High expression of HIF-2α and its anti-radiotherapy effect in lung cancer stem cells

Hypoxia-inducible factor-2 alpha (HIF-2α) has been shown to regulate cell stemness, although the expression and effects of HIF-2α in lung cancer stem cells remained unclear. This study investigated HIF-2α expression in lung cancer stem cells, as well as the relationship between HIF-2α expression and radioresistance in lung cancer cells. Stem-like cells (CD133(+)) in the non-small-cell lung cancer cell line A549 were enriched by serum-free culture conditions, and CD133(+) cells were sorted via fluorescence-activated cell sorting. A549 cells were treated with middle-infrared radiation, and the level of HIF-2α expression was determined by a quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay and western blot analysis. The level of HIF-2α expression in tissue sections from 50 cases of clinically confirmed non-small-cell lung cancer was determined via immunohistochemical analysis, and its correlation with prognosis after radiotherapy was analyzed. HIF-2α levels in CD133(+) cells were significantly higher than those in CD133(-) cells (P = 0.032). However, after radiation treatment, these levels were significantly upregulated in both CD133(+) and CD133(-) cells (P = 0.031 and P = 0.023, respectively). After irradiation, the proportions of apoptotic, dead, and autophagic CD133(+) A549 cells were considerably lower than those of CD133(-) A549 cells (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the recovery of carcinoembryonic antigen to pre-radiation levels was more rapid in lung cancer patients with high levels of HIF-2α expression, and these patients had shorter survival times (P = 0.018). HIF-2α is highly expressed in lung cancer stem cells, which may lead to radioresistance. In conclusion, HIF-2α is a potential prognostic marker for lung cancer.

An Improvement to the Preparation of Prasugrel Hydrochloride

An efficient synthesis of prasugrel, a thienopyridine ADP-receptor antagonists, is described. A thienopyridine inter-mediate was prepared by N-protection, boric acid substitution and N-substitution. After acid hydrolysis of the methyl ether and subsequent acetylation, prasugrel was obtained with a total yield of 50% after seven linear steps from 4,5,6,7-tetrahydrothieno [3,2-c]pyridine and 2-bromo-1-cyclopropyl-2-(2- fluorophenyl)ethan-1-one as raw materials.

Safety of telbivudine treatment for chronic hepatitis B for the entire pregnancy

Orally administered nucleus(t)ide analogues (NA) have brought about a simple, safe and effective therapeutic approach for chronic hepatitis B (CHB). However, treatment duration is long and some female patients become pregnant during treatment. In recent years, there have been gradually increasing reports on the safety of telbivudine (LdT) treatment for chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in the third trimester of pregnancy to block mother-to-infant transmission (MTIT) of HBV; however, the safety of LdT treatment for chronic HBV infection for the entire pregnancy has not been reported. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the safety of LdT treatment for chronic HBV infection for the entire pregnancy and provide a reference for HBV-infected fertile women on how to block MTIT of HBV. Eighty-six pregnant women who received LdT treatment either before or in early pregnancy were enrolled in the study. Adverse events were prospectively observed for the entire pregnancy and perinatal period, and short-term and long-term follow-up of infants was conducted, monitoring the abnormalities of infants and blocking rate of MTIT with LdT treatment. Eighty-six pregnant women treated with LdT had a total of 89 pregnancies: 6 (6.7%) had early embryonic death or spontaneous abortion, 1 (1.1%) had ectopic pregnancy and three had a second pregnancy after initial abortion. Fifty-one mothers completed pregnancy: one had induction of labour at 24 weeks of pregnancy for cleft lip and palate of the foetus and 50 delivered 52 full-term live infants. One infant had right ear accessories, and the total occurrence of congenital abnormality was 3.8%. Thirty-nine infants were followed up for more than 6 months and completed all examinations for MTIT. None of the infants were HBsAg positive, resulting in a 100% success rate of blocking MTIT. All mothers maintained good liver function during the third trimester of pregnancy; 86% maintained complete virological response (HBV DNA <500 copies/mL) prior to delivery, and none developed progression of liver disease. Factors leading to increased adverse effects and drug resistance were not found. LdT treatment is safe and effective in chronic HBV-infected pregnant mothers for the entire pregnancy.

Genetic link among Hani, Bulang and other Southeast Asian populations: evidence from HLA -A, -B, -C, -DRB1 genes and haplotypes distribution

Human leucocyte antigen (HLA) genetic characteristic of different ethnic minorities would be useful for tracing the origin of modern human HLA matching in transplantation and disease associations. In this study, we reported HLA-A, -B, -C and -DRB1 alleles and haplotypes in the Bulang and Hani populations of southwestern China using a high-resolution polymerase chain reaction-Luminex (PCR-Luminex) typing method. A total of nine HLA-A, 22 HLA-B, 13 HLA-C and 18 HLA-DRB1 alleles were identified in the Bulang population, and 11 HLA-A, 25 HLA-B, 14 HLA-C and 19 HLA-DRB1 alleles were in the Hani population. Compared with other populations, the predominant A*1101-B*1502-DRB1*1202 haplotype in the Bulang and Hani populations was also common in Jinuo, Wa, Dai, Maonan and Vietnamese populations. The distribution of HLA genes indicate that Bulang and Hani populations belong to the Southeast Asia group and they have maintained their original genetic characteristics and kept a long genetic distance from other populations owing to founder effects and subsequent geographic isolation. In addition, the close relationship among ethnic groups in Yunnan province and the Thai and Vietnamese populations were confirmed, whereas the Mon-Kmer-speaking populations shared other common HLA alleles and haplotypes compared with other linguistic groups.

Dissipation-induced d-wave pairing of fermionic atoms in an optical lattice

We show how dissipative dynamics can give rise to pairing for two-component fermions on a lattice. In particular, we construct a parent Liouvillian operator so that a BCS-type state of a given symmetry, e.g., a d-wave state, is reached for arbitrary initial states in the absence of conservative forces. The system-bath couplings describe single-particle, number-conserving and quasilocal processes. The pairing mechanism crucially relies on Fermi statistics. We show how such Liouvillians can be realized via reservoir engineering with cold atoms representing a driven dissipative dynamics.