AIM: To observe the effect and possible mechanism of stimulation of Yes-associated protein (YAP) activity on acute lung injury and repair induced by LPS in mice. METHODS: Ninety adult male ICR mice were divided into two groups: acute lung injury model group induced by LPS (7.5 mg/kg, i.p.) and LPS+XMU treatment (1 mg•kg-1•d-1) group. At 0 h, 24 h, 48 h and 72 h after LPS injection, the contents of TNF-α and IL-6 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were detected by ELISA method. The activity of myeloperoxidase (MPO) and the content of protein in BALF were evaluated by chemical technique. The protein level of nuclear YAP, cytosol phosphorylated YAP (P-YAP), connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in lung were analyzed by Western blot. RESULTS:The protein level of nuclear YAP at 24 h, 48 h and 72 h in lung of LPS+XMU group were up-regulated than those of LPS group by 39.2%, 148.1% and 42.9%, and the protein level of CTGF in lung were up-regulated than those of LPS group by 186.6%, 10.1% and 146.1% (P<0.05), respectively, while the protein level of cytosol P-YAP was down-regulated. The content of IL-6 and TNF-α at 24 h in BALF of LPS+XMU group were lower than those of LPS group by 28.4% and 23.7%, and the activity of MPO and the content of TNF-α at 48 h in BALF were lower by 13.5% and 39.5%, and the content of IL-6 and TNF-α at 72 h in BALF were lower by 42.8% and 16.7% (P<0.05), respectively. The protein level of PCNA at 48 h and 72 h in lung of LPS+XMU group were up-regulated than those of LPS group by 44.2% and 14.9% (P<0.05), respectively, while there was no significant difference at 24 h. The content of protein at 24 h, 48 h and 72 h in BALF of LPS+XMU group were lower than those of LPS group by 32.4%, 46.0% and 26.3% (P<0.05), respectively. The pathological changes showed a significantly attenuated tissue injury and accelerated recovery from lung injury in LPS+XMU group compared with mice injected with LPS alone at each times point. CONCLUSION: Stimulation of YAP activity attenuates lung injury and promotes lung recovery by alleviating lung inflammation and injury at injury phase, but by promoting inflammation resolution and stimulating cell proliferation at repair phase.

Objective To investigate the clinical characteristics of hemodialysis (HD) patients complicated with arteriosclerosis obliterans (ASO) of lower extremity,and to discuss the factors that influence the curative prognosis of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA).Methods The clinical data of 211 patients with ASO of lower extremity receiving HD or not receiving HD,who were admitted to authors' hospital during the period from January 2008 to October 2015,were retrospectively analyzed.PTA was successfully accomplished in all patients.Results The median follow-up time was 2.24 years.Theamputation-free survival of HD group was significantly lower than that of non-HD group (P＜0.000 1),and the postoperative artery patency rate of HD group was also obviously lower than that of non-HD group (P＜0.000 4).The factors influencing the survival rate without amputation of the two groups were different.The independent influence factor in HD group was diabetes mellitus,while in non-HD group the independent influence factors were Fontaine stage and hyperlipidemia.The infection mortality of HD group was 55.5％ (10/18),which was higher than 22.2％(6/26) of non-HD group,the difference was statistically significant (P＜0.05).Conclusion In treating ASO of lower extremity,the curative effect of PTA is poorer in HD patients than in non-HD patients,and the presence of diabetes mellitus may be an independent factor influencing prognosis.

Objective To discuss the prognostic value of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) to neutrophils ratio index (ANRI) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after receiving transarterial chemoembolization (TACE).Methods The clinical data of 107 HCC patients,who were admitted to authors' hospital to receive treatment during the period from January 2008 to June 2011,were retrospectively analyzed.TACE was successfully performed in all patients.Based on the 5-year overall survival rate,ROC curve was drawn and the cutoff value was determined.Preoperative ANRI,AST-lymphocytes ratio index (ALRI),AST-platelet count ratio index (APRI),neutrophil-lymphocytes ratio index (NLR),platelet count-lymphocytes ratio index (PLR) and other clinical pathological parameters were calculated.Univariate analysis,multivariate Logisitc regression analysis and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis were used to assess the value of the above indexes in prejudging the disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS).Results ANRI bore a close relationship to the presence of HBsAg,AST,presence of cirrhosis,tumor size,portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT) and recurrence of tumor (P＜0.05).Univariate analysis showed that ANRI,ALRI,APRI,NLR and PLR were significantly correlated with DFS and OS in HCC patients after receiving TACE (P＜0.05).Logisitc regression analysis revealed that ANRI was independent factor influencing DFS and OS (P＜0.05).Kaplan-Meier survival analysis indicated that the prognosis after TACE was poor in patients whose preoperative ANRI ＞7.8.Conclusion Preoperative ANRI level is an independent and effective predictor for judging the prognosis of HCC patients.A high preoperative ANRI level usually suggests a poor prognosis after TACE.

