Idiopathic mesenteric phlebosclerotic colitis associated with Chinese herbal medicine.

Idiopathic mesenteric phlebosclerotic colitis(IMP) is a rare disease. At present, the etiology and pathogenesis are not clear, but the main patients are Asian people, and most of them have a history of taking Chinese herbal medicines. The disease has characteristic endoscopic and imaging manifestations. This paper shares a case of IMP, The patient came to our hospital for one year because of intermittent abdominal pain and diarrhea. It conforms to the typical manifestations of IMP. For patients who take Chinese herbal medicine for a long time, if they have clinical manifestations of gastrointestinal tract, it is necessary to consider the possibility of the disease to avoid serious consequences due to missed diagnosis.

Clinical significance of plasma PD-L1+ exosomes in the management of diffuse large B cell lymphoma.

PD-L1+ exosome have been reported to be a promising prognostic biomarker in various cancers. However, its clinical value in diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) has not been defined yet. In this study, a total of 165 plasma samples from 78 patients with DLBCL undergoing standard first-line R-CHOP regimens were collected at three different time points (pretreatment, and after 3 and 6 cycles of R-CHOP) to determine the proportions of PD-L1+ exosomes by flow cytometry. We found that high pretreatment plasma PD-L1+ exosome correlated with indicators of poor clinical outcome that included high Ki-67 expression (P = 0.02), double expressor lymphoma (P = 0.005), immunohistochemical PD-L1+ tumor tissue (P = 0.006), and the baseline maximal standardized uptake values (P = 0.0003). Pretreatment plasma PD-L1+ exosome was an independent factor by multivariate analysis with logistic regression (P = 0.0301). Moreover, the pretreatment PD-L1+ exosome was a strong predictor of final treatment responses of either CR or non-CR by ROC analysis (P < 0.001). PD-L1+ exosome level declined significantly in patients who experienced CR (pretreatment vs. after 3 cycles/after 6 cycles, P < 0.05), but not in the non-CR group. Intriguingly, plasma PD-L1+ exosome after 3 cycles (AUC = 0.857; 95%CI: 0.728-0.939) might represent a more sensitive indicator than radiographic assessment after 3 cycles (AUC = 0.626; 95%CI: 0.477-0.758) for evaluating the therapeutic response of DLBCL patients (P = 0.0136). Our results suggest that plasma PD-L1+ exosomes may represent a new biomarker for the dynamic monitoring of treatment response.

Endoscopic ultrasonography guided cutting scar of esophageal stricture after endoscopic injection sclerotherapy.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate efficacy and safety of endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) guiding to cut the scar of esophageal stricture after endoscopic injection sclerotherapy (EIS). METHODS: The data of 10 patients with oesophageal stricture after esophageal varices EIS in our hospital from September 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021 treated by cutting the scar guided by ultrasonic endoscopy were retrospective, and the efficacy was evaluated. RESULTS: The dysphagia was obviously relieved in 9 patients during follow-up, and 1 patient suffered dysphagia again after the treatment. There was no complications of perforation, bleeding and infection among the paitents. CONCLUSION: EUS guiding to cut the scar of esophageal stricture after EIS was safe and reliable.

Red blood cell distribution width-to-albumin ratio is associated with all-cause mortality in cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: Cancer causes a serious health burden on patients worldwide. Chronic low-level inflammation plays a key role in tumorigenesis and prognosis. However, the role of the red blood cell distribution width (RDW)-to-albumin (RA) ratio in cancer mortality remains unclear. METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study, we collected clinical information from cancer patients from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care III (MIMIC-III) version 1.4 database and then calculated RA by dividing RDW by albumin concentration. The primary outcome was 30 days mortality, while secondary outcomes were 90 days and 1 year mortality. Next, we adopted Cox regression models to calculate hazard ratios (HR) together with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for all-cause mortalities associated with the RA ratio. RESULTS: For 30 days mortality, the HR (95% CI) for the high RA ratio (≥5.51) was 2.17 [95CI% (1.87-2.51); p = <0.0001], compared with the low RA ratio (<5.51). In Model 2, we adjusted sex and age and obtained HR (95% CI) of 2.17 [95CI% (1.87-2.52); p = <0.0001] for the high RA ratio (≥5.51) group, compared to that in the low RA ratio (<5.51). In Model 3, adjusting for age, sex, anion gap, hematocrit, white blood cell count, congestive heart failure, SOFA, liver disease, and renal failure resulted in HR (95% CI) of 1.74 [95CI% (1.48-2.04); p = <0.0001] for the high RA ratio (≥5.51) relative to the low RA ratio (<5.51). We also analyzed common diseases in cancer patients but found no significant association. CONCLUSION: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study demonstrating that increased RA ratio is independently associated with increased all-cause mortality in cancer patients.

