Potential Therapeutic Targets for the Primary Gallbladder Carcinoma: Estrogen Receptors

Zhang, Ling-Qiang,Zhang, Xiu-De,Xu, Jia,Wan, Yong,Qu, Kai,Zhang, Jing-Yao,Wang, Zhi-Xin,Wei, Ji-Chao,Meng, Fan-Di,Tai, Ming-Hui,Zhou, Lei,Liu, Chang Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.4

Gallbladder carcinoma, the most frequent malignant neoplasm of the biliary tract system, has always been considered to feature late clinical presentation and diagnosis, limited treatment options and an extremely poor prognosis. In recent years, while the incidence of gallbladder cancer has appeared to be on the increase, the available treatment methods have not greatly improved survival of the affected patients. Thus, exploring new therapeutic targets for this devastating disease is an urgent matter at present. Epidemical studies have demonstrated that the incidence of gallbladder carcinoma exhibits a distinct gender bias, affecting females two to three times more than males, pointing to crucial roles of estrogen. It is well known that estrogen acts on target tissues by binding to estrogen receptors (ERs), which are mainly divided into three subtypes, $ER{\alpha}$, $ER{\beta}$ and $ER{\gamma}$. $ER{\alpha}$ and $ER{\beta}$ appear to have overlapping but also unique even opposite biological effects. As important pathogenic mediators, ERs have been considered to relate to several kinds of tumors. In gallbladder carcinoma tissue, ERs have been shown to be positively expressed, and ERs expression levels are associated with differentiation and prognosis of this cancer. Nevertheless, the exact mechanisms of estrogen inducing growth of gallbladder carcinoma remain poorly understood. On the base of the current investigations, we deduce that estrogen participates in promotion of gallbladder carcinoma by influencing the formation of gallstones, stimulating angiogenesis, and promoting abnormal proliferation. Since ERs mediate the carcinogenic actions of estrogen in gallbladder, and therapy targeting ERs may provide new directions for gallbladder carcinoma. Therefore, it should be stressed that ERs are potential therapeutic targets for gallbladder carcinoma.

A magnetostrictive self-powered biosensor based on Au-BaTiO3-FeGa & PDMS

Qiang Zhang,Meng Xu,Yan Liu,Chunyan Zhang,Rui Zhang,Zhiyuan Fu,Jianlong Ji,Riguang Zhang,Shengbo Sang 한국공업화학회 2023 Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Vol.117 No.-

Piezoelectric flexible sensors have been used to detect biomolecules such as sweat and glucose because oftheir passive, simple structure and high sensitivity. This paper proposes a novel flexible piezoelectric Au-BaTiO3-FeGa & PDMS biosensor in which magnetostrictive deformation amplifies the surface stress generatedby biomolecules combining on the thin film. The modification process of bovine serum albumin(BSA) binding with the sensor was initially determined by the first principles approach. Then, the sensingmechanism was verified by finite-element simulation. Based on the simulation results, flexible Au-BaTiO3-FeGa & PDMS biosensors were prepared, modified, and measured. The structure, modification,and detection of the sensors were analyzed by digital microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry(FTIR), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The responses ofthe biosensors detecting different BSA solution concentrations under magnetic fields were then investigated. Experimental results indicate that the biosensor has the highest sensitivity under a magnetic fieldof 30 mT.

Posttranscriptional deregulation of Src due to aberrant miR34a and miR203 contributes to gastric cancer development

Qiang Hao,Xiao Zhao Lu,Nan Nan Liu,Xiao Chang Xue,Meng Li,Cun Zhang,Xin Qin,Wei Na Li,Zhen Shu,Bin Song,Qing Wang,Li Qiang Song,Wei Zhang,Ying Qi Zhang 생화학분자생물학회(구 한국생화학분자생물학회) 2013 BMB Reports Vol.46 No.6

A Potent Brucella abortus 2308 Δery Live Vaccine Allows for the Differentiation between Natural and Vaccinated Infection

Junbo Zhang,Shuanghong Yin,Fei Guo,Ren Meng,Chuangfu Chen,Hui Zhang,Zhi-qiang Li,Qiang Fu,Huijun Shi,Shengwei Hu,Wei Ni,Tiansen Li,Ke Zhang 한국미생물학회 2014 The journal of microbiology Vol.52 No.8

Brucellosis is a globally distributed zoonotic disease that causes animal and human diseases. However, the current Brucella abortus vaccines (S19 and RB51) are deficient; they can cause abortion in pregnant animals. Moreover, when the vaccine S19 is used, tests cannot differentiate natural from vaccinated infection. Therefore, a safer and more potent vaccine is needed. A Brucella abortus 2308 ery promoter mutant (Δery) was constructed to overcome these drawbacks. The growth of the Δery mutant was significantly attenuated in macrophages and mice and induced high protective immunity in mice. Moreover, Δery induced an anti-Brucellaspecific IgG (immunoglobulin G) response and stimulated the expression of interferon-gamma (INF-γ) and interleukin-4 (IL-4). Furthermore, the expression of EryA antigen allowed for the serological differentiation between natural and vaccinated infection in mice. These results indicate that the Δery mutant is a potential attenuated live vaccine candidate against virulent Brucella abortus 2308 (S2308) infection.

