Objective To evaluate the clinical value of percutaneous transcatheter selective right portal vein embolization(PVE)in treatment of primary hepatocellular carcinoma.Methods Twelve patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma were treated with right percutaneous transcatbeter PVE under fluoroscopic guidance.Left hepatic lobe volume was measured by CT before and after PVE.Portal vein pressures and changes of liver function were also detected before and after the embolization.Results Right portal vein was embolized successfully in all 12 patients with compensatory hypertrophy of left hepatic lobe.Right hepatic lobe was successfully resected in 3 patients.There were no evidence of hepatic dysfunction and portal hypertension after PVE and also without complication.Conclusions Percutaneous transcathter portal vein branch embolization can induce atrophy of the embolized lobes with compensatory hypertrophy of the remnant liver,providing another operation chance for patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the difference of soluble P-selectin levels in different subtype of coronary heart disease and the relationship between soluble P-selectin levels with the severity of coronary artery lesions.

METHODSEnzyme linked immuoserbent assay (ELISA) was used to measure the plasma soluble P-selectin levels in 69 patients with angiocardiography documented coronary heart disease and 19 normal coronary arteries persons without angiocardiography detectable coronary artery disease (control group). The coronary artery lesions score was recorded according to single, double and triple-vessel lesions while the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association proposed type A, B, C lesion and Gensini scoring system. The relationships between plasma soluble P-selectin levels and the coronary artery score (the severity of coronary heart disease) were assessed.

RESULTS(1) The level of plasma soluble P-selectin was obviously higher in the coronary heart disease group than in the control group (180.6 +/- 60.5 ng/L vs. 145.3 +/- 21.7 ng/L, P<0.05). (2) The level of plasma soluble P-selectin was significantly higher in the acute coronary syndrome group (191.4 +/- 63.7 ng/L) than in the control group (145.3 +/- 21.7 ng/L, P< 0.01) and in the stable angina pectoris group (141.3 +/- 17.9 ng/L, P<0.01). (3) The level of plasma soluble P-selectin was high in multi-vessel coronary artery lesions group than in single-vessel group (190.1 +/- 64.2 ng/L vs. 157.2 +/- 43.4 ng/L, P < 0.05). The level of plasma soluble P-selectin was positively correlated with the Gensini score (r = 0.391, P = 0.001); the numbers of vessels lesions (rs = 0.349, P = 0.003); Type A, B and C lesions (rs = 0.358, P = 0.002).

CONCLUSIONThe positive correlation between the level of soluble P-selectin and the coronary artery score may indicate that soluble P-selectin levels might reflect the severity of coronary heart disease. The elevated soluble P-selectin level in acute coronary syndrome suggested the possible relation of P-selectin to the pathogenesis of acute coronary syndrome, which may save as a potential marker of plaque unstability.

Case-Control Studies ; Coronary Disease ; blood ; physiopathology ; Coronary Vessels ; pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; P-Selectin ; blood ; chemistry ; Solubility

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the safety and efficacy of individual cylindrical abdominoperineal resection (CAPR) for locally advanced low rectal cancer.

METHODSFrom June 2011 to February 2012, 11 patients with locally advanced low rectal cancer underwent individual CAPR. There were 7 male and 4 female patients, aged from 32 to 74 years with a median of 64 years. Forty-seven patients underwent classic CAPR from January 2008 to February 2012. Preoperative and postoperative parameters such as clinical information of patients, tissue morphometry and complications were compared.

RESULTSIn the individual surgical group, 6 patients were treated with one side levator ani muscle totally or partially reserved, 3 patients with sacrococcyx reserved, and 2 patients with dissection close to the anterior rectal wall. Compared with classical surgery, the individual surgical specimens of horizontal section area ((2197 ± 501) mm(2)) and intrinsic muscle layer outer area ((1722 ± 414) mm(2)) were small, but the difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.150 and 0.167). The operative time, intraoperative blood loss, circumferential resection margin, total cross sectional tissue area, cross sectional tissue area outside the muscularis propria and bowel perforation rate between the two groups were not significantly different. Individual CAPR showed less incidence of chronic perineal pain (2/11, χ(2) = 6.116, P = 0.013) and sexual dysfunction (2/9, χ(2) = 4.412, P = 0.036) compared with classic CAPR.

