This paper probes the mechanisms underlying miR-142-3p’s modulation of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) invasion and apoptosis. Quantitative real-time PCR and Western blot monitored the miR-142-3p profile in HCC tissues and non-tumor tissues. The correlation between miR-142-3p expression and HCC patients’ clinicopathological indicators was analyzed. miR-142-3p overexpression and knockdown models were established in HCC cell lines. Cell proliferation was gauged by the colony formation assay and BrdU staining. For measuring apoptosis, flow cytometry and Western blot were implemented. Transwell assay tested cell migration and invasion. miR-142-3p mimics or inhibitors were transfected in Huh7 and HCCLM3 cells. The targeting association between miR-142-3p and PIK3CG was predicted through bioinformatics and further verified by related experiments. The influence of PIK3CG overexpression on miR-142-3p’s role in HCC was assayed. A xenografted tumor model was built in mice to validate miR-142-3p knockdown’s influence on HCC in vivo . As a result, miR-142-3p exhibited a decreased profile in HCC tissues and cells. Overexpressing miR-142-3p accelerated apoptosis and suppressed the PI3K/AKT/HIF-1α signal. Knocking down miR-142-3p presented opposite effects. PIK3CG overexpression dampened the anti-tumor effect of miR-142-3p. miR-142-3p repressed HCC invasion and intensified apoptosis to restrain HCC by abating the PIK3CG-mediated PI3K/AKT/HIF-1α pathway.

Chronic hepatitis B can lead to liver cirrhosis and primary hepatocellular carcinoma. The present study aimed to investigate whether C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 3 (CXCR3) regulates the genes in Toll-like receptors (TLRs)/myeloid differentiation primary response protein 88 (MyD88) signaling pathway in the development of hepatitis B into cirrhosis and liver cancer in vitro . A hepatitis B virus (HBV) overexpression lentivirus was constructed and infected into a LX-2 cell line to obtain stable HBV-overexpressing cells (named HBV-LX-2 cells). The CXCR3 gene was knocked down using small interfering RNA in HBV-LX-2 cells. Cell Counting Kit-8 assays, cell scratch tests and flow cytometry were used to detect cell proliferation, migration and apoptosis, respectively. The levels of IL-1β and IL-6 in serum samples of patients with liver cancer were measured via ELISA, and the collagen content in liver cancer tissues was detected using Masson staining. Western blotting was used to detect the expression levels of proteins in the TLRs/MyD88 signaling pathway. Excessive fibrosis was identified in the liver cancer tissues, and the serum levels of IL-6 and IL-1β were abnormally increased in patients with liver cancer. It was found that interfering with CXCR3 inhibited cell proliferation and migration, as well as promoted the apoptosis of HBV-LX-2 cells. Moreover, interfering with CXCR3 inhibited the expression levels of collagen type I α 1 chain and the proteins in the TLRs/MyD88 pathway. In conclusion, CXCR3 knockdown could inhibit the expression levels of proteins in the TLR4/MyD88 signaling pathway, decrease cell proliferation and migration, and promote cell apoptosis, thus inhibiting the development of liver cirrhosis to liver cancer.

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To better deliver antiretroviral drugs for treating patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) with poor immune reconstitution, a novel nanopole capsule was designed in this study. Forty-eight patients with AIDS with poor immune reconstitution were chosen as subjects to test their immune state. CD4+ T and Regulatory T cells (Treg) infected with HIV were cultured to test polyethyleneimine (PEI) and polychitosan (PC) drug delivery system efficiency. The infiltration efficiency test was performed to study the drug delivery efficiency of the delivery systems, and the cell numbers of CD4+ T and Treg cells infected with HIV were calculated to evaluate the therapeutic effect. The results showed that patients with AIDS with poor immune reconstitution had lower CD4+ T cell count and higher Treg cell count. Furthermore, the infiltration efficiency of the PC drug delivery system was higher than that of the PEI drug delivery system, and the therapy efficiency of antiretroviral drugs was greatly improved in the PC group. Additionally, the improvement of CD4+ T and Treg cells damaged by HIV was greater in the PC group. Sequentially, the PC system can better deliver and release loaded antiretroviral drugs and may be a better choice for treating patients with AIDS with poor immune reconstitution in the future.

The 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) is extremely infectious and the human population globally is generally susceptible to it. Its spread poses a serious threat to public health. Analyzing the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can more fully demonstrate its characteristics and evolution, and provide effective scientific strategies for preventing and controlling the epidemic. In this study, nucleic acid detection was performed on 228 suspected COVID-19 cases in Ningbo City from January 2020 to August 2020. The RNA of the virus was extracted by the nano magnetic bead method and was detected by real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR. Patients whose test results were positive were considered as research subjects. Clinical data of the patients were collected through a medical record system and the epidemiology and characteristics of COVID-19 were analyzed. Among the 228 suspected cases, 108 patients had a positive nucleic acid test result. The 108 confirmed patients were selected as research subjects, including 9 patients with mild symptoms, 85 patients with common symptoms, and 14 patients with severe symptoms. The age range of the patients was 17–82 years. Overall, 35 patients (32.40%) had complications. The median incubation period for patients was 7.5 days. Seventy patients (64.81%) had a contact history with a diseased individual. In terms of the clinical symptoms of the patients, the following symptoms were identified: fever in 92, cough in 62, fatigue in 34, sputum expectoration in 32, dry cough in 22, sore throat in 19, diarrhea in 8, headache in 8, shortness of breath in 7, nasal congestion in 5, and muscle ache in 5 cases. The results of chest CT imaging showed that 96 patients (88.89%) exhibited bilateral or unilateral pneumonia lesions of varying degrees, manifested as bilateral or unilateral lung patches, cloudy floccules, patches with an increased density shadow. The CT images of 12 patients (11.11%) showed no obvious abnormalities, while 24 cases (22.22%) had absolute white blood cell count of <4×109/L, while 1 case had one of >10×109/L. The absolute neutrophil count in 10 patients (9.26%) increased (>6.3×109/L). The absolute lymphocyte count in 49 patients (45.37%) decreased (<1.1×109/L). The hemoglobin, hematocrit, and platelet levels of the vast majority of patients were normal, while a few were low or high. Fifty-eight patients (53.70%) had elevated C-reactive protein (>10 mg/L); 14 (12.96%) had elevated D-dimer (>256 μg/L); 14 (12.96%) had high levels of alanine aminotransferase (>40 U/L); 9 (8.33%) had increased aspartate aminotransferase (>40 U/L); while 32 (29.6%) had increased lactate dehydrogenase (>250 U/L). COVID-19 in Ningbo is mainly transmitted in clusters, and elderly patients are more likely to develop severe symptoms. There is no significant difference in clinical characteristics between patients with severe conditions and those with mild and common ones.