OBJECTIVEAging is associated with the development of diseases because of immunosuppression and altered functioning of the neuroendocrine system. The medicinal properties of Morinda citrifolia L. have been widely exploited for the treatment of age-associated diseases. This study aims to investigate the in vitro and in vivo effects of noni (M. citrifolia) fruit juice (NFJ) on neuro-immunomodulation in the lymph node lymphocytes of F344 rats.

METHODSLymphocytes isolated from axillary and inguinal lymph nodes of young (3-4 months) and old (18-21 months) rats were treated in vitro with different concentrations (0.0001%, 0.01%, and 1%) of NFJ for a period of 24 h. In the in vivo study, old (16-17 months) male F344 rats were treated with 5 mL/kg body weight of 5%, 10% and 20% of NFJ, twice a day, by oral gavage, and lymph node lymphocytes were isolated after 60 d. Concanavalin A (Con A)-induced lymphocyte proliferation, interleukin-2 (IL-2) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) production and expression of intracellular markers, such as phospho-extracellular signal-regulated kinase (p-ERK1/2), phospho-cAMP response element-binding protein, phospho-protein kinase B (p-Akt), phospho-tyrosine hydroxylase (p-TH), phospho-nuclear factor of κ light polypeptide gene enhancer in B-cells inhibitor-α (p-IκB-α) and phospho-nuclear factor-κB (p-NF-κB p65 and p50) were examined in the lymphocytes of lymph nodes.

RESULTSNFJ increased Con A-induced lymphocyte proliferation, IL-2 and IFN-γ production, and p-ERK1/2 expression both in vitro and in vivo. In in vivo NFJ-treated old rats, lymph node lymphocytes showed increased expression of p-TH and Akt, nitric oxide production and decreased expression of p-NF-κB p65 and p50.

CONCLUSIONThese results suggest that the immunostimulatory properties of NFJ are facilitated through intracellular signaling pathways involving ERK1/2, Akt and NF-κB.

Adjuvants, Immunologic ; metabolism ; Aging ; immunology ; metabolism ; Animals ; Cell Proliferation ; Fruit ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Fruit and Vegetable Juices ; analysis ; Humans ; Interleukin-2 ; immunology ; Lymph Nodes ; cytology ; immunology ; Lymphocytes ; cytology ; immunology ; Male ; Morinda ; chemistry ; metabolism ; NF-kappa B ; immunology ; Plant Preparations ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Inbred F344 ; Transcription Factor RelA ; immunology

To evaluate the efficacy of adjuvant endocrine therapy (AET) in breast cancer patients with a positive-to-negative switch of hormone receptor status after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC).One hundred and six patients who presented with hormone receptor (HR)-positive breast cancer at diagnosis and turned to HR-negative after NAC during December 2000 and December 2013 in Jiaxing Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital were retrospectively identified. Kaplan-Meier analysis and log-rank test were used for univariate analyses of factors related to disease free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS). Multivariate analysis was carried out using the Cox proportional hazards model in patients with DFS and OS.All the patients were categorized into two groups on the basis of the administration of AET:61 AET-administered patients (57.5%) and 45 AET-naïve patients (42.5%). After a median follow-up of 68 months (range 14-103 months), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2) status, initial clinical stage, pathological axillary lymph node status and the use of AET were identified as the variables affecting DFS and OS (all<0.05). Patients treated with AET had a significantly improved 5-year DFS rate when compared with that without AET (77.1%53.5%,<0.05). The 5-year OS of AET-administered patients was also better than that of AET-naïve patients (80.9%71.0%,<0.05). Cox regression analysis showed that AET-administered or not was the independent predictor for 5-year DFS (=2.096, 95%:1.081-4.065,<0.05).Patients with HR altered from positive to negative after NAC may still gain benefit from AET.
Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal ; therapeutic use ; Axilla ; Breast Neoplasms ; chemistry ; classification ; drug therapy ; mortality ; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; methods ; statistics & numerical data ; Disease-Free Survival ; Female ; Humans ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; Lymph Nodes ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Middle Aged ; Neoadjuvant Therapy ; Neoplasm Staging ; Neoplasms, Hormone-Dependent ; drug therapy ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Receptor, ErbB-2 ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate ; Treatment Outcome ; Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms ; drug therapy

