Objective To investigate the expression of Ezrin protein and c-met in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, their significance in the progress of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma development and metastasis. Methods The expression of Ezrin protein and c-met in 50 patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma was studied using immunohistochemical (SP) method. The correlation of each score according to the intensity and percentage of labeled cells or intercellular substance with relevant clinical data was statistically analyzed. Results In normal esophageal squamous epithelium, the positive expression of Ezrin protein was 34 %, the positive expression of c-met was 8.0 %. In esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, the positive expression of Ezrin protein was 76.0 %, the positive expression of c-met was 58.0 %. The expression of Ezrin protein had close relation to depth of invasion and lymph node metastasis(P < 0.05). The positive rate of c-met protein expression in lymph node metastasis was obviously higher than those without lymph node metasis (P <0.05). The expressinn of Ezrin protein in c-met positive eases was obviously higher than those of c-met negative cases(P <0.05). Conclusion The test of Ezrin protein and c-met may have significant prognostic value for assessing the degree of malignancy and potential lymph node metastasis probability of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Ezrin protein may be a target to evaluate the tumor prognosis.

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BACKGROUNDWith the improvement of instrument and operative technique, video-assisted thoracoscopy is more and more widely used. The aim of this study is to summarize and discuss the results of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) in 76 patients with thoracic tumors.

METHODSThe data of 76 cases were analyzed retrospectively. From July 1997 to June 2004, 76 patients (46 men and 30 women) with thoracic tumors underwent VATS for peripheral pulmonary nodules (52), leiomyoma of esophagus (10), mediastinal lymphadenectasis (6), malignant pleural fluid (5), bronchogenic cyst (1), mediastinal cyst (1), neurofibroma (1).

RESULTSAll procedures were performed successfully under VATS except for 8 cases, who were converted to thoracotomy for lung cancer. There was no mortality or severe complication in this series.

CONCLUSIONSVATS is a safe and effective technique in selected patients with thoracic lesions. The overall incidence of perioperative complication is low. VATS has obvious advantages in treatment of benign thoracic lesions, however, the indications should be selected carefully for malignant tumors.

Objective To investigate the clinical effect of thick drainage tube thoracic closed drainage assisted by thin drainage tube after esophagectomy. Methods A total of 112 patients who received esophagectomy in the Department of Thoracic Surgery of Shanxi Dayi Hospital from January 2014 to December 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into the test group (60 patients) and the control group (52 patients). The test group used thick tube in thoracic close drainage assisted by thin drainage tube, and the control group took general thoracic closed drainage. The operation time, the bleeding of operation, the number of lymph node dissection, the number of post-operative complications, the hospitalization time after operation, postoperative fever time, the frequency of post-operative puncture in both groups were observed. The post-operative pain was evaluated by using visual analogue score (VAS). Results There were no statistical differences in the time of operation [(4.3±1.3) h vs. (4.5±0.9) h], bleeding of operation [(137±21) ml vs. (141±21) ml], the number of lymph node dissection [(18.5±5.2) vs. (17.2±2.4)] and the number of post-operative complications (11 cases vs. 7 cases) between the test group and the control group (all P>0.05). There were statistical differences in the hospitalization time after surgery [(14.9±2.4) d vs. (20.5 ±3.2) d], post-operative fever days [(5.8 ±1.4) d vs. (7.4 ±1.4) d] and the frequency of post-operative puncture (7 vs. 13) between the test group and the control group (all P< 0.05). And there were statistical differences in the VAS scores for post-operative resting and coughing from 48 h to 72 h (all P< 0.05). Conclusion The thin drainage tube is more effective in assisting thoracic closed drainage after esophagectomy. It can reduce post-operative pain and shorten the length of hospitalization, which is worthy of further promotion.

Nitrate is the main form of inorganic nitrogen that crop absorbs, and nitrate transporter 2 (NRT2) is a high affinity transporter using nitrate as a specific substrate. When the available nitrate is limited, the high affinity transport systems are activated and play an important role in the process of nitrate absorption and transport. Most NRT2 cannot transport nitrates alone and require the assistance of a helper protein belonging to nitrate assimilation related family (NAR2) to complete the absorption or transport of nitrates. Crop nitrogen utilization efficiency is affected by environmental conditions, and there are differences between varieties, so it is of great significance to develop varieties with high nitrogen utilization efficiency. Sorghum bicolor has high stress tolerance and is more efficient in soil nitrogen uptake and utilization. The S. bicolor genome database was scanned to systematically analyze the gene structure, chromosomal localization, physicochemical properties, secondary structure and transmembrane domain, signal peptide and subcellular localization, promoter region cis-acting elements, phylogenetic evolution, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) recognition and annotation, and selection pressure of the gene family members. Through bioinformatics analysis, 5 NRT2 gene members (designated as SbNRT2-1a, SbNRT2-1b, SbNRT2-2, SbNRT2-3, and SbNRT2-4) and 2 NAR2 gene members (designated as SbNRT3-1 and SbNRT3-2) were identified, the number of which was less than that of foxtail millet. SbNRT2/3 were distributed on 3 chromosomes, and could be divided into four subfamilies. The genetic structure of the same subfamilies was highly similar. The average value of SbNRT2/3 hydrophilicity was positive, indicating that they were all hydrophobic proteins, whereas α-helix and random coil accounted for more than 70% of the total secondary structure. Subcellular localization occurred on plasma membrane, where SbNRT2 proteins did not contain signal peptides, but SbNRT3 proteins contained signal peptides. Further analysis revealed that the number of transmembrane domains of the SbNRT2s family members was greater than 10, while that of the SbNRT3s were 2. There was a close collinearity between NRT2/3s of S. bicolor and Zea mays. Protein domains analysis showed the presence of MFS_1 and NAR2 protein domains, which supported executing high affinity nitrate transport. Phylogenetic tree analysis showed that SbNRT2/3 were more closely related to those of Z. mays and Setaria italic. Analysis of gene promoter cis-acting elements indicated that the promoter region of SbNRT2/3 had several plant hormones and stress response elements, which might respond to growth and environmental cues. Gene expression heat map showed that SbNRT2-3 and SbNRT3-1 were induced by nitrate in the root and stem, respectively, and SbNRT2-4 and SbNRT2-3 were induced by low nitrogen in the root and stem. Non-synonymous SNP variants were found in SbNRT2-4 and SbNRT2-1a. Selection pressure analysis showed that the SbNRT2/3 were subject to purification and selection during evolution. The expression of SbNRT2/3 gene and the effect of aphid infection were consistent with the expression analysis results of genes in different tissues, and SbNRT2-1b and SbNRT3-1 were significantly expressed in the roots of aphid lines 5-27sug, and the expression levels of SbNRT2-3, SbNRT2-4 and SbNRT3-2 were significantly reduced in sorghum aphid infested leaves. Overall, genome-wide identification, expression and DNA variation analysis of NRT2/3 gene family of Sorghum bicolor provided a basis for elucidating the high efficiency of sorghum in nitrogen utilization.
Nitrate Transporters ; Nitrates/metabolism* ; Sorghum/metabolism* ; Anion Transport Proteins/metabolism* ; Phylogeny ; Protein Sorting Signals/genetics* ; Nitrogen/metabolism* ; DNA ; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ; Plant Proteins/metabolism*