The objective of this study was to investigate the main active ingredients,potential targets,and possible mechanisms of action of the combination of Radix Astragali and Caulis Spatholobi for the treatment of atheroscl...The objective of this study was to investigate the main active ingredients,potential targets,and possible mechanisms of action of the combination of Radix Astragali and Caulis Spatholobi for the treatment of atherosclerosis using network pharmacology.The study aimed to provide a reference basis for the development of new formulations and clinical use of Chinese medicine.The main components of Radix Astragali and Caulis Spatholobi were obtained from the TCMSP,BATMAN-TCM database,and literature reports.The targets corresponding to the main components were imported into the Uniprot database to standardize the names,and target information was supplemented with the Swiss Target Prediction database.Disease-related targets were obtained from DrugBank,OMIM,CTD,GeneCards,and DisGeNET online databases.Venn tools were used to obtain the potential targets of Radix Astragali and Caulis Spatholobi for the treatment of AS.The intersecting genes were imported into the STRING 11.5 database to construct protein-protein interaction network maps and analyze their interactions.Cytoscape 3.7.1 software was used to mine their core targets.GO function and KEGG signaling pathway enrichment analysis were performed using the DAVID v2023q1 database.The results were imported into the“Bioinformatics Cloud Platform”to generate enrichment bubble maps.Finally,the“component-target-pathway”diagram was constructed using Cytoscape 3.7.1 software.The study found that 78 major active ingredients and 527 potential targets were obtained from Radix Astragali and Caulis Spatholobi.The main active components of the two in combination for the treatment of AS are quercetin,stigmasterol,kaempferol,luteolin,formononetin,etc.The key targets involve CDKN1A,E2F1,CDK4,CDK2,CDK1,RB1,TP53,CDKN1B,IL6,JUN,etc.The main pathways involved the AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetic complications,cancer pathway,etc.The biological processes involved include positive regulation of gene expression,negative regulation of apoptotic process,etc.The study initially verified the feasibility of the combination of Radix Astragali-Caulis Spatholobi by Qi-invigorating(promoting human metabolic activity)and blood-activating for the treatment of AS.It demonstrated that the combination of Chinese medicine has multi-level,multi-target,and multi-pathway mechanisms of action to treat the disease,providing a reference basis for the development and utilization of new drugs.展开更多
The associations of individual amino acid with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)risk remained unclear.The present study aimed to investigate the associations between the two in the Chinese elderly.Methods:A com...The associations of individual amino acid with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)risk remained unclear.The present study aimed to investigate the associations between the two in the Chinese elderly.Methods:A community-based health check-up program was conducted in Qingdao,China.NAFLD was diagnosed by ultrasonography accompanied by epidemiological investigation.The dietary intakes of amino acids were investigated with 3-day,24-h dietary records and calculated by Nutrition Calculator software.Restricted cubic spline model was used to evaluate a nonlinear relationship between amino acid intake and NAFLD risk.Results:400 NAFLD subjects were identified,and 400 participants were randomly selected as controls and matched by gender and age(±3 years)Dose-response analysis showed that 1000 mg increment of aromatic amino acids(AAAs)was associated with reduced 16%risk of NAFLD.Dietary increments of 750 mg/d threonine,950 mg/d valine,or 1700 mg/d lysine were associated with a 20%reduction in the NAFLD risk(all P for linearity<0.05).Conclusion:The present study demonstrated that the dietary increases in milk,eggs and deep-sea fish,which are rich in the amino acids,might contribute to protecting against NAFLD in the elderly.展开更多
Scene perception and trajectory forecasting are two fundamental challenges that are crucial to a safe and reliable autonomous driving(AD)system.However,most proposed methods aim at addressing one of the two challenges...Scene perception and trajectory forecasting are two fundamental challenges that are crucial to a safe and reliable autonomous driving(AD)system.However,most proposed methods aim at addressing one of the two challenges mentioned above with a single model.To tackle this dilemma,this paper proposes spatio-temporal semantics and interaction graph aggregation for multi-agent perception and trajectory forecasting(STSIGMA),an efficient end-to-end method to jointly and accurately perceive the AD environment and forecast the trajectories of the surrounding traffic agents within a unified framework.ST-SIGMA adopts a trident encoder-decoder architecture to learn scene semantics and agent interaction information on bird’s-eye view(BEV)maps simultaneously.Specifically,an iterative aggregation network is first employed as the scene semantic encoder(SSE)to learn diverse scene information.To preserve dynamic interactions of traffic agents,ST-SIGMA further exploits a spatio-temporal graph network as the graph interaction encoder.Meanwhile,a simple yet efficient feature fusion method to fuse semantic and interaction features into a unified feature space as the input to a novel hierarchical aggregation decoder for downstream prediction tasks is designed.Extensive experiments on the nuScenes data set have demonstrated that the proposed ST-SIGMA achieves significant improvements compared to the state-of-theart(SOTA)methods in terms of scene perception and trajectory forecasting,respectively.Therefore,the proposed approach outperforms SOTA in terms of model generalisation and robustness and is therefore more feasible for deployment in realworld AD scenarios.展开更多
The deployment of vehicle micro-motors has witnessed an expansion owing to the progression in electrification and intelligent technologies.However,some micro-motors may exhibit design deficiencies,component wear,assem...The deployment of vehicle micro-motors has witnessed an expansion owing to the progression in electrification and intelligent technologies.However,some micro-motors may exhibit design deficiencies,component wear,assembly errors,and other imperfections that may arise during the design or manufacturing phases.Conse-quently,these micro-motors might generate anomalous noises during their operation,consequently exerting a substantial adverse influence on the overall comfort of drivers and passengers.Automobile micro-motors exhibit a diverse array of structural variations,consequently leading to the manifestation of a multitude of distinctive auditory irregularities.To address the identification of diverse forms of abnormal noise,this research presents a novel approach rooted in the utilization of vibro-acoustic fusion-convolutional neural network(VAF-CNN).This method entails the deployment of distinct