Sivelestat is widely used in treating acute lung injury (ALI)/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), although the clinical efficacy of sivelestat remains controversial. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of sivelestat in patients with ALI/ARDS. Electronic databases, PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library, were searched to identify trials through April 2017. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included irrespective of blinding or language that compared patients with and without sivelestat therapy in ALI/ARDS. A random-effects model was used to process the data, and the relative risk (RR) and standard mean difference (SMD) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to evaluate the effect of sivelestat. Six RCTs reporting data on 804 patients with ALI/ARDS were included. Overall, no significant difference was found between sivelestat and control for the risk of 28–30 days mortality (RR: 0.94; 95% CI: 0.71–1.23; P = 0.718). Sivelestat therapy had no significant effect on ventilation days (SMD: 0.05; 95% CI: −0.27 to 0.38; P = 0.748), arterial oxygen partial pressure (PaO2)/fractional inspired oxygen (FiO2) level (SMD: 0.48; 95% CI: −0.45 to 1.41; P = 0.315), and intensive care unit (ICU) stays (SMD: −9.87; 95% CI: −24.30 to 4.56; P = 0.180). The results of sensitivity analysis indicated that sivelestat therapy might affect the PaO2/FiO2 level in patients with ALI/ARDS (SMD: 0.87; 95% CI: 0.39 to 1.35; P < 0.001). Sivelestat therapy might increase the PaO2/FiO2 level, while it had little or no effect on 28–30 days mortality, ventilation days, and ICU stays. These findings need to be verified in large-scale trials.

Background/Aims: Epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a crucial process involved in pulmonary fibrosis. This study aimed to explore the role of histone deacetylases (HDACs) and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in EMT in human lung epithelial cells. Methods: Human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells were treated with bleomycin and tunicamycin to induce EMT. The proliferation of A549 cells was detected by MTT assay. The expression of HDACs and EMT markers was detected by PCR and Western blot analysis. The secretion of TGF-β1 and collagen I was examined by ELISA. Results: A549 cells switched from a cobblestone-like appearance to an elongated fibroblast like appearance after exposure to tunicamycin or bleomycin, accompanied by increased expression of N-cadherin, α-SMA and Collagen I. Meanwhile, GRP78 was upregulated in A549 cells exposed to tunicamycin or bleomycin. These changes induced by tunicamycin or bleomycin could be abrogated by 4-PBA. Moreover, tunicamycin and bleomycin promoted the expression of HDAC2 and HDAC6, and HDACs inhibitor SAHA abrogated the morphological and biochemical changes in A549 cells. 4-PBA and SAHA inhibited the upregulation of pulmonary fibrosis factors TGF-β1 and IL-32 and the activation of Smad pathway induced by tunicamycin or bleomycin. Conclusions: We provide the first evidence that tunicamycin and bleomycin induce ER stress and EMT in lung epithelial cells via the upregulation of HDACs. HDACs inhibitor could inhibit ER stress induced upregulation of pulmonary fibrosis factors and the activation of Smad pathway. HDACs inhibitors are promising agents for the therapy of pulmonary fibrosis.

This study performed an optimization of the fermentation conditions to activate the expression of the zunyimycin family biosynthesis genes of the zunyimycin-producing streptomycetes strain Streptomyces sp. FJS31-2. Bioassay-guided isolation and purification by varied chromatographic methods yielded two new compounds of the zunyimycin derivatives, namely, 31-2-7 and 31-2-8, accompanied with three known anthrabenzoxocinones family members of zunyimycin A, BE24566B, and chloroanthrabenzoxocinone. Their structures were elucidated by NMR, HRESIMS, IR, UV, and CD. Results showed that these two compounds were structurally similar to the previously reported compound zunyimycin A but differed in positions and number of chlorine atom substitution. The two novel compounds were called zunyimycins B and C. Antibacterial activity assay indicated that zunyimycin C showed a good inhibitory effect on the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococci.

Inorganic pyrophosphatase (PPA1) encoded by PPA1 gene belongs to Soluble Pyrophosphatases (PPase) family and is expressed widely in various tissues of Homo sapiens, as well as significantly in a variety of malignancies. The hydrolysis of inorganic pyrophosphate (PPi) to produce orthophosphate (Pi) not only dissipates the negative effects of PPi accumulation, but the energy released by this process also serves as a substitute for ATP. PPA1 is highly expressed in a variety of tumors and is involved in proliferation, invasion, and metastasis during tumor development, through the JNK/p53, Wnt/β-catenin, and PI3K/AKT/GSK-3β signaling pathways. Because of its remarkable role in tumor development, PPA1 may serve as a biological target for adjuvant therapy of tumor malignancies. Further, PPA1 is a potential biomarker to predict survival in patients with cancer, where the assessment of its transcriptional regulation can provide an in-depth understanding. Herein, we describe the signaling pathways through which PPA1 regulates malignant tumor progression and provide new insights to establish PPA1 as a biomarker for tumor diagnosis.

Background: Lung cancer is the most common malignant tumor, and it has a high mortality rate. However, the study of miRNA-mRNA regulatory networks in the plasma of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is insufficient. Therefore, this study explored the differential expression of mRNA and miRNA in the plasma of NSCLC patients. Methods: The Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database was used to download microarray datasets, and the differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) were analyzed. We predicted transcription factors and target genes of the DEMs by using FunRich software and the TargetScanHuman database, respectively. The Database for Annotation, Visualization, and Integrated Discovery (DAVID) was used for GO annotation and KEGG enrichment analysis of downstream target genes. We constructed protein-protein interaction (PPI) and DEM-hub gene networks using the STRING database and Cytoscape software. The GSE20189 dataset was used to screen out the key hub gene. Using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and UALCAN databases to analyze the expression and prognosis of the key hub gene and DEMs. Then, GSE17681 and GSE137140 datasets were used to validate DEMs expression. Finally, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to verify the ability of the DEMs to distinguish lung cancer patients from healthy patients. Results: Four upregulated candidate DEMs (hsa-miR199a-5p, hsa-miR-186-5p, hsa-miR-328-3p, and hsa-let-7d-3p) were screened from 3 databases, and 6 upstream transcription factors and 2253 downstream target genes were predicted. These genes were mainly enriched in cancer pathways and PI3k-Akt pathways. Among the top 30 hub genes, the expression of KLHL3 was consistent with the GSE20189 dataset. Except for let-7d-3p, the expression of other DEMs and KLHL3 in tissues were consistent with those in plasma. LUSC patients with high let-7d-3p expression had poor overall survival rates (OS). External validation demonstrated that the expression of hsa-miR-199a-5p and hsa-miR-186-5p in peripheral blood of NSCLC patients was higher than the healthy controls. The ROC curve confirmed that the DEMs could better distinguish lung cancer patients from healthy people. Conclusion: The results showed that miR-199a-5p and miR-186-5p may be noninvasive diagnostic biomarkers for NSCLC patients. MiR-199a-5p-KLHL3 may be involved in the occurrence and development of NSCLC.