OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of trifluoro-icaritin (ICTF) on myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury (MI/RI) in rats and to explore whether it plays a role in regulating autophagy through the serine/threonine kinase/mammalian target of rapamycin (Akt/mTOR) signaling pathway. METHODS: Male SD rats were ligated for 45 min and reperfused for 60 min to establish an MI/RI model. The rats were divided into sham, MI/RI model and model+ICTF 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 mg·kg-1groups. II lead electrocardiogram (ECG) in T wave and ST segment changes were recorded. The area of myocardial infarction was determined by TTC. The protein levels and phosphorylation levels of microtubule-associated protein 2/1 light chain 3 (LC3 II/LC3 I), Beclin-1, Akt and mTOR in myocardial tissues were detected by Western blotting. The level of LC3 in myocardial tissues was detected by immunofluorescence test. RESULTS: The ECG showed that the T wave (P<0.05) and ST segment (P<0.01) of the model group were significantly higher than those of the sham group after 60 min of reperfusion, while the T wave (P<0.05) and ST segment (P<0.01) of the ICTF 1.0 mg·kg-1group were obviously lower than those of the model group. TTC staining of heart sections showed that the area of myocardial infarction in the model group was larger than in the sham group (P<0.01), while that in the ICTF 1.0 mg·kg1group was smaller than in the model group (P<0.01). Western blotting results showed that compared with the sham group, the ratios of LC3 II/LC3 I (P<0.01) and p-Beclin-1/Beclin-1 (P<0.05) in the model group were significantly increased, while Akt (P<0.01) and mTOR (P<0.05) were decreased. In addition, compared with the model group, the ratio of LC3 II/LC3 I (P<0.01) and p-Beclin-1/Beclin-1 (P<0.01) in the ICTF 1.0 mg·kg-1group was reduced, and the phosphorylation levels of Akt (P<0.01) and mTOR (P<0.01) were increased. Immunofluorescence results of frozen sections of myocardial tissues showed that LC3 protein expression increased in the model group compared with the sham group (P<0.01), but decreased in the ICTF 1.0 mg·kg-1group compared with the model group (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: ICTF has a protective effect on myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury in rats, and its mechanism may be related to the regulation of Akt/mTOR signaling pathway to inhibit excessive autophagy.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the safety and efficacy of fast track surgery (FTS) management in gastric cancer undergoing D2 gastrectomy.

METHODSEighty gastric cancer patients undergoing D2 gastrectomy were recruited prospectively. Patients were assigned to receive FTS management (n = 40) or conventional perioperative care (n = 40). The FTS care included shorten preoperative fasting time, no nasogastric decompressing tubes and abdominal drainage placed, early postoperative oral feeding, multimodal analgesia, and early mobilisation. The length of postoperative hospital stay, medical cost, nutritional status, gut function, and postoperative complications in the two groups were recorded and compared.

RESULTSFTS group was associated with a significantly shorter postoperative hospital stay compared with conventional care group [(5.6 +/- 1.3) d vs. (9.4 +/- 1.9) d, P < 0.05]. Medical cost was less [(18 620 +/- 2360) Yuan vs. (20 370 +/- 2440) Yuan, P < 0.05] and duration of intravenous infusion [(3.5 +/- 1.4) d vs. (5.8 +/- 1.9) d, P < 0.05] was also shorter. First passage of flatus was earlier in FTS group than in conventional care group [(4.3 +/- 0.4) d vs. (5.5 +/- 0.9) d, P < 0.05]. Loss of body weight in the postoperative period was less in FTS group [(3.2 +/- 0.8) kg vs. (4.3 +/- 1.6) kg, P < 0.05]. There was no difference in morbidity or mortality between the two groups.

CONCLUSIONFTS in D2 gastrectomy is safe and efficient, and it can shorten postoperative hospital stay and hasten return of gut function.

Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Gastrectomy ; methods ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Perioperative Care ; Postoperative Complications ; prevention & control ; Prospective Studies ; Stomach Neoplasms ; surgery ; Treatment Outcome

Objective To observe the influence of targeted gene VEGF silencing of bladder cancer cell line T 24 on differentiation, maturation and function of dendritic cells .Methods A lentiviral vector named LV-VEGFA-RNAi ( experimental group ) for gene silencing targeting VEGF and a lentiviral vector named LV-CON ( negative control group ) without any valid sequences were constructed .The blank control group accepted no intervention measures . The expression of VEGF's mRNA and protein of T24 cells from each group were detected by RT-PCR and ELISA respectively .Then the immature DCs were co-cultured respectively with the supernatant of all the groups as men-tioned above.CD1a, CD83 as the maturation marker and CD86 as the immunity marker of the DCs were detected by flow cytometry.Results The expression of VEGF's mRNA and protein of T24 cells in the experimental group were obviously inhibited ( P<0.05 ) as compared with that in the negative control group and the blank control group.DCs of the experimental group had an obviously increased ( P<0.05 ) expression of CD1a, CD83 and CD86 compared with the negative control group and the blank control group .Conclusions Targeted gene VEGF silencing by RNAi has advantages to the growth and immunity of DCs , which may strengthen the anti-tumor ca-pacity of the DCs by repairing their damaged immune monitoring function .