"Stomach mass" as the first manifestation of IgG4-related disease: a case report.

BACKGROUND: IgG4-related disease mainly manifests as organomegaly and is accompanied by tissue fibrosis (Mimori, Mod Rheumatol 29(2):213, 2019) which is frequently confused with tumour (Dawei et al., J Gastroenterol Hepatol 29(12):1375-8, 2020). There are few reports with of IgG4-related disease with the first clinical manifestation involving the stomach. CASE PRESENTATION: We present the case of 46-year-old male patient with a "stomach tumour" as the first manifestation of IgG4-related disease. Gastroscopy showed a mass in the stomach, however, the pathology result was chronic inflammation with IgG4 positivity. CT scans of abdomen showed that the stomach wall was thick, the head of the pancreas was swollen, and retroperitoneal fibrosis was severe.The serum IgG4 level was 75 g/L (normal range 0.03-2.01 g/L).After treatment with methylprednisolone for one month, the symptoms were greatly relieved. CONCLUSIONS: To reduce the suffering of patients and relieve their financial burden, we should consider the possibility of IgG4-related disease when the initial manifestation is a stomach mass.

LINC00449 regulates the proliferation and invasion of acute monocytic leukemia and predicts favorable prognosis.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a highly aggressive disease that causes high mortality. Long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) have studied in recent years that could be a potential biomarker and therapeutic target. Therefore, it is urgently necessary to explore the novel lncRNAs in AML. Microarray analysis was performed to determine the differentially expressed lncRNAs between mononuclear cells of AML and normal samples. The biological function of lncRNA on cell proliferation and migration was measured in vitro. The predicted downstream target of lncRNA was validated by dual-luciferase reporter assay, RNA immunoprecipitation, RNA pull-down, and rescue experiments. The tumor formation and metastasis study were conducted in vivo. The expression of lncRNA in clinical samples was determined by a quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. LINC00449 was one of the most differentially expressed lncRNA which is mainly located in the cytoplasm. We found that overexpression of LINC00449 could inhibit the cell proliferation and invasion of AML cells in vitro and in vivo. Besides, miR-150 was identified as the downstream target gene that was negatively regulated by LINC00449 and FOXD3 was targeted by miR-150. The results were confirmed by dual-luciferase reporter assay, RNA immunoprecipitation, RNA pull-down, rescue experiments, and in vivo assays. Patients with AML with high expression of LINC0049 may characterize a favorable survival. All the above-mentioned findings indicated that the LINC00449/miR-150/FOXD3 signaling pathway might represent a novel prognostic biomarker or therapeutic target for the treatment of AML.

miR-183-5p Inhibits Occurrence and Progression of Acute Myeloid Leukemia via Targeting Erbin.

Erbin has been shown to have significant effects on the development of solid tumors. However, little is known about its function and regulatory mechanism in hematological malignancies. The biological function of Erbin on cell proliferation was measured in vitro and in vivo. The predicted target of Erbin was validated by dual-luciferase reporter assay and rescue experiment. We found that overexpression of Erbin could inhibit the cell proliferation and promote the cell differentiation of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells, whereas depletion of Erbin could enhance the cell proliferation and block the cell differentiation in AML cells in vitro and in vivo. Besides, miR-183-5p was identified as the upstream regulator that negatively regulated the Erbin expression. The results were confirmed by dual-luciferase reporter and RNA pull-down assay. Furthermore, we found that miR-183-5p negatively regulated Erbin, resulting in enhanced cell proliferation of AML cells via activation of RAS/RAF/MEK/ERK and PI3K/AKT/FoxO3a pathways. The activation of RAS/RAF/MEK/ERK and PI3K/AKT/FoxO3a pathways was mediated by Erbin interacting with Grb2. These results were also validated by rescue experiments in vitro and in vivo. All above-mentioned findings indicated that the miR-183-5p/Erbin signaling pathway might represent a novel prognostic biomarker or therapeutic target for treatment of AML.

Carnosic acid regulates cell proliferation and invasion in chronic myeloid leukemia cancer cells via suppressing microRNA-708.

