Colorectal cancer is currently the third most common cancer worldwide,and there are still half of the patients undergoing recurrence and metastasis after surgical treatment,so it is necessary for colorectal cancer patients to receive radiation therapy routinely.Due to the side effects brought by radiotherapy,it is of great importance to solve how to minimize the radiation dose in radiation therapy and improve radiation sensitivity.In recent years,people discovered that microRNAs can not only be involved in the origins of colorectal cancer and progress,but also play a increasingly important role in cancer radiosensitivity.MicroRNAs can regulate tumor radiosensitivity by influencing tumor microenvironment and function on target genes.DNA damage response caused by radiation includes the activation of ATM,histone modification and chromatin remodeling,cell cycle arrest,damage repair and apoptosis.microRNAs can regulate tumor radiosensitivity through above processes.This review focuses on the mechanism of microRNAs in affecting DNA damage repair and prospects the future of microRNAs in influencing the sensitivity of cancer radiotherapy in clinical application.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the feasibility of detecting of Y-STR of fetal DNA in maternal plasma using Ion Torrent PGM™ System. METHODS: A total of 16 fetal DNA samples from maternal plasmas (8 cases from 38 weeks gestational age and 8 ones from 12 weeks) were prepared and a multiplex assay with 7 STR loci (DYS390, DYS391, DYS393, DYS438, DYS437, DYS456, DYS635) was designed for multiplex-PCR amplification. Using Ion Torrent PGM™ System, the results of Y-STR sequences and capillary electrophoresis were obtained and compared. RESULTS: Y-STR specific alleles were detected in the maternal plasma of all the pregnant women having male babies of second and third trimester, which were higher than that detected by capillary electrophoresis. Consistent Y-STR genotypes were observed between fetal DNA from maternal plasma and genomic DNA from the newborn babies. CONCLUSION Based on Ion Torrent PGM™ System, the prenatal Y-STR detection method may provide a high-sensitive and high-throughput choice for prenatal STR detection in forensic testing.
Alleles ; Chromosomes, Human, Y/genetics* ; DNA/blood* ; Family ; Female ; Fetal Blood/chemistry* ; Genotype ; Haplotypes ; Humans ; Male ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Pregnancy ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Sex Determination Analysis ; Tandem Repeat Sequences/genetics*

OBJECTIVETo assess the effect of Qingfei Quyu Decoction (QQD) in preventing radiation pneumonitis in esophageal carcinoma patients by concurrent using it with chemoradiotherapy.

METHODSA total of 120 patients with mid-late stage esophageal carcinoma were randomly assigned to the treatment group (60 cases) and the control group (60 cases). All patients received concurrent radiochemotherapy. Patients in the treatment group additionally took QQD, one dose per day for 8 successive weeks. The incidence of radiation pneunonitis was compared between the two groups. The improvement rates of short-term benefit rate, Karnofsky performance scale (KPS), and body weight (BW) improvement rate were calculated between the two groups. The 1-and 2-year overall survival rates were compared between the two groups.

RESULTSThe incidence of radiation pneunonitis was 8.93% (15/56) in the treatment group and 18.64% (11/59) in the control group (P < 0.05). The short-term benefit rate was 92.86% (52/56) in the treatment group and 69.49% (41/59) in the control group (P < 0.05). Besides, the KPS and BW improvement rate were higher in the treatment group [89.29% (50/56) and 83.05% (49/59) ] than in the control group [80.36% (45/56) and 66.10% (39/59)] (P < 0.05). The 1-and 2-year overall survival rate were 66.07% and 35.71% in the treatment group, higher than those of the control group (61.02% and 30.51%; P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONConcurrent using QQD with chemoradiotherapy for treating esophageal carcinoma patients could lower the incidence of radiation pneumonitis, attenuate the degree of radiation induced lung injury, improve clinical benefit rate, and elevate their QOL.

Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Chemoradiotherapy ; adverse effects ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Esophageal Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; radiotherapy ; Humans ; Radiation Pneumonitis ; prevention & control ; Survival Rate

OBJECTIVETo develop a LC-MS method for the determination of senkyunolide I (SI) in rat plasma, in order to observe whether there is significant change in the pharmacokinetics parameters of complex prescriptions of Huoluoxiaolingdan (HLXL) and single herbal extracts from Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort. in rats, and assess the effect of other components in HLXL on the pharmacokinetics of SI.

METHODTwelve male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into two groups, and orally administered with extract from HLXL and L. chuanxiong (both equal to SI 4.53 mg x kg(-1)). Their blood was collected at different time points for LC-MS, in order to detect the plasma concentration of SI. The pharmacokinetic parameters of SI were calculated by DAS 2.0 software. SPSS 16.0 software was used for independent-sample T-test and Nonparametric T-test.

RESULTA linear relationship of SI ranged from 6.750 to 675.0 microg x L(-1), and with the lowest limit of detection being 6.750 microg L(-1). Both of the plasma concentration-time curves of SI were fitted with the two-compartment model for extract of HLXL and L. chuanxiong. The detected AUC and Cmax of SI showed significant difference, with no significant difference in other parameters.

