Int J Med Sci
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Inflammation is the root cause of many diseases that pose a serious threat to human health. Excessive inflammation can also result in preterm birth or miscarriage in pregnant women. Pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata Duchesne, CMD) is a well-known traditional health food and medicinal herb used in many countries to treat diabetes, obesity, osteoporosis, cancer and other diseases. ⋯ TCMD also suppressed the release of mature IL-1β and activation of cleaved-caspase-1 via limited ASC oligomerization. Furthermore, TCMD significantly inhibited IL-1β secretion and pyroptotic cell death in human trophoblast cells. These results suggest that TCMD exhibits anti-inflammatory effects mediated via inhibition of NLRP3 inflammasome activation suggesting therapeutic potential against inflammatory diseases, preterm birth, and miscarriage.
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Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers in Han Chinese and is characterized by low rates of early diagnosis and poor survival rates. Angiopoietin-2 (Ang2), an endothelial tyrosine kinase, is involved in CRC progression, but little is known about the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and diagnosis or prognosis of CRC. ⋯ Moreover, carriers of the GT or GT+TT allele in rs12674822 were significantly more likely to have tumor involvement in both the colon and rectum compared with wild-type (GG) carriers, while 5-year progression-free survival was also significantly worse in those carrying the GT+TT allele in rs12674822 compared with wild-type carriers. Our study is the first to describe correlations between Angpt2 polymorphisms and CRC development and progression in people of Chinese Han ethnicity.
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Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a serious disease characterized by the degeneration of motor neurons resulting in muscle weakness and paralysis. The neuroendocrine polypeptide VGF is localized in the central nervous system and peripheral endocrine neurons and is cleaved into several polypeptides with multiple functions. Previous studies revealed that VGF was decreased in the cerebrospinal fluid of ALS model mice and sporadic ALS patients. ⋯ We revealed that VGF protein level was decreased in the anterior horn of ALS patients; however, the expression level of VGF protein was not changed in the posterior horn or white matter. Furthermore, the expression level of VGF protein was conserved in ALS patients with long-term survival. These results reveal that VGF is mainly supplied by human motor neurons, and suggest that VGF expression changes may be involved in ALS pathology.
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Our study investigated the expression of malic enzyme 2 (ME2) in human oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and associated pathological and clinical pattern. We demonstrated that human OSCC tissues expressed a high level of ME2, and the overexpression of ME2 is closely connected to a high pathological grade, lymphatic metastasis, large tumor size and human papillomavirus (HPV) (P < 0.001). ⋯ ME2 was shown to be overexpressed in OSCC tissue and indicated a poor prognosis for OSCC. ME2 may be correlated with several immune markers.
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Background: Multiple myeloma (MM) is the second most common hematological malignancy, which is still incurable and relapses inevitably, highlighting further understanding of the possible mechanisms. Side population (SP) cells are a group of enriched progenitor cells showing stem-like phenotypes with a distinct low-staining pattern with Hoechst 33342. Compared to main population (MP) cells, the underlying molecular characteristics of SP cells remain largely unclear. ⋯ Modules and corresponding GO enrichment analysis indicated that myeloma LC/SP cells were significantly associated with immune system, immune response and cell cycle. The predictive value of the prognostic model including TFF3, EPDR1, MACROD1, ARHGEF12, AMMECR1, NFATC2, HES6, PLEK2 and SNCA was identified, and validated in another external dataset (MMRF-CoMMpass cohort from TCGA). Conclusions: In conclusion, this study provides reliable molecular biomarkers for screening, prognosis, as well as novel therapeutic targets for myeloma LC/SP cells.