Objective To analyze clinical features,surgical treatment efficacy and prognostic factors of bone metastasis patients after liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma.Methods A retrospective clinical data of 20 bone metastasis patients after liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma from July 2000 to January 2010 were received.The effect of surgery aimed at bone metastasis was evaluated.Univariate and multivariate prognostic risk factors were analyzed.Results The median survival time of these patients was 7.5 months and 1-year survival rate was only 20％.Surgical treatment could relieve pain and promote patients' peformance status significantly.Univariate and multivariate analysis found that tumor microvascular invasion within the removed recipient liver was the only prognostic risk factor.Conclusions Patients of bone metastasis after liver transplantation for HCC had poor prognosis.Surgical treatment helps improve patient's quality of life.Tumor microvascular invasion is the risk factor of surgical prognosis.

AIM: To investigate the mechanisms of augmenter of liver regeneration (ALR) in promoting damaged hepatocyte proliferation.METHODS: The effects of Kupffer cell condition medium (KCCM+) stimulated by ALR on damaged hepatocyte proliferation were studied by MTT. The localization of ALR binding to Kupffer cell membrane and in intact rat liver was studied by immunohistochemistry. The IL-6 expression in Kupffer cells stimulated with ALR was observed by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: The proliferation of damaged hepatocytes stimulated with KCCM+ was increased significantly. ALR immunostaining particles in plasm of hepatocyte were found in intact liver. The rough immunostaining particles of ALR were seen on the surface of Kupffer cell membrane. Immunostaining particles of IL-6 in Kupffer cells induced by ALR increased. CONCLUSION: ALR promotes proliferation of damaged hepatocytes indirectly by stimulating Kupffer cells.

A stable HMG-CoA reductase (HMGR) reaction in vitro was developed by a sensitive, selective and precise liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) method. The optimized enzyme reac-tion condition contained 1.5μg of HMGR, 20 nM of NADPH with 50 min of reaction time. The method was validated by several intra-and inter-day assays. The production transitions of m/z 147.0/59.1 and m/z 154.0/59.1 were used to detect and quantify mevalonolactone (MVAL) and MVAL-D7, respectively. The accuracy and precision of the method were evaluated over the concentration range of 0.005–1.000μg/mL for MVAL and 0.010–0.500μg/mL for lovastatin acid in three validation batch runs. The lower limit of quantitation was found to be 0.005μg/mL for MVAL and 0.010μg/mL for lovastatin acid. Intra-day and inter-day precision ranged from 0.95%to 2.39%and 2.26%to 3.38%for MVAL, 1.46%to 3.89%and 0.57% to 5.10% for lovastatin acid, respectively. The results showed that the active ingredients in Xuezhikang capsules were 12.2 and 14.5 mg/g, respectively. This assay method could be successfully applied to the quality control study of Xuezhikang capsule for the first time.

BACKGROUNDOne of mechanisms of carcinogenesis is suppression of cell apoptosis which leads to accumulation of aberrant cells. The aim of this study is to investigate cell apoptosis and COX-2 protein expression in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

METHODSCell apoptosis, expression of COX-2 and microvessel density (MVD) were detcted in 111 NSCLC samples by TdT-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) technique and immunohistochemical staining.

RESULTSThe positive rate of COX-2 protein expression was 67.6% (75/111), and there were 53 patients with high level cell apoptosis (47.7%). Expression of COX-2 protien was significantly related to TNM stages (P=0.025) and lymph node metastasis (P=0.018). The MVD in NSCLC tissues with positive COX-2 expression was significantly higher than that in negative expression ones (P=0.000). COX model showed that lymph node metastasis (P=0.006) and positive expression of COX-2 protein (P=0.000) were independent prognostic factors of NSCLC.

CONCLUSIONSThe expression of COX-2 protein may suppress cell apoptosis of tumor, and it may serve as a potential marker of prognosis for NSCLC.

To investigate the stereoselective pharmacokinetics of itraconazole enantiomers in rats, four cis-ITR stereoisomers at the dose of 15 mg/kg were administered orally to rats. Blood was collected and single stereoisomer of ITZ and hydroxy-itraconazole(OH-ITZ)were determinated simultaneously by LC-MS/MS. Samples were extracted by protein precipitation with acetonitrile. Durashell HILIC column(100 mm×2. 1 mm, 5. 0 m)was used as the analytical column, while a mixture of solvent A(0. 02% acetic acid and 5 mmol/L ammonium acetate in water)and B(50% acetonitrile and 50% methyl alcohol)was used as the mobile phase. A 5. 5 min binary gradient elution(delivered at 0. 5 mL/min)was performed for the separation. LC-MS/MS was performed in positive ion mode with multiple reactions monitoring(MRM). The pharmacokinetic parameters of itraconazole enantiomers after the administration were estimated as follows: the plasma levels and AUC0-∞ of OH-(2S, 4R, 2R)-ITZ and OH-(2S, 4R, 2S)-ITZ were higher than those of OH-(2R, 4S, 2R)-ITZ and OH-(2R, 4S, 2S)-ITZ(P< 0. 001). At the same time, female rats exhibited greater cmax, t1/2, AUC0-∞ than male rats, and the absorption of male rats was more rapid than those of females. The findings indicate significant stereoselective differences in the pharmacokinetic parameters of itraconazole enantiomers and gender difference in rats.

