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This study aimed to confirm whether premedication with pronase before endoscopy improves mucosal visualization and increases precancerous lesion and cancer lesion detection rates.From June 2018 to April 2019, out-patients scheduled for endoscopy from 13 hospitals were screened to be randomly allocated in a 2:1 ratio to premedication with pronase (group A) and water (group B). The primary endpoint was mucosal visibility scores, and the secondary endpoint was precancerous and cancer lesion detection rates. This trial was registered at Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, and the registration number was ChiCTR1800016853.Group A showed significantly lower mucosal visibility scores (better mucosal visibility) of esophagus, stomach, and duodenum than group B, with all P-values0.001. The overall cancer detection rates between group A and group B were 0.83 and 1.08%, and overall detection rates of precancerous and cancer lesion were 4.4 and 4.9%, both without significant difference (P=1.000 and 0.824). In addition, the flushing volume (milliliter) of group A (10.52±23.41) was less than group B (36.30±52.11) (P0.001), and the flushing frequency of group A (0.46±1.01) was fewer than group B (1.62±2.12) (P0.001).Premedication with pronase could achieve better mucosal visibility and decrease flushing frequency and volume, but may not increase lesion detection rates.

BACKGROUND Acute gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) is a life-threatening medical emergency with high morbidity and mortality. Transcatheter embolization with endovascular coils under digital subtraction angiography guidance is a common and effective method for the treatment of GIB with high technical success rates. Duodenal ulcers caused by coils wiggled from the branch of the gastroduodenal artery, which is a rare complication, have not previously been reported in a patient with right intrathoracic stomach. CASE SUMMARY A 62-year-old man had undergone thoracoscopy-assisted radical resection of esophageal cancer and gastroesophageal anastomosis 3 years ago, resulting in right intrathoracic stomach. He was admitted to the hospital 15 mo ago for dizziness and suffered acute GIB during his stay. Interventional surgery was urgently performed to embolize the branch of the gastroduodenal artery with endovascular coils. After 15 mo, the patient was re-admitted with a chief complaint of melena for 2 d, esophagogastroduodenoscopy and abdominal computed tomography revealed that some endovascular coils had migrated into the duodenal bulb, leading to a deep ulcer. Bleeding was controlled after conservative treatment. Seven months later, duodenal balloon dilatation was performed to relieve the stenosis after the removal of a few coils, and the patient was safely discharged with only one coil retained in the duodenum due to difficulties in complete removal and risk of bleeding. Mild melena recurred once during the long-term follow-up. CONCLUSION Although rare, coil wiggle after interventional therapy requires careful attention, effective precautionary measures, and more secure alternative treatment methods.

Neoantigens play a crucial role in cancer immunotherapy. However, the effectiveness and safety of neoantigen-based immunotherapies in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC), particularly in the Chinese population, have not been well studied. This study explored the feasibility and effectiveness of neoantigens in the treatment of CRC. Whole-exome sequencing (WES) and transcriptome sequencing were used to identify somatic mutations, RNA expression, and human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles. Neoantigen candidates were predicted, and immunogenicity was assessed. The neoantigens TSHZ3-L523P, RARA-R83H, TP53-R248W, EYA2-V333I, and NRAS-G12D from Patient 4 (PW4); TASP1-P161L, RAP1GAP-S215R, MOSPD1-V63I, and NAV2-D1973N from Patient 10 (PW10); and HAVCR2-F39V, SEC11A-R11L, SMPDL3B-T452M, LRFN3-R118Q, and ULK1-S248L from Patient 11 (HLA-A0201