PURPOSE: Carnosic acid (CA) is an important polyphenol mainly isolated from the famous spice and the medicinal plant Rosmarinus officinalis. CA has been shown to exhibit tremendous pharmacological properties which include, but are not limited to, anticancer, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. The current study was designed to evaluate the anticancer effects of CA against chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) which is one of the rare but deadly malignancies both in men and women. METHODS: CML KBM-7 cell line was used in this study. Cell viability was assessed by MTT assay. Apoptosis was detected by DAPI and annexin V/PI staining, cell cycle analysis by flow cytometry and cell invasion by Boyden chamber assay. The microRNA-780 expression was determined by quantitative RT-PCR. RESULTS: Our results indicated that CA exhibits significant anticancer activity on CML KBM-7 cells with an IC50 of 25 µM. The anticancer activity was due to induction of apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. Moreover, it was observed that CA inhibits the proliferation and invasion of CML KBM-7 cells which could mainly be due to downregulation of microRNA- 780 expression as indicated by the quantitative RT-PCR analysis. CONCLUSION: Taken together, we propose that carnosic acid could prove a potential lead compound in the treatment of CML and deserves further in vitro as well as in vivo study.

B7-H3 Overexpression Predicts Poor Survival of Cancer Patients: A Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: B7-H3 exhibits altered expression in various cancers. However, the correlation between B7-H3 expression and prognosis of cancer patients remains controversial. Therefore, we elicit a meta-analysis to investigate the potential value of B7-H3 in the prognostic prediction in human cancers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We searched PubMed (last update by June 15th, 2016) to identify studies assessing the effect of B7-H3 on survival of cancer patients. Hazard ratios (HRs) for overall survival (OS), recurrence free survival (RFS) and progression-free survival (PFS) from individual studies were calculated and pooled by using a random-effect or fix-effect model, and heterogeneity and publication bias analyses were also performed. RESULTS: Data from 24 observational studies consisting of 4141 patients were summarized. An elevated baseline B7-H3 was significantly correlated with poor OS (pooled HR = 2.09; 95% CI =1.60-2.74; P < 0.001). Differences across subgroups of tumor type (P = 0.324), year of publication (P = 0.431), ethnicity (P = 0.940), source of HR (P = 0.145), analysis type (P = 0.178) and sample size (P = 0.909) were not significant. Furthermore, high B7-H3 expression also predicted a significantly poor RFS (pooled HR = 1.39; 95% CI = 1.11-1.75; P = 0.004) but not PFS. CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis clarifies that elevated B7-H3 expression is significantly associated with poor survival in cancer patients.

Prognostic Significance of MiRNA in Patients with Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma: a Meta-Analysis.

INTRODUCTION: This pooled analysis study aimed to reveal the prognostic relevance of microRNAs (miRNAs) in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We examined the impact of miRNAs on clinical outcome. Eligible studies were identified and quality assessed using multiple search strategies. Data were extracted from included studies which correlated survival with expression of miRNAs (serum or tissue). RESULTS: We pooled proper studies, and combined the hazard ratios with 95% confidence intervals to estimate strength of the correlations. There were 18 studies including 1950 patients with DLBCL eligible for pooled analysis. We found significant combined HRs for poor overall survival for high expression of miR-21 and low expression of miR-224 in tumor tissue, but for favorable relapse free survival for high expression of miR-21 in serum. Progression free survival was shortened in patients with low expression of miR-199a/b, miR-146b-5p, miR-224 and high expression of miR-222. CONCLUSION: MiRNAs may act as independent prognostic factors in patients with DLBCL, and useful in risk stratification.

[Retracted] Circular RNA, hsa_circRNA_102049, promotes colorectal cancer cell migration and invasion via binding and suppressing miRNA­455­3p.

[This retracts the article DOI: 10.3892/etm.2022.11169.].

Acute Pancreatitis Obstructed by a "Stone" as the First Manifestation of Eosinophilic Gastroenteritis in AIDS: A Case Report.

BACKGROUND: Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) associated with eosinophilic gastroenteritis is rare. We report a case of duodenal "stone" inducing acute pancreatitis with eosinophilic gastroduodenitis in an AIDS patient. CASE SUMMARY: A 73-year-old female AIDS patient came to the hospital with recurrent abdominal pain for 20 days. Computed tomography (CT) showed pancreatitis with exudation and a high-density shadow under the gastric antrum. Gastroscopy showed that the descending part of the duodenum was blocked by a "stone". The mucosa of the duodenum was rough, and a red polyp was found on the gastric body. The pathology result was chronic inflammation with eosinophilic granulocytes in the duodenal mucosa and gastric body polyp. CONCLUSION: When AIDS patients suffer acute pancreatitis, the possibility of eosinophilic gastroenteritis needs to be considered to enable the patient to accept timely treatment.

