3 P 2 superfluidity of neutrons in neutron star matter is investigated using several potential models and the separation method. As a first step, the dependence of the pure 3 P 2 energy gap on the projection M of total momentum J is analyzed. The energy gap functions for pure 3 P 2 pairing are treated as vectors indexed by M, and it is shown that the magnitudes of these vectors at Fermi surface are close to each other, whereas their components are different. On the basis of these works, the influence of hyperons on the energy gap for 3 P 2 neutron pairing, with and without coupling to the 3 F 2 state, at Fermi surface in neutron star matter is studied. The results show that in the OPEG case hyperons increase the energy gap when the baryon number density is in the range of 0.2 fm −3 < n B < 0.33 fm −3 and reduce it when n B > 0.33 fm −3 , and in the Argonne υ18 case hyperons increase the energy gap in the whole range where the 3 P 2 superfluidity exists. The energy gaps are zero in two types of neutron star matter for the Bonn potential.

Oxidative stress is important in carcinogenesis and metastasis. Salidroside, a phenylpropanoid glycoside isolated from Rhodiola rosea L., shows potent antioxidant properties. The aim of the present study was to investigate the roles of salidroside in cell proliferation, the cell cycle, apoptosis, invasion and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in A549 cells. The human alveolar adenocarcinoma cell line, A549, was incubated with various concentrations of salidroside (0, 1, 5, 10 and 20 μg/ml) and cell proliferation was detected by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. Propidium iodide (PI) staining was used to determine the cell cycle by flow cytometry. Cell apoptosis was detected by Annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate and PI double-staining, and tumor invasion was detected by Boyden chamber invasion assay. Western blot analysis was performed to detect the expression of EMT markers, Snail and phospho-p38. The results showed that salidroside significantly reduced the proliferation of A549 cells, inhibited cell cycle arrest in the G0/G1 phase and induced apoptosis. Salidroside inhibited transforming growth factor-β-induced tumor invasion and suppressed the protein expression of Snail. As an antioxidant, salidroside inhibited the intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation in a dose-dependent manner in A549 cells, and depletion of intracellular ROS by vitamin C suppressed apoptosis by salidroside treatment. Salidroside was also found to inhibit the expression of phospho-p38 in A549 cells. In conclusion, salidroside inhibits cell proliferation, the cell cycle and metastasis and induces apoptosis, which may be due to its interference in the intracellular ROS generation, thereby, downregulating the ROS-phospho-p38 signaling pathway.

Abstract.Male breast cancer is a rare disease. The aim of this study was to compare overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) in a group of matched males and females with breast cancer. The clinical data and survival status of 42 operable male breast cancer (MBC) cases treated at the Central Hospital of Tai'an from 1982 to 2006 were collected. Each MBC patient recorded in the database was matched with two female breast cancer (FBC) patients. Matching was conducted based on age, year of diagnosis, stage and pathology. SPSS 16.0 software was used for statistical analysis. The Chi-square test was used for the categorical data, the Kaplan-Meier method was applied to analyze survival and the log-rank test was used to compare curves between the groups. P<0.05 was considered to indicate a statistically significant difference. The 42 MBC patients were matched with 84 FBC patients. The mean age at diagnosis was 58.0±11.3 years for males and 57.1±10.6 years for females, and the median follow-up time was 64 months (range, 5-262 months) for males and 71 months (range, 29-283 months) for females. Significant differences were identified for tumor location, hormone receptor status, adjuvant chemotherapy and hormone therapy between the two groups. Monofactorial analysis demonstrated that tumor size, lymph node status and AJCC stage were prognostic factors in MBC patients. The 5-and 10-year DFS rates were 61.2 and 40.7% for males, and 68.7 and 43.0% for females, respectively. The 5-and 10-year OS rates were 75.3 and 52.3% for males, and 82.9 and 63.2% for females, respectively. In our study, male breast carcinoma patients had a worse prognosis compared to female breast carcinoma patients which may be due to the deficiency of adjuvant chemotherapy and endocrine therapy.

Angiogenesis plays an important role in cancer growth, invasion and metastasis. It has been confirmed that metadherin (MTDH) is associated with angiogenesis. However, the detailed mechanism of MTDH on angiogenesis has not yet been reported. In this study, we demonstrate the anti-angiogenic function of MTDH in breast cancer. With RNA interference strategies, we found that knockdown of MTDH inhibits cellular angiogenesis both in vitro and ex vivo. Furthermore, we revealed that ERK1/2 pathway is involved in the anti-angiogenic function of MTDH, and the function can be partially reversed via upregulation of microRNA-21 (miR-21). In conclusion, knockdown of MTDH can inhibit angiogenesis in breast cancer. These results show that MTDH is a viable therapeutic target for anti-angiogenesis in breast cancer.

Abstract. The present study aimed to identify polypeptides that specifically bond to breast cancer stem cells from a phage display random 12 peptide library, in addition to the affinity and specificity of polypeptides. A phage display random 12 peptide library was screened using breast cancer stem cells as targets isolated from the MDA-MB-231 cell line using the serum-free culture technique with hs578bst and MDA-MB-231 cells as subtract-screening cells. Positive and specific binding clones were amplified and sent for sequencing. The affinity and specificity of the positive clones were subsequently identified by ELISA and 3,3'-diaminobenzidine staining. The results demonstrated that phages were gathered ~500 times following three rounds of biopanning. ELISA identified that the affinity to breast cancer stem cells of the no. 6 phage was 6.14 times higher than that in the control group. In addition, immunohistochemistry observed that the no. 6 phage exhibited high-specificity bonding to breast cancer stem cells, and the peptide sequence of the positive phage was GYSASRSTIPGK following DNA sequencing and translation. Thus, the present study isolated a specific peptide that bonds to breast cancer stem cells from a phage display random peptide library, which may facilitate further studies regarding the stem cell-targeted therapy of breast cancer.