A case of severe thallium poisoning successfully treated with hemoperfusion and continuous veno-venous hemofiltration

Thallium poisoning is a rare condition that is often misdiagnosed, delaying appropriate treatment. Left untreated, thallium toxicity can permanently damage the nervous and digestive systems or, in severe cases, lead to paralysis and death. It is most often treated by an oral administration of Prussian blue. Thallium has a long physiological half-life, and Prussian blue cannot sequester thallium outside the digestive tract. Therefore, the first priority in treating severe thallium poisoning is to lower blood levels as soon as possible. We report the case of a patient with supralethal blood levels of thallium treated successfully using combined hemoperfusion (HP) and continuous veno-venous hemofiltration (CVVH). Three rounds of HP alone decreased blood thallium levels by 20.2%, 34.8%, and 32.2%, while each of the five subsequent rounds of CVVH reduced thallium blood levels by 63.5%, 64.2%, 42.1%, 18.6%, and 22.6%. The reversal of symptoms and prevention of lasting neurological damage indicates that HP, CVVH, 2,3-dimercaptopropane-1-sulfonate, neuroprotective agents along with supportive therapy were used successfully to treat a case of severe thallium poisoning.

Factors associated with acceptability of circumcision among male drug users in western China: a cross-sectional study

This study is aimed to investigate whether male circumcision (MC) is feasible among IDUs in China. 1304 drug users who attended methadone maintenance therapy clinics in Guangxi, Chongqing and Xinjiang were selected for participation by using convenience sampling, and completed a self-administered questionnaire. The factors associated with the acceptability of MC were examined via multiple logistic regression models. 45.2% (589/1304) of the participants reported an acceptance of MC. Many of the participants who were initially not willing to accept MC (715/1304) had changed their mind when they were informed that MC would reduce the risk of HIV and STDs (43.4%; 310/715), that MC is associated with few surgery-related complications (23.1%; 165/715), that the surgical procedure could be arranged free of charge (20.1%, 144/715). In the multivariate analysis, higher acceptability of MC was associated with knowledge of the hazards of phimosis (OR=2.22), the presence of phimosis (OR=14.87), and knowledge that MC can prevent AIDS and STDs (OR=1.49); while lower acceptability was associated with residing in Chongqing province (OR=0.41) and an educational level of junior (OR=0.64) and senior high (OR=0.63) school. The MC policy targeting IDUs in China should take into account these factors associated with MC acceptability.

HIV-1 viral protein R downregulates Ebp1 and stabilizes p53 in glioblastoma U87MG cells

PURPOSE

HIV-1 viral protein R (Vpr) inhibits cell growth and induces apoptosis in a wide range of cancers. However, the mechanism by which Vpr induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in GBM cell lines is unclear. The present work was taken to detect the proteins interacted with Vpr in U87MG cells.

METHODS

We analyzed the differential expression of proteins between glioblastoma cell U87MG treated with Ad-Vpr and untreated by 2-DE. We used antibody array analysis to analyze the common molecules in the apoptosis of U87MG induced by Vpr.

RESULTS

We analyzed the differential expression of proteins between U87MG cell treated with Ad-Vpr and untreated, and found that proteins related to DNA damage repair or different apoptosis pathways were involved in the G2 arrest and apoptosis mediated by Vpr. In addition, proliferation-associated protein 2G4 (PA2G4), also known as Ebp1, was down-regulated and p53 was up-regulated in U87MG cells treated with Ad-Vpr.

CONCLUSIONS

Our data suggest that Vpr may inhibit Ebp1 to stabilize p53, which in turn leads to G2 arrest and apoptosis in U87MG cells.

High prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency in pregnant women working indoors and residing in Guiyang, China

BACKGROUND/AIM

To assess the status of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] in pregnant women in their second and third trimesters, who reside and work indoors in Guiyang, China.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

A total of 311 pregnant women in their 12th to 40th gestational week were engaged in employment located indoors in the urban area of Guiyang and completed a questionnaire on living habits. Levels of serum 25(OH)D were measured from fasting venous blood by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Levels of 25(OH)D were classified as vitamin D deficient [25(OH)D<20 ng/ml], insufficient [20 ng/ml≤25(OH)D<30 ng/ml], or sufficient [25(OH)D≥30 ng/ml].

