Aim To investigate the inhibitory effects of urocortin2 (UCN2) on ventral tegmental area (VTA) nervous activity of morphine addiction rats and the mechanism. Methods Morphine addiction rats and the microiontophoresis method were used to observe the effects of UCN2 on VTA neuron′s spontaneous dis-charge changing rule, as well as the inhibitory effects of UCN2 on DA neuron′s cluster spontaneous dis-charge, to identify UCN2 and DA on the same VTA neuron. Morever, the inhibitor of corticotropin-regula-ting factor′s receptor ( CRF-2 R ) and the blocker of protein kinase A ( PKA ) , AST-2 B and H89 , were used to investigate the effects of UCN2 on VTA neuron′s of morphine addiction rats. Results UCN2 could inhibit the firing rate 82% (31/38) of the tested VTA neuron ( P<0. 01 ) , the discharge frequency changed from (20. 89 ± 2. 86) Hz to (13. 66 ± 3. 93) Hz (P<0. 01). Further, the inhibitor of PKA, AST-2B and H89 could ablolish the inhibitory effects of UCN2 . Morever, the excitatory firing of VTA neurons was at-tenuated by addition of UCN2 , while AST application could inhibit the UCN2′s inhibitory effects. Conclu-sion UCN2 could regulate the effects of VTA via PKA pathway and may thereby contribute to the improvement of drug addiction.

Objective To analyze the clinical significance of endometrial abnormalities in patients with breast cancer after oral administration of tamoxifen, and to determine the risk factors for endometrial malignancy. Methods We collected data from 135 patients with breast cancer who underwent surgery for endometrial abnormalities after oral administration of tamoxifen at the Department of Gynecology from September 2011 to December 2017. According to the pathological results obtained, the patients were divided into groups A (benign endometrial lesion) and B (precancerous and malignant endometrial lesion). The relationships between endometrial malignancy and factors including age, menopausal status, body mass index, endometrial thickness, abnormal uterine bleeding, oral dose of tamoxifen, duration of oral medication, and complications (hypertension and diabetes) were compared between the groups. Results There were 124 patients in group A and 11 patients in group B. The difference in the incidence of abnormal uterine bleeding, which was a risk factor for endometrial malignancy, was significant different between the groups (P ＜ 0.05). Conclusion Physicians should pay close attention to abnormal uterine bleeding in patients taking tamoxifen after surgery for breast cancer. Hysteroscopy should be used to confirm the nature of lesions, and patients without symptoms should be followed up.

Background::Previous studies have shown that bufalin exerts antitumor effects through various mechanisms. This study aimed to determine the antineoplastic mechanism of bufalin, an extract of traditional Chinese medicine toad venom, in ovarian cancer.Methods::The 3-(4,5-Dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT), 5-ethynyl-2 ′-deoxyuridine (EdU), and colony formation assays were used to investigate the antiproliferative effect of bufalin on the ovarian cancer cell line SK-OV-3. Molecular docking was used to investigate the combination of bufalin and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) protein. Western blotting was performed to detect the expression of EGFR protein and its downstream targets. Results::Bufalin inhibited the proliferation of SK-OV-3 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Bufalin was confirmed to combine with EGFR protein using molecular docking and downregulate expression of EGFR. Bufalin inhibited phosphorylation of EGFR, protein kinase B (AKT), and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK).Conclusion::Bufalin suppresses the proliferation of ovarian cancer cells through the EGFR/AKT/ERK signaling pathway.