Objective:To explore the clinical efficacy and influence on quality of life of Compound Kunshen Injection combined with SOX regimen (Tigio + Oxaliplatin) in the treatment of elderly patients with advanced gastric cancer.Methods:A total of 76 elderly patients with advanced gastric cancer admitted to Caidian District People's Hospital of Wuhan from May 2017 to December 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were divided into study group ( n=38) and control group ( n=38) according to different treatment methods. The study group was treated with Compound Kunshen Injection combined with SOX regimen, and the control group was treated with SOX regimen. All patients received at least 2 cycles of chemotherapy. The disease control rate (DCR) , the changes of serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and carbohydrate antigen 199 (CA199) before and after treatment of the two groups were compared. The occurrence of adverse reactions to chemotherapy and the improvement of quality of life related indicators before and after treatment were observed in the two groups. Results:The DCR of the study group was 84.2% (32/38) and that of the control group was 63.2% (24/38) , with a statistically significant difference ( χ2=4.34, P=0.037) . After treatment, CEA levels in both study group and control group were decreased compared with those before treatment [7.92 (5.00, 50.23) ng/ml vs. 40.08 (6.37, 68.18) ng/ml, Z=3.53, P<0.001; 40.24 (20.12, 53.69) ng/ml vs. 41.32 (11.50, 63.90) ng/ml, Z=2.06, P=0.044], and CEA level in the study group was decreased more significantly than that in the control group ( Z=1.99, P=0.048) . After treatment, CA199 levels in both study group and control group were decreased compared with those before treatment [20.23 (17.34, 71.31) U/ml vs. 70.14 (12.75, 96.95) U/ml, Z=2.70, P=0.007; 54.25 (30.54, 76.75) U/ml vs. 62.28 (23.00, 84.80) U/ml, Z=2.37, P=0.018], with no statistically significant difference in the reduction level of CA199 between the two groups ( Z=0.73, P=0.463) . Most of the adverse reactions in the two groups during chemotherapy were grade 1-2, which disappeared after symptomatic treatment. Compared with the control group, the study group had lower incidence of gastrointestinal reaction [26.3% (10/38) vs. 52.6% (20/38) , χ2=5.50, P=0.019], myelosuppression [18.4% (7/38) vs. 44.7% (17/38) , χ2=6.09, P=0.014] and peripheral neurotoxicity [21.1% (8/38) vs. 44.7% (17/38) , χ2=4.83, P=0.028]. The improvements of QOL score [78.9% (30/38) vs. 55.3% (21/38) , χ2=4.83, P=0.028], Karnofsky performance status score [71.1% (27/38) vs. 47.4% (18/38) , χ2=4.41, P=0.036], hemoglobin [73.7% (28/38) vs. 50.0% (19/38) , χ2=4.52, P=0.034] and pain control [65.8% (25/38) vs. 24.1% (16/38) , χ2=4.29, P=0.038] of the study group were better than those of the control group, with statistically significant differences. Conclusion:Compound Kunshen Injection combined with SOX regimen in the treatment of elderly patients with advanced gastric cancer can not only improve the DCR of patients, but also reduce the serum levels of tumor markers CEA and CA199, among which the CEA decline is more obvious, reduce the incidence of adverse reactions of chemotherapy and improve the quality of life of patients.

In this study, voltage was used as a disturbance factor to investigate the relationship between microbial community and methane (CH₄) production flux in a microbial electrolytic cell coupled anaerobic digestion (MEC-AD). Metabolic flux analysis (MFA) was used to explore the relationship between the CH₄ metabolic flux produced and the microbes. The results showed that both methane production flux and hydrogen production flux changed significantly upon voltage disturbance, while the voltage disturbance had little effect on acetic acid production flux. The maximum CH₄ production flux under 0.6 V disturbance was 0.522±0.051, which increased by 77% and 32%, respectively, compared with that of the control group under 1.0 V (0.295±0.013) and under 1.4 V (0.395±0.029). In addition, an average of 15.7%±2.9% of H₂ (flux) was used to reduce CO₂ to produce CH₄ and acetic acid, and an average of 27.7%±6.9% of acetic acid (flux) was converted to CH₄. Moreover, the abundance of Lachnospiraceae significantly affected the flux of acetic acid. The flux of CH₄ production is positively correlated with the abundances of Petrimonas, Syntrophomonas, Blvii28, and Acinetobacter, and negatively correlated with the abundances of Tuzzerella and Sphaerochaeta. The species that affected the flux of H₂ and CH₄ were similar, mostly belonging to Bacteroides, Clostridium, Pseudomonas and Firmicutes. Furthermore, the interspecies interaction is also an important factor affecting the MEC-AD methanogenesis flux.
Acetates ; Anaerobiosis ; Bioreactors ; Electrolysis ; Methane

