1.Role of epidermal growth factor signaling system in the pathogenesis of endometriosis under estrogen deprivation conditions
Yuquan WANG ; Lirong YIN ; Ruimeng GUO ; Wei SHENG
Chinese Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 2013;(6):447-452
Objective To study the role of epidermal growth factor (EGF),epidermal growth factor receptor(EGFR),extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (p-ERK1/2) in the pathogenesis of endometriosis under estrogen deprivation conditions.Methods The estrogen was quickly-stripped in medium and the female nude mice were castrated by bilateral oophorectomy to build estrogen deprivation in vitro and in vivo experimental models,respectively.(1) In vitro experiments:according to different treatments the estrogen deprived ectopic endometrial cells were classified into 4 groups:①EGF group:the ectopic endometrial cells were cultured for 72 hours with different concentrations of EGF (0.01,0.1,1,10,50,100 ng/ml),the results of EGF group were represented by the result of cells treated by 10 ng/ml EGF cultured for 72 hours ; ②EGF + PD98059 group:the ectopic endometrial cells were cultured for 72 hours with 5 × 10-2 mol/L PD98059 (inhibitor of ERK),followed by a cultivation for 72 hours treated by 10 ng/ml EGF + 5 × 10-2 mol/L PD98059 ; ③EGF + ICI182780 group:the ectopic endometrial cells were cultured for 72 hours with 10-6 mol/L ICI182780 [inhibitor of estrogen receptor(ER)],followed by a cultivation for 72 hours treated by 10 ng/ml EGF + 10-6 mol/L ICI182780; ④Blank control group:the ectopic endometrial cells were cultured with no treatment.The proliferation activity of ectopic endometrial cells in all groups after treatment were examined by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) method represented by absorbance value (A).The expression of p-ERK1/2 protein were detected by western blot.(2) In vivo experiments:64 female nude mice were randomly divided into control and castration groups (both n =32) using random number chart.The mice in castration group were castrated by bilateral oophorectomy on 3 weeks after the endometriosis model was established.The levels of EGF,EGFR,p-ERK1/2 protein in ectopic lesions of both groups were measured on 4,6,8 and 10 weeks after the endometriosis model was established by western blot.Results (1) The proliferation activity of ectopic endometrial cells:the proliferation activity of ectopic endometrial cells treated by different concentrations of EGF (0.01,0.1,1,10,50,100 ng/ml) for 72 hours were 0.310 ± 0.010,0.340 ± 0.020,0.670 ± 0.010,0.980 ± 0.030,1.360 ± 0.020,1.670 ± 0.020,respectively,the proliferation activity was increased along with of EGF concentrations.The proliferation activity was 0.680 ± 0.030 at EGF + PD98059 group,the differences exhibited significant difference when compared with that at EGF group with 100 ng/ml for 72 hours(P <0.01).The proliferation activity of EGF + ICI182780 and blank control groups were 0.330 ±0.030 and 0.310 ±0.030,respectively,which did not reached statistical differences(P > 0.05).(2) The expression of EGF,EGFR,pERK1/2 protein:① In vitro experiments:the levels of p-ERK1/2 protein in EGF and blank control groups were 0.670 ± 0.020 and 0.600 + 0.010,respectively,which reached statistical differences (P < 0.05).The level of p-ERK1/2 protein in EGF + PD98059 group was 0.610 ± 0.020,which exhibited significant differences with that at blank control group(P > 0.05).② In vivo experiments:at 4,6 and 8 weeks after the endometriosis models were established,the expression of EGF protein in the ectopic lesions of castration group and control group were (0.530±0.015 versus 0.610 ±0.015),(0.400 ±0.029 versus 0.620 ±0.018),(0.560 ±0.026versus 0.630 ± 0.021),respectively,the levels of EGFR protein were (0.500 ± 0.030 versus 0.640 ±0.030),(0.470 ± 0.020 versus 0.630 ± 0.020),(0.510 ± 0.030 versus 0.610 ± 0.020) respectively,and the level of p-ERK1/2 protein were (0.500 ± 0.020 versus 0.580 ± 0.020),(0.490 ± 0.020 versus 0.580 ±0.020),(0.570 ±0.020 versus 0.590 0.020),respectively.The difference of EGF,EGFR,pERK1/2 protein expression levels between two groups did not exhibited significant difference(P < 0.01,P <0.01,P <0.05).At 10 weeks after the endometriosis models were established,the levels of EGF protein in castration group and control group were both 0.620 ± 0.020,the levels of EGFR protein were both 0.610 ±0.020,and the level of p-ERK1/2 protein were 0.590 ±0.010 and 0.600 ± 0.020.No statistical difference (P >0.05) was found between those two groups (P > O.05).Conclusions EGF could stimulate the proliferation of ectopic endometrial cells by activating the ERK pathway under estrogen deprivation conditions.The inhibition of EGF signaling system in ectopic lesions was alleviated along with the prolongation of the period of estrogen deprivation.
