ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of recombinant interleukin-2 (rIL-2) combined with allicin in the treatment of pancreatic cancer and related mechanisms. MethodsA nude mouse xenograft model was established. A total of 60 nude mice were randomized into control group, rIL-2 treatment group, allicin treatment group, and combined treatment group. At 4 weeks after treatment, peripheral blood was collected, tumor volume, tumor weight, and survival time were recorded, and survival rates were calculated. Flow cytometry was used to analyze the apoptosis of tumor cells and measure the percentages of CD4+ T, CD8+ T, and natural killer (NK) cells, ELISA was used to measure the level of interferonγ (IFNγ), and Western blot was used to measure the expression of Bcl-2 protein in tumor tissue. An analysis of variance was used for comparison of continuous data between groups, and SNK-q test was used for further comparison between any two groups. ResultsAt 4 weeks after treatment, the rIL-2 treatment group, allicin treatment group, and combined treatment group showed significant reductions in tumor volume compared with the control group (all P＜0.05), and the combined treatment group showed the greatest reduction (P＜0.01). The combined treatment group had a tumor inhibition rate of 90.5% and a prolonged survival time (60% of the mice survived at 55 days). Compared with the control group, the combined treatment group showed significant increases in the apoptosis rate of tumor cells (233%±4.3% vs 90%±3.7%, P＜0.05) and the expression of pro-apoptotic protein Bcl-2. The treatment groups showed significant increases in the percentages of CD4+ T, CD8+ T, and NK cells compared with the control group (F=23.74, 26.38, and 1972, all P＜0.001). Compared with the other three groups, the combined treatment group showed a significant increase in the IFNγ level (F=9.84, P=0.026). ConclusionCombined treatment with allicin and rIL-2 can enhance the innate immunity and adaptive immunity and thus improve the survival of pancreatic cancer.

Objective To explore the functional connectivity characteristics and intensity of brain network in depression at rest.Methods Patients with major depressive disorder(MDD)and healthy controls(HCs)underwent resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging.The total brain degree centrality(DC)of the two groups was calculated to assess the functional connection strength.Support vector machine(SVM)method was used to investigate whether abnormal DC value can recognize MDD.Results A total of 26 patients and 37 controls were included in the analysis.Compared to HCs,MDD group showed decreased DC value in the left middle frontal gyrus(t=-4.98,P＜0.05,GRF corrected)and increased DC value in the right middle temporal gyrus(t=5.02,P＜0.05,GRF corrected),right parahippocampal gyrus(t=4.80,P＜0.05,GRF corrected),and right posterior cerebellar gyrus(t=4.98,P＜0.05,GRF corrected).Additionally,no significant correlations were found between abnormal DC values and clinical variables(i.e.,17-item Hamilton depression scale and Beck depression scale scores)in MDD group(P＞0.05).SVM analysis showed that decreased DC value in the left middle frontal gyrus might be used to distinguish MDD group from HCs with an accuracy of 84.13%,a specificity of 81.08%,and a sensitivity of 88.46%,the area under the operational characteristic curve is 0.87.Conclusions Altered DC values in the left middle frontal gyrus and right middle temporal gyrus,right parahippocampal gyrus,right posterior cerebellum may contribute to the pathophysiology of MDD.The change of functional connection strength of the left medial frontal gyrus may be helpful for the recognition of MDD.