Ganoderma lucidum Exerts an Anticancer Effect on Human Osteosarcoma Cells via Suppressing the Wnt/ß-Catenin Signaling Pathway.

Background: Current treatment of osteosarcoma is limited in part by side effects and low tolerability, problems generally avoided with traditional Chinese medicine. Ganoderma lucidum, a traditional Chinese medicine with antitumor effects, offers a potential alternative, but little is known about its molecular mechanisms in osteosarcoma cells. Objective: To investigate the effect of G lucidum on osteosarcoma cells and its mechanism. Methods: Osteosarcoma MG63 and U2-OS cells were treated with G lucidum, followed by assays for cell proliferation (Cell Counting Kit-8), colony formation, and apoptosis (Alexa Fluor 647-Annexin V/propidium iodide, flow cytometry). Migration and invasion of cells were assessed by wound healing and Transwell invasion assays, and the effect of G lucidum on Wnt/ß-catenin signal transduction was studied by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, western blot, and dual-luciferase assay. Results:G lucidum inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion, and induced apoptosis of human osteosarcoma MG63 and U2-OS cells. Dual-luciferase assay showed that G lucidum suppressed the transcriptional activity of T-cell factor/lymphocyte enhancer factor in the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway. Moreover, G lucidum blocked Wnt/ß-catenin signaling by inhibiting the Wnt co-receptor LRP5 and Wnt-related target genes, such as ß-catenin, cyclin D1, C-Myc, MMP-2, and MMP-9. At the same time, when Wnt/ß-catenin was inhibited, the expression of E-cadherin was upregulated. Conclusions: Our results suggest that G lucidum broadly suppresses osteosarcoma cell growth by inhibiting Wnt/ß-catenin signaling.

Stenosing tenosynovitis : Evaluation of percutaneous release with a specially designed needle vs. open surgery.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of conventional open surgery and percutaneous release with a specially designed needle for treating stenosing tenosynovitis in terms of cure, relapse and complication rates. METHODS: In this study 89 fingers from 76 patients were randomly assigned and allocated to one of the treatment groups. A total of 37 patients were treated with open surgery in group 1 and 39 patients with percutaneous release using a specially designed needle in group 2. A patient-based 4-inch visual analogue scale (VAS), Quinnell grading (QG), disability of arm shoulder and hand (DASH) score and finger total joint range of motion (FTROM) score were evaluated before treatment and after 7, 30 and 180 days. When finger QG scores were equal or greater than 2 points at follow-up at 180 days this was defined as recurrence.. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between the two groups (P > 0.05) in terms of VAS, DASH and QG scores and the degree of FTROM. At 7 days all the data were significantly different (p < 0.05) compared with preoperative data, 30 days was significantly different (p < 0.05) compared with 7 days while at 180 days no significant differences could be found (p > 0.05) compared with 30 days. The recurrence rate in group 1 was 4.65% and 6.55% in group 2. CONCLUSION: The percutaneous release and open surgery methods displayed similar effectiveness regarding the cure and recurrence of trigger finger disorder. The use of a specially designed needle for release is a safe and reliable method.