Background: At present, there is no unified treatment for the evaluation and management of gastric low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (LGIN) all over the world.Methods: Patients who were Helicobacter pylori eradicated, with low-grade gastric intraepithelial neoplasia were gathered.Several demographic and clinicopathological characteristics were described and analyzed retrospectively by LASSO regression analysis and multivariable logistic regression. Then the predictive nomogram was established. C-index, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) , calibration plot and decision curve analysis (DCA) were used to evaluate the accuracy and reliability of the model. Results: A total of 309 patients with LGIN were included, divided into training groups and validation groups randomly. LASSO regression analysis and multivariable logistic regression showed that six variables, gender, size, location, border line, number and erosion were independent risk factors for progression of gastric LGIN. The nomogram model displayed good discrimination with a C-index of 0.765 (95% confidence interval: 0.702–0.828). High C-index value of 0.768 could still be reached in the internal validation. The accuracy and reliability of the model was also verified by the AUC of 0.764 in the training group and 0.757 in the validation group. The calibration curve showed the model was in good agreement with the actual results as well. Decision curve analysis suggested that the predictive nomogram had clinical utility. Conclusions: A predictive nomogram model was successfully established and proved to identify high-risk groups with possible pathologic upgrade in patients with gastric LGIN. It suggested that after identifying high-risk patients, strengthening follow-up or endoscopic treatment may benefit in improving the detection rate or reducing the incidence of gastric cancer, which providing a reliable basis for the treatment of LGIN.

BACKGROUND Gastric cancer (GC) remains the fourth-leading malignancy worldwide and has a high mortality rate. Accumulating evidence reveals that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play essential roles in tumorigenesis and metastasis and can be used as potential biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis. METHODS We downloaded gene expression profiles from the National Center of Biotechnology Information Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), screened lncRNAs differentially expressed in gastric cancer tissues and adjacent tissues, and then constructed a lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA network. Seventy patients with gastric cancer were divided into two groups according to different clinical characteristics. The expression of lncRNA LUCAT1 in gastric cancer was detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The AGS and SGC-7901 cell lines were used in CCK8 assay, apoptosis, cell cycle test, transwell assay, and wound healing assay. RESULTS The expression level of LUCAT1 was associated with tumor diameter (p < 0.001), tissue differentiation grade (p = 0.026), and LNM status (p = 0.020) in GC. The results showed that the lncRNA LUCAT1 could promote the proliferation, invasion, and migration of GC cells, inhibit the apoptosis of GC cells, and affect the process of cell cycles. CONCLUSIONS The lncRNA LUCAT1 may be used as a potential biomarker for early signs of LNM in GC and may play a crucial role in the development of GC.

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a highly aggressive and metastatic disease, with an elevated mortality rate. It is, therefore, crucial to assess factors affecting the prognosis of PC patients. Meanwhile, calpain-1 is associated with malignant tumor progression and metastasis. Thus, it is meaningful to evaluate the relationship between calpain-1 and PC. Calpain-1 protein expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry in 96 pancreatic cancer samples and paired adjacent non-cancerous specimens. In addition, calpain-1 protein levels were assessed in six PC cell lines by western blot (WB). Next, PC cells were transfected with calpain-1 siRNA, and silencing was confirmed by WB. Finally, cell proliferation, colony formation, migration and invasion assays, and cell apoptosis analysis were performed to examine the effects of calpain-1 knockdown on proliferation, growth, apoptosis, migration, and invasion in PC cells. The results showed that calpain-1 was overexpressed in PC tissues and cells. Meanwhile, calpain-1 overexpression was associated with tumor site (P = 0.029), metastasis (P = 0.000), and TNM stage (P = 0.000), but showed no associations with histological grade (P = 0.396), age (P = 0.809), sex (P = 1.000), and lesion size (P = 0.679). The Kaplan–Meier method demonstrated that the low calpain-1 expression group had increased overall survival (OS) compared with patients expressing high calpain-1 levels (28.7 ± 4.1 vs. 17.0 ± 2.3 months) (P = 0.005). Besides, calpain-1 in PC cells was successfully silenced by liposome-mediated RNA interference, resulting in reduced cell growth, invasion, and metastasis in PC cells, with no effect on apoptosis. The above findings suggest that calpain-1 should be considered a potential biomarker for PC prognosis and therapy.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is a complex gastrointestinal tumor with high metastatic potential and poor prognosis. Actin-binding protein Girdin is highly expressed in a variety of tumors and promotes tumor genesis and progression. However, the mechanisms underlying the involvement of Girdin in pancreatic cancer have not been clarified. In this study, we observed that the expression of Girdin was upregulated in pancreatic cancer cells. The siRNA-mediated gene knockdown experiments showed that reduced expression of Girdin in pancreatic cancer cells inhibited cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, while promoting cell apoptosis. Functional assays revealed that c-MYC overexpression in pancreatic cancer cells could significantly increase the cell proliferation ability and rates of cell migration and invasion, while decreasing the apoptosis rate. It has been shown that phosphorylation plays a role in the functional regulation of the c-MYC gene. Subsequently, we examined the expression level of c-MYC in cells with manipulated expression of Girdin and identified a positive correlation between Girdin expression and c-MYC expression. Moreover, we found that Girdin knockdown in c-MYC-overexpressing pancreatic cancer cells slowed cell growth, blocked the cell cycle progression, significantly promoted apoptosis, and markedly decreased the cell migration and invasion. This finding indicated that silencing Girdin could mitigate the effect of c-MYC on promoting proliferation and metastasis of pancreatic cancer. Overall, this study provided evidence that Girdin promoted pancreatic cancer development presumably by regulating the c-MYC overexpression.