CONCLUSIONThe LC-MS determination method established in this experiment was so exclusive, accurate and sensitive that it is suitable for pharmacokinetic studies on extracts of HLXL and SI from L. chuanxion. The experiment results show that other ingredients of HLXL have noticeable effect on the absorption of SI in rat plasma.

Administration, Oral ; Animals ; Area Under Curve ; Benzofurans ; blood ; pharmacokinetics ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; pharmacokinetics ; Male ; Metabolic Clearance Rate ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

AIM:To investigate the role of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors(PPARs)-inflammation signaling pathways in diabetic hepatopathy.METHODS:Diabetic mouse model was established by feeding the mice with a high-energy diet for 4 weeks combined with intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin(STZ;40 mg· kg-1· d-1for 5 d). The hepatopathy model was confirmed by histopathological observation and the indexes of liver function, such as alanine aminotransferase(ALT),aspartate aminotransferase(AST)and alkaline phosphatase(ALP),after another 4 weeks.Mo-reover,fasting blood glucose(FBG), and serum levels of total cholesterol(TC), triglyceride(TG)and insulin were measured,and the HOMA insulin resistance index(HOMA-IR)was calculated.The mRNA and protein expression levels of PPARs and inflammation-related factors were measured by qPCR and Western blot, respectively.RESULTS: After treatment with STZ for 7 d,the FBG of mice exceeded 11.1 mmol/L,suggesting that the diabetic model was established. After 4 weeks,the structural deformation of the hepatocytes(including hepatocytes containing abundant fat vacuoles, and inflammatory cell infiltration),and the increases in the serum levels of insulin,HOMA-IR,TC,TG,ALT,AST and ALP were observed(P<0.01), indicating the occurrence and progression of hepatopathy in diabetic mice.Meanwhile, com-pared with the control group,the mRNA and protein expression of PPARα,PPARβand PPARγdecreased,but the expres-sion of nuclear factor-κB(NF-κB),cyclooxygenase 2(COX-2)and inducible nitric oxide synthase(iNOS)significantly increased in the diabetic hepatopathy mice(P <0.01).CONCLUSION: Down-regulation of PPARα, PPARβand PPARγand activation of NF-κB-COX-2/iNOS signaling pathways may be involved in the diabetic hepatopathy in mice in-duced by long-term high-energy diet feeding combined with intraperitoneal injection of STZ.

Objective To determine the trend of emergency department (ED)mortality of a tertiary general hospital from 2004 to 2014 in order to find the factors that may impact on ED mortality.Methods Mortality in ED was estimated according to the ratio of ED visiting patients to ED deaths.And the data of all ED deaths in 2004,2009 and 2014 were collected.Variance analysis and chi-square test were used for data analysis.Results During the past decade,ED visiting patients was increased significantly by 38.0% in 2014,compared with those in 2004,and the mortality was also increased accordingly from 0.7% in 2004, to 0.9% in 2009,to 1.2% in 2014 (P <0.01).Finally,a total of 1,091 deaths occurred in these three years were included for further evaluation.There were no significant changes in average age and gender distribution,and the average age was 61.9 and the male /female ratio was 1.36∶1 during past decade.The number of adults under 40 years old (18 -39)increased from 7.5% in 2004,to 10.6% in 2009,to 14.4% in 2014 (P <0.05).Both the facilities were upgraded and the number of staffs in ED increased markedly.The cardiovascular illness,cerebrovascular diseases,and sudden death were the leading causes of ED death during past decade.The incidences of trauma and tumor remained unchanged.Average time consumed from onset of illness to arrival to ED didn’t vary significantly during past decade.The study showed no changes in use of ambulance,but remarkable increases in number of non-compliant patients or their family from 18.3% in 2004,to 25.6% in 2009,to 38.3% in 2014 (P <0.01).The percentage of patients in the night time was higher,but there were no significant changes in number of emergency patients in the night time and during holidays in the past decade,but the mean ED stay time increased obviously from 22.4 h in 2004 to 53.3 h in 2014 (P <0.05 ).Conclusions During the past decade,although ED facilities and number of staffs have been improved apparently,ED mortality rate still keeps on escalating. The increase in ED mortality rate may be related to the severely ill patients presenting to ED,the obvious decrease in compliance of patients and the prolonged ED stay time.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationship between beta-actin mRNA degradation in SD rat's brain, heart and kidney and early postmortem interval (PMI) in order to find new markers for estimating early PMI. METHODS: Rats were sacrificed and kept in the place at a temperature of 20 degrees C. The total RNA were extracted from the brain, heart and kidney at different PMI points. Real time RT-PCR was applied to determine beta-actin mRNA levels in total RNA and the results were given in the form of Ct values. Linear relationships between PMI and Ct values were obtained and the functions of linear regression were established. RESULTS: The great decrease of beta-actin mRNA level were observed in the three organs. The degradation rate was obviously higher in 24 hours after death in the heart and kidney. However, there were no significant changes in the brain. The changes of Ct values and PMI showed a good linear relationship. CONCLUSION beta-actin mRNA in rat's brain, heart and kidney degrades obviously after death and can be used for estimating early PMI by its degradation rules.
Actins/metabolism* ; Animals ; Brain/metabolism* ; Forensic Medicine/methods* ; Kidney/metabolism* ; Male ; Myocardium/metabolism* ; Postmortem Changes ; RNA Stability ; RNA, Messenger/metabolism* ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction/methods* ; Time Factors