Galectin-9 Acts as a Prognostic Factor with Antimetastatic Potential in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Zhang, Zhao-Yang,Dong, Jia-Hong,Chen, Yong-Wei,Wang, Xian-Qiang,Li, Chong-Hui,Wang, Jian,Wang, Guo-Qiang,Li, Hai-Lin,Wang, Xue-Dong Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2012 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.13 No.6

Considerable research has been conducted concerning galectin-9 and carcinomas, but little information is available about any relation with the hepatocellular carcinoma. In this study, we employed a small interfering RNA (siRNA) targeting galectin-9 to down-regulate the expression in HepG2 cells. As a result, after galectin-9 expression was reduced, cell aggregation was suppressed, while other behaviour such as the proliferation, adhesion and invasion to ECM, cell-endothelial adhesion and transendothelial invasion of the cells were markedly enhanced. When tumors of 200 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma were tested for galectin-9 expression by immunohistochemistry, binding levels demonstrated intimate correlations with the histopathologic grade, lymph node metastasis, vascular invasion and intrahepatic metastasis (P<0.05). Moreover, survival analysis indicated that patients with galectin-9 expression had much longer survival time than those with negative lesions, and the Log-rank test indicated that this difference was statistical significant (P<0.0001). The Cox proportional hazards model suggested that negative galectin-9 expression in hepatocellular carcinoma represented a significant risk factor for patient survival. We propose that galectin-9 might be a new prognostic factor with antimetastatic potential in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

CORROSION BEHAVIOR OF NI-BASE ALLOYS IN SUPERCRITICAL WATER

QIANG ZHANG,RUI TANG,CONG LI,XIN LUO,CHONGSHENG LONG,KAIJU YIN 한국원자력학회 2009 Nuclear Engineering and Technology Vol.41 No.1

Corrosion of nickel-base alloys (Hastelloy C-276, Inconel 625, and Inconel X-750) in 500 °C, 25 MPa supercritical water (with 10 wppb oxygen) was investigated to evaluate the suitability of these alloys for use in supercritical water reactors. Oxide scales formed on the samples were characterized by gravimetry, scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results indicate that, during the 1000 h exposure, a dense spinel oxide layer, mainly consisting of a fine Cr-rich inner layer (NiCr2O4) underneath a coarse Fe-rich outer layer (NiFe2O4), developed on each alloy. Besides general corrosion, nodular corrosion occurred on alloy 625 possibly resulting from local attack of ” clusters in the matrix. The mass gains for all alloys were small, while alloy X-750 exhibited the highest oxidation rate, probably due to the absence of Mo.

Sonication-Assisted Synthesis of Molybdenum Disulfide Aerogel for the Electrode Materials of Supercapacitors

Qiang Zhang,Wenyuan He,Yinmin Wang,Dazhao Pei,Xue Jun Zheng 성균관대학교(자연과학캠퍼스) 성균나노과학기술원 2019 NANO Vol.14 No.5

The sonication processing was added in front of the freeze-drying as an intermediate processing before the molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) aerogel was synthesized. It is distinguishing with the traditional hydrothermal reaction to combine the sonication processing and freeze-drying in our method. The structure, morphology, specific surface area and pore size distribution were characterized, and the electrochemical performances were measured in 0.5M Na2SO4 electrolyte for the MoS2 aerogel and flower-like MoS2. As for comparison, they are of porous structure and microsphere structure, and their specific surface areas are 55.14 m2 g -1 and 38.12 m2 g -1. The specific capacitances are 166.7 F g -1 and 119.2 F g -1 at the scan rate of 5 mV s -1, and the capacity retentions are 87.7% and 81.6% after 3000 charge/discharge cycles. For the enhanced mechanism, the high specific surface of the MoS2 aerogel causes high specific capacitance, and the unique porous structure could buffer volume expansion to improve retention ability during charge/discharge processes. The MoS2 aerogel may thus be a promising electrode material for supercapacitors.