2.The characteristic of top-down attentional control of children with acute stress disorder
Haibo YANG ; Ruimeng WANG ; Xin ZHAO ; Xiaoying WEI ; Jingdan XIE ; Chengshan LUO
Chinese Journal of Behavioral Medicine and Brain Science 2015;24(7):637-639
Objective To investigate the characteristic of top-down attentional control of acute stress disorder children.Methods According to SCID-IV-TR,23 acute stress disorder children were chosen as the experinent group and 23 normal children were chosen as the control group.They were asked to perform a visual search task.Results (1) The reaction time of acute stress disorder children((1 253±158)ms) was significantly longer than normal children's((1 194± 146) ms) (P<0.05).(2) The reaction time of valid condition((1 172± 144) ms)was significantly shorter than neutral condition ((1 229± 156) ms) and invalid condition ((1 269± 157) ms) (P<0.05),there was no difference of reaction time between neutral condition((1 229± 156)ms) and invalid condition ((1 269±157)ms) (P>0.05).(3) The reaction time of simple display condition((1 182±127)ms) was significantlv shorter than complex display condition ((1 264± 177)ms) (P<0.01).Conclusion The performance of acute stress disorder children on top-down attentional control is less than normal children,the reason is that inhibiting capacity of acute stress disorder children is lower than normal children.It indicates that trauma event have negative influence on children's inhibiting capacity.
3.Synthesis of hyaluronic acid coated magnetic nanoparticles for highly efficient tumor CD44 cell labeling and in vitro study
Ruimeng YANG ; Nannan LI ; Liming ZHANG ; Li WANG ; Chaoping FU ; Danping HUANG ; Xinhua WEI ; Lisha LAI ; Xinqing JIANG
Chinese Journal of Radiology 2014;(5):363-368
Objective To explore a promising system for tumor CD 44 receptor-targeted imaging and to investigate their physic-chemical properties and targeting effect on CD 44 abundant cancer cells in vitro.Methods The superparamagnetic iron oxide ( SPIO) nanoparticles were prepared by a coprecipitation in alkaline media starting from a mixed of the ferrous and ferric solution.And then the surface of the SPIO nanoparticles were modified with APTMS by a reaction with the hydroxyl groups.Finally, the hyaluronan-modified SPIO ( SPIO-HA) nanoparticles were prepared.Control and experimental groups were established after adding SPIO or SPIO-HA as agents respectively.Transmission electron microscopy ( TEM) and particle size analyzer were used to measure these nanoparticle sizes and the hydrodynamic diameters.Thermogravimetric analysis ( TGA) was carried out to evaluate the HA-content on the surface of SPIO-HA.The MRI T2 ralaxivities (1/T2 ) of the two groups at different Fe concentrations (0.09, 0.18, 0.27, 0.36, 0.45 mmol/L ) were measured on a 3.0T MR system.HepG2 cells and HL7702 cells were used for assessment of cells viability by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium ( MTT ) assay.Prussian blue staining , immunoassay fluorescence image and flow cytometry were carried out to determine the targeted cellular uptake of SPIO-HA nanoparticles.MRI were performed to show the MR T 2 value changes after incubating with HepG2 cancer cells by using T 2 WI sequences at a clinical 3.0 T MR system.One-way analysis of variance was performed to determine significant changes in MR T 2 values of blank control , SPIO-HA and SPIO groups.Results The SPIO-HA and SPIO NPs were fairly homogeneous with an average core size of 18.2 and 22.4 nm, hydrodynamic diameter of 91.1 and 103.2 nm, Zeta potential of (-45.00 ±0.86) mV and (-18.50 ±0.73) mV, and magnetic relaxivity of 0.212 ×106 M-1 · s-1 and 0.191 ×106 M-1 · s-1.Based on the TGA data , HA accounted for 24%weight of each SPIO-HA.The internalization of the SPIO-HA was confirmed by prussian blue staining , while the cells showed no obvious blue stains with SPIO , incubation of SPIO-HA with tumor cells led to blue color inside the cells.After that, we examined cancer cell binding of FITC-SPIO-HA by immunoassay fluorescence image and flow cytometry.The green fluorescence resulting from FITC-SPIO-HA was observed inside the cells in both the cytoplasm and the plasmalemma.Tumor cells treated with SPIO-HA exhibited higher fluorescence signals with 7.97-fold enhancement observed for HepG 2 cells over control particles.In vitro MR, mean T2 values of blank control , SPIO and SPIO-HA groups were ( 115.20 ±0.36 ), ( 115.07 ±0.81 ) and ( 21.67 ±0.21 ) ms, respectively.There was significant difference among those three groups (F=31 703.339,P<0.01), MR T2 values of HepG2 cells treated with the SPIO-HA NPs were lower than blank and SPIO group.In comparison, SPIO did not generate any MRI signal changes compared with blank group.Conclusion The tumor CD44 receptor-targeted MR molecular probe SPIO-HA had a good physic-chemical property and well targeted HepG2 cells.
4. Tolvaptan attenuates atrial remodeling in rats undergoing chronic intermittent hypoxia via miRNA-21
Zuowang MA ; Kai ZHANG ; Weiding WANG ; Ruimeng LIU ; Yuanyuan XU ; Yue ZHANG ; Meng YUAN ; Guangping LI
Chinese Journal of Cardiology 2019;47(8):614-621
Objective:
To investigate the effects and potential mechanisms of tolvaptan on chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH)-induced atrial remodeling in rats.
Methods:
A total of 45 Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 3 groups by the random number table: control group, CIH group (6 h/d for 30 days), CIH plus tolvaptan group (8 mg·kg-1·d-1 per gavage for 30 days). Echocardiography examination was performed after 30 days. Thereafter, 5 rats were randomly chosen for histology evaluation, 5 for molecular biological examinations and another 5 rats underwent isolated heart electrophysiology study in each group. Protein and mRNA expression levels of miRNA-21, Spry1, PTEN, ERK/p-ERK, MMP-9, PI3K, AKT/p-AKT were detected.
