Qindan Capsule(芩丹胶囊) Changes Adventitial Collagen Synthesis in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats

Objective： To investigate the effect of Qindan Capsule （芩丹胶囊, QC） on collagen synthesis and the mechanism underlying the process in spontaneously hypertensive rats （SHRs）. Methods： Twenty- four SHRs were divided into three groups： the hypertension model group, the QC treatment group, and the Iosartan treatment group. Eight Wistar Kyoto （WKY） rats were used as the normal control group. The systolic blood pressure （SBP） of the rats was monitored, and the thoracic aorta adventitia of the rats was segregated. The expressions of transforming growth factor 1 （TGF-β 1）, Smad3, and collagens ⅠandⅢ were measured by histological staining and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Results： The SBP was significantly higher in the model group than in the normal control group （P〈0.01）. However, a significant SBP-Iowering effect was observed in QC or Iosartan treatment groups （P〈0.05 or P〈0.01） after 3 weeks of treatment. QC- treated rats showed a decrease of approximately 40 mm Hg, and the Iosartan-treated rats showed a decrease of approximately 50 mm Hg at the end of treatment compared with the beginning of treatment. The protein and gene levels of TGF- β 1, Smad3, and collagens Ⅰ andⅢ in the model group were significantly increased compared with those in the normal control group （P〈0.01）. However, the levels were significantly decreased in the QC or Iosartan treatment group compared with the model group （P〈0.05 or P〈0.01）. However, there was no significant difference between the QC and Iosartan treatment groups （P〈0.05）. Conclusions： QC could exert its antihypertensive effect through down-regulating TGF- β 1-stimulated collagen expressions. The TGF- β 1/Smad3 signaling pathway may be involved in this process.

Platelet RNA signature independently predicts ovarian cancer prognosis by deep learning neural network model

Dear Editor,Platelets are circulating anucleate cytoplasmic fragments of megakaryocytes and characterized by their functions in wound healing and vascular integrity maintenance.Increasing evidence highlights the extensive reciprocal signaling interactions between platelets and tumor cells(Haemmerle et al.,2018).Tumor cells activate and aggregate platelets to sustain proliferation(Cho et al.,2012),resist apoptosis,and promote metastasis(Haemmerle et al.,2017).

Platelet RNA enables accurate detection of ovarian cancer:an intercontinental,biomarker identification study

Platelets are reprogrammed by cancer via a process called education,which favors cancer development.The transcriptional profile of tumor-educated platelets(TEPs)is skewed and therefore practicable for cancer detection.This intercontinental,hospital-based,diagnostic study included 761 treatment-naive inpatients with histologically confirmed adnexal masses and 167 healthy controls from nine medical centers(China,n=3;Netherlands,n=5;Poland,n=1)between September 2016 and May 2019.The main outcomes were the performance of TEPs and their combination with CA125 in two Chinese(VC1 and VC2)and the European(VC3)validation cohorts collectively and independently.Exploratory outcome was the value of TEPs in public pan-cancer platelet transcriptome datasets.The AUCs for TEPs in the combined validation cohort,VC1,VC2,and VC3 were 0.918(95%CI 0.889-0.948),0.923(0.855-0.990),0.918(0.872-0.963),and 0.887(0.813-0.960),respectively.Combination of TEPs and CA125 demonstrated an AUC of 0.922(0.889-0.955)in the combined validation cohort;0.955(0.912-0.997)in VC1;0.939(0.901-0.977)in VC2;0.917(0.824-1.000)in VC3.For subgroup analysis,TEPs exhibited an AUC of o.858,0.859,and 0.920 to detect early-stage,borderline,non-epithelial diseases and 0.899 to discriminate ovarian cancer from endometriosis.TEPs had robustness,compatibility,and universality for preop.erative diagnosis of ovarian cancer since it withstood validations in populations of different ethnicities,heterogeneous histoiogical subtypes,and early-stage ovarian cancer.However,these observations warrant prospective validations in a larger population beforeclinicalutilities.