OBJECTIVETo explore the patterns of Cx43 and Pax3 protein expressions in the small intestinal muscular layers of human embryo during early development.

METHODSImmunohistochemistry with SABC method was employed to examine the expression of Cx43 and Pax3 proteins in the muscular layers of the small intestine in early human embryos in the second to fourth months of gestation.

RESULTSIn the second month of gestation, the muscle layer of the small intestine was negative for Cx43 and Pax3 protein expressions. In the third month, Cx43 and Pax3 expressions were negative in the inner circular muscle layer, but some positive cells were found in the longitudinal muscle layer and the myenteric plexus. In the fourth month, positive expression of Cx43 and Pax3 proteins were seen in the entire muscle layer.

CONCLUSIONCx43 and Pax3 proteins are closely related to the growth and development of the cells and tissues in the small intestinal muscle layer in human embryos.

Connexin 43 ; biosynthesis ; Embryo, Mammalian ; metabolism ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Intestine, Small ; embryology ; metabolism ; Muscle, Smooth ; embryology ; metabolism ; PAX3 Transcription Factor ; Paired Box Transcription Factors ; biosynthesis

With the development of molecular pathology,many types of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations have been identified.The efficacy of EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with different types of EGFR mutations,especially in patients with single rare mutations or complex mutations (co-occurrence of two or more different mutations),has not been fully understood.This study aimed to examine the efficacy of EGFR-TKIs in NSCLC patients with different types of EGFR mutations.Clinical data of 809 NSCLC patients who harbored different types of EGFR mutations and treated from January 2012 to October 2016 at Renmin Hospital and Zhongnan Hospital,Wuhan,were retrospectively reviewed.The clinical characteristics of these patients and the efficacy of EGFR-TKIs were analyzed.Among these patients,377 patients had only the EGFR del-19 mutation,362 patients the EGFR L858R mutation in exon 21,33 patients single rare mutations and 37 patients complex mutations.Among these 809 patients,239 patients were treated with EGFR-TKIs.In all the 239 patients,the disease control rate (DCR) was 93.7％ with two patients (0.2％) achieving complete response (CR),the median progression free survival (PFS) was 13.0 months (95％ confidence interval [CI],11.6-14.4 months),and the median overall survival (OS) was 55.0 months (95％ CI,26.3-83.7 months).Subgroup analysis revealed that the DCR in patients harboring single rare or complex mutations of EGFR was significantly lower than in those with del-19 or L858R mutation (P＜0.001).Patients with classic mutations (del-19 and/or L858R mutations) demonstrated longer PFS (P＜0.001) and OS (P=0.017) than those with uncommon mutations (single rare and/or complex mutations).Furthermore,the patients with single rare mutations had shorter median OS than in those with other mutations.Multivariate Cox regression analysis identified that the type of EGFR mutations was an independent risk factor for PFS (hazard ratio [HR]=0.308,95％ CI,0.191-0.494,P＜0.001) and OS (HR=0.221,95％ CI,0.101-0.480,P＜0.001).The results suggest that the single rare or complex EGFR mutations confer inferior efficacy of EGFR-TKIs treatment to the classic mutations.The prognosis of the single rare EGFR mutations is depressing.EGFR-TKIs may be not a good choice for NSCLC patients with single rare mutations of EGFR.Further studies in these patients with uncommon mutations (especially for the patients with single rare mutations) are needed to determine a better precision treatment.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to determine the relationship of hypoxia-inducible factor-2 (HIF-2α) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) with radiographic severity in primary osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. Expression of these two factors in cartilage samples from OA knee joints was examined at mRNA and protein levels. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Knee joints were examined using plain radiographs, and OA severity was assessed using the Kellgren and Lawrence (KL) grading system. Specimens were collected from 29 patients (31 knees) who underwent total knee replacement because of severe medial OA of the knee (KL grades 3 and 4), 16 patients who underwent knee arthroscopy (KL grade 2), and 5 patients with traumatic knees (KL grade 0). HIF-2α and VEGF expression was quantified by real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blotting. RESULTS: Cartilage degeneration correlated with the radiographic severity grade. OA severity, determined using the Mankin scale, correlated positively with the KL grade (r=0.8790, p<0.01), and HIF-2α and VEGF levels with the radiographic severity of knee OA (r=0.7001, p<0.05; r=0.6647, p<0.05). CONCLUSION: In OA cartilage, HIF-2α and VEGF mRNA and protein levels were significantly and positively correlated. The expression of both factors correlated positively with the KL grade. HIF-2α and VEGF, therefore, may serve as biochemical markers as well as potential therapeutic targets in knee OA.
Adult ; Aged ; Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee ; Arthroscopy ; Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors/*metabolism ; Biomarkers/*blood ; Cartilage/*metabolism ; Female ; Humans ; Knee Joint/*diagnostic imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Osteoarthritis, Knee/*blood/diagnostic imaging/physiopathology ; RNA, Messenger ; Radiography ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Severity of Illness Index ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A/*metabolism

