Mandibular prognathism (MP) is considered to be a cranial-facial disorder resulting from the interaction between genes and environment. Recent studies have demonstrated that susceptible chromosomal regions and candidate genes may be responsible for MP. In this study, the authors present current views on the effect of genetic components in nonsystematic mandibular prognathism, in order to clarify the genetic etiology of MP. Data source were Electronic databases, manual searching, and reference lists checking, up to April 2016. Study selection, level of evidence assessment, and data extraction were done by 2 individuals in duplicate. Ninety-one studies were retrieved in initial electronic and manual search, and based on the established inclusion and exclusion criteria, 15 were selected for the review. In result, loci 1p36, 1q32.2, 1p22.3, 4p16.1, 6q25, 19p13, 14q24.3, 14q31.1, and 14q31.2 were thought to harbor genes that confer susceptibility to MP. Genes Matrilin-1, ADAMTS1, COL2A1, and EPB41 seemed to be strongly associated with MP while gene of growth hormone receptor was in dispute. Genetic components appeared to be associated with MP. However, in view of the variety of populations and results in related publications, further studies are necessary to clarify the genetic etiology of MP.
Tooth development involves epithelium invagination, mesenchyme aggregation, and epithelium-mesenchyme communication. A sophisticated signaling pathway network regulates the differentiation and crosstalk of multiple cell types in tooth germs and coordinates the broad spectrum of complex processes. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a class of small non-coding RNA species that have been relatively well studied over the last few years, are now proposed as important regulators of tooth developmental signaling pathways as they repress cellular protein levels to provide a posttranscriptional gene regulation. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge of miRNA characteristics in regulating morphogenesis, amelogenesis, dentin formation, and tooth eruption and how they interplay with the signaling molecules during these processes. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
AIM: To assess the neuro-protective effect of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) on retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) following optic nerve crush in mice. METHODS: C56BL/6J mice were treated with intravitreal injection of PBS, BMSCs, BDNF-interference BMSCs (BIM), and GDNF-interference BMSCs (GIM) following optic nerve crush, respectively. The number of surviving RGCs was determined by whole-mount retinas and frozen sections, while certain mRNA or protein was detected by q-PCR or ELISA, respectively. RESULTS: The density (cell number/mm(2)) of RGCs was 410.77 +/- 56.70 in the retina 21d after optic nerve crush without any treatment, compared to 1351.39 195.97 in the normal control (P<0.05). RGCs in BMSCs treated eyes was 625.07 +/- 89.64/mm(2), significantly higher than that of no or PBS treatment (P<0.05). While RGCs was even less in the retina with intravitreal injection of BIM (354.07 +/- 39.77) and GIM (326.67 +/- 33.37) than that without treatment (P<0.05). BMSCs injection improved the internal BDNF expression in retinas. CONCLUSION: Optic nerve crush caused rust loss of RGCs and intravitreally transplanted BMSCs at some extent protected RGCs from death. The effect of BMSCs and level of BDNF in retinas are both related to BDNF and GDNF expression in BMSCs.
Ischemia-induced stroke is the most common disease of the nervous system and is associated with a high mortality rate worldwide. Cerebral ischemia may lead to remote organ dysfunction, particular in the lungs, resulting in lung injury. Nowadays, bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) are widely studied in clinical trials as they may provide an effective solution to the treatment of neurological and cardiac diseases; however, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unknown. In this study, a model of permanent focal cerebral ischemia-induced lung injury was successfully established and confirmed by neurological evaluation and lung injury scores. We demonstrated that the transplantation of BMSCs (passage 3) via the tail vein into the lung tissues attenuated lung injury. In order to elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms, we analyzed the gene expression profiles in lung tissues from the rats with focal cerebral ischemia and transplanted with BMSCs using a Gene microarray. Moreover, the Gene Ontology database was employed to determine gene function. We found that the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)-AKT signaling pathway, transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) were downregulated in the BMSC transplantation groups, compared with the control group. These results suggested that BMSC transplantation may attenuate lung injury following focal cerebral ischemia and that this effect is associated with the downregulation of TGF-beta, PDGF and the PI3K-AKT pathway.
Thoracoscopic intrathoracic esophagogastrostomy is a technically demanding operation; these technical requirements restrict the extensive application of minimally invasive Ivor Lewis esophagectomy. In an attempt to reduce the difficulty of this surgical procedure, we developed a modified anastomotic technique for thoracolaparoscopic Ivor Lewis esophagectomy. During the entirety of this modified approach, neither technically challenging operations such as intrathoracic suturing, or knotting, nor special instruments such as an OrVil system or a reversepuncture head are required. Between Octomber 2015 and January 2016, 15 consecutive patients with cancer in the distal third of the esophagus or the gastric cardia underwent this modified surgical procedure. The good short- term outcomes that were achieved suggest that the modified anastomotic technique is safe and feasible for thoracolaparoscopic Ivor Lewis esophagectomy.
Precision medicine is a new strategy that aims at preventing and treating human diseases by focusing on individual variations in people's genes, environment and lifestyle. Precision medicine has been used for cancer diagnosis and treatment and shows evident clinical efficacy. Rapid developments in molecular biology, genetics and sequencing technologies, as well as computational technology, has enabled the establishment of "big data", such as the Human Genome Project, which provides a basis for precision medicine. Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is an aggressive cancer with a high incidence rate and low survival rate. Current therapies are often aggressive and carry considerable side effects. Much research now indicates that precision medicine can be used for HNSCC and may achieve improved results. From this perspective, we present an overview of the current status, potential strategies, and challenges of precision medicine in HNSCC. We focus on targeted therapy based on cell the surface signaling receptors epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2), and on the PI3K/AKT/mTOR, JAK/STAT3 and RAS/RAF/MEK/ERK cellular signaling pathways. Gene therapy for the treatment of HNSCC is also discussed.
Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a serious complication of diabetes mellitus that not only impairs vision and quality of life but has also emerged as a leading cause of blindness in working-age individuals. Long non-coding RNA metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (LncMALAT1) is a non-coding RNA molecule that regulates gene expression and has been implicated in the pathogenesis and progression of DR. It exerts its effects through the modulation of various pathological processes, including inflammation, oxidative stress, angiogenesis, and apoptosis. Notably, alterations in the expression levels of LncMALAT1 may serve as potential biomarkers for the early diagnosis of DR. Furthermore, interventions targeting LncMALAT1, employing antioxidants, anti-angiogenic agents, traditional Chinese medicine, and gene therapy, present promising avenues for its potential development as an effective therapeutic target for DR.
Objective To investigate the clinical features of non-gastrointestinal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue ( MALT) lymphoma.Methods Forty-eight pathologically proved cases of nongastrointestinal MALT lymphoma, admitted into Peking Union Medical College Hospital fromJanuary 2000 to July 2011, were retrospectively analyzed.Results There were 32 females and 16 males. The median age at diagnosis was 55. 4 years old ( range, 21-76 years) . The most commonly affected sites were lung, salivary glands, thyroid and ocular adnexa. In5 cases, the lymphoma presented at multiple mucosal sites. 27 patients were asymptomatic while 13 had non-specific symptoms. Blood test showed mild or moderate anemia in 8 cases, elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate in 19 cases, and elevated lactate dehydrogenase in 6 patients.Imaging examinations revealed enlarged lymph nodes in 20 patients. 6 patients had a history of Sjoren’s syndrome, in whom3 cases were salivary gland diseases. In the patients with lung involvement, pathological diagnosis was obtained by bronchial biopsies in 3 cases, by CT-guided percutaneous lung biopsies in 11 cases, and by surgical biopsies in 9 cases. While in the patients without lung involvement, pathological diagnosis was obtained all by surgical biopsies. Of the 23 patients with lung involvement, 1 remain untreated,while 22 received various combinations of treatment ( surgery alone in 3 patients, surgery plus chemotherapy in 6 patients, and chemotherapy alone in 13 patients) . Of the 25 patients without lung involvement, 11 patients received surgery alone, 10 patients received surgery plus chemotherapy, 3 patients received chemotherapy alone, and 1 patient received surgery plus chemotherapy and radiotherapy. 46 patients remained alive during the median follow-up of 46. 7 months ( range, 4-133 months) . While 1 patient with lung involvement died from unknown causes, another 1 patient with lung involvement died from lung infection. Conclusions Non-gastrointestinal MALT lymphoma tends to occur in old-aged females, and commonly occurs in lung, salivary gland and thyroid sites. Most patients are asymptomatic or have only nonspecific symptoms. CT-guided percutaneous lung biopsies and surgical biopsies are helpful to the diagnosis.Prognosis for this lymphoma tends to be indolent.
Here, the authors present a thermo-responsive shape memory polymer (SMP) foam that can be programmed to control the preosteoblast behavior by changing porous architecture during cell cultivation. The preosteoblast cells are seeded on the SMP foams with temporarily compressed pore structure. Results show that cells preferentially align along the pore length direction. After the pore recovery at 37 degrees C, cells remain attached and viable but change their topography in a tangential direction along the pore edge. This work indicates the shape-memory actuated porous structure in SMP foam can control the cell behavior. This may provide an effective method for studying cell responses to dynamic environment and facilitate the healthy and optimal development of tissue engineering.
Background Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene (MTHFR C677T and A1298C) and methionine synthase gene (MS A2756G) polymorphisms have shown an association with male infertility risk in several ethnic populations. Although several studies have evaluated these associations in Chinese populations, their small sample sizes and inconsistent outcomes have prevented strong conclusions. Therefore, the present meta-analysis was performed with published studies to evaluate the associations of the three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and male infertility in a Chinese population. Methods We conducted a search of PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), China biology medical literature (CBM), VIP, and Chinese literature (Wan Fang) databases up to May 31, 2016. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were used to assess the strength of associations with a random-effect model or a fixed-effect model based on the heterogeneity analysis results. Sensitivity analysis was used to confirm the reliability and stability of the meta-analysis. Results A total of nine studies, including 1,713 cases and 1,104 controls, were included in the metaanalysis. The pooled results indicated that the MTHFR C667T polymorphism was significantly associated with increased risk of male infertility in the Chinese population in the allele model (T vs. C: OR = 1.47, 95% CI = 1.32-1.63), the dominant model (TT + CT vs. CC: OR = 1.51, 95% CI = 1.30-1.77), the additive model (TT vs. CC: OR = 2.08, 95% CI = 1.68-2.58) and the recessive model (TT vs. CT+CC: OR = 1.58, 95% CI = 1.31-1.90), whereas the MTHFR A1298C and MS A2756G polymorphisms were not risk factors. There was no significant heterogeneity in any genotype contrasts among the studies. The sensitivity analysis indicated that the results of this meta-analysis were relatively stable. Conclusion This study suggests that the MTHFR C667T polymorphism may contribute to the genetic susceptibility to male infertility in the Chinese population, whereas MTHFR A1298C and MS A2756G polymorphisms may be unrelated to male infertility. Studies with larger sample sizes and representative population-based cases and well-matched controls are needed to validate our results.