Objective To detect the apoptosis effects of dioscin in HepG2 cells and its possible anti-hepatocellular carcinoma mechanisms.Methods HepG2 human hepatocellular carcinoma cells were exposed to 0.25,0.5,1,2,4,6,or 8 μmol/L dioscin,and cell proliferation was measured via MTT assay.The half-maximal inhibitory concentration(IC50)was calculated with the software.A scratch test was used to analyze cell migration ability.Western blot was employed to evaluate the expression of apoptosis and Wnt/β-catenin-pathway-related proteins.Results Compared with the control group,the dioscin-treated HepG2 cells'proliferation was significantly more inhibited,and the inhibition increased in a time-and dose-dependent manner(P＜0.01).HepG2 cells showed morphological characteristics of apoptosis after they were treated with 1 μmol/L or 2 μmol/L dioscin.The scratch test indicated that the migration distance of HepG2 cells was remarkably reduced when treated with dioscin.In the Western blot experiment,the expression levels of Caspase-3 and cleaved Caspase-3 were visibility up-regulated,while those of Bcl-2 and β-catenin were significantly down-regulated when the cells were treated with dioscin for 24 h(P＜0.05,P＜0.01).When LiCl reagent was added to the HepG cells to activate the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway,the expression levels of Wnt1 and β-catenin were remarkably increased compared with those of the control group(P＜0.01).Compared with the LiCl group,the LiCl+DIO group's expression of Wnt1,β-catenin,and GSK-3β was significantly decreased(P＜0.01).Conclusions DIO can promote the apoptosis of HepG2 cells by inhibiting β-catenin protein expression and thereby down-regulating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.This inhibits apoptosis-related gene Bcl-2 expression,which leads to the induction of cell apoptosis.Therefore,DIO can have an anti-hepatocellular carcinoma effect.

Objective: To explore the prognostic factors of extracellular NK/T cell lymphoma (ENKTL) treated with pegaspargase/L-asparaginase. Methods: The clinical data of 656 ENKTL patients diagnosed at 11 medical centers in the Huaihai Lymphoma Working Group from March 2014 to April 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were randomly divided into two groups: a training set (460 cases) and a validation set (196 cases) at 7∶3, and the prognostic factors of the patients were analyzed. A prognostic scoring system was established, and the predictive performance of different models was compared. Results: Patients' median age was 46 (34, 57) years, with 456 males (69.5% ) and 561 nasal involvement (85.5% ). 203 patients (30.9% ) received a chemotherapy regimen based on L-asparaginase combined with anthracyclines, and the 5-year overall survival rate of patients treated with P-GEMOX regimen (pegaspargase+gemcitabine+oxaliplatin) was better than those treated with SMILE regimen (methotrexate+dexamethasone+cyclophosphamide+L-asparaginase+etoposide) (85.9% vs 63.8% ; P=0.004). The results of multivariate analysis showed that gender, CA stage, the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG PS) score, HGB, and EB virus DNA were independent influencing factors for the prognosis of ENKTL patients (P<0.05). In this study, the predictive performance of the prognostic factors is superior to the international prognostic index, Korean prognostic index, and prognostic index of natural killer lymphoma. Conclusion: Gender, CA stage, ECOG PS score, HGB, and EB virus DNA are prognostic factors for ENKTL patients treated with pegaspargase/L-asparaginase.
Male ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Asparaginase/therapeutic use* ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Lymphoma, Extranodal NK-T-Cell/drug therapy* ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use* ; Etoposide ; Cyclophosphamide ; Methotrexate/therapeutic use* ; DNA/therapeutic use* ; Treatment Outcome

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease with a high disability rate and unknown etiology.Early diagnosis and early treatment are essential to prevent the further development of the disease.In reeent years, metabolomics teeh- niques have been widely used in various fields of life sciences because of its wholism, dynamics, high sensitivity and high throughput.This artiele reviews the progress of metabolomics technology in various aspects of RA investigations sueh as early diagnosis, disease classification as well as drug efficacy prediction in order to provide new ideas for clinical diagnosis and treatment of RA from the metabolic perspective.