Results:
Compared to the rats in control group, rats in the CIH group showed higher atrial interstitial collagen deposition (
5.Evaluation of the effect of 2-aminoethoxydiphenyl-borate on cardiac dysfunction in arsenic poisoning rats by stratified strain technique
Jia FENG ; Wenjuan QIN ; Zhen WANG ; Zijing ZHAI ; Ruimeng TIAN ; Guilin LU
Chinese Journal of Ultrasonography 2022;31(5):433-439
Objective:To evaluate the effect of 2-aminoethoxydiphenyl-borate (2-APB) on cardiac dysfunction in arsenic poisoning rats by stratified strain technique.Methods:Thirty-two 12-week-old SD rats were randomly divided into control group ( n=8) and arsenic exposure group ( n=24). After 12 weeks of arsenic exposure, arsenic exposure group was divided into three groups: natural recovery group ( n=8), low-dose intervention group (n=8) and high-dose intervention group ( n=8). The rats were treated with 2-APB for 21 days. After the last administration, the routine parameters and the layered strain parameters were measured by ultrasonic instrument. Then the rats were killed and their blood and myocardial samples were obtained. The levels of serum creatine kinase isoenzyme (CK-MB) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were tested, and the morphological changes of cardiomyocytes were observed by HE staining. Results:Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), left ventricular short axis shortening (LVFS), global circumferential strain of subendocardial myocardium (GCS-endo), global circumferential strain of middle myocardium (GCS-mid), global circumferential strain of subepicardial myocardium (GCS-epi) and circumferential strain rate of left ventricular segments (SrC) in the natural recovery group were lower than those in the control group ( P<0.05), while serum CK-MB and LDH were higher than those in the control group ( P<0.05). Some ultrasonic parameters and biochemical indexes in the low and high dose intervention groups were improved in varying degrees compared with the natural recovery group ( P<0.05). The correlation between GCS-endo and CK-MB was the highest ( r=-0.931, P<0.05). Myocardial HE staining showed that the degree of myocardial cell swelling and necrosis were reduced, and erythrocyte exudation was reduced in the low and high dose intervention groups compared with the natural recovery group. Conclusions:The stratified strain technique can be used to evaluate the protective effect of 2-APB on cardiac dysfunction in arsenic poisoning rats, and GCS-endo may be one of its sensitive indexes.
6.An MRI multi-sequence feature imputation and fusion mutual-aid model based on sequence deletion for differentiation of high-grade from low-grade glioma
Chuixing WU ; Weixiong ZHONG ; Jincheng XIE ; Ruimeng YANG ; Yuankui WU ; Yikai XU ; Linjing WANG ; Xin ZHEN
Journal of Southern Medical University 2024;44(8):1561-1570
Objective To evaluate the performance of magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)multi-sequence feature imputation and fusion mutual model based on sequence deletion in differentiating high-grade glioma(HGG)from low-grade glioma(LGG).Methods We retrospectively collected multi-sequence MR images from 305 glioma patients,including 189 HGG patients and 116 LGG patients.The region of interest(ROI)of T1-weighted images(T1WI),T2-weighted images(T2WI),T2 fluid attenuated inversion recovery(T2_FLAIR)and post-contrast enhancement T1WI(CE_T1WI)were delineated to extract the radiomics features.A mutual-aid model of MRI multi-sequence feature imputation and fusion based on sequence deletion was used for imputation and fusion of the feature matrix with missing data.The discriminative ability of the model was evaluated using 5-fold cross-validation method and by assessing the accuracy,balanced accuracy,area under the ROC curve(AUC),specificity,and sensitivity.The proposed model was quantitatively compared with other non-holonomic multimodal classification models for discriminating HGG and LGG.Class separability experiments were performed on the latent features learned by the proposed feature imputation and fusion methods to observe the classification effect of the samples in two-dimensional plane.Convergence experiments were used to verify the feasibility of the model.Results For differentiation of HGG from LGG with a missing rate of 10%,the proposed model achieved accuracy,balanced accuracy,AUC,specificity,and sensitivity of 0.777,0.768,0.826,0.754 and 0.780,respectively.The fused latent features showed excellent performance in the class separability experiment,and the algorithm could be iterated to convergence with superior classification performance over other methods at the missing rates of 30%and 50%.Conclusion The proposed model has excellent performance in classification task of HGG and LGG and outperforms other non-holonomic multimodal classification models,demonstrating its potential for efficient processing of non-holonomic multimodal data.
7.An MRI multi-sequence feature imputation and fusion mutual-aid model based on sequence deletion for differentiation of high-grade from low-grade glioma
Chuixing WU ; Weixiong ZHONG ; Jincheng XIE ; Ruimeng YANG ; Yuankui WU ; Yikai XU ; Linjing WANG ; Xin ZHEN
Journal of Southern Medical University 2024;44(8):1561-1570
Objective To evaluate the performance of magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)multi-sequence feature imputation and fusion mutual model based on sequence deletion in differentiating high-grade glioma(HGG)from low-grade glioma(LGG).Methods We retrospectively collected multi-sequence MR images from 305 glioma patients,including 189 HGG patients and 116 LGG patients.The region of interest(ROI)of T1-weighted images(T1WI),T2-weighted images(T2WI),T2 fluid attenuated inversion recovery(T2_FLAIR)and post-contrast enhancement T1WI(CE_T1WI)were delineated to extract the radiomics features.A mutual-aid model of MRI multi-sequence feature imputation and fusion based on sequence deletion was used for imputation and fusion of the feature matrix with missing data.The discriminative ability of the model was evaluated using 5-fold cross-validation method and by assessing the accuracy,balanced accuracy,area under the ROC curve(AUC),specificity,and sensitivity.The proposed model was quantitatively compared with other non-holonomic multimodal classification models for discriminating HGG and LGG.Class separability experiments were performed on the latent features learned by the proposed feature imputation and fusion methods to observe the classification effect of the samples in two-dimensional plane.Convergence experiments were used to verify the feasibility of the model.Results For differentiation of HGG from LGG with a missing rate of 10%,the proposed model achieved accuracy,balanced accuracy,AUC,specificity,and sensitivity of 0.777,0.768,0.826,0.754 and 0.780,respectively.The fused latent features showed excellent performance in the class separability experiment,and the algorithm could be iterated to convergence with superior classification performance over other methods at the missing rates of 30%and 50%.Conclusion The proposed model has excellent performance in classification task of HGG and LGG and outperforms other non-holonomic multimodal classification models,demonstrating its potential for efficient processing of non-holonomic multimodal data.
8.Effects of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ-toll-like receptor 4-tumor necrosis factor-α targeted pathway on hyperglycemia induced myocardium inflammation and oxidative stress
Changle LIU ; Ruimeng LIU ; Xiaohan WU ; Peize TAN ; Huaying FU ; Xinghua WANG ; Tong LIU ; Guangping LI
Chinese Critical Care Medicine 2018;30(5):416-421
Objective To investigate the potential effects and mechanism on peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ-toll-like receptor 4-tumor necrosis factor-α (PPARγ-TLR4-TNF-α) targeted pathway on hyperglycemia induced myocardium inflammation and oxidative stress. Methods Thirty-two Japanese healthy adult rabbits were randomly divided into four groups with 8 rabbits in each group: normal control group (NC group), diabetes mellitus group (DM group), diabetes mellitus + pioglitazone 4 mg·kg-1·d-1 and 8 mg·kg-1·d-1 groups (DM+PGZ 4 mg and 8 mg groups). DM model was reproduced by alloxan of 150 mg/kg through auricular vein injection. On the same day of successful DM model reproduction, the diabetic rabbits were fed with corresponding dose of pioglitazone in DM+PGZ 4 mg and 8 mg groups, but the rabbits in NC group were not challenged. After 8 weeks of feeding, venous blood of left jugular vein bifurcation and myocardium tissue were harvested respectively for the determination of inflammation and oxidative stress parameters. TNF-α, interleukin-1 (IL-1), adiponectin (ADP), nitric oxide (NO) and total nitric oxide synthase (NOS) levels were determined by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity was determined by colorimetric method, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity was determined by hydroxylamine method, malondialdehyde (MDA) was determined by thiobarbituric acid colorimetric method, and catalase (CAT) activity was determined by UV spectrophotometry method. In addition, the mRNA expressions of TNF-α and TLR4 were determined by real-time quantitate reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Results ① IL-1 and