Extrusion of porous silicon nitride using different binders

Jian-Feng Yang,Guang-Peng Jiang,Ji-Qiang Gao 한양대학교 세라믹연구소 2010 Journal of Ceramic Processing Research Vol.11 No.1

Porous silicon nitride ceramics were prepared using an extrusion process. Starch and thermoset phenol-formaldehyde resin were used as binders. The effect of the different binders on the microstructure and mechanical strength of the porous silicon nitride were investigated in detail. It is shown that the microstructure was more uniform when phenol-formaldehyde resin was used as the binder. In contrast, the pore size distribution was bimodal when starch was used. Furthermore, the flexural strength of porous Si3N4 using resin as the binder was higher than that using the starch.

Expression of Lamininγ2 in Extrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma Tissues and its Influence on Tumor Invasion and Metastasis

Li, Yong,Li, Da-Jiang,Chen, Jian,Liu, Wei,Li, Jian-Wei,Jiang, Peng,Zhao, Xin,Guo, Fei,Li, Xiao-Wu,Wang, Shu-Guang Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.5

Objective: To explore the expression of $laminin{\gamma}2$ in extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (EHCC) tissues and its influence on tumor invasion and metastasis. Materials and Methods: Paraffin embedding samples of cancer, para-cancer, lymph node metastatic and hepatic metastatic tissues from 79 patients undergoing EHCC resection were collected. Expression of $laminin{\gamma}2$ was detected by immunohistochemistry and its relationship with clinical pathological characteristics and the prognosis of EHCC patients were analyzed. Results: $Laminin{\gamma}2$ showed negative staining in para-cancer tissues, but demonstrated a 51.9% (41/79) positive expression rate in extracellular matrix (ECM) or cytoplasm of EHCC tissues. In lymph node metastatic and distant metastatic nidi, expression of $laminin{\gamma}2$ was significantly higher than in the primary nidi (${\chi}^2=7.4173$, P=0.0065; ${\chi}^2=4.0077$, P=0.0453). The expression was in obvious association with lymph node metastasis (P<0.01), but had no relevance with age, gender, tumor location, tumor stage, differentiation and distant metastasis in ECM (P>0.05), whereas it was in marked connection with lymph node and distant metastasis (P<0.05 or P<0.01), but had no relationship with age, gender, tumor location, tumor stage and differentiation in cytoplasm (P>0.05). However, the median survival time and median recurrent period of patients with positive expression of $laminin{\gamma}2$ in both cytoplasm and ECM of tumor cells, only in ECM and only in cytoplasm, were evidently lower than with negative expression of $laminin{\gamma}2$ in RCM and cytoplasm (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Further Cox regression analysis showed that the positive expression of $laminin{\gamma}2$ and the tumor differentiation were independent risk factors influencing the prognosis of EHCC patients. Conclusions: Abnormal expression of $laminin{\gamma}2$ may be closely associated with invasion and metastasis of tumor cells, and thus a potential molecular marker for prognosis of EHCC patients.

Application of Joint Detection of AFP, CA19-9, CA125 and CEA in Identification and Diagnosis of Cholangiocarcinoma

Li, Yong,Li, Da-Jiang,Chen, Jian,Liu, Wei,Li, Jian-Wei,Jiang, Peng,Zhao, Xin,Guo, Fei,Li, Xiao-Wu,Wang, Shu-Guang Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.8

Objective: To explore the application of joint detection of serum AFP, CA19-9, CA125 and CEA in identification and diagnosis of cholangiocarcinoma (CC). Materials and Methods: The levels of serum AFP, CA19-9, CA125 and CEA of both 30 patients with CC and 30 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were assessed. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to evaluate the diagnostic effects of single and joint detection of those 4 kinds of tumor markers for CC. Results: The levels of serum CA19-9, CA125 and CEA in CC patients were higher than that in HCC patients,whereas that of serum AFP was significantly lower s. The area under ROC curve of single detection of serum AFP, CA19-9, CA125 and CEA were 0.05, 0.86, 0.84 and 0.83, with the optimal cutoff values of 15.4 ng/ml, 125.1 U/ml, 95.7 U/ml and 25.9 ng/ml, correspondingly, and the percentage correct single diagnosis was <79%. With joint detection, the diagnostic effect of combined AFP, CA19-9, CA125 and CEA was the highest, with an area under the ROC curve of 0.94 (95%CI 0.88~0.99). Conclusions: Single detection of serum CA19-9, CA125 and EA is not meaningful. The sensitivity, specificity, the rate of correct diagnosis and the area under ROC curve of joint detection of AFP, CA19-9, CA125 and CEA are highest, indicating that the joint detection of these 4 tumor markers is of great importance in the diagnosis of CC.

