Objective To evaluate the effect of Caspase-1 inhibitor on hepatic tissue and on the expression of hepatic interleukin-18 of rats with experimental severe acute pancreatitis(SAP).Methods Forty-two SD rats were randomly assigned into 3 groups: healthy control group(HC,n=6),SAP+normal saline group(SAP-S,n=18) and SAP+ICE inhibitor group(SAP-ICE-I,n=18).SAP was induced by retrograde infusion of 4% sodium taurocholate into the pancreaticobliliary duct in SD rats.Animals in HC group received similar surgical procedure and duct cannulation but without sodium taurocholate inoculation.In SAP-S group,rats received the first intraperitoneal injection of isotonic saline 2 hours after induction of acute pancreatitis,and the same injection was repeated at 12th hour.ICE inhibitor was injected into the rats in SAP-ICE-I group 2 hours after induction of acute pancreatitis,and the same injection was repeated at 12th hour.Blood samples were obtained from the rats in SAP-S and SAP-ICE-I groups via cardiac puncture at 6,12 and 18h after modeling,respectively.The levels of serum amylase(AMY),alanine aminotransferase(ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase(AST),and the peritoneal fluid,were detected at these three time points.The histopathology of pancrease and liver were observed under light microscope.Intrahepatic expression and localization of IL-18 protein were detected respectively by Western blotting and immunohistochemistry.Results Serum AMY,ALT,AST and peritoneal fluid were significantly increased in SAP-S and SAP-ICE-I groups compared with those in HC group(P

Esophageal cancer is a common and poorly prognostic cancer, and early screening and early diagnosis arc the keys to improve the prognosis of patients. In recent years, more and more studies have shown that changes in gastrointestinal flora are associated with the occurrence, progression, recurrence, metastasis and chemotherapy resistance of esophageal cancer. This article mainly reviewed the changes of gastrointestinal flora in esophageal cancer patients and the progress of research on gastrointestinal flora in the screening, diagnosis and prognosis of esophageal cancer.

Objective: To summarize the clinical characteristics of 141 patients with novel coronavirus pneumonia (NCP) and the imaging characteristics of High Resolution CT(HRCT) in the chest. Methods: From January 20, 2020 to 28, 141 NCP patients, 77 males and 64 females, with a median age of 49 (9,87), were retrospectively analyzed. The clinical features, laboratory examination indexes and HRCT findings of 141 NCP patients were analyzed. Results: In 141 NCP patients, 38 (26.95%) had a decrease in leukocyte count and 71 (50.35%) had a decrease in lymphocyte ratio. Among 141 NCP patients, 139 (98.58%) had fever (over 37.5 ° C), 106 (75.18%) coughed, 11 (7.80%) had headache, 41 (29.08%) coughed up sputum, 93 (65.96%) had chest distress, and 4 (2.84%) had diarrhea. HRCT of 141 NCP patients were abnormal, 52 (36.88%) showed ground glass shadow (GGO) and patchy shadow, mainly subpleural distribution; 23 (16.31%) showed GGO with focal consolidation; 27 (19.15%) had small patchy blur; 20 (14.18%) had large patchy consolidation; 48 (34.04%) had bronchovascular bundle thickening and vascular perforator sign; 5 (3.55%) had Air bronchus sign; small nodule shadow in 7 cases (4.96%); fibrosis, grid shadow or strip shadow in 5 cases (3.55%); bilateral pleural effusion in 7 cases (4.96%); mediastinal or bilateral hilar lymphadenopathy in 4 cases (2.84%). Conclusions The clinical features and HRCT images of NCP are various. Under the specific epidemiological background of NCP, HRCT scan of chest should be carried out in time to make early warning of disease.