Iodine-131 is a radioisotope that is routinely used for the treatment of differentiated thyroid cancer after total or near-total thyroidectomy. However, there is some evidence that iodine-131 can induce liver injury . Here we report a rare case of drug-induced liver injury (DILI) caused by iodine-131 in a patient with regional lymph node metastasis after total thyroidectomy. A 47-year-old woman was admitted with elevated liver enzymes and symptoms of general weakness and nausea. Ten weeks earlier she had undergone a total thyroidectomy for papillary thyroid carcinoma and had subsequently been prescribed levothyroxine to reduce the level of thyroid-stimulating hormone. Eight weeks after surgery she underwent iodine-131 ablative therapy at a dose of 100 millicuries, and subsequently presented with acute hepatitis after 10 days. To rule out all possible causative factors, abdominal ultrasonography, endoscopic ultrasonography (on the biliary tree and gall bladder), and a liver biopsy were performed. DILI caused by iodine-131 was suspected. Oral prednisolone was started at 30 mg/day, to which the patient responded well.
Abdomen/diagnostic imaging ; Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury/*diagnosis/drug therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Iodine Radioisotopes/chemistry ; Lymph Nodes/pathology ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Middle Aged ; Prednisolone/therapeutic use ; Thyroid Neoplasms/drug therapy/surgery ; Thyroidectomy ; Thyroxine/therapeutic use ; Ultrasonography

The study aimed to examine the applicability of carbon nanoparticles as a tracer for lymph node mapping and the related factors of lymph node and No.8p subgroup metastasis in patients with gastric cancer. Clinical data of 50 patients with gastric cancer, who had not received treatment preoperatively and underwent gastrectomy in Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Wuhan Union Hospital, between October 2014 and August 2015, were retrospectively analyzed. These patients were found to have no distant metastasis preoperatively. Thirty-five out of 50 patients were subjected to lymphatic mapping technique using carbon nanoparticles as the tracer, and the rest 15 cases did not experience the lymphatic mapping and served as controls. The sensitivity, specificity, false positive rate and false negative rate were calculated according to the number of lymph nodes, and the staining and metastasis condition of lymph nodes. The diagnostic value of carbon nanoparticles on metastatic lymph nodes was evaluated. The relationship between the metastasis of lymph nodes or subgroup No.8p lymph nodes and clinicopathologic features was analyzed by χ-test or Fisher's exact test. All patients underwent D2 surgery (lymph node dissection including all the group 1 and group 2 nodes) plus the dissection of the subgroup No.8p lymph nodes. It was found that the average number of harvested lymph nodes in lymphatic mapping technique group (45.7±14.5) was greater than that in control group (39.2±11.7), but the difference was not significantly different (P=0.138>0.05). The success rate, the accuracy, sensitivity, specificity and false negative rate was 97%, 57%, 28%, 62% and 72% respectively. The metastasis of lymph nodes was correlated to the depth of cancer invasion (T stage) (P=0.004<0.05), and the metastasis of No.8p lymph nodes was correlated to the extent of lymph node involvement (N stage) (P=0.007<0.05). Six cases had lymph node metastasis in subgroup No.8p, and their TNM stages and clinical stages were as follows: T1N2M0 IIA, T3N3M0 IIIB, T4aN3M0 IIIC, T4aN3M0 IIIC, T4aN3M0 IIIC, and T4bN3M0 IIIC. In conclusion, our study indicated that carbon nanoparticles failed to show good selectivity for metastatic lymph nodes; the result of lymphatic mapping does not achieve a satisfactory performance; the incidence of lymph node metastasis may increase, accompanying with the increase of the depth of cancer invasion; No.8p lymph node metastasis tends to occur for gastric carcinoma patients with the extent of lymph node metastasis over N2 stage.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Carbon ; Carcinoma ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nanoparticles ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; chemistry ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Stomach Neoplasms ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; surgery

OBJECTIVE: To explore the factors affecting the successful rate of nano-carbon in sentinel lymph node biopsy.
 METHODS: A total of 270 patients with breast cancer, who were treated in First Affilitated Hospital of Henan University of Science and Technology from January 2013 to March 2015, were chosen and given sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLN) with nano-carbon, and the influencial factors were examined by logistic analysis.
 RESULTS: Successful rate of biopsy, accuracy, sensitivity and false negative rate was 92.2%, 97.6%, 93.1% and 6.8%, respectively. Age, primary tumor lesions, body mass index, axillary lymph node status, number of SLN and pathological grade were the factors affetcing successful biopsy (all P<0.05), and body mass index, age, and number of SLN were three independent factors affecting the successful rate of biopsy (all P<0.05). The history of biopsy, tumor location, affected sides, injection sites and chemotherapy showed little effect on the successful rate of biopsy (all P> 0.05).
 CONCLUSION Nano-carbon tracer method is a reliable method in sentinel lymph node biopsy. The body mass index, age, and number of lymph node metastasis greatly impact the successful rate of biopsy.
Axilla ; Breast Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; Carbon ; chemistry ; Female ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Lymph Nodes ; pathology ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Nanoparticles ; chemistry ; Neoadjuvant Therapy ; Neoplasm Grading ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy

To explore the role of the special AT rich sequence binding protein-1 (SATB1) and ribonucleotide reductase M2 (RRM2) in enhancing malignant progression of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). 
 Methods: A total of 42 NHL and 42 chronic lymphadenitis patients were recruited. The protein expressions of SATB1 and RRM2 in cervical lymph nodes were determined by Western blot. After overexpression of SATB1, siSATB1 or siRRM2, the mRNA levels of SATB1 and RRM2 in cells were analyzed via RT-PCR, the cell proliferation was evaluated via MTT and EdU assays, while the migration and invasion of cells were assessed by transwell assays.
 Results: Compared with chronic lymphadenitis, the expressions of SATB1 and RRM2 in NHL patients were up-regulated. There was positive correlation between SATB1 and RRM2 in NHL patients. RRM2 mRNA level was up-regulated after transfection of SATB1 and down-regulated after transfection of siSATB1. Overexpression of SATB1 increased tumor cell proliferation, migration and invasion, while knockdown of RRM2 reversed those phenomena.
 Conclusion: SATB1 functions as an oncogene and promotes tumor cell proliferation, migration and invasion by up-regulation of RRM2 in NHL.
Cell Cycle Proteins ; genetics ; physiology ; Cell Movement ; genetics ; Cell Proliferation ; genetics ; Down-Regulation ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; genetics ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; chemistry ; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin ; Matrix Attachment Region Binding Proteins ; genetics ; physiology ; Neoplasm Invasiveness ; genetics ; Oncogenes ; genetics ; physiology ; RNA, Messenger ; RNA, Small Interfering ; Ribonucleoside Diphosphate Reductase ; Ribonucleotide Reductases ; genetics ; physiology ; Signal Transduction ; Transcription Factors ; Transcriptional Activation ; Transfection ; Tumor Cells, Cultured ; Up-Regulation

Colloidal particle size is an important characteristic that allows mapping sentinel nodes in lymphoscintigraphy. This investigation aimed to introduce different ways of making a 99mTc-tin colloid with a size of tens of nanometers. All agents, tin fluoride, sodium fluoride, poloxamer-188, and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), were mixed and labeled with 99mTc. Either phosphate or sodium bicarbonate buffers were used to adjust the pH levels. When the buffers were added, the size of the colloids increased. However, as the PVP continued to increase, the size of the colloids was controlled to within tens of nanometers. In all samples, phosphate buffer added PVP (30 mg) stabilized tin colloid (99mTc-PPTC-30) and sodium bicarbonate solution added PVP (50 mg) stabilized tin colloid (99mTc-BPTC-50) were chosen for in vitro and in vivo studies. 99mTc-BPTC-50 (<20 nm) was primarily located in bone marrow and was then secreted through the kidneys, and 99mTc-PPTC-30 (>100 nm) mainly accumulated in the liver. When a rabbit was given a toe injection, the node uptake of 99mTc-PPTC-30 decreased over time, while 99mTc-BPTC-50 increased. Therefore, 99mTc-BPTC-50 could be a good candidate radiopharmaceutical for sentinel node detection. The significance of this study is that nano-sized tin colloid can be made very easily and quickly by PVP.
Animals ; Buffers ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes/*radionuclide imaging ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Metal Nanoparticles/chemistry/ultrastructure ; Mice ; Neoplasms, Experimental/*radionuclide imaging ; Particle Size ; Povidone/*chemistry ; Rabbits ; Radiopharmaceuticals/*chemical synthesis ; Reproducibility of Results ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Technetium Compounds/*chemistry ; Tin/*chemistry ; Tin Compounds/*chemistry

