Abstract Purpose To investigate whether heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) is involved in complement regulation in ischemic postconditioning (IPC). Methods The left coronary artery of rats underwent 30 min of occlusion, followed by 120 min of reperfusion and treatment with IPC via 3 cycles of 30s reperfusion and 30s occlusion. The rats were injected intraperitoneally with 1 mg/kg HSP90 inhibitor geldanamycin (GA) after anesthesia. Eighty rats were randomly divided into four groups: sham, ischemia-reperfusion (I/R), IPC and IPC + GA. Myocardial infarct size, apoptosis index and the expression of HSP90, C3, C5a, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, interleukin (IL)-1β and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) were assessed. Results Compared with the I/R injury, the IPC treatment significantly reduced infarct size, release of troponin T, creatine kinase-MB, and lactate dehydrogenase, and cardiomyocyte apoptosis. These beneficial effects were accompanied by a decrease in TNF-α, IL-1β, C3, C5a and JNK expression levels. However, all these effects were abrogated by administration of the HSP90 inhibitor GA. Conclusion HSP90 exerts a profound effect on IPC cardioprotection, and may be linked to the inhibition of the complement system and JNK, ultimately attenuating I/R-induced myocardial injury and apoptosis.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) has a high prevalence in patients with pancreatic cancer (PaC), but the prognostic value of DM in PaC remains controversial. Alterations of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) and cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) contribute to multidrug resistance and intestinal metabolism in a variety of cancer types, which may be implicated in DM development. This study aimed to explore the potential prognostic value of P-gp and CYP3A4 in PaC patients in the context of DM through long-term follow-up. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients with PaC admitted at The First People's Hospital of Changzhou, Jiangsu, China, from January 2011 to November 2019 and identified two cohorts of adult patients with PaC, including 24 with DM and 24 without DM (non-DM). The baseline clinical characteristics and outcomes were compared. Immunohistochemistry showed that protein expression of P-gp, but not CYP3A, in duodenum tissues was significantly upregulated in PaC patients with DM compared with those without DM. Kaplan-Meier analysis and log-rank test showed that the survival of patients with PaC and DM/high expression of P-gp was not significantly reduced compared with that of patients without DM/low expression of P-gp. These findings suggested that P-gp expression levels were different in the DM and non-DM groups of patients with PaC, but DM and duodenal P-gp levels were not associated with the long-term survival of patients with PaC. It appears that the presence of DM or P-gp expression levels may not serve as effective prognostic markers for PaC.

In this study, a novel type of slow-release fertilizer (SRF) was synthesized through lignin-based microcapsules. K2HPO4 and urea were coated by lignin and formaldehyde to prepare microcapsules of NPK compound SRF. The slow-release performance was measured by determining the NPK contents in water solution and soil column leaching. The release amounts of N, P and K after 5 days were 95.39, 95.28 and 96.75% in water, and 83.35, 96.62 and 90.75% in soil, respectively. The properties of SRF were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetry and scanning electron microscopy. NPK release from the SRF was promoted by higher temperature and acid environment, but inhibited by alkaline environment. The first order kinetics equation provides the best correlation to describe nutrient release characteristics. The results indicated that SRF have good slow-release properties and are cost-saving and environment-friendly, and thus can efficiently improve the utilization efficiency of fertilizers in agricultural production.

ABSTRACT To establish a transfusion-associated graft-versus-host disease (TA-GVHD) mouse model with busulfan and fludarabine for effective treatment evaluation. BALB/c (H-2d) mice were injected with busulfan (15 mg/kg) and fludarabine (30 mg/kg) twice a day for 4 days. The mice were transfused with 106 T cell-depleted bone marrow (TCD-BM )and cells in different groups 3 days after chemotherapy: syngeneic BALB/c, MHC minor mismatch DBA/2 (H-2d), or MHC major mismatch C57BL/6(H2-b). Recipient BALB/c mice were injected with either blood only or blood+splenocyte. TA-GVHD was monitored in terms of body weight loss, clinical scores, and survival. Dexamethasone (50 mg/kg), cyclophosphamide (50 mg/kg), cyclosporine A (30 mg/kg), and anti-CD3 (1 mg/kg) were injected to each group to examine the treatments. Blood transfusion alone is insufficient to induce TA-GVHD in a chemotherapy-based mouse model. A MHC-mismatched TA-GVHD model can be induced by splenocyte and blood transfusion. This MHC-mismatched TA-GVHD model was resistant to dexamethasone treatment. Treatment based on anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody slightly ameliorated TA-GVHD. Treatment effectiveness was associated with T-cell depletion following activation by anti-CD3. Busulfan and fludarabine chemotherapy regimen can be used to establish a TA-GVHD mouse model. Anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody is a potential alternative to treat TA-GVHD.

The concomitant occurrence of primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) due to parathyroid adenoma and papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is not common. The co-occurrence of parathyroid tumors and thyroid diseases can lead to misdiagnosis owing to mutual interference of imaging in the early period of disease. The most commonly used imaging techniques for the preoperative localization of parathyroid and thyroid adenomas are technetium-99m sestamibi (99mTc-MIBI) scintigraphy and ultrasonography of the neck. Recently, 99mTc-MIBI single-photon emission computed tomography associated with computed tomography scintigraphy (SPECT/CT) has been used to detect PHPT, and its diagnostic value is being evaluated. Herein, we report a patient with an unusual co-occurrence of parathyroid adenoma and multiple thyroid diseases, including papillary thyroid carcinoma, thyroid adenoma and lymphocytic thyroiditis, which were localized with 99mTc-MIBI SPECT/CT and confirmed surgically. We suggest that 99mTc-MIBI SPECT/CT can play an important role in the diagnosis of parathyroid and thyroid lesions. Arch Endocrinol Metab. 2015;59(3):265-9

Schiff base ligands 2-bromo-4-chloro-6-[(2-piperidin-1-ylethylimino)methyl]phenol (BCP) and 2,4-dibromo-6-[(2-morpholin-4-ylethylimino)methyl]phenol (DBP) and their nickel(II) and copper(II) complexes [Ni(BCP)2(CH3OH)2]2NO3 (1) and [Cu(DBP)2] (2), have been prepared and characterized by elemental analyses, IR, and single crystal X-ray crystallographic determination. The crystal of (1) is orthorhombic: space group Pbcn, a = 23.894(1), b = 8.244(2), c = 19.900(2) Å, V = 3919.9(10) Å3, Z = 4. The crystal of (2) is monoclinic: space group P2(1)/c, a = 7.072(2), b = 15.426(3), c = 14.214(3) Å, β = 96.718(2)°, V = 1540.0(7) Å3, Z = 2. The Schiff bases coordinate to the metal atoms through the phenolate O and imine N atoms. The Ni atom in (1) is in an octahedral coordination, and the Cu atom in (2) is in a square planar coordination.