The tumor microenvironment is a special environment including tumor cells,stromal cells and extracellular matrix.The notion that the tumor microenvironment is a necessary functional unit to support cancer progression,metastasis and recurrence has been accepted by more and more scholars.Studies have shown that exosomes may play a pivotal role in tumor progression that involved in cell-cell communication in the tumor microenvironment.Here,we summarize the recent publications on the characteristics of exosomes,its biological effects and the potential roles as an important part of the tumor microenvironment during tumor progression.

Objective To study changes of?-glutamyltransferase(GGT)and its isoenzyme in urine and renal cortex of rats with subacute cadmium exposure.Methods Sixty healthy SD male rats were chosen and divided randomly into control group,middle dose group and high dose group,which were orally dosed daily with feed containing0,5and10mg cadmium per kg for six weeks.The activities of GGT and its isoenzyme in urine and renal cortex of the rats were determined in the3rd and6th week respectively.Re sults During the whole experimental period,the body weights and kidney to body weight ratios of control group,middle dose group and high dose group showed no significant differences.The GGT activities of middle dose group and high dose group increased significantly with the prolongation of exposure to cadmium and the increase of cumulative exposure compared with those in the control group.Unusual bands of GGT isoenzyme in the urine and renal cortex homogenate were found in the3rd week and the incidence of unusual bands of GGT isoenzyme was100percent in the6th week in the cadmium-treated rats of middle dose group and high dose group.Con clusion The GGT activities and the unusual bands of GGT isoen-zymes in the urine and renal cortex could be used as sensitive indexes to identify the renal toxic effects induced by cadmium.

Animals ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; drug therapy ; pathology ; surgery ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; pathology ; surgery ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Phytotherapy ; Postoperative Period

This study is to evaluate the therapeutic effect of fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) on NAFLD in MSG-IR mice and to provide mechanism insights into its therapeutic effect. The MSG-IR mice with insulin resistance were treated with high dose (0.1 micromol.kg-1d-1) and low dose (0.025 micromol.kg-1d-1) of FGF21 once a day for 5 weeks. Body weight was measured weekly. At the end of the experiment, serum lipids, insulin and aminotransferases were measured. Hepatic steatosis was observed. The expression of key genes regulating energy metabolism were detected by real-time PCR. The results showed that after 5 weeks treatment, both doses of FGF21 reduced body weight (P<0.01), corrected dyslipidemia (P<0.01), reversed steatosis and restored the liver morphology in the MSG model mice and significantly ameliorated insulin resistance. Additionally, real-time PCR showed that FGF21 significantly reduced transcription levels of fat synthetic genes, decreased fat synthesis and promoted lipolysis and energy metabolism by up-regulating key genes of lipolysis, thereby liver fat accumulation was reduced and liver function was restored to normal levels. In conclusion, FGF21 significantly reduces body weight of the MSG-IR mice, ameliorates insulin resistance, reverses hepatic steatosis. These findings provide a theoretical support for clinical application of FGF21 as a novel therapeutics for treatment of NAFLD.
Animals ; Body Weight ; drug effects ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Dyslipidemias ; metabolism ; Energy Metabolism ; drug effects ; Fatty Liver ; chemically induced ; complications ; Female ; Fibroblast Growth Factors ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Insulin Resistance ; Lipolysis ; drug effects ; Liver ; metabolism ; pathology ; Male ; Mice ; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease ; drug therapy ; Sodium Glutamate

Adult ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Humans ; Skin ; pathology ; Skin Neoplasms ; pathology ; Skin Ulcer ; pathology ; Tibia

