Int J Med Sci
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We previously reported frequent loss of microRNA-218 (miR-218) in cervical cancer, which was associated with tumor progression and poor prognosis. As microRNAs were found invovled in the regulation of radiosensitivity in various human cancers, we therefore aim to investigate the effects of miR-218 on radiosensitivity of cervical cancer in the present study. The clonogenic survival assay demonstrated that loss of miR-218 could predict radioresistance in the primary cervical cancer cells (R(2)=0.6516, P<0.001). ⋯ Upregulation of miR-218 significantly enhanced the radiation-induced apoptosis, which was further enhanced by the combination of miR-218 overexpression and radiation In xenograft growth assay, combination of miR-218 overexpression and radiation notably induced cellular apoptosis and suppressed tumor growth. In conclusion, we demonstrated that miR-218 resensitized cervical cancer cells to radiation via promoting cellular apoptosis. Moreover, we proved that miR-218 as a potent predictor of radiosensitivity in cervical cancer, especially for those patients with loss of miR-218.
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Several social economic factors play important roles in treatments of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and finally influence the clinical outcomes. The basic social medical insurance (BSMI) is an important economic factor in China's medical system. However, the impact of BSMI on clinical outcomes in STEMI patients has not been explored yet. The aim of this study is to investigate whether BSMI is a predictor of clinical outcomes in the patients with STEMI in Shanghai, China. ⋯ These results demonstrate that BSMI is closely associated with the major adverse events-free survival rate at 36-month follow-up in the STEMI patients under the current policies in Shanghai, China.
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Immunotherapy has raised the attention of many scientists because it hold promise to be an attractive therapeutic strategy to treat a number of disorders. In this study, the immunomodulatory effects of low titers of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) AF2240 on human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were analyzed. We evaluated cytokine secretion and PBMC activation by cell proliferation assay, immunophenotyping and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. ⋯ The release of these proteins contributes to the antitumor effect of PBMC against MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Based on the 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide assay, activated human PBMC showed high cytolytic efficiency towards human breast tumor cells. In summary, NDV was able to stimulate PBMC proliferation, cytokine secretion and cytolytic activity.
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Definitive chemoradiotherapy (CRT) with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and cisplatin (CDDP) is one of the standard therapies for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC); however, inter-individual variations in clinical outcomes have yet to be investigated. In the present study, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in SLC23A2 gene were retrospectively evaluated in 49 Japanese patients with ESCC who were treated with a definitive 5-FU/CDDP-based CRT, and the predictive values for the clinical response, severe acute toxicities, and long-term survival were assessed. ⋯ Further investigations with a larger number of patients or an in vitro study are needed to confirm the predictive values of genetic polymorphisms in SLC23A2.
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Hepatitis A virus (HAV) is a causative agent of acute viral hepatitis for which an effective vaccine has been developed. Here we describe ultra-deep pyrosequences (UDPSs) of HAV 5'-untranslated region (5'UTR) among cases of the same outbreak, which arose from a single source, associated with a revolving sushi bar. We determined the reference sequence from HAV-derived clone from an attendant by the Sanger method. ⋯ UDPS analysis of HAV 5'UTR gave us no association between the disease severity of hepatitis A and HAV 5'UTR substitutions. It might be more interesting to perform ultra-deep sequencing of full length HAV genome in order to reveal possible unknown genomic determinants associated with disease severity. Further studies will be needed.