High infiltration of mast cells is associated with improved response to adjuvant chemotherapy in gallbladder cancer

Recent studies have reported that tumor‐infiltrating mast cells (TIM) play an important role in tumor regression, but the effect of TIM in gallbladder cancer (GBC) remains unclear. The present study aims to investigate the prognostic value of TIM in GBC patients and its responsiveness to gemcitabine‐based adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT). A total of 298 GBC patients from Zhongshan Hospital were recruited for this study. TIM infiltration was measured by immunohistochemical staining. Accumulation of TIM is significantly associated with prolonged overall survival in GBC patients. The benefit from gemcitabine‐based ACT was superior among patients with high infiltration of TIM with GBC. Multivariate analysis identified TIM infiltration as an independent prognostic factor for overall survival. A heatmap showed that TIM‐activated gene signatures were positively correlated with CD8+ T cells' gene signatures. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) suggested that TIM was related to multiple T cell‐related processes and signaling pathways, including the interferon gamma signaling pathway and the leukocyte migration signaling pathway. It was confirmed that CD8+ T cell infiltration was positively correlated with high TIM infiltration in tissue microarray (TMA), suggesting that TIM infiltration was linked to the immune surveillance in GBC. TIM can be used as an independent prognostic factor and a predictor of therapeutic response of gemcitabine‐based ACT in GBC patients, which may mediate immune surveillance by recruiting and activating CD8+ T cells in GBC.     

Genomic and Transcriptomic Landscape of Triple-Negative Breast Cancers: Subtypes and Treatment Strategies

1. Download high-res image (232KB)
2. Download full-size image

     

The extracellular matrix enriched with membrane metalloendopeptidase and insulin‐degrading enzyme suppresses the deposition of amyloid‐beta peptide in Alzheimer's disease cell models

Amyloid plaque is a typical feature of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and is one of the targets for AD therapy. Membrane metalloendopeptidase (MME) and insulin‐degrading enzyme (IDE) are two types of proteases that could cleave beta‐amyloid (Aβ) peptides generated by neuron cells of AD patients. Extracellular matrix (ECM) plays a crucial role in regulating tissue‐specific functions and is an ideal biomaterial for tissue repair. In this study, we extracted the liquid ECM enriched with collagen‐binding‐domain‐fused IDE or MME from human foreskin fibroblast cells. We found that these ECM biomaterials reduced the aggregation of Aβ peptides, prevented the formation of amyloid plaques, and also suppressed phosphorylation of Tau protein in AD cell models. Overall, our research provides a novel ECM biomaterial that can be potentially used for AD therapy.     

A new strategy for choosing “Q-markers” via network pharmacology,application to the quality control of a Chinese medical preparation

Due to its chemical complexity, proper quality control for a Chinese medical preparation (CMP) has been a great challenge. Choosing the appropriate quality markers (Q-markers) for quality control of CMP is an important work. Best of all, the chosen Q-markers are the main chemical compounds from the herbals as well as the active constituents of this CMP. Only in this way the established quality control system can really achieve the purpose of controlling the quality of CMP and ensuring the safely and effectively use of CMP. To achieve the purpose, network pharmacology combined with the contents of chemical compounds in the CMP has been used in this research. We took an anti-arrhythmic CMP, Shenxian-Shengmai oral liquid (SSOL), as an example. Firstly, UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS method was used to analyze the main components of SSOL. A total of 64 compounds were unambiguously or tentatively identified and 32 of them were further validated by reference compounds. Secondly, the network was constructed based on the identified compounds to predict the effective compounds related to cardiac arrhythmias. Based on the existing database and the operation method of topology, a method of double network analysis (DNAA) was proposed, from which 10 important targets in the pathway of arrhythmia were screened out, and 26 compounds had good antiarrhythmic activity. Based on the prediction results of network pharmacology along with the contents of the compounds in this CMP, ten representative compounds were chosen as the Q-markers for the quality control of SSOL. We find that five of these ten compounds, including danshensu, rosmarinic acid, salvianolic acid A, epimedin A and icariin, have antiarrhythmic activity. Then, the UPLC-DAD method was established as the control method for SSOL.     

Triterpenoids with antioxidant activities from Myricaria squamosa

A new triterpenoid, namely myricarin C (compound 1), together with three known compounds myricarin A (compound 2) and myricarin B (compound 3), 3α-hydroxy-D-friedoolean-14-en-28-oic acid (compound 4), was isolated from the overground part of Myricaria squamosa. Compound 2 and compound 3 existed in the solution by the form of cis-trans isomers. Their structures were elucidated by means of extensive spectroscopic methods, including 1D-NMR, 2D-NMR, and HR-ESI-MS. The antioxidant properties of all compounds were calculated based on the DPPH radical scavenging activities. Results showed that myricarin A and myricarin C had general antioxidant activities with EC₅₀ values of 40.90 μg/ml, 42.22 μg/ml, respectively, compared to the control, rutin (5.17 μg/ml). The EC₅₀ values of myricarin B was 195.81 μg/ml. Compound 4 had no antioxidant activities.     

同期三镜、鼻胆管引流术在左肝合并胆总管结石的应用研究

目的:探讨鼻胆管引流术(endoscopic nasobiliary drainage,ENBD)在同期三镜(腹腔镜、胆管镜、十二指肠镜)下治疗左肝内胆管结石合并胆总管结石的临床应用价值.方法:回顾性分析四川省成都市第二人民医院肝胆胰外科2014年1月至2018年7月收治的左肝内胆管结石合并胆总管结石其中伴或不伴有胆囊结石的患者,共49例.均行腹腔镜下规则性肝叶切除+胆道镜下胆总管探查取石,其中观察组22例,采用十二指肠镜下安置鼻胆管引流;对照组27例,采用T管引流,对比分析鼻胆管引流组与T管引流组的临床疗效.观察指标:围手术期及随访情况.采用电话方式随访.本文采用SPSS 20.0统计学软件进行数据分析.结果:术后排气时间鼻胆管引流组早于T管引流组,分别为(57.4± 13.4)h、(67.9±12.7)h,差异有统计学意义(t=-2.818,t=0.007,均P＜0.05).术后带管时间鼻胆管引流组为4～12 d,明显短于T管引流组的75～95 d,差异有统计学意义(Z=-6.022,Z=0.000,均P＜0.05).结论:针对本院有限的病例研究,左肝内肝管结石合并胆总管结石患者行鼻胆管引流术在未明显提高并发症的前提下,具有加速胃肠功能恢复时间、带管时间短等优势,是一种安全有效的手术方式.     

同期三镜、鼻胆管引流术在左肝合并胆总管结石的应用研究

目的:探讨鼻胆管引流术(endoscopic nasobiliary drainage,ENBD)在同期三镜(腹腔镜、胆管镜、十二指肠镜)下治疗左肝内胆管结石合并胆总管结石的临床应用价值.方法:回顾性分析四川省成都市第二人民医院肝胆胰外科2014年1月至2018年7月收治的左肝内胆管结石合并胆总管结石其中伴或不伴有胆囊结石的患者,共49例.均行腹腔镜下规则性肝叶切除+胆道镜下胆总管探查取石,其中观察组22例,采用十二指肠镜下安置鼻胆管引流;对照组27例,采用T管引流,对比分析鼻胆管引流组与T管引流组的临床疗效.观察指标:围手术期及随访情况.采用电话方式随访.本文采用SPSS 20.0统计学软件进行数据分析.结果:术后排气时间鼻胆管引流组早于T管引流组,分别为(57.4± 13.4)h、(67.9±12.7)h,差异有统计学意义(t=-2.818,t=0.007,均P＜0.05).术后带管时间鼻胆管引流组为4～12 d,明显短于T管引流组的75～95 d,差异有统计学意义(Z=-6.022,Z=0.000,均P＜0.05).结论:针对本院有限的病例研究,左肝内肝管结石合并胆总管结石患者行鼻胆管引流术在未明显提高并发症的前提下,具有加速胃肠功能恢复时间、带管时间短等优势,是一种安全有效的手术方式.