Background: Allergic rhinitis is a frequent disorder during pregnancy, while in children it is triggered by significantly lower serum vitamin E level. This research aimed to investigate whether serum vitamin E level exhibited clinical significance in pregnant women with allergic rhinitis. Methods: In this study, 37 pregnant women with allergic rhinitis and 35 healthy pregnant women were recruited. Allergic rhinitis severity was analyzed by the Total Nasal Symptom Score (TNSS) questionnaire. Blood samples were collected to evaluate serum vitamin E, interleukin (IL), and total IgE levels. Results: In pregnant women with allergic rhinitis, serum level of vitamin E was significantly lower than in healthy pregnant women. Serum vitamin E level in pregnant women with allergic rhinitis showed a negative correlation with TNSS, IL-13, IL-4, and total IgE levels.
Conclusion:In conclusion, this research has demonstrated that pregnant women with allergic rhinitis showed significantly lower serum level of vitamin E. The decreased vitamin E showed a correlation with the pathogenesis of allergic rhinitis in pregnant women.
Phosphodiesterase 4D (PDE4D) is a subtype of metallohydrolases, and it has been reported that PDE4D functions as a proliferation promoting factor in certain types of cancer, including head and neck cancer. The present study first investigated the function of PDE4D in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Western blot analysis was applied to detect PDE4D expression in NPC samples and cells. A lentiviral infection technique was used to stabilize the knockdown of PDE4D, which was subsequently examined in vitro and in vivo. The results showed that PDE4D was overexpressed in the NPC tissues and cells. Knockdown of PDE4D inhibited the growth of CNE2 and 5–8F, inducing cell cycle arrest in the G0/G1 phase in CNE2. These effects could be reversed by epidermal growth factor (EGF) stimulation. Furthermore, knockdown of PDE4D significantly inhibited the phosphorylation of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and AKT. The results were further validated in an NPC xenograft in nude mice. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that PDE4D may function as a proliferation promoting factor in NPC, by affecting the EGFR/PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Therefore, the targeting of PDE4D may be a rational strategy in the treatment of NPC.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.