network branches,each serving to capture disparate features from the multi-sensor data,all the while considering the auditory perception traits inherent in the human auditory sys-tem.The intermediary layer integrates the concept of adaptive weighting of multi-sensor features,thus affording a calibration mechanism for the features hailing from multiple sensors,thereby enabling a further refinement of features within the branch network.For optimal model efficacy,a feature fusion mechanism is implemented in the concluding layer.To substantiate the efficacy of the proposed approach,this paper initially employs an augmented data methodology inspired by modified SpecAugment,applied to the dataset of abnormal noise sam-ples,encompassing scenarios both with and without in-vehicle interior noise.This serves to mitigate the issue of limited sample availability.Subsequent comparative evaluations are executed,contrasting the performance of the model founded upon single-sensor data against other feature fusion models reliant on multi-sensor data.The experimental results substantiate that the suggested methodology yields heightened recognition accuracy and greater resilience against interference.Moreover,it holds notable practical significance in the engineering domain,as it furnishes valuable support for the targeted management of noise emanating from vehicle micro-motors.展开更多
Hepatoblastoma is the most frequent liver malignancy in children.HepG2 has been discovered as a hepatoblastoma-derived cell line and tends to form clumps in culture.Intriguingly,we observed that the addition of calciu...Hepatoblastoma is the most frequent liver malignancy in children.HepG2 has been discovered as a hepatoblastoma-derived cell line and tends to form clumps in culture.Intriguingly,we observed that the addition of calcium ions reduced cell clumping and disassociated HepG2 cells.The calcium signal is in connection with a series of processes critical in the tumorigenesis.Here,we demonstrated that extracellular calcium ions induced morphological changes and enhanced the epithelial-mesenchymal transition in HepG2 cells.Mechanistically,calcium ions promoted HepG2 proliferation and migration by up-regulating the phosphorylation levels of focal adhesion kinase(FAK),protein kinase B,and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase.The inhibitor of FAK or Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent kinaseⅡ(CaMKⅡ)reversed the Ca2+-induced effects on HepG2 cells,including cell proliferation and migration,epithelial-mesenchymal transition protein expression levels,and phosphorylation levels of FAK and protein kinase B.Moreover,calcium ions decreased HepG2 cells'sensitivity to cisplatin.Furthermore,we found that the expression levels of FAK and CaMKⅡwere increased in hepatoblastoma.The group with high expression levels of FAK and CaMKⅡexhibited significantly lower ImmunoScore as well as CD8+T and NK cells.The expression of CaMKⅡwas positively correlated with that of PDCD1 and LAG3.Correspondingly,the expression of FAK was negatively correlated with that of TNFSF9,TNFRSF4,and TNFRSF18.Collectively,extracellular calcium accelerates HepG2 cell proliferation and migration via FAK and CaMKⅡand enhances cisplatin resistance.FAK and CaMKⅡshape immune cell infiltration and responses in tumor microenvironments,thereby serving as potential targets for hepatoblastoma.展开更多
Cotton is a major crop that provides the most important renewable textile fibers in the world.Studies of the taxonomy and evolution of cotton species have received wide attentions,not only due to cotton’s economic va...Cotton is a major crop that provides the most important renewable textile fibers in the world.Studies of the taxonomy and evolution of cotton species have received wide attentions,not only due to cotton’s economic value but also due to the fact that Gossypium is an ideal model system to study the origin,evolution,and cultivation of polyploid species.Previous studies suggested the involvement of mitochondrial genome editing sites and copy number as well as mitochondrial functions in cotton fiber elongation.Whereas,with only a few mitogenomes assembled in the cotton genus Gossypium,our knowledge about their roles in cotton evolution and speciation is still scarce.To close this gap,here we assembled 20 mitogenomes from 15 cotton species spanning all the cotton clades(A–G,K,and AD genomes)and 5 cotton relatives using short and long sequencing reads.Systematic analyses uncovered a high level of mitochondrial gene sequence conservation,abundant sequence repeats and many insertions of foreign sequences,as well as extensive structural variations in cotton mitogenomes.The sequence repeats and foreign sequences caused significant mitogenome size inflation in Gossypium and its close relative Kokia in general,while there is no significant difference between the lint and fuzz cotton mitogenomes in terms of gene content,RNA editing,and gene expression level.Interestingly,we further revealed the specific presence and expression of two novel mitochondrial open reading frames(ORFs)in lint-fiber cotton species.Finally,these structural features and novel ORFs help us gain valuable insights into the history of cotton evolution and polyploidization and the origin of species producing long lint fibers from a mitogenomic perspective.展开更多
Rheumatoid arthritis(RA)is a chronic inflammatory and destructive arthropathy with a high deformity rate.Despite numerous studies and clinical trials,no curative treatment is available for large weight-bearing joints....Rheumatoid arthritis(RA)is a chronic inflammatory and destructive arthropathy with a high deformity rate.Despite numerous studies and clinical trials,no curative treatment is available for large weight-bearing joints.Intra-articular(IA)injections could deliver high concentrations of drug to the afflicted joint and improve the drug efficacy while reducing systemic toxicity.However,free drugs are rapidly cleared from synovial fluid and do not significantly halt the progression of joint disease.Herein,a phospholipids-based controlledrelease gel was prepared for sustained IA delivery of celastrol(CEL)and the therapeutic efficiencywas evaluated in a rheumatoid arthritis rabbitmodel.The CEL-loaded gel(CEL-gel)contained up to 70%phospholipids yetwas easy to inject.After injecting into the joint cavity,CEL-gel achieved sol to gel phase transition without special stimuli and gelling agent.In vitro release and in vivo pharmacokinetic studies evidenced the stable and sustained release action of CEL-gel.A single IA injection of CEL-gel could maintain therapeutic efficiency for about 25 d and showed much better anti-arthritic efficacy compared to repeated injections of free drug solution(CEL-sol).Furthermore,the IA injection of CEL-gel greatly reduced the systemic toxicity of CEL.With good biocompatibility and biodegradability,CEL-gel might be a promising IA drug delivery system.展开更多
