Objective To investigate the effects of targeted forkhead box E1( FOXE1) gene on epitheli-al-mesenchymal transition(EMT) of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) cell line TPC-1, and to study its role in in-vasion and migration of TPC-1 cells.Methods The lentiviral expression vector for RNA interference of FOXE 1 gene was constructed to silence the expression of FOXE 1.Real-time polymerase chain reaction ( RT-PCR) and Western blot were used to detect the expression of such EMT markers as E-cadherin , N-cadherin and Vimentin . Transwell assay and Scratch assay were used to analyze TPC-1 cells migration and invasion .Results After RNA interference of FOXE1, the morphology of TPC-1 cells indicated a transformation of EMT .The expression of epi-thelial phenotype marker E-cadherin decreased remarkably while mesenchymal marker Vimentin was significantly up-regulated(P<0.01).Compared with the control group , the expression of Vimentin mRNA in the experimen-tal group was 2.24 times higher .The migration and invasion ability of TPC-1 cells increased significantly , and the number of cells in transwell was 2.11 times of the control's.Conclusion The silence of FOXE1 gene probably increases the invasion potential of human PTC cells through EMT .

Recurrent laryngeal nerve injury is one of the serious complications after thyroidectomy.Unilateral injury causes hoarseness,while bilateral injury causes difficulty in breathing or even life-threatening glottis obstruction.Analyzing the root cause of the thyroid injury,firstly it is the anatomical factors of recurrent laryngeal nerve,namely the close and complex relationship between the recurrent laryngeal nerve and the inferior thyroid artery,the existence of branches of recurrent laryngeal nerve and its variation,and the presence of non recurrent laryngeal nerve and Zuckerkandl nodules.Those are all made the recurrent laryngeal nerve easy to be damaged.Secondly it is because of the vulnerability of the recurrent laryngeal nerve itself.Last improper using of energy operation instrument will cause heat injury on nerves.Below counter measures can be implemented to prevent recurrent laryngeal nerve injury.Dissect to show recurrent laryngeal nerve or make it ‘ visualization’ during thyroidectomy.Elaborately anatomize recurrent laryngeal nerve to appropriate degree.Be familiar with the property of energy operation instrument and thus safely use them to reduce the heat injury of recurrent laryngeal nerve.Reasonably use the intraoperative nerve monitoring in the surgery,which assist to reduce the risk of injury of recurrent laryngeal nerve.

Objective To investigate the heat effects of the high-frequency electric knife on the recurrent laryngeal nerve ( RLN) in pigs and the safety margin in which electric knife can be used .Methods Totally 12 pigs for experiment were randomly divided into 3 groups by the distance between the head of the electric knife and the nerve(2 mm, 1 mm, 0 mm).The application time of the electric knife touching RLN was set to be 3 s and the application energy of the electric knife was 90 W.The data of electromyogram were measured by means of nerve detector before and after operation .Statistical analysis was made based on those data .The nerve tissues were taken to make paraffin sections so that the histological change can be observed and compared before and after damage.Results The data from electromyogram by nerve detector indicated that the difference of the amplitude of group 2(1 mm)and group 3(0 mm)had statistical significance(P<0.05)within group.There were significant difference of the amplitude between the 3 groups.Histological study showed that the tissues of group 3(0 mm)had obvious injury .Conclusions In thyroid surgery , the safety range of high frequency electrical knife used around RLN is:the distance from electrical knife head to nerve should be no less than 2 mm.

Objective To explore the clinical significance of intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM)of recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) during thyroid cancer surgery.Methods 200 patients undergoing thyroid cancer surgery from Oct.2011 to May 2012 were retrospectively reviewed.The 200 patients were divided into 2 groups:100 patients in group A with IONM and 100 patients in group B without IONM.Results Group A had less RLN exposure time than group B(10.5 vs 15.3 mins,P ＜0.01).Group A had shorter operation time than group B (78.5 vs 82.3 mins).The difference had no statistical significance (P ＞ 0.05).Transient RLN palsy occurred to 5 cases in group A and 11 cases in group B(P＜0.05).Permanent RLN palsy occurred to 1 case in group A.No one in groupB had permanent RLN palsy (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusions IONM can reduce the incidence of transient RLN palsy compared with visualization alone.It is an effective procedure for identifying and protecting RLN in thyroid cancer surgery.

