Objective To investigate the expression and clinical significance of tumor necrosis factor recep-tor associated factor 6(TRAF6)in human esophageal cancer.Methods The clinical data of 72 patients with esopha-geal cancer were collected.Immunohistochemistry method was used to determine TRAF6 expression in esophageal carcinoma and its adjacent normal tissue,and its relationship with clinical pathological features was explored.Results The TRAF6 positive expression rate in esophageal cancer tissue was 66.13%,which was significantly higher than that of normal tissue (13.89%),the difference between the two groups was statistically significant(χ2 =56.850,P <0.01).And TRAF6 expression level was significantly correlated with esophageal cancer clinical staging,lymph node metastasis(χ2 =6.818,4.428,all P <0.05),but TRAF6 expression was not correlated with age,sex,tumor differenti-ation.Conclusion The expression level of TRAF6 in esophageal carcinoma was significantly increased,and there was a significant correlation between the TRAF6 expression level and clinical pathological characteristics.

BACKGROUND:Mesenchymalstem cels have pluripotent differentiation, and can promote cel engraftment and immune regulation. Therefore,we attempt to use human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cels as anew source for treatment of lung cancer by exploringcelisolation, identification and transplantation combined with chemotherapyforlung cancer in mice.
OBJECTIVE:To investigate the isolation and identification of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cels and its transplantation combined with chemotherapy for lung cancer inmice.
METHODS:Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cels were isolated from fresh umbilical cord of newborns and identified using tissue culture and enzyme digestion. Twenty Balb/C nude mouse models of lung cancer were randomly divided into two groups:mice in chemotherapy group were given chemotherapy, and those incombinedgroup given combination of chemotherapy with human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cel transplantation.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Compared with the chemotherapy group, the gastrointestinal tract was rosy and shiny, intestinal mucosa was smooth and complete, and tumor mass and blood indexes significantly decreased in thecombinedgroup (P< 0.05). To conclude, mature human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cels can be obtained by tissueculture and enzyme digestion, andthecel transplantation combinedwith chemotherapy can significantly reduce gastrointestinal tract damage and themake peripheral hemogram in a stable level.

BACKGROUND:So far the positive or negative effects of mesenchymal stem cel s on tumor growth and metastasis are under discussion. OBJECTIVE:To explore the mechanism of bone marrow mesenchymal cel s in promoting lung cancer metastasis. METHODS:Primary rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cel s were obtained by direct adherence method of the whole bone marrow, and differential adherence combined with digestion control method was performed to purify cel s. Lung cancer cel lines were cultured, and the effects of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cel s on the migration, invasion and metastasis of lung cancer cel s were observed by scratch test, cel invasion and migration assays. Orthotopic lung cancer models were established in rats and bone marrow mesenchymal stem cel s were seeded onto the left lung of rats. Then, pathological changes of lung tissues were observed at 14 days after transplannation. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:After the scratch test, the migration rate of lung cancer cel s became higher, and the scratches healed with time. And after cel transplantation, the number of migrated lung cancer cel s increased, as wel as the ability of lung cancer cel s penetrating the Matrigel was strengthened. Besides, fibrous connective tissues could be found around the lung cancer tissues, and necrosis with distinct boundary and large tumor nuclei;the metastatic tissues showed obvious infiltration and necrosis with large tumor nuclei. These results suggest that bone marrow mesenchymal stem cel s can promote the invasion, migration and metastasis of lung cancer cel lines.

Objective To study the antitumor effects on human prostate cancer cell lines of a traditional Chinese medicine named atractylodes macrocephala koidz volatile oil in vitro.Methods LNCaP and DU145 cell lines were normally cultured and were divided into 4 control groups including:Blank culture without serum and without cell (group A),Blank culture with serum but without cell (group B),LNCaP cell culture with serum (group C),DU145 cell culture with serum (group D).In the meanwhile,there were 6 experimental groups:adding 50 μg/ml of atractylodes macrocephala koidz volatile oil in culture of group C1 and group D1,250ug/ml in group C2 and group D2,and 500ug/ml in group C3 and group D3.All of the 10 groups were simultaneously cultured in 24-well-plates for 48 hrs,and each group was repeatedly studied for three times.Forty-eight hours later,every 2 × 106 cells of LNCaP or DU145 was seeded into each well and atractylodes macrocephala koidz volatile oil was added in 6 experimental groups,and saline water was added into 4 control groups.Another 48 hrs later,the culture solutions of the 10 groups were separately collected for testosterone (T),estradiol (E2),progesterone (P),vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF),basic fibroblast growth factor (b-FGF),total prostate specific antigen (tPSA) and free prostate specific antigen (fPSA) analysis with enzyme-linked immunoassay kits.The experiment was repeated for 3 times,and the mean data were statistically analyzed by SPSS One-way ANOVA.Results The growth of cultured cells was found to have been effectively inhibited in group C1 and group D2.The inhibition severity of LNCaP cells was positively related with the drug concentration and time,while DU145 cells could only be highly inhibited (60.96％) after 24hrs drug treatments.In group C and group D,we found that both T were in very low level (0 ng/ml) whereas both E2 were in high levels (269 pg/ml and 239.81 pg/ml,P ＜ 0.05),no distinct differences showed in P; In addition,VEGF,b-FGF and fPSA were all in high values,whose values were 102.96 pg/ml and 1763.40 pg/ml,0.26 ng/ml and 6.41 ng/ml,0.16 ng/ml and 0.44 ng/ml,respectively; DU145 cells had higher values than LNCaP cells (P ＜ 0.05).As regard to the 6 experimental groups,in the groups C1,C2,C3 and D3,we found that T had been unexpectedly increased from 0 to 0.37 ng/ml (P ＜ 0.05),E2 continuously elevated from 239.81 pg/ml to 649.90 pg/ml (P ＜0.05),surprisingly P were also increased from 0.98 ng/ml to 9.83 ng/ml (P ＜0.01).On the contrary,VEGF,b-FGF and fPSA levels were all graduallydecreased,dropping down to 47.79 pg/ml and 59.56pg/ml,0 and 1.79 ng/ml,0 and 0.11 ng/ml,respectively; nevertheless,in group C2 and group D2,fPSA values were surprisingly increased from 0 and 0.04 ng/ml up to 1.78 ng/ml and 0.23 ng/ml respectively.Conclusions Atractylodes macrocephala koidz volatile oil has certain anti-tumor effects on human prostate cancer.Compared with LNCaP cells,DU145 cells have many different characteristics in sex hormone,cytokine and PSA expressions.

Objective To compare the cuffed renal vein technique and the classical techniques in kidney transplantation.Method The classical techniques of mouse renal transplantation required clamping both vena cava and aorta simultaneously and carried out suture anastomoses of the renal artery and vein in a heterotopic position.In our laboratory,we have successfully developed mouse orthotopic kidney transplantation for the first time,using a rapid cuffed renal vein technique for vessel anastomosis,wherein the donor's renal vein was inserted through an intravenous catheter,folded back and tied.During grafting,the cuffed renal vein was directly inserted into the recipient's renal vein without the need for clamping vena cava and suturing renal vein.Result This technique allowed for the exact transplantation of the kidney into the original position,compared to the classical technique,and had significantly shortened the clamping time due to a quicker and more precise anastomosis of renal vein as described.The renal vein anastomoses time was dramatically shortened in cuffed renal vein technique (4 min) as compared with the classical technique (9 min,P＜0.001).This also allowed for a quicker recovery of the lower extremity activity,reduction in myoglobinuria with resultant kidney graft survival of 88.9％.Conclusion The cuffed renal vein technique simplifies microvascular anastomoses and affords important additional benefits.

Objective To systematically review the cardioprotection induced by sevoflurane postconditioning in the patients undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass.Methods Databases including Pubmed,EMBase,Web of Science,Cochrane Library,CBM,WangFang Data,CNKI and VIP were searched by a computer from the date of database establishment up to February 2019 and there was no limitation for language.The randomized control trials involving the cardioprotection induced by sevoflurane postconditioning in the patients undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass were collected.Evaluation indexes included:incidence of perioperative cardiac events,duration of intensive care unit stay,plasma concentrations of cardiac troponin I and creatine kinase-MB at 6 and 24 h after aortic opening,plasma concentrations of interleukin-6 at 2,12 and 24 h after aortic opening and percentage of spontaneous recovery of heart beat.Meta-analysis was conducted using the RevMan 5.3 and Stata 12.0 softwares.Results Seventeen randomized controlled trials involving 763 patients were included in our meta-analysis.Compared with control group,the incidence of reperfusion arrhythmia was decreased,the plasma concentrations of cardiac troponin I and creatine kinase-MB at 6 and 24 h after aortic opening and interleukin-6 at 2,12,and 24 h after aortic opening were decreased,the percentage of spontaneous recovery of heart beat was increased (P＜0.05 or 0.01),and no significant change was found in duration of intensive care unit stay in sevoflurane postconditioning group (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion Sevoflurane postconditioning can produce cardioprotection in the patients undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass.

