Objective:To analyze the effect of montelukast combined with budesonide in the treatment of children with intermittent asthma, and the impact on airway remodeling and T helper type 1 (Th1)/T helper type 2 (Th1/Th2) related cytokines.Methods:A prospective study was conducted among 120 children with intermittent asthma admitted to Huanghua Municipal People′s Hospital from December 2021 to February 2023. The children were randomly divided into the control group (60 children treated with budesonide atomizationinhalation) and the observation group (60 children treated with montelukast on the basis of the treatment of control group). Clinical efficacy, airway remodeling indicators [total area of airway (Ao), outer diameter of airway (D) and wall area to total airway cross-sectional area (WA%)], pulmonary function [peak expiratory flow (PEF), forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV 1)/forced vital capacity (FVC) and the maximum expiratory flow at 25% of vital capacity (MEF25%)], Th1/Th2 related cytokines, inflammatory factors [tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-4 (IL-4), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ)], recurrence, and the incidence of adverse reactions were compared between the two groups. Results:The total effective rate in the observation group was higher than that in the control group: 90.00% (54/60) vs. 75.00% (45/60) ( P<0.05). After treatment, Ao, D and WA% in the observation group were lower than those in the control group: (17.58 ± 1.89) mm 2 vs. (19.22 ± 1.94) mm 2, (4.25 ± 0.48) mm vs. (4.48 ± 0.49) mm, (63.75 ± 6.49)% vs. (69.22 ± 7.14)% ( P<0.05). PEF, FEV 1/FVC and MEF25% in the observation group were higher than those in the control group: (3.13 ± 0.34) L/s vs. (2.86 ± 0.35) L/s, (87.45 ± 8.86) % vs. (83.59 ± 8.42) %, (87.63 ± 8.86)% vs. (82.15 ± 8.43)% ( P<0.05). The levels of Th1 and Th1/Th2 in the observation group were higher than those in the control group: (14.13 ± 1.46) % vs. (10.27 ± 1.25) %, 3.46 ± 0.39 vs. 1.88 ± 0.25, and the level of Th2 was lower than that in the control group: (3.96 ± 0.45)% vs. (5.48 ± 0.56)% ( P<0.05). After treatment, the levels of TNF-α and IFN-γ in the observation group were higher than those in the control group: (76.15 ± 7.78) ng/L vs. (66.38 ± 6.47) ng/L, (7.15 ± 0.74) ng/L vs. (6.14 ± 0.66) ng/L. The levels of IL-4 and IL-6 were lower than those in the control group: (77.85 ± 7.96) ng/L vs. (86.42 ± 8.74) ng/L, (37.25 ± 3.89) mg/L vs. (44.23 ± 4.57) mg/L ( P<0.05). The recurrence rate in the observation group was lower than that in the control group: 3.33% (2/60) vs. 15.00% (9/60) ( P<0.05). The incidence rates of adverse reactions in the two groups were without statistically significant difference between the groups ( P>0.05). Conclusions:Montelukast combined with budesonide can reduce airway remodeling in children with intermittent asthma, improve their pulmonary function, Th1/Th2 related cytokines and inflammatory response indicators, and reduce recurrence rate, with good safety.

The incidence of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) continues to rise, and there are no effective drugs to treat it. The immune microenvironment plays an important role in the development of ICC and is currently a research hotspot. Icaritin (ICA) is an innovative traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. It is considered to have potential immunoregulatory and anti-tumor effects, which is potentially consistent with the understanding of "Fuzheng" in the treatment of tumor in traditional Chinese medicine. However, whether ICA can be used to treat ICC has not been reported. Therefore, in this study, sgp19/kRas, an in situ ICC mouse model with intact immune system, was selected to evaluate the efficacy of ICA in the treatment of ICC in vivo for the first time, and the effects of ICA on the tumor immune microenvironment of ICC mice were analyzed by flow cytometry. This experiment was approved by the Experimental Animal Ethics Committee of Capital Medical University (approval number: AEEI-2023-138). In this study, sgp19/kRas ICC mouse model was treated with oral gavage of 100 mg·kg^-1 ICA. We found that ICA significantly inhibited tumor growth and tumor cell proliferation in the sgp19/kRas ICC mouse model after 3 weeks of treatment. Flow cytometry analysis indicated that ICA treatment markedly reduced the proportion of M2 macrophages and increased the number of CD3⁺CD4⁺ T cells. In vitro experiments demonstrated that ICA promoted macrophage polarization towards the M1 phenotype while inhibiting polarization towards the M2 phenotype. Furthermore, transcriptomic analysis suggested that ICA enhanced Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) expression, influencing macrophage nitric oxide metabolism synthesis pathways and receptor-related activities, thereby regulating macrophage polarization. In summary, this study demonstrates that ICA treatment significantly delays tumor progression in sgp19/kRas ICC mouse models. Mechanistically, ICA may achieve its anti-ICC effects by upregulating TLR9 receptor expression levels, promoting macrophage polarization towards the M1 phenotype, and altering the tumor immune microenvironment.