Liver abscess and tracheal fistula induced by transcatheter arterial chemoembolization for hepatocellular carcinoma: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) is a standard treatment for intermediate-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The complications of TACE include biliary tract infection, liver dysfunction, tumor lysis syndrome, biloma, partial intestinal obstruction, cerebral lipiodol embolism, etc. There are few reports about tracheal fistula induced by TACE. CASE SUMMARY: A 42-year-old man came to our hospital with cough and expectoration for 1 month after TACE for HCC. Laboratory test results showed abnormalities of albumin, hemoglobin, prothrombin time, C-reactive protein, D-dimer, and prothrombin. Culture of both phlegm and liver pus revealed growth of Citrobacter flavescens. Computed tomography showed infection in the inferior lobe of the right lung and a low-density lesion with gas in the right liver. Liver ultrasound showed that there was a big hypoechoic liquid lesion without blood flow signal. Drainage for liver abscess by needle puncture under ultrasonic guidance was performed. After 1 month of drainage and anti-infection therapy, the abscess in the liver and the infection in the lung were reduced obviously, and the symptom of expectoration was relieved. CONCLUSION: Clinicians should be alert to the possibility of complications of liver abscess and tracheal fistula after TACE for HCC. Drainage for liver abscess by needle puncture under ultrasonic guidance could relieve the liver abscess and tracheal fistula.

Transparent cap adjusted the stent placed for stenosis after endoscopic injection of esophageal varices: A case report.

BACKGROUND: The stent embedded in the esophageal mucosa is one of the complications after stenting for esophageal stricture. We present a case of stent adjustment with the aid of a transparent cap after endoscopic injection of an esophageal varices stent. CASE SUMMARY: A 61-year-old male patient came to the hospital with discomfort of the chest after the stent implanted for the stenosis because of endoscopic injection of esophageal varices. The gastroscopy was performed, and the stent embedded into the esophageal mucosa. At first, we pulled the recycling line for shrinking the stent, however, the mucosa could not be removed from the stent. Then a forceps was performed to remove the mucosa in the stent, nevertheless, the bleeding form the mucosa was obvious. And then, we used a transparent cap to scrape the mucosa along the stent, and the mucosa were removed successfully without bleeding. CONCLUSION: A transparent cap helps gastroscopy to remove the mucosa embedded in the stent after endoscopic injection of the esophageal varices stent.

Common Bile Duct Obstructed by Lipiodol After Transcater Arterial Chemoembolization for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Case Report.

BACKGROUND: Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) is an effective treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), however, the complications of TACE have gradually become a concern of clinicians. Injury to the bile duct has been the focus of many scholars. CASE PRESENTATION: HCC was diagnosed in a 51-year-old female patient, and the first TACE was performed on April 10, 2020. The second TACE was performed on October 18, 2021. After the second TACE, The patient suffered from nausea, jaundice, and body itching. Computed tomography (CT) of the abdomen showed that the lower common bile duct was obviously blocked by the solidified lipiodol accompanied by dilatation of intrahepatic and extrahepatic bile ducts on October 27, 2021. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancretography (ERCP) and endoscopic nasobiliary drainage (ENBD) were performed on October 29, 2021. The deposition of lipiodol in the common bile duct was significantly reduced. CONCLUSION: After the transcatheter arterial chemoembolization for hepatocellular carcinoma, we should be on alert for damage to the bile duct, and pay attention to the deposition of lipiodol in the common bile duct.

Esophageal hematoma mimicking esophageal varices after chewing betel nut: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Betel nut chewing is very common in Southeast Asia and other tropical countries. Much clinical evidence suggests that chewing betel nut has pro-inflammatory and carcinogenic effects, but there are few clinical reports of acute toxicity caused by it, especially involving esophageal damage. CASE PRESENTATION: We presented a case of a 72-year-old female who was admitted to our hospital for chest pain and hematemesis within several minutes after chewing betel nut. Gastroscopy showed two longitudinal ridge-like mucosal eminences in the esophagus located 20 cm from the incisors down to the gastric cardia, which was similar to varices. At last, a CT scan showed concentric-circle thickening of the esophagus wall, suggesting hematomas. Our treatment included fasting, inhibiting gastric acid and maintaining blood volume. After one week of medical treatment, rechecked gastroscopy showed that esophageal hematomas were gradually absorbed, with the formation of multiple shallow ulcers. CONCLUSIONS: The acute toxicity of chewing betel nut can be easily overlooked. Patients who experience chest pain or hematemesis after chewing betel nut products,especially those who take aspirin at the same time, need to be alert to esophageal hematoma.