Oxidative stress and cardiomyocyte apoptosis are involved in the pathogenesis of doxorubicin (DOX)-induced cardiotoxicity. Matrine is well-known for its powerful anti-oxidant and anti-apoptotic capacities. Our present study aimed to investigate the effect of matrine on DOX-induced cardiotoxicity and try to unearth the underlying mechanisms. Mice were exposed with DOX to generate DOX-induced cardiotoxicity or normal saline as control. H9C2 cells were used to verify the effect of matrine . DOX injection triggered increased generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and excessive cardiomyocyte apoptosis, which were significantly mitigated by matrine. Mechanistically, we found that matrine ameliorated DOX-induced uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) downregulation, and UCP2 inhibition by genipin could blunt the protective effect of matrine on DOX-induced oxidative stress and cardiomyocyte apoptosis. Besides, 5'-AMP-activated protein kinase 2 () deficiency inhibited matrine-mediated UCP2 preservation and abolished the beneficial effect of matrine in mice. Besides, we observed that matrine incubation alleviated DOX-induced H9C2 cells apoptosis and oxidative stress level activating AMPK/UCP2, which were blunted by either AMPK or UCP2 inhibition with genetic or pharmacological methods. Matrine attenuated oxidative stress and cardiomyocyte apoptosis in DOX-induced cardiotoxicity maintaining AMPK/UCP2 pathway, and it might be a promising therapeutic agent for the treatment of DOX-induced cardiotoxicity.

The liver is the main place for metabolism in human body, and when severe liver injury is induced by various factors, there will be disorders in the functions of synthesis, metabolism, and biological conversion. This article summarizes the features of the metabolism of nutrients such as glucose, amino acids, and lipids in the presence of liver failure, as well as the assessment of malnutrition and clinical interventions. For patients with liver failure, it is of great importance to identify and correct malnutrition in a timely manner, so as to improve energy metabolism and inflammation and increase survival rate.

OBJECTIVETo analyze the effect of acellular dermal matrix (ADM) on complications of breast reconstruction using tissue expander/implant, and to offer preliminary evidences for ADM clinical application.

METHODSArticles published from Jan. 2010 to Oct. 2012 were searched in Pubmed, EMbase, Science Direct and CNKI database. Literatures were filtrated according to inclusive criteria. Values were extracted from included literatures; factors regarding complications were collected. Meta-analysis was performed with Stata 12. 0.

RESULTS10 researches were included. Comparing to control group, the pooled odds ratio (OR) of overall complications, infections, hematomas/seromas, explantations are 1.51(P=0.038), 1.91(P=0.032), 1.80(P=0.005) and 2.37 (P=0.138) in ADM group In breast reconstruction using tissue expander/implant, ADM increases the respectively.

CONCLUSIONSoccurrence of hematomas/sarcomas as well as risks of infections and overall complications.

Acellular Dermis ; Breast Implants ; adverse effects ; Female ; Humans ; Mammaplasty ; adverse effects ; methods ; Postoperative Complications ; etiology ; Tissue Expansion Devices ; adverse effects

【Objective】 To investigate the clinical characteristics of COVID-19 induced deaths and analyze the causes of death. 【Methods】 This was a hospital-based, retrospective, observational cohort study involving hospitalized patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in People’s Hospital of Wuhan University during January 27 and February 25, 2020. The clinical data of identified patients who had died of COVID-19 were retrieved and reviewed. We analyzed the death causes and compared the changes in laboratory findings between patients before death and early onset to summarize the inherent clinical characteristics. 【Results】 We recorded a total of 21 deaths, 61.9% of which had occurred due to simple respiratory failure, followed by respiratory failure with myocardial injury (19%), respiratory failure with renal failure (9.5%), and respiratory failure with shock (9.5%). At the late time, lab test data indicated that white blood cells, D-dimer, amino-terminal brain natriuretic peptide precursors, and hypersensitive C-reactive protein significantly increased while counts of lymphosyte significantly decreased (P<0.05). 【Conclusion】 Continuous monitoring of cardiac function, renal function, and infection severity can assess the disease progression accurately. Moreover, timely intervention has a positive effect in reducing COVID-19 mortality.