Acute liver injury(ALI)has an elevated fatality rate due to untimely and ineffective treatment.Although,schisandrin B(SchB)has been extensively used to treat diverse liver diseases,its therapeutic efficacy on ALI was ...Acute liver injury(ALI)has an elevated fatality rate due to untimely and ineffective treatment.Although,schisandrin B(SchB)has been extensively used to treat diverse liver diseases,its therapeutic efficacy on ALI was limited due to its high hydrophobicity.Palmitic acid-modified serum albumin(PSA)is not only an effective carrier for hydrophobic drugs,but also has a superb targeting effect via scavenger receptor-A(SR-A)on the M1 macrophages,which are potential therapeutic targets for ALI.Compared with the common macrophage-targeted delivery systems,PSA enables site-specific drug delivery to reduce off-target toxicity.Herein,we prepared SchB-PSA nanoparticles and further assessed their therapeutic effect on ALI.In vitro,compared with human serum albumin encapsulated SchB nanoparticles(SchB-HSA NPs),the SchB-PSA NPs exhibited more potent cytotoxicity on lipopolysaccharide(LPS)stimulated Raw264.7(LAR)cells,and LAR cells took up PSA NPs 8.79 times more than HSA NPs.As expected,the PSA NPs also accumulated more in the liver.Moreover,SchB-PSA NPs dramatically reduced the activation of NF-κB signaling,and significantly relieved inflammatory response and hepatic necrosis.Notably,the high dose of SchB-PSA NPs improved the survival rate in 72 h of ALI mice to 75%.Hence,SchB-PSA NPs are promising to treat ALI.展开更多
The practical deployment of metallic anodes in the energy-dense batteries is impeded by the thermodynamically unstable interphase in contact with the aprotic electrolyte,structural collapse of the substrates as well a...The practical deployment of metallic anodes in the energy-dense batteries is impeded by the thermodynamically unstable interphase in contact with the aprotic electrolyte,structural collapse of the substrates as well as their insufficient affinity toward the metallic deposits.Herein,the mechanical flexible,lightweight(1.2 mg cm^(−2))carbon nanofiber scaffold with the monodispersed,ultrafine Sn_(4)P_(3) nanoparticles encapsulation(Sn_(4)P_(3)NPs@CNF)is proposed as the deposition substrate toward the high-areal-capacity sodium loadings up to 4 mAh cm^(−2).First-principles calculations manifest that the alloy intermediates,namely the Na_(15)Sn_(4) and Na_(3)P matrix,exhibit the intimate Na affinity as the“sodiophilic”sites.Meanwhile,the porous CNF regulates the heterogeneous alloying process and confines the deposit propagation along the nanofiber orientation.With the precise control of pairing mode with the NaVPO4F cathode(8.7 mg cm^(−2)),the practical feasibility of the Sn_(4)P_(3) NPs@CNF anode(1^(*)Na excess)is demonstrated in 2 mAh single-layer pouch cell prototype,which achieves the 95.7%capacity retention for 150 cycles at various mechanical flexing states as well as balanced energy/power densities.展开更多
[Objectives]To investigate the protective effect of ethanol extract from sweet potato leaves on liver injury induced by CCl_(4)in mice.[Methods]25 ICR mice were randomly divided into blank group,model group,high-dose ...[Objectives]To investigate the protective effect of ethanol extract from sweet potato leaves on liver injury induced by CCl_(4)in mice.[Methods]25 ICR mice were randomly divided into blank group,model group,high-dose extract group(200 mg/kg),low-dose extract group(100 mg/kg)and positive control group(2 mg/kg colchicine),with 5 mice in each group.All groups except the blank group were given intraperitoneal injection of 20%CCl 4 olive oil solution(2 mL/kg),and the blank group was given the same dose of olive oil solution three times a week.After 4 weeks,each administration group was given the corresponding dose of drugs(10 mL/kg),and the blank group and model group were given the corresponding amount of normal saline for 2 weeks.After the last intragastric administration,fasting was required,but water was allowed,blood was taken from eyeballs,and upper serum was taken by static centrifugation.Serum AST,ALT,CRP,IL-6 and SOD levels were detected by the kit.[Results]Compared with the blank group,the serum AST and ALT levels in the model group were significantly increased;compared with the model group,the ethanol extract of sweet potato leaves could decrease the levels of ALT,AST,CRP,IL-6 and increase the level of SOD in serum.[Conclusions]The ethanol extract of sweet potato leaves had protective effect on the mice with liver injury induced by CCl_(4),and its mechanism may be to protect the liver by lowering enzymes,inhibiting inflammation and antioxidant stress.展开更多
Bifunctional catalysts for hydrogen/oxygen evolution reactions(HER/OER)are urgently needed given the bright future of water splitting hydrogen production technology.Here,the self-supporting N and Ce dual-doped NiCoP n...Bifunctional catalysts for hydrogen/oxygen evolution reactions(HER/OER)are urgently needed given the bright future of water splitting hydrogen production technology.Here,the self-supporting N and Ce dual-doped NiCoP nanoarrays(denoted N,Ce-NiCoP/NF)grown on Ni foam are successfully constructed.When the N,Ce-NiCoP/NF simultaneously acts as the HER and OER electrodes,the voltages of 1.54 and 2.14 V are obtained for driving 10 and 500 mA·cm^(-2)with a robust durability,and demonstrate its significant potential for practical water electrolysis.According to both experiments and calculations,the electronic structure of NiCoP may be significantly altered by strategically incorporating N and Ce into the lattice,which in turn optimizes the Gibbs free energy of HER/OER intermediates and speeds up the water splitting kinetics.Moreover,the sprout-shaped morphology significantly increases the exposure of active sites and facilitates charge/mass transfer,thereby augmenting catalyst performance.This study offers a potentially effective approach involving the regulation of anion and cation double doping,as well as architectural engineering,for the purpose of designing and optimizing innovative electrocatalysts.展开更多
The present study was aimed at the comparison of the pharmacokinetics of pure chlorogenic acid and extract of Solanum lyratum Thunb.The animals were allocated to two groups,and were administered chlorogenic acid or ex...The present study was aimed at the comparison of the pharmacokinetics of pure chlorogenic acid and extract of Solanum lyratum Thunb.The animals were allocated to two groups,and were administered chlorogenic acid or extract of S.lyratum Thunb.at a dose of 50.0 mg/kg orally.Blood samples were collected up to 8 h post-dosing.Plasma chlorogenic acid analyses were performed using an HPLC method with UV detector.The pharmacokinetic parameters were evaluated using non-compartmental assessment.Significant differences existed in the two groups for AUC 0 t,AUC 0 N and CLz/F.The reliable HPLC method was successfully applied to the determination of chlorogenic acid in rat plasma at dosage of 50.0 mg/kg.展开更多
