Effect of Xuanfu Daizhe decoction on stemness of esophageal cancer cells / 中国应用生理学杂志

Objective: To investigate the effect of Xuanfu Daizhe decoction on the stemness of esophageal cancer cells. Methods: The BALB/c nude mice were randomly divided into the control group and experimental group, 5 mice in each group, which were continuously administered with normal saline and Xuanfu Daizhe decoction (9.89 g/kg) by gastrogavage, respectively. Human esophageal carcinoma cells ECA-109 (5×106) were subcutaneously injected into the mice on the 8th day. Tumor volume was measured twice a week. The mice were sacrificed 4 weeks after injection, and the tumor tissue and mouse serum were collected. The expressions of the major stemness-regulating transcription factors, i.e., NANOG, OCT4 and SOX2, were detected by RT-qPCR, Western Blot and immunohistochemistry. ECA-109 cells were treated with 10% fetal bovine serum and serum from the above two groups of mice for 48 hours respectively, and three replicate wells were set in each group, and the expressions of NANOG, OCT4, SOX2 and the levels of AKT and p-AKT were detected by RT-qPCR and Western Blot, respectively. ALDH activity in tumor cells was detected by flow cytometry; the number of spheroids of tumor cells was detected by the spheroidization experiment. Results: Compared with the control group, the growth and size of esophageal cancer tumors were significantly inhibited by Xuanfu Daizhe Decoction; the expressions of NANOG, OCT4, SOX2, the ALDH activity, the number of spheroids, and the levels of AKT and phosphorylated AKT (p-AKT) in esophageal cancer cells were significantly reduced by Xuanfu Daizhe Decoction both in vivo and in vitro. Conclusion: Xuanfu Daizhe Decoction inhibits the stemness of esophageal cancer cells, it may be a potentially effective drug for the treatment of esophageal cancer and provides a theoretical basis for the exploration of new effective drugs for the treatment of esophageal cancer.

Two Cases of Hypovascular Pituitary Metastases and Literature Review / 中国医学科学院学报

Pituitary metastasis,a rare kind of intracranial malignant tumor,is characterized by metastasis from all parts of the body to the pituitary.The common tumors metastatic to pituitary are abundant with blood supply,located in the posterior pituitary lobe and/or the pituitary stalk.The lesion shows infiltrative growth,and mainly demonstrates low signal on T1 weighted imaging and high signal on T2 weighted imaging.It is usually enhanced significantly after iodinated contrast administration.The metastatic tumor with poor blood supply is similar to pituitary macroadenoma on magnetic resonance image,which makes it difficult to be differentiated.We reported two cases of pathologically diagnosed pituitary metastasis with poor blood supply and reviewed related papers,aiming to provide the imaging differentiation points of hypovascular pituitary metastasis.

Hypovascular Pituitary Metastasis from Poorly Differentiated Lung Adenocarcinoma:Report of One Case / 中国医学科学院学报

Pituitary metastasis is a rare intracranial malignant tumor originated from other malignant tumors at other parts of the body.Pituitary metastases are typically hypervascular,while hypovascular pituitary metastasis is rare.Radiologically,hypovascular pituitary metastasis is difficult to be distinguished from pituitary adenoma.This article reports one case of pathologically confirmed hypovascular pituitary metastasis,with the main diagnostic clues including history of malignant tumor,presence of normal pituitary in the intrasellar region,and isointensity on T1 and T2 sequence.

Effect of MR Field Strength on the Texture Features of Cerebral T2-FLAIR Images: A Pilot Study / 中国医学科学杂志(英文版)

Objective To investigate effect of MR field strength on texture features of cerebral T2 fluid attenuated inversion recovery (T2-FLAIR) images. Methods We acquired cerebral 3D T2-FLAIR images of thirty patients who were diagnosed with ischemic white matter lesion (WML) with MR-1.5T and MR-3.0T scanners. Histogram texture features which included mean signal intensity (Mean), Skewness and Kurtosis, and gray level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) texture features which included angular second moment (ASM), Contrast, Correlation, Inverse difference moment (IDM) and Entropy, of regions of interest located in the area of WML and normal white matter (NWM) were measured by ImageJ software. The texture parameters acquired with MR-1.5T scanning were compared with MR-3.0T scanning. Results The Mean of both WML and NWM obtained with MR-1.5T scanning was significantly lower than that acquired with MR-3.0T (0.05). ASM, Correlation and IDM of both WML and NWM acquired with MR-1.5T revealed significantly lower values than those with MR-3.0T (<0.001), while Contrast and Entropy acquired with MR-1.5T showed significantly higher values than those with MR-3.0T (<0.001). Conclusion MR field strength showed no significant effect on histogram textures, while had significant effect on GLCM texture features of cerebral T2-FLAIR images, which indicated that it should be cautious to explain the texture results acquired based on the different MR field strength.

