OBJECTIVES: To investigate the expression of cartilage acidic protein 1 (CRTAC1) in gastric cancer (GC) and its effect on biological behaviors and immune cell infiltration of GC. METHODS: Transcriptomic, GO and KEGG analyses were conducted to investigate the association of CRTAC1 expression with prognosis of GC patients and its involvement in cell function and signaling pathways. ESTIMATE algorithm was used to analyze the effect of CRTAC1 expression on the tumor microenvironment and the tumor mutation load. In two GC cell clines (HGC-27 and MKN-74), CCK8, EdU and clone formation assays, flow cytometry, and Hoechst staining were used to examine the effects of CRTAC1 knockdown on cell proliferation, cell cycle changes and apoptosis. Wound healing assay, Transwell assay, and Western blotting were performed to analyze the effect of CRTAC1 knockdown on GC cell migration and the underlying mechanism. RESULTS: Bioinformatics analysis showed significantly higher expression of CRTAC1 in GC tissues than in adjacent tissues (P<0.05). Age and tumor stage were both prognostic risk factors in GC patients with high CRTAC1 expression (P<0.001). Analysis using ESTIMATE algorithm showed that CRTAC1 expression increased immune cell infiltration and decreased tumor mutational load in GC (P<0.001). In HGC-27 and MKN-74 cells, CRTAC1 knockdown significantly inhibited cell proliferation and migration and promoted cell apoptosis. Western blotting demonstrated that CRTAC1 knockdown significantly increased E-cadherin expression and reduced the expression levels of vimentin, p-PI3K, AKT2, p-AKT and p-mTOR in GC cells. CONCLUSIONS High expression of CRTAC1 in GC tissues affects immunotherapeutic efficacy and prognosis of the patients, possibly by promoting epithelial-mesenchymal transition via modulating tumor mutational load, tumor microenvironment, and the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.
Stomach Neoplasms/metabolism* ; Humans ; Cell Proliferation ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/metabolism* ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases/metabolism* ; Signal Transduction ; Cell Movement ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Prognosis ; Apoptosis ; Tumor Microenvironment ; Female ; Male ; Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition/genetics*

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a common peripheral vascular disease, causing pulmonary embolism, post-venous thrombosis syndrome, chronic thrombotic pulmonary hypertension, and other complications.[1] The inferior vena cava filter (IVCF) implantation combined with adequate anticoagulation could lower the incidence of fatal PE to <1%.[2] In clinical practice, the double inferior vena cava (IVC) malformation along with lower extremity DVT (LEDVT) is rarely seen, and poor perception towards this disease easily leads to misdiagnosis and mistreatment. This report summarized the diagnosis and treatment of a case with double IVC who underwent IVCF implantation, and also discussed relevant literature in order to improve the understanding of double IVC malformation.

Autonomic disturbances often occur in patients with acute cerebrovascular disease due to damage of the central autonomic network. We summarize the structures of the central autonomic network and the clinical tests used to evaluate the functions of the autonomic nervous system. We review the clinical and experimental findings as well as management strategies of post-stroke autonomic disturbances including electrocardiographic changes, cardiac arrhythmias, myocardial damage, thermoregulatory dysfunction, gastrointestinal dysfunction, urinary incontinence, sexual disorders, and hyperglycemia. The occurrence of autonomic disturbances has been associated with poor outcomes in stroke patients. Autonomic nervous system modulation appears to be an emerging therapeutic strategy for stroke management in addition to treatments for sensorimotor dysfunction.
Acute Disease ; Animals ; Autonomic Nervous System ; physiopathology ; Cerebrovascular Disorders ; complications ; physiopathology ; Humans ; Nerve Net ; injuries ; Sensorimotor Cortex ; physiopathology ; Stroke ; physiopathology

Objective To observe the differences of cerebral activation pattern with resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) between patients with spasmodic torticollis (ST) and healthy controls,thus to investigate the pathogenesis of ST.Methods Nineteen ST patients and 21 age,sex and education-matched healthy controls,recruited from the Department of Neurology,First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University between November 2012 and January 2016,were included in this study.rs-fMRI and factional amplitude of low frequency fluctuation (fALFF) were used to obtain differences between patients with ST and healthy controls,and correlative analysis was made on fALFF values of abnormal brain regions and ST patients' symptom severity (Tsui scores).Results Compared with healthy controls,patients with ST had significantly increased fALFF in the left cerebellum and significantly decreased fALFF in the left posterior cingulate cortex/precuneus,right posterior cingulate cortex/precuneus,left middle temporal gyrus,right angular gyrus,left post-central gyrus,right supplementary motor area (t =-5.714-5.920,P ＜0.01),and abnormal brain regions' fALFF values had no correlation with patients' age of onset,disease course,symptom severity (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion Abnormal sensorimotor area,default mode network and cerebellum dysfunction may play a role in the pathophysiology of ST.