[Crohn's disease].

Serum tumor markers have a major role in the screening, diagnosis, and monitoring of most of the gynecologic cancers. Ovarian cancer is one of the deadliest of the group because it is so frequently asymptomatic until it has advanced to an untreatable stage. Even serum cancer antigen-125 (CA-125), clinically one of the most reliable serum markers for ovarian cancer, is elevated in only half of early-stage still-treatable tumors. Because of the very low prevalence of ovarian cancer in the general population, at present, there is no cost-effective imaging or simple microscopic screening test for ovarian cancer as there is for breast and cervical cancers. However, recent proteomics and nucleic acid-based analyses have shown great promise for the discovery of new and more useful serum biomarkers, which cumulatively might provide such a screening tool. In this review, we will discuss both the currently used serum tumor markers for screening, diagnosis, monitoring of ovarian cancer, and the novel biomarkers that are now under investigation and validation.

https://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/cebp/21/11/1902.full.pdf

Biomarkers for Screening, Diagnosis, and Monitoring of Ovarian Cancer

Down syndrome (DS) results from triplication of human chromosome 21. Neuropathological hallmarks of DS include atypical central nervous system development that manifests prenatally and extends throughout life. As a result, individuals with DS exhibit cognitive and motor deficits and have delays in achieving developmental milestones. To determine whether different mouse models of DS recapitulate the human prenatal and postnatal phenotypes, here we directly compared brain histogenesis, gene expression, and behavior over the lifespan of three cytogenetically distinct mouse models of DS: Ts1Cje, Ts65Dn and Dp(16)1/Yey. Histological data indicated that Ts65Dn mice were the most consistently affected with respect to somatic growth, neurogenesis, and brain morphogenesis. Embryonic and adult gene expression results showed that Ts1Cje and Ts65Dn brains had considerably more differentially expressed (DEX) genes compared to Dp(16)1/Yey mice, despite the larger number of triplicated genes in the latter model. In addition, DEX genes showed little overlap in identity and chromosomal distribution in the three models, leading to dissimilarities in affected functional pathways. Perinatal and adult behavioral testing also highlighted differences among the models in their abilities to achieve various developmental milestones and perform hippocampal- and motor-based tasks. Interestingly, Dp(16)1/Yey mice showed no abnormalities in prenatal brain phenotypes, yet they manifested behavioral deficits starting at postnatal day 15 that continued through adulthood. In contrast, Ts1Cje mice showed mildly abnormal embryonic brain phenotypes, but only select behavioral deficits as neonates and adults. Altogether, our data showed widespread and unexpected fundamental differences in behavioral, gene expression, and brain development phenotypes between these three mouse models. Our findings illustrate unique limitations of each model when studying aspects of brain development and function in DS. This work helps to inform model selection in future studies investigating how observed neurodevelopmental abnormalities arise, how they contribute to cognitive impairment, and when testing therapeutic molecules to ameliorate the intellectual disability associated with DS.

/pdf/lifespan-analysis-of-brain-development-gene-expression-and-3496aqhdr4.pdf

Lifespan analysis of brain development, gene expression and behavioral phenotypes in the Ts1Cje, Ts65Dn and Dp(16)1/Yey mouse models of Down syndrome

MicroRNA-124 (miR-124), a pivotal member of the p53 network, was found to be down-regulated in multiple types of tumors and further reported as tumor suppressor microRNA In this study, we found that miR-124 was down-regulated in gastric cancer cell lines and specimens Restoration of miR-124 expression inhibited the proliferation and colony formation of gastric cancer cells EZH2 (enhancer of zeste homolog 2), which has been shown to be an important transcription factor involved in the proliferation and metastasis of tumor cells, was here confirmed to be a direct target gene of miR-124 On the other hand, silencing EZH2 also inhibits cell proliferation of gastric cancer cells Furthermore, the treatment combining miR-124 with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) significantly showed more efficient anti-tumor effects than single treatment of miR-124 or 5-FU, and over-expression of miR-124 suppresses the tumor growth in vivo Our study indicate that miR-124 can suppress gastric cancer cell growth by directly targeting the EZH2 gene and sensitize the treatment effect of 5-FU Therefore, miR-124 shows tumor-suppressive activity and may be a new and useful approach of gastric cancer therapy

microRNA-124 inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis by directly repressing EZH2 in gastric cancer

Clinical significance of high mobility group A2 in human gastric cancer and its relationship to let-7 microRNA family

Ischemia/reperfusion (IR) injury, a main reason of mortality and morbidity worldwide, occurs in many organs and tissues. As a result of IR injury, senescent cells can accumulate in multiple organs. Increasing evidence shows that cellular senescence is the underlying mechanism that transforms an acute organ injury into a chronic one. Several recent studies suggest senescent cells can be targeted for the prevention or elimination of acute and chronic organ injury induced by IR. In this review, we concisely introduce the underlying mechanism and the pivotal role of premature senescence in the transition from acute to chronic IR injuries. Special focus is laid on recent advances in the mechanisms as well as on the basic and clinical research, targeting cellular senescence in multi-organ IR injuries. Besides, the potential directions in this field are discussed in the end. Together, the recent advances reviewed here will act as a comprehensive overview of the roles of cellular senescence in IR injury, which could be of great significance for the design of related studies, or as a guide for potential therapeutic target. 

/pdf/cellular-senescence-in-ischemia-reperfusion-injury-3as0usx9.pdf

Cellular senescence in ischemia/reperfusion injury

Association of Genetic Variants in Leptin, Leptin Receptor and Adiponectin with Hypertension Risk and Circulating Leptin/Adiponectin Changes.

The aim of this study is to investigate sex‐specific risk factors for early‐onset ischaemic stroke (men <55 and women <65 years old) in the Chinese population. We included 1,270 participants with their first early‐onset ischaemic stroke after the baseline survey and 5,080 age‐matched (±2 years) and sex‐matched participants, which was an ongoing prospective cohort study conducted in the Kailuan community in Tanshan City, China. A conditional multivariate logistic regression model (backward) was used to analyse the sex‐specific risk factors for early‐onset ischaemic stroke. The effects of the risk factors were assessed by calculating standardized regression coefficients. The modifying effect of sex was explored using multiplicative interaction terms of sex with each of the risk factors, and sex‐specific risk factors were identified by stratifying the main regression analysis by sex. There were 1,270 early‐onset ischaemic strokes, 71% occurred in men and 29% in women. The control group included 5,080 participants. The top three risk factors for early‐onset ischaemic stroke were hypertension (beta = .21), diabetes mellitus (beta = .21) and adverse pregnancy outcomes (beta = .14) in women and hypertension (beta = .26), increased hs‐CRP (beta = .14) and diabetes mellitus (beta = .09) in men. There were significant interactions of sex with diabetes mellitus and systolic blood pressure (SBP). The effect of diabetes on early‐onset ischaemic stroke was stronger in women (odds ratio [OR] = 2.69) than in men (OR = 1.61), but the effect weakened with each standard deviation increase in SBP (OR: 1.30 vs. 1.68). Our study found that the effects of risk factors for early‐onset ischaemic stroke, especially diabetes mellitus and SBP, varied by sex.

Sex‐specific risk factors for early‐onset ischaemic stroke

Objective:
To describe the outcomes of Stage I twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome among patients treated with expectant management (EM), amnioreduction (AR), or fetoscopic laser occlusion of chorioangiopagous vessels (FLOC).


Methods:
A cohort of 89 cases was studied. Based on the initial management strategy, patients were classified into three groups: the EM, AR, and FLOC. We assessed perinatal survival to 28 days of age and categorized pregnancy outcomes as good (twin live birth at ≥30.0 weeks), mixed (single fetal demise or delivery between 26.0 and 29.9 weeks), or poor (double fetal demise or delivery at <26.0 weeks).


Results:
26 (29.2%) patients underwent EM, 35 (39.3%) underwent AR, and 28 (31.5%) underwent FLOC therapy. Of those managed expectantly, 19.2% experienced spontaneous abortion, 50% progressed in stage, and 30.8% remained stable or regressed. After adjusting for potential confounders including maternal age, nulliparity, placenta location, and recipient maximum vertical pocket, and so on, FLOC therapy and AR were associated with significantly [odds ratio (OR) = 0.09] and borderline significantly (OR = 0.20) reduced risks of poor pregnancy outcomes and of no survivors to 28 days of age after birth (OR = 0.04 and OR = 0.20, respectively) compared with EM.


Conclusion:
About 70% of those treated with EM progressed in stage or experienced fetal loss. Compared to EM, intervention may decrease the risk of poor pregnancy outcomes and improve the perinatal survival rate.


Key words: 
Treatment; Twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome; Quintero stage I

A Cohort Analysis of Patients with Stage I Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome from a Major Referral Hospital in Northern China

To compare the maternal lipid levels in preeclampsia (PE) patients between singleton and twin pregnancies.In this retrospective study, pregnant women with PE were divided into singleton group (n = ...

Jing Yang

Papers

Cellular senescence in ischemia/reperfusion injury

Association of Genetic Variants in Leptin, Leptin Receptor and Adiponectin with Hypertension Risk and Circulating Leptin/Adiponectin Changes.

Sex‐specific risk factors for early‐onset ischaemic stroke

A Cohort Analysis of Patients with Stage I Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome from a Major Referral Hospital in Northern China

Maternal lipid levels in preeclampsia: singleton vs. twin pregnancies.