Aim To study the apoptosis effect of cucurbitacin Ⅱa on non-small cell lung cancer cell lines NCI-H460 and A549 and its underlying mechanism.Methods Cell viability was assessed by CCK-8 assay.The apoptosis effect and cell cycle arrest were detected by Flow cytometry.Western blot was employed to detect the related protein.Results The proliferation of lung cancer cell lines NCI-H460 and A549 was inhibited by CuⅡa, which showed cytotoxic activity with IC50 values of 224.9 nmol·L-1 and 108.3 nmol·L-1 against NCI-H460 and A549 respectively.CuⅡa induced the cells apoptosis and cell cycle arrest at G2/M phase.The results of Western blot showed CuⅡa inhibited the phosphorylation of STAT3 and Cofilin in a dose-dependent manner.Further, CuⅡa inhibited the phosphorylation of Aurora A, in line with the important characteristics of anti-tumor effect of Aurora A kinase inhibitor with blocking cells in the G2/M phase.Conclusion CuⅡa has obvious anti-tumor effect against non-small cell lung cancer, which suggests its value as a lead compound for lung cell carcinoma.

Objective·To investigate the relation between urinary excretion of protein-bound uremic toxins(PBUTs)and upper urinary tract calculus.Methods·Residents aged 18?80 years in the community of Haitou,Danzhou city in Hainan Province were recruited.Basic information and diet for the last 3 d of the subjects were recorded.Their fasting sera and 24-hour urine samples were collected,and they also underwent ultrasound examination of kidneys and ureters.The subjects with upper urinary calculi detected by ultrasound or a clear history of upper urinary calculi were selected as the calculus group,and the others as the non-calculus group.The biochemical indicators related to the formation of calculus in blood and urine were detected,and the levels of PBUTs,including indoxyl sufate(IS),indole-3-acetic acid(IAA),and p-cresol sulfate(PCS)in blood and urine,as well as oxalic acid and citric acid in urine were detected by high-performance liquid chromatography.The related factors of upper urinary tract calculus formation were analyzed by multivariate Logistic regression.The correlations of urine PBUTs with urine uric acid,oxalic acid,and citric acid were analyzed by Spearman correlation test.Results·A total of 117 participants were screened out with 54 people in the calculus group and 63 people in the non-calculus group.There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of gender,age,serum indicators,and prevalence of complications such as hypertension,diabetes,and hyperuricemia/gout.The 24-hour urine pH,calcium,uric acid,and chlorine in the calculus group were significantly higher than those in the non-calculus group(all P<0.05),while IS was significantly lower than that in the non-calculus group(P<0.05).Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that urinary IS(OR=0.929,95%CI 0.875?0.986,P=0.016)was related to the calculus formation independently,in addition to urinary calcium.The Spearman correlation analysis results showed that the levels of IAA(r=0.420,P=0.000)and PCS(r=0.307,P=0.001)in 24-hour urine were positively correlated with oxalic acid,PCS was positively correlated with uric acid(r=0.297,P=0.002),and IS was positively correlated with citric acid(r=0.289,P=0.002).Conclusion·In the population,a decrease in urinary excretion of IS may be an independent risk factor for the formation of upper urinary tract calculus,and PBUTs levels are correlated with levels of uric acid,oxalic acid,and citric acid.