CONCLUSIONSIndividual CAPR has the potential to reduce the risk of chronic perineal pain and sexual dysfunction without influencing the radical effect when compare with classic CAPR for the treatment of low rectal cancer.

Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Perineum ; surgery ; Postoperative Complications ; epidemiology ; Rectal Neoplasms ; pathology ; surgery ; Rectum ; surgery ; Survival Rate ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo observe the expression pattern of albumin during the hepatocyte differentiation by human bone marrow stem cells in vitro.

METHODSHuman bone marrow cells were harvested and cultured in the presence of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), fibroblast growth factor (FGF) and lymphocyte inhibitory factor (LIF). Cells were stained immunohistochemically by albumin specific antibody and examined under a confocal microscope. Supernatant albumin level was measured biochemically on a serial time points of the culture.

RESULTSBy this condition, the attached cells became mature morphologically in 1 week of culture. Hepatocyte-specific albumin could be detected in mature cells. The albumin level revealed a time-dependent change during a 4-week culture.

CONCLUSIONHuman bone marrow cells could be induced to differentiate to mature hepatocytes that produce and secret albumin in vitro. These cells may contribute to a stable source of hepatocytes for clinical hepatocyte transplantation and artificial liver support system.

Albumins ; biosynthesis ; Bone Marrow Cells ; cytology ; Cell Differentiation ; drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Culture Media, Conditioned ; pharmacology ; Fibroblast Growth Factors ; pharmacology ; Hepatocyte Growth Factor ; pharmacology ; Hepatocytes ; cytology ; Humans ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; cytology ; physiology

OBJECTIVETo investigate the value of intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) for patient with gynecological malignancies after treatment of hysterectomy and chemotherapy/radiotherapy.

METHODSAll 32 patients with cervical or endometrial cancer after hysterectomy received full course IMRT after 1 to 3 cycles of chemotherapy (Karnofsky performance status(KPS) > or =70). Seventeen of these patients underwent postoperative preventive irradiation and the other 15 patients were pelvic wall recurrence and/or retroperitoneal lymph node metastasis, though postoperative radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy had been given after operation.

RESULTSThe median dose delivered to the PTV was 56.8 Gy for preventive irradiation, and 60.6 Gy for pelvic wall recurrence or retroperioneal lymph node metastasis irradiation. It was required that 90% of iso-dose curve could covere more than 99% of GTV. However, The mean dose irradiated to small intestine, bladder, rectum, kidney and spinal cord was 21.3 Gy, 37.8 Gy, 35.3 Gy, 8.5 Gy, 22.1 Gy, respectively. Fourteen patients presented grade I (11 patients) or II (3 patients) digestive tract side-effects, Five patients developed grade I or II bone marrow depression. Twelve patients had grade I skin reaction. The overall 1-year survival rate was 100%. The 2- and 3- year survival rate for preventive irradiation were both 100%, but which was 5/7 and 3/6 for the patients with pelvic wall recurrence or retroperioneal lymph node metastasis.

CONCLUSIONIntensity modulated radiation therapy can provide a better dose distribution than traditional radiotherapy for both prevention and pelvic wall recurrence or retroperioneal lymph node metastasis. The toxicity is tolerable. The adjacent organs at risk can well be protected.

Adult ; Aged ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Diarrhea ; etiology ; Endometrial Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; radiotherapy ; surgery ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Hysterectomy ; methods ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Radiotherapy Dosage ; Radiotherapy, Intensity-Modulated ; adverse effects ; methods ; Survival Analysis ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; radiotherapy ; surgery

OBJECTIVETo investigate the application of proteomics in the field of serology,and to screen the differential expression proteins related with poorly differentiated gastric carcinoma.

METHODSTwo-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) was applied to segregate the total proteins in the serum form gastric cancer patients and health volunteers. After staining,the differential expression proteins were analyzed using PDQuest software,and identified using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS).

RESULTSElectrophoresis figures with high resolution and reproducibility were obtained. Six differential expression proteins were found only in the serum from gastric cancer patients, while four other proteins from healthy volunteers.

CONCLUSIONSProtein expression is differential in the serum from the gastric cancer patients and health volunteers. It is hopeful to find the biomarkers related with poorly differentiated gastric carcinoma using proteomics.

