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Prevention of liver cancer cell metastasis significantly contributes to the lowering of mortality incidence. Moreover, a daily diet rich in natural ingredients has been reported to play important roles in prevention of metastatic development. This study, therefore, focused to screen and identify the potential edible mushrooms that possess the inhibitory effect on the invasion of hepatic cancer cells. The edible mushrooms were extracted by distilled water under temperature of 100oC for 3 h. The wound healing assay was used to investigate the cancer cell migration. The cytotoxicity of extracts (100-1000 µg/ml) on Hep-3B cells was examined by MTT assay. The expression levels of genes controlling migration process was assessed by real time PCR. Among different edible mushrooms, the extracts of Lentinula edodes (LE) and Volvariella volvacea (VV) have been found to be potential agents for inhibition of Hep-3B cell invasion. This inhibition was identified due to induction of apoptosis and regulation of genes involved in migration process. In particular, the treatment of L. edodes and V. volvacea extracts increased the expression of apoptosis-activating molecules, including caspase-3, -8, -9, and Bax. Moreover, these extracts caused suppression of enzyme matrix metalloproteinases, including MMP-2, MMP-9, and MMP-13, and up-regulation of tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases, including TIMP-1 and TIMP-2. Notably, the activities of L. edodes and V. volvacea extracts were not due to cytotoxic effect. These results indicated that LE and VV extracts possess the promising anti-metastatic activity, supporting them as potential functional foods for prevention of metastasis of hepatic cancer cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: During the first wave of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, it was necessary to prepare for the possibility of triaging patients who could benefit from access to an intensive care unit (ICU). In our neuroscience institution, the challenge was to continue to manage usual neurological emergencies as well as the influx of COVID-19 patients., Methods: We report the experience of an ethical consulting unit to support care clinical decisions during the first wave of the pandemic (March 16 to April 30, 2020). Three objective evaluation criteria were defined: 2 of these criteria, patient's factors and general disease severity (Simplified Acute Physiology Score II), were common to all patients, and the third was the specific severity of the disease (neurological for brain injury, respiratory for COVID-19). Given our scarce resources, we used a high probability of a 3-month modified Rankin Scale ≤3 as the criterion for further resuscitation and management., Results: A total of 295 patients were admitted during the first pandemic wave; 111 with COVID-19 and 184 with neurological emergencies. The ethical unit's expertise was sought for 75 clinical situations in 56 patients (35 COVID-19 and 21 neurological). Decisions were as follows: 11% no limitation on care, 5% expectant care with reassessment (maximum therapy to assess possible progress pending decision), 67% partial limitation (no intensification of care or no transfer to ICU), and 17% limitation of curative care. At no time did a lack of availability of ICU beds require the ethical unit to advise against admission to the ICU., Conclusions: Our ethical consulting unit allowed for collegial ethical decision-making in line with international recommendations. This model could be easily transferred to other triage situations, provided it is adapted to the local context., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (Copyright © 2022 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)