AIM:Toinvestigatetheassociationbetweenmethylationstatusofapoptosis-relatedgenesandche-mosensitivity in the lung adenocarcinoma cell line P 15.METHODS: Methylation-specific PCR was applied to detect the methylation status of p73, p14ARF, p16INK4a and bax genes of P15 cells in untreated control group and decitabine (DAC) treatment group.RT-PCR was used to detect the expression of p 73, bcl-xL, bad, bax, p14ARF and p16INK4a at mRNA level. Colony formation assay and cell growth inhibition assay were used to detect the sensitivity of P 15 cells to cis-diaminedichlo-roplatinum ( C-DDP) before and after DAC treatment .DAPI staining was used to determine the apoptosis of P 15 cells ex-posed to C-DDP before and after DAC treatment .RESULTS:p73, p16INK4a and bax were expressed in the methylation sta-tus.After DAC treatment, p16INK4a expression was decreased , and the expression of p73 and bax disappeared .The expres-sion of p73, p16INK4a and bax in the unmethylated status was weak , but the enhanced expression was observed following DAC treatment.After P15 cells were treated with DAC and C-DDP, the colony formation rate of the P15 cells was signifi-cantly decreased as compared with untreated control group .The apoptotic P15 cells in DAC+C-DDP treatment group were significantly higher than those in untreated control group (P<0.05).CONCLUSION:After treated with DAC, the sensi-tivity of P15 cells to C-DDP is increased due to the activation of silenced pro-apoptotic genes .DAC and C-DDP synergisti-cally promote tumor cell apoptosis .They have significant anti-tumor effect .

Objective To explore whether pioglitazone can ameliorate radiation-induced fibrosis in rat heart.Methods A total of 46 Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into six groups (control group, pioglitazone (Pio) 10 mg·kg-1 ·d-1 group, Pio 20 mg·kg-1 ·d-1 group, 18 Gy irradiation + placebo group;18 Gy irradiation + Pio 10 mg·kg-1 ·d-1 , and 18 Gy irradiation + Pio 20 mg·kg-1 ·d-1 group).Experimental animals were exposed to radiation at the chest, then administered Pio or placebo for one month.At 3 months later, the rats were killed and their heart tissues were collected for Masson staining, Western blot analysis and real-time polymerase chain reaction assay (real-time PCR).Results Masson staining revealed significant myocardial fibrosis in rats exposed to radiation, while these changes were reduced when the rats were given Pio.Western blot analysis showed that the PPAR-γ protein expression in the heart tissue of irradiated rats were higher than in the non-irradiated group (F =12.435, P ＜ 0.05).Real-time PCR assay showed that PPAR-γ mRNA expression in the irradiation + Pio 20 mg· kg-1· d-1 group was higher than that in the Pio 20 mg· kg-1 ·d-1 group (F =2.333, P ＜ 0.05).The expression of TGF-β1 protein in the irradiation + placebo group were higher than those in the other five groups (F =17.578 ,P ＜0.05), and the CDK5 protein expression had a high level in the three irradiated groups while only the irradiation + placebo group was statistically higher than controls (F =3.651, P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions Pioglitazone may ameliorate radiation fibrosis in the rat heart through its anti-fibrotic activity, perhaps via inhibiting Cdk5-mediated PPAR-γ phosphorylation.

Objective:To investigate the relationship between Tei index and right heart function in patients with pneumoconiosis complicated with pulmonary heart disease (PHD).Methods:108 cases of pneumoconiosis patients with PHD in our hospital from January 2018 to January 2020 were randomly selected and divided into three groups according to the X-ray diagnostic criteria of pneumoconiosis, including 50 cases in stage Ⅰ group, 25 cases in stage Ⅱ group and 33 cases in stage Ⅲ group. All patients were examined by ultrasonic cardiography (UCG); the right ventricular Tei index and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels, right ventricular outflow tract (ROVT) diameter, main pulmonary artery (MPA) diameter, right ventricular anterior wall thickness (RVAW), right ventricular diameter (RV), right atrial diameter (RA), pulmonary artery pressure (PASP), Tei index were compared in groups; Pearson correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between UCG index and BNP level; multiple linear regression analysis was used to analyze the influencing factors of BNP.Results:The levels of RV, Tei index and BNP in Ⅰ stage group were significantly lower than those in Ⅱ stage group, and the levels of RV, Tei index and BNP in Ⅱ stage group were significantly lower than those in Ⅲ stage group ( P<0.05). There was no difference in ROVT, MPA, RVAW, RA, PASP in the three groups ( P>0.05). Pearson correlation analysis showed that ROVT, RV, Tei index in UCG indicators and BNP level were positively correlated ( P<0.05); multiple linear regression analysis showed that RVAW and Tei indexes were the main influencing factors of BNP levels ( P<0.05). Conclusions:The right heart Tei index of patients with pneumoconiosis and PHD has a good correlation with BNP level, and is the main influencing factor of BNP level, which can make up for BNP deficiency and effectively evaluate the right heart function of patients.

OBJECTIVETo systemically evaluate the relationship between the expression of insulin-like growth factor receptor type I (IGF-1R) and prognosis in gastric cancer (GC) patients.

METHODSA literature search was conducted from PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, CNKI, Wanfang and VIP databases to retrieve the clinical studies relevant to IGF-1R expression and its prognostic value in GC patients. Meta-analysis was performed using STATA 12.0 software. The methodology was assessed according to the European Lung Cancer Working Party Quality Scale for Biological Prognostic Factors for Lung Cancer. The quality of studies was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale.

RESULTSFour eligible studies including 685 patients were enrolled for this meta-analysis. Analysis results suggested that up-regulation of IGF-1R in GC patients was significantly associated with TNM staging (OR=5.20, 95%CI:1.12 to 24.15, P=0.035), lymph node metastasis(OR=8.24, 95%CI:2.68 to 25.34, P=0.000) and distant metastasis(OR=17.34, 95%CI:6.52 to 46.15, P=0.000). Moreover, up-regulated IGF-1R expression was significantly associated with poor overall survival of gastric cancer patients(HR=2.63, 95% CI:1.29 to 5.40, Z=2.64, P=0.008).

CONCLUSIONHigh IGF-1R expression may be an adverse prognostic factor in gastric cancer patients.