Effects of Hepaclin-4 on Hepatocellular Carcinoma (Hep G2)

Objective: Liver cancer is the fifth most frequent cancer worldwide and is usually diagnosed at an advanced stage. Natural products play an important role in anticancer drug therapy because they are effective in treating specific characteristics of cancer while also effective at reducing side effects. However, the cytotoxicity and anti-proliferative effects of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, Saussurea amara L, Chiazospermum erectum (L) Bernh, Carthamus tinctorius L., remain unclear. Our research aims to investigate the anti-cancer properties of Hepaclin-4 (Hep-4) extracts from the above mentioned plants. Methods: To evaluate the in vitro cytotoxicity of Hep-4, an ethanol extract of Hep-4 (500, 250, 125, 100, 50, and 10 μg/mL)L, doxorubicin, and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) were assessed against the Hep G2 hepatocarcinoma cell line by monitoring proliferation using the MTT assay method. Results: The results demonstrated growth inhibition of cells in both dose-and time-dependent manners. Hep-4 inhibited Hep G2 transformation in 45% and the comparative group, 5-FU, effects on 40% of it. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that Hep-4 extracts have the potential to be a potent cytotoxic agent against Hep G2 cells, as it has commendable anti-proliferative effects against hepatocarcinoma cell lines and can be considered an effective adjuvant therapeutic agent

Free and universal, but unequal utilization of primary health care in the rural and urban areas of Mongolia

Abstract Background The entire population of Mongolia has free access to primary health care, which is fully funded by the government. It is provided by family health centers in urban settings. In rural areas, it is included in outpatient and inpatient services offered by rural soum (district) health centers. However, primary health care utilization differs across population groups. The aim of this study was to evaluate income-related inequality in primary health care utilization in the urban and rural areas of Mongolia. Methods Data from the Household Socio-Economic Survey 2012 were used in this study. The Erreygers concentration index was employed to assess inequality in primary health care utilization in both urban and rural areas. The indirect standardization method was applied to measure the degree of horizontal inequity. Results The concentration index for primary health care at family health centers in urban areas was significantly negative (−0.0069), indicating that utilization was concentrated among the poor. The concentration index for inpatient care utilization at the soum health centers was significantly positive (0.0127), indicating that, in rural areas, higher income groups were more likely to use inpatient services at the soum health centers. Conclusions Income-related inequality in primary health care utilization exists in Mongolia and the pattern differs across geographical areas. Significant pro-poor inequality observed in urban family health centers indicates that their more effective gatekeeping role is necessary. Eliminating financial and non-financial access barriers for the poor and higher need groups in rural areas would make a key contribution to reducing pro-rich inequality in inpatient care utilization at soum health centers

Does social health insurance prevent financial hardship in Mongolia? Inpatient care: A case in point.

BackgroundProtecting people from financial hardship and impoverishment due to health care costs is one of the fundamental purposes of the Mongolian health system. However, the inefficient, oversized hospital sector is considered one of the main shortcomings of the system. The aim of this study is to contribute to policy discussions by estimating the extent of catastrophic health expenditure and impoverishment due to inpatient care at secondary-level and tertiary-level public hospitals and private hospitals.MethodsData were derived from a nationally representative survey, the Household Socio-Economic Survey 2012, conducted by the National Statistical Office of Mongolia. A total of 12,685 households were involved in the study. "Catastrophic health expenditure" is defined as out-of-pocket payments for inpatient care that exceed a threshold of 40% of households' non-discretionary expenditure. The "impoverishment" effect of out-of-pocket payments for inpatient care was estimated as the difference between the poverty level before health care payments and the poverty level after these payments.ResultsAt the threshold of 40% of capacity to pay, 0.31%, 0.07%, and 0.02% of Mongolian households suffered financially as a result of their member(s) staying in tertiary-level and secondary-level public hospitals and private hospitals respectively. About 0.13% of the total Mongolian population was impoverished owing to out-of-pocket payments for inpatient care at tertiary-level hospitals. Out-of-pocket payments for inpatient care at secondary-level hospitals and private hospitals were responsible for 0.10% and 0.09% respectively of the total population being pushed into poverty.ConclusionsAlthough most inpatient care at public hospitals is covered by the social health insurance benefit package, patients who utilized inpatient care at tertiary-level public hospitals were more likely to push their households into financial hardship and poverty than the inpatients at private hospitals. Improving the hospital sector's efficiency and financial protection for inpatients would be a crucial means of attaining universal health coverage in Mongolia