AIM:To identify the genes related to lymph node metastasis in human hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC),32 HCC patients with or without lymph node metastasis were investigated by high-throughput microarray comprising 886 ge...AIM:To identify the genes related to lymph node metastasis in human hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC),32 HCC patients with or without lymph node metastasis were investigated by high-throughput microarray comprising 886 genes.METHODS:The samples of cancerous and non-cancerous paired tissue were taken from 32 patients with HCC who underwent hepatectomy with lymph node dissection.Total RNA was extracted from the cells obtained by means of laser microdissection(LCM) and was amplified by the T7-based amplification system.Then,the amplifi ed samples were applied in the cDNA microarray comprising of 886 genes.RESULTS:The results demonstrated that 25 up-regulated genes such as cell membrane receptor,intracellular signaling and cell adhesion related genes,and 48 down-regulated genes such as intracellular signaling and cell cycle regulator-related genes,were correlated with lymph node metastasis in HCC.Amongst them were included some interesting genes,such as MET,EPHA2,CCND1,MMP2,MMP13,CASP3,CDH1,and PTPN2.Expression of 16 genes(MET,CCND1,CCND2,VEGF,KRT18,RFC4,BIRC5,CDC6,MMP2,BCL2A1,CDH1,VIM,PDGFRA,PTPN2,SLC25A5 and DSP) were further confirmed by real-time quantitative reverse transcriptional polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR).CONCLUSION:Tumor metastasis is an important biological characteristic,which involves multiple genetic changes and cumulation.This genome-wide information contributes to an improved understanding of molecular alterations during lymph node metastasis in HCC.It may help clinicians to predict metastasis of lymph nodes and assist researchers in identifying novel therapeutic targets for metastatic HCC patients.展开更多
Since 2011,certain advances have been made through the resource investigation,metallogenesis research,mining supervision and environmental protection of ion-adsorption type rare earth element (REE) deposit in South Ch...Since 2011,certain advances have been made through the resource investigation,metallogenesis research,mining supervision and environmental protection of ion-adsorption type rare earth element (REE) deposit in South China.Firstly,some progress has been made in REE prospecting in Jiangxi,Guangdong,Guangxi and Yunnan.REE deposits are not only found within the weathering crusts of granites and felsic volcanic rocks,but also within the weathering crusts of epimetamorphic rocks and basic magmatic rocks.Secondly,the methods of exploration,delineating ore bodies and calculation of reserves have been improved,which intuitively reflect the thickness,REE composition and value of weathering crust.Thirdly,the relationship between REEs and weathering degree and the rule of distribution,migration and enrichment of REEs in the weathering profile was summarized through the analysis of big data,which can predict the metallogenetic horizon of REEs.Fourthly,a method for quick,accurate and dynamic investigation of the REE deposit has been established by using high resolution remote sensing technology.Finally,the relation between the production status of REE mines and water pollution has been revealed based on long-term hydrochemical monitoring data of rivers and wells in mines and surrounding areas.展开更多
Objectives: To quantitatively study the adhesive pro-perties of hepatoma cells to collagen Ⅳ coated artifi-cial basement membrane and to investigate the rele-vance of cell adhesive forces to the concentration ofcolla...Objectives: To quantitatively study the adhesive pro-perties of hepatoma cells to collagen Ⅳ coated artifi-cial basement membrane and to investigate the rele-vance of cell adhesive forces to the concentration ofcollagen Ⅳ.Methods: Synchronous G1 and S phase cells were a-chieved using thymine-2-desoxyriboside and cochicinesequential blockage method and double thymine-2-desoxyriboside blockage method respectively. Theadhesive forces of hepatoma cells were investigatedby micropipette aspiration technique.Results: The adhesive forces of hepatoma cells to ar-tificial basement membrane were （107.78±65.44）×10<sup>-10</sup>N, （182.60±107.88）×10<sup>-10</sup>N, （298.91±144.13）×10<sup>-10</sup>N when the concentration of themembrane coated by 1, 2, 5μg/ml collagen Ⅳ re-spectively （P【0.001）. The adhesive forces of G1and S phases hepatoma cells to artificial basementmembrane were （275.86±232.80）×10<sup>-10</sup>N and（161.16±120.40）×10<sup>-10</sup>N respectively when theconcentration of the membrane coated by 5μg/mlcollagen Ⅳ （P【0.001）.Conclusions: The adhesive forces of hepatoma cells toartifical basement membrane in direct proportion tothe concentration of collagen Ⅳ suggests that the in-crease of basement membrane might be conducive tothe chemotactic motion and adhesiveness of tumorcells. G1 phase cells are more capable of adhering tobasement membrane than S phase cells. Hepatomacells, especially G1 phase cells, may survive in bloodcirculation, and sequest and adhere in microcircula-tion, and get through basement membrane for re-mote metastasis.展开更多
AIM: To identify biomarkers indicating virus-specific hepatocarcinogenic process,differential mRNA expres-sion in 32 patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-/hepa-titis C virus (HCV)-associated hepatocellular carcinoma ...AIM: To identify biomarkers indicating virus-specific hepatocarcinogenic process,differential mRNA expres-sion in 32 patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-/hepa-titis C virus (HCV)-associated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were investigated by means of cDNA microar-rays comprising of 886 genes. METHODS: Thirty two HCC patients were divided into two groups based on viral markers: hepatitis B virus positive and HCV positive. The expression profiles of 32 pairs of specimens (tumorous and surrounding non-tumorous liver tissues),consisting of 886 genes were analyzed. RESULTS: Seven up-regulated genes in HBV-associat-ed HCC comprised genes involved in protein synthesis (RPS5 ),cytoskeletal organization (KRT8 ),apoptosis related genes (CFLAR),transport (ATP5F1),cell mem-brane receptor related genes (IGFBP2),signal trans-duction or transcription related genes (MAP3K5),and metastasis-related genes (MMP9). The up-regulated genes in HCV-infected group included 4 genes: VIM (cell structure),ACTB (cell structure),GAPD (glycolysis) and CD58 (cell adhesion). The expression patterns of the 11 genes,identified by cDNA microarray,were con-firmed by quantitative RT-PCR in 32 specimens. CONCLUSION: The patterns of all identified genes were classified based on the viral factor involved in HBV-and HCV-associated HCC. Our results strongly suggest that the pattern of gene expression in HCC is closely associated with the etiologic factor. The pres-ent study indicates that HBV and HCV cause hepato-carcinogenesis by different mechanisms,and provide novel tools for the diagnosis and treatment of HBV-and HCV-associated HCC.展开更多
基金Guangxi Key Research and Development Plan Project(Gui Ke AB18221095)China National Region Undergraduate Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program Funded Project(No.202110599016)Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Undergraduate Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program Funded Project(No.S202210599105).
