Objective To investigate the effects of siRNA against survivin combined with the neoadjuvant chemotherapy (paclitaxel and epirubicin) on the apoptosis in breast cancer MCF-7 cell and reverse drug resistance.Methods Molecular cloning technique was applied to construct the expression vector of siRNA against survivin,and effectene transfection reagent was used to transfect MCF-7 cell.Survivin expression was detected by qPCR and Western blot methods.The effects of paclitaxel or epirubicin combined with or without siRNA against survivin,on the drug susceptibility of MCF-7 cell were detected by CCK-8 assay and that of including MCF-7 cell apoptosis were detected by flow cytometry.Results Survivin-siRNA-2 effectively inhibited the expression of survivin mRNA (0.30±0.03) and protein (0.37±0.09) (P ＜ 0.05).Both paclitaxel [IR 24,48 h =(38.5±4.0) ％,(41.7±6.3) ％] and epirubicin [IR 24,48 h =(37.0±8.6) ％,(40.6± 12.1) ％] can suppress the proliferation of MCF-7 cell and induce its apoptosis,and siRNA against survivin combined with chemotherapy drugs enhanced both effects significantly[paclitaxel IR 24,48 h =(76.0±2.9) ％,(85.1±4.0) ％; epirubicin IR 24,48 h =(74.6±5.6) ％,(82.5±4.8) ％] (P ＜ 0.05).The inhibition rate of MCF-7 was concentration and time dependent.Conclusions Blocking survivin gene expression by RNAi,and combining with the appropriate chemotherapy can significantly enhance the sensitivity of MCF-7 cell to drugs and cell apoptosis.This technology has important potential clinical value in the therapy of breast cancer.

Objective: To evaluate the pharmacokinetics of palonosetron hydrochloride in healthy volunteers. Methods: Thir-ty-one healthy volunteers were grouped into three palonosetron hydrochloride dosage regimens of 0.125, 0.25, and 0.5 mg. The plasma concentrations of palonosetron were determined by ultra high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). DAS 2.1 software was applied to assess the plasma concentration-time data. Results:After intravenous injection of 0.125, 0.25, and 0.5 mg palonosetron to the subjects, the AUC0-168h values of palonosetron were (7.5±2.5), (15.2±4.0), and (34.8±9.7) μg· h·mL-1. The t1/2 values were (27.2±9.5), ( 27.2±6.5), and (31.4±5.6) h. Palonosetron exposure increased proportionally with the dose range of 0.125 mg to 0.5 mg. The correlation coefficient was 0.998. No grade 3 or grade 4 toxicity was observed during the study. Con-clusion:A rapid, sensitive, and selective UPLC-MS/MS method for palonosetron quantification in human plasma was developed and validated. All the participants indicated high tolerance throughout the study. Our data showed that palonosetron exhibits linear pharma-cokinetics over the the dose range of 0.125 mg to 0.5 mg.

Objective To investigate the effects of different cell cycles and their regulating genes on apoptosis of mononuclear-macrophages induced by Leptospira interrogans. Methods The diversity and alteration of cell cycles of murine mononuclear-macrophage line(J774A. 1 ) and human monocyte line(THP-1 ) before and after infected with L. interrogans serogroup Icterohaemorrhagiae serovar Lai strain Lai were detected using Cell Cycle Stain Kit plus flow cytometer. The cell cycle synchronized J774A. 1 and THP-1 cells were generated and then identified by using different cell cycle blocking agents and flow cytometer. By using Annexin V/PI Detection Kit combined with flow cytometer, the rates of early-apoptosis and late-apoptosis/necrosis in the synchronized and non-synchronized J774A. 1 and THP-1 cells after infection with L. interrogans strain Lai were determined. Several real-time fluorescence quantitative RT-PCRs were performed to the changes of mRNAs levels of p21, p27, p53, c-myc and cycA genes that associated with cell cycle and apoptosis in J774A. 1 and THP-1 cells before and after infected with L. interrogans strain Lai. Results There were G1, S and G2/M phases in both the non-infected normal J774A. 1 and THP-1 cells. On the contrast,the majority of infected J774A. 1 and THP-1 cells were stagnated at G1 phase, but the amount of S phase THP-1 cells was elevated while that of S phase J774A. 1 cells was not(P ＜0.05). No remarkable early-apoptosis in both the infected G1 phase J774A. 1 and THP-1 cells was found, whereas the rates of early-apoptosis and late-apoptosis/necrosis in the infected M phase J774A. 1 and THP-1 cells were significantly increased (P ＜0.05 ). Additionally, late-apoptosis / necrosis rate in the infected G1 phase THP-1 cells (P ＜ 0.05 )that not found in the infected G1 phase J774A. 1 cells. Compared to the non-infected cells, the p21 mRNA levels in the infected J774A. 1 and THP-1 cells were significantly elevated(P ＜0.05), and the c-myc and p27 mRNA levels in the infected J774A. 1 cells and the cycA mRNA level in the infected THP-1 cells were also higher than those in both the non-infected cells ( P ＜ 0.05 ). Conclusion Different cell cycles and their regulating genes have a role to affect the apoptosis of human and murine mononuclear-macrophages caused by L. interrogans with a diversity of cell line origins.

