Int J Med Sci
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Background: Previous microarray analysis on peripheral blood leukocytes from three patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) showed that elevated expression of membrane bound o-acyltransferase domain containing 7(MBOAT7) relative to control. To further verify these findings, we investigated more patients and explored the possible mechanisms in vitro. Objective: To study alterations in MBOAT7 expression in leukocytes after AMI, and to explore the relationship between MBOAT7 and lipid metabolism pathways in hepatocytes in vitro. ⋯ Triglyceride levels increased after MBOAT7 silencing (118.40 ± 2.26 vs 70.54 ± 0.25 for control, P<0.0001), as did those of cholesterol (628.30 ± 8.89 vs 544.70 ± 11.04, P = 0.0041) but were not altered on MBOAT7 overexpression. Conclusion: MBOAT7 did not affect the metabolism of triglycerides in hepatocytes through fatty acid synthesis and decomposition pathways. The MBOAT7 level in the peripheral blood can be used as a marker for acute myocardial infarction but cannot be used as a single therapeutic target to regulate lipid metabolism.
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Adhesiolysis is minimally invasive and commonly used for pain associated with adhesion after lumbar spine surgery. Caudal epidural block may be used for radiating pain due to failed back surgery syndrome. We evaluated the predictive value of response to caudal block performed prior to adhesiolysis in failed back surgery syndrome. ⋯ Successful outcome was defined as a ≥2-point reduction in the numeric rating scale scores for radicular pain 3 months after adhesiolysis, evident in 81/150 (46%) patients. Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that caudal block response was an independent predictor of successful adhesiolysis (odds ratio = 4.403; p = 0.015). Response to prior caudal block is a positive predictor of successful adhesiolysis.
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Background: About 10% of gastric cancer (GC) has been described to be Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) positive. Previous researches have described the association between EBV and GC. However, the association of EBV with atrophic gastritis (AG) is underrecognized. ⋯ There was no significant association between EBV and H. pylori co-infection with increased risk of AG (P>0.05). Conclusion: EBV infection significantly increased the risk of AG, especially in H. pylori-negative patients. The circulating EBV DNA had a potential in predicting the risk of atrophic gastritis.
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Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the third most common female cancer in Taiwan. EZH2 plays an important role in cancer development through transcriptional repression by chromatin remodeling. However, the expression of EZH2 in breast cancer is highly correlated with tumorigenesis, and patient survival is not matched to TNBC. ⋯ Four single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of EZH2 (rs6950683, rs2302427, rs3757441, and rs41277434) were analyzed by real-time PCR genotyping in 176 patients with TNBC and 1000 cancer-free controls. The results showed that TNBC patients under 60 years old who carried a TC or CC genotype at EZH2 rs6950683 and re3757441 had a tumor size of 20 mm or smaller (T1). Thus, this study is the first to examine the age and mutant genes associated with EZH2 SNPs in TNBC progression and development in Taiwan.
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Background: The most common spinal disorder in elderly is lumbar spinal canal stenosis (LSCS). Previous studies showed that ligamentum flavum hypertrophy (LFH) with fibrosis as the main pathological change is one of the pathogenic factors leading to LSCS. Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF) is known to have an intimate relationship with fibrosis in various tissues. ⋯ Meanwhile, pEGFR, TGF-β1, pSmad3, collagen I and collagen III protein expression was significantly enhanced in LF cells after exogenous EGF exposure, which can be notably blocked by erlotinib. In addition, pSmad3, collagen I and collagen III protein expression was blocked by TGF-β1-neutralizing antibody. Conclusions: EGF promotes the synthesis of collagen I and collagen III via the TGF-β1/Smad3 signaling pathway, which eventually contributes to LFH.