Clinical characteristics of spontaneous isolated visceral artery dissection

Objective

Spontaneous isolated visceral artery dissection (SIVAD) involving the celiac artery or superior mesenteric artery is rare, but it can be fatal. Given its rare incidence, the clinical characteristics of SIVAD are not fully understood. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the clinical characteristics and prognosis of SIVAD.

Clinical value of microRNA-135a and MMP-13 in colon cancer

The aim of the present study was to investigate the expression and prognostic value of microRNA-135a (miR-135a) and matrix metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13) in serum of colon cancer (CC). A total of 117 cases of patients admitted to Sheng Li Oil Field Central Hospital from May 2015 to May 2017 were enrolled in the research group (RG), and 120 cases of subjects undergoing normal health examination were included in the control group (CG). The expression of miR-135 and MMP-13 in peripheral blood of the two groups were compared, and their values were analyzed. It was found that miR-135a was decreased and MMP-13 was increased in the RG (P<0.050), both of which were closely related to the pathological features and prognosis of CC (P<0.050), and was also significantly correlated with CEA (P<0.001). ROC curve analysis showed that both of them had great predictive value for the occurrence, prognosis and death of CC. In conclusion, miR-135a was low expressed in CC, while MMP-13 was increased in CC, suggesting that the combined detection of the two had a good diagnostic effect on the occurrence of CC, and was closely related to the prognosis of CCC patients, which might be an excellent potential indicator for the diagnosis and treatment of CC in the future.     

Tumor-Derived Matrix Metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13) Expression in Benign and Malignant Breast Lesions

Introduction: Breast carcinoma is the most common malignancy and the leading cause of cancer death in women. Matrix metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13) is a hypothetical prognostic marker in invasive breast cancer. This study aimed to determine MMP-13 expression in benign and malignant breast lesions and to evaluate the correlation between MMP-13 expression and tumor characteristics in invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC). Materials and Method: We evaluated cytoplasmic expression of MMP-13 based on staining index using immunohistochemistry (IHC) in epithelial cells, stromal fibroblasts of IDC (n=90) and benign epithelial breast (n=90) lesions. Correlation between IHC and tumor size, lymph node status, distance metastasis, estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and Her-2/neu was assessed. Results: MMP-13 expression was 45% and 38.8% in malignant epithelial cells and peritumoral fibroblasts, respectively. Only low level of MMP-13 expression was seen in benign breast lesions (8.8% in epithelial component and 2.2% in stromal fibroblasts), while high level of MMP-13 expression was noted in malignant tumors, mainly grade II or III. Cytoplasmic MMP-13 expressions in epithelial tumor cells was correlated significantly with peritumoral fibroblasts. MMP-13 expression was directly correlated with distant metastasis and tumor stage in epithelial tumoral cells and was inversely correlated with progesterone expression in both tumoral and stromal cells. Conclusion: This study showed that MMP-13 was a moderator for tumor invasion and metastasis and could be an independent predictor of poor prognosis in breast cancer. The role of MMP-13 in predicting the risk of malignant transformation in benign lesions should be further investigated.     

中国北方汉族人HLA-Ⅰ、Ⅱ类基因与HBV水平感染及预后相关性研究

目的探讨人类白细胞抗原Ⅰ、Ⅱ类基因与乙型肝炎病毒(HBV)感染及其预后的相关性。方法采用PCR-SSP方法分别对102名慢性持续性HBV感染者(实验1组)、76名急性HBV感染者(实验2组)及1383名中华骨髓库山东分库无血缘关系自愿骨髓捐献者(对照组)作HLA-Ⅰ、Ⅱ类基因分型检测,将结果作统计学处理。结果HLA-DR9、DR12在实验组(实验1组+2组)中的分布频率较对照组明显增高(P<0.01);HLA-DR8在实验1组的分布频率明显高于实验2组(P<0.01);HLA-DR13,DR15在实验1组中的频率明显低于实验2组(P<0.01,P<0.05)。结论HLA-DR9可能有助于HBV对宿主的感染;HLA-DR8,DR12可能有助于HBV对宿主的持续感染,对HBV感染的慢性化有促进作用;HLA-DR13,DR15可能有助于宿主对HBV的清除,对HBV感染的慢性化有抑制作用。     

Analyses of data of patients with Thrombotic Microangiopathy in the WAA registry

Thrombotic Microangiopathy (TMA) is a histopathological feature of various diseases including thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura and hemolytic uremic syndrome.The aim of this study was to investigate the outcome and prognostic variables of TMA-patients.

Materials and methods

Data were consecutively retrieved from the WAA-apheresis registry (www.waa-registry.org) during 2003–2009. Included were all 120 patients (1237 procedures) who suffered from various forms of TMA, as registered by the ICD-10 code M31.1. Besides registry data, more extensive information was retrieved from the latest 64 patients. Adverse events of the TMA patients were compared to those of the other patients in the registry.

Results

The mean age was 46 years (range 11–85 years, 57% women). In 72% therapeutic apheresis was due to an acute indication while a long-term indication was present in 28%. Plasma exchange was performed by centrifugation and filtration technique (95% and 4%, respectively), and immunoadsorption in 1% of the patients. Only fresh frozen plasma was used as replacement fluid in 69% of procedures. Adverse events were more frequent than in the general apheresis population (10% versus 5%, RR 1.9, CI 1.6–2.3). No death occurred due to apheresis treatment. Three percent of the procedures were interrupted. Bronchospasm and/or anaphylactic shock were present in two patients and one patient suffered from TRALI. At admission 26% were bedridden and needed to be fed. The risk of dying during the treatment period was significantly higher if the patient also suffered from a compromising disease, such as cancer. There was an inverse correlation between the ADAMTS13 level and the antibody titer (r = −0.47, p = 0.034).

Conclusions

Patients with TMA have an increased risk for moderate and severe AE compared to the general apheresis population. Many patients were severely ill at admission. The prognosis is worse if the patient also has a severe chronic disease. Even slightly increased ADAMTS13-antibody titers seem to have a negative impact on the ADAMTS13 levels.     

Pro-Apoptotic Activity of 4-Isopropyl-2-(1-Phenylethyl) Aniline Isolated from Cordyceps bassiana

Cordyceps species including Cordyceps bassiana are a notable anti-cancer dietary supplement. Previously, we identified several compounds with anti-cancer activity from the butanol fraction (Cb-BF) of Cordyceps bassiana. To expand the structural value of Cb-BF-derived anti-cancer drugs, we employed various chemical moieties to produce a novel Cb-BF-derived chemical derivative, KTH-13-amine-monophenyl [4-isopropyl-2-(1-phenylethyl) aniline (KTH-13-AMP)], which we tested for anti-cancer activity. KTH-13-AMP suppressed the proliferation of MDA-MB-231, HeLa, and C6 glioma cells. KTH-13-AMP also dose-dependently induced morphological changes in C6 glioma cells and time-dependently increased the level of early apoptotic cells stained with annexin V-FITC. Furthermore, the levels of the active full-length forms of caspase-3 and caspase-9 were increased. In contrast, the levels of total forms of caspases-3, caspase-8, caspase-9, and Bcl-2 were decreased in KTH-13-AMP treated-cells. We also confirmed that the phosphorylation of STAT3, Src, and PI3K/p85, which is linked to cell survival, was diminished by treatment with KTH-13-AMP. Therefore, these results strongly suggest that this compound can be used to guide the development of an anti-cancer drug or serve as a lead compound in forming another strong anti-proliferative agent.     

Hyperpolarized [1,3‐13C2]ethyl acetoacetate is a novel diagnostic metabolic marker of liver cancer

An increased prevalence of liver diseases such as hepatitis C and nonalcoholic fatty liver results in an augmented incidence of the most common form of liver cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). HCC is most often found in the cirrhotic liver and it can therefore be challenging to rely on anatomical information alone when diagnosing HCC. Valuable information on specific cellular metabolism can be obtained with high sensitivity thanks to an emerging magnetic resonance (MR) technique that uses ¹³C labeled hyperpolarized molecules. Our interest was to explore potential new high contrast metabolic markers of HCC using hyperpolarized ¹³C‐MR. This work led to the identification of a class of substrates, low molecular weight ethyl‐esters, which showed high specificity for carboxyl esterases and proved in many cases to possess good properties for signal enhancement. In particular, hyperpolarized [1,3‐¹³C₂]ethyl acetoacetate (EAA) was shown to provide a metabolic fingerprint of HCC. Using this substrate a liver cancer implanted in rats was diagnosed as a consequence of an ～4 times higher metabolic substrate‐to‐product ratio than in the surrounding healthy tissue, (p = 0.009). Unregulated cellular uptake as well as cosubstrate independent enzymatic conversion of EAA, made this substrate highly useful as a hyperpolarized ¹³C‐MR marker. This could be appreciated by the signal‐to‐noise (SNR) obtained from EAA, which was comparable to the SNR reported in a literature liver cancer study with state‐of‐the‐art hyperpolarized substrate, [1‐¹³C]pyruvate. Also, the contrast‐to‐noise (CNR) in the EAA based metabolic ratio images was significantly improved compared with the CNR in equivalent images reported using [1‐¹³C]pyruvate.