Decorin is a member of the extracellular matrix small leucine-rich proteoglycans family that exists and functions in stromal and epithelial cells. Accumulating evidence suggests that decorin affects the biology of various types of cancer by directly or indirectly targeting the signaling molecules involved in cell growth, survival, metastasis, and angiogenesis. More recent studies show that decorin plays important roles during tumor development and progression and is a potential cancer therapeutic agent. In this article, we summarize recent studies of decorin in cancer and discuss decorin's therapeutic and prognostic value.
Biomarkers, Tumor ; metabolism ; Cell Proliferation ; Decorin ; metabolism ; Extracellular Matrix ; metabolism ; Humans ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Neovascularization, Pathologic ; Prognosis

Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 6 ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Loss of Heterozygosity ; Male ; Microsatellite Repeats ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma ; genetics

Chromogranin A ; metabolism ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Duodenal Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Ganglioneuroma ; metabolism ; pathology ; Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors ; metabolism ; pathology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neurofibroma ; metabolism ; pathology ; Paraganglioma ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Phosphopyruvate Hydratase ; metabolism ; S100 Proteins ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo clarify the distribution of genetic polymorphism of D3S1358, D13S317, D5S818, D6S1043, D2S1772, D7S3048 loci of the Mongolian population in Ximeng pastoral area and construct the relevant genetic database.

METHODSMultiplex PCR and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis were used to investigate the polymorphism of 6 short tandem repeat (STR) loci in 286 individuals of the Mongolian population.

RESULTSIn this study, 6, 9, 8, 11, 14, 11 alleles were observed at the 6 STR loci respectively. The genotypes distributions in Mongolian population were in accordance with Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (P>0.05), the cumulative expected heterozygosities (H), discriminating probability (DP) and the polymorphism information contents (PIC) for the 6 loci were 0.9998, 09999, 0.9998 respectively. These data were compared with those of the Han population. The results showed there were significant difference in D3S1358, D13S317, D5S818, D2S1772, D7S3048 loci between the Mongolian population and Han population (P<0.05). However, no significant difference in D6S1043 locus was seen between the two populations (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe results demonstrate that these 6 STR loci can serve as genetic marks and provide valuable data which are beneficial to studying the population genetics and ethnology.

China ; Humans ; Microsatellite Repeats ; genetics ; Mongolia ; ethnology ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymorphism, Genetic

Objective: The current study was designed to observe and discuss the variation of neuroblastoma cells in morphology, cell cycle and telomerase gene (hTR) expression induced by retinoids. Methods: Two newly-synthesized retinoids, R9158 and R8605, were supplemented into the media of neuroblastoma cells, SH-SY-5Y and SK-N-SH, with the concentration of 10- 6 mol/L as the treatment group. Meanwhile the same supplements of DMSO were as the control group. Pre-and post-supplement cells were observed for morphological changes, cell cycle was analyzed by flow cytometry (FCM) and hTR expression was analyzed by in situ hybridization chemistry (ISHH). Results: 1) The shape of SH-SY-5Y cells changed significantly at the 5th day of R9158 and R8605 treatment, having multiple neurite extensions just as mature neuron. However no shape change of SK-N-SH cells was found in observation for 7 days. 2)For SH-SY-5Y cells, the percentage of Stage G1, S, G2/M differed much between the treatment group and the control group at 5th day when the cell cycle of the treatment group was retarded at Stage G1 and the ratio of Stage decreased significantly. For SK-N-SH cells, however, there was little variation of cell cycle status in the treatment group. 3)The SH-SY-5Y cell numbers of hTR positive expression in the treatment groups decreased significantly at the 5th day. No decrease was found in the R9158 and R8605 groups of SK-N-SH cells in the treatment groups. Conclusions: During the differentiation of RA-sensitive cells induced by retinoids, the telomerase expression was depressed and the cell cycle retarded;whereas the RA-resistant cells changed little in morphology, telomerase expression and cell cycle as well. The telomerase gene associated with other genes would be an important regulated target in the differentiation induced by retinoids.

