Melatonin modulates the effects of diethylstilbestrol (DES) on the anterior pituitary of the female Wistar rat.

We studied the anti-tumorigenic effect of melatonin in diethylstilbestrol (DES)-treated anterior pituitaries in rats. Twenty-one female Wistar rats were randomly allocated into three groups: vehicle control rats, DES-treated rats, and DES-treated rats co-administrated with melatonin beginning at week 13. At the end of 16 weeks, rats were weighed and decapitated for morphological studies, including an H+E staining-based score evaluation in regard to cell proliferation, angiogenesis, immunostaining for VEGF, MMP-9, and AQP-1, and electron microscopy. Compared with vehicle, long-term treatment of DES significantly reduced rat body weight and increased H+E score, both of which were counteracted by melatonin. Administration of melatonin also reduced the expression of VEGF and MMP-9, although no changes were detected in AQP-1 expression. In rats cotreated with melatonin, the RER loosened and accumulated more secretion granules. We thus concluded that melatonin can modulate the effects of DES on the rat anterior pituitary by downregulating expression of VEGF and MMP-9 and suppressing the release of secretion granules, suggesting a therapeutic potential in estrogen-induced pituitary malfunctions

Somatic SF3B1 hotspot mutation in prolactinomas.

The genetic basis and corresponding clinical relevance of prolactinomas remain poorly understood. Here, we perform whole genome sequencing (WGS) on 21 patients with prolactinomas to detect somatic mutations and then validate the mutations with digital polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of tissue samples from 227 prolactinomas. We identify the same hotspot somatic mutation in splicing factor 3 subunit B1 (SF3B1R625H) in 19.8% of prolactinomas. These patients with mutant prolactinomas display higher prolactin (PRL) levels (p = 0.02) and shorter progression-free survival (PFS) (p = 0.02) compared to patients without the mutation. Moreover, we identify that the SF3B1R625H mutation causes aberrant splicing of estrogen related receptor gamma (ESRRG), which results in stronger binding of pituitary-specific positive transcription factor 1 (Pit-1), leading to excessive PRL secretion. Thus our study validates an important mutation and elucidates a potential mechanism underlying the pathogenesis of prolactinomas that may lead to the development of targeted therapeutics

Transesterification of vegetable oil on low cost and efficient meat and bone meal biochar catalysts

In this manuscript, the biochar obtained from waste pig meat and bone meal was modified and served as the support for the preparation of cost-effective solid base catalysts for the transesterification reaction. The composition, structure and texture of prepared catalysts were examined by scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), N-2 adsorption/desorption, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and the Hammett indicator method. In addition, the effects of catalyst preparation conditions, reaction conditions and the catalyst reusability were studied in detail. Meanwhile, the mechanism of catalyst was also discussed. It was found that the surface area and pore volume of the biochar were increased significantly (from 142.644 m(2)/g and 190.63 mm(3)/g to 430.517 m(2)/g and 486.56 mm(3)/g, respectively) by chemical activation treatment with KOH. The best performance is observed for the resulting 30K/AMB-550 catalyst, and over biodiesel yield of 98.2% was achieved at catalyst amount of 5 wt %, methanol/oil molar ratio of 7:1 and reaction time of 150 min. Besides, after reused for 10 cycles, only a slight deactivation was found (above 84% of yield obtained) due to K+ ions leached into reaction media

Effects of MFG-E8 expression on the biological characteristics of ovarian cancer cells via the AKT/mTOR/S6K signalling pathway

In this study, we assessed the effects of MFG-E8 on the biological characteristics of ovarian cancer cells and explored the underlying mechanisms. Human ovarian cancer SKOV3 cells were transfected with MFG-E8 siRNA or NC siRNA. CCK-8, cell adhesion, scratch-wound, and Transwell assays were used to detect changes in cell metastatic processes. Effects of MFG-E8 silencing on the proteins involved in AKT/mTOR/S6K signalling pathway were assessed using qRT-PCR and Western blotting. Transient silencing of MFG-E8 in SKOV3 cells decreased cell proliferation and downregulated the expression of CDK4, cyclin D1, and caspase-3 proteins. Cell adhesion, migration, and invasion were also suppressed. p-AKT, p-mTORC1, and p-p70S6K levels decreased following MFG-E8 knockdown. Hence, MFG-E8 enhances carcinogenesis and affects the AKT/mTOR/S6K signalling pathway in ovarian cancer cells. In conclusion, our results suggested that MFG-E8 could promote ovarian cancer via AKT/mTOR/S6K signalling pathway which improved our understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in ovarian cancer.IMPACT STATEMENT What is already known on this subject? Milk fat globule-epidermal growth factor 8 (MFG-E8) is expressed in several types of cancers such as oesophageal, breast, and liver. However, the mechanism of MFG-E8 involving in EOC remains unknown. We previously found that MFG-E8 expression was related to pathological staging, tissue differentiation, platinum sensitivity, ascites state, and other clinicopathological characteristics. What the results of this study add? Due to a series of in vitro studies, we confirmed that MFG-E8 is involved in the process of proliferation, invasion and metastasis. Our results show that silencing MFG-E8 can significantly inhibit the expression of cyclin D1 and CDK4 in EOC SKOV3 cells. MFG-E8 enhances carcinogenesis and affects the AKT/mTOR/S6K signaling pathway in ovarian cancer. What the implications are of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? Taken together, our findings suggest that MFG-E8 may be an oncogene in EOC and provide new insights into the mechanism of MFG-E8 in the progression of EOC

Synthesis of calcium materials in biochar matrix as a highly stable catalyst for biodiesel production

In this study, the biochar which was obtained from peat was modified and served as the support for the preparation of cost-effective solid base catalysts for the transesterification reaction. The composition, structure and texture of prepared catalysts were examined by scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), N-2 adsorption/desorption, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and the Hammett indicator method. It was found that the surface area and pore volume of the peat biochar were increased significantly (from 80.25 m(2)/g and 105.36 mm(3)/g to 230.86 m(2)/g and 296.23 mm(3)/g, respectively) by chemical activation treatment with KOH. The best performance is observed for the resulting 30Ca/APB-700 catalyst (30% CaO loading and 700 degrees C calcination temperature), and over biodiesel yield of 93.4% was achieved at catalyst amount of 5 wt.%, methanol/oil molar ratio of 8:1 and reaction time of 150 min. Besides, after reused for 10 cycles, the catalytic efficiency had a slight deactivation in biodiesel production (above 81.6% of yield obtained). The high stability of catalyst was mainly attributed to the formation of Ca-O-Si bond on the catalyst surface. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

A novel peat biochar supported catalyst for the transesterification reaction

In the present study, the peat, as solid waste, was utilized as the support to prepare carbon solid base catalyst for biodiesel production from palm oil. The chemical and structural properties of catalysts were examined by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), N-2 adsorptionfdesorption and the Hammett indicator method. The results indicated that 30K/PB-600 catalyst exhibited the highest catalytic activity (the maximum biodiesel yield of 98.6% was acquired) owing to its highest total basicity. Besides, the stability of the catalyst during reaction was also demonstrated. After 9 repeated use, the catalyst could still possess a rather high catalytic activity (biodiesel yield of 81%). The little deactivation of catalyst was mainly owing to K+ ions leached into reaction media. Therefore, biochar derived from peat could prove to be an appropriate material for catalyst synthesis. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Extrapontine Myelinolysis of Osmotic Demyelination Syndrome in a Case of Postoperative Suprasellar Arachnoid Cyst

The extrapontine myelinolysis of osmotic demyelination syndrome (ODS) is a well-known but uncommon disorder of the central nervous system. Although the mechanism is not fully understood and the treatment is controversial, hyponatremia is probably considered to be the main pathophysiological basis. There are few reports of ODS caused by a sellar lesion. Here we present a case of suprasellar arachnoid cyst that developed extrapontine myelinolysis of ODS after a neuroendoscopic treatment procedure. It is suggested that patients with suprasellar lesions are at risk of developing extrapontine myelinolysis of ODS and correction of hyponatremia in these cases should be closely monitored