Objective To investigate the feasibility and safety of autologous tumor tissue lysate loading den-dritic cells(DC) for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods The monocytes-derived DC were induced and antigen loaded with tumor tissue lysate to produce DC vaccine. Vaccination and clinical observation were conducted in 12 HCC patients for 41 times. Results The average output of DC was 1.69×107(1.69×107±9.44×106>) from 90 ml peripheral blood. 63.41% (26/41)patients appeared to develop delayed-type hypersensitivity after intradermal injection. After an average of 9 months follow up, 1 patient out of 4 recurrence and metastasis pa- tients survived for 17 months. The other three patients progressed. Out of 8 patients undergoing immunotherapy post- operatively,6 patients had no signs of recurrence and the others were found to have liver rceurrence and progression. Conclusion DC based immunotherapy is safe and feasible,with no side effects,which can be applied in the immu- notherapy strategy of HCC patients.

AIM: The ?-catenin is a key molecule in the Wnt signal pathway, which plays a critical role in normal development and tumorigenesis. However, the mechanisms of the ?-catenin on the cell growth control are still not completely defined. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that the mutant ?-catenin may regulate the hepatocyte proliferation. METHODS: The immortalized murine hepatocyte cell line, AML12, was used for this study. A plasmid that contain mutant ?-catenin S33Y was transfected into the AML12 cells and a stable cell line AML12S33Y was established. The cell growth property of this cell line and the parental cell were compared by flow cytometry analysis and direct cell count. The cells were also tested for the ability to form soft agar colonies, and the ability to form tumors in the severe immune deficient mice (SCID). RESULTS: 1. The mutant ?-catenin containing cell line AML12S33Y has higher proliferating index compared with the parental AML12 cells ( P

Objective:To investigate the most effective strategy for mature induction of dendritic cells.Methods:Human monocyte-derived dendritic cells were induced in the presence of cytokines GM-CSF and IL-4. On day 6, the immature DCs were pulsed with each of CD40L, LPS, TNF-? or a cocktail of cytokines(TNF-?, IL-6, IL-1?, PGE2). DCs were harvested after 24 h induction. The surface markers for maturation CD80,CD83,CD86 and HLA-DR were detected by FCM. FITC-Dextra endocytic activity was measured by FCM. IL-12 production was detected by ELISA. The capacity of DCs for T cell activation was detected by MTT assay.Results:CD40L,LPS,TNF-? and the cocktail of cytokines all could induce DCs’ maturation. The most effective scheme for induction of maturation was the cocktail of cytokines, and the expression rate of CD83 was up to 66.91%(P

Objective To explore the effect of surgical treatment on primary gastrointestinal non-Hodgking lymphoma(NHL) in children.Methods Nine cases of clinical and follow-up data of primary gastrointestinal NHL were studied retrospectively to evaluate the effect of surgical treatment on primary gastrointestinal NHL in children.Results Seven cases were male and 2 cases were female.The mean age was(5.59?3.27)years old.The clinical manifestation included abdominal mass (7 cases),abdominal pain (5 cases),fever (2 cases),haematemesis and melena (2 cases),constipation (1 case) and paroxysmal abdominal pain with vomiting (1 case).Nine cases were diagnosed as primary gastrointestinal NHL,including 1 case of intussusception,1 case of acute appendicitis,2 cases of gastrointestinal obstruction,2 cases of gastrointestinal bleeding and 3 cases of abdominal mass.One case received the operation of intussusception reduction,tumor resection and intestinal anastomosis.One case received appendectomy.One case received the operation of tumor biopsy and transverse colon colostomy.Six cases received laparotomy.Six cases were diagnosed as Burkitt lymphoma.One case was anaplastic large cell lymphoma and 2 cases were diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.One case was at stage Ⅰ,1 case was at stage ⅠE,2 cases were at stage Ⅱ,3 cases were at stage ⅡE and 2 cases were at stage Ⅲ.Nine patients had received operation.One case died after operation and 8 cases had received combined chemotherapy.The 1 and 3 years survival rates were 75.0% and 37.5%,respectively.Conclusions Acute abdomen is often the first symptom of primary gastrointestinal NHL in children and comprehensive surgical treatment is an effective procedure for it.