We describe herein a 37-year-old woman with a 2-week history of melena who was eventually diagnosed with ileal haemolymphangioma, a rare benign tumour. Local mucosal congestion and swelling were found through single-balloon enteroscopy, which showed an irregular protuberance approximately 10 cm long, located 3.2 m from the Treitz ligament. We performed a laparoscopic-assisted partial resection of the small intestine combined with intestinal adhesiolysis. According to postoperative pathology, the final diagnosis was ileal haemolymphangioma with haemorrhage.

Background: To identify alarming symptoms that could potentially lead to severe form of COVID-19 pneumonia (i.e. novel coronavirus pneumonia: NCP), a disease that is now having pandemic spread. Methods: Articles from PubMed, Embase, Cochrane database and Google up to 24 February 2020 were systematically reviewed. 18 publications that had documented cases of COVID-19 pneumonia were identified. The relevant data were extracted, systematically reviewed and further evaluated using meta-analysis. We define severe COVID-19 pneumonia as the disease status that requires admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) and respiratory/circulatory support, which is in align with the guideline from the World Health Organization (WHO). Results: 14 studies including 1,424 patients were considered eligible and analyzed. Symptoms such as fever (89.2%), cough (67.2%), fatigue (43.6%) were quite common; but dizziness, hemoptysis, abdominal pain and conjunctival congestion/conjunctivitis were relatively rare. The incidence of dyspnea was significantly higher in patients with severe than non-severe COVID-19 pneumonia (42.7% vs.16.3%, p

Background: To identify alarming symptoms that could potentially lead to severe form of COVID-19 pneumonia (i.e. novel coronavirus pneumonia: NCP), a disease that is now having pandemic spread.Methods: Articles from PubMed, Embase, Cochrane database and Google up to 24 February 2020 were systematically reviewed. 18 publications that had documented cases of COVID-19 pneumonia were identified. The relevant data were extracted, systematically reviewed and further evaluated using meta-analysis. We define severe COVID-19 pneumonia as the disease status that requires admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) and respiratory/circulatory support, which is in align with the guideline from the World Health Organization (WHO).Results: 14 studies including 1,424 patients were considered eligible and analyzed. Symptoms such as fever (89.2%), cough (67.2%), fatigue (43.6%) were quite common; but dizziness, hemoptysis, abdominal pain and conjunctival congestion/conjunctivitis were relatively rare. The incidence of dyspnea was significantly higher in patients with severe than non-severe COVID-19 pneumonia (42.7% vs.16.3%, pConclusion: Dyspnea, fever and diarrhea are significantly more prevalent in patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia, suggesting they are alarming symptoms that warrant close attention and timely management.

