Int J Med Sci
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Tissue regeneration is the preferred treatment for dentin and bone tissue defects. Dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) have been extensively studied for their use in tissue regeneration, including the regeneration of dentin and bone tissue. LIM mineralization protein-1 (LMP-1) is an intracellular non-secretory protein that plays a positive regulatory role in the mineralization process. ⋯ Furthermore, inhibiting the activation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2), p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) pathways using specific pathway inhibitors showed that the ERK1/2 and p38 MAPK pathways attenuated the differentiation of DPSCs. Besides, the expression of BMP signaling pathway components were also determined, which suggested that LMP-1 could activate BMP-2/Smad1/5 signaling pathway. Our results not only indicated the underlying mechanism of LMP-1 treated DPSCs but also provided valuable insight into therapeutic strategies in regenerative medicine.
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The purpose of this study was to investigate whether modeling within separate body mass index (BMI) stratifications improves the accuracy of maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) prediction compared to a model developed regardless of adults' BMIs. A total of 250 Taiwanese adults (total group, TOG) aged 22-64 years participated in this study, and were stratified into a normal group (NOG: 135), an overweight group (OVG: 69), and an obesity group (OBG: 46), according to the BMI classification recommended by the Taiwan Ministry of Health and Welfare. VO2max was directly measured on an electromagnetic bicycle ergometer. ⋯ Compared with the TOG model, the OVG and OBG models had higher coefficients of determination and lower standard error of estimates (SEEs), or %SEEs. The validities of the NOG (r = 0.780), OVG (r = 0.776), and OBG (r = 0.791) models for BMI subgroups increased by 1.79%, 4.64%, and 8.22% respectively, and the reliabilities (NOG model: ICC = 0.755; OVG model: ICC = 0.765; OBG model: ICC = 0.779) increased by 3.18%, 3.27%, and 9.63%, respectively. These results suggested using separate models established in BMI stratifications can effectively improve the prediction of VO2max.
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Background & Aims: Accurately identifying liver necroinflammation was essential for the timely implementation of antiviral therapy in chronic hepatitis B(CHB) patients. The sphingolipids were involved in various chronic inflammatory processes. This study aimed to evaluate the association between serum sphingolipids and liver necroinflammation in CHB patients. ⋯ In the subgroup of patients with normal serum ALT, serum Cer d18:2/22:0 was lower in patients with G ≥ 2 than that with G < 2. After 5 years, alleviated inflammation was accompanied by decreased serum SM d16:0/16:1 and increased serum Cer d18:2/22:0 in patients with baseline G ≥ 2. Conclusions: Lower serum Cer d18:2/22:0 could reflect hepatic necroinflammation (G ≥ 2) in CHB patients including those with normal serum ALT, and its elevation predicts the inflammation improvement after NAs treatment.
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Preeclampsia is one of the most serious pregnancy complications. It may be caused by immunological changes in the early placental microenvironment. The contents of small EVs may serve as biomarkers of pregnancy complications. ⋯ The ROC analysis showed that the classification efficiency (AUC) of TGF-β in small EVs was 0.81. TGF-β had the best discriminant ability of all the single EV biomarkers tested, the cross-validation of the accuracy was 0.89. Th17 and Treg cytokines in plasma and small EVs may contribute to maternal immune activation and clarify the potential mechanisms of small EVs and cytokines in preeclampsia.
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Bladder carcinoma is one of the most common malignancies worldwide, and >90% of all bladder cancers are classified as urothelial carcinomas (UC). Surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy are evidence-based treatments that are administered depending on the clinical stage of UC. All these treatments exhibited limited effects in cases of metastatic UC, and UC with specific location, invasiveness, and recurrence. ⋯ It also induced the activation of both extrinsic and intrinsic caspase-dependent apoptotic pathways. Further investigation revealed that ivermectin induced apoptosis in UC cells is mediated via c-Jun N-terminal kinase signaling. Herein, we demonstrated that ivermectin can be used as a new therapeutic agent for treating UC cells.