The aim of the study is to evaluate the effects of the single and mixed decoction of Thallus laminariae (kelp) and Glycyrrhiza glabra (licorice) on the metabolism and their difference. The mixed decoction of kelp and licorice and the single decoction were made and intragastrically administered to the SD rats. The effect on system metabolism, the toxicity of liver and kidney were assessed by GC-MS profiling of the endogenous molecules in serum, routine biochemical assays and histographic inspection of tissues from SD rats, separately. The mixed decoction of kelp and licorice induced more obvious pathological abnormalities in SD rats than a single decoction of kelp, while the extracts of licorice did not show any pathological change. Neither the mixed, nor the single decoction showed abnormal histopathology. After intragastric administration of extracts for 5 days, the mixed decoction induced a decrease of ALT (no significant change in the groups of single decoction) and an increase of BUN (so did the single decoction of kelp). Metabolomic profile of the molecules in serum revealed that the metabolic patterns were all obviously affected for the three groups, i.e., the mixed and single decoction of kelp and licorice. The rats given with the single decoction of kelp showed a similar pattern to that of the mixed decoction, indicating that the kelp primarily contributed the perturbation of metabolism for the mixed decoction. All three groups induced a decrease of branched chain amino acids, TCA cycle intermediates and glycolysis intermediates (e.g., pyruvic acid and lactic acid) and an increase of 3-hydroxybutyric acid. Kelp decoction showed stronger potential in reducing TCA cycle intermediates and glycolysis intermediates than the other two groups, while the levels of branched chain amino acids were the lowest after licorice extracts were given. These results suggested that the effect of the mixed decoction on metabolism was closely associated with both kelp and licorice. The continuous administration of single decoction of kelp and the mixed decoction of licorice and kelp resulted in pathological abnormalities in kidney of SD rats. The mixed decoction of kelp and licorice distinctly perturbed sera molecules and hence system metabolism, which showed associated with those of kelp and licorice. Although the metabolic effect was associated with both kelp and licorice, the results suggested kelp contributed to it primarily.

BACKGROUND: Pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) is a life-threatening disease with high mortality. This study aimed to assess the outcomes of surgical embolectomy and to clarify the sustained long-term effects of surgery by comparing preoperative, postoperative, and long-term follow-up echocardiography outcomes. Of 22 survivors, 21 were followed up for a mean (median) period of 6.8±5.4 years (4.2 years). METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 27 surgical embolectomy cases for massive or submassive acute PTE from 2003 to 2016. Immediate and long-term follow-up outcomes of surgical embolectomy were assessed on the basis of 30-day mortality, long-term mortality, postoperative complications, right ventricular systolic pressure, and tricuspid regurgitation grade. RESULTS: The 30-day and long-term mortality rates were 14.8% (4 of 27) and 4.3% (1 of 23), respectively. Three patients had major postoperative complications, including hypoxic brain damage, acute kidney injury, and endobronchial bleeding, respectively (3.7% each). Right ventricular systolic pressure (median [range], mm Hg) decreased from 62.0 (45.5–78.5) to 31.0 (25.7–37.0, p<0.001). The tricuspid valve regurgitation grade (median [range]) decreased from 1.5 (0.63–2.00) to 0.50 (0.50–1.00, p<0.05). The improvement lasted until the last echocardiographic follow-up. CONCLUSION: Surgical embolectomy revealed favorable mortality and morbidity rates in patients with acute massive or submassive PTE, with sustained long-term improvements in cardiac function.
Acute Kidney Injury ; Blood Pressure ; Cardiopulmonary Bypass ; Echocardiography ; Embolectomy ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Hypoxia, Brain ; Mortality ; Postoperative Complications ; Pulmonary Embolism ; Retrospective Studies ; Survivors ; Tricuspid Valve Insufficiency