Ion channelopathies are the mainly etiopathogenisis of inherited arrhythmia. Those arrhythmia syndromes are commonly caused by ion channel gene mutation, which can be classified as sodium,potassium and calcium ion channel mutation.Changes in the genes encoding for cardiac ion channel subunits produce modification in the function of the channels, and cause the dysfunctions of cardiac electrical activity; and the clinical manifestation is malignant arrhythmia.
Animals ; Arrhythmias, Cardiac ; genetics ; physiopathology ; Channelopathies ; genetics ; physiopathology ; Humans ; Ion Channels ; genetics ; physiology ; Mutation

Objective To evaluate the effect of spleno-left adrenal vein shunt for the treatment of portal hypertensive upper GI bleeding caused by portal vein cavernous transformation in children.Methods Spleno-left adrenal vein shunt was performed in 8 children with portal hypertension due to cavernous transformation.The clinical data was reviewed.Results Portal vein pressure decreased significantly from (30±11)mm Hg to(22±7) mm Hg after shunt.There was no mortality perioperatively and during the follow-up.There were no recurrent hemorrhage nor hepatic encephalopathy occurring in the follow-up and all the children have normal intelligence and normal liver function though blood ammonia level increased significantly from(18±7)μmol/L to (60±17)μmol/L in 4 cases.In 7 cases in which preoperative whole blood cell count significantly decreased,the postoperative WBC,RBC,Hb and PLT was (7.64 ±4.46)×10~9/L,(4.54±0.97)×10~(12)/L,(133±5) g/L and (355.40±107.36)×10~9/L respectively (all P ＜0.05).In one case suffering from preoperative low PLT count the postop PLT reached 333×10~9/L,which was significantly higher than that preoperatively.Esophageal varices ameliorated in 6 cases.No stenosis of anastomotic stoma and thrombosis developed.Conclusion Spleno-left adrenal vein shunt is an effective procedure to treat portal vein cavernous transformation induced portal hypertension in children.

Objective To observe the effect of somatostatin (SST) on the expression of metalloproteinase-2(MMP-2) and tissue inhibitor matrix metalloproteinase-2(TIMP-2) of implanted tumor in nude mice after partial hepatectomy.Method Nude mice were divided into group A(n=10) implanted by human hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC),group B(n=10, partial hepatectomy) and C(n=10,HCC implantation after liver resection). SST(250 ?g/kg,b.i.d) was given intraperitoneally in group C. Mice were sacrificed on 35th d, tumor was measured, the expression of MVD.MMP-2 and TIMP-2 was detected by immunochemical staining and quantitative image computer-analysis. Results In group B, the weight and volume and expression of MVD.MMP-2 of tumor tissue was markedly incressed than in group A(P

AIM: To investigate the expression of adhesion molecules in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and analyze its clinical significance. METHODS: The expression of adhesion molecules of tumor tissues of 64 cases and adjacent tissues of 12 cases of HCC were detected with RT-PCR. RESULTS: ①The expression rates of E-cadherin, ICAM-1 , CD44, CD 44V , ? 5, ? 1 were 90 62%, 93 75%, 50 00%, 96 88%, 100%, 100%, respectively, and there was a significant difference between CD44 and other adhesion molecules. ②The expression level of E-cadherin, ICAM-1, CD44, CD 44V , ? 5,? 1 in liver cancer tissues were 1 24?0 54, 0 96?0 37, 0 62?0 73, 0 86?0 33, 0 97?0 49, 1 41?0 24, respectively, and there was a significant difference between CD44 and E-cadherin, ? 1. ③The expression level of E-cadherin and CD44 mRNA declined as HCC stage become higher, and there was a statistical difference in the expression level of CD44 mRNA between Ⅰ-Ⅱ stage and Ⅳ stage. The expression level of ICAM-1, ? 5, ? 1 had a trend to rise as HCC stage become higher, and there was a statistical difference in the expression level of ICAM-1 between Ⅰ-Ⅱ stage and Ⅳ stage. ④The expression level of ICAM-1,CD 44V , ? 5, ? 1 had positive correlation with tumor volume, tumor nodules, tumor metastasis, and had negative correlation with tumor encapsulation. E-cadherin and CD44 had negative correlation with tumor volume, tumor nodules, tumor metastasis, and had positive correlation with tumor encapsulation. All showed no significant correlation with the level of AFP , the degree of cirrhosis and the function of liver. CONCLUSION: There was a significant difference in the expression level of adhesion molecule mRNA in HCC, and their expression had Spearman correlation with each other. The expression level of adhesion molecule mRNA is associated with tumor volume, tumor nodules and tumor metastasis. [

