Objective To study the interaction between telomerase activity and abnormalities of the p16 gene in liver metastases of colorectal carcinoma. Methods Telomerase activity was detected by a non-isotopic PCR-based telomeric repeat amplification protocol (TRAP) assay, and homozygous deletions of the p16 gene were detected by a semiquantitative multiplex polymerase chain reaction in tissue samples from 24 liver metastases of colorectal carcinoma and 5 primary colorectal carcinomas. Results Telomerase activity was observed in 19 (79.2%) of 24 liver metastases of colorectal carcinoma. Telomerase activity was also observed in all 5 primary colorectal carcinomas and in 3 of their liver metastatic samples. The incidence of telomerase activity in liver metastases of colorectal carcinoma was not significantly correlated to tumor diameter, number of tumors, cirrhosis, and HBsAg. Homozygous deletions of the p16 gene were found in 9 of 24 (37.5%) liver metastases of colorectal carcinoma. Homozygous deletions of the p16 gene were observed in 2 of the 5 primary colorectal carcinomas and in 1 of the matching liver metastatic cancers. There was a correlation between telomerase activity and homozygous deletions of the p16 gene. Conclusions There is a correlation between telomerase activity and homozygous deletions of the p16 gene in liver metastases of colorectal carcinoma, suggesting its crucial role in liver metastases. However, telomerase activation and homozygous deletions of the p16 gene might not be the initiating event in liver metastases of colorectal carcinoma.

Objective To induce islet allograft long-term survival through cotransplantation of islet cells with sertoli cells. Methods Testicular sertoli cells were prepared by digestion with collagenase, trypsin and DNase, and were cultured for 48 hours. Collagenase digested and Ficoll purified donor (Wistar rat) islets were cotransplanted with allogeneic sertoli cells in the absence of systemic immunosuppression. Terminal leoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated X-dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) was used to label apoptosis of lymphocytes surrounding the islet graft. Results Cotransplantation of islets and 1 × 107 sertoli cells reversed the diabetic state for more than 60 days in 100% (6/6) of the chemically diabetic Sprague Dawley rats. Grafts consisting of islets alone or islets plus 1 × 105 sertoli cells survived only for 5 - 6 days. Apoptosis of lymphocytes surrounding the islets was quite clear. Conclusion Cotransplantation of islets with FasL+ sertoli cells induces local immune privilege and allows long-term graft survival without systemic immunosuppression.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the correlation between the stenosis degree of superior mesenteric artery (SMA) and each artery within the scope of aorto-iliac artery in patients with lower extremity atherosclerotic occlusive disease (LEAOD). METHODS: Images of 70 patients who had undergone the aorta-iliac-femoral arteries CT angiography (CTA) examination and had a definite diagnosis of LEAOD due to intermittent claudication or resting pain admitted to Tianjin Hospital from January to December in 2017 were enrolled. The arteries in the aorta as well as iliac were surface-reconstructed, which were analyzed by advanced vascular analysis (AVA) combined with the original images, including SMA trunk, abdominal aorta (AA), left and right common iliac artery (LCIA, RCIA), left and right internal iliac artery (LIIA, RIIA), left and right external iliac artery (LEIA, REIA). The normal reference plane and the maximal stenosis plane were selected, and the stenosis rate of each artery in the reconstruction range was automatically calculated with software. The patient's imaging data were divided into groups with two methods: (1) according to the degree of SMA stenosis, the patients were divided into group I (stenosis degree ≤70%) and group II (stenosis degree > 70%); (2) LEAOD patients with different gender were respectively divided into three groups: middle-aged group (45-59 years old), pre-elderly group (60-74 years old) and elderly group (75-89 years old). The comparison between the stenosis degree of SMA and each artery within the scope of aorto-iliac artery was analyzed with Pearson simple correlation analysis. RESULTS: The incidence of SMA stenosis in all LEAOD patients was 100%. Correlation analysis showed that there was no correlation between the stenosis degree of SMA and AA, LCIA, RCIA, LIIA, RIIA, LEIA, or REIA in group I (n = 64) and group II (n = 6), respectively (r value was -0.021, 0.023, 0.023, -0.137, 0.182, -0.113, 0.141, respectively, in group I, and it was 0.020, -0.560, 0.010, 0.306, -0.204, -0.381, 0.393, respectively, in group II, all P > 0.05). In 52 male patients, there was no correlation between the stenosis degree of SMA and AA, LCIA, RCIA, LIIA, RIIA, LEIA, or REIA in middle-aged group (n = 16), pre-elderly group (n = 27) and elderly group (n = 9), respectively (r value was -0.032, 0.024, 0.324, 0.146, 0.312, 0.008, 0.344, respectively, in middle-aged group, it was -0.108, -0.116, -0.040, -0.249, -0.082, -0.052, 0.096, respectively, in pre-elderly group, and it was 0.182, 0.311, 0.400, 0.360, 0.688, 0.498, 0.406, respectively, in elderly group, all P > 0.05). In 18 female patients, there was also no correlation between the stenosis degree of SMA and above each artery within the scope of aorto-iliac artery in pre-elderly group (n = 11) and elderly group (n = 6), respectively (the r value was -0.170, 0.040, -0.019, 0.152, 0.508, 0.042, 0.456, respectively, in pre-elderly group, and it was -0.660, 0.008, -0.055, -0.056, -0.213, 0.344, 0.011, respectively, in elderly group, all P > 0.05). The correlation in middle-aged group was not analyzed because there was only 1 patient. CONCLUSIONS Although the atherosclerotic changes in LEAOD patients can affect SMA and aorto-iliac artery at the same time, there was no correlation between the stenosis degree of SMA and each artery within the scope of aorto-iliac artery which may due to the differences in the histological structure and hemodynamics among different arteries. SMA atherosclerotic stenosis and occlusion is a relatively independent disease process for LEAOD.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Computed Tomography Angiography ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Female ; Humans ; Iliac Artery ; Lower Extremity ; Male ; Mesenteric Artery, Superior ; Middle Aged