Objective:To explore the effects of estrogen receptor α (ERα) encoded by protein encoding gene ESR1 on the radiation resistance of breast cancer cells and their molecular mechanisms.Methods:The ESR1 overexpression plasmid was transfected into estrogen receptor (ER)-negative breast cancer cells. Then, the shRNA-ESR1 vector was introduced into ER-positive cell to establish models with different phenotype. The ATG5 mRNA level and protein expression levels of LC3B-I, LC3B-II, P62, FIP200, ATG5, ATG7, ATG12, Beclin1, ULK1 were detected using qPCR and Western blot techniques. Cell death was measured using flow cytometry. The radiation sensitivity was determined through the colony formation assay. The mortality of breast cancer cells under the autophagy gene knockdown and overexpression or treated with estrogen receptor inhibitor (TAM) combined with ionizing radiation were detected by trypan blue staining.Results:Under the condition of 8 Gy X-ray irradiation, the knockdown of ESR1 in ER-positive ZR75 breast cancer cells promoted cell death ( t = 3.49, 3.13, P < 0.05), while the overexpression of ESR1 in ER-negative MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells inhibited cell death ( t = 4.16, 7.48, P < 0.05). Compared to the control group, the treatment with chloroquine increased the number of formed colonies of ESR1 knockdown ZR75 cells ( t = 8.49, P < 0.05), and inhibiting autophagy could reduce the death of ZR75 cells caused by ESR1 silencing. Under the treatment with ionizing radiation, the overexpression of ESR1 in MDA-MB-231 cells promoted protective autophagy, which, however, was reduced after ESR1 knockdown in ZR75 cells. Furthermore, it was observed that the knockdown of ATG5 in ZR75 cells was associated with reduced autophagy and an increase in cell death ( t = 4.19, 6.39, P < 0.05). In contrast, the overexpression of ATG5 in ZR75 cells reversed the increase in cell death caused by ESR1 knockdown ( t = 1.70, 4.65, P < 0.05). After the treatment of ER-positive ZR75 breast cancer cells with TAM, the expressions of ATG5 and ATG12 decreased, suggesting inhibited autophagy and an increase in cell death ( t = 18.70, P < 0.05). Furthermore, these processes were promoted by ionizing radiation ( t = 16.82, P < 0.05). Conclusions:The estrogen receptor encoded by ESR1 promotes protective autophagy of ER-positive breast cancer cells by increasing ATG5, further leading to radiation resistance in ER-positive breast cancer cells. Treatment with tamoxifen combined with ionizing radiation can increase the radiation sensitivity of ER-positive breast cancer cells.

Objective:To understand the etiology of a confirmed case of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).Methods:The pharyngeal swabs, serum and nasal swabs of a case of COVID-19 were inoculated into Vero-E6 cell tubes for virus isolation. The cytopathic effect (CPE) were observed daily. Collecting cell’s isolation when CPE was over 75%, after repeated freezing and thawing for 3 times, the supernatant was centrifugally taken, and the images of the virus were obtained by transmission electron microscopic observation, and the nucleic acid of the virus was extracted, second generation sequencing and sequence evolution analysis were used to identify and type the virus strains.Results:One strain of 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) was successfully isolated from the nasal swab of this case of COVID-19, and one strain of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) was also successfully isolated from the throat swab of the same case.Conclusions:COVID-19 cases have the possibility of co-infection with 2019-nCoV and HSV-1.

