Cinnamyl 8-meth­oxy-2-oxo-2H-chromene-3-carboxyl­ate

In the crystal structure of the title compound, C20H16O5, the mol­ecule assumes an E configuration with the benzene ring and chromenecarboxyl group located on opposite ends of the C=C double bond. The chromene ring system and benzene ring are oriented at a dihedral angle of 74.66 (12)°. Weak inter­molecular C—H⋯O hydrogen bonding is present in the crystal structure

FXR1P but not FMRP regulates the levels of mammalian brain-specific microRNA-9 and microRNA-124

Mammalian brain-specific miR-9 and miR-124 have been implicated in several aspects of neuronal development and function. However, it is not known how their expression levels are regulated in vivo. We found that the levels of miR-9 and miR-124 are regulated by FXR1P but not by the loss of FXR2P or FMRP in vivo, a mouse model of fragile X syndrome. Surprisingly, the levels of miR-9 and miR-124 are elevated in fmr1/fxr2 double-knock-out mice, in part reflecting posttranscriptional upregulation of FXR1P. Indeed, FXR1P is required for efficient processing of pre-miR-9 and pre-miR-124 in vitro and forms a complex with Dicer and pre-miRNAs. These findings reveal differential roles of FMRP family proteins in controlling the expression levels of brain-specific miRNAs

Epigenetics in ovarian cancer: premise, properties, and perspectives.

Malignant ovarian tumors bear the highest mortality rate among all gynecological cancers. Both late tumor diagnosis and tolerance to available chemical therapy increase patient mortality. Therefore, it is both urgent and important to identify biomarkers facilitating early identification and novel agents preventing recurrence. Accumulating evidence demonstrates that epigenetic aberrations (particularly histone modifications) are crucial in tumor initiation and development. Histone acetylation and methylation are respectively regulated by acetyltransferases-deacetylases and methyltransferases-demethylases, both of which are implicated in ovarian cancer pathogenesis. In this review, we summarize the most recent discoveries pertaining to ovarian cancer development arising from the imbalance of histone acetylation and methylation, and provide insight into novel therapeutic interventions for the treatment of ovarian carcinoma

Dual Energy Spectral CT Imaging for Colorectal Cancer Grading: A Preliminary Study

ObjectivesTo assess the diagnostic value of dual energy spectral CT imaging for colorectal cancer grading using the quantitative iodine density measurements in both arterial phase (AP) and venous phase (VP).Methods81 colorectal cancer patients were divided into two groups based on their pathological findings: a low grade group including well (n = 13) and moderately differentiated cancer (n = 24), and a high grade group including poorly differentiated (n = 42) and signet ring cell cancer (n = 2). Iodine density (ID) in the lesions was derived from the iodine-based material decomposition (MD) image and normalized to that in the psoas muscle to obtain normalized iodine density (NID). The difference in ID and NID between AP and VP was calculated.ResultsThe ID and NID values of the low grade cancer group were, 14.65±3.38mg/mL and 1.70±0.33 in AP, and 21.90±3.11mg/mL and 2.05± 0.32 in VP, respectively. The ID and NID values for the high grade cancer group were 20.63±3.72mg/mL and 2.95±0.72 in AP, and 26.27±3.10mg/mL and 3.51±1.12 in VP, respectively. There was significant difference for ID and NID between the low grade and high grade cancer groups in both AP and VP (all p<0.001). ROC analysis indicated that NID of 1.92 in AP provided 70.3% sensitivity and 97.7% specificity in differentiating low grade cancer from high grade cancer.ConclusionsThe quantitative measurement of iodine density in AP and VP can provide useful information to differentiate low grade colorectal cancer from high grade colorectal cancer with NID in AP providing the greatest diagnostic value

LncRNAs: the bridge linking RNA and colorectal cancer.

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are transcribed by genomic regions (exceeding 200 nucleotides in length) that do not encode proteins. While the exquisite regulation of lncRNA transcription can provide signals of malignant transformation, lncRNAs control pleiotropic cancer phenotypes through interactions with other cellular molecules including DNA, protein, and RNA. Recent studies have demonstrated that dysregulation of lncRNAs is influential in proliferation, angiogenesis, metastasis, invasion, apoptosis, stemness, and genome instability in colorectal cancer (CRC), with consequent clinical implications. In this review, we explicate the roles of different lncRNAs in CRC, and the potential implications for their clinical application

Studies on Anti-Depressant Activity of Four Flavonoids Isolated from Apocynum venetum Linn (Apocynaceae) Leaf in Mice