文摘The objective of this study was to investigate the main active ingredients,potential targets,and possible mechanisms of action of the combination of Radix Astragali and Caulis Spatholobi for the treatment of atherosclerosis using network pharmacology.The study aimed to provide a reference basis for the development of new formulations and clinical use of Chinese medicine.The main components of Radix Astragali and Caulis Spatholobi were obtained from the TCMSP,BATMAN-TCM database,and literature reports.The targets corresponding to the main components were imported into the Uniprot database to standardize the names,and target information was supplemented with the Swiss Target Prediction database.Disease-related targets were obtained from DrugBank,OMIM,CTD,GeneCards,and DisGeNET online databases.Venn tools were used to obtain the potential targets of Radix Astragali and Caulis Spatholobi for the treatment of AS.The intersecting genes were imported into the STRING 11.5 database to construct protein-protein interaction network maps and analyze their interactions.Cytoscape 3.7.1 software was used to mine their core targets.GO function and KEGG signaling pathway enrichment analysis were performed using the DAVID v2023q1 database.The results were imported into the“Bioinformatics Cloud Platform”to generate enrichment bubble maps.Finally,the“component-target-pathway”diagram was constructed using Cytoscape 3.7.1 software.The study found that 78 major active ingredients and 527 potential targets were obtained from Radix Astragali and Caulis Spatholobi.The main active components of the two in combination for the treatment of AS are quercetin,stigmasterol,kaempferol,luteolin,formononetin,etc.The key targets involve CDKN1A,E2F1,CDK4,CDK2,CDK1,RB1,TP53,CDKN1B,IL6,JUN,etc.The main pathways involved the AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetic complications,cancer pathway,etc.The biological processes involved include positive regulation of gene expression,negative regulation of apoptotic process,etc.The study initially verified the feasibility of the combination of Radix Astragali-Caulis Spatholobi by Qi-invigorating(promoting human metabolic activity)and blood-activating for the treatment of AS.It demonstrated that the combination of Chinese medicine has multi-level,multi-target,and multi-pathway mechanisms of action to treat the disease,providing a reference basis for the development and utilization of new drugs.
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC:82073538 and 81773433)by the 2018 Chinese Nutrition Society(CNS)Nutrition Research Foundation-DSM Research Fund(CNS-DSM2018A30)。
文摘The associations of individual amino acid with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)risk remained unclear.The present study aimed to investigate the associations between the two in the Chinese elderly.Methods:A community-based health check-up program was conducted in Qingdao,China.NAFLD was diagnosed by ultrasonography accompanied by epidemiological investigation.The dietary intakes of amino acids were investigated with 3-day,24-h dietary records and calculated by Nutrition Calculator software.Restricted cubic spline model was used to evaluate a nonlinear relationship between amino acid intake and NAFLD risk.Results:400 NAFLD subjects were identified,and 400 participants were randomly selected as controls and matched by gender and age(±3 years)Dose-response analysis showed that 1000 mg increment of aromatic amino acids(AAAs)was associated with reduced 16%risk of NAFLD.Dietary increments of 750 mg/d threonine,950 mg/d valine,or 1700 mg/d lysine were associated with a 20%reduction in the NAFLD risk(all P for linearity<0.05).Conclusion:The present study demonstrated that the dietary increases in milk,eggs and deep-sea fish,which are rich in the amino acids,might contribute to protecting against NAFLD in the elderly.
基金Basic and Advanced Research Projects of CSTC,Grant/Award Number:cstc2019jcyj-zdxmX0008Science and Technology Research Program of Chongqing Municipal Education Commission,Grant/Award Numbers:KJQN202100634,KJZDK201900605National Natural Science Foundation of China,Grant/Award Number:62006065。
文摘Scene perception and trajectory forecasting are two fundamental challenges that are crucial to a safe and reliable autonomous driving(AD)system.However,most proposed methods aim at addressing one of the two challenges mentioned above with a single model.To tackle this dilemma,this paper proposes spatio-temporal semantics and interaction graph aggregation for multi-agent perception and trajectory forecasting(STSIGMA),an efficient end-to-end method to jointly and accurately perceive the AD environment and forecast the trajectories of the surrounding traffic agents within a unified framework.ST-SIGMA adopts a trident encoder-decoder architecture to learn scene semantics and agent interaction information on bird’s-eye view(BEV)maps simultaneously.Specifically,an iterative aggregation network is first employed as the scene semantic encoder(SSE)to learn diverse scene information.To preserve dynamic interactions of traffic agents,ST-SIGMA further exploits a spatio-temporal graph network as the graph interaction encoder.Meanwhile,a simple yet efficient feature fusion method to fuse semantic and interaction features into a unified feature space as the input to a novel hierarchical aggregation decoder for downstream prediction tasks is designed.Extensive experiments on the nuScenes data set have demonstrated that the proposed ST-SIGMA achieves significant improvements compared to the state-of-theart(SOTA)methods in terms of scene perception and trajectory forecasting,respectively.Therefore,the proposed approach outperforms SOTA in terms of model generalisation and robustness and is therefore more feasible for deployment in realworld AD scenarios.
基金The author received the funding from Sichuan Natural Science Foundation(2022NSFSC1892).
