Bridging therapies to liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma: A bridge to nowhere?

Chun Han Nigel Tan,Yue Yu,Yan Rui Nicholas Tan,Boon Leng Kieron Lim,Shridhar Ganpathi Iyer,Krishnakumar Madhavan,Alfred Wei Chieh Kow 한국간담췌외과학회 2018 Annals of hepato-biliary-pancreatic surgery Vol.22 No.1

Backgrounds/Aims: Liver Transplantation (LT) is a recognized treatment for Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC). The role of Bridging Therapies (BT) remains controversial. Methods: From January 2001 to October 2012, 192 patients were referred to the National University Hospital, Singapore for consideration of LT for HCC. Sixty-five patients (33.8%) were found suitable for transplant and were placed on the waitlist. Analysis was performed in these patients. Results: The most common etiology of HCC was Hepatitis B (n=28, 43.1%). Thirty-six patients (55.4%) received BT. Seventeen patients (47.2%) received TACE only, while 10 patients (27.8%) received radiofrequency ablation (RFA) only. The remaining patients received a combination of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) and RFA. Baseline tumor and patient characteristics were comparable between the two groups. The overall dropout rate was 44.4% and 31.0% in the BT and non-BT groups, respectively (p=0.269). The dropout rate due to disease progression beyond criteria was 6.9% (n=2) in the non-bridged group and 22.2% (n=8) in the bridged group (p=0.089). Thirty-nine patients (60%) underwent LT, of which all patients who underwent Living Donor LT did not receive BT (n=4, 21.1%, p=0.030). The median time to LT was 180 days (range, 20-558 days) in the non-BT group and 291 days (range, 17-844 days) in the BT group (p=0.214). There was no difference in survival or recurrence between the BT and non-BT groups (p=0.862). Conclusions: BT does not influence the dropout rate or survival after LT but it should be considered in patients who are on the waitlist for more than 6 months.

Minor and major circRNAs in virus and host genomes

Lou Zhihao,Zhou Rui,Su Yinghua,Liu Chun,Wenting Ruan,전체옥,Xiao Han,Chun Lin,BAOLEI JIA 한국미생물학회 2021 The journal of microbiology Vol.59 No.3

As a special type of noncoding RNA, circular RNAs (circRNAs) are prevalent in many organisms. They can serve as sponges for microRNAs and protein scaffolds, or templates for protein translation, making them linked to cellular homeostasis and disease progression. In recent years, circRNAs have been found to be abnormally expressed during the processes of viral infection and pathogenesis, and can help a virus escape the immune response of a host. Thus, they are now considered to play important functions in the invasion and development of viruses. Moreover, the potential application of circRNAs as biomarkers of viral infection or candidates for therapeutic targeting deserves consideration. This review summarizes circRNAs in the transcriptome, including their classification, production, functions, and value as biomarkers. This review paper also describes research progress on circRNAs in viral infection (mainly hepatitis B virus, HIV, and some human herpes viruses) and aims to provide new ideas for antiviral therapies targeting circRNAs.

Association Between Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in miRNA196a-2 and miRNA146a and Susceptibility to Hepatocellular Carcinoma in a Chinese Population

Zhang, Jun,Wang, Rui,Ma, Yan-Yun,Chen, Lin-Qi,Jin, Bo-Han,Yu, Hua,Wang, Jiu-Cun,Gao, Chun-Fang,Liu, Jie Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.11

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most prevalent cancers in the world and deeply threatens people's health, especially in China. Techniques of early diagnosis, prevention and prediction are still being discovered, among which the approaches based on single nucleotide polymorphisms in microRNA genes (miRNA SNPs) are newly proposed and show prospective potential. In particular, the association between SNPs in miRNA196a-2 (rs11614913) and miRNA146a (rs2910164) and HCC has been investigated. However, the conclusions made were conflicting, possibly due to insufficient sample size or population stratification. Further confirmations in well-designed large samples are still required. In this study, we verified the association between these two SNPs and the susceptibility to HCC by MassARRAY assay in a 2,000 large Chinese case-control sample. Significant association between rs11614913 and HCC was confirmed. Subjects with the genotype of CT+TT or T allele in rs11614913 were more resistant to HCC (CT+TT: OR (95% CI)=0.73 (0.57-0.92), P=0.01; T allele: OR (95% CI)=0.85 (0.75-0.97), P=0.02) and HBV-related HCC (CT+TT: OR (95% CI)=0.69 (0.53-0.90), P=0.01; T allele: OR (95% CI)=0.82 (0.71-0.95), P=0.01). The affected carriers of CT or TT also tended to have lower levels of serum AFP (P=0.01). This study demonstrated a role of rs11614913 in the etiology of HCC. Further research should focus on the clinical use of this miRNA SNP, so as to facilitate conquering HCC.