The genomic landscape of Mongolian hepatocellular carcinoma

Mongolia has the highest incidence of—and mortality from—hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in the world. Here, the authors examine the genomic and transcriptomic landscape of Mongolian HCC, uncover novel driver mutations, and suggest distinct disease etiologies

Distribution of activated microglial cells and neuron in the hippocampus of the control or rats exposed to binge-alcohol at days 9 and 11.

<p>(A) OX-42-positive microglial cells were measured by immunohistochemical staining in control or alcohol-exposed rats brains. (B) Cresyl violet staining was used to detect decreasing neuronal cell number in the hippocampus of alcohol-exposed rats. (C) Number of OX-42 positive and cresyl violet stained cells in the hippocampus in control or alcohol-exposed rats. (D) Number of OX-42 positive and cresyl violet stained cells in the cerebellum at control or alcohol-exposed rats (white bar; OX-42 positive cell (activated microglia), black bar; cresyl violet positive cell (neuron)). Scale bar  = 200 µm. **; p<0.001, ***; p<0.0001.</p

Microglial AGE-Albumin Is Critical in Promoting Alcohol-Induced Neurodegeneration in Rats and Humans

<div><p>Alcohol is a neurotoxic agent, since long-term heavy ingestion of alcohol can cause various neural diseases including fetal alcohol syndrome, cerebellar degeneracy and alcoholic dementia. However, the molecular mechanisms of alcohol-induced neurotoxicity are still poorly understood despite numerous studies. Thus, we hypothesized that activated microglial cells with elevated AGE-albumin levels play an important role in promoting alcohol-induced neurodegeneration. Our results revealed that microglial activation and neuronal damage were found in the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex following alcohol treatment in a rat model. Increased AGE-albumin synthesis and secretion were also observed in activated microglial cells after alcohol exposure. The expressed levels of receptor for AGE (RAGE)-positive neurons and RAGE-dependent neuronal death were markedly elevated by AGE-albumin through the mitogen activated protein kinase pathway. Treatment with soluble RAGE or AGE inhibitors significantly diminished neuronal damage in the animal model. Furthermore, the levels of activated microglial cells, AGE-albumin and neuronal loss were significantly elevated in human brains from alcoholic indivisuals compared to normal controls. Taken together, our data suggest that increased AGE-albumin from activated microglial cells induces neuronal death, and that efficient regulation of its synthesis and secretion is a therapeutic target for preventing alcohol-induced neurodegeneration.</p></div

List of characteristics of human specimens including alcoholic individuals (1–5) and control (6–10).

<p>List of characteristics of human specimens including alcoholic individuals (1–5) and control (6–10).</p

AGE-albumin level in rat brains.

<p>Triple-labeled confocal microscopic image analyses were used to study the distribution and relative levels of albumin (green), AGE (red), and DAPI (blue) in the hippocampus Cornu Ammonis Area1 (CA1), Cornu Ammonis Area2 (CA2), Cornu Ammonis Area3 (CA3), Dendate Gyrus (DG) of the control rats (A) and binge-alcohol exposed rats (B). Scale bar  = 50 µm. (C, D) Co-immuonoprecipitation analysis of AGE-ALB in the hippocampus (C) and cerebellum (D) in control or alcohol-exposed rats on days 9 and 11. Scale bar  = 50 µm.</p