OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effect of Scleromitrion diffusum on gastric mucosal epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in rats with gastric precancerous lesion. METHODS: Fifty SD rats were randomly divided into blank control group (n=11), model control group (n=13), Scleromitrion diffusum (SD) group (n=13) and vitase group (n=13). Gastric precancerous lesion animal model was prepared by 1-methyl-3-nitro-1-nitrosoguanidine complex polyfactor method, and the drugs were administrated by gavage once a day for 6 weeks. The pathological changes of gastric mucosa were observed with hematoxylin and eosin staining, the expression of EMT marker proteins were detected with immunohistochemical staining and Western blotting. RESULTS: Compared with the model control group, the gastric mucosal injury was significantly attenuated in the Scleromitrion diffusum group, the mucosal tissue structure gradually recovered, the saccular expansion area was reduced, and the inflammatory infiltration was ameliorated. The expression of epithelial cadherin was higher, and the expression of neural cadherin and vimentin in the Scleromitrion diffusum group were lower than those of model control group (all P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Scleromitrion diffusum can ameliorate gastric mucosal injury in rats with gastric precancerous lesion by reversing the EMT.
Animals ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition/drug effects* ; Precancerous Conditions/metabolism* ; Gastric Mucosa/metabolism* ; Stomach Neoplasms/drug therapy* ; Male ; Cadherins/metabolism*

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effects of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) on immune mediators dysregulation in severe infection after chemotherapy in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and its molecular mechanism. METHODS: Bone marrow or peripheral blood samples of 36 AML patients with severe infection (AML-SI) and 29 AML patients without infection (AML-NI) after chemotherapy were collected from the First Affiliated Hospital of Gannan Medical University from August 2022 to June 2023. In addition, the peripheral blood of 21 healthy subjects from the same period in our hospital was selected as the control group. The mRNA expressions of CXCL12, CXCR4 and CXCR7 were detected by RT-qPCR technology, and the levels of IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α were detected by ELISA. Leukemia-derived THP-1 cells were selected and constructed as AML disease model. At the same time, bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) from AML-SI patients were co-cultured with THP-1 cells and divided into Mono group and Co-culture group. THP-1 cells were treated with different concentration gradients of HCQ. The cell proliferation activity was subsequently detected by CCK-8 method and apoptosis was detected by Annexin V/PI double staining flow cytometry. ELISA was used to detect the changes of IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α levels in the supernatant of the cell co-culture system, RT-qPCR was used to detect the mRNA expression changes of the core members of the CXCL12-CXCR4/7 regulatory axis, and Western blot was used to detect the expressions of apoptosis regulatory molecules and related signaling pathway proteins. RESULTS: CXCL12, CXCR4, CXCR7, as well as IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α were all abnormally increased in AML patients, and the increases were more significant in AML-SI patients (P <0.01). Furthermore, there were statistically significant differences between AML-NI patients and AML-SI patients (all P <0.05). HCQ could inhibit the proliferation and induce the apoptosis of THP-1 cells, but the low concentration of HCQ had no significant effect on the killing of THP-1 cells. When THP-1 cells were co-cultured with BM-MSCs of AML patients, the levels of IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α in the supernatance of Co-culture group were significantly higher than those of Mono group (all P <0.01). After HCQ intervention, the levels of IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α in cell culture supernatant of Mono group were significantly decreased compared with those before intervention (all P <0.01). Similarly, those of Co-culture group were also significantly decreased (all P <0.001). However, the expression of the core members of the CXCL12-CXCR4/7 regulatory axis was weakly affected by HCQ. HCQ could up-regulate the expression of pro-apoptotic protein Bax, down-regulate the expression of anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2, as well as simultaneously promote the hydrolytic activation of Caspase-3 when inhibiting the activation level of TLR4/NF-κB pathway, then induce the programmed death of THP-1 cells after intervention. CONCLUSION The core members of CXCL12-CXCR4/7 axis and related cytokines may be important mediators of severe infectious immune disorders in AML patients. HCQ can inhibit cytokine levels to reverse immune mediators dysregulation and suppress malignant biological characteristics of leukemia cells. The mechanisms may be related to regulating the expression of Bcl-2 family proteins, hydrolytically activating Caspase-3 and inhibiting the activation of TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway.
Humans ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/immunology* ; Hydroxychloroquine/pharmacology* ; Receptors, CXCR4/metabolism* ; Apoptosis/drug effects* ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/metabolism* ; Chemokine CXCL12/metabolism* ; Interleukin-8/metabolism* ; Interleukin-6/metabolism* ; Receptors, CXCR/metabolism* ; Mesenchymal Stem Cells ; THP-1 Cells