Objective To analyze the platelet activating factor acetylhydrolase ( PAF-AH) activity of a gene product encoded by LA2144 gene of Leptospira interrogans ( L. interrogans) , to investigate the ex-pression and secretion of LA2144 protein in various cell cultures and to further understand its function in in-ducing internal hemorrhage in an animal model. Methods The DNA sample containing LA2144 gene was extracted from L. interrogans serogroup Icterohaemorrhagiae serovar Lai strain Lai and used as the template for gene cloning by PCR. The LA2144 gene without the signal sequence coding region was amplified by PCR and inserted into a prokaryotic expression construct for the protein expression. The expressed recombinant protein, rLep-PAF-AH, was purified by Ni-NTA affinity chromatography. Spectrophotometry was used to measure the hydrolytic activity, hydrolytic efficiency, Km and Kcat values of the rLep-PAF-AH protein in hydrolyzing PAF substrate. Real-time fluorescent quantitative RT-PCR ( qRT-PCR) and Western blot assay were performed to measure the expression of LA2144 gene at mRNA and protein levels in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC), human monocytes (THP-1) and murine macrophages (J774A. 1) with L. interrogans strain Lai infection, respectively. Each syrian hamster was intravenously injected with 100 μg of LPS-free rLep-PAF-AH for two times. Hemorrhage in the lungs, livers and kidneys were observed in three days after the injection. Results The constructed prokaryotic expression system for LA2144 gene of L. inter-rogans strain Lai could highly express the rLep-PAF-AH upon the induction of IPTG. The purified rLep-PAF-AH showed high purity with a single protein band in gel as indicated by SDS-PAGE. The efficiency of 5 μg of rLep-PAF-AH in hydrolyzing PAF substrate was 26. 6 U/L with a Km value of 82. 79 μmol/L and a Kcat value of 0. 24 S-1 . The expression of Lep-PAF-AH at mRNA level in HUVEC, THP-1 and J774A. 1 cells were significantly elevated after co-culture with L. interrogans strain Lai for 1 or 2 hours (P<0. 05). A large amount of Lep-PAF-AH were detected in the supernatants from co-cultures of L. interrogans strain Lai with the three cell lines, but not from the culture of the spirochete in EMJH medium. The signs of hemor-rhage were observed in the lung of hamsters injected with rLep-PAF-AH, but not in tissue samples from liver and kidney. Conclusion The LA2144 gene product was characterized by a stronger PAF-AH activity. The expression of LA2144 gene at mRNA and protein levels in various cell lines were enhanced during L. interro-gans infection. Moreover, the rLep-PAF-AH could induce the pulmonary hemorrhage in hamsters. This stud-y indicated that the protein encoded by LA2144 gene was an important virulence factor causing hemorrhage in hosts during L. interrogans infection.

High level of glucose could induce apoptosis in human umbilical vein endothelial cells. C peptide and insulin had different effects on high glucose induced endothelial cells apoptosis. The reasonable application of C peptide may be helpful in preventing and treating diabetic macrovascular diseases.