Purpose: To investigate the anti-depressant activity of kaempferol, quercetin, kaempferol-3-O-β-Dglucose and quercetin-3-O-β-D-glucose isolated from Apocynum venetum Linn. (Apocynaceae) leaf and their mechanisms of action.Methods: The four flavonoids were isolated from Apocynum venetum leaf by chromatography. Mice were divided into vehicle, fluoxetine, kaempferol, quercetin, kaempferol-3-O-β-D-glucose and quercetin- 3-O-β-D-glucose groups (n = 10). Forced swimming (FST), tail suspension (TST) and locomotor activity (LAT) tests were used to evaluate the effects of the four flavonoids (0.35 mM/kg) on immobility time, monoamine neurotransmitters, viz, norepinephrine (NE), dopamine (DA) and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5- HT), as well as on the metabolite (5-HIAA) in mice brain and central nervous system (CNS) with the aid of video camera, HPLC-ECD and activity-monitoring system.Results: The four flavonoids significantly (p &lt; 0.05) reduced mice immobility time (72.58 - 90.24; 52.58 - 70.24 s), 5-HIAA levels (940.8 - 1244.7; 880.8 - 1164.1 ng/g) and 5-HIAA/5-HT ratio (1.77 - 4.76; 1.83 - 4.16), but increased NE, DA and 5-HT levels (238.7 - 405.7, 308.4 - 528.1, 261.4 - 531.9; 243.9 - 423.6, 296.7 - 534.9, 279.8 - 481.4 ng/g) in FST and TST, compared with control group (146.18, 126.18 s; 1363.4, 1240.9 ng/g; 7.43, 6.16; 138.4, 235.4, 183.4 and 143.7, 218.6, 201.4 ng/g). The effects of the four flavonoids on the above indices were significant (p &lt; 0.05) and positively related to their polarity. They had no CNS-stimulating effects in LAT.Conclusion: The anti-depressant activities of the four flavonoids are positively related to their polarity, and the mechanisms may be due to increased NE, DA and 5-HT and reduced 5-HT metabolism.Keywords: Kaempferol, Quercetin, Forced swimming test, Tail suspension test, Locomotor activity test, Neurotransmitter

N-acetylcysteine attenuates myocardial dysfunction and postischemic injury by restoring caveolin-3/eNOS signaling in diabetic rats

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Assessment of chemotherapy response in non-Hodgkin lymphoma involving the neck utilizing diffusion kurtosis imaging: a preliminary study

PURPOSE:We aimed to examine the utility of non-Gaussian diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) for assessment of chemotherapy response in patients with cervical (neck) non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL).METHODS:Patients with cervical NHL underwent 3.0 T magnetic resonance imaging with maximal b value of 2000 s/mm2 at baseline and seven days after chemotherapy onset. Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value and diffusion kurtosis imaging maps for diffusion coefficient (D) and kurtosis (K) were calculated. Based on clinical examination, laboratory screening, and PET/CTs, patients were classified as responders or nonresponders.RESULTS:Twenty-six patients were enrolled. Among them, 24 patients were classified as responders and two as nonresponders. For responders, mean follow-up ADC and D increased significantly compared with baseline (ADC: 0.92±0.11 ×10-3 mm2/s vs. 0.68±0.11 ×10-3 mm2/s; D: 1.47±0.32 ×10-3 mm2/s vs. 0.98±0.21 ×10-3 mm2/s, P < 0.001 for both). Mean follow-up K decreased significantly compared with baseline (1.14±0.10 vs. 1.47±0.19, P < 0.001) for responders. Dratio showed significant positive correlation and high agreement with ADCratio (r = 0.776, P < 0.001). Likewise, Kratio showed significant negative correlation and high agreement with ADCratio (r = -0.658, P < 0.001).CONCLUSION:The new DKI model may serve as a new biomarker for the evaluation of early chemotherapy response in NHL

Anthracene Diphosphate Ligands for CdSe Quantum Dots; Molecular Design for Efficient Upconversion

Quantum dot (QD)-sensitized photon upconversion follows a multi-step energy transfer process from the QD to transmitter ligand to a soluble annihilator. Using a novel 10-R-anthracene-1,8-diphosphoric acid (R = octyl, 2-hexyldecyl, phenyl) ligand with high binding affinity for CdSe QD surfaces, we demonstrate a photon upconversion process that is limited by the transmitter to annihilator transfer efficiency. Using 1H NMR spectroscopy, we demonstrate that these bidentate diphosphate ligands rapidly and irreversibly displace two carboxylate ligands. These ligands mediate energy transfer from the photoexcited QDs to a triplet annihilator (1,10-diphenylanthracene), producing overall photon upconversion quantum efficiencies as high as 17%, the highest for QDs with no shells. Transient absorption spectroscopy shows that the anthracene dihydrogen phosphate (ADP) ligand supports a 3.4 fold longer triplet state lifetime compared to 9-anthracene carboxylic acid (299.9 ± 9.5 vs 88.2 ± 2.1 μs), increasing the probability of energy transfer