Prognostic validity of the American joint committee on cancer eighth edition staging system for well-differentiated pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors

BackgroundThe American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) made improvements for staging pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (pNETs) in its 8th Edition; however, multicenter studies were not included.MethodsWe collected multicenter datasets (n = 1,086, between 2004 and 2018) to validate the value of AJCC 8 and other coexisting staging systems through univariate and multivariate analysis for well-differentiated (G1/G2) pNETs.ResultsCompared to other coexisting staging systems, AJCC 7 only included 12 (1.1%) patients with stage III tumors. Patients with European Neuroendocrine Tumor Society (ENETS) stage IIB disease had a higher risk of death than patients with stage IIIA (hazard ratio [HR]: 4.376 vs. 4.322). For the modified ENETS staging system, patients with stage IIB disease had a higher risk of death than patients with stage III (HR: 6.078 vs. 5.341). According to AJCC 8, the proportions of patients with stage I, II, III, and IV were 25.7%, 40.3%, 23.6%, and 10.4%, respectively. As the stage advanced, the median survival time decreased (NA, 144.7, 100.8, 72.0 months, respectively), and the risk of death increased (HR: II = 3.145, III = 5.925, and IV = 8.762).ConclusionThese findings suggest that AJCC 8 had a more reasonable proportional distribution and the risk of death was better correlated with disease stage.     

Potentilla anserine L. polysaccharide protects against cadmium-induced neurotoxicity

Cadmium is a toxic metal that can damage the brain and other organs. This study aimed to explore the protective effects of Potentilla anserine L. polysaccharide (PAP) against CdCl₂-induced neurotoxicity in N2a and SH-SY5Y cells and in the cerebral cortex of BALB/c mice. In addition, we aimed to identify the potential mechanisms underlying these protective effects. Relative to CdCl₂ treatment alone, pretreatment with PAP prevented the reduction in cell viability evoked by CdCl₂, decreased rates of apoptosis, promoted calcium homeostasis, decreased ROS accumulation, increased mitochondrial membrane potential, inhibited cytochrome C and AIF release, and prevented the cleavage of caspase-3 and PARP. In addition, PAP significantly decreased the CdCl₂-induced phosphorylation of CaMKII, Akt, and mTOR. In conclusion, PAP represents a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment of Cd-induced neurotoxicity, functioning in part via attenuating the activation of the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway and the Ca²⁺-CaMKII-dependent Akt/mTOR pathway.     

1H nuclear magnetic resonance-based metabolic profiling of cerebrospinal fluid to identify metabolic features and markers for tuberculosis meningitis

BackgroundTuberculosis meningitis (TBM) is the most severe form of tuberculosis, and currently lacks efficient diagnostic approaches. Metabolomics has the potential to differentiate patients with TBM from those with other forms of meningitis and meningitis-negative individuals. However, no systemic metabolomics research has compared the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of these patients.Methods¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) was used for CSF metabolic profiling. Principal component analysis and orthogonal signal correction-partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) were used to screen for important variables. The Human Metabolome Database was used to identify metabolites, and MetaboAnalyst 4.0 was used for pathway analysis and over-representation analysis.ResultsOPLS-DA modeling could distinguish TBM from other forms of meningitis, and several significantly changed metabolites were identified. Additionally, 23, 6, and 21 metabolites were able to differentiate TBM from viral meningitis, bacterial meningitis, and meningitis-negative groups, respectively. Pathway analysis indicated that these metabolites were mainly involved in carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism, and over-representation analysis indicated that some of these pathways were over-represented.ConclusionsThe metabolites identified have the potential to serve as biomarkers for TBM diagnosis, and carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism are perturbed in the CSF of patents with TBM. Metabolomics is a valuable approach for screening TBM biomarkers. With further investigation, the metabolites identified in this study could aid in TBM diagnosis.     

CTLA4-Ⅰg对老年支气管哮喘病人CD4^＋CD45RO^＋T细胞功能的影响

目的 研究老年支气管哮喘病人周围血CD4^＋CD45RO^＋T细胞表达IL4及IL-13的情况及CTLA4-Ⅰg对其影响。方法 用ELISA方法测定老年支气管哮喘病人CD4^＋CD45RO^＋T细胞产生IL-4和IL-13的水平及CTLA4-Ⅰg对其影响。结果 老年支气管哮喘病人CD4^＋CD45RO^＋T细胞分泌IL4、IL-13增多，IL-13增多较IL-4更为明显（P〈0．01），CTLA4-Ⅰg可有效抑制老年哮喘病人CD4^＋CD45RO^＋T细胞分泌IL-4和IL-13（P〈0．01）。结论 CD4^＋CD45RO^＋T细胞产生的IL-4和IL-13在老年哮喘发病中起重要作用，CTLA4-Ⅰg可有效抑制IL-4和IL-13的分泌。     

低能体外冲击波和低剂量间歇人重组甲状旁腺激素1-34刺激对体外培养大鼠成骨细胞增殖分化的影响

目的探讨低能体外冲击波（ESW）和低剂量间歇人重组甲状旁腺素1-34（rhPTH1-34）对体外培养大鼠成骨细胞（ROBs）增殖和成骨分化的影响。方法分别用不同次数的低能ESW刺激、不同浓度及作用方式的rhPTH1-34刺激，以及ESW和低剂量间歇性rhPTH1-34刺激共同作用于ROBs后，用细胞计数、MTY和流式细胞术细胞周期分析检测ROBs的增殖，用酶标仪检测ALP活性，用免疫组化检测I型胶原表达来观察ROBs成骨分化。结果60～150次0．18mJ／mm^2 ESW刺激、间歇性rhPTH1-34（1×10^-11和1×10^-10 mol／L）刺激以及ESW＋间歇性rhPTH1-34（1×10^-11mol／L）刺激均可显著促进体外培养ROBs细胞增殖和成骨分化（与对照组比较，P〈0．05）；其中60～150次ESW刺激＋间歇性rhPTH1-34（1×10^-11 mol／L）刺激各组作用最强。结论适当的ESW应力刺激和低剂量间歇性rhPTH1-34刺激可显著促进体外培养ROBs细胞增殖和成骨分化，两者联合应用作用最强。