Clinical Significance of Apurinic/Apyrimidinic Endodeoxyribonuclease 1 and MicroRNA Axis in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Background and Aims: Identification of prognostic factors for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) opens new perspectives for therapy. Circulating and cellular onco-miRNAs are noncod-ing RNAs which can control the expression of genes involved in oncogenesis through post-transcriptional mechanisms. These microRNAs (miRNAs) are considered novel prognostic and predictive factors in HCC. The apurinic/apyrimidinic endodeoxy-ribonuclease 1 (APE1) contributes to the quality control and processing of specific onco-miRNAs and is a negative prognostic factor in several tumors. The present work aims to: a) de-fine APE1 prognostic value in HCC; b) identify miRNAs regulated by APE1 and their relative target genes and c) study their prognostic value. Methods: We used The Cancer Genome At-las (commonly known as TCGA) data analysis to evaluate the expression of APE1 in HCC. To identify differentially-expressed miRNAs (DEmiRNAs) upon APE1 depletion through specific small interfering RNA, we used NGS and nanostring approaches in the JHH-6 HCC tumor cell line. Bioinformatics analyses were performed to identify signaling pathways involving APE1-regulated miRNAs. Microarray analysis was performed to identify miRNAs correlating with serum APE1 expression. Results: APE1 is considerably overexpressed in HCC tissues compared to normal liver, according to the TCGA-liver HCC (known as LIHC) dataset. Enrichment analyses showed that APE1-regulated miRNAs are implicated in signaling and meta- bolic pathways linked to cell proliferation, transformation, and angiogenesis, identifying Cyclin Dependent Kinase 6 and Lyso-somal Associated Membrane Protein 2 as targets. miR-33a-5p, miR-769, and miR-877 are related to lower overall survival in HCC patients. Through array profiling, we identified eight circulating DE-miRNAs associated with APE1 overexpression. A training phase identified positive association between sAPE1 and miR-3180-3p and miR-769. Conclusions: APE1 regulates specific miRNAs having prognostic value in HCC

Emotions and fear: from neurobiological mechanisms to pharmacological interventions

Abstract not available

Competing Motivations: Proactive Response Inhibition Toward Addiction-Related Stimuli in Quitting-Motivated Individuals.

We examined whether addiction-related cues impact proactive inhibition (the restraint of actions in preparation for stopping) in individuals who are motivated to quit gambling or cannabis use. In Study 1, treatment-seeking individuals with cannabis use disorder and matched controls performed a stop-signal task that required them to inhibit categorizing cannabis or neutral pictures, and within varying levels of stop-signal probability. In Study 2, two groups of individuals, who applied to a voluntary self-exclusion program toward gambling, performed the stop-task following relaxation or gambling craving induction, with results compared to non-gamblers. Study 1 showed that despite being less efficient in proactive inhibition, individuals with cannabis use disorder exhibited heightened proactive inhibition toward cannabis cues. In Study 2, proactive inhibition toward gambling cues was heightened in gamblers after craving, but the degree of proactive adjustment decreased as a function of induced changes in gambling-related motivation. Present findings demonstrate that exposure to addiction-related cues can modulate proactive inhibition in individuals who are motivated to restrict their addictive behaviors.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

[use Of A Thin Retrocardiac Drain After Open Heart Surgery. Description Of The Technique].

To describe a technique with a thin drainage system placed behind the heart, avoiding reoperation caused by tamponade due to pericardial effusion in patients who undergo open heart surgery. We studied 59 patients, average age of 50 years. Twenty-six (44%) patients had undergone CABG, 25 (42%) valvar procedures and 8 (14%) different procedures. The control group were 20 patients, average age 44 years. Nine (45%) underwent CABG, 6 (30%) valvar procedures and 5 (25%) other procedures. Every patient was submitted to echocardiographic study to verify presence of pericardial effusion after operation. There was one patient with pericardial effusion with 8mm in the study group. Six patients showed pericardial effusion in the control group. The control group had mean drainage flow of 320 +/- 110ml and average permanence time was 45 +/- 10h. The study group had mean drainage flow of 410 +/- 122ml, the average permanence time was 46 +/- 10h. There was statistic difference between both groups when we compared the frequency of pericardial effusion. This drainage system reduces pericardial effusion comparing with the literature and causes little discomfort to the patient. The fixed rule to remove the drains did not present more discomfort to the patient and there were no complications related to its permanence.68181-