AS might increase the risk of a subsequent newly diagnosed depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, or sleep disorder, but not schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. These observations highlight the need for psychiatric evaluation and intervention for patients with AS.

Our previous study had shown that advanced stages of lung adenocarcinomas (ADC) was frequently associated with overexpression of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), which has multipotent and anti-apoptotic activities. In this study, we examined the effect of HGF on gene expression of apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) and cisplatin sensitivity in lung ADC cells. Expression of AIF was determined by immunocytochemistry and confocal immunofluorescence microscopy. Our data show that addition of HGF suppressed AIF expression and increased cisplatin resistance. The effect could be through HGF receptor and its downstream effector, focal adhesion kinase (FAK). Interestingly, knockout of FAK gene increased AIF expression and drug sensitivity. Re-introduction of FAK gene, on the other hand, restored drug resistance. These results suggested that HGF might induce cisplatin resistance via c-Met to activate FAK and down-regulate AIF expression.

Dihydrodiol dehydrogenase (DDH) is frequently detected in cancer cells, and its overexpression correlates with drug resistance, the downregulation of DNA repair mechanisms, increased frequency of tumor recurrence, cancer cell metastasis and poor prognosis. The silencing of DDH expression using siRNA, on the other hand, reduces drug resistance and cancer cell mobility. These data suggest that DDH may be an oncogene-related protein. However, no specific DDH inhibitor has been identified to date. Thus, in this study, we used DDH as a target enzyme in a live-cell enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to screen Chinese medicinal herb extracts (CMHEs) with the aim of identifying a DDH inhibitor. Using this method, we found 49 among 796 CMHEs that inhibited DDH expression. We selected three potential extracts, which had the highest activity against DDH, for further fractionation using high-performance liquid chromatography. The active ingredient was identified by immunoblot analysis. The function of the active ingredient was characterized by cell function analysis. Our results revealed that the CMHE-purified compounds targeted DDH, inducing autophagy and reducing DNA repair, which in turn enhanced the cytotoxic effects of the anticancer drugs and irradiation.

BackgroundPelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is characterized by infection and inflammation of the upper genital tract in women and is associated with health sequelae. We used a nationwide population-based retrospective cohort study to explore the relationship between PID and the subsequent development of gynecological cancers including ovarian, breast or uterine cancer.MethodsWe identified subjects diagnosed with PID between January 1st, 2000 and December 31st, 2002 in the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. A comparison cohort constructed for patients without PID were matched according to age and sex. All PID patients and control groups were observed until diagnosed with ovarian, breast or uterine cancer, or until death, withdrawal from the NHI system, or until December 31st, 2009.ResultsThe PID cohort consisted of 32,268 patients, and an equal number of matched controls without PID. The adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of ovarian, breast or uterine cancer in subjects with PID were: HR 1.326 (95 % confidence interval: 0.775–2.269), HR: 1.039 (95 % confidence interval: 0.862–1.252), and HR: 1.439 (95 % confidence interval: 0.853–2.426) respectively in comparison with controls during follow-up.ConclusionsThis large nationwide population-based cohort study suggests that there is no increased risk for ovarian, breast or uterine cancer among women who have PID compared to a matching population.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12885-016-2857-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) a common infection in women that is associated with significant morbidity and is a major cause of infertility. A clear temporal causal relationship between PID and psychiatric disorders has not been well established. We used a nationwide population-based retrospective cohort study to explore the relationship between PID and the subsequent development of psychiatric disorders. We identified subjects who were newly diagnosed with PID between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2002 in the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. A comparison cohort was constructed for patients without PID. A total of 21 930 PID and 21 930 matched control patients were observed until diagnosed with psychiatric disorders, or until death, withdrawal from the NHI system, or until 31 December 2009. Adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of bipolar disorder, depressive disorder, anxiety disorder and sleep disorder in subjects with PID were significantly higher (HR: 2.671, 2.173, 2.006 and 2.251, respectively) than that of the controls during the follow-up. PID may increase the risk of subsequent newly diagnosed bipolar disorder, depressive disorder, anxiety disorder and sleep disorder, which will impair life quality. Our findings highlight that clinicians should pay particular attention to psychiatric comorbidities in PID patients.