Gastric cancer(GC) remains the fourth-leading malignancy worldwide and has a high mortality rate.Accumulating evidence reveals that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play essential roles in tumorigenesis and metastasis and can be used as potential biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis. The current study sought to define the lncRNA LUCAT1 and verify its malignant biological behaviors in GC. We conducted bioinformatic analysis to screen differentially expressed lncRNAs between GC tissue and paracancerous tissue. Gene expression profiles were downloaded from the National Center of Biotechnology Information Gene Expression Omnibus(GEO). Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was carried out to verify LUCAT1 expression in both GC tissue and paracancerous tissue. Furthermore, the associations between LUCAT1 and clinical features were analyzed. In addition, the malignant behaviors of LUCAT1 in GC were investigated by knocking down LUCAT1 expression in the SGC7901 and AGS cell lines. The results indicated that LUCAT1 expression was obviously upregulated in GC samples compared with paracancerous tissue samples. Moreover, the expression pattern of LUCAT1 showed close correlations with tumor diameter (P

ObjectiveBased on the clinical characteristics of infected patients with novel coronavirus in secondary epidemic areas, we aimed to identify potential biomarkers for the evaluation of novel coronavirus-infected patients, guide the diagnosis and treatment of this disease in secondary epidemic areas and provide a reference for the clinical prevention and control of this epidemic situation.MethodsThe clinical data of 33 patients with respiratory symptoms caused by the novel coronavirus in Wenzhou city from January 15 to February 12, 2020, were thoroughly reviewed. At the onset of the disease, we found that the primary symptoms were fever, cough, fatigue, chest tightness, chest pain and specific blood test results. According to the patients’ histories, the patients were divided into two groups: those who spent time in the main epidemic area and those who did not spend time in the main epidemic area. The differences in the clinical manifestations between these two groups were analyzed.ResultsThe main clinical symptoms of patients infected with novel coronavirus in the secondary epidemic area were respiratory tract ailments and systemic symptoms. After grouping patients based on the presence or absence of residency in or travel history to the main epidemic area, there was no significant difference between the baseline data of these two groups, and there were no significant differences in symptoms and signs between the two groups (P>0.05). Some patients had abnormally increased serum amyloid protein A (SAA). There were statistically significant differences in the leukocyte count/C-reactive protein, monocyte ratio/C-reactive protein, neutrophil count/C-reactive protein, monocyte count/C-reactive protein and hemoglobin/C-reactive protein values between the two groups (P < 0.05).ConclusionRespiratory tract ailments and systemic symptoms were the primary symptoms of novel coronavirus infection in the secondary epidemic area; these symptoms are not typical. The abnormal increase in serum amyloid protein (SAA) may be used as an auxiliary index for diagnosis and treatment. CRP changes before other blood parameters and thus may be an effective evaluation index for patients with COVID-19 infection.

ObjectiveTo compare the difference between severe and non-severe COVID-19 pneumonia and figure out the potential symptoms lead to severity.MethodsArticles from PubMed, Embase, Cochrane database, and google up-to 24 February 2020 were systematically reviewed. Eighteen Literatures were identified with cases of COVID-19 pneumonia. The extracted data includes clinical symptoms, age, gender, sample size and region et al were systematic reviewed and meta analyzed.Results14 eligible studies including 1,424 patients were analyzed. Symptoms like fever (89.2%), cough (67.2%), fatigue (43.6%) were common, dizziness, hemoptysis, abdominal pain and conjunctival congestion/conjunctivitis were rare. Polypnea/dyspnea in severe patients were significantly higher than non-severe (42.7% vs.16.3%, PConclusionsFever, cough and fatigue are common symptoms in COVID-19 pneumonia. Compared with non-severe patients, the symptoms as fever, polypnea/dyspnea and diarrhea are potential symptoms lead to severity.

