928 research outputs found

    Clinical significance and therapeutic value of glutathione peroxidase 3 (GPx3) in hepatocellular carcinoma

    Get PDF
    AIMS: We aimed to investigate the clinical significance of GPx3 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and to characterize its tumor suppressive role. METHODS: HCC patients (113) who underwent hepatectomy were recruited to examine the clinical relevance of GPx3. The tumor suppressive role of GPx3 was studied by administration of recombinant GPx3 (rGPx3) or over-expression of GPx3 in HCC cells in vitro and in vivo. The therapeutic value of GPx3 for HCC was further investigated using human induced pluripotent stem cell derived mesenchymal stem cells (hiPSC-MSCs) as its delivery vehicle. RESULTS: Down-regulation of GPx3 significantly correlated with advanced tumor stage (P = 0.024), venous infiltration (P = 0.043) and poor overall survival (P = 0.007) after hepatectomy. Lower plasma GPx3 in HCC patients was significantly associated with larger tumor size (P = 0.011), more tumor nodules (P = 0.032) and higher recurrence (P = 0.016). Over-expression of GPx3 or administration of rGPx3 significantly inhibited proliferation and invasiveness of HCC cells in vitro and in vivo. Tumor suppressive activity of GPx3 was mediated through Erk-NFκB-SIP1 pathway. GPx3 could be delivered by hiPSC-MSCs into the tumor and exhibited tumor suppressive activity in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: GPx3 is a tumor suppressor gene in HCC and may possess prognostic and therapeutic value for HCC patients.published_or_final_versio

    Trends in incidence and mortality of nasopharyngeal carcinoma over a 20–25 year period (1978/1983–2002) in Sihui and Cangwu counties in southern China

    Get PDF
    BACKGROUND: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a rare malignancy in most parts of the world but is common in southern China. A recent report from the Hong Kong Cancer Registry, a high-risk area for NPC in southern China, showed that incidence rate decreased by 29% for males and by 30% for females from 1980–1999, while mortality rate decreased by 43% for males and 50% for females. Changing environmental risk factors and improvements in diagnosis and treatment were speculated to be the major factors contributing to the downward trend of the incidence and mortality rates of NPC. To investigate the secular trends in different Cantonese populations with different socio-economic backgrounds and lifestyles, we report the incidences and mortality rates from two population-based cancer registries in Sihui and Cangwu counties from 1978–2002. METHODS: Incidence and mortality rates were aggregated by 5-year age groups and 5 calendar years. To adjust for the effect of difference in age composition for different periods, the total and age-specific rates of NPC incidence and mortality rate were adjusted by direct standardization according to the World Standard Population (1960). The Estimated Annual Percentage Change (EAPC) was used as an estimate of the trend. RESULTS: The incidence rate of NPC has remained stable during the recent two decades in Sihui and in females in Cangwu, with a slight increase observed in males in Cangwu from 17.81 to 19.76 per 100,000. The incidence rate in Sihui is 1.4–2.0 times higher during the corresponding years than in Cangwu, even though the residents of both areas are of Cantonese ethnicity. A progressive decline in mortality rate was observed in females only in Sihui, with an average reduction of 6.3% (p = 0.016) per five-year period. CONCLUSION: To summarize, there is great potential to work in the area of NPC prevention and treatment in southern China to decrease NPC risk and improve survival risk rates in order to reduce M:I ratios. Future efforts on effective prevention, early detection and treatment strategies were also discussed in this paper. Furthermore, the data quality and completeness also need to be improved

    Down-regulation of GRP78 is associated with the sensitivity of chemotherapy to VP-16 in small cell lung cancer NCI-H446 cells

    Get PDF
    <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Chemotherapy resistance remains a major obstacle for the treatment of small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78), an endoplasmic reticulum chaperone, plays a critical role in chemotherapy resistance in some cancers. However, whether the suppression of the chaperone can enhance the sensitivity of chemotherapy in SCLC is still unclear.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The SCLC NCI-H446 cells were divided into three groups: BAPTA-AM→A23187-treated group, A23187-treated group and control-group. Immunofluorescence, western blot and RT-PCR were used to assess the expression of GRP78 at both protein and mRNA levels. Cell apoptosis and the cell cycle distributions of the cells were analyzed by flow cytometry in order to evaluate the therapeutic sensitivity to VP-16.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The expression of GRP78 at both protein and mRNA levels in the BAPTA-AM→A23187-treated cells dramatically decreased as compared to that in both A23187-treated and control groups. After treatment by VP-16, the percentage of apoptotic cells in BAPTA-AM→A23187-treated cells were: 33.4 ± 1.01%, 48.2 ± 1.77%, 53.0 ± 1.43%, 56.5 ± 2.13%, respectively, corresponding to the concentrations of BAPTA-AM 10, 15, 25, 40 μM, which was statistically significant high in comparison with the A23187-treated group and untreated-group (7.18 ± 1.03% and 27.8 ± 1.45%, respectively, p < 0.05). The results from analysis of cell cycle distribution showed that there was a significantly decreased in G<sub>1 </sub>phase and a dramatically increased in S phase for the BAPTA-AM→A23187-treated cells as compared with the untreated cells.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>BAPTA-AM is a strong inhibitor of GRP78 in the NCI-H446 cell line, the down-regulation of GRP78 can significantly increase the sensitivity to VP-16. The suppression of GRP78 may offer a new surrogated therapeutic approach to the clinical management of lung cancer.</p

    A novel oxygen carrier sensitized Cisplatin based chemotherapy in hepatocellular carcinoma

    Get PDF
    Publication no. P-312BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Our previous study showed that acute phase liver graft injury not only promotes tumor recurrence, but also induces chemoresistance in recurrent HCC after liver transplantation [1]. Recently, we found that the oxygen carrier 'YQ23' significantly ameliorates hepatic IR injury and prevents tumor recurrence [2]. Here, we intended to explore the novel therapeutic strategy using oxygen carrier 'YQ23' to sensitize chemotherapy in ...postprin

    Knowledge and attitude on maternal health care among rural-to-urban migrant women in Shanghai, China

    Get PDF
    <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In China, with the urbanization, women migrated from rural to big cities presented much higher maternal mortality rates than local residents. Health knowledge is one of the key factors enabling women to be aware of their rights and health status in order to seek appropriate health services. This study aims to assess the knowledge and attitude on maternal health care and the contributing factors to being knowledgeable among rural-to-urban migrant women in Shanghai.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-sectional study was conducted in a district center hospital in Shanghai where migrants gathered. Totally 475 rural-to-urban migrant pregnant women were interviewed and completed the self-administered questionnaire after obtaining informed consent.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The mean score of knowledge on maternal health care was 8.28 out of 12. However, only 36.6% women had attended the required 5 antenatal checks, and 58.3% of the subjects thought financial constrains being the main reason for not attending antenatal care. It was found that higher level of education (OR = 3.3, 95%CI: 1.8–3.8), husbands' Shanghai residence (OR = 4.0, 95%CI: 1.3–12.1) and better family income (OR = 3.3, 95%CI: 1.4–8.2) were associated with better knowledge.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Rural-to-urban migrant women's unawareness of maternal health service, together with their vulnerable living status, influences their utilization of maternal health care. Tailored maternal health education and accessible services are in demands for this population.</p
    • …
    corecore