At the same time, Verhaegh et al., showed that co-colonization of M. catarrhalis and H. influenzae was significantly more likely than single species colonization with either M. catarrhalis or H. influenzae alone, adding clinical epidemiological evidence to the laboratory-based findings. In fact, many species of bacteria use quorum sensing systems to coordinate their gene expression and biofilm formation, dependent on the local bacterial cell density. A homolog of luxS, the genetic determinant for AI-2 production, has been identified in GAS, though a luxS homolog in M. catarrhalis has not been found. However, evidence from whole genome sequencing does suggest that M. catarrhalis possesses an AI-1 luxR sensing system, but no quorum sensing system. Chang et al. reported that the Rgg family of transcriptional regulators function as quorumsensing effector proteins and comprise the first functional quorumsensing pathway conserved in all group A streptococci. Expression of SpeB is dependent upon this regulator, and is upregulated with increasing cell density and during infection, although Rgg does not appear to be mediator of growth phase regulated control. Currently however, a role for quorum sensing systems in facilitating the observed GAS – M. catarrhalis polymicrobial interaction is still open to question, not least due to the fact that less ��targeted�� mechanisms could be responsible for the change in GAS transcriptome profile during co-culture, including competition for nutrients. The 15 genes that showed the most significant decrease in expression during co-culture were mainly involved in energy metabolism, with an emphasis on galactose metabolism. Nutrient availability is a AbMole Neosperidin-dihydrochalcone signal by which pathogens sense their external environment and to which they respond through regulated production of various virulence factors. Studies have shown that co-cultured bacteria compete for nutrients and that interactions between co-cultured strains also involve species-specific pH limits for growth and differential utilization of growth substrates. The success of GAS, which thrives in diverse host niches, depends on the acquisition of nutrients from very different sources and GAS virulence gene expression is highly responsive to carbohydrate source and availability; however, the pathways linking metabolism and virulence remain poorly understood. Our findings could also be associated with a GAS transcriptional response to depletion of carbohydrate within the polymicrobial environment, thereby helping GAS to conserve its ��energy reserves��, and ultimately facilitate entry into a sessile ��state of rest��. However, it should be noted that M. catarrhalis is biochemically a-saccharolytic, meaning that it is unable to metabolize glucose or other carbohydrates. Therefore, the true relationship between M. catarrhalis and GAS co-culture, carbohydrate depletion, and the down-regulation of genes involved in carbohydrate utilization remains to be further elucidated. Transcatheter chemoembolization has been accepted as one of the most effective forms of palliative treatment for patients in the middle and late stages of hepatocellular carcinoma as well as for those who are not good candidates for surgery in Asian countries, including China. However, long-term survival after a TACE procedure is not satisfactory; the five-year survival rate currently ranges from 9% to 32%. TACE can reduce tumor size. However, other studies have found TACE to be unsatisfactory because tumor angiogenesis may increase after TACE, and only a small proportion of HCCs underwent complete necrosis. Recently, some studies have used thermotherapy to suppress tumor growth in the liver and have verified that treatment with lipiodol at 60uC prolongs the survival of rabbits with VX2 cancer by inhibiting tumor growth.