文摘The deployment of vehicle micro-motors has witnessed an expansion owing to the progression in electrification and intelligent technologies.However,some micro-motors may exhibit design deficiencies,component wear,assembly errors,and other imperfections that may arise during the design or manufacturing phases.Conse-quently,these micro-motors might generate anomalous noises during their operation,consequently exerting a substantial adverse influence on the overall comfort of drivers and passengers.Automobile micro-motors exhibit a diverse array of structural variations,consequently leading to the manifestation of a multitude of distinctive auditory irregularities.To address the identification of diverse forms of abnormal noise,this research presents a novel approach rooted in the utilization of vibro-acoustic fusion-convolutional neural network(VAF-CNN).This method entails the deployment of distinct network branches,each serving to capture disparate features from the multi-sensor data,all the while considering the auditory perception traits inherent in the human auditory sys-tem.The intermediary layer integrates the concept of adaptive weighting of multi-sensor features,thus affording a calibration mechanism for the features hailing from multiple sensors,thereby enabling a further refinement of features within the branch network.For optimal model efficacy,a feature fusion mechanism is implemented in the concluding layer.To substantiate the efficacy of the proposed approach,this paper initially employs an augmented data methodology inspired by modified SpecAugment,applied to the dataset of abnormal noise sam-ples,encompassing scenarios both with and without in-vehicle interior noise.This serves to mitigate the issue of limited sample availability.Subsequent comparative evaluations are executed,contrasting the performance of the model founded upon single-sensor data against other feature fusion models reliant on multi-sensor data.The experimental results substantiate that the suggested methodology yields heightened recognition accuracy and greater resilience against interference.Moreover,it holds notable practical significance in the engineering domain,as it furnishes valuable support for the targeted management of noise emanating from vehicle micro-motors.
基金funded by the Jiangsu Medical Scientific Research Project of Jiangsu Health Commission(to Q.Y.)the 789 Outstanding Talent Program of SAHNMU(Grant No.789ZYRC 202070102 to Q.Y.)+1 种基金the Guangzhou Key Medical Discipline Construction Project(to Q.Y.)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.81870409 and 81671543 to Q.Y.).
文摘Hepatoblastoma is the most frequent liver malignancy in children.HepG2 has been discovered as a hepatoblastoma-derived cell line and tends to form clumps in culture.Intriguingly,we observed that the addition of calcium ions reduced cell clumping and disassociated HepG2 cells.The calcium signal is in connection with a series of processes critical in the tumorigenesis.Here,we demonstrated that extracellular calcium ions induced morphological changes and enhanced the epithelial-mesenchymal transition in HepG2 cells.Mechanistically,calcium ions promoted HepG2 proliferation and migration by up-regulating the phosphorylation levels of focal adhesion kinase(FAK),protein kinase B,and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase.The inhibitor of FAK or Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent kinaseⅡ(CaMKⅡ)reversed the Ca2+-induced effects on HepG2 cells,including cell proliferation and migration,epithelial-mesenchymal transition protein expression levels,and phosphorylation levels of FAK and protein kinase B.Moreover,calcium ions decreased HepG2 cells'sensitivity to cisplatin.Furthermore,we found that the expression levels of FAK and CaMKⅡwere increased in hepatoblastoma.The group with high expression levels of FAK and CaMKⅡexhibited significantly lower ImmunoScore as well as CD8+T and NK cells.The expression of CaMKⅡwas positively correlated with that of PDCD1 and LAG3.Correspondingly,the expression of FAK was negatively correlated with that of TNFSF9,TNFRSF4,and TNFRSF18.Collectively,extracellular calcium accelerates HepG2 cell proliferation and migration via FAK and CaMKⅡand enhances cisplatin resistance.FAK and CaMKⅡshape immune cell infiltration and responses in tumor microenvironments,thereby serving as potential targets for hepatoblastoma.
基金the Zhejiang Natural Science Foundation Outstanding Youth Grant(LR20C020002)the Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China(LZ23C020002)+4 种基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China(32200231)the National Key Research and Development Program of China(2022YFD1401600)the Leading Innovative and Entrepreneur Team Introduction Program of Zhejiang(2019R01002)Key Research Project of Zhejiang Lab(2021PE0AC04)the U.S.National Science Foundation(MCB 2148206).
文摘Cotton is a major crop that provides the most important renewable textile fibers in the world.Studies of the taxonomy and evolution of cotton species have received wide attentions,not only due to cotton’s economic value but also due to the fact that Gossypium is an ideal model system to study the origin,evolution,and cultivation of polyploid species.Previous studies suggested the involvement of mitochondrial genome editing sites and copy number as well as mitochondrial functions in cotton fiber elongation.Whereas,with only a few mitogenomes assembled in the cotton genus Gossypium,our knowledge about their roles in cotton evolution and speciation is still scarce.To close this gap,here we assembled 20 mitogenomes from 15 cotton species spanning all the cotton clades(A–G,K,and AD genomes)and 5 cotton relatives using short and long sequencing reads.Systematic analyses uncovered a high level of mitochondrial gene sequence conservation,abundant sequence repeats and many insertions of foreign sequences,as well as extensive structural variations in cotton mitogenomes.The sequence repeats and foreign sequences caused significant mitogenome size inflation in Gossypium and its close relative Kokia in general,while there is no significant difference between the lint and fuzz cotton mitogenomes in terms of gene content,RNA editing,and gene expression level.Interestingly,we further revealed the specific presence and expression of two novel mitochondrial open reading frames(ORFs)in lint-fiber cotton species.Finally,these structural features and novel ORFs help us gain valuable insights into the history of cotton evolution and polyploidization and the origin of species producing long lint fibers from a mitogenomic perspective.
基金financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 82173758, China)Sichuan major science and technology project on biotechnology and medicine (2018SZDZX0018, China)
文摘Rheumatoid arthritis(RA)is a chronic inflammatory and destructive arthropathy with a high deformity rate.Despite numerous studies and clinical trials,no curative treatment is available for large weight-bearing joints.Intra-articular(IA)injections could deliver high concentrations of drug to the afflicted joint and improve the drug efficacy while reducing systemic toxicity.However,free drugs are rapidly cleared from synovial fluid and do not significantly halt the progression of joint disease.Herein,a phospholipids-based controlledrelease gel was prepared for sustained IA delivery of celastrol(CEL)and the therapeutic efficiencywas evaluated in a rheumatoid arthritis rabbitmodel.The CEL-loaded gel(CEL-gel)contained up to 70%phospholipids yetwas easy to inject.After injecting into the joint cavity,CEL-gel achieved sol to gel phase transition without special stimuli and gelling agent.In vitro release and in vivo pharmacokinetic studies evidenced the stable and sustained release action of CEL-gel.A single IA injection of CEL-gel could maintain therapeutic efficiency for about 25 d and showed much better anti-arthritic efficacy compared to repeated injections of free drug solution(CEL-sol).Furthermore,the IA injection of CEL-gel greatly reduced the systemic toxicity of CEL.With good biocompatibility and biodegradability,CEL-gel might be a promising IA drug delivery system.