Primary signet ring cell carcinoma (SRCC) of the prostate is a rare neoplasm. However, its potential tumorigenic mechanism, clinicopathological features, and prognostic outcome have not been systematically described. To determine the pathogenic mechanism, we detected distributions of programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1), programmed death 1 (PD-1), and cellular components in the tumor microenvironment, including tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (CD4 and CD8), tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs; CD163 and CD68), and tumor-associated fibroblasts (vimentin and alpha-smooth muscle actin [α-SMA]), in tumor tissues from four patients with primary prostatic SRCC compared with corresponding adjacent tissues and tumor tissues from 30 patients with prostate adenocarcinoma (PCa) by immunohistochemical staining. We found higher expression of PD-L1, CD163, and CD68 in primary SRCC specimens than that in both corresponding adjacent nontumor specimens and PCa specimens with different Gleason scores, indicating that TAMs may participate in the malignant biological behavior of primary SRCC of the prostate. For further analysis, we searched electronic journal databases and Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) to identify 200 eligible patients including our four cases. According to Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis, patients <68 years old, with radical prostatectomy (RP), Gleason score of 7-8, and lower clinical stage had longer overall survival (OS). Moreover, Cox multivariate analysis indicated that race (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.422), surgical approach (HR = 1.654), and Gleason score (HR = 2.162) were independent prognostic factors for OS. Therefore, primary SRCC of the prostate represents a distinct and aggressive subtype of prostate cancer associated with a higher distribution of PD-L1 and TAMs, which warrants further clinical investigation.
Aged ; B7-H1 Antigen ; Carcinoma, Signet Ring Cell ; Humans ; Lymphocytes, Tumor-Infiltrating ; Male ; Prognosis ; Prostate ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; Tumor Microenvironment

OBJECTIVE: To explore the regulation effect of myeloid leukemia No.1 Chinese herb medicine prescription combined with chemotherapy on Th17 cells in bone marrow fluid of AML patients, so as to provide guidance for improving AML treatment effect and patients' long-term survival. METHODS: Seventy patients with AML who were hospitalized in Department of Hematology, Wuwei People's Hospital from April 2017 to August 2019 were selected and enrolled in AML group, 25 healthy volunteers were selected and enrolled in control group; then according to therapeutic regimen, AML patients were divided into 2 groups: combined therapy group (myeloid leukemia NO.1 Chinese herb medicine prescription combined with chemotherapy) and non-combined therapy group (chemotherapy alone). Flow cytometry was used to detect the ratio of CD3 RESULTS: The ratio of CD3 CONCLUSION Th17 cells expression in bone marrow of newly diagnoses and relapsed AML patients significantly increase, and decrease significantly after treatment. Myeloid leukemia No.1 Chinese herb prescription combined with chemotherapy can significantly increase the CR rate and reduce the RL rate for AML.
Bone Marrow ; China ; Humans ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/drug therapy* ; Medicine ; Prescriptions ; Th17 Cells ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A

OBJECTIVE: To detect the level of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in bone marrow of patients with non-M3 acute leukemia (AL), and estimate its relationship with prognosis. METHODS: From January 2016 to December 2019, 114 patients with AL in department of Hematology, Wuwei People's Hospital were selected as study group, and 25 healthy volunteers were enrolled as control group. The concentration of VEGF in bone marrow was detected by ELISA. The patients were divided into high and low concentration group according to the level of VEGF. The overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS) were compared among different groups. RESULTS: The level of VEGF in patients with AL was significantly higher than that in the control group. The median OS and EFS in the low concentration group was 34.5 and 32 months, respectively, while, in the high concentration group was 30 and 26 months, respectively. The differences between the two groups were statistically significant (P=0.010). There were significant differences in OS rate (P=0.035) and EFS rate (P=0.026) between low and high concentration group. Multivariate analysis showed that high VEGF concentration was an independent risk factor affecting OS (HR=2.619, 95%CI 1.070-6.406, P=0.035) and EFS (HR=2.221, 95%CI 1.074-4.552, P=0.031) in AL patients. CONCLUSION VEGF highly expresses in the bone marrow of patients with AL at initial diagnosis and relapse, and shows adverse effects on the prognosis.
Bone Marrow ; Disease-Free Survival ; Humans ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute ; Prognosis ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A