To establish a quantitative LC-MS/MS method for the simultaneous detection of components of Erlong Zuoci Pill in rat plasma: verbascoside, oxypaeoniflorin, echinacoside and benzoylpaeoniflorin, and to evaluate the pharmacokinetic characteristics of Erlong Zuoci Pill in rats, plasma samples were purified by protein precipitation using methanol as a protein precipitant.Methanol was used as the organic phase and aqueous solution containing 0.1% formic acid was used as the water phase.The quantitative analysis method of verbascoside, oxypaeoniflorin, echinacoside and benzoylpaeoniflorin was established in negative ion mode, and the validation of bioanalytical method was carried out.Healthy SD rats were selected, and 20 mL/kg (equivalent to the original drug 10 g/kg dose) of Erlong Zuoci Pill extract was administered by intragastric administration.The plasma concentration of the target compounds at different time intervals after administration was determined using the established method, and the pharmacokinetic parameters was calculated by the Phoenix WinNonlin8.3 software using the non-compartmental model.The method validation results showed that verbascoside (r = 0.993 7) and oxypaeoniflorin (r = 0.994 6) had good linear relationship in the concentration range of 0.5-50 ng/mL, echinacoside (r = 0.993 6) and benzoylpaeoniflorin (r = 0.992 6) had good linear relationship in the concentration range of 1-100 ng/mL.The relative standard deviations of the inter- and intra- batch precision of the four compounds were all less than 15%, and the inter- batch and intra- accuracies were between 85% and 115%.Extraction recovery, matrix effect and stability met the relevant requirements.After a single gavage of Erlong Zuoci Pill extract in rats, all the four compounds were rapidly absorbed and eliminated.Oxypaeoniflorin, echinacoside, and benzoylpaeoniflorin showed two peaks in their drug concentration-time curves.Compared with the other three compounds, oxypaeoniflorin has the highest concentration in rat plasma with cmax1 of (24.40 ± 4.78) ng/mL and cmax2 of (22.50 ± 2.70) ng/mL. The results show that the validation results of this method are in line with the guiding principles of biological sample analysis methods, and it can be used to evaluate the pharmacokinetic characteristics of Erlong Zuoci Pill extract in rats.

BACKGROUND: Pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) is a life-threatening disease with high mortality. This study aimed to assess the outcomes of surgical embolectomy and to clarify the sustained long-term effects of surgery by comparing preoperative, postoperative, and long-term follow-up echocardiography outcomes. Of 22 survivors, 21 were followed up for a mean (median) period of 6.8±5.4 years (4.2 years). METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 27 surgical embolectomy cases for massive or submassive acute PTE from 2003 to 2016. Immediate and long-term follow-up outcomes of surgical embolectomy were assessed on the basis of 30-day mortality, long-term mortality, postoperative complications, right ventricular systolic pressure, and tricuspid regurgitation grade. RESULTS: The 30-day and long-term mortality rates were 14.8% (4 of 27) and 4.3% (1 of 23), respectively. Three patients had major postoperative complications, including hypoxic brain damage, acute kidney injury, and endobronchial bleeding, respectively (3.7% each). Right ventricular systolic pressure (median [range], mm Hg) decreased from 62.0 (45.5–78.5) to 31.0 (25.7–37.0, p<0.001). The tricuspid valve regurgitation grade (median [range]) decreased from 1.5 (0.63–2.00) to 0.50 (0.50–1.00, p<0.05). The improvement lasted until the last echocardiographic follow-up. CONCLUSION Surgical embolectomy revealed favorable mortality and morbidity rates in patients with acute massive or submassive PTE, with sustained long-term improvements in cardiac function.

The effect of sodium salicylate on the endogenous metabolism of hair cell-like cells (HEI-OC1).of mice was analyzed based on liquid chromatography-quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (LC-Q-TOF/MS).Firstly, HEI-OC1 cells were treated with different concentrations of sodium salicylate, and cell survival was examined by the CCK-8 method. Next, sodium salicylate was administered for different duration to observe the changes in cell morphology. Inter-group differential metabolites were screened out, and the associated metabolic pathways were analyzed based on metabonomic technology.Results showed that sodium salicylate could significantly inhibit the survival rate of HEI-OC1 cells, and that, as the concentration increased, the inhibitory effect became stronger. Also, the cell morphology could be elongated after administration and return to normal after withdrawal.Eighteen differential metabolites such as orotic acid, uridine and aspartic acid were screened out after treatment of sodium salicylate, which mainly involving two possible metabolic pathways, namely the metabolism of alanine, aspartic acid and glutamic acid, and that of pyrimidine.In summary, the application of metabolomics technology to evaluate the effect of sodium salicylate on hair cells from the microscopic perspective can provide new ideas for the study of sodium salicylate ototoxicity and development of tinnitus.