Search

A letter to the editor is presented about the risk of lung cancer among women textile workers who are exposed to endotoxin.

An abstract of the article "Electroacupuncture at the Renzhong (DU 26) and Neiguan (PC 6) Acupoints Repairs the DNA of Nervous Tissue Supplied by the Middle Cerebral Artery in Rats," by Xaorong Chang et al is presented.

Polyoxometalates (POMs) are inorganic cluster metal complexes that possess versatile biological activities, including antibacterial, anticancer, antidiabetic, and antiviral effects. Their mechanisms of action at the molecular level are largely unknown. However, it has been suggested that the inhibition of several enzyme families (e.g., phosphatases, protein kinases or ecto-nucleotidases) by POMs may contribute to their pharmacological properties. Ecto-nucleotidases are cell membrane-bound or secreted glycoproteins involved in the hydrolysis of extracellular nucleotides thereby regulating purinergic (and pyrimidinergic) signaling. They comprise four distinct families: ecto-nucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolases (NTPDases), ecto-nucleotide pyrophosphatases/phosphodiesterases (NPPs), alkaline phosphatases (APs) and ecto-5'-nucleotidase (eN). In the present study, we evaluated the inhibitory potency of a series of polyoxometalates as well as chalcogenide hexarhenium cluster complexes at a broad range of ecto-nucleotidases. [Co4(H2O)2(PW9O34)2]10- (5, PSB-POM142) was discovered to be the most potent inhibitor of human NTPDase1 described so far (Ki: 3.88 nM). Other investigated POMs selectively inhibited human NPP1, [TiW11CoO40]8- (4, PSB-POM141, Ki: 1.46 nM) and [NaSb9W21O86]18- (6, PSB-POM143, Ki: 4.98 nM) representing the most potent and selective human NPP1 inhibitors described to date. [NaP5W30O110]14- (8, PSB-POM144) strongly inhibited NTPDase1-3 and NPP1 and may therefore be used as a pan-inhibitor to block ATP hydrolysis. The polyoxoanionic compounds displayed a non-competitive mechanism of inhibition of NPPs and eN, but appeared to be competitive inhibitors of TNAP. Future in vivo studies with selected inhibitors identified in the current study are warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) features relatively low overall survival (OS). Intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) diffusion-weighted MRI separates tissue microcapillary perfusion and diffusivity and may have potential for helping to assess prognosis in infiltrated marrow disease apart from solid tumor. Thus, a study of overall survival would contribute to clarifying the value of IVIM for assessing long-term prognosis in AML. Purpose To determine whether the IVIM-derived parameters of infiltrated bone marrow may be associated with OS in newly diagnosed AML. Materials and Methods This prospective study enrolled participants with newly diagnosed AML between July 2014 to March 2016 consecutively. Participants underwent MRI of the lumbar spine by using an IVIM sequence. Participant clinical characteristics and OS were collected. The median of follow-up period was 20 months (range, 1-56 months). The IVIM parameters (pseudoperfusion fraction, f ; diffusion coefficient, D ; and pseudodiffusion coefficient, D* ) were obtained. A nonparametric log-rank test was used to identify the threshold of IVIM parameters for OS. Univariable Kaplan-Meier and multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were performed to investigate prognostic significance of possible indicators. Results Fifty-three participants (mean age, 42 years ± 17; 30 men) were evaluated. Nonparametric log-rank test results showed that the thresholds of f and D values for OS were 31.0% and 0.2 × 10 -3 mm 2 /sec, respectively. Univariable analyses indicated that high f value (>31.0%) and low D value (≤0.2 × 10 -3 mm 2 /sec) were associated with shorter OS ( P = .003 and .01, respectively). An f value greater than 31.0% (hazard ratio, 2.4; 95% confidence interval: 1.0, 5.6; P = .046) was associated with OS, independent of clinical confounders (age, karyotype, and white blood cell counts) in a multivariable analysis. Conclusion Pseudoperfusion fraction and diffusion coefficient from intravoxel incoherent motion diffusion-weighted MRI may be viable prognosis predictors of newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia. © RSNA, 2020.

Background: Psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and major depressive disorder (MDD) are likely to be caused by multiple susceptibility genes, each with small effects in increasing the risk of illness. Identifying DNA variants associated with schizophrenia and MDD is a crucial step in understanding the pathophysiology of these disorders., Aims: To investigate whether the SP4 gene plays a significant role in schizophrenia or MDD in the Han Chinese population., Method: We focused on nine single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) harbouring the SP4 gene and carried out case-control studies in 1235 patients with schizophrenia, 1045 patients with MDD and 1235 healthy controls recruited from the Han Chinese population., Results: We found that rs40245 was significantly associated with schizophrenia in both allele and genotype distributions (Pallele = 0.0005, Pallele = 0.004 after Bonferroni correction; Pgenotype = 0.0023, Pgenotype = 0.0184 after Bonferroni correction). The rs6461563 SNP was significantly associated with schizophrenia in the allele distributions (Pallele = 0.0033, Pallele = 0.0264 after Bonferroni correction)., Conclusions: Our results suggest that common risk factors in the SP4 gene are associated with schizophrenia, although not with MDD, in the Han Chinese population., (© The Royal College of Psychiatrists 2016.)

Background: A large schizophrenia genome-wide association study (GWAS) and a subsequent extensive replication study of individuals of European ancestry identified eight new loci with genome-wide significance and suggested that the MIR137-mediated pathway plays a role in the predisposition for schizophrenia., Aims: To validate the above findings in a Han Chinese population., Method: We analysed the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the newly identified schizophrenia candidate loci and predicted MIR137 target genes based on our published Han Chinese populations (BIOX) GWAS data. We then analysed 18 SNPs from the candidate regions in an independent cohort that consisted of 3585 patients with schizophrenia and 5496 controls of Han Chinese ancestry., Results: We replicated the associations of five markers (P<0.05), including three that were located in the predicted MIR137 target genes. Two loci (ITIH3/4: rs2239547, P = 1.17 × 10(-10) and CALN1: rs2944829, P = 9.97 × 10(-9)) exhibited genome-wide significance in the Han Chinese population., Conclusions: The ITIH3/4 locus has been reported to be of genome-wide significance in the European population. The successful replication of this finding in a different ethnic group provides stronger evidence for the association between schizophrenia and ITIH3/4. We detected the first genome-wide significant association of schizophrenia with CALN1, which is a predicted target of MIR137, and thus provide new evidence for the associations between MIR137 targets and schizophrenia., (© The Royal College of Psychiatrists 2015.)

Background: Common psychiatric disorders are highly heritable, indicating that genetic factors play an important role in their aetiology. The CACNA1C gene, which codes for subunit alpha-1C of the Cav1.2 voltage-dependent L-type calcium channel, has been consistently found to be the shared risk gene for several kinds of mental disorder., Aims: To investigate whether CACNA1C is a susceptibility gene for schizophrenia and major depressive disorder in the Han Chinese population., Method: We carried out a case-control study of 1235 patients with schizophrenia, 1045 with major depressive disorder and 1235 healthy controls. A tag single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs1006737 along with another 10 tag SNPs in the CACNA1C gene were genotyped in all samples., Results: We found that rs1006737 was associated with both schizophrenia (P(allele) = 0.0014, P(genotype) = 0.006, odds ratio (OR) = 1.384, 95% CI 1.134-1.690) and major depressive disorder (P(allele) = 0.0007, P(genotype) = 0.003, OR = 1.425, 95% CI 1.160-1.752)., Conclusions: Our findings support CACNA1C being a risk gene for both schizophrenia and major depressive disorder in the Han Chinese population.