Adult ; Aged ; Biomarkers, Tumor ; blood ; Electrophoresis, Gel, Two-Dimensional ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Proteomics ; Serum ; chemistry ; Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization ; Stomach Neoplasms ; blood ; pathology

OBJECTIVETo investigate the mechanism of liraglutide-mediated protection against nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) using aApoE knockout (KO) mouse with high-fat diet (HFD) and Acrp30 knockdown.

METHODSFifty-six male ApoE KO mice were divided into the following six modeling and experimental groups:regular chow fed (ApoE KO, n=10), HFD fed (HF, n=10), HFD+Adenovirus (Ad)-small hairpin (sh) Acrp30 (Ad-shAcrp30, n=10), HFD+Ad-shGreen Fluorescent Protein (GFP) (Ad-shGFP, n=6), HFD+Ad-shAcrp30+liraglutide (liraglutide, n=10), and HFD+Ad-shAcrp30+saline (saline, n=10). Weight-matched C57BL/6 mice on the regular chow diet were used as the control group (WT control, n=10).All mice were fed their assigned diet for 16 weeks.The Ad-shGFP or Ad-shAcrp30 was injected by tail vein at the end of 14 and 15 weeks.Mice in the liraglutide group received 1 mg/kg of the drug, twice daily, intraperitoneally for a total of 8 weeks (from the 9th to 16th week).Fasting blood samples were collected for testing levels of fasting plasma glucose (FPG), triglycerides (TGs), total cholesterol (TC), free fatty acid (FFA), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), Acrp30 and insulin.Liver tissue was procured for histological examination.Expression of mRNA was detected by real-time RT-PC and of protein was detected by western blot analysis.

RESULTSThe Ad-shAcrp30 treated mice had reduced expression of Acrp30 at both the mRNA and protein levels in adipose tissues and plasma, as compared with the AdshGFP treated mice (all P < 0.01).Compared to the WT and ApoE KO groups, the HF group showed higher levels of FPG, FFA, TGs and TC (all P < 0.01); furthermore, the Ad-shAcrp30 treatment compounded these changes.The Ad-shAcrp30 treated group had markedly higher hepatic TC and TGs than the HF group (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05).Oil Red O staining showed that there was more lipid droplets in the liver tissue of the Ad-shAcrp30 treated group than in that of the HF group (P < 0.01), and hematoxylin-eosin staining confirmed these results.Liraglutide treatment prevented the increase in body weight, FPG, FFA, TGs, TC and ALT levels, as compared to the saline controls (all P < 0.01), but the plasma Acrp30 levels and the Acrp30 mRNA and protein expression in adipose tissues were elevated (all P < 0.01).Oil-Red O staining indicated that the liraglutide group had a significantly lower hepatic lipid content than the saline group, and total hepatic TG and TC were reduced in the former group (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05).The liraglutide treatment significantly attenuated the mRNA expression of ACC and FAS (both P < 0.01) but increased AMPK phosphorylation (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONAdministration of liraglutide prevented the development of HFD-and hypoadiponectinemia-induced metabolic disturbance and accumulation of hepatic lipids in this mouse model system of NAFLD.

AMP-Activated Protein Kinases ; metabolism ; Adiponectin ; deficiency ; metabolism ; Adipose Tissue ; Alanine Transaminase ; Animals ; Apolipoproteins E ; deficiency ; metabolism ; Cholesterol ; Diet, High-Fat ; Disease Models, Animal ; Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 ; analogs & derivatives ; Insulin ; Liraglutide ; Male ; Metabolism, Inborn Errors ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Mice, Knockout ; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease ; metabolism ; Protective Agents ; RNA, Messenger ; Triglycerides

OBJECTIVETo investigate the expression of cancer-related gene MPS-1 in gastric cancer and to evaluate its significance in clinical diagnosis and therapy.

METHODSThe mRNA expression of MPS-1 was determined by polymerase chain reaction after reverse transcription (RT-PCR) in cancer tissues and adjacent non-cancerous tissues from 42 cases with gastric cancer. The expression levels of MPS-1 in 6 gastric cancer cell lines (AGS, MKN-45, SGC 7901, KATO III, N-87 and SNU-1) were also determined by RT-PCR and Western blot.

