Int J Med Sci
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Huaier extract, the main active constituent proteoglycan, has anti-tumor activity in various experimental and clinical settings. However, the potential anti-neuroblastoma and associated mechanisms have not been investigated. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to elucidate the potential role of Huaier extract in 3 human neuroblastoma cell lines. ⋯ Signaling analysis indicated that Huaier extract suppressed the MEK/ERK and mTOR signaling pathways simultaneously. In conclusion, we verify that Huaier extract causes cell proliferation inhibition, apoptosis, autophagy, and cell cycle arrest in G0/G1 phase via MEK/ERK and mTOR signaling. Huaier extract may act as a complementary agent for treating neuroblastoma.
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The therapeutic effect of dihydroartemisinin (DHA) against cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) has been previously demonstrated; however, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. This study sought to verify the therapeutic effect of DHA against cSCC and explore its underlying mechanism in A431 cSCC cells. This study reported that DHA inhibited A431 cells proliferation in a time- and concentration-dependent manner and promoted A431 cells apoptosis. ⋯ Treatment of A431 cells with the mTOR inhibitor, and autophagy promoter, rapamycin also inhibited these two pathways. In conclusion, DHA inhibited activation of the AIM2 inflammasome pathway and NF-κB/HIF-1α/VEGF pathway by promoting autophagy in A431 cells, thus accounting for its therapeutic effect. Induction of autophagy by DHA may be mediated by inhibiting the mTOR pathway and promoting reactive oxygen species production.
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Background: Multipotent and immune privileged properties of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were investigated for the treatment of various clinical diseases. For the years, many researches into the animal studies evaluated human stem cell therapeutic capacity related to the regenerative medicine. However, there were limited reports on immune privileged properties of human MSCs in animal studies. ⋯ Furthermore, no abnormal findings were observed from the histological analysis of sacrificed pigs. Conclusions: Overall, miniature pigs transplanted with human MSCs seeded with scaffold were found to have physiologically similar results to normal animals. This result might be a reliable indicator of the animal experiments using miniature pigs with human MSCs.
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Background: Increased stress among medical personnel had been reported in previous virus outbreaks. The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) emerged in December 2019, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). No qualitative assessment has yet described the physical and mental health conditions of frontline medical personnel in the COVID-19 outbreaks. ⋯ Third, new-onset skin allergies did not associate with either disinfection or anxiety, but did associate with a previous history of allergies. Conclusions: COVID-19-related worry leads to physical and mental health problems amongst medical personnel. Effective responses and interventions could relieve a series of new-onset physical and mental health problems.
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Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of primary liver cancer with a high mortality rate. Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) confers cancer cells with immune evasive ability by modulating the expression of immune checkpoints in many cancers. Thus, the aim of our study is to examine the interplay between EMT and immune checkpoint molecules in HCC. ⋯ In addition, TGF-β1 driven EMT was reversed following knockdown of B7-H3 in both HCC cells further validating the interplay between TGF-β1-mediated EMT and immune checkpoint expression in HCC. Furthermore, the coordinate expression of TGF-β1 with PD-L1 (p=0.01487) and B7-H3 (p=0.009687) was correlated with poor overall survival in 422 HCC patients. Our study has demonstrated a close association between TGF-β1-mediated EMT and regulation of immune checkpoints in HCC.