Integrin α6 targeted cancer imaging and therapy

Integrins represent ideal targets for molecular imaging and targeted therapy of cancer and their role in cancer has been reviewed extensively elsewhere. Except for αVβ3 and αVβ5, the remaining integrins were not systematically considered and tested as potential therapeutic targets. In recent years, the studies on integrin α6 as a cancer imaging and therapeutic target are increasing, due to their highly expressed in several cancers, and their expression has been associated with poor survival. Integrin α6 appears to be a particularly attractive target for cancer imaging and therapy, and therefore we have developed a wide array of integrin α6-target molecular probes for molecular imaging and targeted therapy of different cancers. Despite the studies on integrin α6 as a cancer imaging and therapeutic target increasing in recent years, most of them were derived from preclinical mouse models, revealing that much more can be done in the future. The development of integrin α6 drugs may now be at an important point, with opportunities to learn from previous research, to explore new approaches. In this review, we will briefly introduce integrin α6 and highlighted the recent advances in integrin α6 targeted imaging and therapeutics in cancer

Bloodstream infection, peritonitis, and pneumonia caused by Pasteurella multocida in a patient with liver cirrhosis despite no animal contact: case report and literature review

Pasteurella multocida is an opportunistic pathogen. Previously reported infections associated with P. multocida have often been linked to contact with cats, dogs, and other animals. Cases of systemic multiple-site infections following P. multocida infection are rare. This case study presents a 49-year-old middle-aged man with post-hepatitis B cirrhosis and no history of animal contact. The patient was admitted with symptoms of fever accompanied by diarrhea, abdominal distension, and cough. Blood tests showed elevated levels of CRP, PCT, and IL-6, and blood culture revealed the growth of P. multocida. CT scans revealed a large amount of abdominal effusion, a small amount of pleural effusion, and pulmonary infection foci. The patient’s condition improved after successive administration of ceftriaxone and levofloxacin to fight the infection, and abdominal puncture and drainage. Multiple-site infections caused by P. multocida are rarely encountered in patients with liver cirrhosis but without animal contact, which could be regarded as serious conditions warranting careful attention in terms of clinical diagnosis and treatment

Integrin α6 targeted cancer imaging and therapy

Integrins represent ideal targets for molecular imaging and targeted therapy of cancer and their role in cancer has been reviewed extensively elsewhere. Except for αVβ3 and αVβ5, the remaining integrins were not systematically considered and tested as potential therapeutic targets. In recent years, the studies on integrin α6 as a cancer imaging and therapeutic target are increasing, due to their highly expressed in several cancers, and their expression has been associated with poor survival. Integrin α6 appears to be a particularly attractive target for cancer imaging and therapy, and therefore we have developed a wide array of integrin α6-target molecular probes for molecular imaging and targeted therapy of different cancers. Despite the studies on integrin α6 as a cancer imaging and therapeutic target increasing in recent years, most of them were derived from preclinical mouse models, revealing that much more can be done in the future. The development of integrin α6 drugs may now be at an important point, with opportunities to learn from previous research, to explore new approaches. In this review, we will briefly introduce integrin α6 and highlighted the recent advances in integrin α6 targeted imaging and therapeutics in cancer

Sympathetic skin response and R-R interval variation in the assessment of clinical remission of bipolar disorder

For our retrospective study, we chose patients who met the inclusion criteria for bipolar disorder (BD) according to the ICD-10. We conducted correlation analyses between scale scores and SSR and RRIV values before and after 1 year ±1 month of treatment. Our results suggest that the feet SSR latency and R% can be used as an indicator of clinical BD remission. The scales have high sensitivity and low specificity in assessing BD remission

Expression and Characterization of a Potent Long-Acting GLP-1 Receptor Agonist, GLP-1-IgG2σ-Fc.

Human GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) can produce a remarkable improvement in glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes. However, its clinical benefits are limited by its short half-life, which is less than 2 min because of its small size and rapid enzymatic inactivation by dipeptidyl peptidase IV. We engineered GLP-1-IgG2σ-Fc, a 68-kDa fusion protein linking a variant human GLP-1 (A8G/G26E/R36G) to a human IgG2σ constant heavy-chain. A stably transfected Chinese hamster ovary cell line was obtained using electroporation. Western blotting showed that the expressed protein was immunoreactive to both GLP-1 and IgG antibodies. GLP-1-IgG2σ-Fc stimulated insulin secretion from INS-1 cells in a dose- and glucose-dependent manner and increased insulin mRNA expression. The half-life of GLP-1-IgG2σ-Fc in cynomolgus monkeys was approximately 57.1 ± 4.5 h. In the KKAy mouse model of diabetes, one intraperitoneal injection of GLP-1-IgG2σ-Fc (1 mg/kg) reduced blood glucose levels for 5 days. A 4-week repeat-administration study identified sustained effects on blood glucose levels. Oral glucose tolerance tests conducted at the beginning and end of this 4-week period showed that GLP-1-IgG2σ-Fc produced a stable glucose lowering effect. In addition, KKAy mice treated with GLP-1-IgG2σ-Fc showed statistically significant weight loss from day 23. In conclusion, these properties of GLP-1-IgG2σ-Fc demonstrated that it represented a potential long-acting GLP-1 receptor agonist for the treatment of type 2 diabetes