Design of a nano-printer based on AFPN(Active Fountain Pen Nano-lithography) using switch control

Hwang, Kyo-Il,Shin, Chun-Yup,Rui, Min-Gwu,Lee, Suk-Han,Kim, Hun-Mo 대한기계학회 2011 JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Vol.25 No.4

In this paper, the design and the construction analysis of an innovative nano-printer system are presented. A nano-printer system is comprised of automatic transmission parts and modified Active Fountain Pen Nano-lithography (AFPN) device. The patterning is made by a switch control method. For accurate control and fabrication of this device, the fluidic system is simplified by embedding a PZT (Lead Zirconate Titanate) plate in the nano-printer. And, without the cantilevers connecting the reservoir and tip, less energy loss is induced and the whole device becomes more sophisticated. In this paper, the critical channel size is decided for the whole simulation, and then the mechanical and piezoelectric properties of PZT are analyzed by the commercial software, ANSYS. The deformation of the PZT can be controlled precisely. Based on the analysis of the fluidic dynamics of this system, the line width of the pattern was found to depend on the mass of the meniscus formed at the tip. As long as the initial mass of the meniscus is set, the maximum patterning speed can be determined as well. Consequently the printing velocity of this system can be increased considerably beyond that of DPN (Dip- Pen Nano-lithography) or FPN (Fountain Pen Nano-lithography) because the mass of meniscus can be controlled by the applied voltage.

Systemic Inflammatory Biomarkers, Especially Fibrinogen to Albumin Ratio, Predict Prognosis in Patients with Pancreatic Cancer

Lin Fang,Fei-Hu Yan,Chao Liu,Jing Chen,Dan Wang,Chun-Hui Zhang,Chang-Jie Lou,Jie Lian,Yang Yao,Bo-Jun Wang,Rui-Yang Li,Shu-Ling Han,Yi-Bing Bai,Jia-Ni Yang,Zhi-Wei Li,Yan-Qiao Zhang 대한암학회 2021 Cancer Research and Treatment Vol.53 No.1

Purpose Systemic inflammatory response is a critical factor that promotes the initiation and metastasis of malignancies including pancreatic cancer (PC). This study was designed to determine and compare the prognostic value of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR), and fibrinogen-to-albumin ratio (FAR) in resectable PC and locally advanced or metastatic PC. Materials and Methods Three hundred fifty-three patients with resectable PC and 807 patients with locally advan-ced or metastatic PC were recruited in this study. These patients were classified into a training set (n=758) and a validation set (n=402). Kaplan-Meier survival plots and Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to analyze prognosis. Results Overall survival (OS) was significantly better for patients with resectable PC with low preoperative PLR (p=0.048) and MLR (p=0.027). Low FAR, MLR, NLR (p < 0.001), and PLR (p=0.003) were significantly associated with decreased risk of death for locally advanced or metastatic PC patients. FAR (hazard ratio [HR], 1.522; 95% confidential interval [CI], 1.261 to 1.837; p < 0.001) and MLR (HR, 1.248; 95% CI, 1.017 to 1.532; p=0.034) were independent prognostic factors for locally advanced or metastatic PC. Conclusion The prognostic roles of FAR, MLR, NLR, and PLR in resectable PC and locally advanced or metastatic PC were different. FAR showed the most prognostic power in locally advanced or metastatic PC. Low FAR was positively correlated with OS in locally advanced or metastatic PC, which could be used to predict the prognosis.

Controlled Synthesis of Hydroxyapatite Using a Novel Natural Rosin-Based Surfactant

Shu-Hui Zhan,Xue-He Jiang,Juan Li,Zhi Meng,Lin-Lin Chen,Chun-Rui Han 성균관대학교(자연과학캠퍼스) 성균나노과학기술원 2017 NANO Vol.12 No.8

Hydroxyapatite (HAP) with multiform morphologies, such as hollow dandelion-like bundles and nanoparticles with a diameter of 50 nm, was prepared using natural rosin-based surfactant dehydroabietyl phosphate diester (DDPD) as phosphorus source, crystal growth control agent, and template simultaneously by a facile hydrothermal method. Samples were obtained and characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Results showed that DDPD and pH value of solution were the key factors for the morphology of HAP. Hollow dandelion-like bundles HAP, containing the Ca-monodehydroabietyl phosphate (PM-Ca) organic metal compounds, were formed at pH=3 without acid-base regulation, and nanoparticles were obtained at pH=12. SEM exhibited that the hollow dandelion-like bundles HAP are of 10 μm (outer) and 1 μm (inner) diameter, respectively. Cell viabilities are above 95% when the cells are co-cultured with all HAP samples at concentrations in the range of 250–1000 μg/ml. It indicated that the prepared HAP with PM-Ca has a good cytocompatibility without apparent toxicity. Finally, the possible formation mechanism of the HAP microstructures was discussed in detail.