Some studies have demonstrated that Rab11-family interacting proteins (Rab11-FIPs) are connected with the tumorigenesis, and they may act as tumor promoters in some cancers. The clinicopathological significance of Rab11-family interacting protein 4 (Rab11-FIP4 ) expression and its possible effects on pancreatic cancer (PC) are still undiscovered. In this study, Rab11-FIP4 protein expression level in 60 PC specimens and pair-matched non-cancerous samples were detected by immunohistochemistry analysis. The results were analysed and compared with each patients' clinical data. Rab11-FIP4 expression in PC tissues increased significantly more than that of adjacent non-cancerous tissues (P=0.0001). Overexpression of Rab11-FIP4 in the PC tissues was significantly related to tumor size (P=0.0001), histological grade (P=0.028), metastasis (P=0.001) and TNM stage (P=0.004) but not with age (P=0.832), gender (P=0.228) or tumor site (P=0.875). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that overexpression of Rab11-FIP4 was significantly related to overall survival time (P=0.0036). In addition, Rab11-FIP4 in PANC-1 pancreatic cancer cells were successfully knocked-out using the CRISPR/Cas9 system. Rab11-FIP4 knockout in PANC-1 cells inhibited cell growth, invasion and metastasis, and arrested cell cycle progression, but did not alter apoptosis. Our findings suggest that overexpression of Rab11-FIP4 predicts poor clinical outcomes for pancreatic cancer and contributes to pancreatic tumor progression.

Background. Liver fibrosis is a serious human health problem, and there is a need for specific antifibrosis drugs in the clinic. Tanshinone IIA has recently been reported to have a role in the treatment of liver fibrosis. However, the evidence supporting its antifibrotic effect is not sufficient, and the underlying mechanism is not clear. We thus performed this meta-analysis of animal research to assess the therapeutic effect of tanshinone IIA on liver fibrosis and analyzed the possible associated mechanism to provide a reference for further clinical drug preparation and clinical research. Methods. We collect related articles from the databases PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Wanfang, VIP, and CNKI. The quality of the included studies was evaluated according to the SYRCLE risk of bias tool for animal studies. Data were analyzed using RavMan 5.3 and Stata 12.0 software. Results. A total of 404 articles were retrieved from the databases. After screening, 11 articles were included in the analysis. The included studies’ methodological quality was generally low, and an obvious publication bias was found. The results showed that tanshinone IIA significantly improved liver function in experimental animals and reduced the level of liver fibrosis by reducing inflammation and inhibiting immunity, antiapoptotic processes, and HSC activation. Conclusion. Tanshinone IIA can effectively improve liver fibrosis and liver function in animal models and is worthy of future higher quality animal studies and clinical drug trials.

Several studies have demonstrated that calpain‑1 is involved in a variety of pathophysiological processes, including tumorigenesis. However, the clinical relevance and role of calpain‑1 in colorectal cancer (CRC) are unclear. Filamin A (FLNA) is an actin‑binding protein that participates in cancer progression and can be cleaved by calpain‑1. In the present study, the protein expression levels of calpain‑1 and FLNA were detected by immunohistochemistry in 467 matched cancerous and paracancerous tissues from patients with CRC. The staining results and the clinicopathological characteristics of the patients were comprehensively analyzed. A high expression level of calpain‑1 was strongly associated with age, metastasis, Dukes stage and survival time but not with sex, histologic grade, tumour location or tumor size. By contrast, a low expression level of FLNA was significantly associated with tumor size, histological grade, metastasis, Dukes stage and survival time, but not with age, sex, or tumor location. Kaplan‑Meier survival analysis demonstrated that patients with calpain‑1 overexpression had a shorter mean overall survival (OS) than patients with lower levels of calpain‑1 expression. Unlike high levels of calpain‑1, high levels of FLNA were associated with longer OS than lower levels of FLNA expression. Furthermore, calpain‑1 expression was inversely correlated with FLNA expression. The relationship between calpain‑1 and FLNA was further confirmed using CRC cell lines in vitro. When calpain‑1 expression decreased in CRC cells, FLNA expression increased. Furthermore, calpain‑1 knockdown in CRC cells resulted in decreased proliferation, colony formation, migration and invasion. The present findings suggest that calpain‑1 overexpression predicted a poor outcome in patients with CRC and promoted tumor progression, possibly via FLNA downregulation.

