Basilic vein variation encountered during surgery for arm vein port: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Venous variations are uncommon and usually hard to identify, and basilic vein variation is particularly rare. Basilic vein variation usually presents without any clinical symptoms and is often regarded as a benign alteration. This case was a patient with congenital basilic vein variation encountered during surgery for an infusion port. CASE SUMMARY: We documented and analyzed an uncommon anatomical variation in the basilic vein encountered during arm port insertion. This peculiarity has hitherto remained undescribed in the literature. We offer remedial strategies for addressing this anomaly in the future and precautionary measures to circumvent its occurrence. We conducted a comprehensive review of analogous cases in the literature, offering pertinent therapeutic recommendations and solutions, with the aim of enhancing the efficacy and safety of future arm port implantations. CONCLUSION: Venous variation is rare and requires detailed intraoperative and postoperative examination to ensure accuracy, so as not to affect subsequent treatment.

Wnt/ß-catenin signalling pathway in breast cancer cells and its effect on reversing tumour drug resistance by alkaloids extracted from traditional Chinese medicine.

Breast cancer is a high-risk disease with a high mortality rate among women. Chemotherapy plays an important role in the treatment of breast cancer. However, chemotherapy eventually results in tumours that are resistant to drugs. In recent years, many studies have revealed that the activation of Wnt/ß-catenin signalling is crucial for the emergence and growth of breast tumours as well as the development of drug resistance. Additionally, drugs that target this pathway can reverse drug resistance in breast cancer therapy. Traditional Chinese medicine has the properties of multi-target and tenderness. Therefore, integrating traditional Chinese medicine and modern medicine into chemotherapy provides a new strategy for reversing the drug resistance of breast tumours. This paper mainly reviews the possible mechanism of Wnt/ß-catenin in promoting the process of breast tumour drug resistance, and the progress of alkaloids extracted from traditional Chinese medicine in the targeting of this pathway in order to reverse the drug resistance of breast cancer.

Comprehensive LC-MS/MS-based phytochemical perspectives and osteogenic effects of Uraria crinita.

Osteogenesis plays a vital role in the maintenance of bone health. Imbalances in osteogenesis influence the onset of several bone loss-associated diseases. The intake of Uraria crinita (Fabaceae) through dietary supplements is advised for childhood bone dysplasia. This botanical provides edible tonics and detoxifiers, and is also used as a folk beverage. We evaluated the osteogenic effects of a 50% ethanol extract of the root of U. crinita on primary human osteoblasts (HObs) and initiated a novel comprehensive phytochemical strategy using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) for quality control of this functional food. Two isoflavones, genistein (5) and 5,7-dihydroxy-3',5'-dihydroxyisoflavone (6), increased the alkaline phosphatase activity (differentiation stage); the flavone glycoside vitexin (1), and the phenolic acid salicylic acid (2) enhanced the mineralization (mature stage). The isoflavone 2'-hydroxygenistein (4) possessed high osteogenic potential among the isolated compounds in HObs. It promoted osteogenesis-related stages and upregulated the gene expressions in a dose-dependent manner. The major compounds in the active fraction were quantitatively analyzed via phytochemical fingerprint detection. These LC-MS/MS-based phytochemical perspectives can act as reference standards in developing food supplements from U. crinita.

Stimulation of osteogenic activity in human osteoblast cells by edible Uraria crinita.

Uraria crinita is an edible herb used as a natural food for childhood skeletal dysplasia. Ethyl acetate, n-butanol, and aqueous fractions of a 95% ethanol crude extract of U. crinita were obtained and the active ingredients isolated and purified using a bioguided method. In this manner, we isolated and identified a new active flavone glycoside, apigenin 6-C-ß-d-apiofuranosyl(1→2)-α-d-xylopyranoside (3) and 10 known components with stimulatory activity on human osteoblast cells. The new compound 3 at 100 µM significantly increased alkaline phosphatase activity (114.10 ± 4.41%), mineralization (150.10 ± 0.80%), as well as osteopontin (1.39 ± 0.01-fold), bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2, 1.30 ± 0.04-fold), and runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx2, 1.43 ± 0.10-fold) mRNA expression through the activation of the BMP-2/Runx2 pathway. Two other components, dalbergioidin (1) and byzantionoside B (9), displayed similar effects. These results show that U. crinita and its active compounds may have the potential to stimulate bone formation and regeneration.

Anti-inflammatory and free radial scavenging activities of the constituents isolated from Machilus zuihoensis.

A new biflavonol glycoside, quercetin-3-O-ß-D-glucopyranoside-(3'→O-3''')-quercetin-3-O-ß-D-galactopyranoside (9), together with eight known compounds was isolated for the first time from the leaves of Machilus zuihoensis Hayata (Lauraceae). The structure of compound 9 was elucidated by various types of spectroscopic data analysis. Analysis of the biological activity assay found that compound 9 showed significant superoxide anion scavenging activity (IC50 is 30.4 µM) and markedly suppressed LPS-induced high mobility group box 1 (HMGB-1) protein secretion in RAW264.7 cells. In addition, the HMGB-1 protein secretion was also inhibited by quercitrin (3), ethyl caffeate (6), and ethyl 3-O-caffeoylquinate (7) treatment. In the LPS-stimulated inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) activation analysis, two known compounds, quercetin (1) and ethyl caffeate (6), were found to markedly suppress nitric oxide (NO) production (IC50 value, 27.6 and 42.9 µM, respectively) in RAW264.7 cells. Additionally, it was determined that ethyl caffeate (6) down-regulated mRNA expressions of iNOS, IL-1ß, and IL-10 in the LPS-treatment of RAW264.7 cells via a suppressed NF-kB pathway. These results suggested for the first time that the new compound 9 and other constituents isolated from M. zuihoensis have potential anti-inflammatory and superoxide anion scavenging effects. These constituents may be useful for treating various inflammatory diseases.

The immuno-regulatory effects of Schisandra chinensis and its constituents on human monocytic leukemia cells.

Many diseases occur when the immune system is weakened. Intracellular signals activate immuno-responsive cells to produce cytokines that modulate the immune response. Schisandra chinensis has been used traditionally to treat general fatigue, neurasthenia, and spontaneous sweating. In the present study, the effect of constituents of S. chinensis on cytokine release by human monocytic leukemia cells (THP-1) was tested using microparticle-based flow cytometric analysis. Two major lignans, schizandrin (Sch) and gomisin A (Gom A), were identified and shown to induce interleukin (IL)-8, macrophage inflammatory protein-1ß (MIP-1ß), and granulocyte-macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) release by THP-1 cells. By reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) or quantitative real-time PCR, there was a dose-dependent increase of IL-8, MIP-1ß and GM-CSF mRNA levels. Thus, Sch and Gom A from S. chinensis enhance cytokine release by THP-1 cells and this effect occurs through mRNA upregulation. Upregulation of MIP-1ß and GM-CSF in particular may have clinical applications. Therefore, S. chinensis may be therapeutically beneficial by promoting humoral and cell-mediated immune responses.