RESULTS

The mean serum level of 25(OH)D was 14.69±6.81 ng/ml. Vitamin D deficiency, insufficiency and sufficiency were found in 260 (83.6%), 39 (12.5%), and 12 (3.9%) women, respectively. The mean level of 25(OH)D in the third trimester was significantly higher than in the second trimester (p<0.001). The mean 25(OH)D level in summer (June, July, August) was significantly higher than in the other seasons (p<0.001). The 25(OH)D level in pregnant women compliant with pre-natal calcium or multivitamin supplements was higher than in those not taking supplements (p<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest that pregnant women residing in Guiyang urban area and working indoors are at high risk of vitamin D insufficiency, particularly during spring, winter, and autumn, regardless of use of pre-natal calcium and multivitamins. Appropriate vitamin D supplementation is necessary to improve maternal vitamin D nutrition.

Gossypol and an HMT G9a inhibitor act in synergy to induce cell death in pancreatic cancer cells

The histone methyltransferase G9a is overexpressed in a variety of cancer types, including pancreatic adenocarcinoma, and promotes tumor invasiveness and metastasis. We recently reported the discovery of BRD4770, a small-molecule inhibitor of G9a that induces senescence in PANC-1 cells. We observed that the cytotoxic effects of BRD4770 were dependent on genetic background, with cell lines lacking functional p53 being relatively resistant to compound treatment. To understand the mechanism of genetic selectivity, we used two complementary screening approaches to identify enhancers of BRD4770. The natural product and putative BH3 mimetic gossypol enhanced the cytotoxicity of BRD4770 in a synergistic manner in p53-mutant PANC-1 cells but not in immortalized non-tumorigenic pancreatic cells. The combination of gossypol and BRD4770 increased LC3-II levels and the autophagosome number in PANC-1 cells, and the compound combination appears to act in a BNIP3 (B-cell lymphoma 2 19-kDa interacting protein)-dependent manner, suggesting that these compounds act together to induce autophagy-related cell death in pancreatic cancer cells.

Growth of large-scale vertically aligned GaN nanowires and their heterostructures with high uniformity on SiO(x) by catalyst-free molecular beam epitaxy

The catalyst-free molecular beam epitaxial growth of GaN nanowires and their heterostructures on a SiOx template is studied in detail. It was found that by optimizing the growth temperature, highly uniform and vertically aligned GaN nanowires and InGaN/GaN heterostructures with excellent optical properties can be obtained on a SiOx template in a large-scale. This work provides an entirely new avenue for GaN nanowire based optoelectronic devices.

NFAT5 represses canonical Wnt signaling via inhibition of β-catenin acetylation and participates in regulating intestinal cell differentiation

The intestinal mucosa undergoes a continual process of proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis, which is regulated by multiple signaling pathways. The Wnt/β-catenin pathway has a critical role in this process. Previously, we have shown that the calcineurin-dependent nuclear factor of activated T cell (NFAT) is involved in the regulation of intestinal cell differentiation, as noted by the alteration of brush-border enzyme intestinal alkaline phosphatase (IAP) activity. Here, we show that calcineurin-independent NFAT5 interacts with β-catenin to repress Wnt signaling. We found that overexpression of NFAT5 inhibits, whereas knockdown of NFAT5 increases, TOPflash reporter activity and the expression of Wnt/β-catenin target genes, suggesting that NFAT5 inhibits Wnt signaling. In addition, we demonstrated that NFAT5 directly interacts with the C-terminal transactivation domain (TAD) of β-catenin, inhibits CBP interaction with β-catenin, and inhibits CBP-mediated β-catenin acetylation. Moreover, NFAT5 is expressed in the mucosa of human intestine, with the most pronounced staining in the most differentiated region near the epithelial surface. Knockdown of NFAT5 attenuated sodium butyrate (NaBT)-mediated induction of IAP and sucrase activities; overexpression of NFAT5 induced IAP promoter activity. In summary, we provide evidence showing that NFAT5 is a regulator of Wnt signaling. Importantly, our results suggest that NFAT5 regulation of intestinal cell differentiation may be through inhibition of Wnt/β-catenin signaling.