Recent studies suggest that latexin (Lxn) expression is involved in stem cell regulation and that it plays significant roles in tumor cell migration and invasion. The clinicopathological significance of Lxn expression and its possible correlation with CD133 expression in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is currently unknown. In the present study, immunohistochemical analysis was performed to determine Lxn and CD133 expression in 43 PDAC patient samples and in 32 corresponding adjacent non-cancerous samples. The results were analyzed and compared with patient age, gender, tumor site and size, histological grade, clinical stage and overall mean survival time. Lxn expression was clearly decreased in the PDAC tissues compared with that in the adjacent non-cancerous tissues, while CD133 expression was increased. Low Lxn expression in the PDAC tissues was significantly correlated with tumor size (P=0.002), histological grade (P=0.000), metastasis (P=0.007) and clinical stage (P=0.018), but not with age (P=0.451), gender (P=0.395) or tumor site (P=0.697). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis revealed that low Lxn expression was significantly correlated with reduced overall survival time (P=0.000). Furthermore, Lxn expression was found to be inversely correlated with CD133 expression (r=−0.485, P=0.001). Furthermore, CD133-positive MIA PaCa-2 pancreatic tumor cells were sorted by magnetic-activated cell sorting (MACS), and those that overexpressed Lxn exhibited a significantly higher rate of apoptosis and lower proliferative activity. Our findings suggest that Lxn may function as a tumor suppressor that targets CD133-positive pancreatic cancer cells.

Objective To explore the association of c-erbB-2 protein expression with clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of gastric cancer (GC) after surgery. Methods A total of 133 patients undergoing surgical resection for GC between March 2006 and January 2009 in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University were included in this study. c-erbB-2 protein expression was determined by immunohistochemistry. Afterwards, a meta-analysis was performed to further confirm the association between c-erbB-2 protein expression and GC by employing stringent inclusion and exclusion criteria. All data analyses were conducted with STATA 12.0 and SPSS 19.0. Results There was no significant difference in c-erbB-2 expression among patients with various parameters including age, gender and histological types (all p>0.05). Among 133 GC patients, 32 patients presented c-erbB-2-positive expression and 101 presented c-erbB-2-negative expression (24.1% vs. 75.9%). The c-erbB-2-positive expression rate was significantly higher in GC tissues of patients with lymph node metastasis than those without. Similarly, a significant increase in c-erbB-2 expression was observed in well/moderately differentiated GC tissues compared with poorly differentiated GC. Patients with negative c-erbB-2 expression had a higher 5-year survival rate than those with positive c-erbB-2 expression, which was consistent with the results of the meta-analysis (OR = 0.54, 95% CI 0.37-0.80, p = 0.002). Conclusions Our study demonstrated that high expression of c-erbB-2 protein was strongly associated with lymph node metastasis, histological differentiation and 5-year survival rate in GC patients after surgery.

