Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most commonmalignancy. Exsome plays a significant role in the elucidation of signal transduction pathways between hepatoma cells, angiogenesis and early diagnosis of HCC. Exosomes are small vesicular structures that mediate interaction between different types of cells, and contain a variety of components (including DNA, RNA, and proteins). Numerous studies have shown that these substances in exosomes are involved in growth, metastasis and angiogenesis in liver cancer, and then inhibited the growth of liver cancer by blocking the signaling pathway of liver cancer cells. In addition, the exosomal substances could also be used as markers for screening early liver cancer. In this review, we summarized to reveal the significance of exosomes in the occurrence, development, diagnosis and treatment of HCC, which in turn might help us to further elucidate the mechanism of exosomes in HCC, and promote the use of exosomes in the clinical diagnosis and treatment of HCC.

Abstract. To explore the relationship between serum thyrotropin and components of metabolic syndrome in a Chinese cohort. A total of 1534 adult inhabitants in DaDong district of Shenyang were asked to fulfill the questionnaire, complete physical examination and OGTT. Blood samples were collected to test thyrotropin (TSH), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), OGTT 2h PG, fasting insulin (FINS), triglyceride (TG) and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). Serum TSH in metabolic syndrome group was higher than that in the non-metabolic syndrome group (2.54 mIU/L vs. 2.22 mIU/L, p<0.05). TG level increased significantly in subclinical hypothyroid group compared with euthyroid subjects (1.73±0.12 mmol/L vs.1.47±0.03 mmol/L, p<0.05), and HDL-C decreased significantly in patients with subclinical hypothyroidism compared with euthyroid subjects (1.26±0.27 mmol/L vs. 1.33±0.27 mmol/L, p<0.05). The prevalence of hypertension was higher in the subclinical hypothyroid group than that in euthyroid group (42.86% vs. 33.2%, p<0.05). The serum TSH within the reference range was positively related with the prevalence of overweight/obesity. Slight increase in serum TSH maybe a risk factor for metabolic syndrome.

It is still controversial whether subclinical hypothyroidism and euthyroidism affect blood pressure. The study aimed to explore the relationship between different levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and blood pressure in the participants with subclinical hypothyroidism and euthyroidism. A total of 1319 participants were administered a questionnaire survey, and their blood pressure, height and body weight measurements were taken. Blood samples were taken to test serum TSH. FT3 and FT4 were further examined if TSH was abnormal. Participants were divided into euthyroid group and subclinical hypothyroidism group. Euthyroid group was further divided into three groups: group A (TSH 0.3-0.99 mIU l À1 ), group B (TSH 1.0-1.9 mIU l À1) and group C (TSH 1.91-4.8 mIU l À1 ). Results showed that different levels of serum TSH had no relation with systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP). The prevalence of hypertension in subclinical hypothyroidism group was significantly higher than euthyroid group in females (41.3 vs 25.6%, Po0.05). The risk of hypertension in subclinical hypothyroidism group was significantly higher than that in the euthyroid group after adjusted for age, gender, smoking status, HOMA-IR (homoeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance) and body mass index (odds ratio (OR) ¼ 1.753, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.067-2.879, P ¼ 0.027). This association was stronger in females (OR ¼ 3.545, 95% CI 1.576-7.975, P ¼ 0.004), but there was no statistical significance in males. Within normal range of TSH, both SBP and DBP were similar among the three groups. The prevalence and risk of hypertension were also similar among the three groups. In conclusion, the prevalence of hypertension in subclinical hypothyroidism group was significantly higher than in euthyroid group in females. Change of TSH in normal range did not affect blood pressure.