In this study, we aimed to investigate the influences of conditioned medium from human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) on cancer stem cell phenotype of human hepatoma cells. HUVEC and human hepatoma cells (MHCC97H) were cultured, respectively, and then the MHCC97H cells were co-cultured with conditioned medium from HUVEC (EC-CM) with Transwell system. Anti-cancer drug sensitivity, colony-formation, migration/invasion ability, expression of cancer stem cell marker and sphere formation were performed to determine the cancer stem cell phenotype in MHCC97H cells. We found that MHCC97H cells co-cultured with EC-CM exhibited significantly higher colony-formation ability and lower sensitivity of anti-cancer drugs 5-FU and Cis. Transwell assay showed that treatment with EC-CM obviously increased migration and invasion of MHCC97H cells. Moreover, increased sphere forming capability and expression of CD133 in MHCC97H cells were observed after co-cultured with EC-CM. These results suggested that EC-CM could promote cancer stem cell phenotype of hepatoma cells.
Antineoplastic Agents ; pharmacology ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Coculture Techniques ; Culture Media, Conditioned ; Fluorouracil ; pharmacology ; Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells ; chemistry ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; Neoplastic Stem Cells ; cytology ; Phenotype

Objective To assess the feasibility and curative effects of laser surgery in treatment of early-stage glottic carcinoma under self-retaining laryngoscope with nasal endoscopic assistance.Methods Thirteen cases of glottic carcinoma(TisN0M0:2 cases;T1aN0M0:7 cases;T1bN0M0:3 cases;T2N0M0:1 case) extirpated with Nd:YAG laser or Diomed laser from June 1999 to March 2003 were retrospectively analyzed.Because of the poor glottic exposure with self-retaining laryngoscope under general anesthesia,various angular nasal endoscopes were used.The tumor was distinctly displayed on monitor screen with nasal endoscopic assistance and were completely removed through vapourization or removed with Nd:YAG laser or Diomed laser.Results The follow-up period was three to five years.Two patients were found to have local recurrence.One patient received treatment with Nd:YAG laser surgery under electronic laryngoscope with local and superfacial anesthesia,and the patient was followed up for three years without showing recurrence.The other patient underwent vertical hemilaryngectomy and was followed up for three and half years without showing recurrence.All 13 cases were followed up for three years,and all of them were alive.Three-year survival rate was 100%(13/13).When they were followed up for five years,one patient lost track(counted as death),therefore the five-year survival rate was 92.3%(12/13).Conclusions With the assistance of various angular nasal endoscope,the glottic tumors can be exposed distinctly under self-retaining laryngoscope and removed completely.Nd:YAG laser or Diomed laser is an effective and safe procedure with minimal invasion for the treatment of early-stage glottic carcinoma.The advantages of this technique include lower complication rate and high rate of preservation of laryngeal functions,avoidance of tracheotomy and the sequela of laryngeal fissure.

Pulsed electric fields can induce various kinds of biological effects that are essentially different from the normal electric fields, especially the interactions of Nanosecond Pulsed electric field (nsPEF) with cells. The biological effects of different pulsed electric fields on cell membranes, cytoplasmic matrixes, cell growth are introduced in this paper. Based on these effects, some applications of pulsed electric fields in cancer therapy, gene therapy, and delivery of drugs are reviewed in details.
Cell Membrane ; metabolism ; radiation effects ; Cell Physiological Phenomena ; Electromagnetic Fields ; Electrophysiology ; Electroporation ; Genetic Therapy ; methods ; Neoplasms ; therapy