Objective:To investigate the expression of coxsackievirus-adenovirus receptor (CAR) in thymic carcinoma and the relationship between CAR and the antitumor activity of oncolytic adenovirus H101.Methods:The expression of CAR in thymic carcinoma tissues and cells were detected by RT-qPCR and Western blot. H101 expression and virus titers in Bcap-37, MP59 and T1889 cells after infection were detected by RT-qPCR and 50% tissue culture infectious dose (TCID 50). The proliferation activity and apoptosis rates of T1889 cells infected with H101 at different multiplicity of infection (MOI) were detected by CCK-8 and flow cytometry. CAR expression in T1889 cells treated with different concentrations of trichostatin A (TSA), a histone deacetylase inhibitor, was detected. H101 expression and virus titers in the TSA-treated and H101-infected cells were detected. Cell activity was detected by CCK-8. The phosphorylation levels of MARK and ERK1/2 and the expression of CAR at protein level in TSA-treated or TSA+ TBHQ (ERK activator) treated cells were detected. Results:CAR expression at both mRNA and protein levels were significantly lower in thymic carcinoma tissues than in adjacent normal tissues ( P<0.01), and lower in MP59 and T1889 cells than in thymic epithelial cells (TEC) and Bcap-37 cells ( P<0.01). H101 expression in MP59 and T1889 cells and the titers of H101 in culture supernatants were significantly lower than those in Bcap-37 cells ( P<0.01). Compared with Bcap-37 cell, the activity of MP59 and T1889 cells was significantly increased and the apoptosis rates were significantly decreased 48 h after H101 infection ( P<0.01). The expression of CAR at both mRNA and protein levels in T1889 cells treated with different concentrations of TSA increased in a dose-dependent manner. When T1889 cells were treated with 0.25 μmol/L of TSA, the expression of H101 at mRNA level and H101 titers were significantly increased ( P<0.05); the phosphorylation levels of MAPK and ERK1/2 proteins were continuously decreased; the expression of CAR was continuously increased. Compared with the TSA treatment group, the expression of CAR at protein level in the TSA+ TBHQ treatment group decreased significantly ( P<0.01), and the p-ERK1/2/ERK1/2 ratio increased significantly ( P<0.01). Conclusions:TSA could up-regulate CAR expression in thymic carcinoma by inhibiting the MARK/ERK1/2 pathway, thereby enhancing the antitumor activity of H101.

Objective:To explore the safety and short-term and long-term efficacy of robot-assisted radical esophageal cancer surgery.Methods:A prospective randomized controlled trial was conducted. Patients who were preoperatively diagnosed as stage 0-IIIB esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and suitable for minimally invasive surgery in our hospital from January 1, 2014 to June 30, 2018 were prospectively enrolled. Those of age ≥75 years having received preoperative neoadjuvant therapy, contradicted to anesthesia or operation due to severe complications, with history of thoracotomy or laparotomy, with concurrent malignant tumors, without complete informations or refusing to participate in this study were excluded. Participants were randomly divided into the thoracoscopy-laparoscopy group and the robot group using a random number table in ratio of 1:1. Preoperative clinicopathological data, surgical data and postoperative outcomes were recorded. The patients were followed up mainly by telephone. Follow-up endpoint was recurrence of esophageal cancer and death. Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate survival rate. The survival difference between the two groups was analyzed using the log-rank test.Results:According to above criteria, a total of 192 esophageal cancer patients were enrolled finally, including 144 males and 48 females with mean age of (61.9±8.6) years. The robot group had 94 cases, including 72 males and 22 females with mean age of (61.3±8.2) years, and the thoracoscopy-laparoscopy group had 98 cases, including 72 males and 26 females with mean age of (62.4±9.1) years. There were no significant differences in baseline data between the two groups (all P>0.05). Operation was abandoned in one case in each group due to extensive pleural cavity metastasis and one case in each group was converted to thoracotomy. The success rate of operation was 97.9% (92/94) in the robot group and 98.0% (96/98) in the thoracoscopy-laparoscopy group (χ 2=0.002, P=0.996). The number of lymph nodes dissected in the robot group was significantly higher than that in the thoracoscopy-laparoscopy group (29.2±12.5 vs. 22.8±13.3, t=3.433, P=0.001), while there were no significant differences in operative time, intraoperative blood loss, R0 resection rate, postoperative 30-day mortality, postoperative hospital stay, ICU stay, time to withdrawal of chest drainage tube, ICU readmission, and postoperative morbidity of complications between the two groups (all P>0.05). The median follow-up time was 21 (3 to 57) months. During the follow-up, 3 cases and 4 cases were lost, and 2 cases and 3 cases died of other diseases in the robot group and in the thoracoscopy-laparoscopy group respectively. Recurrence occurred in 39 cases during follow-up, including 14 recurrences in the robotic group with 1- and 3-year recurrence-free survival rates of 92.4% and 87.6% respectively and the median recurrence time of 15 (9 to 42) months. There were 25 recurrences in the thoracoscopy-laparoscopy group with 1- and 3-year recurrence-free survival rates of 81.7% and 67.9% respectively and the median recurrence time of 9 (3 to 42) months. There was significant difference in recurrence-free survival between the two groups (χ 2=4.193, P=0.041). Conclusions:The robotic surgical system has good oncology effect and surgical safety in the radical operation of esophageal cancer, which deserves further research and promotion.

