Objective To evaluation the value of single and combined detection of peripheral blood human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) mRNA and tumor markers carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), carbohydrate antigen 72-4 (CA72-4), CA19-9 and CA125 in the diagnosis of gastric cancer. Methods A total of 48 patients diagnosed with gastric cancer from June 2017 to October 2018 in Baotou Tumor Hospital were enrolled in the study group. Fifty healthy subjects were selected as healthy control group. The peripheral venous blood samples were collected from all subjects. After the synthesis of hTERT cDNA by reverse transcription, real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used for the amplification of hTERT gene fragment. The tumor markers CEA, CA72-4, CA19-9 and CA125 were quantitatively detected by electrochemiluminescence instrument. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, positive likelihood ratio and negative likelihood ratio of individual markers or joint detection were calculated. The sensitivity and specificity of joint testing items were compared. Results There were statistically significant differences in the positive rates of hTERT mRNA (P< 0.01), CEA (P=0.002), CA72-4 (P=0.003), and CA19-9 (P=0.017) between the gastric cancer group and the healthy control group, while the positive rates of CA125 were not significantly different between the two groups (P> 0.05). The expression of hTERT mRNA was correlated with TMN stage, lymph node metastasis and distant metastasis (all P< 0.05), but was not correlated with age, sex, tumor location, invasion degree and differentiation degree (all P>0.05). The results of diagnostic indices showed that the hTERT mRNA had high sensitivity (84.8％), specificity (82.7％), accuracy (83.7％), positive predictive value (81.2％) and positive likelihood ratio (4.90). CA72-4 also had high specificity (61.2％), accuracy (64.3％), and positive predictive value (45.8％), which were second only to the hTERT mRNA. The diagnostic performance of CA125 combined with CEA, CA72-4, CA19-9 and peripheral blood hTERT mRNA was not significantly different from the latter four combined detection (P>0.05). The sensitivity and specificity of combined detection of traditional tumor markers CEA, CA72-4 and CA19-9 were 62.5％and 80.0％. The sensitivity and specificity of combined detection of hTERT mRNA, CEA, CA72-4 and CA19-9 could be change to 90.0％ and 67.5％. The difference in sensitivity between the two combined detection groups was statistically significant (P= 0.019), and the difference in specificity was not statistically significant (P> 0.05). Conclusion The comprehensive evaluation index of peripheral blood hTERT mRNA is better than the traditional gastric tumor markers, and it is expected to become a new marker for the diagnosis of gastric cancer.

Chronic cerebral hypoperfusion leads to white matter injury (WMI), which subsequently causes neurodegeneration and even cognitive impairment. However, due to the lack of treatment specifically for WMI, novel recognized and effective therapeutic strategies are urgently needed. In this study, we found that honokiol and magnolol, two compounds derived from Magnolia officinalis, significantly facilitated the differentiation of primary oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) into mature oligodendrocytes, with a more prominent effect of the former compound. Moreover, our results demonstrated that honokiol treatment improved myelin injury, induced mature oligodendrocyte protein expression, attenuated cognitive decline, promoted oligodendrocyte regeneration, and inhibited astrocytic activation in the bilateral carotid artery stenosis model. Mechanistically, honokiol increased the phosphorylation of serine/threonine kinase (Akt) and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) by activating cannabinoid receptor 1 during OPC differentiation. Collectively, our study indicates that honokiol might serve as a potential treatment for WMI in chronic cerebral ischemia.
Magnolia ; White Matter ; Brain Ischemia/metabolism* ; Oligodendroglia/metabolism*