PURPOSE: There are two surgical procedures for proximal early gastric cancer (EGC): total gastrectomy (TG) and proximal gastrectomy (PG). This study aimed to compare the long-term outcomes of PG with those of TG. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between January 2001 and December 2008, 170 patients were diagnosed with proximal EGC at Soonchunhyang University Cheonan Hospital, of which 64 patients underwent PG and 106 underwent TG. Clinicopathologic features, postoperative complications, blood chemistry data, changes in body weight, and oncological outcomes were analyzed and retrospectively compared between both groups. RESULTS: Tumor size was smaller and the number of retrieved lymph nodes was lower in the PG group. The postoperative complication rate was 10.9% in the TG group and 16.9% in the PG group. The incidence of Los Angeles grade C and D reflux esophagitis was significantly higher in the TG group. Hemoglobin level was higher and body weight loss was greater in the TG group at 2, 3, and 5 years postoperatively. The albumin levels at 3 and 5 years were lower in the TG group. There was no significant difference in the 5-year overall survival rates between the two groups (P=0.789). CONCLUSIONS: Postoperative complications and oncologic outcomes were observed to be similar between the two groups. The PG group showed better laboratory data and weight loss than did the TG group. Moreover, severe reflux esophagitis occurred less frequently in the PG group than in the TG group. PG can be considered as an effective surgical treatment for proximal EGC.
Body Weight ; Chemistry ; Chungcheongnam-do ; Esophagitis, Peptic ; Gastrectomy* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Lymph Nodes ; Postoperative Complications ; Retrospective Studies ; Stomach Neoplasms* ; Survival Rate ; Weight Loss

OBJECTIVETo prepare a lymph node-targeted ultrasound/fluorescence bi-functional imaging contrast agents, and observe its effectiveness both on contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) and vivo near infrared fluorescence (NIR) imaging through animal experiments.

METHODSThe chimeric lymph node-targeted ligand (phosphatidylserine) and near-infrared fluorescent substance were assembled to form bi-functional contrast microbubbles. The morphology and size distribution were detected by optical microscope and Malvern potential tests. Five normal New Zealand white rabbits were subcutaneously injected with the prepared contrast agent in bilateral footpads, and the imaging effectiveness of lymph nodes and lymphatic vessel were observed by CEUS and NIR technique. Then blue dye was subcutaneously injected at the same site, and the rabbits were sacrificed for lymph nodes pathological examination.

RESULTSLipid ultrasound microbubbles,with a mean size of 3-5 Μm in diameter, appeared to be uniform in distribution and regular in configuration. The images of inflow lymphatic vessel and relevant lymph node were quickly showed up after the subcutaneous injection by CEUS, which was identical to the result detected by NIR. Biopsy confirmed that all the blue-stained lymph nodes could be displayed by NIR.

CONCLUSIONSThe self-made bi-functional contrast agent has a good imaging ability in CEUS and NIR imaging. It may be a better agent as lymph node tracer.

Animals ; Contrast Media ; chemistry ; Fluoresceins ; chemistry ; Lymph Nodes ; anatomy & histology ; diagnostic imaging ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; pathology ; Male ; Rabbits ; Ultrasonography

The high genetic diversity of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) has been an obstacle to developing an effective vaccine for porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS). This study was performed to assess the degree of genetic diversity among PRRSVs from Korean pig farms where wasting and respiratory syndrome was observed from 2005 to 2009. Samples from 786 farms were tested for the presence of PRRSV using reverse transcription PCR protocol. A total of 117 farms were positive for type 1 PRRSV while 198 farms were positive for type 2. Nucleotide sequences encoding the open reading frame (ORF) 5 were analyzed and compared to those of various published PRRSV isolates obtained worldwide. Sequence identity of the ORF 5 in the isolates was 81.6~100% for type 1 viruses and 81.4~100% for type 2 viruses. Phylogenetic analysis of the ORF 5 sequences showed that types 1 and 2 PRRSVs from Korea were mainly classified into three and four clusters, respectively. The analyzed isolates were distributed throughout the clusters independent of the isolation year or geographical origin. In conclusion, our results indicated that the genetic diversity of PRRSVs from Korean pig farms is high and has been increasing over time.
Animal Husbandry ; Animals ; *Genes, Viral ; *Genetic Variation ; Lung/virology ; Lymph Nodes/virology ; *Open Reading Frames ; Phylogeny ; Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome/virology ; Porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome virus/chemistry/classification/*genetics/isolation & purification ; Republic of Korea ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction/veterinary ; Sequence Analysis, DNA/veterinary ; Sequence Analysis, Protein/veterinary ; Swine