Objective:To explore the safety and short-term and long-term efficacy of robot-assisted radical esophageal cancer surgery.Methods:A prospective randomized controlled trial was conducted. Patients who were preoperatively diagnosed as stage 0-IIIB esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and suitable for minimally invasive surgery in our hospital from January 1, 2014 to June 30, 2018 were prospectively enrolled. Those of age ≥75 years having received preoperative neoadjuvant therapy, contradicted to anesthesia or operation due to severe complications, with history of thoracotomy or laparotomy, with concurrent malignant tumors, without complete informations or refusing to participate in this study were excluded. Participants were randomly divided into the thoracoscopy-laparoscopy group and the robot group using a random number table in ratio of 1:1. Preoperative clinicopathological data, surgical data and postoperative outcomes were recorded. The patients were followed up mainly by telephone. Follow-up endpoint was recurrence of esophageal cancer and death. Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate survival rate. The survival difference between the two groups was analyzed using the log-rank test.Results:According to above criteria, a total of 192 esophageal cancer patients were enrolled finally, including 144 males and 48 females with mean age of (61.9±8.6) years. The robot group had 94 cases, including 72 males and 22 females with mean age of (61.3±8.2) years, and the thoracoscopy-laparoscopy group had 98 cases, including 72 males and 26 females with mean age of (62.4±9.1) years. There were no significant differences in baseline data between the two groups (all P>0.05). Operation was abandoned in one case in each group due to extensive pleural cavity metastasis and one case in each group was converted to thoracotomy. The success rate of operation was 97.9% (92/94) in the robot group and 98.0% (96/98) in the thoracoscopy-laparoscopy group (χ 2=0.002, P=0.996). The number of lymph nodes dissected in the robot group was significantly higher than that in the thoracoscopy-laparoscopy group (29.2±12.5 vs. 22.8±13.3, t=3.433, P=0.001), while there were no significant differences in operative time, intraoperative blood loss, R0 resection rate, postoperative 30-day mortality, postoperative hospital stay, ICU stay, time to withdrawal of chest drainage tube, ICU readmission, and postoperative morbidity of complications between the two groups (all P>0.05). The median follow-up time was 21 (3 to 57) months. During the follow-up, 3 cases and 4 cases were lost, and 2 cases and 3 cases died of other diseases in the robot group and in the thoracoscopy-laparoscopy group respectively. Recurrence occurred in 39 cases during follow-up, including 14 recurrences in the robotic group with 1- and 3-year recurrence-free survival rates of 92.4% and 87.6% respectively and the median recurrence time of 15 (9 to 42) months. There were 25 recurrences in the thoracoscopy-laparoscopy group with 1- and 3-year recurrence-free survival rates of 81.7% and 67.9% respectively and the median recurrence time of 9 (3 to 42) months. There was significant difference in recurrence-free survival between the two groups (χ 2=4.193, P=0.041). Conclusions:The robotic surgical system has good oncology effect and surgical safety in the radical operation of esophageal cancer, which deserves further research and promotion.