Beneficial effect of splanchnic nerve transection and harmful effect of vagotomy on acute necrotizing pancreatitis in the dog.

BACKGROUND: The nervous system interacts dynamically with the immune system to modulate inflammation through humoral and neural pathways. However, the influence of visceral nerve (VN) on acute necrotizing pancreatitis (ANP) has drawn little attention. AIM: To investigate the influence of VN on the pathophysiological process of ANP in dogs. METHODS: The dogs were divided into a sham operation (SO) group, ANP group, ANP + vagal nerve trunk transection (VNTT) group, and ANP + greater splanchnic nerve transection (GSNT) group. The VNTT and GSNT groups underwent VNTT and GSNT respectively immediately after ANP induction. The levels of serum pancreatic amylase (AMY), calcium, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (HCRP), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß), and interleukin-10 (IL-10) were monitored dynamically and the pathological examinations of the pancreas was performed at postoperative day 7. RESULTS: All serum parameters among the four groups showed no differences before the experiment (p > 0.05). At different postoperative times, the serum TNF-α, IL-1ß, HCRP, and AMY were significantly increased, however, the serum calcium and IL-10 had dropped in the ANP group versus SO group (p < 0.05); an alike variation trend occurred between the VNTT group and ANP group (p < 0.05); an opposite variation trend occurred between the GSNT group and the ANP group (p < 0.05). The pancreas pathological scoring of VNTT group was highest in the four groups (p < 0.05) and GSNT group was lower versus ANP group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The GSNT has been shown to alleviate development of ANP, however, VNTT may exacerbate the ANP.

Abnormally expressed circular RNAs as novel non-invasive biomarkers for hepatocellular carcinoma: A meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a newly discovered class of endogenous non-coding RNAs that may have roles in cancer genesis and development. In the recent literature, dysregulated circRNAs have been extensively investigated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Whether or not circRNAs are of clinical value for the management of HCC has not been characterized. AIM: To meta-analyze the diagnostic and prognostic value of abnormally expressed circRNAs in HCC. METHODS: Eligible studies were sourced from PubMed, EMBASE, and CNKI online databases. Data on patients' clinical characteristics, including diagnostic efficacy and overall survival, were extracted. The diagnostic and prognostic parameters were respectively synthesized using the bivariate meta-analysis model and multivariate Cox hazard regression analysis based on Stata 12.0. The trim and fill method was adopted to assess the possible effects from publication bias. RESULTS: A total of 21 eligible studies were included. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve of abnormally expressed circRNAs in distinguishing HCC from non-cancer controls were 0.78 (95%CI: 0.69-0.85), 0.80 (95%CI: 0.74-0.86), and 0.86, respectively. Survival analyses showed that the down-regulated circRNA expression signature correlated perfectly with HCC survival [hazard ratio (HR) = 0.42, 95%CI: 0.19-0.91, P = 0.028; I 2 = 92.7%, P = 0.000], whereas the HCC cases with high circRNA levels had significantly poorer prognoses than those of patients with low circRNA levels (HR = 2.22, 95%CI: 1.50-3.30, P = 0.000; I 2 = 91%, P = 0.000). Moreover, abnormally expressed circRNAs were intimately associated with tumor size, differentiation grade, microvascular invasion, metastasis, TNM stage, and serum alpha fetal protein level in patients with HCC. Stratified analysis based on sample type, control source, and expression status also yielded robust results. CONCLUSION: Abnormally expressed circRNA signatures show immense potential as novel non-invasive biomarker(s) for HCC diagnosis and prognosis.