Characterization of POTE-2 Expression in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cell Lines

Hepatocellular carcinoma is the most common cancer of the liver and is the third leading cause of cancer deaths globally. Due to the limited serum biomarkers, detection of hepatocellular carcinoma usually occurs in the later, metastasized stages of the disease where the 5-year survival rate falls to around 3%. The identification of early diagnostic biomarkers for hepatocellular carcinoma is necessary to provide both improved prognostic outcomes and make treatment options dependent on liver dysfunction, such as resection and liver transplantation, available to patients. This study performed real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blot analysis for four hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines (SKHEP1, HEP3B, C3A, and HEPG2) to observe the expression of POTE-2 mRNA and protein. The data demonstrates significant overexpression of POTE-2 in HCC cell lines, indicating these HCC cell lines to be an ideal in-vitro model to study POTE-2 function in hepatocellular carcinoma

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Comparison of the anti-angiogenic effects of selected plant leaf extracts on the chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) of a 10-day old anas platyrhynchos (mallard duck) embryo

This study was undertaken to compare the anti-angiogenic effects of plant leaf extracts found in Silang, Cavite by administering them into the chorioallantoic membrane of 10-day old duck embryos. A concentration of 100 ppm and 300 ppm leaf extracts were administered to a total of sixty 10-day old duck eggs, with 20 eggs allotted to each plant. Incubation took place within two days after administering the extracts and the resulting collaterals obtained from the eggs were tallied thereafter. The results showed that the plant extracts of rosemary and amplaya presented significant anti-angiogenic effects thereby confirming the two to be the most effective inhibitor of angiogenesis. Recommendations for future researchers would be to considered adding possible pro-angiogenic plant extracts and include plants of the same family when doing a comparative or preferable quasi-experimental study

Risk of COVID-19 after natural infection or vaccinationResearch in context

Summary: Background: While vaccines have established utility against COVID-19, phase 3 efficacy studies have generally not comprehensively evaluated protection provided by previous infection or hybrid immunity (previous infection plus vaccination). Individual patient data from US government-supported harmonized vaccine trials provide an unprecedented sample population to address this issue. We characterized the protective efficacy of previous SARS-CoV-2 infection and hybrid immunity against COVID-19 early in the pandemic over three-to six-month follow-up and compared with vaccine-associated protection. Methods: In this post-hoc cross-protocol analysis of the Moderna, AstraZeneca, Janssen, and Novavax COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials, we allocated participants into four groups based on previous-infection status at enrolment and treatment: no previous infection/placebo; previous infection/placebo; no previous infection/vaccine; and previous infection/vaccine. The main outcome was RT-PCR-confirmed COVID-19 >7–15 days (per original protocols) after final study injection. We calculated crude and adjusted efficacy measures. Findings: Previous infection/placebo participants had a 92% decreased risk of future COVID-19 compared to no previous infection/placebo participants (overall hazard ratio [HR] ratio: 0.08; 95% CI: 0.05–0.13). Among single-dose Janssen participants, hybrid immunity conferred greater protection than vaccine alone (HR: 0.03; 95% CI: 0.01–0.10). Too few infections were observed to draw statistical inferences comparing hybrid immunity to vaccine alone for other trials. Vaccination, previous infection, and hybrid immunity all provided near-complete protection against severe disease. Interpretation: Previous infection, any hybrid immunity, and two-dose vaccination all provided substantial protection against symptomatic and severe COVID-19 through the early Delta period. Thus, as a surrogate for natural infection, vaccination remains the safest approach to protection. Funding: National Institutes of Health

Risk of COVID-19 after natural infection or vaccinationResearch in context

Background: While vaccines have established utility against COVID-19, phase 3 efficacy studies have generally not comprehensively evaluated protection provided by previous infection or hybrid immunity (previous infection plus vaccination). Individual patient data from US government-supported harmonized vaccine trials provide an unprecedented sample population to address this issue. We characterized the protective efficacy of previous SARS-CoV-2 infection and hybrid immunity against COVID-19 early in the pandemic over three-to six-month follow-up and compared with vaccine-associated protection. Methods: In this post-hoc cross-protocol analysis of the Moderna, AstraZeneca, Janssen, and Novavax COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials, we allocated participants into four groups based on previous-infection status at enrolment and treatment: no previous infection/placebo; previous infection/placebo; no previous infection/vaccine; and previous infection/vaccine. The main outcome was RT-PCR-confirmed COVID-19 >7–15 days (per original protocols) after final study injection. We calculated crude and adjusted efficacy measures. Findings: Previous infection/placebo participants had a 92% decreased risk of future COVID-19 compared to no previous infection/placebo participants (overall hazard ratio [HR] ratio: 0.08; 95% CI: 0.05–0.13). Among single-dose Janssen participants, hybrid immunity conferred greater protection than vaccine alone (HR: 0.03; 95% CI: 0.01–0.10). Too few infections were observed to draw statistical inferences comparing hybrid immunity to vaccine alone for other trials. Vaccination, previous infection, and hybrid immunity all provided near-complete protection against severe disease. Interpretation: Previous infection, any hybrid immunity, and two-dose vaccination all provided substantial protection against symptomatic and severe COVID-19 through the early Delta period. Thus, as a surrogate for natural infection, vaccination remains the safest approach to protection. Funding: National Institutes of Health