Background::The goal of the assisted reproductive treatment is to transfer one euploid blastocyst and to help infertile women giving birth one healthy neonate. Some algorithms have been used to assess the ploidy status of embryos derived from couples with normal chromosome, who subjected to preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A) treatment. However, it is currently unknown whether artificial intelligence model can be used to assess the euploidy status of blastocyst derived from populations with chromosomal rearrangement.Methods::From February 2020 to May 2021, we collected the whole raw time-lapse videos at multiple focal planes from in vitro cultured embryos, the clinical information of couples, and the comprehensive chromosome screening results of those blastocysts that had received PGT treatment. Initially, we developed a novel deep learning model called the Attentive Multi-Focus Selection Network (AMSNet) to analyze time-lapse videos in real time and predict blastocyst formation. Building upon AMSNet, we integrated additional clinically predictive variables and created a second deep learning model, the Attentive Multi-Focus Video and Clinical Information Fusion Network (AMCFNet), to assess the euploidy status of embryos. The efficacy of the AMCFNet was further tested in embryos with parental chromosomal rearrangements. The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was used to evaluate the superiority of the model. Results::A total of 4112 embryos with complete time-lapse videos were enrolled for the blastocyst formation prediction task, and 1422 qualified blastocysts received PGT-A ( n = 589) or PGT for chromosomal structural rearrangement (PGT-SR, n = 833) were enrolled for the euploidy assessment task in this study. The AMSNet model using seven focal raw time-lapse videos has the best real-time accuracy. The real-time accuracy for AMSNet to predict blastocyst formation reached above 70% on the day 2 of embryo culture, and then increased to 80% on the day 4 of embryo culture. Combing with 4 clinical features of couples, the AUC of AMCFNet with 7 focal points increased to 0.729 in blastocysts derived from couples with chromosomal rearrangement. Conclusion::Integrating seven focal raw time-lapse images of embryos and parental clinical information, AMCFNet model have the capability of assessing euploidy status in blastocysts derived from couples with chromosomal rearrangement.

Objective A precise microinvasive robot system coupled with a cooperative robot matrix and an end effector of a wire-controlled microvariable path robot was proposed.A puncture needle structure,including the rigid body of the outer needle,non-uniform flexible body of the inner needle,force control wire,internal imaging of the image fiber,and other components,was designed to verify the feasibility of this system.Methods By constructing the puncture structure of the puncture robot,the structural optimization design of the key components affecting the variable-path precision puncture needle was analyzed by constructing the puncture structure of a puncture robot.Based on the orthogonal experimental design method,a three-factor and three-level experiment that primarily affected the accuracy of the puncture needle was designed,namely,the starting distance of the hole center from the edge,the diameter of the hole,and the distance between the two holes.The experiment was verified and simulated using a real object.Results The displacement of the titanium-nickel needle tip had a significant relationship with the starting distance of the hole center from the edge,and the main and secondary influencing factors were as follows:starting distance of the hole center from the edge>hole diameter>hole distance.When the starting distance of the hole center from the edge was 1 mm,the diameter of the hole was 0.2 mm,and the distance between the two holes was 2.6 mm,the displacement of the titanium-nickel needle tip was the maximum value.Conclusions The experiment verified the functional applicability of the designed system and the linear elastic hysteresis characteristics of variable path puncture,providing a reference for further in vivo experiments and system optimization.

In the process of tumor growth, with the proliferation and expansion of cancer cells, the reconstruction of extracellular matrix (ECM) of cancer tissues, the restriction of surrounding tissues and the flow of cancer tissue interstitial fluid, the special stress environment is formed in the tumor tissues. Significant differences are found in the mechanical environment and mechanical characteristics of different regions of tumor tissues, that is, mechanical heterogeneity. The reseach shows that the mechanical properties of tumor tissue invasion frontier areas are more significant and complex. In particular, the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of tumor cells also prefers to concentrate on this area. The mechanical stress generated by the invasion front can induce EMT of tumor cells through TWIST1, TGF-β, WNT and other force signal transduction pathways, and promote tumor cell invasion. From the perspective of tumor biomechanics, this review focuses on the relationship between mechanical heterogeneity of tumor cells and EMT, so as to provide the theoretical basis for mechanoenvironment-targeted therapy of tumors.