Ursolic acid promotes the apoptosis of cervical cancer cells by regulating endoplasmic reticulum stress.

AIM: Ursolic acid is a triterpenoid common in plants and exhibits anti-carcinogenic activity. This study aimed to reveal the role of endoplasmic reticulum stress in cervical cancer cell apoptosis promoted by ursolic acid. METHODS: HeLa cells were treated with ursolic acid or/and 4-phenylbutyric acid. The viability and apoptosis of HeLa cells were evaluated by MTT assay and flow cytometry, respectively. RESULTS: Ursolic acid decreased HeLa cell viability in a time- and dose- dependent manner, and induced HeLa cell apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, ursolic acid increased the expression of C/EBP homologous protein and glucose-regulated protein 78 at protein levels, while 4-phenylbutyric acid antagonized the apoptosis of HeLa cells induced by ursolic acid. CONCLUSION: Ursolic acid inhibits the viability and promotes the apoptosis of HeLa cells. Endoplasmic reticulum stress may mediate the apoptosis of cervical cancer cells stimulated by ursolic acid.

Special AT-rich sequence-binding protein 1: a novel biomarker predicting cervical squamous cell carcinoma prognosis and lymph node metastasis.

OBJECTIVE: Special AT-rich sequence-binding protein 1 is aberrantly expressed in various malignant tumors. However, the expression and function of special AT-rich sequence-binding protein 1 in cervical squamous cell carcinoma have not been reported. The objective of this study was to investigate the clinical significance of special AT-rich sequence-binding protein 1 in cervical squamous cell carcinoma. METHODS: In this study, we investigated the expression of special AT-rich sequence-binding protein 1 through immunohistochemistry in 25 normal cervix specimens and 167 cervical squamous cell carcinomas and analyzed its association with various clinicopathologic parameters, including patient outcome. RESULTS: Special AT-rich sequence-binding protein 1 protein was detected in 58 (34.7%) out of 167 patients and was highly related to International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage, histologic grade, lymph node metastasis, vascular-lymphatic invasion and recurrence of cervical squamous cell carcinoma. Patients with positive special AT-rich sequence-binding protein 1 expression had significantly lower overall survival and disease-free survival compared with patients with negative expression of special AT-rich sequence-binding protein 1 (P = 0.001 and P < 0.001, respectively). A multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that special AT-rich sequence-binding protein 1 was an independent prognostic marker for both disease-free survival and overall survival of cervical squamous cell carcinoma patients (P = 0.038 and P = 0.010, respectively). A multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that special AT-rich sequence-binding protein 1 expression was strongly associated with lymph node metastasis (odds ratio = 2.497; P = 0.032). Sensitivity and specificity of special AT-rich sequence-binding protein 1 for lymph node metastasis were 61.0 and 73.8%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: These results showed that special AT-rich sequence-binding protein 1 expression was associated with tumor progression, metastasis and poor prognosis in cervical squamous cell carcinoma. It may serve as a new prognostic biomarker or a target for improving the treatment efficiency of patients with cervical squamous cell carcinoma.

The Role of 18F-FDG PET/CT Integrated Imaging in Distinguishing Malignant from Benign Pleural Effusion.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of our study was to evaluate the role of 18F-FDG PET/CT integrated imaging in differentiating malignant from benign pleural effusion. METHODS: A total of 176 patients with pleural effusion who underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT examination to differentiate malignancy from benignancy were retrospectively researched. The images of CT imaging, 18F-FDG PET imaging and 18F-FDG PET/CT integrated imaging were visually analyzed. The suspected malignant effusion was characterized by the presence of nodular or irregular pleural thickening on CT imaging. Whereas on PET imaging, pleural 18F-FDG uptake higher than mediastinal activity was interpreted as malignant effusion. Images of 18F-FDG PET/CT integrated imaging were interpreted by combining the morphologic feature of pleura on CT imaging with the degree and form of pleural 18F-FDG uptake on PET imaging. RESULTS: One hundred and eight patients had malignant effusion, including 86 with pleural metastasis and 22 with pleural mesothelioma, whereas 68 patients had benign effusion. The sensitivities of CT imaging, 18F-FDG PET imaging and 18F-FDG PET/CT integrated imaging in detecting malignant effusion were 75.0%, 91.7% and 93.5%, respectively, which were 69.8%, 91.9% and 93.0% in distinguishing metastatic effusion. The sensitivity of 18F-FDG PET/CT integrated imaging in detecting malignant effusion was higher than that of CT imaging (p = 0.000). For metastatic effusion, 18F-FDG PET imaging had higher sensitivity (p = 0.000) and better diagnostic consistency with 18F-FDG PET/CT integrated imaging compared with CT imaging (Kappa = 0.917 and Kappa = 0.295, respectively). The specificities of CT imaging, 18F-FDG PET imaging and 18F-FDG PET/CT integrated imaging were 94.1%, 63.2% and 92.6% in detecting benign effusion. The specificities of CT imaging and 18F-FDG PET/CT integrated imaging were higher than that of 18F-FDG PET imaging (p = 0.000 and p = 0.000, respectively), and CT imaging had better diagnostic consistency with 18F-FDG PET/CT integrated imaging compared with 18F-FDG PET imaging (Kappa = 0.881 and Kappa = 0.240, respectively). CONCLUSION: 18F-FDG PET/CT integrated imaging is a more reliable modality in distinguishing malignant from benign pleural effusion than 18F-FDG PET imaging and CT imaging alone. For image interpretation of 18F-FDG PET/CT integrated imaging, the PET and CT portions play a major diagnostic role in identifying metastatic effusion and benign effusion, respectively.

Good survival in a patient with recurrent transitional cell carcinoma of the ovary: A case report of PET-CT for detection and follow-up.

Transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the ovary is a rare subtype of epithelial ovarian cancer. The present study reports the case of a 55-year-old patient from The Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Harbin Medical University (Harbin, Heilongjiang, China) who underwent successful surgery for recurrence of a TCC of the ovary with rectum metastases following the initial surgery and chemotherapy. Positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET-CT) was used in the pre-operative detection of the tumor and the post-operative follow-up of the patient. To date, the patient has experienced 8 years of disease-free survival. The aim of the present study was to convey the good survival rate of the patient following recurrent TCC of the ovary, and the role of PET-CT in detection and follow-up, in order to aid in the future selection of appropriate diagnostic methods and therapies for this disease.

Raloxifene suppress proliferation-promoting function of estrogen in CaSKi cervical cells.

Raloxifene has demonstrated anti-estrogen activity in reproductive organs and tissues, but there are very few related studies in cervical cells. The aims of this study is to explore the function of raloxifene in CaSKi cervical cells. We examined the effects of raloxifene on cervical cancer cells exposed to estrogen. The effect of Raloxifene on cell growth, apoptosis was detected. The human papillomavirus (HPV) 16 E6E7 transcription in cervical cell line CaSki cells exposed to 17-estradiol was also examined. Apoptosis was measured by endonucleolytic degradation of DNA. HPV 16 E6E7 was measured by northern analysis. The results indicated that raloxifine inhibits estrogenic promotion activity on growth of CaSki cells. Raloxifene suppresses the proliferation promotion activity of estradiol in CaSki cells. Raloxifene suppresses the stimulation effect of estradiol on HPV 16 E6E7 transcription in CaSki cells. In conclusion, raloxifene inhibit the CaSki cells proliferation induced by estradiol, which suggests that raloxifine also has anti-estrogen activity in cervical cells.