Prevalence, clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes of oxyntic gland neoplasm: a single-center retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: Oxyntic gland neoplasm (OGN) is a rare subtype of gastric cancer. The aim of this study is to evaluate the prevalence, clinicopathological features, effectiveness and safety of endoscopic treatment, as well as the prognosis of OGN. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the data of patients pathologically diagnosed with OGN at our hospital from November 1, 2019 to May 1, 2023. RESULTS: A total of 36 patients with 45 lesions were identified, resulting in a disease frequency of 0.047% (36/76,832). The mean age was 55.0 ± 7.5 years, with a male-to-female ratio of about 1:1.12. Most lesions were ≤10 mm in size (84.4%), located in the upper third of the stomach (73.3%), exhibited slight elevation (75.5%), appeared whitish (55%), had dilated blood vessels on the surface (75.5%). 16 and 21 lesions were treated by precutting endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR-P) and endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD), respectively. No significant differences were found between EMR-P and ESD in terms of en bloc resection rate (100% vs 100%, p = 1.000), complete resection rate (100% vs 90.5%, p = 0.495), and curative resection rate (93.8% vs 90.5%, p = 1.000). No complications such as bleeding and perforation were observed. No recurrence or metastasis was observed during the follow-up period. CONCLUSIONS: OGN is a rare tumor with unique clinical, endoscopic, and pathological characteristics. EMR-P and ESD are deemed safe and effective for treating OGNs. The relatively faster and easier EMR-P seems at least non-inferior to ESD, especially for removal of smaller OGNs. The overall prognosis is favorable.

Efficacy and Safety of Endoscopic Resection for Gastric Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors Originating from the Muscularis Propria.

BACKGROUND: The role of endoscopic resection (ER) in gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) has not been fully elucidated. AIMS: The purpose of this work was to evaluate the clinical effectiveness and safety of ER in patients with GISTs originating from the muscularis propria (MP). METHODS: A total of 233 consecutive patients with gastric GISTs originating from the MP layer, who underwent ER between February 2012 and May 2023, were included in this study. Clinical characteristics, tumor features, and outcomes were recorded and compared between patients who underwent en bloc resection and piecemeal resection. RESULTS: Among the 233 patients, the median size of GISTs was 12 mm (range 5-60 mm). Risk assessment categorized 190 patients as very low risk, 26 as low risk, 10 as moderate risk, and 7 as high risk. The procedures performed included endoscopic submucosal excavation (127 cases), endoscopic full-thickness resection (103 cases), and submucosal tunneling endoscopic resection (3 cases). The complete and R0 resection rate was 93.1%. Complications occurred in 4.7% of cases (perioperative perforations 1.7%, perioperative bleeding 1.3%, both 0.9%), resulting in conversion to surgery in 1.3% of cases. Risk factors associated with piecemeal resection were tumor size [odds ratio (OR) 0.402, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.207-0.783; P = 0.007] and shape (OR 0.045, 95% CI 0.009-0.235; P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: ER is proven to be an effective and reasonably safe approach for gastric GISTs originating from the MP. Notably, larger tumor size and irregular shape are identified as risk factors for piecemeal resection during ER procedures.

Clinical outcomes after endoscopic resection and the risk of lymph node metastasis in rectal neuroendocrine tumors: a single-center retrospective study.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The incidence of rectal neuroendocrine tumors (R-NETs) has increased in recent years. However, the predictors of lymph node (LN) metastasis and clinical outcomes, particularly following endoscopic treatment, remain unclear. Our study aims to elucidate the potential risk factors for LN metastasis and the clinical outcomes of patients undergoing endoscopic resection in R-NETs. METHODS: A total of 128 patients with R-NETs were retrospectively identified from a single center between June 2012 and December 2021. Risk factors for LN metastasis in R-NETs were analyzed using multivariate analysis. Additionally, the clinical outcomes of endoscopic resections in patients with R-NETs were assessed. RESULTS: In our study, 128 patients with R-NETs were retrospectively analyzed. The risk factors for LN metastasis determined by multivariate analysis were tumor size and patient age at diagnosis. Among the 111 patients treated with endoscopic resection and with tumor margin records available, 92 underwent endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) and 19 underwent conventional endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR). There was no significant difference between the two groups regarding the positive rates of basal tumor margin and lateral tumor margin. Furthermore, 64 patients who underwent endoscopic resection for R-NETs were successfully followed up (range, 1.64-76.71 months), during which only one patient developed local recurrence. CONCLUSION: Tumor size and age at diagnosis were predictors for LN metastasis of R-NETs. Both ESD and EMR are alternative techniques with a favorable prognosis for R-NETs, even in cases with positive resection margins. However, due to the relatively small number of patients undergoing EMR and missing data in follow-up protocols, definitive conclusions require further large-scale studies.

An unusual cause of diarrhea and colorectal ulcers.

