Molecular medicine reports
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Ampelopsin (AMP), a plant flavonoid, has been reported to inhibit cell growth and/or induce apoptosis in various types of tumor. The aim of the present study was to assess the apoptosis-inducing activity of AMP in A549 human lung adenocarcinoma epithelial cells and the associated underlying mechanism. A549 cells were incubated with different concentrations of AMP in culture medium. ⋯ The results suggest that AMP exerts an anticancer effect, which is associated with the degradation of c-Myc, Skp2 and HDAC1 and 2. The ability of AMP to induce apoptosis independently of Fbwα and Fbw7γ suggests a possible use in drug-resistant cancer associated with Fbw7 deficiency. Understanding the exact underlying mechanism requires further investigation of the association between c-Myc and Fbw7α/γ reversal, and analysis of whether Thr58 phosphorylation of c-Myc is dependent on GSK3β.
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The transcriptome of metastatic gastric cancer (GC) was compared to that of non-metastatic GC to identify metastasis-related biomarkers. The gene expression dataset GSE21328, comprising 2 metastatic GC samples and 2 non-metastatic GC samples, was downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. Differential expression analysis was performed with the package limma of Bioconductor to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs). ⋯ The proteins of this network were significantly enriched for the process of negative regulation of cell differentiation. In conclusion, this study identified a range of DEGs in metastatic GC, which may enhance our current knowledge on this disease. Among these genes, STAT1 and EGR2 may constitute potential biomarkers of GC metastasis.
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Sevoflurane is an inhaled anesthetic that is widely used in clinical practice, particularly for pediatric anesthesia. Previous studies have suggested that sevoflurane may induce neurotoxicity in the brains of neonatal mice. In the present study, the possible mechanism of neurodegeneration induced by sevoflurane in the developing brain, and the possibility that memantine treatment is able to reverse this phenomenon, were investigated. ⋯ However, neither CREB phosphorylation nor BDNF expression were significantly altered by sevoflurane treatment. The current study indicated that sevoflurane causes neurotoxicity in the developing brain, and that this may be attributed to increased MeCP2 phosphorylation in the hippocampus. It was also demonstrated that this neurotoxicity can be prevented by the N-methyl-D-aspartate glutamate receptor inhibitor memantine.
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The present study aimed to identify changes in atrial gene expression induced by sevoflurane and propofol using DNA microarray. The expression profiles of GSE4386 in atrial samples, obtained from patients who had received either the anesthetic gas sevoflurane or the intravenous anesthetic propofol prior to and following off-pump coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery, were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the sevoflurane and the propofol groups were then identified and compared. ⋯ Overall, two, one, and one functional modules were identified for the common DEGs, propofol specific DEGs and sevoflurane specific DEGs, respectively. DEGs in the modules were involved in cellular processes, including the 'regulation of transcription' and 'regulation of cellular process', which were similar to the functional annotations for the DEGs. Therefore, sevoflurane and propofol may synergistically reduce myocardial reperfusion injury in patients undergoing off-pump CABG surgery.
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The present study aimed to investigate the effect of adenovirus‑mediated urokinase‑type plasminogen activator (uPA) transduction on uPA expression and fibrinolytic activity in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Recombinant adenovirus vectors containing the human uPA gene were constructed and transduced into HUVECs. The expression and fibrinolytic activity of uPA was then assessed in HUVECs using western blot analysis, ELISA and colorimetric assay. ⋯ Western blot analysis revealed that uPA protein expression in the HUVECs in the ad/uPa group was significantly increased compared with those in the ad/neg control or blank groups (P<0.01). The uPA protein levels in the supernatant of the three groups were 379.40±2.46, 240.01±1.16 and 256.10±3.04 ng/l, respectively, showing that the uPA protein levels were significantly higher in the supernatant in the ad/uPa group compared with those in the ad/neg control or blank groups. uPA activity was determined using a colorimetric method and was found to be 40238.49±5755 IU/mg in the HUVECs in the ad/uPa group, which was significantly higher than that in the HUVECs in the ad/neg control (6180.03±942.38 IU/mg) or blank groups (3346.06±928.81 IU/mg) (both P<0.01). These findings suggested that transduction of the uPA gene increased uPA protein expression and fibrinolytic activity in HUVECs.