Mapping common grey matter volume deviation across child and adolescent psychiatric disorders

Childhood and adolescence represent a time notable for the emergence of many psychiatric disorders, where comorbidity and co-occurrence of symptoms are well-documented. However, it remains unclear whether there exists common brain structural disturbance across psychiatric disorders in youth. Here, we conduct a transdiagnostic meta-analysis of 132 structural neuroimaging experiments in youth consisting of multiple psychiatric diagnoses. Compared to healthy peers, youth psychiatric disorders are characterized by reduced grey matter volume (GMV) of amygdala and lateral orbitofrontal cortex and enhanced GMV of ventromedial prefrontal cortex and precuneus. These four regions were then subjected to functional connectivity and decoding analyses based on healthy participant datasets, allowing for a data-driven quantitative inference on psychophysiological functions. These regions and their networks mapped onto systems implicated in negative valence, positive valence, as well as social and cognitive functioning. Together, our findings are consistent with transdiagnostic models of psychopathology, uncovering common structural disturbance across youth psychiatric disorders, potentially reflecting an intermediate transdiagnostic phenotype in association with broad dimensions of youth psychopathology

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pneumonia in a Hemodialysis Patient

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a highly infective disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 virus (SARS-CoV-2). Previous studies of the COVID-19 pneumonia outbreak were based on information from the general population. Limited data are available for hemodialysis patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. This report describes the clinical characteristics of COVID-19 in an in-center hemodialysis patient, as well as our experience in implementing steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19 pneumonia among in-center hemodialysis patients. The diagnosis, infection control, and treatment of COVID-19 in hemodialysis patients are discussed in this report, and we conclude with recommendations for how a dialysis facility can respond to COVID-19 based on our experiences

Anti-Transmission DNA Vaccine for Schistosomiasis japonica in China

Despite intensive control efforts, schistosomiasis remains an endemic, zoonotic disease of major public health importance in China. In the marsh and lake regions of China, water buffalo account for approximately 75% of disease transmission. In addition to acting as the major reservoir, infected water buffalo often experience poor growth and weight gain compared to non-infected animals. Thus, interventions which reduce schistosome infection in buffalo will be beneficial to buffalo health and aid in reducing disease prevalence in humans. In this regard, a mathematical model predicted that an anti-fecundity vaccine which reduces fecal egg output in water buffalo by 40-45% in conjunction with praziquantel treatment will significantly lead to reduction in transmission of schistosomiasis. In this study, we tested the ability of four schistosome- DNA vaccine constructs to reach these levels in water buffalo. The DNA vaccine constructs encode the glycolytic enzyme triose phosphate isomerase (SjCTPI) or the tetraspanin 23 kDa integral membrane protein (SjC23) or the same antigens fused to the N-terminus end of the bovine heat shock protein 70 (SjCTPI-Hsp70 and SjC23-Hsp70). We found that compared to buffalo vaccinated with the control plasmid DNA (pVAX), vaccination with SjCTPI-Hsp70 or SjCTPI plasmids reduced worm burdens by 51.2% and 41.5% respectively and importantly, fecal miracidialhatching was reduced by 52.1% and 33.2% respectively. Vaccination with SjC23-Hsp70 and SjC23 plasmids reduced worm burdens by 50.9% and 45.5% respectively and fecal miracidial-hatching by 52.0% and 47.4%. Thus both the SjCTPI-Hsp70 and SjC23-Hsp70 plasmid DNA vaccines exceeded the level of protection predicted by the mathematical model to significantly reduce transmission of schistosomiasis in the lakes and marsh regions of China. These data support the use of either of these two vaccines in a field-based intervention to determine if vaccination of buffalo will reduce transmission of schistosomiasis in China. (ACMCIP Abstract

Characterization, Antioxidant, Anti-Aging and Organ Protective Effects of Sulfated Polysaccharides from Flammulina velutipes

As an irreversible and complex degenerative physiological process, the treatment for aging seems strategically necessary, and polysaccharides play important roles against aging owing to their abundant bioactivities. In this paper, the antioxidant and anti-aging activities of Flammulina velutipes polysaccharides (FPS) and its sulfated FPS (SFPS) on d-galactose-induced aging mice were investigated. The in vitro antioxidant activities demonstrated that SFPS had strong reducing power and superior scavenging effects on 2, 2-diphenylpicrylhydrazyl (DPPH), hydroxyl radicals and the chelating activities of Fe2+. The in vivo animal experiments manifested that the SFPS showed superior antioxidant and protective abilities against the d-galactose-induced aging by increasing the antioxidant enzyme activities, decreasing lipid peroxidation, improving the inflammatory response and ameliorating the anile condition of mice. Furthermore, the structural analysis of SFPS was investigated through FT-IR, NMR, and HPLC analysis, and the results indicated that SFPS was a homogeneous heteropolysaccharide with a weight-average molecular weight of 2.81 × 103 Da. Furthermore, SFPS has also changed in characteristic functional groups and monosaccharide composition compared to FPS. These results suggested that sulfated modification could enhance the anti-oxidation, anti-aging and protective activities of F. velutipes polysaccharides, which may provide references for the development of functional foods and natural medicines