Objective To investigate the influence of Yishen granule on the expression of type Ⅳ collagen,laminin (LN)and fibroneetin (FN)in diabetic nephropathy (DN) rats.Methods DN model rats were established by unilateral nephrectomy and intraperltoneal injection of STZ.The experimental rats were divided into six groups:normal group,DN model group,Yishen granule groups in low and high dose (8.1 g/kg、16.2 g/kg) and positive control medicine group with lotensin (0.0015 g/kg).After 16 weeks of treatment,kidney tissues were sampled and pathologically observed through Masson trichrome staining.The proteins of type Ⅳ collagen、LN and FN were determined through immunohistochemical methods.Results The type Ⅳ collagen in normal group,DN model group,Yishen granule groups in low and high dose,and positive control medicine group was (1521.22 ± 415.26),(1579.22 ± 343.26),(3402.00 ± 863.39),(2984.30 ± 674.53),(2959.15 ± 561.22),(2918.04±363.96); LN was (1968.04±522.17),(2004.52±417.19),(3299.04±665.78),(3116.89±540.10),(2932.63 ± 528.38),(2815.89 ± 798.58) ; FN was (2614.67 ± 533.82),(2742.63 ± 562.80),(3311.41 ± 529.29),(2993.44±548.66),(2953.30±535.74),(2897.41 ±505.84) respectively.The level of type Ⅳ collagen、LN and FN expression in Yishen granule group obviously decreased as compared with that in DN model group (P＜0.05).The mesangial cells,basement membrane thickening and endocapillary proliferation in glomerular filtration membrane were significantly alleviated in Yishen granule group.The pathology of kidney was obviously modulated by Yishen granule.Conclusion Yishen granule can significantly inhibits the expression of type Ⅳ collagen、LN and FN in DN rats,which may be the mechanisms for Yishen granule in protecting the DN rat's kidney.

Objective To assess the effect of low-dose cytarabine and aclarubicin in combination with gran-ulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) protocol (CAG) in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML),and to understand the potential factors affecting the outcome of CAG induction therapy, therefore to find the optimum pa-tients for CAG therapy. Methods Twenty-one AML patients were enrolled in the current study. All patients were treated with CAG regimen including cytarabine (10 mg/m~2, subcutaneously, every 12 h, days 1 - 14), lacinomycin (5～7 mg/m~2,intravenously,every day, days 1 -8) ,and G-CSF (200 μg/m~2,subcutaneously, every day,12 h be-fore Ara-C was given) priming. Results The overall complete remission (CR) rate of the 21 AML patients was 66.7% (14/21). The CR rates was 87.5% (7/8) in patients older than 60 yrs,60.0% (9/15) in the refractory or relapsed patients,83.3% (5/6) in the MDS transformed AML patients. The CR rates for patients with hyperprolif-erative BM and median to poor proliferative BM were 33.3% and 91.7% ,respectively(P =0.009). The median o-verall survival (OS) time of the 21 AML patients was 450 days. Two-year survival rate estimated by Kaplan-Meier Method was 30.6%. The overall median disease free survival (DFS) was 165 days. The median OS time for those refractory or relapsed was 435 days. The median OS time for those with poor cytogenetic state or standard or good cytogenetic state was 140 days and 620 days, respectively (P = 0.001). The median OS time for patients with hyperproliferative BM and median to poor proliferative BM was 321 days and 620 days, respectively (P = 0.05). The median recovery time of granulocytes above 1.0×10~9/L was 8 days. The median duration of fever was 3.5 days. The rate of infections exceeding WHO grade Ⅱ was 42.9%. No early death occurred. Conclusions The CAG induction therapy may have a higher CR rate in patients with refractory or relapsed AML, elderly AML and secondary AML from MDS transformation, and extend the median overall survival time in refractory or relapsed patients. CAG therapy can not improve the outcome of patients whose BM was in high grade proliferation state or whose cytogenetic state was poor. CAG therapy can shorten the duration of agranulocytosis and decrease the inci-dence of serious infection. Therefore, CAG therapy is worth recommending to patients who can not endure the rou-tine intensive chemotherapy.

The aim of this study is to develop a physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model in intraabdominal infected rats, and extrapolate it to human to predict moxifloxacin pharmacokinetics profiles in various tissues in intra-abdominal infected human. 12 male rats with intra- abdominal infections, induced by Escherichia coli, received a single dose of 40 mg/kg body weight of moxifloxacin. Blood plasma was collected at 5, 10, 20, 30, 60, 120, 240, 480, 1440 min after drug injection. A PBPK model was developed in rats and extrapolated to human using GastroPlus software. The predictions were assessed by comparing predictions and observations. In the plasma concentration versus time profile of moxifloxcinin rats, Cmax was 11.151 microg/mL at 5 min after the intravenous injection and t1/2 was 2.936 h. Plasma concentration and kinetics in human were predicted and compared with observed datas. Moxifloxacin penetrated and accumulated with high concentrations in redmarrow, lung, skin, heart, liver, kidney, spleen, muscle tissues in human with intra-abdominal infection. The predicted tissue to plasma concentration ratios in abdominal viscera were between 1.1 and 2.2. When rat plasma concentrations were known, extrapolation of a PBPK model was a method to predict drug pharmacokinetics and penetration in human. Moxifloxacin has a good penetration into liver, kidney, spleen, as well as other tissues in intra-abdominal infected human. Close monitoring are necessary when using moxifloxacin due to its high concentration distribution. This pathological model extrapolation may provide reference to the PK/PD study of antibacterial agents.
Animals ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Body Weight ; Escherichia coli ; Heart ; Humans ; Injections, Intravenous ; Intraabdominal Infections* ; Kidney ; Kinetics ; Liver ; Lung ; Male ; Pharmacokinetics* ; Plasma ; Rats ; Skin ; Spleen ; Viscera

Objective: To investigate the therapeutic effects of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) with FLAG sequential busulfan/cyclophosphamide(Bu/Cy) conditioning regimen for refractory/relapsed acute myeloid leukemia. Methods: From February 2012 to June 2017, 21 patients with refractory/relapsed acute myeloid leukemia underwent allo-HSCT with FLAG sequential Bu/Cy conditioning regimen. Transplantation-related complications and clinical outcome were retrospectively analyzed. Results: After conditioning, no hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD) and grade Ⅲ hemorrhagic cystitis occurred. 76.2% (16/21) patients had fever with 4 septicemia. One patient died of septic shock before engraftment. Twenty patients achieved neutrophil engraftment with a median time of 13 days (range, 10 to 21 days). Seventeen patients achieved platelet engraftment with a median time of 18 days (range, 9 to 25 days). The cumulative incidence of acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) was 39.5%, and 3 patients developed grade Ⅲ-Ⅳ aGVHD. Of 19 patients who survived more than 100 days after transplantation, 4 had local chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD). Of 21 patients, the median survival time was 15 months (range, 0.5 to 67 months) post-transplantation. Transplantation-related mortality rate was 28.7%. Leukemia relapse occurred in 4 patients with a median time of 4 months (range, 3 to 8 months) after transplantation. The cumulative relapse rate at 1 year was 21.4%. The 1-year and 3-year overall survival (OS) rates were 60.7% and 54.9% respectively. Log-rank analysis revealed that bone marrow blasts ≥ 20% or extramedullary leukemia before transplantation, poor platelet engraftment and grade Ⅲ-Ⅳ aGVHD were significantly related to shortened OS (P<0.05). Conclusions Allo-HSCT with FLAG sequential Bu/Cy conditioning regimen in patients with refractory/relapsed myeloid leukemia has acceptable transplantation-related risk and relapse rate. The 1-year and 3-year OS rates are comparable with those in remission patients.

Cancer cachexia is a multi-organ syndrome and closely related to changes in signal communication between organs, which is mediated by cancer cachexia factors. Cancer cachexia factors, being the general name of inflammatory factors, circulating proteins, metabolites, and microRNA secreted by tumor or host cells, play a role in secretory or other organs and mediate complex signal communication between organs during cancer cachexia. Cancer cachexia factors are also a potential target for the diagnosis and treatment. The pathogenesis of cachexia is unclear and no clear effective treatment is available. Thus, the treatment of cancer cachexia from the perspective of the tumor ecosystem rather than from the perspective of a single molecule and a single organ is urgently needed. From the point of signal communication between organs mediated by cancer cachexia factors, finding a deeper understanding of the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer cachexia is of great significance to improve the level of diagnosis and treatment. This review begins with cancer cachexia factors released during the interaction between tumor and host cells, and provides a comprehensive summary of the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment for cancer cachexia, along with a particular sight on multi-organ signal communication mediated by cancer cachexia factors. This summary aims to deepen medical community's understanding of cancer cachexia and may conduce to the discovery of new diagnostic and therapeutic targets for cancer cachexia.
Humans ; Cachexia/pathology* ; Ecosystem ; Neoplasms/metabolism* ; Syndrome ; Muscle, Skeletal/pathology*