Urinary brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF),an ubiquitous neurotrophin,was found to rise in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).We hypothesized that the urinary level of BDNF could be a potential biomarker for lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in patients with BPH.Totally,76 patients with BPH-caused LUTS and 32 male control subjects without BPH were enrolled.International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) was applied to assess the symptom severity of LUTS.Urodynamic tests were performed for the diagnosis of underlying detrusor overactivity (DO) in the patients with BPH.Urine samples were collected from all subjects.Urinary BDNF levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and normalized by urinary creatinine (Cr) levels.Seventy-six BPH patients were divided into moderate LUTS group (n=51,7＜IPSS ≤ 20) and severe LUTS group (n=25,IPSS＞20) according to the IPSS.Of the 76 BPH patients,DO was present in 34 (44.7％)according to the urodynamic test.The urinary BDNF/Cr levels were significantly higher in BPH patients with moderate LUTS (8.29±3.635,P＜0.0001) and severe LUTS (11.8±6.44,P＜0.0001) than normal controls (1.71±0.555).Patients with severe LUTS tended to have higher urinary BDNF/Cr levels than patients with moderate LUTS (11.8±6.44 vs.8.29±3.635,P=0.000).The conditions of BPH with LUTS correlated with elevated urinary BDNF levels,and urinary BDNF levels were even higher in BPH-DO patients.The results of this study have provided evidence to suggest that urinary BDNF level test could evaluate the severity of LUTS in BPH patients,and BDNF level can be used as a biornarker for the diagnosis of DO in BPH patients.

AIM:To investigate the clinical effect of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) drugs combined with laser photocoagulation for diabetic macular edema (DME).METHODS: Totally 94 patients (141 eyes) with DME from June to December 2015 in our hospital were selected and randomly divided into combined group of 47 cases (68 eyes, ranibizumab combined with laser therapy) and the control group of 47 cases (73 eyes, laser treatment).The levels of best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), macular central retinal thickness (CRT), total macular volume (TMV) and macular edema level were compared between the two groups at different time after treatment.RESULTS: The mean values of BCVA in the combined group were higher than those in the control group at 2, 6 and 12wk, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05).At 2, 6 and 12wk after treatment, the CRT and TMV values of the combined group were lower than those of the control group, the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05).After treated for 12wk, patients with macular edema of combined group was 80.9% in mild level, 17.7% in moderate level, 1.5% in severe level, those of the control group was 60.0%, 31.5%, 5.5%, the difference between the two groups was statistically significant (P<0.05).CONCLUSION: The effect of anti-VEGF drugs combined with laser therapy for DME patients is better than that of single laser therapy alone.

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic discectomy ( PTED) in the treatment of obese patients with lumbar disc herniation (LDH).Methods From February 2015 to January 2017,52 obese patients with lumbar disc herniation who underwent percutaneous endoscopic surgery were included in this study .Comparison of preoperative and postoperative 1 week,3 months, 6 months and 12 months VAS,JOA and modified MacNab criteria were employed to measure the clinical outcome .Complications during and after the operation were recorded to evaluate the safety of surgery .Results All the patients were followed up for 6 to 12 months,average of 8 months.Four patients experienced abnormal sensations in the nerve root exit zone postoperatively ,and disapperaed after 3 days of treatment with dehydratio and administration of hormone .Three cases of recurrence were observed at 3 months,6 months and 7 months postoperatively and were treated by open window discetomy .The postoperative VAS scores were significantly reduced compared to that before the operation , with significant difference(P<0.05).The JOA scores had significantly improved after surgery (P<0.05).In the last follow-up,the clinical effects of modified Macnab criteria were evaluated ,excellent in 16 cases,good in 29,fair in 4 cases,poor in 3 cases,and 86.5％of patients had excellent and good outcomes .Conclusion Percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic discectomy is effective for obese patients with lumbar disc herniation ,which has the advantages of minimally invasive ,less bleeding and quick recovery for the patients .

Objective To detect the mutations of ATP2C1 gene in patients with Hailey-Hailey dis- ease (HHD).Methods PCR and direct sequencing were performed in 17 patients and 120 healthy controls to screen the mutations in the exons of ATP2C1 gene.Results Eight mutations were identified in nine probands, including three deletion mutations (nt1464-1487 del/nt1462-1485del,1523delAT,2375delTTGT),three splice site mutations (360—2A→G,1415—2A→T,2243+2T→C) and two missence mutations (C920T and G1942T).None of the above mutations was found in the controls.Conclusion Eight specific novel mutations were identified in nine probands of HHD,which could be causative factors of the disease.

Adenocarcinoma, Mucinous ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Adult ; Carcinoma ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Cytokines ; metabolism ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Kidney ; chemistry ; pathology ; surgery ; Kidney Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mucin-1 ; metabolism ; Nephrectomy ; Vimentin ; metabolism