Objective To analyze the incidence of urinary stone formation in the contralateral kidney of unilateral nephrectomy patients.Methods 1048 patients,including 596 males and 452 females,underwent unilateral nephrectomy from June 2010 to June 2016.Their age ranged from 16-87 years old (mean 58.7 years old).532 patients combined with components of metabolic syndrome and 213 patients with metabolic syndrome.164 patients had a previous history of urolithiasis.The incidence of urinary stone formation in the contralateral kidney after nephrectomy was recorded and analyzed.The urolithiasis incidences in different gender,age,comorbidity and history of urolithiasis patients after uninephrectomy were compared.Results All patients were followed up within 0.5 to 6 years (mean 3.2 years).89 patients suffered from urinary stones in the contralateral kidney after uninephrectomy.The incidence of urinary stone formation in the contralateral kidney was 8.5％ (89/1048),which was higher than that in general population of China.1％-5％.The urolithiasis incidence was 9.1％ (54/596)in male patients and 7.7％ (35/452)in female patients after nephrectomy.The incidence of urinary stone formation was 8.6％ (3/35)in patients aged under 30 years old,12.5％ (34/272) in patients aged 30-49 years old,7.3％ (37/504) in patients aged 50-69 years old,6.3％ (15/237)in patients aged 70 and over.The incidence of urinary stone formation was 12.2％ (65/532) in patients with components of metabolic syndrome after nephrectomy and 19.7％ (42/213) in patients with metabolic syndrome,while the incidence was 4.7％ (24/516)in patients without components of metabolic syndrome.In patients with history of urolithiasis,the incidence was up to 30.5％ (50/164) after nephrectomy,while 4.4％ (39/884)in patients without history of urolithiasis.Conclusions The incidence of urinary stone formation in the contralateral kidney of uninephrectomy patients was higher,especially in patients with metabolic syndrome or urolithiasis history.Patients after unilateral nephrectomy are more vulnerable to urolithiasis.

OBJECTIVETo compare the efficacy between total ureterectomy and partial ureterectomy in treatment of ureteral carcinoma.

METHODSThe clinical data and follow-up results of 102 patients with ureteral urothelial carcinoma from August 1996 to August 2011 were analyzed retrospectively. According to surgical procedures, the patients were divided into total ureterectomy group (61 cases) and partial ureterectomy group (41 cases). The subsequent bladder cancer incidence, ureteral carcinoma recurrence rate, distant metastasis rate and survival rate were compared between two groups. The prognostic factors of ureteral carcinoma were analyzed by multivariable Cox regression.

RESULTSNineteen patients (31.1%) suffered subsequent bladder cancer in total ureterectomy group, and 10 (24.4%) in partial ureterectomy group(χ² = 0.550, P = 0.458). Ten patients (16.4%) re-suffered contralateral ureteral carcinoma in total ureterectomy group, and 6 (14.6%) in partial ureterectomy group, 2 (4.9%) ipsilateral and 4 (9.7%) contralateral (χ² = 0.057, P = 0.811). Eight patients (13.1%) occurred distant metastasis in total ureterectomy group, and 3 (7.3%) in partial ureterectomy group (χ² = 0.360, P = 0.549). Twenty patients died of carcinoma in total ureterectomy group, and 18 in partial ureterectomy group. The median survival time was 78 months in total ureterectomy group, and 75 months in partial ureterectomy group. The 1-year, 3-year and 5-year survival rates in total ureterectomy group were 97.8%, 76.8% and 63.6%, and in partial ureterectomy group were 93.0%, 66.9% and 58.8%. The multivariable Cox regression analysis revealed that tumor stage (RR = 2.468, P = 0.009) and local lymph node status (RR = 3.081, P = 0.020) were independent prognostic factors of ureteral carcinoma. The 5-year survival rate of Ta-2 stage tumor was 73.4%, and of T3-4 stage was 42.8%.

CONCLUSIONSTumor stage and local lymph node status are key prognostic factors of ureteral carcinoma. The efficacy between total ureterectomy and partial ureterectomy in treating early stage of low ureteral carcinoma is similar. Partial ureterectomy can be used in selective patients.

Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome ; Ureter ; surgery ; Ureteral Neoplasms ; surgery