Foreign bodies impaction in the esophagus is a common clinical emergency. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical features of foreign body ingestion, and to analyze the risk factors of complications during the endoscopic procedure.From 18 general hospitals in Zhejiang Province in China, 595 patients who underwent gastroscopic removal of ingested foreign bodies were prospectively recruited. Patient characteristics, clinical features, foreign body features, clinical outcomes, and complications were documented.The most common types of foreign body in the esophagus were sharp objects (75.9%), including fish bones (34.0%), chicken bones (22.1%), and fruit nuclei (17.1%). The remaining types were non-sharp objects (24.1%), including food bolus (14.6%). Most objects were lodged in the proximal esophagus (75.9%). Foreign body-related complications occurred in 63 patients (10.5%), including hemorrhage (5.0%), perforation and infection (5.5%). The complication rate was increased by 4.04- and 8.48- fold when endoscopic retrieval was performed after impacted for over 24 and 48 hours, respectively, after impaction, as compared with within 12 hours. Logistic regression analysis revealed that the patients with sharp objects developed more complications than those with non-sharp ones (odds ratio, 2.85; 95% confidence interval, 1.08-7.50; P = .034). However, complications were unrelated with the location in the esophagus or length of foreign bodies (P > .05).Sharp objects were the most frequently ingested foreign bodies in the esophagus in China. The prevalence of complications was increased in the patients with long foreign body retention time (>24 hours) and sharp objects. Sharp foreign bodies in the esophagus are recommended to be removed within 24 hours.

It has recently been demonstrated that fibrinogen-like protein 2 (fgl2) is expressed on the surface of macrophages, T cells and endothelial cells and directly cleaves prothrombin to thrombin. The present study was designed to examine fgl2 expression in patients with severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) and its correlation with disease progression. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated from 25 patients with SAP, 37 patients with mild acute pancreatitis (MAP) and 20 healthy volunteers as controls. Paraffin sections of pancreas were obtained from 18 postoperative patients with SAP between 2003 and 2012. Human fgl2 (hfgl2) gene expression was determined in the PBMCs by real-time PCR. A monoclonal antibody against hfgl2 was applied to detect hfgl2 protein expression in the pancreatic tissues as well as in the PBMCs by immunohistochemical staining. The levels of hfgl2 expression in the PBMCs from the 25 patients with SAP were markedly upregulated compared with the other groups, whereas no significant difference between the MAP group and healthy controls was observed. hfgl2 expression in the PBMCs and pancreatic tissues was detectable through using immunohistochemistry and was demonstrated to be specifically localized to the endothelium of microvessels and inflammatory infiltrative cells in the areas of acute focal, confluent necrosis. There were positive correlations between hfgl2 expression in the PBMCs and the severity of SAP, as indicated by scores of Ranson and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II. The results suggest that hfgl2 is involved in the pathogenesis of SAP and hfgl2 levels may serve as a biomarker during disease progression.

Hitherto, it has been identified that numerous basic-helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors play vital roles in tumor initiation and progression. Atonal homolog 8 (ATOH8) is a member of the bHLH family of transcription factors, which participates in embryogenesis and the development of various tissues. Several studies have demonstrated that ATOH8 is involved in the progression of malignancies; however, the effects of ATOH8 in colorectal cancer (CRC) remain unknown. The aim of the present study was to explore the expression and function of ATOH8 in CRC. The present study included 106 paired CRCs and peritumoral samples. The expression of ATOH8 was evaluated by immunohistochemistry, and the results were compared with the clinical outcomes of the patients. Furthermore, cell proliferation, cell cycle distribution, wound healing and cytotoxicity assays were performed in colon cancer cell line SW620. Immunohistochemical analyses revealed that the expression of ATOH8 in CRC tissues was significantly increased compared with the peritumoral tissues, and that the high expression of ATOH8 was associated with a high serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level and a worse overall survival. In vitro assays revealed that ATOH8 knockdown in colon cancer cells inhibited cell proliferation, induced cell cycle arrest at the S phase, and increased the percentage of apoptotic cells and sensitivity to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). The present study suggests that ATOH8 promotes the progression of CRC and may potentially serve as a novel prognostic predictor and potential therapeutic target in CRC.

