Process analysis of anthracycline adverse reactions in breast cancer patients with postoperative chemotherapy.

This study aimed to explore the clinical adverse effects of anthracyclines on patients undergoing chemotherapy after breast cancer surgery. A total of 118 patients who received anthracycline chemotherapy after breast cancer surgery were selected as the research object, and the changes of echocardiogram, ECG, myocardial enzymes and blood biochemical indices before, during and after chemotherapy were studied. SPSS V.20 was used to conduct statistical analysis. The differences in heart rate, ST-segment abnormalities, creatine kinase, lactate dehydrogenase, hemoglobin, albumin, triglycerides and high-density lipoprotein were statistically significant. Heart rate and triglycerides increased significantly in the early stage of chemotherapy; ST-segment abnormality increased during the entire chemotherapy period; creatine kinase and lactate dehydrogenase increased significantly in the late stage of chemotherapy; hemoglobin and albumin decreased in the early stage of chemotherapy. The magnitude is large; high-density lipoprotein decreases throughout the chemotherapy period. In anthracycline chemotherapy regimens, bone marrow suppression and dyslipidemia occur in the early stage of chemotherapy, and the risk of cardiotoxicity is higher in the late stage of chemotherapy.

Pancreatic stromal Gremlin 1 expression during pancreatic tumorigenesis.

Chronic pancreatitis (CP) is a major risk factor of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). How CP promotes pancreatic oncogenesis remains unclear. A characteristic feature of PDAC is its prominent desmoplasia in the tumor microenvironment, composed of activated fibroblasts and macrophages. Macrophages can be characterized as M1 or M2, with tumor-inhibiting or -promoting functions, respectively. We reported that Gremlin 1 (GREM1), a key pro-fibrogenic factor, is upregulated in the stroma of CP. The current study aimed to investigate the expression of GREM1 and correlation between GREM1 and macrophages within the pancreas during chronic inflammation and the development of PDAC. By mRNA in situ hybridization, we detected GREM1 mRNA expression within α-smooth muscle actin (SMA)-positive fibroblasts of the pancreatic stroma. These designated FibroblastsGrem1+ marginally increased from CP to pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN) and PDAC. Within PDAC, FibroblastsGrem1+ increased with higher pathological tumor stages and in a majority of PDAC subtypes screened. Additionally, FibroblastsGrem1+ positively correlated with total macrophages (MacCD68+) and M2 macrophages (M2CD163+) in PDAC. To begin exploring potential molecular links between FibroblastsGrem1+ and macrophages in PDAC, we examined the expression of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), an endogenous counteracting molecule of GREM1 and an M1 macrophage promoting factor. By IHC staining of MIF, we found MIF to be expressed by tumor cells, positively correlated with GREM1; by IHC co-staining, we found MIF to be negatively correlated with M2CD163+ expression. Our findings suggest that GREM1 expression by activated fibroblasts may promote PDAC development, and GREM1/MIF may play an important role in macrophage phenotype.

Comparable Responses in Male and Female Mice to Cerulein-Induced Chronic Pancreatic Injury and Recovery.

OBJECTIVE: The cerulein-induced mouse pancreatitis model is a well-established, commonly used representation of human chronic pancreatitis pathology. Although studies report sex-dependent differences in human chronic pancreatitis, there are no studies in this model directly comparing sex response to pancreatic injury and recovery. Therefore, we designed a study to investigate whether sex- dependent differences in chronic pancreatitis injury and recovery exist in the cerulein-induced pancreatitis model. METHODS: Adult male and female C57BL/6 mice were administered cerulein (50 µg/kg, 5 hourly intraperitoneal injections/day, 3 days/week) for 4 weeks to induce chronic pancreatitis; control mice received normal saline injections. Pancreata and blood were harvested at 4 days (as injury group) or 4 weeks (as recovery group) after the last injection. Amylase secretion was measured from the serum. Acinar injury was scored on H&E sections. Fibrosis was assessed by Sirius Red and collagen immunofluorescence staining. RESULTS: Compared to time-matched controls, injury group displayed decreased body and pancreas weight, and increased acinar injury and fibrosis, with no significant differences between males and females. Recovery group demonstrated recovery of body weight, partial recovery of pancreas weight, reversal of acinar injury, and partial reversal of fibrosis, with no significant differences between males and females. Amylase secretion/body weight was similar across all groups. CONCLUSIONS: Male and female mice of the cerulein-induced chronic pancreatitis demonstrate similar responses to chronic pancreatitis injury and recovery. Although this model may not sufficiently emulate sex-dependent responses in human chronic pancreatitis, our study supports that both sexes of mice from this model can be used for the study of chronic pancreatitis.

HIV-1 viral protein R (Vpr) induction of apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in multidrug-resistant colorectal cancer cells.

Colorectal cancer is a significant health problem, and the advanced stages of the disease have a low response rate to chemotherapy and easily acquire chemoresistance. HIV-1 viral protein R (Vpr) has been shown to possess inhibitory effects on various malignant cells in vivo and in vitro. In this study, an Ad-Vpr construct was used to infect the multidrug-resistant human colorectal cancer HCT-8/5-FU(MDR) cell line in vitro for cell viability, apoptosis, gene expression and gene activity using the MTT, flow cytometry, immunoblotting and gel shift assays, respectively. The data showed that Ad-Vpr significantly reduced HCT-8/5-FU(MDR) cell viability in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Ad-Vpr infection promoted HCT-8/5-FU(MDR) cells to undergo apoptosis and to arrest at the G2 phase of the cell cycle. The G2 cell cycle protein Cyclin B1 accumulated in the cells after Ad-Vpr infection. Furthermore, Ad-Vpr induced activation of caspase-3 and -9, but not caspase-8, in HCT-8/5-FU(MDR) cells. Ad-Vpr suppressed expression of the Bcl-xl protein, but upregulated Bax expression and cytochrome c release from the mitochondria in HCT-8/5-FU(MDR) cells. Ad-Vpr infection also resulted in a time-dependent decrease in nuclear translocation of NF-κB/p65 protein and p65 DNA-binding activity in HCT-8/5-FU(MDR) cells. The data from the current study provide mechanistic insights into understanding the molecular basis and utility of Ad-Vpr as a novel anticancer agent for multidrug resistance in human colorectal cancer.