The clinical antiprotozoal drug nitazoxanide has been demonstrated to improve the experimental diabetes mellitus, lipid metabolism disorders, atherosclerosis and inhibit inflammation. Since the pathogenesis of heart failure with preserved ejection (HFpEF) is multifactorial and closely associated with the aforementioned diseases, we aim to study the effect of nitazoxanide on high-fat diet (HFD) plus L-NAME (N ω-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester)-induced HFpEF and metabolic syndrome in mice. We found that oral nitazoxanide improved cardiac hypertrophy, cardiac fibrosis, cardiac diastolic dysfunction, increased blood pressure, impaired exercise tolerance, impaired glucose handling, serum lipid disorders, hepatic steatosis, increased weight of white adipose tissues and kidney fibrosis in HFD + L-NAME-treated mice. In the established HFD + L-NAME-induced HFpEF and metabolic syndrome mouse model, therapeutic treatment with nitazoxanide rescued HFD + L-NAME-induced pathological phenotypes as mentioned above. The in vitro experiments revealed that tizoxanide, the active metabolite of nitazoxanide, increased the basal mitochondria metabolism of cardiomyocytes, inhibited cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and collagen secretion from cardiac fibroblasts, and relaxed phenylephrine- and U46619-induced constriction of rat mesenteric arteries, indicating that the direct effect of tizoxanide might partly contribute to the protective effect of nitazoxanide against HFpEF in vivo. The present study suggests that nitazoxanide might be a potential drug for HFpEF and metabolic syndrome therapy.

Objective To discuss the perioperative care and wound protection of xenotransplantation from genetically edited pigs to monkeys, with the goal of improving the success rate of such experimental procedures. Methods From October 2022 to October 2023, perioperative care and wound protection were performed on 7 recipient rhesus monkeys undergoing xenotransplantation of genetically edited pig tissues and organs. Customized wound protective garments were designed based on monkeys' size and surgical area to protect the wounds, alongside meticulous perioperative care. This included preoperative preparation and medication, intraoperative monitoring of physiological indicators and anesthesia management, and postoperative care comprising wound protection, observation and monitoring, and nutritional support. Results All seven monkeys successfully underwent xenotransplantation. With the aid of protective garments and detailed care, all surgical wounds healed by first intention, and postoperative recovery was satisfactory. Conclusion Proper care and wound protection during xenotransplantation from genetically edited pigs to monkeys not only promote wound healing, but also alleviate pain and harm to animals. This has significant implications for advancing experimental research in pig-monkey xenotransplantation and enhancing animal welfare.

Objective To evaluate the safety, efficacy and local control effect of CT- guided radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in treating non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that is inoperable or the surgical treatment is refused by the patient. Methods Between March 2007 and March 2010 at authors’ hospital, a total of 68 procedures of CT-guided RFA were carried out in 60 patients with early stage NSCLC. The patients included 37 males and 23 females with a mean age of 68.5 years. Pathologically, the lesions included squamous cell carcinoma (n=23, 38.3%), adenocarcinoma (n=31, 51.7%), large cell carcinoma (n=2, 3.3%) and adeno-squamous carcinoma (n=4, 6.7%). The mean diameter of the lesions was 3.8 cm (1.8-6.8 cm). The overall survival rate, cancer-specific survival rate and local progression-free survival rate were evaluated. Results RFA procedure was well tolerated by all patients with an average ablation time of 35 min (18-63 min). The main intraprocedural complication was pneumothorax (n=17, 28.3%). No death occurred during perioperative period. The median local progression-free survival time was 28 months, the median survival time was 32 months, and the one-, 2- and 3-year local progression-free survival rate were 94.6%, 83.1%and 73.6%, respectively. Conclusion For patients with inoperable NSCLC and patients with NSCLC who refuse to receive surgery, CT-guided RFA is a safe and effective treatment. This therapy can significantly improve the local progression-free survival rate.

Objective To investigate relationship between the expressions of TGF-β1 mRNA, Smad7 mRNA and ki-67 mRNA and the clinicopathologic characteristics in gastric carcinoma. Methods 60 cases with gastric carcinoma tissue and 20 cases with normal gastric tissue, which were surgically removed and certified by pathology, were collected. The expressions of TGF-β1 mRNA, Smad7 mRNA and ki-67 mRNA were detected by RT-PCR in normal and carcinomatous gastric tissue. Results The expressions of TGF-β1 mRNA, Smad7 mRNA and ki-67 mRNA in normal gastric tissue were lower than those in carcinomatous gastric tissue (P < 0.05). The expressions of TGF-β1 mRNA, Smad7 mRNA and ki-67 mRNA in gastric carcinoma which were well differentiated and moderately differentiated were significantly lower than those in poorly differentiated gastric carcinoma (P<0.05). The expressions of TGF-β1 mRNA, Smad7 mRNA and ki-67 mRNA in gastric carcinoma without lymph node metastasis were lower than those in gastric carcinoma with lymph node metastasis. The expressions of TGF-β1 mRNA, Smad7 mRNA and ki-67 mRNA in Ⅰ+Ⅱ stage were lower those in Ⅲ+Ⅳ stage (P < 0.05). Linear correlation showed there were positive correlations among TGF-β1 mRNA, Smad7 mRNA and ki-67 mRNA in gastric carcinoma. Conclusions The canonical TGF-β1 Smad7 and Ki-67 mRNA play a role in the carcinogenesis, development, differentiation of gastric carcinoma.