Gut functions, such as gastrointestinal motility, gastric secretion and pancreatic secretion, were reduced with age. Glucose tolerance is impaired, and the release of insulin and beta-cell's sensitivity on glucose are reduced with age. However, a lot of controversial data have been reported as insulin concentrations after glucose ingestion are either higher or no different in elderly and young subjects. Thus, this study was aimed to investigate whether aging could affect pancreatic exocrine secretion and its action mechanisms. An isolated perfused rat pancreatic model was used to exclude the effects of external nerves or hormones. Pancreatic secretion was increased by CCK under 5.6 mM glucose background in the isolated perfused pancreas of young (3 months), 12 months and 18 months aged rats. There was no significant difference between young and aged rats. In 3 months old rats, CCK-stimulated pancreatic secretion was potentiated under 18 mM glucose background. However, the potentiation effects of endogenous insulin and CCK were not observed in 12 and 18 months old rats. Exogenous insulin also potentiated CCK-stimulated pancreatic secretion in 3 months old rats. Similarly, exogenous insulin failed to potentiate CCK-stimulated pancreatic secretion as that of 3 months old rats. Wet weight of pancreas and amylase content in pancreatic tissue were not changed with age. These results indicate that pancreatic exocrine secretion is reduced with age and endogenous insulin secretion and/or action is involved in this phenomenon.
Aged ; Aging ; Amylases ; Animals ; Cholecystokinin ; Eating ; Gastrointestinal Motility ; Glucose ; Humans ; Insulin ; Pancreas ; Rats

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the prognosis of fetuses with cystic hygroma (CH) or nuchal translucency (NT) or nuchal fold (NF) thickening detected by prenatal echography. METHODS: From January 2014 to December 2015, 124 fetuses with CH and NT/NF thickening on prenatal echography were enrolled from Women's Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine. The basic clinical information, ultrasonic results, pregnancy outcomes and newborn follow-ups were analyzed. The cases were grouped by prognosis and the factors affecting prognosis were analyzed with logistic regression. RESULTS: There were 85 cases of labor induction including one stillbirth and 39 cases delivered. Except one infant who died after birth, all live births survived with good prognosis. Univariate analysis showed that the gestational age at diagnosis of poor prognosis group was earlier than that of good prognosis group (<0.01); and the former group also had higher hydrops fetalis rate and additional structural anomalies rate (all <0.01). Multivariate regression analysis showed that hydrops fetalis (=90.105, <0.05) and additional structural anomalies (=61.854, <0.05) were risk factors of poor prognosis in fetuses with CH and NT/NF thickening. CONCLUSIONS Fetuses with diagnosed CH or NT/NF thickening on prenatal ultrasonography are likely to be associated with chromosomal abnormality. Early gestational weeks, hydrops fetalis and additional structural anomalies may indicate poor prognosis.
Female ; Fetus ; Humans ; Hydrops Fetalis ; etiology ; Infant, Newborn ; Lymphangioma, Cystic ; complications ; diagnosis ; Nuchal Translucency Measurement ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Outcome ; Prognosis ; Ultrasonography, Prenatal

Objective: To investigate the expression of circular RNA hsa_circ_0128298 in hepatocellular harcinoma (HCC) and evaluate its function in the growth process of HCC. Methods: qPCR was used to detect the expressions of hsa_circ_0128298 in 50 HCC tissues, corresponding paracancerous tissues and HCC cells. The effects of hsa_circ_0128298 on HCC growth was analyzed by CCK-8 kit, flow cytometry and western blot assays. The values of hsa_circ_0128298 for the diagnosis and prognosis of HCC were assessed by ROC curve and survival curve analyses. Results: Compared with the paracancerous tissues, the expression of hsa_circ_0128298 was significantly increased in HCC tissues ( U =846.0， P =0.005). The area under ROC curve (AUCROC) was 0.661, 95% confidence interval ( CI ) was 0.560 to 0.753, sensitivity was 80.0% and specificity was 50.0%. HCC patients with high expression of hsa_circ_0128298 displayed less overall survival time than those with low expression of hsa_circ_0128298 ( χ 2=6.294, P =0.012). RNA interference of hsa_circ_0128298 (si-hsa_circ_0128298) significantly inhibited HCC cell proliferation and induced cell cycle arrest at G0/G1, and also induced mRNA upregulation and protein expression of cyclin p21. Meanwhile，si-p21 partially reversed the proliferation inhibition and cell cycle arrest of HCC cells induced by si-hsa_circ_0128298, and restore its growth and proliferation potential. Conclusion The highly expressed hsa_circ_0128298 in HCC could promote the growth of HCC by regulating the expression of p21 and promise to be a new target for diagnosis and treatment of HCC.