate TCP-1 is an efficient drug carrier for targeted therapy of colorectal cancer (CRC). TCP-1/TNFα combined with TCP-1/IFNγ is a promising combination therapy for CRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Xiang-Qi-Tang (XQT) is a Chinese medicine containing Rhizoma Cyperi (40 g), Andrographis paniculata (30 g) and Astragalus membranaceus (30 g). The purpose of this study is to investigate the therapeutic effects of XQT on Avian Pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC)-infected chickens. The chickens were pretreated with XQT 12 h before being inoculated with 108 colony forming unit (CFU) of APEC by subcutaneous injection, and then the mortality and the indexes of health status of chicken in each group were detected. The results showed that high dosage and middle dosage of XQT could significantly decrease the mortality of the chickens challenged with APEC. We further found that XQT improved the infected chickens' health status through improving the water consumption, feed intake, bodyweight gain, routine blood parameters and decreasing the incidences of pericarditis and perihepatitis. The results of present study suggest that XQT can effectively treat chicken colibacillosis as a potential agent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]