Heat-Shock Protein 70 as a Tumor Antigen for in vitro Dendritic Cell Pulsing in Renal Cell Carcinoma Cases

Meng, Fan-Dong,Sui, Cheng-Guang,Tian, Xin,Li, Yan,Yang, Chun-Ming,Ma, Ping,Liu, Yun-Peng,Jiang, You-Hong Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.20

Immunological functions of heat shock proteins (HSPs) have long been recognized. In this study we aimed to efficiently purify HSP70 from renal cell carcinoma and test it as a tumor antigen for pulsing dendritic cells in vitro. HSP70 was purified from renal cell carcinoma specimens by serial column chromatography on Con A-sepharose, PD-10, ADP-agarose and DEAE-cellulose, and finally subjected to fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC). Dendritic cells derived from the adherent fraction of peripheral blood mononuclear cells were cultured in the presence of IL-4 and GM-CSF and exposed to tumor HSP70. After 24 hours, dendritic cells were phenotypically characterized by flow cytometry. T cells obtained from the non-adherent fraction of peripheral blood mononuclear cells were then co-cultured with HSP70-pulsed dendritic cells and after 3 days T cell cytotoxicity towards primary cultured renal cell carcinoma cells was examined by Cell Counting Kit-8 assay. Dendritic cells pulsed in vitro with tumor-derived HSP70 expressed higher levels of CD83, CD80, CD86 and HLA-DR maturation markers than those pulsed with tumor cell lysate and comparable to that of dendritic cells pulsed with tumor cell lysate plus TNF-${\alpha}$. Concomitantly, cytotoxic T-lymphocytes induced by HSP70-pulsed dendritic cells presented the highest cytotoxic activity. There were no significant differences when using homologous or autologous HSP70 as the tumor antigen. HSP70 can be efficiently purified by chromatography and induces in vitro dendritic cell maturation in the absence of TNF-${\alpha}$. Conspecific HSP70 may effectively be used as a tumor antigen to pulse dendritic cells in vitro.

Impact of IL-2 and IL-2R SNPs on Proliferation and Tumor-killing Activity of Lymphokine-Activated Killer Cells from Healthy Chinese Blood Donors

Li, Yan,Meng, Fan-Dong,Tian, Xin,Sui, Cheng-Guang,Liu, Yun-Peng,Jiang, You-Hong Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.18

One of the goals of tumor immunotherapy is to generate immune cells with potent anti-tumor activity through in vitro techniques using peripheral blood collected from patients. However, cancer patients generally have poor immunological function. Thus using patient T cells, which have reduced in vitro proliferative capabilities and less tumor cell killing activity to generate lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells, fails to achieve optimal clinical efficacy. Interleukin-2 (IL-2) is a potent activating cytokine for both T cells and natural killer cells. Thus, this study aimed to identify optimal donors for allogeneic LAK cell immunotherapy based on single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in the IL-2 and IL-2R genes. IL-2 and IL-2R SNPs were analyzed using HRM-PCR. LAK cells were derived from peripheral blood mononuclear cells by culturing with IL-2. The frequency and tumor-killing activity of LAK cells in each group were analyzed by flow cytometry and tumor cell killing assays, respectively. Regarding polymorphisms at IL-2-330 (rs2069762) T/G, LAK cells from GG donors had significantly greater proliferation, tumor-killing activity, and IFN-${\gamma}$ production than LAK cells from TT donors (P<0.05). Regarding polymorphisms at IL-2R rs2104286 A/G, LAK cell proliferation and tumor cell killing were significantly greater in LAK cells from AA donors than GG donors (P<0.05). These data suggest that either IL-2-330(rs2069762)T/G GG donors or IL-2R rs2104286 A/G AA donors are excellent candidates for allogeneic LAK cell immunotherapy.

Induction of Apoptosis by a Combination of Paclitaxel and Carboplatin in the Presence of Hyperthermia

Huang, Tao,Gong, Wei-Hua,Li, Xiu-Cheng,Zou, Chun-Ping,Jiang, Guang-Jian,Li, Xu-Hui,Feng, Dian-Peng Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2012 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.13 No.1

Purpose: To study enhancing effects of paclitaxel in the thermochemotherapy of osteosarcoma cell lines and related mechanisms. Materials and Methods: Paclitaxel and carboplatin were used alone or jointly on OS732 cell lines in the presence of hyperthermia. Inhibition of proliferation was measured by MTT assay and cellular changes were assessed with inverted phase contrast and fluorescence microscopy. Apoptosis was analyzed with flow cytometry (FCM) and Fas expression by immunocytochemistry. Results: At $43^{\circ}C$, one hour after the application of 10ug/ml paclitaxel and $5{\mu}g/ml$ carboplatin on OS732 cells jointly, the survival rate was 15.8% which was significantly lower than with $10{\mu}g/ml$ paclitaxel (45.8%) and $5{\mu}g/ml$ carboplatin (47.7%) respectively (P<0.01). Moreover, changes of morphology and apoptotic rates indicated that the apoptosis-inducing effect of combined application was also much enhanced, as evident also regarding Fas expression. Conclusion: Paclitaxel is conducive to thermochemotherapy of osteosarcoma cell lines, possibly accomplished by up-regulation of Fas expression with induction of apoptosis.

The Rice YGL Gene Encoding an Mg2+-chelatase ChlD Subunit is Affected by Temperature for Chlorophyll Biosynthesis

Banpu Ruan,Zhenyu Gao,Juan Zhao,Bin Zhang,Anpeng Zhang,Kai Hong,Shenglong Yang,Hongzhen Jiang,Chaolei Liu,Guang Chen,Youlin Peng,Guojun Dong,Longbiao Guo,Zhengjin Xu,Qian Qian 한국식물학회 2017 Journal of Plant Biology Vol.60 No.4

Leaf color-related mutants are important materialsto study the chlorophyll biosynthesis and chloroplastdevelopment. Here, we isolated and characterized a thermosensitiveyellow-green leaf mutant, ygl, through mutagenizedJaponica rice cultivar Zhonghua11 by EMS. The mutantshowed yellow-green leaves only at the seedling stage. Genetic and molecular analyses uncovered that YGL encodean Mg2+-chelatase ChlD subunit, which was a new allele ofChl1/YGL7. Quantitative PCR and GUS staining showedthat the YGL transcripts expressed in all tested organs andsubcellular localization detected YGL protein in the chloroplasts. The mutant displayed yellow-green leaves at 20°C andnormal green leaves at 34°C during the seedling stage. Transcript level of YGL in the ygl mutant was significantlyreduced at 20°C, and increased at 34°C compared with thewild-type plant. Furthermore, the expression of chlorophyllbiosynthesis and chloroplast development related genes wereinfluenced by the mutation of YGL at different temperature. These findings suggested that the YGL gene not only play akey role in chlorophyll biosynthesis, but is affected attranscript level by temperature in rice.

C-type natriuretic peptide attenuates renal osteodystrophy through inhibition of FGF-23/MAPK signaling

Dong Dong Zhang,Yang Fang Wu,Wei Xia Chen,Yao Xu,Si Yan Liu,Huang Huang Luo,Guang Mei Jiang,Yue Wu,Peng Hu 생화학분자생물학회 2019 Experimental and molecular medicine Vol.51 No.-

Renal osteodystrophy (ROD) occurs as early as chronic kidney disease (CKD) stage 2 and seems ubiquitous in almost all pediatric patients with CKD stage 5. Fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-23, a bone-derived endocrine regulator of phosphate homeostasis, is overexpressed in CKD and disturbs osteoblast differentiation and matrix mineralization. In contrast, C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) acts as a potent positive regulator of bone growth. In the present study, we infused CNP into uremic rats and observed whether CNP could attenuate ROD through the inhibition of FGF-23 cascades. In uremic rats, CNP administration significantly alleviated renal dysfunction, calcium phosphate metabolic disorders, hypovitaminosis D, secondary hyperparathyroidism, the decrease in bone turnover markers and retarded bone pathological progression. More importantly, within FGF-23/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling, the fibroblast growth factor receptor-1, Klotho and alternative (STAT-1/phospho-STAT-1) elements were upregulated by CNP, whereas FGF-23, RAF-1/phospho-RAF-1, and downstream (ERK/phospho-ERK and P38/phospho-P38) elements were paradoxically underexpressed in bone tissue. Therefore, CNP exerts a therapeutic effect on ROD through inhibition of FGF-23/MAPK signaling at the RAF-1 level.

Functional Evaluation of Transplanted Kidneys with Reduced Field-of-View Diffusion-Weighted Imaging at 3T

Yuan Xie,Yanjun Li,Jiqiu Wen,Xue Li,Zhe Zhang,Jianrui Li,Yan’e Zhao,Peng Wang,Jun Zhang,Ying Tian,Long Jiang Zhang,Guang Ming Lu 대한영상의학회 2018 Korean Journal of Radiology Vol.19 No.2

Objective: To determine the feasibility of reduced field-of-view diffusion-weighted imaging (rFOV DWI) with multi-b values to detect functional variability in transplanted kidneys. Materials and Methods: Using a 3T MRI scanner, multi-b rFOV DWI of transplanted kidney or native kidney was performed in 40 renal transplantation recipients and 18 healthy volunteers. The patients were stratified, according to an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR): Group 1, eGFR ≥ 60 mL/min/1.73 m2; Group 2, eGFR ≥ 30 mL/min/1.73 m2 and < 60 mL/min/1.73 m2; Group 3, eGFR < 30 mL/min/1.73 m2. Total apparent diffusion coefficient (ADCT), perfusion-free ADC (ADCD) and perfusion fraction (FP) of kidneys were calculated and compared among the four groups. Correlations between the imaging results and eGFR were assessed. Results: All volunteers had eGFR ≥ 60 mL/min/1.73 m2, while 16, 16, and 8 patients were included in Groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively. In the renal cortex, ADCT was higher in Group 1 ([1.65 ± 0.13] x 10-3 mm2/s) than Group 3 ([1.44 ± 0.11] x 10-3 mm2/s) (p < 0.05), and the inter-group differences of FP values were significant (all p < 0.05) (0.330 ± 0.024, 0.309 ± 0.019, 0.278 ± 0.033, and 0.250 ± 0.028 for control group, Groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively). Renal cortical ADCT, ADCD, FP, and renal medullary ADCT and FP correlated positively with eGFR (r = 0.596, 0.403, 0.711, 0.341, and 0.323, respectively; all p < 0.05). When using 0.278 as the cutoff value, renal cortical FP had a sensitivity of 97.1% and a specificity of 66.7% for predicting decreased renal function. Conclusion: Multi-b rFOV DWI presents transplanted kidneys with high resolution, which is a promising functional tool for non-invasively monitoring function of transplanted kidneys.

SPON2 Promotes M1-like Macrophage Recruitment and Inhibits Hepatocellular Carcinoma Metastasis by Distinct Integrin–Rho GTPase–Hippo Pathways

Zhang, Yan-Li,Li, Qing,Yang, Xiao-Mei,Fang, Fang,Li, Jun,Wang, Ya-Hui,Yang, Qin,Zhu, Lei,Nie, Hui-Zhen,Zhang, Xue-Li,Feng, Ming-Xuan,Jiang, Shu-Heng,Tian, Guang-Ang,Hu, Li-Peng,Lee, Ho-Young,Lee, Su-J American Association for Cancer Research 2018 Cancer research Vol.78 No.9

<P>Matricellular protein SPON2 acts as an HCC suppressor and utilizes distinct signaling events to perform dual functions in HCC microenvironment.</P><P>Tumor-associated macrophages (TAM) represent key regulators of the complex interplay between cancer and the immune microenvironment. Matricellular protein SPON2 is essential for recruiting lymphocytes and initiating immune responses. Recent studies have shown that SPON2 has complicated roles in cell migration and tumor progression. Here we report that, in the tumor microenvironment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), SPON2 not only promotes infiltration of M1-like macrophages but also inhibits tumor metastasis. SPON2-α4β1 integrin signaling activated RhoA and Rac1, increased F-actin reorganization, and promoted M1-like macrophage recruitment. F-Actin accumulation also activated the Hippo pathway by suppressing LATS1 phosphorylation, promoting YAP nuclear translocation, and initiating downstream gene expression. However, SPON2-α5β1 integrin signaling inactivated RhoA and prevented F-actin assembly, thereby inhibiting HCC cell migration; the Hippo pathway was not noticeably involved in SPON2-mediated HCC cell migration. In HCC patients, SPON2 levels correlated positively with prognosis. Overall, our findings provide evidence that SPON2 is a critical factor in mediating the immune response against tumor cell growth and migration in HCC.</P><P><B>Significance:</B> Matricellular protein SPON2 acts as an HCC suppressor and utilizes distinct signaling events to perform dual functions in HCC microenvironment.</P><P><B>Graphical Abstract:</B> http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/canres/78/9/2305/F1.large.jpg. <I>Cancer Res; 78(9); 2305–17. ©2018 AACR</I>.</P><P><B>Graphical Abstract</B></P><P> [Figure]</P>