Background: HDAC9 (histone deacetylase 9) belongs to the class IIa family of histone deacetylases. This enzyme can shuttle freely between the nucleus and cytoplasm and promotes tissue-specific transcriptional regulation by interacting with histone and non-histone substrates. HDAC9 plays an essential role in diverse physiological processes including cardiac muscle development, bone formation, adipocyte differentiation and innate immunity. HDAC9 inhibition or activation is therefore a promising avenue for therapeutic intervention in several diseases. HDAC9 overexpression is also common in cancer cells, where HDAC9 alters the expression and activity of numerous relevant proteins involved in carcinogenesis. Conclusions: This review summarizes the most recent discoveries regarding HDAC9 as a crucial regulator of specific physiological systems and, more importantly, highlights the diverse spectrum of HDAC9-mediated posttranslational modifications and their contributions to cancer pathogenesis. HDAC9 is a potential novel therapeutic target, and the restoration of aberrant expression patterns observed among HDAC9 target genes and their related signaling pathways may provide opportunities to the design of novel anticancer therapeutic strategies.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common and lethal primary brain cancer. Current pharmacological interventions marginally increase the 12-month overall survival of patients with GBM. Among the novel therapeutic strategies being pursued, micro-RNAs, a class of non-coding RNAs, are receiving considerable attention for their regulation of several pathways implicated in tumorigenesis and survival. Notably, microRNA-181a-5p (miR-181a) has consistently been reported to be downregulated in GBM clinical samples, and its overexpression negatively affects tumor growth both in vitro and in vivo. To improve the delivery of miR-181a to GBM cells, we sought to develop a modified lipid-based nanocarrier capable of encapsulating and delivering miR-181a to GBM cells in vitro and in vivo. Optimized ionizable-lipid containing lipid nanoparticles (LNP) were constructed by covering the miR-181a-loaded LNP with alternating layers of miR-181a, poly-l-arginine and hyaluronic acid through the layer-by-layer technique. The resulting hyaluronan-decorated lipid nanoparticles (HA-LNP) targeted GBM cells more efficiently than non-modified LNP and mediated siRNA and miRNA transfection in vitro. Finally, delivery of miR-181a by HA-LNP induced significant cellular death of U87 GBM cells in vitro and delayed tumor growth in an in vivo subcutaneous tumor model.

Background: Inguinal hernia repair is a common surgical procedure; however, the effects of laparoscopic and open mesh repair in the treatment of recurrent inguinal hernia are unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of laparoscopic and open mesh repair in the treatment of recurrent inguinal hernia by conducting a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Methods: A comprehensive, meta-analysis of RCTs on the effects of laparoscopic and open mesh repair in the treatment of recurrent inguinal hernia was performed. English- and Chinese-language studies published up to December 30, 2017 were identified via a systematic search of the PubMed, Embase, Science Direct, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Wanfang databases. Summary odd ratios or weighted mean differences (MDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were adopted to calculate each outcome using a fixed or random effects model. Results: Ten RCTs involving a total of 1,017 patients were included. There was no statistically significant difference in the rate of recurrence (P=0.23; OR: 0.74, 95% CI: 0.45–1.21), hematoma (P=0.47; OR: 0.71, 95% CI: 0.28–1.79), urinary retention (P=0.94; OR: 0.97, 95% CI: 0.46–2.07) and acute pain (P=0.71; OR: 0.74, 95% CI: 0.14-3.76) between the laparoscopic and open mesh repair groups. The incision infection rate (P=0.02; OR: 0.28, 95% CI: 0.10–0.81) of the laparoscopic group was lower and the length of hospital stay (P<0.0001; MD: −3.65, 95% CI: −4.76 to −2.53) was significantly shorter than those of the open repair group. However, the laparoscopic group had a longer operative time (P=0.0002; MD: 20.30, 95% CI: 9.60–31.01). Conclusions: The laparoscopic approach is superior to the open mesh approach for the repair of recurrent inguinal hernia in some aspects, including the incision infection rate and length of hospital stay. However, more high-quality studies on the effects of laparoscopic and open mesh repair for the treatment of recurrent inguinal hernia are warranted.

Using a community-based population cross-sectional study, we investigated the validity of an enzymatic method for glycated albumin (GA) measurements and evaluated its utility as a diagnostic tool for diabetes mellitus (DM). In total, 1,211 participants from the city of Harbin, People's Republic of China, were enrolled in the study. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis for GA, fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and haemoglobin A_1c (HbA_1c) measurements in diagnosed and undiagnosed DM were compared, based on a definition of DM using 1999 WHO criteria. We also estimated the correlation among GA, HbA_1c and other clinical characteristics. Significant and positive correlations of fasting serum GA with FPG (r 50.8097) and HbA_1c (r 50.8976) were found in participants enrolled in the study. ROC analysis for GA predicting undiagnosed DM with a cut-off point of 15.7% was similar to that of FPG and HbA_1c. Therefore, our data indicate that GA is a potential tool for DM diagnosis.