Objective To establish a human luminal breast cancer stem cell(BCSC)model and investigate the inhibitory effects of astragaloside Ⅳ(AS-Ⅳ)on BCSC growth.Methods MCF-7 breast cancer cells were cultured in stem cell-specific medium to induce BCSC formation.The BCSCs were then divided into a blank control group and an AS-Ⅳ treatment group,both groups were given PBS or AS-Ⅳ treatment.Morphological changes were observed after intervention.The therapeutic efficacy of AS-Ⅳ was evaluated using 3D spheroid formation and cell viability assays.Transcriptomic profiling and gene expression analysis were performed to elucidate the underlying mechanisms.Results Compared with the MCF7 breast cancer cells,MCF7 breast cancer stem cell mammospheres exhibited accelerated growth(P＜0.01)and significantly increased expression of the stemness marker ALDH1A1(P＜0.01).Further comparison with the blank control group revealed that astragaloside Ⅳ(AS-Ⅳ)treatment significantly inhibited MCF7 breast cancer stem cell proliferation(P＜0.001)and slowed mammosphere growth(P＜0.01).Transcriptomic analysis demonstrated that differentially expressed genes(DEGs)induced by stem cell modeling and AS-Ⅳ intervention were enriched in the cellular senescence signaling pathway.AS-Ⅳ intervention substantially increased the number of SA-β-gal-positive cells(P＜0.01).RT-PCR analysis confirmed that AS-Ⅳsignificantly upregulated mRNA expression of IL-1α(P＜0.01),P21(P＜0.001),and P53(P＜0.05)in MCF7 breast cancer stem cells.Conclusion Astragaloside Ⅳ suppresses the growth of human luminal breast cancer stem cells by inducing cellular senescence.

OBJECTIVETo apply low-dose multi spiral computed tomography (MSCT) chest scans in the early diagnosis and differential diagnosis of pneumoconiosis.

METHODSOne hundred and twenty dust-exposed volunteers were examined by MSCT chest scans at conventional dose and low dose, and the results of conventional-dose scans were set as the gold standard. Comparative analysis was performed on the major CT findings and quality of post-processing images, including 1.5 mm and 5.0∼10.0 mm thick high -resolution reconstructed images, multiplanar reformat images, and maximum intensity projection images.

RESULTSOne hundred and twenty cases of small circular shadows, 36 cases of ribbon shadows in pulmonary parenchyma, 1 case of honeycombing shadow, and 13 cases of big shadows were all showed on low -dose MSCT. But 94 (95.9%) of 98 cases of interlobular septal thickening shadows and 98 (93.3%) of 105 cases of short branched shadows were detected on low-dose MSCT. There were no significant differences in display of the mentioned large and small shadows between low-dose scans and conventional-dose scans (P > 0.05). Eighty-five cases of small airway disease, 8 cases of pulmonary inflammatory lesions, and 47 cases of hilar and mediastinal lymph node swelling were all detected by MSCT. As for the 46 cases of emphysema, 38 (82.6%) were shown. The low-dose MSCT images of 1.5 mm thickness had more artifacts than those of other thickness. The radiation dose of low-dose MSCT was about 1/3-1/5 of that in the conventional-dose MSCT.

CONCLUSIONThere is no difference in display of pneumoconiosis between low-dose and conventional-dose MSCT chest scans. With lower radiation dose, low-dose MSCT can be applied in the diagnosis of pneumoconiosis.

Adult ; Aged ; Dust ; Female ; Humans ; Lung ; diagnostic imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Occupational Exposure ; Pneumoconiosis ; diagnostic imaging ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; methods