OBJECTIVETo characterize DNA-PKcs and Ku70 expressions in hepato- and cholangio-neoplastic tissues and the association with the degree of malignancy and invasiveness of the tumors.

METHODSThe expression of DNA-PKcs and Ku70 was examined in 47 cases of hepato- or cholangio-neoplasm by immunohistochemistry.

RESULTSKu70 was expressed in all of the neoplastic tissues examined and with a little variation in levels. The highest expression was observed in adenocarcinomas and adenomas. There was no statistically significant association between Ku70 expression level and the degree of their malignancy extent or invasiveness. In contrast to Ku 70, a wide variation in expression levels of DNA-Pkcs was observed among different types of neoplastic tissues. The highest ratio of positive expressing cells was detected in hepatocellular carcinomas (92.1%), which was significantly higher than that in cholangioadeno carcinomas (65.3%) and biliary cystadenocarcinomas (51.9%). Low or no expression level was detected in papillary adenoma cases. DNA-PKcs expression of invasive adenomas and adeno-carcinomas (61.2%) was significantly higher than that of non-invasive adenomas and adeno-carcinomas (30.4%). There was no expression observed in the normal tissues adjacent to the tumors.

CONCLUSIONDNA-PKcs is expressed in hepato- and cholangio-neoplasms and its variable level of expression is associated with the types of the tumor and their degree of malignancy and invasiveness. DNA-PKcs could be recognized as a new biomarker for liver neoplasm.

Adenocarcinoma ; enzymology ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Antigens, Nuclear ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Bile Duct Neoplasms ; enzymology ; Bile Ducts, Intrahepatic ; enzymology ; Biomarkers, Tumor ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; enzymology ; DNA-Activated Protein Kinase ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; DNA-Binding Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Female ; Humans ; Ku Autoantigen ; Liver Neoplasms ; enzymology ; Male ; Middle Aged

BACKGROUNDPrimary liver cancer (PLC) is a common malignant tumor. Over the past decade, although farnesyltransferase (FTase) has emerged as a significant target for anticancer therapies and has become a hotspot of cancer research, its exact mechanism of action remains unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of FTase in PLC and its role in the development of PLC.

METHODSExpression of FTase was detected by real-time fluorescent quantitative-polymerase chain reaction (FQ-PCR) in cancer and surrounding normal tissues from 32 patients with PLC.

RESULTSExpression of FTase mRNA in PLC was significantly higher than that in normal hepatic tissues (P < 0.001). Overexpression of FTase was as high as 87.5%. The positive rate for FTase mRNA in the high tendency to metastatic recurrence group was obviously higher than that in the low tendency to metastatic recurrence group (P = 0.02). The positive rate for FTase mRNA in patients with metastatic recurrence during postoperative follow-up was also significantly higher than that in those without metastatic recurrence (P = 0.01).

CONCLUSIONSThe level of FTase mRNA expression in cancer tissues is much higher than in normal tissues. FTase may play an important role in the genesis and development of PLC and may be one of the reliable markers for the metastatic activity gained by liver tumor cells. FTase could be used clinically in predicting metastatic recurrence of PLC.

Adult ; Aged ; Farnesyltranstransferase ; genetics ; Female ; Humans ; In Vitro Techniques ; Liver Neoplasms ; enzymology ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; RNA, Messenger ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the value of modified acute physiologic and chronic health score (APACHE II score) in predicting postoperative complications in patients with acute obstructing colorectal carcinoma.

METHODSPostoperative complications in 92 patients with acute obstructing colorectal carcinoma were evaluated by APACHE II score and modified APACHE II score (severe organ dysfunction and immune damage in chronic health indicators were replaced by the duration and degree of obstruction, which were considered as the severity of intestinal obstruction). The sensitivity, specificity, and Youden index were compared with regard to complication prediction. Receiver operating characteristic curves were plotted to calculate area under the curve(AUC).

RESULTSTwenty-five patients developed postoperative complications including 3 deaths. The APACHE-II score(13.72±4.24), modified APACHE II score (19.28±4.92), intestinal obstruction severity score (5.56±2.20) were significantly higher in patients with complications than those in patients without complications (10.58±3.44, 14.69±3.73, 4.10±1.52, all P<0.01). The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, Youden index, and AUC were 0.640, 0.940, 0.859, 0.580, and 0.839 for the modified APACHE-II score with 20 being the optimal cut-off point, respectively, and were 0.560, 0.896, 0.804, 0.456, and 0.784 for APACHE-II (14 was the optimal cut-off point), respectively.

CONCLUSIONThe modified APACHE-II score system with the intestinal obstruction severity score is a better prediction method for the occurrence of postoperative complications in patients with acute obstructing colorectal carcinoma.

APACHE ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Area Under Curve ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; complications ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Intestinal Obstruction ; etiology ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Postoperative Complications ; Retrospective Studies ; Sensitivity and Specificity

Global Health ; History, 20th Century ; Humans ; Influenza A Virus, H2N2 Subtype ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Influenza, Human ; epidemiology ; history ; transmission ; virology

Lignans are important defensive compounds in plants and have good biological activities protecting human health. In order to study the medicinal secondary metabolism of Fagopyrum cymosum (Trev.) Meisn, a traditional Chinese medicine with anti-tumor effect, a novel isoflavone reductase-like gene, FcIRL, was cloned using RACE strategy from a cDNA library of high flavonoids-producing callus. The full-length cDNA of the FcIRL was 1 217 bp (accession no. EU116032), which contained a 942 bp open reading frame (ORF) encoding a 313 amino acid protein. Two stop codons (TAG) and a putative polyadenylation signal ATAAA at 24 bp upstream from the polyadenylation site was found in 5' and 3' UTR, separately. And no intron was found in the genomic sequence yet. FcIRL contained a predicted N-terminal acetylation site (M1-K5) and a NADPH-binding motif (G10-G-T-G13-Y-I-G16) in the N-terminal region, a conserved NmrA (nitrogen metabolite repression regulator) domain (V6-N244), multi-phosphorylation sites and one conserved N-glycosylation site (N214). Sequence homology comparison, phylogenetic analysis and advanced structures prediction all suggested that FcIRL belonged to the class of pinoresinol-lariciresinol reductase (PLR), which is a key enzyme in synthetic pathway of 8-8'-linked lignans, with function in catalyzing reduction of pinoresinol and lariciresinol into secoisolariciresinol, and medicinal secondary metabolism and resistance in F. cymosum.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Base Sequence ; Cloning, Molecular ; Fagopyrum ; enzymology ; genetics ; Flavonoids ; genetics ; Lignans ; metabolism ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Oxidoreductases ; genetics ; Oxidoreductases Acting on CH-CH Group Donors ; genetics ; Protein Structure, Tertiary ; Sequence Homology, Amino Acid

The pathogenesis of metabolic syndrome （MS） includes insulin resistance （IR）， central obesity， chronic low-grade inflammation， oxidative stress， endoplasmic reticulum stress， elevated free fatty acid levels， intestinal flora imbalance， renin angiotensin system abnormality， and autophagy activity deficiency， etc. Most researchers believe that IR plays a central role in the pathogenesis of MS， and abdominal obesity is an important initial factor of MS. According to the incidence and clinical characteristics， MS is classified as "obesity" "pidan" " abdominal fullness " and other diseases. It is said that the pathogenesis of MS is related to the deficiency of spleen and kidney， the formation of phlegm， turbidity， blood stasis and other pathological products， which damage the body's functions of qi， blood， yin and yang. Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） has unique advantages in treating MS based on the holistic view and syndrome differentiation concept. It has multi-level， multi-target and multi-channel treatment characteristics. It can intervene insulin signal transduction， regulate adipocyte factor secretion level， relieve oxidative stress and endoplasmic reticulum stress response， regulate intestinal flora and renin angiotensin system， reduce free fatty acid level and regulation Autophagy and other ways to improve chronic low-grade inflammation and IR status， and then comprehensive prevention and treatment of MS and its complications. However， the following problems still exist：lack of high-quality randomized controlled clinical research and large sample real-world research， clinical unified diagnosis and treatment standard has not yet formed， lack of genetic animal model in basic research， relatively single signal pathway and target of experimental research， and difficulty in timely formation of clinical transformation of scientific research achievements. Therefore， we should make full use of modern scientific and technological means to carry out systematic and standardized multicenter， large sample， high-quality randomized controlled trials or real-world research， we should prepare perfect animal models， focus on the crosstalk relationship between multiple related cell signaling pathways， and actively explore the potential relationship between signaling pathways and prescription compatibility， so as to actively promote basic scientific research achievements Clinical practice may be the key research direction in the prevention and treatment of MS in TCM.

Polysaccharides from numerous traditional Chinese medicines have been proven as the bioactive ingredients and are hence used as the quality control markers. However, the assessment criteria always show a poor specificity, due to the lack of systematic comparison among the analogous herbs. In the present study, two similar materials, namely sea-tangle and sargassum, were selected as the model herbs to develop more specific methods for quality control. Two well-established methods, determination of the total polysaccharides content and monosaccharides composition analysis, were both employed. Based upon the quantitative results, the evaluation criteria of the polysaccharides contents of not less than 2.0% and 1.7% were proposed for sea-tangle and sargassum, respectively. Nine identical monosaccharide derivatives appeared on the HPLC chromatograms of the hydrolysis and derivatized solutions of the two drugs. Principal component analysis and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis using the peak areas of monosaccharides derivatives as the variables were performed, and the results indicated that mannuronic acid and xylose with the opposite concentrations in the two drugs were the differential components. A discriminative criterion using the peak area ratio of these two monosaccharides derivatives was proposed for the qualitative identification. In conclusion, a more specific and quantitative quality control method was developed for sea-tangle and sargassum.
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; methods ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; Laminaria ; chemistry ; Plant Extracts ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Polysaccharides ; chemistry ; Quality Control ; Sargassum ; chemistry ; Seaweed ; chemistry