OBJECTIVE: To observe the changes of relative expression of myocardial various RNAs in rats died of different causes and their relationship with PMI. METHODS: The rat models were established in which the rats were sacrificed by broken neck, asphyxia, and hemorrhagic shock. Total RNAs were extracted from myocardium. The quantitative real time PCR was used to calculate threshold cycle values of RNAs including glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), beta-actin, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and U6 small nuclear RNA (U6 snRNA) and to study the changes of the relative expressions of various indexes with PMI. RESULTS: U6 snRNA with stable expression level could be used as appropriate internal control. In the early PMI, the relative expression of GAPDH, HIF-1, iNOS, TNF-alpha, and IL-6 more characteristically increased in groups of asphyxia and hemorrhagic shock than in group of broken neck, but the quantity of beta-actin decreased in all groups. In the late PMI, all the relative expressions significantly declined in correlation with the degradation of RNA. CONCLUSION The characteristic changes of each RNA expression can be used as references to estimate PMI in deaths by different causes.
Actins ; Animals ; Cause of Death ; Cytokines/metabolism* ; Disease Models, Animal ; Enzymes/metabolism* ; Glyceraldehyde-3-Phosphate Dehydrogenases ; Myocardium/metabolism* ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II ; RNA/metabolism* ; RNA, Small Nuclear ; Rats ; Shock, Hemorrhagic ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

OBJECTIVETo investigate the expression of phosphatase of regenerating liver-3 (PRL- 3) mRNA and evaluate its relationship with tumor invasion and metastasis in human colorectal carcinoma.

METHODSThe expression level of PRL-3 mRNA was examined semi-quantitatively in surgically resected tumor specimens, paired paratumor normal tissues from 46 CRC patients, metastatic lymph nodes and liver metastases from 18 cases with metastasis,adenoma tissues from 6 patients with colorectal adenoma (CRA). In addition,the mutation of PRL-3 gene was examined by PCR-SSCP.

RESULTSThe PRL-3 mRNA level was increased in primary CRC tissues as compared with paired paratumor normal tissues (1.6+/- 0.7 vs. 0.4+/- 0.1, P< 0.01), while no significant difference of its expression was found between CRA tissues and their adjacent normal mucosae (P> 0.05). However,the PRL-3 mRNA levels of liver metastases (2.1+/- 0.8) in 12 cases and metastatic lymph nodes (3.3+/- 1.0) in 6 cases were significantly higher compared with the matched primary lesions, normal tissues and negative-lymph nodes (P< 0.01). There was significant relation of the expression of PRL-3 mRNA with the clinicopathological features including Dukes stage, invasion depth and metastasis (P< 0.05), but no relation with sex,tumor size,degree of differentiation was found (P> 0.05). Abnormal electrolysis band was found in 1 of 6 cases with liver metastasis by PCR-SSCP analysis.

CONCLUSIONPRL-3 gene plays an important role in tumor invasion and metastasis and may associated with carcinogenesis and development of CRC. There might exist some unknown mechanisms of overexpression and mutation of PRL-3 gene in CRC.

Adult ; Aged ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; genetics ; pathology ; Female ; Gene Expression ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; secondary ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Neoplasm Proteins ; metabolism ; Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases ; metabolism ; RNA, Messenger ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo investigate collagen type I alpha 1 (COL1A1) and alpha 2 (COL1A2) gene polymorphisms in Chinese and their relationship with bone mineral density.

METHODSTotalling 628 residents of Han nationality in Guangzhou aged 53.4-15.9 (range 20-79) years were surveyed for COL1A1 and COL1A2 gene genotypes by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism. Bone mineral density of the lumbar vertebrae, greater trochanter, femur neck and Ward's triangle was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.

RESULTSCOL1A1 Sp1 polymorphism was not found in these subjects, and the genotype of all samples were type SS. COL1A2 genotyping revealed the distribution of EE genotype in 49.7%, Ee in 40.9% and ee in 9.4% of the subjects. The frequency distribution of EcoR1 alleles followed the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The mean bone mineral density did no significantly differ among these genotype groups (P>0.05 by analysis of variance).

CONCLUSIONCOL1A1 Sp1 binding site polymorphism is absent and COL1A2 EcoR1 site polymorphism is not associated with bone mineral density in Chinese of Han nationality.

Adult ; Aged ; Bone Density ; China ; Collagen ; genetics ; Collagen Type I ; genetics ; Female ; Gene Frequency ; Genotype ; Humans ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; metabolism ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length