A risk signature-based on metastasis-associated genes to predict survival of patients with osteosarcoma

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common primary solid malignant bone tumor, and its metastasis is a prominent cause of high mortality in patients. In this study, a prognosis risk signature was constructed based on metastasis-associated genes. Four microarrays datasets with clinical information were downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus, and 256 metastasis-associated genes were identified by limma package. Further, a protein-protein interaction network was constructed, and survival analysis was performed using data from the Therapeutically Applicable Research to Generate Effective Treatments data matrix, identifying 19 genes correlated with prognosis. Six genes were selected by the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression for multivariate cox analysis. Finally, a three-gene (MYC, CPE, and LY86) risk signature was constructed, and datasets GSE21257 and GSE16091 were used to validate the prediction efficiency of the signature. The survival times of low- and high-risk groups were significantly different in the training set and validation set. Additionally, gene set enrichment analysis revealed that the genes in the signature may affect the cell cycle, gap junctions, and interleukin-6 production. Therefore, the three-gene survival risk signature could potentially predict the prognosis of patients with OS. Further, proteins encoded by CPE and LY86 may provide novel insights into the prediction of OS prognosis and therapeutic targets.     

一养殖场中质粒介导喹诺酮类药物耐药基因qnrS的流行特性

摘要:【目的】研究质粒介导喹诺酮类药物耐药基因qnrS在一养殖场中的流行特点。【方法】分离养殖场不同来源样品中的大肠杆菌菌株,利用美国临床标准委员会(CLSI)推荐的药敏纸片法测定菌株耐药情况,通过质粒接合试验获得qnrS阳性接合子,测定qnrS对喹诺酮类药物最小抑菌浓度(MIC)值的影响及其与其它类抗生素耐药性的相关性,利用脉冲场凝胶电泳分析该场中qnrS阳性菌株遗传进化关系。【结果】环境源菌株qnrS的阳性率为29.2%,显著高于禽源菌株基因检出率(13.4%),新进的雏鸡可迅速从养殖场中获得 qnrS基因并在鸡群中流行。qnrS基因可使接合子对喹诺酮类药物MIC值不同程度升高,并且与其它五类抗生素具有相关性,不同qnrS阳性菌株间遗传关系较远,但也存在同一克隆株的流行。【讨论】qnrS基因主要通过质粒的播散等进行水平传播,同时也存在同一克隆株的流行传播。qnrS基因多样性及其水平传播方式造成了它的广泛流行,加强对耐药基因的监测及研究对减少多重耐药菌株的产生具有重要意义。     

不同粒径口蹄疫病毒样颗粒-ZIF-8复合物诱导小鼠的体液免疫效果分析

为进一步提高口蹄疫(foot-and-mouthdisease,FMD)病毒样颗粒(virus-likeparticles,VLPs)疫苗的免疫效果，本研究采用仿生矿化方法，将Zn2+和2-甲基咪唑按照不同浓度配比制备了不同粒径的FMDV VLPs-沸石咪唑骨架-8 (zeolitic imidazolate framework-8, ZIF-8)复合物，以探究尺寸效应对免疫效果的影响。结果显示，成功制备出3种不同粒径的FMDV VLPs-ZIF-8，粒径分别约为70、100、1 000 nm。细胞毒性和组织病理学试验表明，3种复合物均具有良好的生物安全性。小鼠免疫试验表明，3种复合物均能明显提高中和抗体和特异性抗体水平，并且随着复合物体积的减小，其免疫效果也随之增强。本研究表明，ZIF-8包封FMDV VLPs可显著增强其免疫效果，且具有尺寸依赖性。     

Albumin and Neutrophil Combined Prognostic Grade as a New Prognostic Factor in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Results from a Large Consecutive Cohort

Objectives

It has been reported nutritional status and systemic inflammation were associated with the outcome of patients with malignancies. However, the prognostic value of combination of them was really scarce, especially in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In order to find a more simple and efficient predictor, we hypothesized that pretreatment albumin and neutrophil combined prognostic grade (ANPG) could offer an improved prognostic ability in NSCLC patients.

Methods

We collected pretreatment albumin and neutrophil, clinicopathological, treatment and follow-up data of 1033 consecutive NSCLC patients treated between 2006 and 2011 in this retrospective study. The ANPG was calculated according to pretreatment albumin and neutrophil levels dichotomized by the optimal cut-off values, the quartile values and the clinical reference values. Kaplan-Meier (K-M) curves and Cox proportional regression were used for survival analyses. All the data was analyzed by SPSS 20.0.

Results

According to optimal cut-off values and quartile values, significant differences were found in different pretreatment albumin, neutrophil levels and ANPG from the K-M curve (all p<0.05). Univariate analyses and multivariate analyses disclosed ANPG was a more sensitive independent predictor for both overall survival (OS) and progression free survival (PFS) than either albumin level or neutrophil level (HRs were higher for ANPG). As for clinical reference values, no significant difference of pretreatment albumin levels was found in K-M curve and univariate analyses. All three indexes lost their significance in multivariate analyses.

Conclusion

Higher ANPG predicts worse OS and PFS in NSCLC patients independently, and it is more sensitive than hypoalbuminaemia and neutrophilia. It might be used as a reliable, convenient and more sensitive predictor to assist the identification of patients with poor prognosis and be a hierarchical factor in the future NSCLC clinical trials.     

Silencing TRPM2 enhanced erastin- and RSL3-induced ferroptosis in gastric cancer cells through destabilizing HIF-1α and Nrf2 proteins

Cytotechnology - Ferroptosis is a regulated form of cell death driven by small molecules or conditions that induce lipid-based reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation. Cation channel transient...     

A sensitive and specific HPLC-MS/MS analysis and preliminary pharmacokinetic characterization of isoforskolin in beagle dogs

A sensitive and specific high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS/MS) method has been developed and validated for the determination of isoforskolin in canine plasma. Liquid-liquid extraction was used to extract isoforskolin and the internal standard (I.S.) eplerenone from canine plasma. The chromatographic separation was performed on an Agela Venusil XBP Phenyl column with an isocratic mobile phase consisting of methanol-2mM ammonium acetate-formic acid (62:38:0.1, v/v/v), pumped at 0.35 mL/min. Isoforskolin and I.S. were detected at m/z 433.4→373.3 and m/z 415.3→163.5 in positive ion and multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode, respectively. The standard curves were linear over the concentration range of 0.1-200 ng/mL (r>0.99). The intra- and inter-batch accuracy values for isoforskolin at four concentrations were 90.2-108.3% and 97.8-106.6%, respectively. The RSDs were less than 6.0%. The mean extraction recoveries of isoforskolin and I.S. were 97.0 and 88.4%, respectively. The method was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic study after an intravenous administration of isoforskolin in beagle dogs.