OBJECTIVE: To establish the aGVHD mouse model，and investigate the regulatory effect and its mechanism of low-dose GSI combined with BMSC on aGVHD mice. METHODS: C57BL/6 (H-2b) and BALB/c (H-2d) were selected as donor and recipient of allogeneic transplantation to establish the aGVHD mouse model. BALB/c mice were randomly divided into 6 groups, which were the bone marrow cell infusion after irradiation (BM) group; the bone marrow cells + spleen cells after irradiation (BM+SC) group; the bone marrow cells + spleen cells + DMSO (BM+SC+DMSO) (transplant control) group; bone marrow cells + splenocytes +GSI after irradiation (BM+SC+GSI) group; bone marrow cells + spleen cells + bone marrow mesenchymal stromal infusion after irradiation cell (BM+SC+BMSC) group; bone marrow cells + spleen cells + bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells +GSI infused after irradiation (BM+SC+BMSC+GSI) group. The mice in the two groups containing GSI were intraperitoneally injected with GSI at 5 μmol/kg on day 1, 2, and 3 after transplantation with DMSO as a control. The general conditions, survival time and hematopoietic recovery of mice were observed, cytokines were detected by ELISA, and histopathological changes were detected by immunohistochemistry. The effects of low-dose GSI combined with BMSC on hematopoietic reconstruction and aGVHD development after allo-BMT were investigated. RESULTS: The survival rate of the mice in BM+SC+BMSC+GSI combination group was 80% during the observation period, which was significantly higher than that in the other groups; the incidence of aGVHD was reduced in the BMSC GSI or their combination groups after 21 days of transplantation. GSI could partly promote the recovery of leukocytes, and show no significant delayed effect on the recovery platelets. Moreover, the level of Th1 cytokines (IFN-γ) in BM+SC+BMSC+GSI combined group was lower than that in BM+SC+GSI group (P<0.01), the level of Th2 cytokines (IL-4) in the combination group was higher than that in BM+SC+GSI group (P<0.01), also the level of IL-17 was significantly lower than that in the corresponding control group (P<0.001). CONCLUSION Low dose GSI combined with BMSC can promote hematopoietic reconstruction and regulate cytokines secretion including IFN-γ, IL-4 and IL-17. GSI combined with BMSC achieve the goal of synergistically inhibiting the occurrence and progression of aGVHD.
Amyloid Precursor Protein Secretases ; Animals ; Bone Marrow Transplantation ; Graft vs Host Disease ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Mice, Inbred C57BL

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether β-globin gene 3'UTR+101G>C (HBB:c.*233G>C) variant has genetic effect and provide basis for gene diagnosis and genetic counseling. METHOD: Whole blood cell analysis and capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) were used to analyze the hematological indexes. The most frequent 23 mutations in southern Chinese individuals were routinely measured by PCR-flow fluorenscence immunmicrobeads assay. Sanger sequencing was used to detect the other variants of β-globin gene (HBB). RESULTS: In 463 cases, a total of 7 cases with HBB:c.*233G>C variant were detected, among them 4 cases carried other pathogenic variants of HBB gene (2 cases were in trans, 2 cases were in cis), who had typical hematological characteristics of mild β-thalassemia, and 3 cases also carried abnormal hemoglobin variation, but did not have hematological characteristics of β-thalassemia. CONCLUSION The study shows that HBB:c.*233G > C variant has no obvious genetic effect and should be a benign polymorphism.
3' Untranslated Regions ; Hemoglobins, Abnormal/genetics* ; Humans ; Mutation ; beta-Globins/genetics* ; beta-Thalassemia/genetics*

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths and has the third highest incidence in the world. Almost half of the patients with CRC have metastases at the time of diagnosis. However, the treatment for patients with metastatic CRC that progresses after approved conventional chemotherapy is still controversial. Chinese medicine (CM) has unique characteristics and advantages in treating metastatic CRC. OBJECTIVE: To assess the effectiveness and safety of CM in patients with metastatic CRC after failure of conventional chemotherapy. METHODS: The study is a multicenter prospective cohort study. A total of 384 patients with documented metastatic CRC after failure of conventional chemotherapy will be included from 9 hospitals among Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, and Guizhou, and assigned to three groups according to paitents' wishes: (1) integrated Chinese and Western medicine (ICM) group receiving CM herbal treatment combined with Western medicine (WM) anti-tumor therapy, (2) Chinese medicine (CM) group receiving only CM herbal treatment, and (3) WM group receiving only WM anti-tumor therapy. The primary endpoint is the overall survival (OS). Secondary endpoints include the progression free survival (PFS), quality of life (QOL) assessed by the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Colorectal (FACT-C) questionnaire, tumor control, and CM symptom score. DISCUSSION This prospective study will assess the effectiveness and safety of CM in treating metastatic CRC after conventional chemotherapy failure. Patients in the ICM group will be compared with those in the WM group and CM group. If certified to be effective, national provision of CM treatment in metastatic CRC will probably be advised. (Registration No. NCT02923622 on ClinicalTrials.gov).

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of arsenic disulfide (AS METHODS: The human DLBCL cell OCI-LY3 was treated with different concentrations of AS RESULTS: The DLBCL cell viability was decreased significantly at 24, 48 or 72 h as cultured with itraconazole. Along with the increasing of itraconazole concentration, the DLBCL cell viability was significantly reduced as compared with that in control group, and the results showed statistically significant(r=-0.690，r=-0.639, r=-0.833, r=-0.808, r=-0.578). The inhibitory and apoptosis rates of the cells were significantly increased as compared with those of the single drug-treated group after treated by the combination of itraconazole and AS CONCLUSION Itraconazole can inhibit proliferation of DLBCL cells in a concentration-and time-dependent manner. In addition, the combination of AS
Apoptosis ; Arsenicals ; Hedgehog Proteins ; Humans ; Itraconazole/pharmacology* ; Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse/drug therapy* ; Sulfides