Objective To investigate the expression of GJB4 gene in pancreatic cancer tissue and its correlation with clinicopathology.Methods The expression levels of GJB4 mRNA in pancreatic cancer and adjacent cancer tissues were analyzed using bioinformatics to analyze the Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA)and Genotype-Tissue Expression(GTEx)RNA sequencing datasets.A total of 120 pancreatic cancer samples and 40 adjacent cancer samples from the Pathology Department of The Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University from January 2019 to December 2023 were collected and sorted.Immunohistochemistry staining method was used to detect the expression difference of GJB4 protein between the two groups.RT-qPCR method was used to detect the expression levels of GJB4 in four pancreatic cancer cell lines.Univariate and multivariate Cox regression and Kaplan-Meier curves were used to analyze the clinical pathological data of GJB4 and pancreatic cancer patients.DAVID functional annotation bioinformatics and GSEA enrichment analysis were used to explore the relevant pathways of GJB4 in pancreatic cancer.Results The expression level of GJB4 mRNA in pancreatic cancer was higher than that in adjacent tissues,and the high expression of GJB4 was significantly associated with poor prognosis of patients(P<0.05).Immunohistochemical analysis showed that GJB4 protein was brown-yellow granular in pancreatic cancer tissues,mainly expressed in cytoplasm and cell membrane,and GJB4 protein expression was up-regulated in pancreatic cancer(P<0.05).The RT-qPCR test results showed that out of 4 pancreatic cancer cell lines,3 of them had upregulated expression(P<0.05).COX regression analysis showed that GJB4 gene was an independent risk factor in the prognosis of pancreatic cancer patients.The results of GO enrichment analysis showed that GJB4 was related to the transmembrane transport,ion channel,signal release and membrane potential regulation of pancreatic cancer.GSEA analysis showed that GJB4 was enriched in the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.Conclusion In pancreatic cancer,the high expression level of GJB4 is closely related to the clinicopathological features of the patients,which may predict the poor prognosis of the patients.GJB4 may be involved in regulating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway of pancreatic cancer,and is expected to be one of the potential biomarkers of pancreatic cancer prognosis.

Primary biliary cholangitis(PBC)is a persistent inflammatory autoimmune liver disease characterized by inflammatory injury and cholestasis in the small intrahepatic bile ducts.At present,the exact pathogenesis of PBC remains unknown,but a consensus has been reached on the fact that PBC is the result of the synergistic effect of various factors.In the cascade of immune and inflammatory reactions associated with PBC,macrophages appear as essential immune cells and actively participate in the damage to bile duct epithelial cells.This article introduces the origin and heterogeneity of macrophages in PBC and reviews the potential role of macrophages in the pathogenesis of PBC.

Objective To investigate the therapeutic efficacy of Chinese medicine of Wusheng Tincture for external application in treating cancer pain, and to observe its effect on the quality of life ( QOL) of cancer patients. Methods Eighty-three cancer pain patients were randomized into treatment group (N=42) and control group (N=41). Except 5 cases dropping out for the itch of skin, a total of 78 cases finished the treatment, 40 in the treatment and 38 in the control group. The patients were given the corresponding medicine according to the classification of numerical rating scale ( NRS) scores. In the control group, the patients were treated following the three-step analgestic ladder issued by World Health Organization ( WHO). The treatment group was given external application of Wusheng Tincture on the painful regions based on the same three-step analgestie ladder treatment as that of the control group, the treatment course lasting 7 days. The rating scale NRS scores and QOL scores were observed for the assessment of therapeutic effect and QOL of the two groups. Results (1) On medication day 7, NRS scores in both groups were decreased as compared with those one day before treatment (P<0.01), but the differences between the two groups were insignificant (P>0.05) . (2) The total effective rate of the treatment group was 82.5%, and that of the control group was 68.4%, the difference being significant between the two groups ( P<0.05) . For mild-pain patients, the therapeutic effect of the treatment group was better than that of the control group (P<0.05) . However, the difference of the therapeutic effect for patients with moderate and severe pain was insignificant between the two groups ( P>0.05) . ( 3) On medication day 7, QOL scores were much lower in both groups than those one day before medication, the difference being significant ( P<0.01) . However, the difference of QOL scores between the two groups was insignificant after medication (P>0.05) . Conclusion External application of Wusheng Tincture may have certain therapeutic effect in treating patients with mild cancer pain, but fails in enhancing the effect for patients with moderate and severe pain, either in improving the QOL of cancer pain patients when used together with WHO three-step analgestic ladder.