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of vitamin D3 on polarization of monocyte macrophages induced by serum from patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS). METHODS: Twenty AS naïve patients and 20 healthy controls from Wenzhou People's Hospital during January 2016 and December 2017 were enrolled. The macrophages were differentiated from THP1 cells induced by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), and then co-cultured with the serum from healthy subjects (control group) or AS patients. Vitamin D3 was added in the medium mixed with serum from AS patients. Flow cytometry was used to analyze the ratio of CD68 and CD206 positive cells, and RT-PCR was performed to detect the mRNA expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase(iNOS) and arginase-1(Arg-1). RESULTS: THP1 cells could be polarized into mononuclear-macrophages with the induction of PMA. The proportion of CD206 positive cells in AS-serum group was lower than that in the control group (=9.434, <0.05), while the proportion of CD68 positive cells was higher than that in the control group (=43.920, <0.05). The proportion of CD206 positive cells in vitamin D3 group was higher than that in AS-serum group (=8.895, <0.05), while the proportion of CD68 positive cells was lower than that in AS-serum group (=9.089, <0.05). mRNA expression of Arg-1 in AS-serum group was lower than that in the control group (=8.899, <0.05), while mRNA expression of iNOS was higher than that in the control group (=3.656, <0.05). mRNA expression of Arg-1 in vitamin D3 group was higher than that in AS-serum group (=6.219, <0.05), while mRNA expression of iNOS was lower than that in AS-serum group (=5.876, <0.05). CONCLUSIONS Vitamin D3 can regulate the polarization of mononuclear macrophages for immunoregulation in patients with AS.
Adjuvants, Immunologic ; pharmacology ; Cell Differentiation ; drug effects ; Cholecalciferol ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Monocytes ; drug effects ; Spondylitis, Ankylosing ; blood ; physiopathology

Objective To explore the change and clinical significance of the serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA)and carbohydrate antigen 724(CA724)in patients with rectal cancer before and after neoadjuvant ra-diotherapy and chemotherapy.Methods The serum levels of CEA and CA724 of 30 patients with rectal carci-noma were detected by electrochemiluminescence method and were compared with those in 30 healthy people. Results The serum levels of CEA and CA724 in rectal carcinoma patients before neoadjuvant radiotherapy and chemotherapy were significantly higher than those in the healthy people,the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05).The serum levels in complete remission and partial remission patients after eight-week neoadjuvant radiotherapy and chemotherapy were significantly lower than those before treatment,the differ-ence was statistically significant(P<0.05),and the reduction levels were obviously higher than those in the stable group,the difference was statistically significant(P< 0.05).The CEA and CA724 levels in the stable treatment patients were also lower than those of before neoadjuvant radiotherapy and chemotherapy,the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05).The serum levels in the progression group were higher than those of before treatment(P<0.05).The serum levels of CEA and CA724 before neoadjuvant radiotherapy and chemotherapy existed a positive correlation(r=0.862,P=0.000).Conclusion The serum levels of CEA and CA724 in rectal cancer are highly expressed,suggesting that both of them are closely related to the occur-rence and development of rectal carcinoma,the measurement of the serum level changes of CEA and CA724 in patients with rectal cancer before and after treatment contributes to estimate the efficacy of neoadjuvant radio-therapy and chemotherapy and tumor progression.

Objective To investigate the effects of tripterygium glycosides combined with methotrexate in treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) curative effect and peripheral blood of patients with IL-6, effects of IL-10 and TNF- alpha. Methods 80 patients with RA from February 2014 to August 2016 in our hospital were retrospectively analyzed. According to the different treatment methods by for the observation group, the control group (40 cases). To compare and analyze the curative effect before and after short-term treatment and treatment of patients in the 2 groups were the main clinical symptoms and signs of change and ESR, RF, CRP, IL-6, TNF- alpha, IL-10 index. Results The total effective rate of observation group (92.50％) was significantly higher than the control group (77.50％), the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05), 2 groups of patients before treatment of main clinical symptoms and signs, there was no significant difference, after treatment, clinical symptoms and signs of 2 groups of patients were compared with those before treatment was statistically significant to alleviate the differences (P<0.05), and the observation group of main clinical symptoms and signs were lower than the control group and the remission (down), the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05).Before ESR, the treatment of 2 patients with RF, CRP, TNF- IL-6, alpha, IL-10 index level, no statistical significance, the 2 groups after treatment in patients with ESR, RF, CRP, IL-6, TNF- alpha, IL-10 index level than before treatment with significant difference (P<0.05), and the observation group ESR, RF, CRP, TNF- alpha, IL-6 average index of water compared with the control group decreased significantly, IL-10 index increased significantly than the control group. The difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Conclusion Tripterygium glycosides combined with methotrexate in treatment of rheumatoid arthritis And it can effectively inhibit the expression of peripheral serum L-6 and TNF- alpha, promote the expression of IL-10 and alleviate the inflammatory reaction