基金This project is financially supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(82173758 and 81872804)Sichuan major science and technology project on biotechnology and medicine(2018SZDZX0018).
文摘Acute liver injury(ALI)has an elevated fatality rate due to untimely and ineffective treatment.Although,schisandrin B(SchB)has been extensively used to treat diverse liver diseases,its therapeutic efficacy on ALI was limited due to its high hydrophobicity.Palmitic acid-modified serum albumin(PSA)is not only an effective carrier for hydrophobic drugs,but also has a superb targeting effect via scavenger receptor-A(SR-A)on the M1 macrophages,which are potential therapeutic targets for ALI.Compared with the common macrophage-targeted delivery systems,PSA enables site-specific drug delivery to reduce off-target toxicity.Herein,we prepared SchB-PSA nanoparticles and further assessed their therapeutic effect on ALI.In vitro,compared with human serum albumin encapsulated SchB nanoparticles(SchB-HSA NPs),the SchB-PSA NPs exhibited more potent cytotoxicity on lipopolysaccharide(LPS)stimulated Raw264.7(LAR)cells,and LAR cells took up PSA NPs 8.79 times more than HSA NPs.As expected,the PSA NPs also accumulated more in the liver.Moreover,SchB-PSA NPs dramatically reduced the activation of NF-κB signaling,and significantly relieved inflammatory response and hepatic necrosis.Notably,the high dose of SchB-PSA NPs improved the survival rate in 72 h of ALI mice to 75%.Hence,SchB-PSA NPs are promising to treat ALI.
基金financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(5217130394)the Natural Science Foundation of Shaanxi(2019KJXX-099,2020YZ0037,2019JLZ-09 and 2019QYPY-194)+2 种基金the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(3102019JC005)Key R&D Program of Shaanxi(No.2019ZDLGY04-05)the Development and Industrialization Fund(2020KJRC0120)。
文摘The practical deployment of metallic anodes in the energy-dense batteries is impeded by the thermodynamically unstable interphase in contact with the aprotic electrolyte,structural collapse of the substrates as well as their insufficient affinity toward the metallic deposits.Herein,the mechanical flexible,lightweight(1.2 mg cm^(−2))carbon nanofiber scaffold with the monodispersed,ultrafine Sn_(4)P_(3) nanoparticles encapsulation(Sn_(4)P_(3)NPs@CNF)is proposed as the deposition substrate toward the high-areal-capacity sodium loadings up to 4 mAh cm^(−2).First-principles calculations manifest that the alloy intermediates,namely the Na_(15)Sn_(4) and Na_(3)P matrix,exhibit the intimate Na affinity as the“sodiophilic”sites.Meanwhile,the porous CNF regulates the heterogeneous alloying process and confines the deposit propagation along the nanofiber orientation.With the precise control of pairing mode with the NaVPO4F cathode(8.7 mg cm^(−2)),the practical feasibility of the Sn_(4)P_(3) NPs@CNF anode(1^(*)Na excess)is demonstrated in 2 mAh single-layer pouch cell prototype,which achieves the 95.7%capacity retention for 150 cycles at various mechanical flexing states as well as balanced energy/power densities.
基金Supported by National College Students Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program(202110599016)Guangxi Key R&D Project(GuiKeAB 18221095).
文摘[Objectives]To investigate the protective effect of ethanol extract from sweet potato leaves on liver injury induced by CCl_(4)in mice.[Methods]25 ICR mice were randomly divided into blank group,model group,high-dose extract group(200 mg/kg),low-dose extract group(100 mg/kg)and positive control group(2 mg/kg colchicine),with 5 mice in each group.All groups except the blank group were given intraperitoneal injection of 20%CCl 4 olive oil solution(2 mL/kg),and the blank group was given the same dose of olive oil solution three times a week.After 4 weeks,each administration group was given the corresponding dose of drugs(10 mL/kg),and the blank group and model group were given the corresponding amount of normal saline for 2 weeks.After the last intragastric administration,fasting was required,but water was allowed,blood was taken from eyeballs,and upper serum was taken by static centrifugation.Serum AST,ALT,CRP,IL-6 and SOD levels were detected by the kit.[Results]Compared with the blank group,the serum AST and ALT levels in the model group were significantly increased;compared with the model group,the ethanol extract of sweet potato leaves could decrease the levels of ALT,AST,CRP,IL-6 and increase the level of SOD in serum.[Conclusions]The ethanol extract of sweet potato leaves had protective effect on the mice with liver injury induced by CCl_(4),and its mechanism may be to protect the liver by lowering enzymes,inhibiting inflammation and antioxidant stress.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.21965035 and 22065034)Sponsored by Natural Science Foundation of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region(No.2022D01E36).
文摘Bifunctional catalysts for hydrogen/oxygen evolution reactions(HER/OER)are urgently needed given the bright future of water splitting hydrogen production technology.Here,the self-supporting N and Ce dual-doped NiCoP nanoarrays(denoted N,Ce-NiCoP/NF)grown on Ni foam are successfully constructed.When the N,Ce-NiCoP/NF simultaneously acts as the HER and OER electrodes,the voltages of 1.54 and 2.14 V are obtained for driving 10 and 500 mA·cm^(-2)with a robust durability,and demonstrate its significant potential for practical water electrolysis.According to both experiments and calculations,the electronic structure of NiCoP may be significantly altered by strategically incorporating N and Ce into the lattice,which in turn optimizes the Gibbs free energy of HER/OER intermediates and speeds up the water splitting kinetics.Moreover,the sprout-shaped morphology significantly increases the exposure of active sites and facilitates charge/mass transfer,thereby augmenting catalyst performance.This study offers a potentially effective approach involving the regulation of anion and cation double doping,as well as architectural engineering,for the purpose of designing and optimizing innovative electrocatalysts.
