Objective To develop a clinically applicable approach to enhance repair of cartilage defects by constructing an in vivo non-viral gene transfer system targeting chondrocytes. Methods High molecular weight chitosan (HMWC) was degraded to produce low molecular weight chitosan (LM-WC) that was combined with transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) plasmid to form stable nano-sizc complexes. After being tested in vitro firstly, these nano-size complexes were injected into the knee joint of New Zealand white rabbit models with full-thickness cartilage defects to detect their feasibility of delive-ring the growth factor gent in vivo. Results The results showed that LMWC/DNA nano-sizc comple-xes could deliver the gone into the cultured chondroeytes and cartilage tissue efficiently in vitro. When used in vivo, LMWC/TGF-β1 gene nano-size complexes could enhance the transfection efficiency and prolong the expression of TGF-β1 gone. In the animal models of articular osteechondral defect of rabbits, better healing and gentler degeneration could be observed in comparison with the control. Conclusion In vivo transfection of LMWC/TGF-β1 nano-size complexe is a safe and effective method to early promote the repair of osteochondral defects.

Lateral drainage is an important way for the middle and lower rectum. There are still disputes between Eastern and Western scholars regarding the treatment strategy of lateral lymph node metastasis. It is difficult to diagnose lateral lymph node metastasis by pathologic examination before surgery. MRI is the main method for diagnosis of lateral lymph node metastasis in rectal cancer. The diagnostic criteria for patients before and after neoadjuvant treatment are slightly different. CT, PET/CT and radiomics also have certain advantages in the diagnosis of lateral lymph node metastasis. If necessary, the combination of multiple methods can help in the diagnosis of lateral lymph node metastasis.

Objective:To investigate the clinical characteristics and prognosis of duodenal neuroendocrine neoplasms.Methods:The clinical data of 35 patients with duodenal neuroendocrine neoplasms admitted to Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology from Jan 2012 to Dec 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. The differences of clinical characteristics between periampullary and non-periampullary duodenal neuroendocrine neoplasms were analyzed. Kaplan-Meier curve was used for survival analysis, and the clinical factors affecting the prognosis were analyzed.Results:Of the 35 patients, 30 underwent tumor resection, 7 (23%) developed different degree of complications after operation and were improved and discharged after intervention. A total of 5 patients died during the follow-up period. Only 1 of 30 patients who underwent tumor resection died 30 months after operation due to disease progression, and the others had no recurrence or metastasis. Univariate analysis showed that tumor size, tumor grade, and tumor location were associated with the prognosis of patients (all P<0.05), and multivariate analysis showed that patients with tumors located.Away from the ampulla had a significantly better prognosis than those located around the duodenal ampulla ( P<0.01). Conclusions:Patients with duodenal neuroendocrine neoplasms have a good prognosis after complete resection; patients with duodenal neuroendocrine neoplasms located around the ampulla of Vater have a relatively poor prognosis compared with those away from the area of ampulla.

Overexpression of adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-binding cassette subfamily G member 2 (ABCG2) in cancer cells is known to cause multidrug resistance (MDR), which severely limits the clinical efficacy of chemotherapy. Currently, there is no FDA-approved MDR modulator for clinical use. In this study, rociletinib (CO-1686), a mutant-selective epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI), was found to significantly improve the efficacy of ABCG2 substrate chemotherapeutic agents in the transporter-overexpressing cancer cells and in MDR tumor xenografts in nude mice, without incurring additional toxicity. Mechanistic studies revealed that in ABCG2-overexpressing cancer cells, rociletinib inhibited ABCG2-mediated drug efflux and increased intracellular accumulation of ABCG2 probe substrates. Moreover, rociletinib, inhibited the ATPase activity, and competed with [I] iodoarylazidoprazosin (IAAP) photolabeling of ABCG2. However, ABCG2 expression at mRNA and protein levels was not altered in the ABCG2-overexpressing cells after treatment with rociletinib. In addition, rociletinib did not inhibit EGFR downstream signaling and phosphorylation of protein kinase B (AKT) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK). Our results collectively showed that rociletinib reversed ABCG2-mediated MDR by inhibiting ABCG2 efflux function, thus increasing the cellular accumulation of the transporter substrate anticancer drugs. The findings advocated the combination use of rociletinib and other chemotherapeutic drugs in cancer patients with ABCG2-overexpressing MDR tumors.