Deregulated microRNAs and their roles in cancer development have attracted much attention. Although miR-133a has been shown to be important in osteogenesis, its roles in osteosarcoma carcinogenesis and progression remain unknown. Hence, we focused on the expression and mechanisms of miR-133a in osteosarcoma development in this study. We found that miR-133a was downregulated in osteosarcoma cell lines and primary human osteosarcoma tissues, and its decrease was significantly correlated with tumor progression and prognosis of the patients. Functional studies revealed that restoration of miR-133a could reduce cell proliferation, promote cell apoptosis, and suppress tumorigenicity in osteosarcoma cell lines. Furthermore, bioinformatic prediction and experimental validation were applied to identify target genes of miR-133a, and the results revealed that the anti-tumor effect of miR-133a was probably due to targeting and repressing of Bcl-xL and Mcl-1 expression. Taken together, our data elucidate the roles of miR-133a in osteosarcoma pathogenesis and implicate its potential in cancer therapy.

[Purpose] To summarize the existing official guidelines issued by the World Confederation for Physical Therapy and Associations of Physical Therapy in various countries and to clarify the recommended methods of respiratory rehabilitation and physiotherapy for patients in different stages of the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19). [Methods] An introductory literature search was conducted using the keywords “COVID-19”, “respiratory rehabilitation”, “physical therapy”, and others in the database of the Association of Physical Therapy. [Results] Using 12 coronavirus disease-2019 rehabilitation-related articles, we summarized data on physical therapy (PT) evaluation; treatment; indications; contraindications; and termination indicators for patients in acute, stable, and post-discharge stages. [Conclusion] PT for COVID-19 patients with coronavirus disease 2019 should be formulated according to the stage of the disease and condition of the patients.

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BackgroundThe Oxford Shoulder Score (OSS) is a reliable and valid construct measuring non-specific shoulder pain, which are widely used to evaluate shoulder related quality of life. This study was to cross-culturally adapt and psychometrically validate a simplified Chinese version of the OSS (SC-OSS).MethodsCross-cultural adaptation was performed according to the international recognized guidelines. Consecutive patients with nonspecific shoulder pain were recruited to test the psychometric properties of SC-OSS. Item response trend and item-total correlation were evaluated to measure homogeneity. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to evaluate the factorial structure. Cronbach's α and intra-class correlations were used to determine the reliability. Construct validity was analyzed by evaluating the correlations between SC-OSS and the Constant-Murley shoulder outcome score (CMSOS), the short form (36) health survey (SF-36) containing eight domains, and pain visual analogue scale (VAS).ResultsOverall, 121 patients were recruited. Each of the 12 items was properly responded and correlated with the total items. PCA extracted one factor for SC-OSS. SC-OSS had excellent reliability, with a Cronbach's α of 0.92 and intra-class correlation coefficient of 0.97 (95 % CI: 0.94-0.98). SC-OSS had a high correlation with CMSOS, physical functioning (PF) and bodily pain (BP) domains of SF-36 and VAS (r = -0.70, -0.65, -0.53, and -0.66, respectively). SC-OSS moderately correlated with role-physical (RP), social functioning (SF), general health perception (GH) and vitality (VT) (r = -0.45, -0.42, -0.39 and -0.36, respectively), but had a low correlation with role-emotional (RE) and mental health (MH) domains of SF-36 (r = -0.28 and -0.23, respectively).ConclusionsSC-OSS demonstrated excellent acceptability, internal consistency, reliability and construct validity, which can be recommended for application in mainland China.

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The results indicate that Smad2 plays an important role in TGF-beta-induced fibrosis in keloids. Down-regulation of Smad2 expression in keloid fibroblasts can significantly decrease procollagen gene expression. Also, siRNA targeting Smad2 was an efficient reagent with which to reduce extracellular matrix deposition and attenuate process of fibrosis. It could be a new, promising therapeutic approach for improving skin wound healing and inhibiting progression of fibrotic conditions by interrupting the TGF-beta signaling pathway.