基金supported by the Science and Technology Bureau of Liaoning Province (No. 2007226011)the Shenyang Technology Bureau (No. 1071164-9-00)
文摘The present study was aimed at the comparison of the pharmacokinetics of pure chlorogenic acid and extract of Solanum lyratum Thunb.The animals were allocated to two groups,and were administered chlorogenic acid or extract of S.lyratum Thunb.at a dose of 50.0 mg/kg orally.Blood samples were collected up to 8 h post-dosing.Plasma chlorogenic acid analyses were performed using an HPLC method with UV detector.The pharmacokinetic parameters were evaluated using non-compartmental assessment.Significant differences existed in the two groups for AUC 0 t,AUC 0 N and CLz/F.The reliable HPLC method was successfully applied to the determination of chlorogenic acid in rat plasma at dosage of 50.0 mg/kg.
文摘AIM:To identify the genes related to lymph node metastasis in human hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC),32 HCC patients with or without lymph node metastasis were investigated by high-throughput microarray comprising 886 genes.METHODS:The samples of cancerous and non-cancerous paired tissue were taken from 32 patients with HCC who underwent hepatectomy with lymph node dissection.Total RNA was extracted from the cells obtained by means of laser microdissection(LCM) and was amplified by the T7-based amplification system.Then,the amplifi ed samples were applied in the cDNA microarray comprising of 886 genes.RESULTS:The results demonstrated that 25 up-regulated genes such as cell membrane receptor,intracellular signaling and cell adhesion related genes,and 48 down-regulated genes such as intracellular signaling and cell cycle regulator-related genes,were correlated with lymph node metastasis in HCC.Amongst them were included some interesting genes,such as MET,EPHA2,CCND1,MMP2,MMP13,CASP3,CDH1,and PTPN2.Expression of 16 genes(MET,CCND1,CCND2,VEGF,KRT18,RFC4,BIRC5,CDC6,MMP2,BCL2A1,CDH1,VIM,PDGFRA,PTPN2,SLC25A5 and DSP) were further confirmed by real-time quantitative reverse transcriptional polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR).CONCLUSION:Tumor metastasis is an important biological characteristic,which involves multiple genetic changes and cumulation.This genome-wide information contributes to an improved understanding of molecular alterations during lymph node metastasis in HCC.It may help clinicians to predict metastasis of lymph nodes and assist researchers in identifying novel therapeutic targets for metastatic HCC patients.
文摘Since 2011,certain advances have been made through the resource investigation,metallogenesis research,mining supervision and environmental protection of ion-adsorption type rare earth element (REE) deposit in South China.Firstly,some progress has been made in REE prospecting in Jiangxi,Guangdong,Guangxi and Yunnan.REE deposits are not only found within the weathering crusts of granites and felsic volcanic rocks,but also within the weathering crusts of epimetamorphic rocks and basic magmatic rocks.Secondly,the methods of exploration,delineating ore bodies and calculation of reserves have been improved,which intuitively reflect the thickness,REE composition and value of weathering crust.Thirdly,the relationship between REEs and weathering degree and the rule of distribution,migration and enrichment of REEs in the weathering profile was summarized through the analysis of big data,which can predict the metallogenetic horizon of REEs.Fourthly,a method for quick,accurate and dynamic investigation of the REE deposit has been established by using high resolution remote sensing technology.Finally,the relation between the production status of REE mines and water pollution has been revealed based on long-term hydrochemical monitoring data of rivers and wells in mines and surrounding areas.
基金This work was supported by a grant from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 39500037).
文摘Objectives: To quantitatively study the adhesive pro-perties of hepatoma cells to collagen Ⅳ coated artifi-cial basement membrane and to investigate the rele-vance of cell adhesive forces to the concentration ofcollagen Ⅳ.Methods: Synchronous G1 and S phase cells were a-chieved using thymine-2-desoxyriboside and cochicinesequential blockage method and double thymine-2-desoxyriboside blockage method respectively. Theadhesive forces of hepatoma cells were investigatedby micropipette aspiration technique.Results: The adhesive forces of hepatoma cells to ar-tificial basement membrane were （107.78±65.44）×10<sup>-10</sup>N, （182.60±107.88）×10<sup>-10</sup>N, （298.91±144.13）×10<sup>-10</sup>N when the concentration of themembrane coated by 1, 2, 5μg/ml collagen Ⅳ re-spectively （P【0.001）. The adhesive forces of G1and S phases hepatoma cells to artificial basementmembrane were （275.86±232.80）×10<sup>-10</sup>N and（161.16±120.40）×10<sup>-10</sup>N respectively when theconcentration of the membrane coated by 5μg/mlcollagen Ⅳ （P【0.001）.Conclusions: The adhesive forces of hepatoma cells toartifical basement membrane in direct proportion tothe concentration of collagen Ⅳ suggests that the in-crease of basement membrane might be conducive tothe chemotactic motion and adhesiveness of tumorcells. G1 phase cells are more capable of adhering tobasement membrane than S phase cells. Hepatomacells, especially G1 phase cells, may survive in bloodcirculation, and sequest and adhere in microcircula-tion, and get through basement membrane for re-mote metastasis.
文摘AIM: To identify biomarkers indicating virus-specific hepatocarcinogenic process,differential mRNA expres-sion in 32 patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-/hepa-titis C virus (HCV)-associated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were investigated by means of cDNA microar-rays comprising of 886 genes. METHODS: Thirty two HCC patients were divided into two groups based on viral markers: hepatitis B virus positive and HCV positive. The expression profiles of 32 pairs of specimens (tumorous and surrounding non-tumorous liver tissues),consisting of 886 genes were analyzed. RESULTS: Seven up-regulated genes in HBV-associat-ed HCC comprised genes involved in protein synthesis (RPS5 ),cytoskeletal organization (KRT8 ),apoptosis related genes (CFLAR),transport (ATP5F1),cell mem-brane receptor related genes (IGFBP2),signal trans-duction or transcription related genes (MAP3K5),and metastasis-related genes (MMP9). The up-regulated genes in HCV-infected group included 4 genes: VIM (cell structure),ACTB (cell structure),GAPD (glycolysis) and CD58 (cell adhesion). The expression patterns of the 11 genes,identified by cDNA microarray,were con-firmed by quantitative RT-PCR in 32 specimens. CONCLUSION: The patterns of all identified genes were classified based on the viral factor involved in HBV-and HCV-associated HCC. Our results strongly suggest that the pattern of gene expression in HCC is closely associated with the etiologic factor. The pres-ent study indicates that HBV and HCV cause hepato-carcinogenesis by different mechanisms,and provide novel tools for the diagnosis and treatment of HBV-and HCV-associated HCC.