OBJECTIVE Diabetic nephropathy (DN) has been one of the most common complications of diabetes and the leading cause of end-stage renal disease. Glomerular hyperfiltrationis central in earlystage of DN and leads to the progression of renal architectonic and functional abnormalities. Salvi?anolic acid A (SalA) has been proved to protect diabetic complications such as hepatic fibrosis and neuropathy. The present study was designed to investigate the effects of SalAon glomerular endothelial dysfunctionand diabetic nephropathy. METHODS Primary glomerular endothelial cells were subjected to assess permeability under injury of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs). AGEs-induced changes of RhoA/ROCK pathway and cytoskeleton rearrangement were assessed bywestern blotandimmunoflu?orescence. The beneficial effects of SalA on diabetic nephropathy were investigated in a rat model induced by high-fat and high-glucose diet combined with low dose of streptozocin (35 mg·kg- 1, ip). Renal function and architectonic changes were evaluated by biochemical assay and PAS staining. RESULTS SalA 3μMameliorated AGEs- induced glomerular endothelial permeability (P<0.05) and suppressed rearrangement of cytoskeleton through inhibiting AGE-RAGE-RhoA/ROCK pathway. SalA 1 mg · kg- 1 markedly reduced endothelium loss (P<0.01) and glomerular hyperfiltration (P<0.05) in diabetic kidney. Subsequently,SalA 1 mg·kg-1 suppressed glomerular hypertrophy and mesangial matrix expansion, eventually reduced 24 h-urinary albumin and ameliorated renal function by decreasing blood urine nitrogen (BUN), serum creatinine (Scr) and serum n-acetyl-β-d-glucosaminidase (NAG). AGEs-RAGE-Nox4-induced oxidative stress was suppressed by the treatment of SalA 1 mg·kg-1. CONCLUSION SalA ameliorated AGEs-induced glomerular endothelial hyperpermeability, and effec?tively protected against early-stage diabetic nephropathy by reducing hyperfiltration and alleviating renal structural deterioration through inhibiting AGEs and its downstream pathway. Thus, SalA might be a promising therapeutic agent for the treatment of diabetic nephropathy.

OBJECTIVETo probe into the method for effectively increasing complete abortion rate of medicine-induced abortion and observe pathological changes.

METHODSTwo hundred cases were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, 100 cases in each group. The observation group were treated by acupuncture at Hegu (LI 4), Sanyinjiao (SP 6), Neiguan (PC 6) and Kunlun (BL 60), and the control group were not treated by acupuncture. The abortion rate, bleeding condition, adverse reaction and pathological changes were observed in the two groups.

RESULTSThe complete abortion rate was 96.0% in the observation group, better than 88.0% in the control group (P < 0.05). There were significant differences between the two groups in bleeding time and pathological changes (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONAcupuncture can increase complete abortion rate of medicine-induced abortion, with shorter bleeding time and less residual villus.

Abortion, Induced ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Pregnancy

This article describes the experiences of professor CHEN Quan-xin, an old famous TCM doctor, in the treatment of insomnia. He believes that insomnia stems from incoordination between nutrient qi and defensive qi and deficient cultivation of cardiac spirit, and treatment of insomnia need to regulate spirit and quiet heart coherently. Painless acupuncture method of Chen's flying needling is adopted including to select Shenmen (HT 7), Sanyinjiao (SP 6) and Anmian (Extra) as the main points and take special needling technique and grading reinforcing and reducing manipulations. During treatment, he pays attention to understanding patients' psychological and mental status through "watching one's expressions and weighing his words carefully".
Acupuncture Therapy ; Heart ; physiopathology ; Humans ; Sleep ; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders ; physiopathology ; psychology ; therapy ; Spirituality

OBJECTIVEThe goals of this work was to analyse the cost of Shenqi Fuzheng injection-an extraction of a Chinese traditional herbs on reducing adverse effects in lung cancer patients during chemotherapy.