OBJECTIVE: To identify the effect of preoperative anemia on the prognosis of patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) following radical nephroureterectomy. METHODS: Clinicopathological and prognosis data on 686 patients with UTUC who underwent RNU at Peking University First Hospital between January 2000 and December 2013 were retrospectively analyzed. Preoperative anemia was defined as hemoglobin <130 g/L in men and <120 g/L in women based on the World Health Organization classification. The Kaplan-Meier method with log-rank test was applied to estimate the effect of anemia on survival. The associations of clinicopathologic features with overall survival and cancer-specific survival were evaluated using univariate and multivariate Cox regression models. RESULTS: There were 303(44.2%, 303/686) male and 383(55.8%, 383/686) female patients, and the median age was 68 years (interquartile range: 60-74 years). In all, 320 (46.6%, 320/686) patients were anemic before surgery. The median follow-up duration was 47 months. In all, 160 (23.3%) patients died, 141 (20.6%) died of cancer and 19 (2.7%) died of other disease or accidents. Preoperative anemia was associated with gender (P=0.002), age (P<0.001), lymph node positive (P=0.026), increased tumor grade (P=0.018), concomitant carcinoma in situ (P=0.038), tumor necrosis (P=0.007) and poor renal function (P<0.001). In univariate analysis, overall mortality was correlated with pre-operative anemia (P<0.001), gender (P=0.009), hydronephrosis (P=0.024), tumor stage (P<0.001), lymph node positive (P<0.001), tumor grade (P<0.001), tumor architecture(P<0.001), sarcomatoid differentiation (P=0.013), history of ureteroscope (P=0.033) and tumor hemorrhage (P<0.001); cancer-specific mortality was correlated with preoperative anemia (P=0.001), gender (P=0.001), hydronephrosis (P=0.043), tumor stage (P<0.001), lymph node positive (P<0.001), tumor grade (P<0.001), tumor architecture (P<0.001), sarcomatoid differentiation (P=0.016), history of ureteroscope (P=0.028) and tumor hemorrhage (P=0.003). A multivariate Cox proportional hazards model indicated that preoperative anemia was an independent prognositic predictor for overall mortality (P<0.001, HR=1.861) and cancer-specific mortality (P=0.003, HR=1.688). CONCLUSION The preoperative anemia is an independent risk factor for cancer-specific survival and overall survival. Hemoglobin levels should be considered during patient counseling and in decision-making for further therapy.
Aged ; Anemia ; Carcinoma, Transitional Cell/surgery* ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nephrectomy ; Nephroureterectomy ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Urologic Neoplasms/surgery*

Pneumonia caused by SARS-CoV-2 has seriously threatened human life and health worldwide and caused a large number of deaths. Viral infection and acute inflammation are important causes of death, so it is particularly important to combine antiviral therapy with anti-inflammatory therapy. Glycyrrhizic acid, the main component of the glycyrrhizic root extract, has a wide range of pharmacological effects as well as high efficiency and low toxicity, its preparation has been widely used in the treatment of chronic hepatitis and other diseases. Glycyrrhizic acid can regulate the expression and release of a variety of cytokines and play a significant anti-inflammatory effect. At the same time, glycyrrhizic acid also showed significant inhibition towards a variety types of viruses. Therefore, the potential application of glycyrrhizic acid as COVID-19 treatment should be explored.