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the genetic causal relationship of leukocyte telomere length (LTL) with prostatitis, orchitis and epididymitis by two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR). METHODS: Using LTL as the exposure factor and prostatitis, orchitis and epididymitis as outcome factors, we mined the Database of Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS). Then, we analyzed the causal relationship of LTL with prostatitis, orchitis and epididymitis by Mendelian randomization using inverse variance weighting (IVW) as the main method and weighted median and MR-Egger regression as auxiliary methods, determined the horizontal multiplicity by MR-Egger intercept test, and conducted sensitivity analysis using the leaving-one-out method. RESULTS: A total of 121 related single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified in this study. IVW showed LTL to be a risk factor for prostatitis (OR = 1.383, 95% CI: 1.044－1.832, P = 0.024), and for orchitis and epididymitis as well (OR = 1.770, 95% CI: 1.275－2.456, P = 0.000 6). CONCLUSION Genetic evidence from Mendelian randomized analysis indicates that shortening of LTL reduces the risk of prostatitis, orchitis and epididymitis.
Humans ; Male ; Mendelian Randomization Analysis ; Epididymitis/genetics* ; Prostatitis/genetics* ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Leukocytes ; Orchitis/genetics* ; Genome-Wide Association Study ; Telomere ; Risk Factors

In recent decades, the prevalence of hyperuricemia and gout has increased dramatically due to lifestyle changes. The drugs currently recommended for hyperuricemia are associated with adverse reactions that limit their clinical use. In this study, we report that berberine (BBR) is an effective drug candidate for the treatment of hyperuricemia, with its mechanism potentially involving the modulation of gut microbiota and its metabolite, succinic acid. BBR has demonstrated good therapeutic effects in both acute and chronic animal models of hyperuricemia. In a clinical trial, oral administration of BBR for 6 months reduced blood uric acid levels in 22 participants by modulating the gut microbiota, which led to an increase in the abundance of Bacteroides and a decrease in Clostridium sensu stricto_1. Furthermore, Bacteroides fragilis was transplanted into ICR mice, and the results showed that Bacteroides fragilis exerted a therapeutic effect on uric acid similar to that of BBR. Notably, succinic acid, a metabolite of Bacteroides, significantly reduced uric acid levels. Subsequent cell and animal experiments revealed that the intestinal metabolite, succinic acid, regulated the upstream uric acid synthesis pathway in the liver by inhibiting adenosine monophosphate deaminase 2 (AMPD2), an enzyme responsible for converting adenosine monophosphate (AMP) to inosine monophosphate (IMP). This inhibition resulted in a decrease in IMP levels and an increase in phosphate levels. The reduction in IMP led to a decreased downstream production of hypoxanthine, xanthine, and uric acid. BBR also demonstrated excellent renoprotective effects, improving nephropathy associated with hyperuricemia. In summary, BBR has the potential to be an effective treatment for hyperuricemia through the gut-liver axis.

Objective To explore the regulatory role of Abelson interactor 2(ABI2)in progression and prognosis of gastric cancer.Methods TIMER2.0,GEPIA,Kaplan-Meier Plotter and DAVID databases were used to analyze ABI2 expression in pan-cancer and its association with the prognosis of gastric cancer.Gastric cancer and adjacent tissues from 120 patients undergoing radical gastrectomy in our hospital between January,2016 and October,2018 were examined for ABI2 expression and its correlation with disease progression and prognosis.MGC-803 cell models of ABI2 knockdown and overexpression were established for observing the changes in cell proliferation,migration,and invasion,and the impact of ABI2 expression modulation on xenograft growth was evaluated in nude mice.Results Database analysis and examination of the clinical samples showed that ABI2 was highly expressed in gastric cancer tissues.Survival analysis suggested that gastric cancer patients with a high expression of ABI2 had a reduced postoperative 5-year survival rate(P<0.0001),and further Cox univariate and multivariate survival analyses indicated that a high ABI2 expression was an independent risk factor affecting the patients survival outcomes(P=0.022,HR=1.887,95%CI:1.096-3.249).Enrichment analysis suggested the involvement of ABI2 in Wnt signaling.In MGC-803 cells,ABI2 overexpression promoted cell proliferation and xenograft growth in nude mice,increased the expressions of vimentin and N-cadherin,and lowered E-cadherin expression,while ABI2 knockdown produced the opposite effects.Mechanistic analysis revealed that ABI2 overexpression promoted the expressions of Wnt2 and β-catenin in both MGC-803 cells and the xenografts,and their expressions were significantly lowered by ABI2 knockdown.Conclusion ABI2 is highly expressed in gastric cancer,which affects long-term prognosis of the patients,possible due to its regulatory effect on Wnt signaling to promote proliferation,migration and invasion of gastric cancer cells.