AIM: To investigate the expression of adhes i on molecules in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and analyze the correlatio n between the expression of adhesion molecules and chemosensitivity. METHODS: The surgical and needle specimens from 64 patients were tested by the ATP-TCA. The expression of adhesion molecules and multi-drug resi stance genes (MDR) of tumor tis sues of 64 cases and adjacent tissues of 12 cases of HCC were detected with RT-P CR. RESULTS: The expression level of E-cadherin, ICAM-1, CD 44, CD 44V, ? 5, ? 1 in liver cancer tissues was 1.24?0.54, 0.96?0.3 7, 0.62?0 .73, 0.86?0.33, 0.97?0.49, 1.41?0.24, respectively. There was a signif icant difference between CD 44 and E-cadherin, ? 1. The expression levels of MD R 1, MRP, GST-?, LRP, TOPO II mRNA in liver cancer tissues were 1.17?0.47, 1 .59?0.33, 1.18?0.48, 1.03?0.48, 1.00?0.31, respectively. The express ion level of adhesion molecule mRNA had positive Spearman correlation with the expression level of MDR mRNA. ICAM-1, ? 5 had positive Spearman correlation w ith MDR 1. E-cadherin and CD 44 had negative Spearman correlation with MDR 1. E-cadherin had negative Spearman correlation with MRP. ICAM-1 had positive Spearman correlation with LRP. E-cadherin and CD 44 had negative Spearman c orrelation with LRP. CONCLUSION: The expression levels of adhesion molecule mRNA ha ve correlation with the effect of chemotherapy and the expression of MDR genes .

Objective To investigate the expression and significance of caveolin-1 in femoral nerve of diabetic patients with foot amputation. Methods Forty patients with foot amputation were assigned to 3 groups according to their duration of type 2 diabetes: group A ( ＜6 years＝, group B (6-10 years), and group C ( ＞10 years). Hematoxylin and eosin (HE) stain and Weil's stain were used to examine the femoral nerve. Silver staining was used to observe the axons and to count the nerve fiber density. The expression of caveolin-1 in Schwann cells of femoral nerve was tested by immunohistochemisty. Results There were evident progressive pathological changes in femoral nerve in the 3 groups. The variance of nerve fiber density in the 3 groups reached statistical significance ( P＜0. 05 ＝, the nerve fiber density showed negative correlation with HbA1C( r =-0. 792, P＜0. 01 ＝ and duration ( r=-0.592, P＜0. 01 ＝. The expression of caveolin-1 in Schwann cells of femoral nerve was positive in all the 3 groups and the variance with statistical significance (P＜0. 01 ), it was negatively correlated with HbA1C (r=-0. 762, P＜0. 01 )and duration (r=-0. 532, P＜0. 01 ), and it was positively correlated with nerve fiber density (r=0. 721, P＜0.01 ), the partial correlation coefficient of caveolin-1 and HbA1Cwas-0. 505 ( P＜0. 01 ).Conclusion In patients with diabetic foot amputation, caveolin-1 may play a role in the development of diabetic peripheral neuropathy and diabetic foot.