Objective:To investigate the clinical characteristics, skeletal muscle pathologies and gene variations of chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia (CPEO).Methods:Sixteen patients with conformed CPEO, admitted to our hospital from January 1997 to December 2021, were chosen. Their clinical data such as onset age and course of diseases and muscle pathological examination results were collected and their gene variation characteristics were analyzed.Results:The initial symptom in all 16 patients was ptosis of varying degrees; 15 patients were with eye movement disorder, 6 with diplopia, 4 with proximal limb weakness, and 3 with dysphagia and dysarthria. Among the 16 patients, electromyography showed myogenic damage in 7 patients, myogenic combined with neurogenic damage in 1 patient, neurogenic damage in 1 patient, and normal in 7 patients. Skeletal muscle biopsies indicated that 14 patients were with ragged red fibers (RRF), 11 patients had cytochrome C oxidase (COX)-negative muscle fibers, 3 patients had a small amount of degenerated and necrotic myofibers with mononuclear phagocytic infiltration. Immunohistochemical staining indicated infiltration of CD8 and CD68 positive lymphocytes. Ten patients accepted genetic test, indicating 6 patients with single large fragment deletion of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), 1 patient with mtDNA point mutation, 1 patient with nucleosomal DNA (nDNA) point mutation, and 2 patients without pathogenicity variation clearly associated with clinical phenotype. Electron microscopy in 5 patients showed that abnormal mitochondrial aggregation was noted in 4 patients under the sarcolemma and among the myofibrils.Conclusion:In addition to ptosis and eye movement disorders, a small number of patients with CPEO may be accompanied by dysphagia and limb weakness; and single large fragment deletion of mtDNA is the main mutation form of CPEO.

Objective:To investigate the clinical characteristics, skeletal muscle pathologies and gene variations of chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia (CPEO).Methods:Sixteen patients with conformed CPEO, admitted to our hospital from January 1997 to December 2021, were chosen. Their clinical data such as onset age and course of diseases and muscle pathological examination results were collected and their gene variation characteristics were analyzed.Results:The initial symptom in all 16 patients was ptosis of varying degrees; 15 patients were with eye movement disorder, 6 with diplopia, 4 with proximal limb weakness, and 3 with dysphagia and dysarthria. Among the 16 patients, electromyography showed myogenic damage in 7 patients, myogenic combined with neurogenic damage in 1 patient, neurogenic damage in 1 patient, and normal in 7 patients. Skeletal muscle biopsies indicated that 14 patients were with ragged red fibers (RRF), 11 patients had cytochrome C oxidase (COX)-negative muscle fibers, 3 patients had a small amount of degenerated and necrotic myofibers with mononuclear phagocytic infiltration. Immunohistochemical staining indicated infiltration of CD8 and CD68 positive lymphocytes. Ten patients accepted genetic test, indicating 6 patients with single large fragment deletion of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), 1 patient with mtDNA point mutation, 1 patient with nucleosomal DNA (nDNA) point mutation, and 2 patients without pathogenicity variation clearly associated with clinical phenotype. Electron microscopy in 5 patients showed that abnormal mitochondrial aggregation was noted in 4 patients under the sarcolemma and among the myofibrils.Conclusion:In addition to ptosis and eye movement disorders, a small number of patients with CPEO may be accompanied by dysphagia and limb weakness; and single large fragment deletion of mtDNA is the main mutation form of CPEO.

Objective:To investigate the characteristics of clinical, muscle pathology and gene mutation in patients with nemaline myopathy caused by NEB gene mutation.Methods:The clinical and pathological data of patients with nemaline myopathy caused by NEB gene were collected from Neuromuscular Center of Jiaozuo People′s Hospital from January 1997 to January 2020. The next generation sequencing was preformed to detect NEB gene in all patients, and characteristics of gene mutation were analyzed.Results:Among the 11 patients, there were 8 males and 3 females, and 6 of them came from 2 families. The age of seeing a doctor ranged from 11 to 52 years, the age of onset was from 6 to 23 years, and the course of disease ranged from 5 to 35 years. Neurological examination showed that among the 11 patients, 8 patients had high palatal arch and long face. The muscle tone of both upperlimbs was normal, the tendon reflex was depressed, the proximal muscle strength was grade Ⅲ-Ⅴ, and the distal muscle strength was grade Ⅴ. The muscle tone of both lower extremities was reduced and the tendon reflex was absent. The proximal muscle strength was grade Ⅱ-Ⅳ and the distal muscle strength was grade Ⅲ-Ⅴ. No dysphagia or respiratory muscle involvement was found. Muscle biopsies were performed in 7 of the 11 patients, the pathological changes were muscle fibers of different sizes, circular atrophic muscle fibers and compensatory hypertrophic fibers, and occasionally denatured and necrotic muscle fibers were found. Different degrees of rod aggregation could be seen in all the 7 patients. Electron microscopic examination of 5 patients showed that there was rod aggregation between myofibrils, and most of them were located near the Z band, but no intranuclear rod was found. NEB gene was found in all 11 patients, and a total of 9 different mutation sites were detected, including 8 in exon region and 1 in intron region. Among them, c.21522+3A>G was found in 10 cases, c.1623delT was found in 3 cases and c.17611C>T was found in 3 cases. There was 1 case of c.4417C>T, c.2549delA, c.21065dupA, c.3520G>A, c.20943G>A, c.192G>A respectively.Conclusions:The clinical phenotype of nemaline myopathy caused by NEB gene has great heterogeneity. Muscle pathology shows that rod aggregation is an important basis for the diagnosis of this disease. Mutation c.21522+3A>G in intron is the most common mutation in this group of NEB gene. And the novel mutation sites of NEB gene are respectively c.17611C>T, c.2549delA, c.3520G>A, c.21065dupA, c.20943G>A and c.192G>A.

Objective:To summarize the characteristics of clinical, muscle pathology and gene mutation of late-onset reducing body myopathy caused by FHL1 gene mutation, in order to improve clinicians′ understanding of this disorder. Methods:The clinical, muscle pathology and muscle magnetic resonance imaging data of the proband from a family diagnosed as reducing body myopathy in Jiaozuo People′s Hospital in December 2021 were collected. Genetic tests and pedigree verification were conducted on the proband and her son.Results:The proband was a 59-year-old female with progressive, asymmetrical limb weakness and muscular atrophy. Her mother, sister and brother had similar symptoms. Electromyography showed myogenic and neurogenic damage. Muscle magnetic resonance imaging indicated that the lesion mainly involved the posterior muscles of the thigh and calf, as well as the gluteus maximus. The muscle pathology showed eosinophilic granular inclusion bodies and rimmed vacuoles in the muscle fibers of the lesion. The structure of myofibrils was disordered and abnormal protein deposition was observed. The gene sequencing showed the FHL1 gene p.C150S heterozygous variation. Conclusions:Late-onset reducing body myopathy is characterized by progressive asymmetric proximal limb muscle weakness, partially involving distal limb muscles and gluteus maximus. Muscle pathology shows the characteristic pathological changes of many kinds of myofibrillar myopathies. FHL1 gene mutation is an important basis for diagnosis.

The occurrence and progression of thyroid cancer are related to a series of molecular changes and the activation of signaling pathways, which is the basis of targeted therapy. For inoperable locally advanced, metastatic and refractory thyroid cancer, especially anaplastic thyroid cancer, the efficacy of targeted therapies, particularly tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) , has been demonstrated in clinical trials. TKIs can relieve clinical symptoms, improve patients’quality of life, prolong the progress free survival, and even create opportunities for radical operation or reoperation. This article reviews and summarizes the key molecular events in tumorigenesis and progression of thyroid cancer, and analyzes the results of clinical studies on the efficacy and safety of different TKIs in refractory advanced thyroid cancer, in order to provide reference and assistance for individualized targeted therapy of patients.

Liver fibrosis and cirrhosis are the common outcomes of various chronic liver diseases after progression， and studies have shown that liver fibrosis and early liver cirrhosis can be reversed. Compound traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions have a marked therapeutic effect in reversing liver fibrosis and early liver cirrhosis， and their mechanism of action remains unclear. By reviewing related articles in China and globally， this article summarizes the six main phenotypic mechanisms involved in the efficacy of compound traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions， i.e.， inhibiting liver inflammation and regulating liver immune response， regulating hepatic stellate cell activation and extracellular matrix （ECM） generation， promoting ECM degradation， reversing hepatic sinusoidal capillarization， regulating hepatocyte regeneration， and regulating gut microbiota， and in addition， this article also analyzes the advances and shortcomings in current studies on each phenotype. Future studies on compound traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions should focus on experimental exploration and rescue experiments to verify the above phenotypes and further explore the upstream and downstream signaling pathways with a marked effect. This article aims to help clarify the direction and ideas of studies on the therapeutic mechanism of compound traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions， in order to provide a basis for clarifying the scientific essence of compound traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions.