Antitumor and apoptosis induction effects of paeonol on mice bearing EMT6 breast carcinoma

Paeonol is a major phenolic micromolecular component of Moutan cortex Radicis, a traditional Chinese Medicine. It has shown antitumor effects in previous studies; however, the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. This study investigated the mechanism by giving treatments of placebo, cyclophosphamide, paeonol of 150 and 300 mg/kg to 4 groups of mice bearing EMT6 breast cancer. Apoptosis in tumor cells were confirmed by morphology analysis, including hematoxylin, eosin staining and TUNEL staining. The results showed that the weight of EMT6 breast tumor was significantly reduced in the groups treated with both 150 and 300 mg/kg of paeonol. Immunohistochemical and Western blot results showed that the expression of Bcl-2 was down-regulated while the expression of Bax, caspase 8 and caspase 3 was up-regulated respectively. These results suggest that paeonol exhibits antitumor effects and the mechanism of the inhibition is via induction of apoptosis, regulation of Bcl-2 and Bax expression, and activation of caspase 8 and caspase 3

Antitumor effects of paeonol on mice bearing EMT6 breast Infiltrating ductal carcinoma

Paeonol is a micromolecular phenolic compound and it is the main component of Chinese herbal medicine that has been isolated from the root bark of Paeonia moutan. Paeonol is identified to have various physiological activities. In this study the antitumor activity and the possible mechanisms of paeonol were investigated in mice bearing EMT6 breast cancer model. The results showed that paeonol (150 mg/kg and 300 mg/kg) effectively reduced the weight of EMT6 breast tumor. Compared with the control group, paeonol significantly increased the number of tumor cells in G0/G1 phase, increased the number of cells in apoptosis and decreased the number of cells in S phase and G2/M, inhibited the expression of mutant p53, Bcl-2 and C-erbB-2 protein. The mechanisms of paeonol of antitumor effects might be associated with inhibition of tumor cells in G0/G1 phase, inducing cell apoptosis and inhibiting the expression of mutant p53, Bcl-2 and C-erbB-2 protein.Colegio de Farmacéuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aire

Facilitators and Barriers Associated with Uptake of HIV Self-Testing among Men Who Have Sex with Men in Chongqing, China: A Cross-Sectional Survey

While studies on human immunodeficiency virus self-testing (HIVST) continue to accumulate after the World Health Organization’s recommendation of HIVST as an additional approach to HIV testing services in 2016, few studies have focused on men who have sex with men (MSM) in Chinese cities. A cross-sectional study was conducted to describe the HIVST status of MSM in Chongqing, China. MSM participants were recruited by random sampling, and qualified interviewers collected data, using confidential self-administered questionnaires. Blood specimens were collected for HIV antibody detection. The survey evaluated the uptake and accuracy of HIVST kits and identified factors that may be associated with HIVST. The proportion of HIVST uptake was 15.6%. The sensitivity and specificity of HIVST were 74.2% (95% confidence interval [CI] 66.6%–80.7%) and 99.0% (95% CI 96.9%–99.7%), respectively. The consistency between the HIVST kit and antibody detection results was 90.5% (95% CI 87.5%–93.0%), and the Kappa value was 0.777 (p < 0.001). The positive predictive value of self-testing kits is 80.9% and the negative predictive value is 17.7%. Having been tested ≥2 times in the last year, higher educational levels, and higher scores of basic HIV/AIDS knowledge facilitated higher uptake of HIVST. Self-reported existing barriers for HIVST uptake included older age, marital status, and having resided in Chongqing for more than two years

Recombination adenovirus-mediated human lactoferrin cDNA inhibits the growth of human MCF-7 breast cancer cells.

Human lactoferrin, an 80 kDa iron-binding glycoprotein, has antitumour effects. We have explored the potential therapeutic role of re-expressing human lactoferrin gene product in human breast cancer