OBJECTIVES: To investigate the expression of CDKN3 in gastric cancer and its impact on prognosis of gastric cancer patients. METHODS: We analyzed CDKN3 expression in clinical specimens from 114 gastric cancer patients and assessed its association with 5-year postoperative survival of the patients. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses were used to predict the biological function and possible mechanism of CDKN3. The effects of lentivirus-mediated CDKN3 knockdown on biological behaviors of gastric cancer cells were evaluated using Transwell assay, CCK-8 assay, TUNEL staining, flow cytometry, and Western blotting. RESULTS: CDKN3 expression was significantly higher in gastric cancer tissues than in the adjacent tissues with significant correlations with CEA level, CA19-9 level, and T and N staging (P<0.05). High CDKN3 expression was an independent risk factor affecting 5-year postoperative survival of the patients and predictive for long-term prognosis (P<0.01). Enrichment analyses suggested a probable association of CDKN3 with apoptosis. In MGC-803 cells, CDKN3 knockdown significantly lowered migration and invasion capacities of the cells, while CDKN3 overexpression produced the opposite effects. TUNEL staining revealed a significantly lower level of cell apoptosis in gastric cancer tissues than in adjacent tissues (P<0.01). CDKN3 knockdown obviously inhibited proliferation and increased apoptosis of MGC-803 cells. CDKN3 overexpression down-regulated the expressions of p53, p21 and Bax and up-regulated the expressions of p-p65 and Bcl-2. CONCLUSIONS CDKN3 is highly expressed in gastric cancer tissues and affects patient prognosis. CDKN3 overexpression promotes proliferation, invasion and migration and suppressed apoptosis of gastric cancer cells possibly through the p53/NF-κB signaling pathway.
Humans ; Stomach Neoplasms/pathology* ; Apoptosis ; Signal Transduction ; Tumor Suppressor Protein p53/metabolism* ; Cell Movement ; Cell Line, Tumor ; NF-kappa B/metabolism* ; Prognosis ; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor Proteins/metabolism* ; Cell Proliferation ; Neoplasm Invasiveness ; Male ; Female ; Dual-Specificity Phosphatases

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy of Qinggan Huashi Huoxue Decoction combined with conventional Western medicine in the treatment of alcoholic cirrhosis with spleen deficiency and phlegm stasis syndrome.Methods:Randomized controlled trial. A total of 110 patients from Tangshan Fengrun District Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine from March 2020 to March 2022 were selected as observation objects and divided into 2 groups with 55 patients in each group by computer random drawing method. The control group was treated with conventional Western medicine, while the observation group was treated with Qinggan Huashi Huoxue Decoction on the basis of the control group treatment. Both groups were treated for 3 months. The traditional Chinese medicine syndrome score was performed before and after treatment, and the levels of proline peptidase (PLD), type Ⅳ collagen (Ⅳ-C) and type Ⅰ procollagen aminopeptidase (PINP) were detected by phthalaldehyde contrast colorimetry, and the levels of pentamylin 3 (PTX3), protein kinase B (Akt) and B cell activating factor receptor (BAFF-R) were determined by ELISA. Adverse events were recorded and clinical efficacy was evaluated.Results:The total effective rate in the observation group was 92.73% (51/55), while that in the control group was 76.36% (42/55), the difference between the two groups was statistically significant ( χ2=5.64, P=0.018). After treatment, the score and total score of costal pain and fullness, swelling and firmness, anorexia, white and greasy tongue coating in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group ( t values were 11.02, 7.36, 7.47, 6.38, 9.37, respectively, P<0.01). After treatment, the levels of serum PLD[(143.28±16.38)U/L vs. (160.69±18.35)U/L, t=5.25], Ⅳ-C[(71.93±8.33)μg/L vs. (83.12±9.91)μg/L, t=6.41], and PINP[(32.36±5.32)ng/L vs. (39.02±5.61)ng/L, t=6.39] in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group ( P<0.01); The levels of PTX3[(36.82±4.96)ng/L vs. (42.14±5.83)ng/L, t=5.15], Akt[(69.22±7.94)ng/L vs. (77.24±8.63)ng/L, t=5.07], and BAFF-R[(15.29±3.64)ng/L vs. (19.92±4.15)ng/L, t=6.22] in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group ( P<0.01). During the treatment period, the incidence of adverse reactions was 12.73% (7/55) in the observation group and 9.09% (5/55) in the control group, with no statistically significant difference between the two groups ( χ2=0.37, P=0.541). Conclusion:Qinggan Huashi Huoxue Decoction combined with conventional Western medicine therapy can improve the Traditional Chinese Medicine syndrome and the degree of liver fibrosis damage in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis with spleen deficiency and phlegm stasis syndrome, inhibit the expression of serum inflammatory factors, and improve clinical efficacy.