A Dynamic Modeling Approach to Simulate Groundwater Discharges into a Tunnel from Typical Heterogenous Geological Media During Continuing Excavation

Qiang Xia,Mo Xu,Han Zhang,Qiang Zhang,Xian-xuan Xiao 대한토목학회 2018 KSCE JOURNAL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING Vol.22 No.1

Most of the analytical and numerical models of tunnel groundwater inflow ignore the excavation process, leading to inaccurate prediction of discharge rate. A dynamic modeling approach was introduced by redevelopment of MODFLOW to simulate the change of groundwater flow step by step in accord with tunnel excavation. The drilling tunnel was conceptualized as a changing boundary condition, which was modeled by dividing the drilling process into a series of successive steps. The impact of permeability heterogeneity on groundwater flow was studied through a comparison between a homogeneous hydraulic conductivity case and a synthetic heterogeneous one. It was found that the discharge rate at drilling front kept stable in the homogeneous case, resulting in a linear increase in the total discharge rate, similar to the analytical solution by Perrochet (2005). In contrast, the front and total discharge rate were influenced significantly by the variability of permeability in the heterogeneous case. The time-dependent discharge rate at a given place was subject to an exponential decay for both cases with the maximum inflow occuring at the beginning of excavation. The relationship between discharge rate and hydraulic properties was further investigated in a high-K zone. It revealed that maximum discharge rate was proportional to hydraulic conductivity (K) and specific storage (Ss). The decaying rate of discharge was time-dependent and also proportional to the value of K and Ss. The water budget analysis demonstrated that water released from storage of the high-K zone was the major source of tunnel discharge at early times.

Operation start time and long-term outcome of hepatocellular carcinoma after curative hepatic resection

Qiang Lu,Qing-Shan Li,Wei Zhang,Kang Liu,Tao Li,Jia-Wei Yu,Yi Lv,Xu-Feng Zhang 대한외과학회 2020 Annals of Surgical Treatment and Research(ASRT) Vol.99 No.1

Purpose: The objective of the current study was to examine the potential effects of surgery start times (morning vs. afternoon) on the long-term prognosis of patients after hepatic resection (HR) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: All eligible patients were divided into 2 groups according to the start time of surgery: group M (morning surgery, 8 AM–1 PM) and group A (afternoon surgery, 1 PM–6 PM). Clinicopathologic and surgical parameters, as well as oncologic outcomes were compared between the 2 groups. Results: In total, 231 patients were included in the study. There was no difference in age, body mass index, comorbidities, tumor size, tumor location, tumor stages, surgical procedures, or surgical margin between morning and afternoon surgery (all P > 0.05). In contrast, patients in group M experienced longer operation duration than those in group A (median, 240 minutes vs. 195 minutes, P = 0.004). However, no differences of overall survival were observed between morning and afternoon surgery groups in the whole cohort or stratified by surgical margin (all P > 0.05). Conclusion: Surgery start times during the work day have no measurable influence on patient outcome following curative HR for HCC, indicating good self-regulation and professional judgment of surgeons for progressive fatigue during surgery

MiR-886-5p Inhibition Inhibits Growth and Induces Apoptosis of MCF7 Cells

Zhang, Lei-Lei,Wu, Jiang,Liu, Qiang,Zhang, Yan,Sun, Zhu-Lei,Jing, Hong Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.4

Background and Aims: To explore the molecular mechanisms of miR-886-5p in breast cancer., we examined roles in inhibiting growth and migration of MCF-7 cells. Methods: MiR-886-5p mimics and inhibitors were used to express or inhibit MiR-886-5p, respectively, and MTT and clone formation assays were used to determine the survival and proliferation. Hoechst 33342/ PI double staining was applied to detect apoptosis. The expression of caspase-3, caspase-8, caspase-9, MT1-MMP, VEGF-C and VEGF-D was detected by Western blotting, and the levels of MMP2 and MMP9 secreted from MCF-7 cells were assessed by ELISA. MCF-7 cell migration was determined by wound healing and Transwell assays. Results: We found that the growth of MCF-7 cells was inhibited upon decreasing miR-886-5p levels. Inhibiting miR-866-5p also significantly induced apoptosis and decreased the migratory capacity of these cells. The expression of VEGF-C, VEGF-D, MT1-MMP, MMP2, and MMP9 was also found to be decreased as compared to controls. Conclusions: Our data show that downregulation of miR-886-5p expression in MCF-7 cells could significantly inhibit cell growth and migration. This might imply that inhibiting miR-886-5p could be a therapeutic strategy in breast cancer.