Objective To investigate the expression level of basic leucine zipper and W2 domain-containing protein 1(BZW1)in gastric cancer,its impact on patient prognosis and the underlying mechanisms.Methods TIMER,UALCAN and Kaplan-Meier Plotter databases were used for analyzing BZW1 expression level gastric cancer tissues and its correlation with tumor grade and stage and the patients'prognosis.We further analyzed BZW1 expressions,disease progression,and postoperative 5-year survival in 102 patients undergoing radical surgery for gastric cancer at our hospital between January,2014 and December,2016.Gastric cancer MGC803 cells were examined for changes in migration,invasion,and epithelial-mesenchymal transition(EMT)following lentivirus-mediated BZW1 overexpression or knockdown.Results The protein and mRNA expressions of BZW1 in gastric cancer tissues were 3.30 and 6.54 times of those in adjacent tissues,respectively(P<0.01).BZW1 expression in gastric cancer tissues were positively correlated with peripheral blood CEA and CA199 levels(P<0.01).A high BZW1 expression was an independent risk factor for 5-year survival of gastric cancer patients after radical surgery(P<0.05,HR=2.070,95%CI:1.021-4.196).At the cut-off value of 3.61,BZW1 expression had a sensitivity of 75.56%and a specificity of 71.93%for predicting postoperative 5-year mortality(P<0.01).In MGC803 cells,BZW1 overexpression obviously promoted cell migration and invasion(P<0.05),enhanced cellular expressions of N-cadherin and vimentin(P<0.05)and inhibited the expression of E-cadherin(P<0.05).Enrichment analysis suggested the involvement of BZW1 in the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.Western blotting confirmed that BZW1 overexpression promoted while BZW1 knockdown inhibited the expressions of Wnt3a,β-catenin and C-myc in MGC803 cells(P<0.05).Conclusion BZW1 is highly expressed in gastric cancer tissues to affect the patient prognosis possibly by activation the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway to promote EMT of gastric cancer cells.

Objective To explore the regulatory role of Abelson interactor 2(ABI2)in progression and prognosis of gastric cancer.Methods TIMER2.0,GEPIA,Kaplan-Meier Plotter and DAVID databases were used to analyze ABI2 expression in pan-cancer and its association with the prognosis of gastric cancer.Gastric cancer and adjacent tissues from 120 patients undergoing radical gastrectomy in our hospital between January,2016 and October,2018 were examined for ABI2 expression and its correlation with disease progression and prognosis.MGC-803 cell models of ABI2 knockdown and overexpression were established for observing the changes in cell proliferation,migration,and invasion,and the impact of ABI2 expression modulation on xenograft growth was evaluated in nude mice.Results Database analysis and examination of the clinical samples showed that ABI2 was highly expressed in gastric cancer tissues.Survival analysis suggested that gastric cancer patients with a high expression of ABI2 had a reduced postoperative 5-year survival rate(P<0.0001),and further Cox univariate and multivariate survival analyses indicated that a high ABI2 expression was an independent risk factor affecting the patients survival outcomes(P=0.022,HR=1.887,95%CI:1.096-3.249).Enrichment analysis suggested the involvement of ABI2 in Wnt signaling.In MGC-803 cells,ABI2 overexpression promoted cell proliferation and xenograft growth in nude mice,increased the expressions of vimentin and N-cadherin,and lowered E-cadherin expression,while ABI2 knockdown produced the opposite effects.Mechanistic analysis revealed that ABI2 overexpression promoted the expressions of Wnt2 and β-catenin in both MGC-803 cells and the xenografts,and their expressions were significantly lowered by ABI2 knockdown.Conclusion ABI2 is highly expressed in gastric cancer,which affects long-term prognosis of the patients,possible due to its regulatory effect on Wnt signaling to promote proliferation,migration and invasion of gastric cancer cells.

Objective To investigate the expression level of basic leucine zipper and W2 domain-containing protein 1(BZW1)in gastric cancer,its impact on patient prognosis and the underlying mechanisms.Methods TIMER,UALCAN and Kaplan-Meier Plotter databases were used for analyzing BZW1 expression level gastric cancer tissues and its correlation with tumor grade and stage and the patients'prognosis.We further analyzed BZW1 expressions,disease progression,and postoperative 5-year survival in 102 patients undergoing radical surgery for gastric cancer at our hospital between January,2014 and December,2016.Gastric cancer MGC803 cells were examined for changes in migration,invasion,and epithelial-mesenchymal transition(EMT)following lentivirus-mediated BZW1 overexpression or knockdown.Results The protein and mRNA expressions of BZW1 in gastric cancer tissues were 3.30 and 6.54 times of those in adjacent tissues,respectively(P<0.01).BZW1 expression in gastric cancer tissues were positively correlated with peripheral blood CEA and CA199 levels(P<0.01).A high BZW1 expression was an independent risk factor for 5-year survival of gastric cancer patients after radical surgery(P<0.05,HR=2.070,95%CI:1.021-4.196).At the cut-off value of 3.61,BZW1 expression had a sensitivity of 75.56%and a specificity of 71.93%for predicting postoperative 5-year mortality(P<0.01).In MGC803 cells,BZW1 overexpression obviously promoted cell migration and invasion(P<0.05),enhanced cellular expressions of N-cadherin and vimentin(P<0.05)and inhibited the expression of E-cadherin(P<0.05).Enrichment analysis suggested the involvement of BZW1 in the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.Western blotting confirmed that BZW1 overexpression promoted while BZW1 knockdown inhibited the expressions of Wnt3a,β-catenin and C-myc in MGC803 cells(P<0.05).Conclusion BZW1 is highly expressed in gastric cancer tissues to affect the patient prognosis possibly by activation the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway to promote EMT of gastric cancer cells.

Objective To explore the regulatory role of Abelson interactor 2(ABI2)in progression and prognosis of gastric cancer.Methods TIMER2.0,GEPIA,Kaplan-Meier Plotter and DAVID databases were used to analyze ABI2 expression in pan-cancer and its association with the prognosis of gastric cancer.Gastric cancer and adjacent tissues from 120 patients undergoing radical gastrectomy in our hospital between January,2016 and October,2018 were examined for ABI2 expression and its correlation with disease progression and prognosis.MGC-803 cell models of ABI2 knockdown and overexpression were established for observing the changes in cell proliferation,migration,and invasion,and the impact of ABI2 expression modulation on xenograft growth was evaluated in nude mice.Results Database analysis and examination of the clinical samples showed that ABI2 was highly expressed in gastric cancer tissues.Survival analysis suggested that gastric cancer patients with a high expression of ABI2 had a reduced postoperative 5-year survival rate(P<0.0001),and further Cox univariate and multivariate survival analyses indicated that a high ABI2 expression was an independent risk factor affecting the patients survival outcomes(P=0.022,HR=1.887,95%CI:1.096-3.249).Enrichment analysis suggested the involvement of ABI2 in Wnt signaling.In MGC-803 cells,ABI2 overexpression promoted cell proliferation and xenograft growth in nude mice,increased the expressions of vimentin and N-cadherin,and lowered E-cadherin expression,while ABI2 knockdown produced the opposite effects.Mechanistic analysis revealed that ABI2 overexpression promoted the expressions of Wnt2 and β-catenin in both MGC-803 cells and the xenografts,and their expressions were significantly lowered by ABI2 knockdown.Conclusion ABI2 is highly expressed in gastric cancer,which affects long-term prognosis of the patients,possible due to its regulatory effect on Wnt signaling to promote proliferation,migration and invasion of gastric cancer cells.

Humans ; Angina, Stable ; COVID-19 ; Risk Factors ; Patients

Objective To investigate the expression level of serine/threonine phosphoprotein phosphatase 4C(PPP4C)in gastric cancer,and analyze its relationship with prognosis and the underlying regulatory mechanism.Methods The clinical data of 104 gastric cancer patients admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College between January 2012 and August 2016 were collected.Immunohistochemical staining was employed to determine the expression levels of PPP4C and Ki-67 in the gastric cancer tissue.The gastric cancer cell lines BGC823 and HGC27 were cultured and transfected with the vector for PPP4C knockdown,the vector for PPP4C overexpression,and the lentiviral vector(control),respectively.The effects of PPP4C on the cell cycle and proliferation were analyzed and the possible regulatory mechanisms were explored.Results PPP4C was highly expressed in gastric cancer(P<0.001),and its expression promoted malignant progression of the tumor(all P<0.01).Univariate and Cox multivariate analysis clarified that high expression of PPP4C was an independent risk factor affecting the 5-year survival rate of gastric cancer patients(P=0.003).Gene ontology and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes enrichment analysis suggested that PPP4C may be involved in the cell cycle.The correlation analysis showed that the expression of PPP4C was positively correlated with that of Ki-67 in gastric cancer(P<0.001).The up-regulation of PPP4C expression increased the proportion of tumor cells in the S phase,alleviated the G2/M phase arrest,and promoted the proliferation of gastric cancer cells and the expression of cyclin D1 and cyclin-dependent kinase 6(CDK6)(all P<0.05).The down-regulation of PPP4C decreased the proportion of gastric cancer cells in the S phase,promoted G2/M phase arrest,and inhibited cell proliferation and the expression of cyclin D1,CDK6,and p53(all P<0.05).p53 inhibitors promoted the proliferation of BGC823 and HGC27 cells in the PPP4C knockdown group(P<0.001,P<0.001),while p53 activators inhibited the proliferation of BGC823 and HGC27 cells in the PPP4C overexpression group(P<0.001,P=0.002).Conclusions PPP4C is highly expressed in gastric cancer and affects the prognosis of the patients.It may increase the proportion of gastric cancer cells in the S phase and alleviate the G2/M phase arrest by inhibiting p53 signaling,thereby promoting cell proliferation.
Humans ; Stomach Neoplasms/genetics* ; Cyclin D1/metabolism* ; Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 ; Phosphoproteins/metabolism* ; Ki-67 Antigen ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Prognosis ; Cell Proliferation ; Phosphoprotein Phosphatases/metabolism* ; Threonine ; Serine

Objective: To establish a predictive model for survival benefit of patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) who received adjuvant chemotherapy after radical resection. Methods: The clinical and pathological data of 249 patients with ICC who underwent radical resection and adjuvant chemotherapy at 8 hospitals in China from January 2010 to December 2018 were retrospectively collected. There were 121 males and 128 females,with 88 cases>60 years old and 161 cases≤60 years old. Feature selection was performed by univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis. Overall survival time and survival status were used as outcome indicators,then target clinical features were selected. Patients were stratified into high-risk group and low-risk group,survival differences between the two groups were analyzed. Using the selected clinical features, the traditional CoxPH model and deep learning DeepSurv survival prediction model were constructed, and the performance of the models were evaluated according to concordance index(C-index). Results: Portal vein invasion, carcinoembryonic antigen>5 μg/L,abnormal lymphocyte count, low grade tumor pathological differentiation and positive lymph nodes>0 were independent adverse prognostic factors for overall survival in 249 patients with adjuvant chemotherapy after radical resection (all P<0.05). The survival benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy in the high-risk group was significantly lower than that in the low-risk group (P<0.05). Using the above five features, the traditional CoxPH model and the deep learning DeepSurv survival prediction model were constructed. The C-index values of the training set were 0.687 and 0.770, and the C-index values of the test set were 0.606 and 0.763,respectively. Conclusion: Compared with the traditional Cox model, the DeepSurv model can more accurately predict the survival probability of patients with ICC undergoing adjuvant chemotherapy at a certain time point, and more accurately judge the survival benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy.