Roles of VE-Cadherin in Hypoxia Induced Injury of Pulmonary Microvascular Endothelial Barrier.

BACKGROUND: Hypoxia induced injury of pulmonary microvascular endothelial barrier is closely related to the pathogenesis of acute lung injury after lung transplantation. VE-cadherin is an important structural molecule for pulmonary microvascular endothelial barrier. In this study, we aim to investigate the roles of VE-cadherin in hypoxia induced injury of pulmonary microvascular endothelial barrier. METHODS: Rat model of hypoxia and cultured pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (PMVECs) were utilized. Determination of PMVECs apoptosis, skeleton combination was conducted to verify the effects of hypoxia on injury of pulmonary microvascular endothelial barrier. In addition, VE-cadherin expression was modulated by administration of siRNA in order to investigate the roles of VE-cadherin in hypoxia induced PMVECs apoptosis and skeleton recombination. RESULTS: Our data indicated that expression of VE-cadherin was down-regulated in hypoxia-exposed PMVECs. Whereas, in the cells treated using siRNA, down-regulation of VE-cadherin did not trigger PMVECs apoptosis, but it increased the sensitivity of PMVECs to the hypoxia induced apoptosis. In cases of hypoxia, the expression of VE-cadherin was significantly down-regulated, together with endothelial skeleton recombination and increase of permeability, which then triggered endothelial barrier dysfunction. CONCLUSIONS: These data verify that VE-cadherin expression played an important role in hypoxia induced PMVECs apoptosis and cellular skeletal recombination.

Comparison of efficacy and toxicity between nedaplatin and cisplatin in treating malignant pleural effusion.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of nedaplatin versus cisplatin in treating malignant pleural effusion (MPE) caused by cancers. METHODS: The clinical data of 219 MPE patients treated from January 2013 to December 2016 were retrospectively reviewed. Intrapleural infusion with nedaplatin 80 mg/m2 (n=110) or with cisplatin 40 mg/m2 (n=109) were used as the treatment. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the overall response rate between the nedaplatin group (62.73%) and the cisplatin group (54.13%) (P=0.154). The nedaplatin group had significantly lower rates of gastrointestinal side effects and significantly less incidence of increased serum creatinine levels in comparison with the cisplatin group. The overall rate of toxicity in the nedaplatin group (40.00%) was significantly lower than in the cisplatin group (78.90%) (P⩽0.001). CONCLUSION: The efficacy of pleural perfusion with nedaplatin is noninferior to cisplatin in treating malignancy-induced MPE. Nedaplatin is associated with less toxicity in comparison with cisplatin.

A meta-analysis of surgical decompression in the treatment of diabetic peripheral neuropathy.

BACKGROUND: Over the last decade, surgical decompression procedures have been commonly used in the treatment of diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN). However, the effectiveness of them remains to be proved. METHODS: A comprehensive literature search of databases including PubMed-Medline, Ovid-Embase, and Cochrane Library was performed to collect the related literatures. The Medical Subject Headings used were "diabetic neuropathy," "surgical decompression," and "outcomes." The methodological index for nonrandomized studies was adopted for assessing the studies included in this review. Analyses were performed with Review Manager (Version 5.3, The Nordic Cochrane Centre, the Cochrane Collaboration, Copenhagen, 2014). RESULTS: A total of 12 literatures (including 8 prospective and 4 retrospective) encompassing 1825 patients with DPN were included in the final analysis. Only 1 literature was identified as a randomized-controlled trial. The remaining 11 literatures were observational studies; 7 of them were classified as upper-extremity nerve decompression group and 4 of them were classified as lower-extremity nerve decompression group. Meta-analysis shows that Boston questionnaire symptom severity and functional status of upper extremities, and distal motor latency and sensory conduction velocity of median nerve of DPN patients are significantly improved after carpal tunnel release. Besides, visual analog scale and 2-point discrimination are considered clinically and statistically significant in lower extremities after operation. CONCLUSIONS: The findings from our review have shown the efficacy of surgical decompression procedures in relieving the neurologic symptoms and restoring the sensory deficits in DPN patients. As there are few high-quality randomized-controlled trials or well-designed prospective studies, more data are needed to elucidate the role of surgical procedures for DPN treatment in the future.