Circular RNA, hsa_circRNA_102049, promotes colorectal cancer cell migration and invasion via binding and suppressing miRNA-455-3p.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most prevalent malignant gastrointestinal tumor type worldwide, displaying poor prognosis. Accumulating studies have reported the significance of circular RNAs (circRNAs) and microRNAs (miRNAs) in CRC carcinogenesis and development. At present, the functions and mechanisms of action underlying the circular RNA, hsa_circRNA_102049, in CRC are not completely understood. The present study aimed to establish the involvement of hsa_circRNA_102049 in CRC, as well as the associated mechanisms. The expression levels of hsa_circRNA_102049 and miRNA-455-3p were measured in CRC cell lines and tissues via reverse transcription-quantitative PCR. CRC progression was evaluated by performing Cell Counting Kit-8, flow cytometry, wound healing and Transwell invasion assays. The results demonstrated that hsa_circRNA_102049 was highly expressed in both CRC tissues and cell lines, which was associated with enhanced CRC cell proliferation, migration and invasion. Furthermore, miR-455-3p expression was downregulated in CRC cells and served as a target of has_circRNA_102049, which was validated by performing the dual luciferase reporter assay. hsa_circRNA_102049 knockdown significantly increased miR-455-3p expression, which was significantly reversed by co-transfection with the miR-455-3p inhibitor. Notably, miRNA-455-3p overexpression alleviated hsa_circRNA_102049-mediated induction of CRC cell proliferation, migration and invasion. The present study clearly demonstrated that miRNA-455-3p was a target of hsa_circRNA_102049. Moreover, the results indicated that the circular RNA, hsa_circRNA_102049, may function as a tumor promoter in CRC via directly sponging miRNA-455-3p.

Field-scale rice yield estimation based on UAV-based MiniSAR data with Ku band and modified water-cloud model of panicle layer at panicle stage.

Scientific and accurate estimation of rice yield is of great significance to food security protection and agricultural economic development. Due to the weak penetration of high frequency microwave band, most of the backscattering comes from the rice canopy, and the backscattering coefficient is highly correlated with panicle weight, which provides a basis for inversion of wet biomass of rice ear. To solve the problem of rice yield estimation at the field scale, based on the traditional water cloud model, a modified water-cloud model based on panicle layer and the radar data with Ku band was constructed to estimate rice yield at panicle stage. The wet weight of rice ear scattering model and grain number per rice ear scattering model were constructed at field scale for rice yield estimation. In this paper, the functional area of grain production in Xiashe Village, Xin'an Town, Deqing County, Zhejiang Province, China was taken as the study area. For the first time, the MiniSAR radar system carried by DJI M600 UAV was used in September 2019 to obtain the SAR data with Ku band under polarization HH of the study area as the data source. Then the rice yield was estimated by using the newly constructed modified water-cloud model based on panicle layer. The field investigation was carried out simultaneously for verification. The study results show: the accuracies of the inversion results of wet weight of rice ear scattering model and grain number per rice ear scattering model in parcel B were 95.03% and 94.15%; and the accuracies of wet weight of rice ear scattering model and grain number per rice ear scattering model in parcel C+D+E were over 91.8%. In addition, different growth stages had effects on yield estimation accuracy. For rice at fully mature, the yield estimation accuracies of wet weight of ear and grain number per ear were basically similar, both exceeding 94%. For rice at grouting stage, the yield estimation accuracy of wet weight of ear was 92.7%, better than that of grain number per ear. It was proved that it can effectively estimate rice yield using the modified water-cloud model based on panicle layer constructed in this paper at panicle stage at field scale.

Exosomes and cancer immunotherapy: A review of recent cancer research.

As phospholipid extracellular vesicles (EVs) secreted by various cells, exosomes contain non-coding RNA (ncRNA), mRNA, DNA fragments, lipids, and proteins, which are essential for intercellular communication. Several types of cells can secrete exosomes that contribute to cancer initiation and progression. Cancer cells and the immune microenvironment interact and restrict each other. Tumor-derived exosomes (TDEs) have become essential players in this balance because they carry information from the original cancer cells and express complexes of MHC class I/II epitopes and costimulatory molecules. In the present study, we aimed to identify potential targets for exosome therapy by examining the specific expression and mechanism of exosomes derived from cancer cells. We introduced TDEs and explored their role in different tumor immune microenvironment (TIME), with a particular emphasis on gastrointestinal cancers, before briefly describing the therapeutic strategies of exosomes in cancer immune-related therapy.