TNF-α in serum and myocardium of model rabbits were significantly increased, ADP was significantly decreased, and the mRNA expressions of TNF-α and TLR4 in myocardium were significantly increased, indicating a significant inflammatory reaction. The inflammatory reaction in pioglitazone intervention groups was significantly reduced, TNF-αand IL-1 levels in serum and myocardium of DM+PGZ 4 mg and 8 mg groups were significantly decreased as compared with those of DM group [serum: TNF-α(ng/L) was 268.33±46.57, 261.34±33.73 vs. 331.40±69.05, myocardium: TNF-α (ng/L) was 144.72±26.90, 139.59±14.59 vs. 177.48±27.40; serum: IL-1 (ng/L) was 24.40±2.56, 23.35±3.13 vs. 30.08±5.44, myocardium: IL-1 (ng/L) was 21.26±2.85, 20.54±2.75 vs. 24.78±3.60, all P < 0.05], and ADP levels were significantly increased [serum (μg/L): 19.64±8.85, 20.54±7.47 vs. 15.45±3.06, myocardium (μg/L): 10.31±2.22, 11.49±3.42 vs. 7.76±1.77, all P < 0.05], and the mRNA expressions of TNF-α and TLR4 in myocardium were significantly decreased (TNF-αmRNA: 0.15±0.05, 0.14±0.06 vs. 0.25±0.09; TLR4 mRNA: 0.57±0.17, 0.40±0.18 vs. 0.75±0.35, all P < 0.05). ②Oxidative stress in serum and myocardium of model rabbits was significantly increased, SOD, NO, and total NOS levels were significantly decreased while the serum CAT and MDA levels were significantly increased without effect on MPO. Compared with the DM group, SOD and NO levels in serum and myocardium were significantly increased in DM+PGZ 4 mg and 8 mg groups [serum: SOD (U/L) was 571.39±40.85, 609.28±54.47 vs. 535.10±37.08, myocardium:SOD (U/mg) was 55.74±8.12, 53.60±9.87 vs. 42.26±12.34; serum: NO (μmol/L) was 2.95±0.51, 2.99±0.43 vs. 2.03±0.78, myocardium: NO (nmol/mg) was 1.95±0.37, 2.11±0.26 vs. 1.56±0.33, all P < 0.05], the serum MDA levels were significantly decreased (μmol/L: 20.11±2.34, 19.70±2.02 vs. 23.07±3.06, both P < 0.05), while no significant effect on CAT. There was no significant difference in parameter of inflammatory and oxidative stress between the two pioglitazone intervention groups. Conclusion 4 mg·kg-1·d-1 pioglitazone could activate PPARγ-TLR4-TNF-α targeted pathway, thus inhibit inflammatory and oxidative stress factors expression, and down-regulate hyperglycemia induced myocardium inflammatory and oxidative stress level, but the effect did not show a dose dependent manner.
9.Tolvaptan attenuates atrial remodeling in rats undergoing chronic intermittent hypoxia via miRNA-21
Zuowang MA ; Kai ZHANG ; Weiding WANG ; Ruimeng LIU ; Yuanyuan XU ; Yue ZHANG ; Meng YUAN ; Guangping LI
Chinese Journal of Cardiology 2019;47(8):614-621
Objective To investigate the effects and potential mechanisms of tolvaptan on chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH)?induced atrial remodeling in rats. Methods A total of 45 Sprague?Dawley rats were divided into 3 groups by the random number table: control group, CIH group (6 h/d for 30 days), CIH plus tolvaptan group (8 mg·kg-1·d-1 per gavage for 30 days). Echocardiography examination was performed after 30 days. Thereafter, 5 rats were randomly chosen for histology evaluation, 5 for molecular biological examinations and another 5 rats underwent isolated heart electrophysiology study in each group. Protein and mRNA expression levels of miRNA?21, Spry1, PTEN, ERK/p?ERK, MMP?9, PI3K, AKT/p?AKT were detected. Results Compared to the rats in control group, rats in the CIH group showed higher atrial interstitial collagen deposition (P<0.001), increased atrial fibrillation inducibility (P=0.022). The results of immunohistochemistry staining showed that the mean optical density (MOD) of ERK, p?ERK and MMP?9 were significantly increased (all P<0.05), the MOD of Spry1 and PTEN were significantly decreased (both P<0.05), above changes could be significantly reversed by cotreatment with tolvaptan. No significant differences were detected in PI3K and AKT among the three groups (P>0.05). In addition, compared with rats in control group, mRNA levels of miRNA?21, MMP?9, PI3K, AKT, and protein levels of ERK, p?ERK, MMP?9 were significantly increased in CIH group(all P<0.05), whereas protein levels of Spry1, PI3K, p?AKT were significantly decreased (all P<0.05). Above changes could be significantly attenuated. Conclusions CIH induces significant atrial remodeling in this rat model, which can be attenuated by tolvaptan possibly through modulating miRNA?21/Spry1/ERK/MMP?9 and miRNA?21/PTEN/PI3K/AKT signaling pathways.
