Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) are associated with invasion, angiogenesis, and poor prognosis in many human cancers. However, the role of TAMs in human basal cell carcinoma (BCC) remains elusive. We found that the number of TAMs infiltrating the tumor is correlated with the depth of invasion, microvessel density, and COX-2 expression in human BCC cells. TAMs also aggregate near COX-2 expressing BCC tumor nests. We hypothesize that TAMs might activate COX-2 in BCC cells and subsequently increase their invasion and angiogenesis. TAMs are a kind of M2 macrophage derived from macrophages exposed to Th2 cytokines. M2-polarized macrophages derived from peripheral blood monocytes were cocultured with BCC cells without direct contact. Coculture with the M2 macrophages induced COX-2-dependent invasion and angiogenesis of BCC cells. Human THP-1 cell line cells, after treated with phorbol myristate acetate (PMA), differentiated to macrophages with M2 functional profiles. Coculture with PMA-treated THP-1 macrophages induced COX-2-dependent release of matrix metalloproteinase-9 and subsequent increased invasion of BCC cells. Macrophages also induced COX-2-dependent secretion of basic fibroblast growth factor and vascular endothelial growth factor-A, and increased angiogenesis in BCC cells.

WHAT'S KNOWN ON THIS SUBJECT: Sleep disturbance affects 47% to 60% of children with atopic dermatitis and is a leading cause of impaired quality of life for the patients and their family. WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS:Sleep disturbance in children with atopic dermatitis can be predicted by a Scoring Atopic Dermatitis index of $48.7, and lower nocturnal melatonin secretion might play a role in the pathophysiology. abstract BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Sleep disturbance is common in patients with atopic dermatitis (AD). However, studies have largely been questionnaire-based, and the pathophysiology remains unclear. The aims of this study were to determine objective characteristics of sleep disturbance in children with AD and explore contributing factors and clinical predictors.METHODS: Sleep parameters were measured by actigraphy and polysomnography in 72 patients with AD and 32 controls ages 1 to 18 years. Urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin levels, serum cytokines, and total and allergen-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels were also measured. RESULTS:The patients with AD had significantly reduced sleep efficiency, longer sleep onset latency, more sleep fragmentation, and less nonrapid eye movement sleep. Results from actigraphy correlated well with those from polysomnography. The AD disease severity was associated with sleep disturbance (r = 0.5520.7), and a Scoring Atopic Dermatitis index of $48.7 predicted poor sleep efficiency with a sensitivity of 83.3% and a specificity of 75% (area under the curve = 0.81, P = .001). Lower nocturnal melatonin secretion was significantly associated with sleep disturbance in the patients with AD. Other correlates of sleep disturbance included pruritus, scratching movements, higher total serum IgE levels, and allergic sensitization to dust mite and staphylococcal enterotoxins. CONCLUSIONS:Poor sleep efficiency is common in children with AD and can be predicted by the Scoring Atopic Dermatitis index. Melatonin and IgE might play a role in the sleep disturbance. Further studies are required to explore the mechanisms and clinical implications, and actigraphy could serve as a useful evaluating tool. Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common chronically relapsing pruritic inflammatory skin disease. 1 Disturbed sleep is frequently reported by the patients and their family and is a major factor leading to an impaired quality of life. [2][3][4] Sleep disturbance can have many negative consequences, including impaired neurocognitive function, higher rates of behavioral problems, and changes in mood. 5,6 Therefore, the recognition and proper management of sleep disturbance should be an important issue in AD.The sleep disturbance in AD might be due to the pruritus and scratching movements during sleep, 7-10 but it is likely that other factors are involved. 11 Melatonin is a hormone secreted by the pineal gland that is essential for regulating the circadian rhythm. 12 Dysfunction in the diurnal secretion of melatonin in patients with AD has been reported, 13 but its association with their sleep disturbance has...

These findings suggest that oxLDL-induced NLRP3 inflammasome activation mainly depends on CD36 involved in the progression of atherosclerosis by promoting oxLDL-mediated inflammation and foam cell formation.

BackgroundThis study aimed to investigate the relationship of anemia and body mass index among adult women in Jiangsu Province, China. Data were collected in a sub-national cross-sectional survey, and 1,537 women aged 20 years and above were included in the analyses. Subjects were classified by body mass index (BMI) categories as underweight, normal weight, overweight and obese according to the Chinese standard. Central obesity was defined as a waist circumference ≥ 80 cm. Anemia was defined as hemoglobin concentration < 12 g/dl. Prevalence ratios (PRs) of the relationship between anemia and BMI or waist circumference were calculated using Poisson regression.FindingsOverall, 31.1% of the Chinese women were anemic. The prevalence of overweight, obesity and central obesity was 34.2%, 5.8% and 36.2%, respectively. The obese group had the highest concentrations of hemoglobin compared with other BMI groups. After adjustment for confounders, overweight and obese women had a lower PR for anemia (PR: 0.72, 95% CI: 0.62-0.89; PR: 0.59, 95% CI: 0.43-0.79). Central obesity was inversely associated with anemia.ConclusionIn this Chinese population, women with overweight/obesity or central obesity were less likely to be anemic as compared to normal weight women. No measures are required currently to target anemia specifically for overweight and obese people in China.

T cell activation is a well-established model for studying cellular responses to exogenous stimulation. Using strand-specific RNA-seq, we observed that intron retention is prevalent in polyadenylated transcripts in resting CD4+ T cells and is significantly reduced upon T cell activation. Several lines of evidence suggest that intron-retained transcripts are less stable than fully spliced transcripts. Strikingly, the decrease in intron retention (IR) levels correlate with the increase in steady-state mRNA levels. Further, the majority of the genes upregulated in activated T cells are accompanied by a significant reduction in IR. Of these 1583 genes, 185 genes are predominantly regulated at the IR level, and highly enriched in the proteasome pathway, which is essential for proper T cell proliferation and cytokine release. These observations were corroborated in both human and mouse CD4+ T cells. Our study revealed a novel post-transcriptional regulatory mechanism that may potentially contribute to coordinated and/or quick cellular responses to extracellular stimuli such as an acute infection.