Objective To investigate the expression of circulating tumor cells (CTC) in peripheral blood of patients with different stages of colorectal cancer (CRC), and to evaluate its significance in early diagnosis of colorectal cancer metastasis. Methods Sixty patients with CRC (42 inⅡ-Ⅲstage and 18 in IV stage ) and 30 patients with benign rectal disease were recruited from January 2014 to December 2015. The CTC in peripheral blood was purified with Immunomagnetic Separation Technologie, and detected by immunofluorescence in situ hybridization (imFISH). The serum levels of CEA were detected by electrochemiluminescence method meanwhile. The correlation between CTC and CEA was analyzed. Results CTC positive rates in CRC patients were significantly higher than those in benign rectal disease controls. CTC positive rates inⅣstage were significantly higher than those inⅡ-Ⅲ stage. The expression of CTC was significantly correlated with CEA (r = 0.6652, P < 0.01). Conclusions The expression of CTC in CRC patients is significantly higher than that in benign rectal disease control group. It is closely related to clinical stages. Detection of peripheral blood CTC has important clinical significance in the early diagnosis of CRC metastasis.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect and its possible mechanism of interleukin-17 (IL-17) on invasion and metastasis of human colon cancer cells.

METHODSIL-17 was added into the culture media of human colon cancer cells SW480 and LOVO. Cells were divided into 4 groups: SW480 control group (SW480 cells), LOVO control group (LOVO cells), SW480 experiment group (50 μg/L IL-17+SW480 cells), and LOVO experiment group (50 μg/L IL-17+LOVO cells). Cell growth was measured by CCK-8 assay. The proliferation rate(%)=[(Aexperiment group-Ablank)/(Acontrol group-Ablank)]×100%). The ability of cell invasion and migration was measured by transwell assay. Real time-PCR was used to detect mRNA expression of VEGF and MMP-9. Western blot was performed to detect protein expression of STAT3, p-STAT3, VEGF and MMP-9. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was applied to measure the protein content of VEGF and MMP-9 in the supernatant.

RESULTSAfter cultivation for 24, 48 and 72 hours, CCK-8 assay revealed that the proliferation rate of SW480 was 1.18%±0.07%, 1.42%±0.09%, and 1.62%±0.08%; the proliferation rate of LOVO was 1.13%±0.02%, 1.32%±0.05% and 1.73%±0.02% in experiment group. Transwell experiments showed that after cultivation with IL-17 for 24 hours, number of invasion cell in experimental groups (SW480: 34.00±0.45, LOVO: 41.60±0.51) was higher as compared to corresponding control groups (SW480: 4.53±0.14; LOVO: 3.67±0.33) with significant differences (SW480: t=-76.026, P=0.001; LOVO: t=-81.580, P=0.005). The number of migration cell in experimental groups (SW480: 36.40±0.51, LOVO: 46.40±0.68) was higher as compared to corresponding control groups (SW480: 7.83±0.69; LOVO: 6.67±0.48) with significant differences (SW480: t=-51.542, P=0.003; LOVO: t=-49.265, P=0.005). Real-time PCR results revealed that after cultivation with IL-17 for 24 hours, VEGF and MMP-9 mRNA relative expression levels in experimental groups (SW480: VEGF:1.53±0.12, MMP-9: 2.44±0.23; LOVO: VEGF: 2.96±0.35, MMP-9: 3.38±0.55) were higher than those in control groups (both 1) with significant differences (VEGF: t=3.799, P=0.043; MMP-9: t=5.254, P=0.039). Western blot illustrated that after cultivation with IL-17 for 24 hours, STAT3, p-STAT3, VEGF and MMP-9 proteins relative expression levels in experimental groups were significantly higher that those in control groups (SW480:STAT3: t=3.233, P=0.023; p-STAT3: t=3.954, P=0.032; VEGF: t=3.201, P=0.025; MMP-9: t=3.154, P=0.029; LOVO: STAT3: t=3.788, P=0.012; p-STAT3: t=2.662, P=0.040; VEGF: t=4.118, P=0.035; MMP-9: t=4.268, P=0.030). ELISA indicated that content of VEGF and MMP-9 in the supernatant of experimental groups (SW480: VEGF 5 491.41±63.22, MMP-9: 21.43±1.35. LOVO: VEGF: 8 631.46±129.59, MMP-9: 178.32±3.20) were higher than those in control groups (SW480: VEGF:4 456.32±87.56, MMP-9:18.57±2.44. LOVO: VEGF: 8 122.38±108.66, MMP-9: 163.22±6.89) with significant differences (SW480: VEGF: t=6.993, P=0.037; MMP-9: t=5.587, P=0.040. LOVO: VEGF: t=7.013, P=0.044; MMP-9: t=6.762, P=0.043).

CONCLUSIONIL-17 may be able to activate STAT3 signal transduction pathway in vitro through up-regulation of VEGF and MMP-9 expression, thereby enhancing the invasion and migration of colon cancer SW480 and LOVO cells.

Cell Cycle ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Movement ; Cell Proliferation ; Colonic Neoplasms ; pathology ; Humans ; Interleukin-17 ; pharmacology ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 ; metabolism ; Neoplasm Invasiveness ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; STAT3 Transcription Factor ; metabolism ; Signal Transduction ; Up-Regulation ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; metabolism