10.Lenvatinib modulates tumor immune microenvironment to synergistical-ly enhance immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment of hepatocellular car-cinoma
Jiamin LI ; Ruimeng YANG ; Ruili WEI ; Wang YAO ; Wanli ZHANG ; Xinqing JIANG
Chinese Journal of Pathophysiology 2024;40(5):786-795
AIM:To explore the efficacy of lenvatinib(Len)in enhancing the therapeutic effects of immune checkpoint inhibitor for hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)and to delve into its immunomodulatory mechanisms within the tumor microenvironment.METHODS:The effects of various concentrations of Len on the migration of human umbilical vein endothelial cells(HUVECs)and the secretion of CXC chemokine ligand 10(CXCL10)were investigated,and the mechanism by which Len modulates CXCL10 secretion was validated.An orthotopic HCC model was established,and the mice bearing tumors were randomly allocated into 4 groups:PBS group,BMS-202(PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor)group,Len group,and Len/BMS-202 group.The progression of the orthotopic liver tumors was monitored with small animal in vivo im-aging techniques.On the 13th day after the treatment,mice were sacrificed and tumor tissues were harvested for analysis.Immunofluorescence was employed to identify apoptosis,vascular architecture,and hypoxic status within the tumor tis-sue.The expression levels of proliferation marker Ki67,transforming growth factor-β(TGF-β),and the infiltration de-grees of CD4+T cells and CD8+T cells in the tumor tissue were monitored with immunohistochemistry.The secretion of im-mune factors interferon-γ(IFN-γ),CXCL10 and TGF-α in the mouse serum was quantified with ELISA.Above all data were followed by statistical analysis.RESULTS:(1)Len could facilitate endothelial cell migration within a specific range and potentiated the response of tumor cells to IFN-γ by blocking fibroblast growth factor receptor(FGFR),thereby increasing the secretion of CXCL10 from the tumor cells.(2)Compared with PBS group,tumor growth was slower in all treatment groups,with Len/BMS-202 group showing the most significant inhibition of tumor growth in tumor-bearing mice(P<0.05).(3)Compared with PBS group and monotherapy groups,Len/BMS-202 significantly promoted tumor tissue apoptosis and inhibited tumor cell proliferation(P<0.05).(4)Compared with PBS group and BMS-202 group,both Len group and Len/BMS-202 group manifested a substantial enhancement in pericytes coverage rate(P<0.01),concomitantly showing a marked improvement in hypoxic conditions(P<0.01).(5)Compared with PBS group and monotherapy groups,Len/BMS-202 group showed a significant increase in the infiltration of CD4+T cells and CD8+T cells within the tumor(P<0.01),along with a marked decrease in the expression of TGF-β(P<0.01).(6)Compared with PBS group,all treatment groups collectively induced varying degrees of secretion of IFN-γ,CXCL10 and TGF-α in mouse serum(P<0.05),with Len/BMS-202 group demonstrating the most pronounced effects(P<0.01).CONCLUSION:Lenvatinib may augment the therapeutic efficacy of BMS-202 in HCC by facilitating tumor vascular normalization,alleviating hypoxic conditions,and enhancing the secretion of CXCL10,thereby synergistically activating the tumor immune microenvironment.