Xiaojun Chen

BACKGROUND: The management of latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection is a new priority action for the WHO End Tuberculosis (TB) Strategy. However, national guidelines on latent tuberculosis infection testing and treatment have not yet been developed in China. Here, we present the results from the 2-year follow-up of a study that aimed to track the development of active disease in individuals with latent tuberculosis infection, identify priority populations for latent infection ...

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which are poorly immunogenic and have potent immunosuppressive activities, have emerged as a promising candidate for cellular therapeutics for the treatment of disorders caused by abnormal immune responses. In this study we investigated whether human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs) could ameliorate colitis in a trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS)-induced colitis model. TNBS-treated colitic mice were infused with hUC-MSCs or ...

Ubiquitin ligases play important roles in immune regulation. The human RNF114 (RING finger protein 114), an ubiquitin ligase, was recently reported to be involved in immune response to double-stranded RNA in disease pathogenesis. Here, we identified a RNF114 homolog in Chinese sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis) and investigated its potential role in immune response. The full-length cDNA of Chinese sturgeon RNF114 (csRNF114) contains an open reading frame (ORF) of 681 nucleotides coding a ...

Background: Tripartite motif-containing protein 11 (TRIM11) is one of the E3 ubiquitin ligases, which is upregulated in several human tumors. Meanwhile, the detailed function of TRIM11 remains unclear in breast cancer cells. Purpose: The purpose of the present study is to analyze the biological function of TRIM11 and identify its potential signaling pathway in breast cancer cells. Patients and methods: Thirty five pairs of breast cancer specimens and adjacent-matched noncancerous samples ...

In the past decades, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been receiving increased attention due to rising morbidity and mortality in both developing and developed countries. Koumine, one of the significant alkaloidal constituents of Gelsemium elegans Benth., has been regarded as a promising anti-inflammation, anxiolytic, and analgesic agent, as well as an anti-tumor agent. In the present study, we attempted to provide a novel mechanism by which koumine suppresses HCC cell proliferation. ...

We have previously reported that the accumulation of IL-17-producing cells could mediate tumor protective immunity by promoting the migration of NK cells, T cells and dendritic cells in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients. However, there were no reports concerning the effect of IL-17A on tumor infiltrating B cells. In this study, we investigated the accumulation of CD20+ B cells in the ESCC tumor nests and further addressed the effect of IL-17A on the migration and ...

Programmed cell death 4 (PDCD4) is a novel tumor suppressor, which is involved in the initiation and progression of cancers. However, the role of PDCD4 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has not been reported. The aim of this study was to investigate the molecular mechanism and clinical significance of PDCD4 inactivation in HCC.The mRNA levels of PDCD4 in HCC tissues and adjacent nontumor tissues were analyzed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Bisulfite ...

Ovarian cancer is one of the common female malignant tumors. The early diagnosis and treatment of ovarian cancer has been a research hotspot. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the correlations between the levels of carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA125), human epididymis protein 4 (HE4), D-dimer (DDI), and fibrinogen degradation product (FDP) in patients with type II epithelial ovarian cancer.From January 2018 to January 2019, a total of 952 patients who underwent initial surgery for ...

Blepharophimosis-ptosis-epicanthus inversus syndrome (BPES) is an autosomal dominant syndrome of eyelid malformations with (type I) or without (type II) associated premature ovarian failure. Multiple mutations in the exon and the putative core promoter region of FOXL2 gene encoding a putative forkhead transcription factor have been linked to this disease. To examine whether FOXL2 gene mutations contribute to BPES in the Chinese patient population, we screened 33 patients from 18 Chinese ...

BACKGROUND: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play important roles in many important cellular processes and deregulation of miRNAs is linked to many human diseases including cancer. Although miR-424 has been demonstrated to inhibit progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), its expression level in serum samples and the potential clinical values remain unknown.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: The expression level of miR-424 in the serum clinical samples from HCC patients and healthy volunteers were ...

BackgroundMidazolam has some potential in pain control of patients undergoing knee arthroscopy. However, the results remain controversial. We conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to explore the effect of midazolam on pain control after knee arthroscopy.MethodsPubMed, EMbase, Web of science, EBSCO, and Cochrane library databases are systematically searched. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the effect of midazolam on pain management after knee arthroscopy are ...

Extubation failure is a complex and ongoing problem in the intensive care unit (ICU). It refers to the patients who require re-intubation after extubation (namely disconnection from mechanical ventilation). In these patients, extubation failure leads to severe risks associated with re-intubation and is associated with increased mortalities, longer stay in ICU and also higher health care costs. Many studies have been proposed to analyze the problem of extubation failure and identify ...

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) combined with chemotherapy have been applied as a first-line treatment for lung cancer, but consistent beneficial results have not been documented. Therefore, our meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of combination therapy to promote its application.

Methods: We searched electronic databases for studies that estimated the safety and efficacy of combined therapy. The objective response rate (ORR) and disease control ...

Peritoneal fibrosis is a common complication of long-term peritoneal dialysis, and contributes to encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis and eventually peritoneal ultrafiltration failure, which restricts the wide application of peritoneal dialysis. Therefore, the prevention and treatment of peritoneal fibrosis is important to maintain peritoneal membrane integrity and prolong peritoneal dialysis treatment. Unfortunately, neither specific biomarkers nor effective therapies are available for ...

The versatile benefit effects of flavonoids lead some nutritionists to believe that they are micronutrients. However, excess intake of flavonoids may cause side effects. In this paper, the effects produced by a higher intake of rutin and baicalin on antioxidant status as well as trace minerals such as iron, copper and zinc in rat tissues were studied. When rats were fed a rutin or baicalin containing diet (1%) for 20 days, the body weight gain was lower than that of the control group. ...