Good syndrome (GS) is a rare entity that associates the existence of thymoma with immunodeficiency. Gastrointestinal symptoms is one of the most common clinical manifestations. However, colorectal ulcers in GS were extremely rare. Herein, we present a case of GS presenting with diarrhea and colorectal ulcers to inform readers.

Diosmetin protects against ischemia/reperfusion-induced acute kidney injury in mice.

BACKGROUND: Renal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R)-induced acute kidney injury remains to be a troublesome condition in clinical practice. Although the exact molecular mechanisms underlying renal I/R injury are incompletely understood, the deleterious progress of renal I/R injury involves inflammation, apoptosis, and oxidative stress. Diosmetin is a member of the flavonoid glycosides family, which suppresses the inflammatory response and cellular apoptosis and enhances antioxidant activity. The purpose of this study was to investigate the protective effect of diosmetin on I/R-induced renal injury in mice. METHODS: Thirty BALB/c mice were randomly divided into five groups. Four groups of mice received diosmetin (0.25, 0.5, and 1 mg/kg) or vehicle (I/R group) before ischemia. Another group received vehicle without ischemia to serve as a negative control (sham-operated group). Twenty-four hours after reperfusion, serum and renal tissues were harvested to evaluate renal function and histopathologic features. In addition, the expression of inflammation-related proteins, apoptotic molecules, and antioxidant enzymes was analyzed. RESULTS: Compared with sham mice, the I/R group significantly exacerbated renal function and renal tube architecture and increased the inflammatory response and renal tubule apoptosis. Nevertheless, pretreatment with diosmetin reversed these changes. In addition, diosmetin treatment resulted in a marked increase in antioxidant protein expression compared with I/R mice. CONCLUSIONS: The renoprotective effects of diosmetin involved suppression of the nuclear factor-κB and mitochondrial apoptosis pathways, as well as activation of the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2/heme oxygenase-1 pathway. Diosmetin has significant potential as a therapeutic intervention to ameliorate renal injury after renal I/R.

[Protective Effect of Wuzi Yanzong Prescription on Apoptosis in Germ Cells of Mice Induced by Cyclophosphamide].

Objective: To investigate the protective effect and mechanism of Wuzi Yanzong prescription on apoptosis in germ cell of adult male mice induced by cyclophosphamide( CTX). Methods: Male Balb / C mice were randomly divided into normal control group,model group,the low-,medium- and high- dose of Wuzi Yanzong prescription groups( 100 mg / kg,200 mg / kg and 400 mg / kg),with 10 mice in each group. The mice were injected intraperitoneally with CTX( 200 mg / kg) from 4th day,and gave drug once a week,and executed for 4 weeks. Three doses of Wuzi Yanzong prescription were intragastrically administered every day. For normal control group,the same procedure was performed with intraperitoneal normal saline. Twelve hours after giving CTX at last time, all mice were weighed and sacrificed by cervical dislocation. The testis was immediately dissected and weighed, and then calculated the testis index. The pathological changes of testis were observed by HE staining,the apoptosis of germ cells were detected by TUNEL, the expression of apoptosis-related protein Caspase-3,BAX,BCL-2 in testis were examined by Western blot. Results: Compared with normal control group, the body weight, testis weight,testis index,and the expression of BCL-2 protein levels in testis of model control group were significantly decreased, the expression of BAX,Caspase-3 protein levels and apoptosis in testis of model control group were significantly increased. Wuzi Yanzong prescription significantly increased the body weight,testis weight,testis index,the expression of BCL-2 protein, while decreased the levels of BAX and Caspase-3 protein expression, and then led to the reduction in apoptosis of testis. Conclusion: Wuzi Yanzong prescription can effectively protect the apoptosis of germ cell induced by CTX, and its mechanism may be associated with downregulating protein expression of BAX and Caspase-3,and increasing the protein expression of BCL-2.

[Sodium houttuyfonate inhibits virulence related motility of Pseudomonas aeruginosa].

Sodium houttuyfonate (SH) is a derivative of effective component of a Chinese material medica, Houttuynia cordata, which is applied in anti-infection of microorganism. But, the antimicrobial mechanisms of SH still remain unclear. Here, we firstly discovered that SH effectively inhibits the three types of virulence related motility of.Pseudomonas aeruginosa, i.e., swimming, twitching and swarming. The plate assay results showed that the inhibitory action of SH against swimming and twitching in 24 h and swarming in 48 h is dose-dependent; and bacteria nearly lost all of the motile activities under the concentration of 1 x minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) (512 mg x L(-1) same as azithromycin positive group (1 x MIC, 16 mg x L(-1)). Furthermore, we found that the expression of structural gene flgB and pilG is down-regulated by SH, which implies that inhibitory mechanism of SH against motility of P. aeruginosa may be due to the inhibition of flagella and pili bioformation of P. aeruginosa by SR Therefore, our presented results firstly demonstrate that SH effectively inhibits the motility activities of P. aeruginosa, and suggest that SH could be a promising antipseudomonas agents in clinic.

Role of sodium channels in the spontaneous excitability of early embryonic cardiomyocytes.

Sodium channels play an important role in action potentials. Moreover, some evidences recently suggested that sodium channels were responsible for murine sinoatrial node pacemaking. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of sodium channels in pacemaking in embryonic cardiomyocytes in early development stage (EDS). Whole-cell patch-clamp technique was employed to record sodium current of murine early embryonic cardiomyocytes. Current clamp technique was used to record the effect of 0.1, 1 and 10 µM tetrodotoxin (TTX) on embryonic cardiomyocytes pacemaking. Electro- physiology properties of sodium channels in embryonic cardiomyocytes corresponded to Nav1.5, and the IC50 of TTX was 5.24 µM. TTX at 0.1 µM concentration had no effects on the pacemaking. TTX at 1 µM concentration, however, dramatically slowed the spontaneous beating rate from 73.975 ± 10.478 to 50.268 ± 10.476 cycle/min (P < 0.05), and the maximum upstroke velocity (dV/dtmax) of phase 4 from 0.074 ± 0.006 to 0.046 ± 0.007 V/s (P < 0.01). Furthermore, 1 µM TTX reduced the dV/dtmax of phase 0 from 16.405 ± 0.056 to 12.801 ± 0.084 V/s (P < 0.01), and increased the period of phase 4 from 710.342 ± 110.983 to 1320.618 ± 250.483 ms (P < 0.05). TTX at 1 µM also had some effects on the peak of phase 0 decreasing it from 40.621 ± 3.012 to 37.407 ± 2.749 mV (P < 0.05). But TTX at 1 µM had no effects on the period of phase 0. In some cells (9/13), TTX at 10 µM caused complete cessation of spontaneous action potentials. Our results suggested that the main expression subtype of sodium channels was Nav1.5 of early embryonic cardiomyocytes. And TTX-resistant sodium channels contributed to the initiation of action potentials of early embryonic cardiomyocytes, while TTX-sensitive sodium channels were not involved in initiation of action potentials.

Gastric schwannoma: A retrospective analysis of clinical characteristics, treatments, and outcomes.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics, treatment options, and prognosis of patients with gastric schwannoma (GS). METHODS: Patients who were pathologically diagnosed with GS between April 2011 and October 2022 were enrolled. The data of clinical characteristics, pathological features, treatment options, and clinical outcomes were collected and compared between GS patients who underwent endoscopic resection (ER) and surgical resection (SR). RESULTS: Of the 32 cases, 23 underwent SR and nine underwent ER. The median tumor size was significantly smaller in ER group than in SR group (12.0 vs. 40.0 mm, P < 0.001), while patients in SR group were older than those in ER group (54.5 ± 10.6 vs. 45.3 ± 10.9 years, P = 0.036). Moreover, tumors in ER group were more likely to exhibit an intraluminal pattern (100% vs. 26.1%, P < 0.001). Patients in ER group had significantly lower hospitalization cost (25859.2 ± 8623.9 vs. 44953.0 ± 13083.8 RMB, P = 0.011) than those in SR group. No differences were found between the two groups in terms of R0 resection rate, operative time, estimated blood loss, adverse events, and recurrence rate. All patients were followed up for 4-96 months (mean: 35 months; median: 23 months), during which no evidence of recurrence or metastasis was observed. CONCLUSIONS: Both ER and SR are safe and effective treatment modalities for the management of GS, with ER being associated with lower medical costs compared to SR. The majority of GS are benign and do not recur, with little possibility of malignant transformation.

Anthocyanins-rich cranberry extract attenuates DSS-induced IBD in an intestinal flora independent manner.

Cranberry is abundantly rich in anthocyanins, a type of flavonoid with potent antioxidant properties and the resistance against certain diseases. In this study, anthocyanin-rich cranberry extract was extracted, purified, and its components were analyzed. 92.18 % of anthocyanins was obtained and the total content of anthocyanins was 302.62 mg/g after AB-8 resin purification. Quantification analysis showed that the extract mainly contained cyanidin-3-galactoside, procyanidin B2 and procyanidin B4. Then we explored its effects on dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in mice. The supplementation of cranberry extract resulted in an alleviation of IBD symptoms, evidenced by improvements in the disease activity index (DAI), restoration of colon length and colonic morphology. Cranberry extract reversed the elevated iron and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and restored glutathione (GSH) levels in IBD mice. Further analysis revealed that cranberry modulated ferroptosis-associated genes and reduced expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Although cranberry influenced the intestinal flora balance by reducing Proteobacteria and Escherichia-Shigella, and increasing Lactobacillus, as well as enhancing SCFAs content, these effects were not entirely dependent on intestinal flora modulation, as indicated by antibiotic intervention and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) experiments. In conclusion, our findings suggest that the beneficial impact of cranberry extract on IBD may primarily involve the regulation of colonic ferroptosis, independent of significant alterations in intestinal flora.