METHODSIn a randomized cross-over trial, each patient completed two identical cisplatin-based chemotherapy cycles, one with Shenqi Fuzheng injection, another without Shenqi Fuzheng injection. Adverse effects and change scores of quality of life (QOL) during chemotherapy were compared in tow cycles. The direct cost dealing with adverse effect and cost-effectiveness analysis were taken.

RESULTSOne hundred and thirty were enrolled with 123 of whom were evaluable. The patient characteristics were well balanced between the two groups. The chemotherapy cycles with Shenqi Fuzheng injection spent 220.5 more Chinese yuan, but the adverse effect of leukopenia, thrombocytopenia and vomiting were slight different and the change of score of several QOL domains showed significant better as compared to those in another cycle.

CONCLUSIONShenqi Fuzheng injection could reduce the severity of toxicity related to chemotherapy and improve the QOL of patients and had some benefits in terms of cost-effectiveness.

Aged ; Antineoplastic Agents ; adverse effects ; Cost-Benefit Analysis ; Costs and Cost Analysis ; Cross-Over Studies ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; economics ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Injections ; Lung Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged

BACKGROUNDNasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is endemic in Southern Asia. Radiation therapy remains the mainstay of treatment strategies for NPC. Although approximately 19% - 56% of patients develop a recurrent disease 5 years after their primary treatment, recognition of post-radiation changes and early detection of relapse are important in improving the outcome of NPC. Our aim was to analyze the post-radiation changes and recurrent diseases related to NPC using computed tomography (CT) scans and to investigate their relationship.

METHODSCT scans of 510 pathologically proven NPC patients who have been followed up for more than 2 years after radiation were reviewed. The tumor's response to the radiation therapy and its relevance to recurrence were evaluated.

RESULTSFor patients who were followed up for more than 2 years, their CT scans-obtained within 3 months, during the 4th to the 6th month, and beyond 7 months after radiation therapy, showed a normal nasopharyngeal cavity with a slight thickening in the wall in 93.5%, 95.0% and 84.8% of the patients respectively. The degree of tumor regression had no significant relevance to the risk of recurrence within the initial 3 months (P = 0.094). During this term, the relapse rates in the cases in which the nasopharyngeal walls were displayed as normal, slightly or moderately thickening, or with obvious residual masses on CT scans were 7.1%, 11.7%, 23.5% and 23.1% respectively. The degree of tumor regression beyond 3 months after radiation therapy had a considerable reverse relevance to the risk of recurrence (P = 0.000). The relapse rates were 13.2%, 14.1%, 10.2% and 2.1%, respectively, in the cases with a normal and a slightly thickening nasopharyngeal wall during the 4th to the 6th month, the 7th to the 12th month, the 13th to the 24th month, and beyond 25 months after radiation. In contrast, the percents in cases with moderate or more aggressive thickening walls in the corresponding periods were 62.5%, 88.9%, 100% and 100%. Within 6 months after radiation therapy, shown by CT scans, the metastatic lymph nodes disappeared, markedly decreased, slightly decreased, or enlarged in 37.4%, 51.8%, 4.7%, and 0.4%, respectively, of the patients. During 6 to 12 months after radiation therapy, the proportions were 78.5%, 19.2%, 0.6% and 1.7% correspondingly. Beyond 12 months, the proportions were 83.7%, 7.9%, 0%, and 8.4%. The regression degree of the malignant nodes after radiation therapy showed a remarkable reverse relevance to the risk of recurrence in lymph nodes (P = 0.000). In the cases with disappearing, markedly decreased, slightly decreased, or enlarged malignant nodes within six months after radiation, the relapse rates were 2.9%, 4.5%, 12.5% and 100%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONSIf the nasopharyngeal walls are shown to remain moderately thick on a CT scan beyond 6 months after radiotherapy, the risk of relapse will increase. The baseline images taken within 3 months after radiotherapy and regular follow-up studies are the key to pick up the tumor recurrences in an earlier stage.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms ; diagnostic imaging ; radiotherapy ; Nasopharynx ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; radiation effects ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; methods ; Treatment Outcome