Objective To investigate the correlation of CEP192 expression with prognosis of gastric cancer and biological behaviors of gastric cancer cells.Methods Public databases and clinical tissue samples were used to examine CEP192 expression level in gastric cancer.Kaplan-Meier survival curves,univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses,ROC curves and bioinformatics analyses were used to explore the risk factors affecting the 5-year postoperative survival,the correlation of CEP192 expression level with the patients'survival,and its biological role in gastric cancer development.In gastric cancer MGC-803 cells with lentivirus-mediated CEP192 interference or overexpression,cell proliferation and expressions of PLK1,CDK1 and Cyclin B1 were examined with CCK-8 assay and Western blotting.The effects of CEP192 knockdown or overexpression on tumorigenesis of MGC-803 cells was observed in nude mice,and the expressions of PLK1,CDK1 and Cyclin B1 in the xenografts were detected.Results CEP192 was highly expressed in gastric cancer and associated with poor prognosis of the patients(P<0.05).High expression of CEP192,CEA≥5 ng/mL,CA199≥37 IU/mL,T3-4 stage,and N2-3 stage were independent risk factors affecting the patients'5-year postoperative survival(P<0.05).Bioinformatics analyses suggested that CEP192 was involved in several vital biological processes and positively regulated cell cycle progression.In MGC-803 cells,CEP192 knockdown significantly inhibited cell proliferation and lowered the expression levels of PLK1,CDK1,and Cyclin B1,while its overexpression produced the opposite effects.In the nude mouse models,CEP192 knockdown resulted in lowered tumorigenic potential of MGC-803 cells and decreased protein levels of PLK1,CDK1,and Cyclin B1 in the xenografts,while CEP192 overexpression in MGC-803 cells caused the opposite changes.Conclusion CEP192 overexpression is correlated with unfavorable outcomes of gastric cancer patients and promotes gastric cell proliferation by regulating the key proteins during G2/M phase transition.

Objective This study aimed to assess the clinical efficacy of Shenling Baizhu Granules in treating low anterior resection syndrome(LARS)in rectal cancer.Methods The study employed a randomized,double-blind,placebo-parallel controlled,single-center,validity-tested clinical trial design.December 2019 to June 2022,the Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery and Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine of Peking University First Hospital recruited 110 patients who had undergone low anterior resection(LAR)for rectal cancer and subsequently developed LARS.These patients,meeting the enrollment criteria,were randomly assigned into the treatment group(55)and the control group(55)using the double-blind method principle.The randomization table was generated by SAS 9.2 software employing the double-blind method.The treatment group received oral Shenling Baizhu Granules,while the control group received oral placebo granules.Both groups commenced treatment on the 10th day after-surgery for 30 consecutive days.Patients were evaluated using LARS score,traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)symptom grading,and XU Zhongfa score before treatment,on the 15th day of treatment,and on the 1st day after treatment cessation.Results Out of 110 patients,107 were included in the full analysis set for efficacy analysis:55 patients in the treatment group and 55 patients in the control group.One case in the treatment group was excluded(against protocol),and two cases in the control group were excluded(one lost to follow-up,one against protocol).Baseline data between the two groups were consistent,with no statistically significant difference.Before treatment,LARS scores for the treatment and control groups were 33.0(31.0,36.0)and 34.0(32.0,37.0)respectively.Patients with TCM symptom scores of grades 2 to 3 accounted for 92.73％and 90.57％in the treatment and control groups,respectively,with no statistically significant difference.After 30 days of treatment,LARS scores for the treatment and control groups were 21.0(19.8,23.0)and 26.0(22.0,28.0)respectively.The percentage of patients with TCM symptom scores of grades 2 to 3 decreased to 33.33％in the treatment group and 66.04％in the control group,with a statistically significant difference.Shenling Baizhu Granules showed rapid improvement in watery or loose stools in post-operative rectal cancer patients.After 30 days of treatment,Shenling Baizhu Granules significantly improved appetite,stool consistency,abdominal distension,abdominal pain,and eructation symptoms in postoperative rectal cancer patients.Before treatment,the XU Zhongfa scores for the treatment and control groups were 3.0(2.0,4.3)and 4.0(2.0,4.0)respectively,with no statistically significant difference.After 30 days of treatment,the XU Zhongfa scores for the treatment and control groups were 7.0(6.0,8.0)and 6.0(5.0,7.0)respectively,with the treatment group significantly higher than the control group(P＜0.01).Conclusion Shenling Baizhu Granules can effectively improve LARS symptoms in patients following LAR of rectal cancer within a short period of time.