AIM:To study the relationship between the polymorphisms in some cytokines and the outcome of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. METHODS:Samples were obtained from 203 patients infected with HBV and/or HCV while donating plasma in 1987, and 74 controls were obtained from a rural area of North China. Antibodies to HBV or HCV antigens were detected by enzyme-linked immunoassay. The presence of viral particles in the serum was determined by nested reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Hepatocellular injury, as revealed by alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase level, was detected by a Beckman LX-20 analyzer. DNA was extracted from blood cells. Then, the single nucleotide polymorphisms of IL-2-330, IFN-γ+874, IL-10-1082/-592 and IL-4-589 were investigated by restriction fragment length polymorphism-PCR or sequence specific primer-PCR. CONCLUSION:These results suggest that polymorphisms in some cytokine genes influence persistent HBV and HCV infection, clinical outcome, HCV replication, and liver damage.

Introduction The prevalence of obesity in Chinese adults increased from 1991 to 2000; however, recent changes in this trend are unclear. This study aims to estimate the current prevalence of obesity and to assess trends in obesity and BMI distribution in Chinese adults from 1991 through 2011. Methods Height and weight measurements of 12,249 Chinese adults from the 2011 China Health and Nutrition Survey were analyzed (in 2013) together with China Health and Nutrition Survey data for 1991–2009. Obesity was defined as BMI ≥28.0 based on the Working Group on Obesity in China criteria. Results In the 2011 survey, the age-adjusted mean BMI was 23.8 (95% CI=23.7, 23.9) for men and 23.4 (95% CI=23.2, 23.5) for women. The age-adjusted prevalence of obesity was 11.3% (95% CI=10.8%, 11.9%) overall, 11.8% (95% CI=10.8%, 12.6%) among men, and 11.0% (95% CI=10.3%, 11.8%) among women. Estimates of age-adjusted obesity prevalence among the Chinese population were significantly lower than those of the U.S. population (all p<0.05). Over the 20-year period, the prevalence of obesity increased from 2.88% to 11.8% among men (age-adjusted annual change in OR=1.08, 95% CI=1.07, 1.09, p<0.001) and from 4.55% to 11.0% among women (OR=1.05, 95% CI=1.05, 1.06, p<0.001). Similar significant findings were observed for both men and women based on WHO recommendations. Conclusions The prevalence of obesity among both Chinese men and women increased significantly from 1991 through 2011, particularly among men.

Level 1.

Increased body weight was associated with an increased risk of ovarian cancer; in particular, severe obesity demonstrated a stronger risk effect. No statistically significant association was observed in the postmenopausal period, but was in the premenopausal period.

Hydrogen sulfide (H(2)S) is a gaseous messenger and serves as an important neuromodulator in the central nervous system. The current study was undertaken to investigate whether H(2)S attenuates the neuronal injury induced by vascular dementia (VD). Rats were subjected to bilateral common carotid artery and vertebral artery occlusion for 5 min three times in an interval of 5 min to induce VD. An H(2)S donor, sodium hydrosulfide (NaHS) or an inhibitor of cystathionine-beta-synthase, hydroxylamine (HA) was administered intraperitoneally. The number of neurons in the hippocampus was determined by hematoxylin and eosin staining, and the performance of learning and memory was tested by the Morris water maze. H(2)S content in plasma was evaluated. Apoptosis in the hippocampus was assessed by flow cytometry. In addition, Bcl-2 and Bax expression was analyzed by immunohistochemical staining. The neuronal injury occurred gradually with a decreased number of neurons and increased apoptosis ratio in the hippocampus over 720 h after VD. The H(2)S level was also gradually decreased in plasma over 720 h after VD, which negatively correlated with the apoptosis ratio in the hippocampus after VD. In addition, NaHS treatment significantly attenuated neuronal injury and improved neural functional performance, whereas HA exaggerated the neuronal injury and exacerbated learning and memory at 720 h after VD. Furthermore, NaHS treatment markedly improved the ratio of Bcl-2 over Bax with increased Bcl-2 expression and decreased Bax expression. In contrast, HA reduced the ratio of Bcl-2 over Bax. It is suggested that H(2)S attenuates VD injury via inhibiting apoptosis and may have potential therapeutic value for VD.

BackgroundThe prevalence of abdominal obesity is increasing dramatically worldwide. This study aimed to estimate the current prevalence of abdominal obesity from the 2011 China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) and compare the data with other countries.MethodsWaist circumference (WC) of 12,326 Chinese adults (aged 20 years or older) from the 2011 CHNS were analyzed by age group and region. Abdominal obesity was defined as a WC ≥90 cm for men and WC ≥80 cm for women based on World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations for Asians.ResultsIn 2011, the age-adjusted mean WC was 85.9 cm (95% confidence interval [CI], 85.6–86.2 cm) for men and 80.7 cm (95% CI, 80.4–80.9 cm) for women. Based on the WHO recommendations, the age-adjusted prevalence of abdominal obesity was 44.0% (95% CI, 43.1%–44.8%) overall, 35.3% (95% CI, 34.1%–36.6%) in men, and 51.7% (95% CI, 50.5%–52.9%) in women. Moreover, the age-adjusted prevalence was 44.0% (95% CI, 42.7%–45.2%) in rural populations, 42.5% (95% CI, 40.7%–44.2%) in urban populations, and 45.2% (95% CI, 43.5%–46.9%) in megacity populations. The prevalence in China (35.3% for men and 51.7% for women) was lower than in Japan (50.8% for men) and the United States (43.5% for men and 64.7% for women). Similar results were observed when applying the criteria suggested by the Working Group on Obesity in China.ConclusionsIn 2011, the age-adjusted prevalence of abdominal obesity in China was 35.3% in men and 51.7% in women.

Several potentially functional variants of Nijmegen breakage syndrome 1 (NBS1) have been implicated in cancer risk, but individually studies showed inconclusive results. In this study, a meta-analysis based on 60 publications with a total of 39 731 cancer cases and 64 957 controls was performed. The multivariate method and the model-free method were adopted to determine the best genetic model. It was found that rs2735383 variant genotypes were associated with significantly increased overall risk of cancer under the recessive genetic model [odds ratio (OR) =1.12, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.02-1.22, P = 0.013]. Similar results were found for rs1063054 under the dominant model effect (OR = 1.12, 95% CI: 1.01-1.23, P = 0.024). The I171V mutation, 657del5 mutation and R215W mutation also contribute to the development of cancer (for I171V, OR = 3.93, 95% CI: 1.68-9.20, P = 0.002; for 657del5, OR = 2.79, 95% CI: 2.17-3.68, P < 0.001; for R215W, OR = 1.77, 95% CI: 1.07-2.91, P = 0.025). From stratification analyses, an effect modification of cancer risks was found in the subgroups of tumour site and ethnicity for rs2735383, whereas the I171V, 657del5 and R215W showed a deleterious effect of cancer susceptibility in the subgroups of tumour site. However, rs1805794, D95N and P266L did not appear to have an effect on cancer risk. These results suggest that rs2735383, rs1063054, I171V, 657del5 and R215W are low-penetrance risk factors for cancer development.

Aberrant expression and structural alterations of microRNAs (miRNAs) play important roles in tumorigenesis. The miRNA-196a2 polymorphism is associated with tumorigenesis, but its association with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) remains unexplored. We evaluated the association between the miRNA-196a2 T>C polymorphism (rs11614913) and NHL risk in a case-control study of 318 NHL cases and 320 healthy controls. We also examined miRNA-196a expression in tissue samples from NHL patients (n = 59). The TC and CC genotypes were associated with cancer risk in NHL [odds ratio (OR) = 1.384, confidence interval (CI) = 1.010-1.898 for TC vs. TT, and OR = 1.822, 95 % CI = 1.163-2.853 for CC vs. TT]. Analysis of the association between this polymorphism and the clinicopathology of NHL showed that the combined TC/CC genotypes were associated with Ann Arbor stage (OR = 1.852, 95 % CI = 1.139-3.010), bone marrow invasion (OR = 1.850, 95 % CI = 1.062-3.223), and B symptoms (OR = 1.852, 95 % CI =  .154-2.972), but not with immunohistological subtype, lymph node size, age, or gender. In addition, the CC or CC/TC genotypes were associated with significantly higher levels of mature miR-196a (p = 0.002 or 0.008) in a genotype-phenotype correlation analysis. Our findings suggest that the miR-196a2 polymorphism may increase the risk of NHL by altering the expression of mature miR-196a.