Luteolin, a plant flavonoid, has been shown to suppress inflammatory responses; however, the mechanism of luteolin on cardiac myocyte inflammation is still unknown. Because tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), an inflammatory cytokine, is elevated in the failing heart and exerts multiple potentially harmful effects on cardiac myocytes, we therefore sought to examine the effects of luteolin on the expression of TNF-α in neonatal rat cardiac myocytes. In the present study, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), real-time PCR, immunoblot, immunochemistry staining, and electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSA) were performed. ELISA assay showed that luteolin decreased lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced production of TNF-α in the medium. Real-time PCR assay confirmed that luteolin also inhibited LPS-induced increase in TNF-α mRNA in myocytes. Furthermore, immunoblot and immunochemistry staining assays represented that luteolin blocked LPS-induced IκB-β degradation and NF-κB p65 subunit nuclear translocation. In addition, EMSA demonstrated that luteolin reduced LPS-induced NF-κB DNA binding activity. Luteolin protects against LPS-induced TNF-α expression via inhibition of the NF-κB signaling pathway, suggesting that luteolin may be a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment of inflammation-related myocardial diseases.

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Objective : The purpose of this prospective study was to investigate the perceptions and attitudes to participate in radical and palliative clinical trials among Chinese lymphoma and head/neck cancer patients. Patients and Methods : A self-developed questionnaire was administered to hospitalized patients in the Department of Medical Oncology in Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center between 20 September 2014 and 20 September 2015. This study included lymphoma patients who were enrolled into a radical treatment clinical trial, and head/neck cancer patients participating in a palliative clinical trial. Results : There were 136 lymphoma patients and 87 head/neck cancer patients who completed and returned the questionnaire. The questionnaire return rate was 100%. More than 90% of the patients in both groups showed trust and acceptance for medical care personnel, and more than 50% of the patients in both groups were in hope of trying new medication, receiving free medication, and receiving new treatment at an earlier rate. As compared with those in the radical trials, patients in the palliative clinical trials were more likely to hope to try new medication ( P <0.001) and receive a new treatment at an earlier date ( P =0.025), but less likely to hope to receive free medication ( P =0.047). Conclusions : This study reveals several shared perceptions and needs of patients in both the radical (lymphoma) and palliative (head/neck cancer) settings and explores the differences in patients' attitudes between radical clinical trials and palliative clinical trials. These findings may provide a basis for improving recruitment of patients for different types of clinical trials and ensuring that patients have a better understanding of clinical trials.

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