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在敏化前列腺癌细胞疗法中AR调制和VDR调制的作用
Epidemiological evidence has demonstrated an inverse association between serum vitamin D levels and sunlight exposure to prostate cancer incidence. In addition, serum androgen levels and biologically available testosterone decrease significantly in elder men while the incidence rate of prostate cancer increases. These findings lead to the hypothesis that androgen- and vitamin D-mediated signaling events may act together to inhibit prostate tumor initiation and/or development. Using concurrent microarray analyses, we demonstrated that testosterone and 1,25(OH)2D3 co-operate to regulate mRNA and miRNA expression, including some well-defined oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes. Pheno typically, this results in G0/G1 cell cycle arrest and increased neutral lipid accumulation in LNCaP cells, as a consequence of repression of various cell cycle regulators and the up-regulation of PPAR alpha; respectively. This suggests that the cross talk between T and 1,25(OH)2D3 induces cell cycle arrest and promotes cell differentiation in LNCaP cells. It is important ton ote that co-treatment of LNCaP cells with testosterone, 1, 25(OH)2D3 and other standard therapeutics, including bicalutamide, docetaxel and TRAIL did not affect the potencies of these treatments, though there were no synergistic effects either. This suggests that androgen andvitamin D supplementation slow disease progression without affecting the efficacy of standard therapies for prostate cancer. Further analysis is still required to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of T and 1,25(OH)2D3 to modulate key mRNA and miRNA and their significance in prostate tumorigenesis and therapeutic interventions.
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干细胞疗法的最新先进技术
We have isolated and characterized a population of skeletal muscle- derived stem cells (MDSCs) that display a greatly improved skeletal and cardiac muscle transplantation capacity when compared to skeletal muscle myoblasts. The MDSCs ability to withstand oxidative and inflammatory stresses appears to be the single most important factor for their improved transplantation capacity. Although the true origin of MDSCs remains unclear, their high degree of similarity with blood vessel-derived stem cells suggests their potential origin could be from the vascular wall. We have recently isolated two distinct populations of cells from the vasculature of human skeletal muscle known collectively as human skeletal muscle-derived cells (hMDCs). The two populations are myo-endothelial cells and pericytes and both can repair skeletal and cardiac muscles in a more effective manner than myoblasts, as is observed with murine MDSCs. In the current proposal we intend to evaluate and compare the regeneration capacity of these two hMDC populations after their implantation into the skeletal muscle of immunodeficient/dystrophic (SCID/mdx) mice. We will then investigate the influence that sex has on the regeneration and repair capacity of the hMDCs endowed with the greatest regeneration capacity (either myo-entothelial cells or pericytes). Finally we will investigate the influence that age plays on the regeneration capacity of the cells.
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以ETS基因融合作为预测生物标记来放疗治疗前列腺癌
The research goals of this grant proposal are to: (1) investigate the effect of ETS gene fusions on radiation phenotype in pre-clinical models of prostate cancer, (2) to explore the mechanism of interaction between ERG (the predominant ETS gene fusion product) and the DNA repair protein DNA-PK, and (3) to determine if ETS gene fusion status is a clinical biomarker of radioresistance for prostate cancer. The training goals of this grant proposal included a series of regular meetings with mentors, research seminars, journal clubs, and workshops, all of which are intended to help Dr. Feng develop as a translational scientist. This grant proposal was approved as a five-year award; the current annual report summarizes accomplishments over the second year of the grant, from July 15, 2011 to July 15, 2012. Overall, the first two years of this grant have been very successful. The work accomplished as a result of this grant resulted in two publications in very high impact journals, four national presentations, and three grants (two from the Prostate Cancer Foundation and one from Celgene). Additionally, Dr. Feng has met the training achievements specified in his original grant. The research proposed in this training grant represents an important area within the field of prostate cancer research. Because ETS gene fusions are thought to be driver alterations in over half of all prostate cancers, understanding the mecha-nistic and potential clinical implications of these gene fusions has significant ramifications, particularly in the context of radiation therapy, which represents a primary treatment modality for localized prostate cancer. In the second year of this grant period, we have generated bioluminescent ETS+ and ETS- cells in three different prostate cancer cell lines, and we havereceived institutional approval to proceed with the proposed animal studies and human biomarker tissue studies.
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肌肉干细胞疗法治疗DMD相关心肌病
Project 1: Dilated cardiomyopathy affects approximately 1 in 2,500 individuals in the United States and is the 3rd most common cause of heart failure and the most frequent cause of heart transplantation. Patients that suffer from various muscle diseases, including Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), develop progressive cardiomyopathy. Cellular cardiomyoplasty, which involves the transplantation of exogenous cells into the heart, is a possible approach by which to repair diseased or injured myocardium and improve cardiac function. Though there are a number of drugs prescribed to treat dilated cardiomyopathy, there is no cure and individuals eventually require a heart transplant; therefore the use of cardiomyoplasty to repair the hearts of individuals suffering from cardiomyopathy could possibly be an effective alternative to heart transplantation. Technical Objective No. 1: To investigate the effect of cell survival, proliferation, and differentiation on the regeneration/repair capacity of various human MDSC populations implanted into the heart of mdx/SCID mice. Technical Objective No. 2: To investigate the role that angiogenesis plays in the regeneration/repair capacity of human MDSCs injected into the hearts of mdx/SCID mice. Project 2: This project will determine the extent to which novel sources of hepatocytes can be used for regeneration and repair of injuries to the liver and liver failure. A more complete understanding of the extent to which donor liver cells can be resuscitated from non-traditional sources and expanded for application to reduce liver injury and toxin and/or cancer risk should enhance the number of areas where hepatic stem cell transplantation might be effectively applied. Technical Objectives: (1) to characterize and expand hepatocytes from patients with cirrhosis and end-stage liver disease in immune deficient hosts whose livers permit extensive repopulation with donor cells; (2); to determine the extent to which transplant.
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局部雷帕霉素治疗缓解皮肤结节性硬化综合症的表现
Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC) is a genetic disorder resulting from mutations in either the TSC1 or TSC2 genes. TSC is characterized by abnormal skin pigmentation and tumor formation in multiple organ systems. TheTSC1andTSC2gene products are involved in cell signaling; in particular they are involved in the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway. In TSC, the epidermal basal cells contain a mutant copy of either theTSC1orTSC2gene. A loss of heterozygosity results in constitutive activation of mTOR leading to production of epidermal cells at a faster rate than the ability to slough the dead cells. This overproduction of skin cells, in conjunction with angiogenesis, results in the formation of visible facial angiofibromas over time.
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血液透析治疗技术中的血管穿刺
Therapeutic options for patients suffering from end-stage renal disease have improved tremendously over the last decades and can be divided into three categories: hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis and kidney transplantation. Transplantation remains the treatment of choice, however, lack of donor organs results in the necessity of performing -temporary-dialysis therapies of which hemodialysis is carried out in the majority of patients. To facilitate adequate hemodialysis therapy a reliable vascular access is mandatory and can be provided by either surgically connecting an artery with a vein (arteriovenous fistula), surgically connecting an artery with a vein using an interposition of prosthetic graft material (arterioven-ous graft) or a central venous catheter. This chapter shortly reviews the condition of end-stage renal disease after which history of vascular access, different options to create a vascular access, pre-operative work-up, surgical procedure, monitoring and usage, post-operative complications and the role of hemodynamics will be discussed. Finally, some future directions for vascular access creation and management will be identified.