RESULTSThe MPS-1 mRNA was expressed in all tissues and cell lines. The mRNA expression level of MPS-1 in cancer tissues were 1.37+/- 0.87, significantly higher than 0.99+/- 0.67 in adjacent normal gastric mucous tissues (P< 0.01). The expression of MPS-1 was correlated with TNM stage (P< 0.05), but not with age, gender, tumor size and differentiation. The expression level of MPS-1 mRNA in the primary lesions was hig her in the patients with TNM stages III, IV than those with TNM stages I, II. Meanwhile, RT-PCR and Western blot showed the same results that MPS-1 expression was higher in the six gastric cancer cell lines as compared with that in the normal gastric cell line GES-1.

CONCLUSIONThe high expression of MPS-1 in gastric cancer indicates that MPS-1 might play an important role in gastric carcinogenesis,which may provide a new target in immunotherapy for gastric cancer.

Cell Cycle Proteins ; genetics ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis ; Protein-Serine-Threonine Kinases ; genetics ; Protein-Tyrosine Kinases ; RNA, Neoplasm ; genetics ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Stomach Neoplasms ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology

OBJECTIVETo investigate the association between rs9722 polymorphisms in the S100B gene and hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) caused by enterovirus 71.

METHODSA total of 124 HFMD children with enterovirus 71 infection were enrolled as subjects, and 56 healthy children were enrolled as control group. The rs9722 polymorphisms in the S100B gene were detected for both groups, and the serum level of S100B protein was measured for 74 HFMD children.

RESULTSThe rs9722 locus of the S100B gene had three genotypes, CC, CT, and TT, and the genotype frequencies were in accordance with Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Compared with the control group, the HFMD group had significant increases in the frequencies of TT genotype and T allele (P<0.01). Children with severe HFMD caused by enterovirus 71 infection had significantly higher frequencies of TT genotype and T allele than those with moderate or mild HFMD (P<0.05). Compared with the cured patients, the patients with poor prognosis had significant increases in the frequencies of TT genotype and T allele in the rs9722 locus of the S100B gene (P<0.05). Among the 74 children with HFMD, the children with TT genotype had the highest serum level of S100B protein, and those with CC genotype had the lowest level (P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONST allele in the rs9722 locus of the S100B gene might be a risk factor for severe HFMD caused by enterovirus 71 infection.

Child, Preschool ; Enterovirus A, Human ; Enterovirus Infections ; complications ; Female ; Genotype ; Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease ; etiology ; genetics ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; S100 Calcium Binding Protein beta Subunit ; genetics

BACKGROUNDAdenoid hypertrophy (AH) is associated with pediatric chronic rhinosinusitis (pCRS), but its role in the inflammatory process of pCRS is unclear. It is thought that innate immunity gene expression is disrupted in the epithelium of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS), including antimicrobial peptides and pattern recognition receptors (PRRs). The aim of this preliminary study was to detect the expression of innate immunity genes in epithelial cells of hypertrophic adenoids with and without pCRS to better understand their role in pCRS.

METHODSNine pCRS patients and nine simple AH patients undergoing adenoidectomy were recruited for the study. Adenoidal epithelium was isolated, and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was employed to measure relative expression levels of the following messenger RNAs in hypertrophic adenoid epithelial cells of pediatric patients with and without CRS: Human β-defensin (HBD) 2 and 3, surfactant protein (SP)-A and D, toll-like receptors 1-10, nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain (NOD)-like receptors NOD 1, NOD 2, and NACHT, LRR and PYD domains-containing protein 3, retinoic acid-induced gene 1, melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5, and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB). RT-qPCR data from two groups were analyzed by independent sample t-tests and Mann-Whitney U-tests.

RESULTSThe relative expression of SP-D in adenoidal epithelium of pCRS group was significantly lower than that in AH group (pCRS 0.73 ± 0.10 vs. AH 1.21 ± 0.15; P = 0.0173, t = 2.654). The relative expression levels of all tested PRRs and NF-κB, as well as HBD-2, HBD-3, and SP-A, showed no statistically significant differences in isolated adenoidal epithelium between pCRS group and AH group.

CONCLUSIONSDown-regulated SP-D levels in adenoidal epithelium may contribute to the development of pCRS. PRRs, however, are unlikely to play a significant role in the inflammatory process of pCRS.

Adenoids ; cytology ; Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides ; metabolism ; Child ; Epithelial Cells ; metabolism ; Female ; Humans ; Immunity, Innate ; genetics ; physiology ; Male ; Receptors, Pattern Recognition ; metabolism ; Sinusitis ; metabolism ; Toll-Like Receptors ; metabolism