To assess human cytomegalovirus-encoded US28 gene function in colorectal cancer (CRC) pathogenesis.Immunohistochemical analysis was performed to determine US28 expression in 103 CRC patient samples and 98 corresponding adjacent noncancerous samples. Patient data were compared by age, sex, tumor location, histological grade, Dukes' stage, and overall mean survival time. In addition, the US28 gene was transiently transfected into the CRC LOVO cell line, and cell proliferation was assessed using a cell counting kit-8 assay. Cell cycle analysis by flow cytometry and a cell invasion transwell assay were also carried out.US28 levels were clearly higher in CRC tissues (38.8%) than in adjacent noncancerous samples (7.1%) (P = 0.000). Interestingly, elevated US28 amounts in CRC tissues were significantly associated with histological grade, metastasis, Dukes' stage, and overall survival (all P0.05); meanwhile, US28 expression was not significantly correlated with age, sex or tumor location. In addition, multivariate Cox regression data revealed US28 level as an independent CRC prognostic marker (P = 0.000). LOVO cells successfully transfected with the US28 gene exhibited higher viability, greater chemotherapy resistance, accelerated cell cycle progression, and increased invasion ability.US28 expression is predictive of poor prognosis and may promote CRC.

Background An increasing number of evidence suggests that pancreatic cancer contains cancer stem cells (CSCs), which may be relevant to the resistance of chemotherapy. Latexin (Lxn) is a negative regulator of stem cell proliferation and we investigate the effects of Lxn on CD133+ pancreatic cancer stem-like cells. Methods CD133+ miapaca-2 cells, a human pancreatic carcinoma cell line, were isolated and sorted by magnetic activated cell sorting and flow cytometry. The capacity for self-renewal, proliferation, and tumorigenicity of CD133+ miapaca-2 cells was determined by the floating spheres test and tumor xenograft assays. Protein and mRNA expression of Lxn in CD133+ and CD133- miapaca-2 cells were detected by Western blotting and qRT-PCR, respectively. After CD133+ miapaca-2 cells were treated with Lxn in serum-free medium (SFM), cell proliferation was assayed with a Cell Counting Kit 8 (CCK-8) and apoptosis was analyzed by flow cytometry. The protein and mRNA expression levels of Bcl-2, bax, and c-myc were also analyzed. Results We successfully isolated CD133+ miapaca-2 cells that exhibited the capacity for self-renewal in SFM, a proliferation potential in DMEM supplemented with FBS, and high tumorigenicity in nude mice. Lxn protein and mRNA expression levels in CD133+ miapaca-2 cells were significantly lower than those in CD133- cells. Lxn-treated CD133+ miapaca-2 cells exhibited increased apoptosis and low proliferation activity, down-regulation of Bcl-2 and c-myc expression, and up-regulation of Bax expression in a dose-dependent manner. Conclusions Lxn induces apoptosis and inhibits the proliferation of CD133+ miapaca-2 cells. These changes are associated with down-regulation of Bcl-2 and c-myc and up-regulation of Bax.

Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is the most common and aggressive type of biliary tract cancer. The study of potential treatments for GBC has recently focused on microRNAs, a class of small non-coding RNAs, which post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression during various crucial cell processes. The present study aimed to investigate the role of microRNA-146b (miR-146b) in GBC. Human GBC tissue and adjacent normal gallbladder tissue sections were surgically removed and miR-146b-5p expres- sion and the development and pathological characteristics of GBC were investigated. miR-146b-5p expression was reduced in GBC tissue compared with that in adjacent tissue, and a significant correlation was observed between miR-146b-5p expression levels and carcinoma size and devel- opment. miR-146b-5p overexpression in the SGC-996 GBC cell line inhibited cell growth through enhanced apoptosis and G1 phase arrest. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) was regulated directly by miR-146b-5p and was essential as a mediator of the biological effects of miR-146b-5p in GBC. Enforced expression of EGFR reversed the ability of miR-146b-5p to inhibit proliferation. In conclusion, the present study indi- cated that the mechanism of action of miR-146b-5p in GBC involves the regulation of EGFR expression.