Objective To evaluate the treatment of acute cholecystitis patients through laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC). Methods 387 cases of acute cholecystitis patients who underwent LC were studied retrospectively . Results Of the 387 cases, there were 359 cases of calculus incarcerated cholecystitis , 152 cases of cholecystitis with acute inflammatory symptoms for 72 h or more, 10 cases were converted to Laparotomy (2.6%).The operations lasted for 30~200 min(63.09 ±26.62 min on average),with blood loss about 10~500 mL(51.41 ±32.41 mL on average),and drainage was adopted in 183 cases.No complications developed fol-lowing the surgeries in 3 to 24 months, indicating a 100% cure rate. Conclusion If with good command of rules and techniques during LC operations , It is both safe and feasible to treat acute cholecystitis patients through LC operations .

OBJECTIVETo investigate the reversing effect of NF-kappaB inhibitor MG-132 on chemoresistance of gastric cancer cells to vincristine.

METHODSIn vincristine-resistant human gastric cancer cells (SGC7901/VCR) and the parental sensitive clone (SGC7901), NF-kappaB-DNA binding activity was determined by electrophoreses mobility shift assay (EMSA). The inhibition level of kappaB (IkappaB-alpha) expression was measured by cellular-ELISA. Immunocytochemistry was used to detect the translocation of p65 and chemosensitivity of the cells was determined by MTT assay.

RESULTSCompared with the parental SGC7901 cells, both the baseline and VCR-induced NF-kappaB-DNA binding activities in various concentrations were all higher in the SGC7901/VCR cells. Pretreatment with MG-132, the NF-kappaB inhibitor, for 30 minutes remarkably reduced the NF-kappaB activation, IkappaB-alpha degradation and nuclear translocation of p65. As to the SGC7901/VCR cells and the parental sensitive SGC7901 cells, the IC(50) values for VCR were 40.03 mg/L and 0.26 mg/L, respectively. MG-132 (2.5 micromol/L) significantly enhanced the toxicity of VCR in SGC7901/VCR cells and decreased the resistance index from 154.0 to 16.5. However, MG-132 did not show an obvious effect on the VCR sensitivity in sensitive SGC7901 cells.

CONCLUSIONOur data indicate that inhibition of NF-kappaB activation in gastric cancer cells may reverse the drug resistance to VCR in the cancer cells and increase the efficiency of chemotherapy.

Adenocarcinoma ; pathology ; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic ; pharmacology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm ; drug effects ; Humans ; Leupeptins ; pharmacology ; NF-kappa B ; antagonists & inhibitors ; Stomach Neoplasms ; pathology ; Vincristine ; pharmacology

OBJECTIVETo study the antitumor effects of ursolic acid and mechanisms of its action.

METHODSThe cells of human colorectal carcinoma cell line HT-29 were treated with ursolic acid at different concentration. The proliferation inhibition was examined by MTT assay. Morphological examination, TUNEL method and flow cytometry were used to detect apoptosis. Immunohistochemical method was used to detect the expression of apoptosis related genes caspase-9 and bcl-2. The semi-quantification of protein expression was analyzed by pathological image-analysis.

RESULTSUA inhibited the proliferation of HT-29 cells moderately. Apoptosis of HT-29 cells was induced by ursolic acid treatment. The morphology of HT-29 showed changes such as nuclear chromatin condensation and fragmentation. Sub-G(1) peak was found by flow cytometry. The maximal apoptosis rate was 11.63%. The expression of caspase-9 gene was enhanced. The expression of bcl-2 gene was decreased. All these effects were in a dose-dependent and time-depend manner.

CONCLUSIONApoptosis in colon cancer HT-29 cells is one of the key mechanisms of ursolic acid action and its antitumor activity may be applicable for the treatment of cancers.

Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Caspase 9 ; metabolism ; Cell Cycle ; drug effects ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; HT29 Cells ; Humans ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 ; metabolism ; Triterpenes ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology