OBJECTIVETo analyze the characteristics of lymph node metastasis and prognosis in patients with T1 breast cancer.

METHODSThe clinicopathological data of 354 patients with T1 breast cancer after standard treatment from March 2007 to September 2011 were collected to analyze the relationship between the clinical characteristics of T1 breast cancer, lymph node metastasis and prognostic features.

RESULTSIn the 354 patients with T1 breast cancer, 105 patients (29.7%) had lymph node metastasis, among them 73 cases (69.5%) had 1-3 lymph node metastasis, and 32 cases (30.5%) had more than 4 lymph node metastasis. The lymph node metastasis rate was 8.3% in T1a patients, 39.7% in T1b patients, and 30.4% in T1c cases (P = 0.005). Pairwise comparison showed that the difference of lymph node metastasis rate between T1a, T1b and T1c patients was statistically significant (P = 0.001 and P = 0.006, respectively). The difference of lymph node metastasis rates in T1b and T1c patients was statistically insignificant (P = 0.171). In the 354 patients of T1 breast cancer, 92 patients had vascular tumor thrombi and their lymph node metastasis rate was 71.7%, while the lymph node metastasis rate in 262 patients without vascular tumor thrombus was 14.9% (P < 0.001). The median follow-up was 49 months (range 27-81 months). 12 patients developed recurrence, and 3 patients died, one of them died of cerebrovascular accident. The 4-year disease-free survival for all patients was 96.6%, and the 4-year overall survival rate was 99.2%.

CONCLUSIONSThere is a correlation between vascular tumor thrombus, tumor size and lymph node metastasis rate. The lymph node metastasis rate is lower in T1a patients and relatively higher in T1b/c patients. Compared with patients without vascular tumor thrombus, the T1 breast cancer patients with vascular tumor thrombi have a higher lymph node metastasis rate. Generally speaking, there is a still good prognosis in patients with T1 breast cancer.

Adult ; Aged ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; therapeutic use ; Breast Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; pathology ; surgery ; Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast ; drug therapy ; pathology ; surgery ; Carcinoma, Lobular ; drug therapy ; pathology ; surgery ; Disease-Free Survival ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Mastectomy, Radical ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Neoplasm Staging ; Neoplastic Cells, Circulating ; Prognosis ; Survival Rate ; Young Adult

BACKGROUNDAtopic dermatitis (AD) is characterized by defective skin barrier and imbalance in T helper 1/T helper 2 (Th1/Th2) cytokine expression. Filaggrin (FLG) is the key protein to maintaining skin barrier function. Recent studies indicated that Th1/Th2 cytokines influence FLG expression in keratinocytes. However, the role of Th1/Th2 cytokines on FLG processing is not substantially documented. Our aim was to investigate the impact of Th1/Th2 cytokines on FLG processing.

METHODSHaCaT cells and normal human keratinocytes were cultured in low and high calcium media and stimulated by either interleukin (IL)-4, 13 or interferon-γ (IFN-γ). FLG, its major processing proteases and key protease inhibitor lymphoepithelial Kazal-type-related inhibitor (LEKTI) were measured by both real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting. Their expression was also evaluated in acute and chronic AD lesions by immunohistochemistry.

RESULTSIL-4/13 significantly reduced, while IFN-γ significantly up-regulated FLG expression. IL-4/13 significantly increased, whereas IFN-γ significantly decreased the expression of kallikreins 5 and 7, matriptase and channel-activating serine protease 1. On the contrary, IL-4/13 significantly decreased, while IFN-γ increased the expression of LEKTI and caspase-14. Similar trends were observed in AD lesions.

CONCLUSIONSOur results suggested that Th1/Th2 cytokines differentially regulated the expression of major FLG processing enzymes. The imbalance between Th1 and Th2 polarized immune response seems to extend to FLG homeostasis, through the network of FLG processing enzymes.

Caspase 14 ; metabolism ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cells, Cultured ; Dermatitis, Atopic ; metabolism ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Interferon-gamma ; metabolism ; Interleukin-13 ; metabolism ; Interleukin-4 ; metabolism ; Intermediate Filament Proteins ; metabolism ; Keratinocytes ; enzymology ; metabolism ; Proteinase Inhibitory Proteins, Secretory ; metabolism ; Serine Peptidase Inhibitor Kazal-Type 5 ; Th1 Cells ; metabolism ; Th2 Cells ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo preliminarily investigate the long-term structural and functional injuries of mitochondria in rat brain caused by sepsis.

METHODSWistar rats were randomly assigned into sepsis and control groups. A rat model of sepsis was prepared by an intraperitoneal injection of 10 mg/kg lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of gram-negative bacteria, and the survival assay was performed. Eight rats in the sepsis group were sacrificed at 12, 24, 48, or 72 hours after LPS injection, while rats in the control group were sacrificed after an intraperitoneal injection of an equal volume of normal saline. Mitochondria were extracted from rat brain tissue. Mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and mitochondrial swelling level were determined by flow cytometry, and the activities of electron transport chain complexes (I-V) were measured using enzyme assay kits. Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining and electron microscopy were used to observe morphological changes in brain tissue and mitochondria.

RESULTSThe sepsis group had a significantly lower survival rate than the control group (P<0.01). The MMP and activities of electron transport chain complexes (I-V) in the sepsis group, which were significantly lower than those in the control group (P<0.05), were reduced to the lowest levels at 48 hours and partially recovered at 72 hours. The mitochondrial swelling level in the sepsis group, which was significantly higher than that in the control group (P<0.05), increased to the peak level at 48 hours and partially recovered at 72 hours. Hematoxylin and Eosin staining revealed substantial damages in the structure of brain tissue, and electron microscopy showed mitochondrial swelling, and vacuolization in a few mitochondria.

CONCLUSIONSIn the rat model of LPS-induced sepsis, both structural and functional injuries are found in cerebral mitochondria, and achieve the peak levels probably at around 48 hours.

Animals ; Brain ; pathology ; physiopathology ; ultrastructure ; Lipopolysaccharides ; toxicity ; Male ; Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial ; Mitochondria ; physiology ; ultrastructure ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Sepsis ; chemically induced ; mortality ; physiopathology

OBJECTIVETo observe the inhibition of NK4 protein in the proliferation of human Raji lymphoma xenografts in nude mice, and to explore its molecular mechanism.

METHODSModels of human Raji lymphoma xenograft transfected with HGF gene were established by subcutaneous inoculation in nude mice. After establishment of the models, the mice received continuous NK4 protein via tail vein for 4 weeks, and the weight and tumor growth were monitored every week. After 8 weeks, the expression of HGF mRNA and c-Met mRNA of tumor tissues was measured by real-time fluorescent quantitation PCR. The apoptotic index (AI) and microvessel density (MVD) were evaluated by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated nick end labeling (TUNEL) and immunohistochemistry, respectively.

RESULTSThe models of human Raji lymphoma xenograft were successfully established. Although the animal weights of all groups declined, especially in the groups with NK4 protein injection, there was no statistical significance (P > 0.05). The tumor volume in HGF gene transfected group was larger than those of the control groups (P < 0.01), and there was no statistical significance among the control groups (P > 0.05). However, the tumor volume of the NK4 protein injection group decreased significantly (P < 0.01). Expression of HGF mRNA and c-Met mRNA in HGF gene transfected group increased significantly after injection of NK4 protein (P < 0.01). AI in HGF gene transfected group (33.5% ± 12.3%) was significantly lower than that of control groups (89.1% ± 22.3% vs. 81.9% ± 27.0%, P < 0.05), but became significantly higher (119.1% ± 18.9%) after NK4 protein injection (P < 0.01). MVD in HGF gene transfected group (28.5 ± 2.0) was higher than that of control groups (12.2 ± 1.4, 13.8 ± 1.3, P < 0.01), although declined (15.5 ± 2.5) after NK4 protein injection (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONSNK4 protein suppresses significantly the growth of human Raji lymphoma xenografts transfected with HGF gene. The pathogenesis may be involved in promoting tumor cell apoptosis and restraining tumor angiogenesis through competitive interrupting HGF/Met signal pathway.

Animals ; Apoptosis ; Hepatocyte Growth Factor ; genetics ; metabolism ; Heterografts ; Humans ; Lymphoma ; genetics ; metabolism ; therapy ; Mice ; Mice, Nude ; Microvessels ; pathology ; Neovascularization, Pathologic ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-met ; genetics ; metabolism ; RNA, Messenger ; metabolism ; Signal Transduction ; T-Box Domain Proteins ; administration & dosage ; Transfection ; Transplantation, Heterologous

Objective To analyze the characteristics of lymph node metastasis and prognosis in patients with T1 breast cancer .Methods The clinicopathological data of 354 patients with T1 breast cancer after standard treatment from March 2007 to September 2011 were collected to analyze the relationship between the clinical characteristics of T 1 breast cancer , lymph node metastasis and prognostic features . Results In the 354 patients with T1 breast cancer, 105 patients (29.7%) had lymph node metastasis, among them 73 cases (69.5%) had 1-3 lymph node metastasis, and 32 cases (30.5%) had more than 4 lymph node metastasis.The lymph node metastasis rate was 8.3%in T1a patients, 39.7%in T1b patients, and 30.4% in T1c cases ( P =0.005).Pairwise comparison showed that the difference of lymph node metastasis rate between T1a,T1b and T1c patients was statistically significant (P=0.001 and P=0.006, respectively).The difference of lymph node metastasis rates in T 1b and T1c patients was statistically insignificant (P=0.171).In the 354 patients of T1 breast cancer, 92 patients had vascular tumor thrombi and their lymph node metastasis rate was 71.7%, while the lymph node metastasis rate in 262 patients without vascular tumor thrombus was 14.9%(P<0.001).The median follow-up was 49 months (range 27-81 months).12 patients developed recurrence , and 3 patients died, one of them died of cerebrovascular accident.The 4-year disease-free survival for all patients was 96.6%, and the 4-year overall survival rate was 99.2%.Conclusions There is a correlation between vascular tumor thrombus , tumor size and lymph node metastasis rate .The lymph node metastasis rate is lower in T 1a patients and relatively higher in T 1b/c patients.Compared with patients without vascular tumor thrombus , the T1 breast cancer patients with vascular tumor thrombi have a higher lymph node metastasis rate .Generally speaking , there is a still good prognosis in patients with T 1 breast cancer .

Objective To analyze the characteristics of lymph node metastasis and prognosis in patients with T1 breast cancer .Methods The clinicopathological data of 354 patients with T1 breast cancer after standard treatment from March 2007 to September 2011 were collected to analyze the relationship between the clinical characteristics of T 1 breast cancer , lymph node metastasis and prognostic features . Results In the 354 patients with T1 breast cancer, 105 patients (29.7%) had lymph node metastasis, among them 73 cases (69.5%) had 1-3 lymph node metastasis, and 32 cases (30.5%) had more than 4 lymph node metastasis.The lymph node metastasis rate was 8.3%in T1a patients, 39.7%in T1b patients, and 30.4% in T1c cases ( P =0.005).Pairwise comparison showed that the difference of lymph node metastasis rate between T1a,T1b and T1c patients was statistically significant (P=0.001 and P=0.006, respectively).The difference of lymph node metastasis rates in T 1b and T1c patients was statistically insignificant (P=0.171).In the 354 patients of T1 breast cancer, 92 patients had vascular tumor thrombi and their lymph node metastasis rate was 71.7%, while the lymph node metastasis rate in 262 patients without vascular tumor thrombus was 14.9%(P<0.001).The median follow-up was 49 months (range 27-81 months).12 patients developed recurrence , and 3 patients died, one of them died of cerebrovascular accident.The 4-year disease-free survival for all patients was 96.6%, and the 4-year overall survival rate was 99.2%.Conclusions There is a correlation between vascular tumor thrombus , tumor size and lymph node metastasis rate .The lymph node metastasis rate is lower in T 1a patients and relatively higher in T 1b/c patients.Compared with patients without vascular tumor thrombus , the T1 breast cancer patients with vascular tumor thrombi have a higher lymph node metastasis rate .Generally speaking , there is a still good prognosis in patients with T 1 breast cancer .

BACKGROUNDThe SYNergy between percutaneous coronary intervention with TAXus and cardiac surgery Score II (SS-II) can well predict 4-year mortality in patients with complex coronary artery disease (CAD), and guide decision-making between coronary artery bypass graft surgery and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). However, there is lack of data regarding the utility of the SS-II in patients with three-vessel CAD undergoing PCI treated with second-generation drug-eluting stents (DES). The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the ability of the SS-II to predict long-term mortality in patients with three-vessel CAD undergoing PCI with second-generation DES.

METHODSTotally, 573 consecutive patients with de novo three-vessel CAD who underwent PCI with second-generation DES were retrospectively studied. According to the tertiles of the SS-II, the patients were divided into three groups: The lowest SS-II tertile (SS-II ≤20), intermediate SS-II tertile (SS-II of 21-31), and the highest SS-II tertile (SS-II ≥32). The survival curves of the different groups were estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression analyses were performed to evaluate the relationship between the SS-II and 5-year mortality. The performance of the SS-II with respect to predicting the rate of mortality was studied by calculating the area under the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve. The predictive ability of the SS-II for 5-year mortality was evaluated and compared with the SS alone.

RESULTSThe overall SS-II was 27.6 ± 9.0. Among patients in the lowest, intermediate and the highest SS-II tertiles, the 5-year rates of mortality were 1.6%, 3.2%, and 8.6%, respectively (P = 0.003); the cardiac mortality rates were 0.5%, 1.9%, and 5.2%, respectively (P = 0.014). By multivariable analysis, adjusting for the potential confounders, the SS-II was an independent predictor of 5-year mortality (hazard ratio: 2.45, 95% confidence interval: 1.38-4.36; P = 0.002). The SS-II demonstrated a higher predictive accuracy for 5-year mortality compared with the SS alone (the area under the ROC curve was 0.705 and 0.598, respectively).

CONCLUSIONThe SS-II is an independent predictor of 5-year mortality in patients with three-vessel CAD undergoing PCI treated with second-generation DES, and demonstrates a superior predictive ability over the SS alone.

Aged ; Coronary Disease ; mortality ; surgery ; Drug-Eluting Stents ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention ; mortality ; Retrospective Studies

OBJECTIVETo explore the feasibility of intraperitoneal injection of isoproterenol (ISO) to induce cardiac remodeling in FVB/N mice.

METHODSForty-eight FVB/N mice were divided into back subcutaneous saline group (subcutaneous saline group), intraperitoneal saline group, back subcutaneous ISO group (subcutaneous ISO group), and intraperitoneal ISO group according to the route of administration of saline or ISO. ISO (30 μg/g body weight/day) was given to the subcutaneous ISO group and the intraperitoneal ISO group, twice daily with an interval of 12 hours, for 14 consecutive days. The subcutaneous saline group and the intraperitoneal saline group were injected with an equal volume of saline. The left ventricular end-diastolic posterior wall thickness was measured by echocardiography, and the ratio of heart weight to tibia length was determined. Hematoxylin-eosin staining was used to determine the myocardial fiber diameter. Picric-sirius red staining was used to determine the myocardial collagen deposition area. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to measure the mRNA expression of collagen I.

RESULTSCompared with the subcutaneous ISO, subcutaneous saline, and intraperitoneal saline groups, the intraperitoneal ISO group had increased sizes of the cardiac cavity and the heart. Compared with the subcutaneous saline and intraperitoneal saline groups, the subcutaneous ISO group showed no significant changes in the gross morphology of the cardiac cavity and the heart. The intraperitoneal ISO group showed significant increases in the ratio of heart weight to tibia length, myocardial fiber diameter, left ventricular end-diastolic posterior wall thickness, myocardial collagen area percentage, and the mRNA expression of collagen I compared with the subcutaneous ISO, subcutaneous saline, and intraperitoneal saline groups (P<0.01). There were no significant differences in the above five indices between the subcutaneous ISO group and the subcutaneous saline and intraperitoneal saline groups (P>0.05). No significant difference in the mortality rate was found between the subcutaneous ISO and intraperitoneal ISO groups (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONSIntraperitoneal injection of ISO can induce cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis in FVB/N mice.

Animals ; Atrial Remodeling ; drug effects ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Collagen ; metabolism ; Disease Models, Animal ; Humans ; Injections, Intraperitoneal ; Isoproterenol ; administration & dosage ; Male ; Mice ; Myocardium ; metabolism ; pathology

Objective: To compare the clinical features and prognoses of patients with oropharyngeal or hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) with and without retropharyngeal lymph node metastases. Methods: PubMed, Cochrane, Web of Science, CNKI, VIP and Wanfang databases were searched for published literatures on retropharyngeal lymph node metastasis of oropharyngeal or hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (1900, 2021), and outcome indicators such as survival rate and related clinical features were extracted. The quality evaluation of the included literatures was carried out. RevMan 5.4 and Stata 16.0 software were used for data analysis. Results: A total of 18 literatures were included. Meta analysis showed that 3-year and 5-year survival rates and 5-year disease-specific survival rate of patients with oropharyngeal or hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma with retropharyngeal lymph node metastases were lower than those without metastases, 46.1% vs. 53.0%, 40.8% vs. 62.5% and 35.9% vs. 53.1%, respectively, and the differences were statistically significant (OR values were 0.26, 0.38, 0.38, and 95%CI were 0.10-0.69, 0.28-0.51, 0.23-0.65, respectively, all P values<0.05). There were statistically significant differences in clinical stage (III-IV), T stage (T3+T4), N stage (N2), positive cervical lymph node metastases and number of lymph node metastases (≥3) between the two groups (OR values were 4.28, 2.20, 2.88, 10.83, 6.53, and 95%CI were 1.70-10.74, 1.35-3.58, 1.90-4.34, 3.57-32.95, 1.75-24.38, respectively, all P<0.05). The sensitivity and specificity of preoperative imaging for diagnosing retropharyngeal lymph nodes metastases were respectively 0.72 (95%CI=0.54-0.85) and 0.98 (95%CI=0.74-1.00), and the area under curve (AUC) of summary receiver operating characteristic curve (SROC) was 0.84 (95%CI=0.80-0.87). Conclusions: The survival rate of patients with oropharyngeal or hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma with retropharyngeal lymph node metastasis is significantly reduced, the clinical stage and T stage are late, and the cervical lymph node metastasis rate is high. Retropharyngeal lymph node metastasis is more insidious, the sensitivity of preoperative imaging diagnosis is not high.
Head and Neck Neoplasms/pathology* ; Humans ; Hypopharyngeal Neoplasms/pathology* ; Lymph Nodes/pathology* ; Lymphatic Metastasis/pathology* ; Neoplasm Staging ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck