The Influences of TSH Stimulation Level, Stimulated Tg Level and Tg/TSH Ratio on the Therapeutic Effect of 131I Treatment in DTC Patients

PurposeTo study the influences of pre-ablation TSH stimulation level, sTg and sTg/TSH ratio on the therapeutic effect of the first 131I treatment in DTCs.MethodsAccording to the thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels (mU/l), all the 479 differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) patients were divided into two groups: TSH < 30 and TSH ≥ 30. The TSH ≥ 30 group was divided into three subgroups: 30 ≤ TSH < 60, 60 ≤ TSH < 90 and TSH ≥ 90. The clinical features and the therapeutic effects of the first 131I treatment were analyzed. The cutoffs of stimulated thyroglobulin (sTg) and sTg/TSH ratio were calculated to predict the therapeutic effect of 131I treatment.ResultsAmong the three subgroups, the TSH ≥ 90 subgroup was younger and less likely to be associated with cervical lymph node metastasis (LNM). The postoperative levothyroxine (L-T4) dose in the 60 ≤ TSH < 90 subgroup was the lowest. Between the two groups, patients in the TSH < 30 group had higher postoperative L-T4 dose and longer thyroid hormone withdrawal (THW) time. The excellent response rates six months after the first 131I treatment among the three subgroups and between the two groups were not of statistical significance. The distribution of different TSH stimulation levels among each response group was similar. The cutoffs for the better therapeutic effect of the first 131I treatment in sTg and sTg/TSH were < 9.51 ng/ml and < 0.11, respectively. Both univariate and multivariate logistic regressions showed that cervical LNM, distant metastasis, higher sTg and higher sTg/TSH ratio predicted poorer therapeutic effect.ConclusionsThere was no significant influence of TSH stimulation levels before the first 131I treatment on the therapeutic effect of DTC. The sTg/TSH ratio can be considered as another predictor of 131I therapeutic effect

Immunotherapy with a biologically active ICAM-1 mAb and an siRNA targeting TSHR in a BALB/c mouse model of Graves’ disease

Objective To study targeted therapies using a biologically active monoclonal antibody against intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1 mAb) and an siRNA targeting thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) receptor (TSHR) in a BALB/c mouse model of Graves’ disease (GD). Methods An improved method for establishing a stable model of GD in BALB/c mice was developed by immunization with pcDNA 3.1/TSHR 289 and electroporation (EP). The mice in which GD was successfully established were divided into a nontreated control group, which was treated with continuous immunization, and treated groups, which were treated with the siRNA and ICAM-1 mAb. Normal mice were included as a blank group. These groups were used to compare the effects of treatment with the ICAM-1 mAb and siRNA. Results The two novel treatments markedly improved weight loss, serum thyroxine (T4) levels, thyroid-stimulating hormone antibody (TSAb) levels, thyroid-stimulating blocking antibody (TSBAb) levels and thyroid uptake of 99mTcO4 in GD model mice. Compared with the siRNA treatment, treatment with the ICAM-1 mAb produced more obvious benefits. The differences in the posttreatment indexes between the two treatment groups were statistically significant (P<0.05). Conclusions These preliminary data suggest that both the biologically active ICAM-1 mAb and the siRNA targeting TSHR were effective. The ICAM-1 mAb exerted a better therapeutic effect than the siRNA targeting TSHR. Both treatments showed potential efficacy as novel treatments for GD and may therefore represent therapeutic options in addition to the existing drugs or interventions

Observation of strong coupling between a mechanical oscillator and a cavity-magnon polariton

Cavity magnomechanics (CMM) is an emerging field and has received much attention in the past decade. It deals with coherent couplings among microwave cavity photons, magnons and vibration phonons. So far, all previous CMM experiments have been operated in the weak-coupling regime. This considerably limits prospective various applications of the system. Here, we demonstrate the CMM system in the strong-coupling regime and observe the associated normal-mode splitting. In this regime, the mechanical oscillator is strongly coupled to a cavity-magnon polariton that is formed by strongly coupled cavity photons and magnons, and the polariton-mechanics cooperativity reaches $4\times10^3$, which is improved by three orders of magnitude than previous CMM experiments. The system is then in the triple-strong-coupling regime and the normal modes of the system are the hybridization of microwave photons, magnons and phonons. This is achieved by significantly reducing the linewidth of the polariton mode using coherent perfect absorption and the linewidth is reduced by four orders of magnitude. The work paves the way towards full quantum control of phonons, photons and magnons, and provides a new platform for the study of rich strong-coupling effects in multipartite hybrid systems

Differential expression of ozone-induced gene during exposures to salt stress in Polygonum sibiricum Laxm leaves, stem and underground stem

The response of plants to environmental stresses is characterized by a number of physiological and biochemical changes that ultimately result from the selective increase or decrease in the biosynthesis of a large number of distinct proteins. In this report, we describe the characterization of an ozoneinduced transcript, PcOZI-1, which has been identified from Polygonum sibiricum Laxm by the rapid amplification of cDNA ends method (RACE). PcOZI-1 mRNA in untreated plants was detected at low levels in underground stem, leaves and at higher levels in stem. PcOZI-1 mRNA accumulation was transiently induced in stem 7-fold within the first 8 h of 3% NaHCO3 treatment. PcOZI-1 mRNA accumulation was also induced 22-fold in underground stem after 72 h. Sequence analysis of PcOZI-1 revealed that it encodes a 8.45 kDa basic protein that contains a putative signal peptide. Our results suggest that PcOZI-1 represents a novel stress-related protein that accumulates in response to the production of active oxygen species.Keywords: Polygonum sibiricum Laxm, PcOZI-1, rapid amplification of cDNA ends, gene expressionAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 9(33), pp. 5338-5342, 16 August, 201

Genome-wide analysis of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in tea plants (Camellia sinensis) lateral roots in response to nitrogen application

Tea (Camellia sinensis) is one of the significant cash crops in China. As a leaf crop, nitrogen supply can not only increase the number of new shoots and leaves but also improve the tenderness of the former. However, a conundrum remains in science, which is the molecular mechanism of nitrogen use efficiency, especially long non-coding RNA (lncRNA). In this study, a total of 16,452 lncRNAs were identified through high-throughput sequencing analysis of lateral roots under nitrogen stress and control conditions, of which 9,451 were differentially expressed lncRNAs (DE-lncRNAs). To figure out the potential function of nitrogen-responsive lncRNAs, co-expression clustering was employed between lncRNAs and coding genes. KEGG enrichment analysis revealed nitrogen-responsive lncRNAs may involve in many biological processes such as plant hormone signal transduction, nitrogen metabolism and protein processing in endoplasmic reticulum. The expression abundance of 12 DE-lncRNAs were further verified by RT-PCR, and their expression trends were consistent with the results of RNA-seq. This study expands the research on lncRNAs in tea plants, provides a novel perspective for the potential regulation of lncRNAs on nitrogen stress, and valuable resources for further improving the nitrogen use efficiency of tea plants

Factors influencing cognitive function in patients with Huntington's disease from China: A cross-sectional clinical study.

BACKGROUND AND AIM Huntington's disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant inherited neurodegenerative disorder caused by CAG repeats expansion. Cognitive decline contributes to the loss of daily activity in manifest HD. We aimed to examine the cognition status in a Chinese HD cohort and explore factors influencing the diverse cognitive domains. METHODS A total of 205 participants were recruited in the study with the assessment by neuropsychological batteries, including the mini-mental state examination (MMSE), Stroop test, symbol digit modalities test (SDMT), trail making test (TMT), verbal fluency test (VFT), and Hopkins verbal learning test-revised, as well as motor and psychiatric assessment. Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression models were applied to investigate the correlation. RESULTS Only 41.46% of patients had normal global function first come to our center. There was a significantly difference in MMSE, Stroop test, SDMT, TMT, and VFT across each stage of HD patients (p < .05). Apathy of PBA-s was correlated to MMSE, animal VFT and Stroop-interference tests performance. Severity of motor symptoms, functional capacity, age, and age of motor symptom onset were correlated to all neuropsychological scores, whereas education attainment and diagnostic delay were correlated to most neuropsychological scores except TMT. Severity of motor symptoms, functional capacity, and education attainment showed independent predicting effect (p < .05) in diverse cognitive domains. CONCLUSION Cognitive impairment was very common in Chinese HD patients at the first visit and worse in the patients in advanced phase. The severity of motor symptoms and functional capacity were correlated to the diverse cognitive domains