Value of Texture Analysis of Intravoxel Incoherent Motion Parameters in Differential Diagnosis of Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumor and Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma / 中国医学科学杂志(英文版)

Objective To evaluate the value of texture features derived from intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) parameters for differentiating pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (pNET) from pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAC).Methods Eighteen patients with pNET and 32 patients with PAC were retrospectively enrolled in this study. All patients underwent diffusion-weighted imaging with 10 b values used (from 0 to 800 s/mm ). Based on IVIM model, perfusion-related parameters including perfusion fraction (f), fast component of diffusion (D) and true diffusion parameter slow component of diffusion (D) were calculated on a voxel-by-voxel basis and reorganized into gray-encoded parametric maps. The mean value of each IVIM parameter and texture features [Angular Second Moment (ASM), Inverse Difference Moment (IDM), Correlation, Contrast and Entropy] values of IVIM parameters were measured. Independent sample t-test or Mann-Whitney U test were performed for the between-group comparison of quantitative data. Regression model was established by using binary logistic regression analysis, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was plotted to evaluate the diagnostic efficiency.Results The mean f value of the pNET group were significantly higher than that of the PAC group (27.0% vs. 19.0%, P = 0.001), while the mean values of D and D showed no significant differences between the two groups. All texture features (ASM, IDM, Correlation, Contrast and Entropy) of each IVIM parameter showed significant differences between the pNET and PAC groups (P=0.000-0.043). Binary logistic regression analysis showed that texture ASM of D and texture Correlation of D were considered as the specific imaging variables for the differential diagnosis of pNET and PAC. ROC analysis revealed that multiple texture features presented better diagnostic performance than IVIM parameters (AUC 0.849-0.899 vs. 0.526-0.776), and texture ASM of D combined with Correlation of D in the model of logistic regression had largest area under ROC curve for distinguishing pNET from PAC (AUC 0.934, cutoff 0.378, sensitivity 0.889, specificity 0.854).Conclusions Texture analysis of IVIM parameters could be an effective and noninvasive tool to differentiate pNET from PAC.

Differential Diagnostic Value of Texture Feature Analysis of Magnetic Resonance T2 Weighted Imaging between Glioblastoma and Primary Central Neural System Lymphoma / 中国医学科学杂志(英文版)

Objective To investigate the difference in tumor conventional imaging findings and texture features on T2 weighted images between glioblastoma and primary central neural system (CNS) lymphoma.Methods The pre-operative MRI data of 81 patients with glioblastoma and 28 patients with primary CNS lymphoma admitted to the Chinese PLA General Hospital and Hainan Hospital of Chinese PLA General Hospital were retrospectively collected. All patients underwent plain MR imaging and enhanced T1 weighted imaging to visualize imaging features of lesions. Texture analysis of T2 weighted imaging (T2WI) was performed by use of GLCM texture plugin of ImageJ software, and the texture parameters including Angular Second Moment (ASM), Contrast, Correlation, Inverse Difference Moment (IDM), and Entropy were measured. Independent sample t-test and Mann-Whitney U test were performed for the between-group comparisons, regression model was established by Binary Logistic regression analysis, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was plotted to compare the diagnostic efficacy.Results The conventional imaging features including cystic and necrosis changes (P=0.000), 'Rosette' changes (P=0.000) and 'incision sign' (P=0.000), except 'flame-like edema' (P=0.635), presented significantly statistical difference between glioblastoma and primary CNS lymphoma. The texture features, ASM, Contrast, Correlation, IDM and Entropy, showed significant differences between glioblastoma and primary CNS lympoma (P=0.006, 0.000, 0.002, 0.000, and 0.015 respectively). The area under the ROC curve was 0.671, 0.752, 0.695, 0.720 and 0.646 respectively, and the area under the ROC curve was 0.917 for the combined texture variables (Contrast, cystic and necrosis, 'Rosette' changes, and 'incision sign') in the model of Logistic regression. Binary Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that cystic and necrosis changes, 'Rosette' changes and 'incision sign' and texture Contrast could be considered as the specific texture variables for the differential diagnosis of glioblastoma and primary CNS lymphoma.Conclusions The texture features of T2WI and conventional imaging findings may be used to distinguish glioblastoma from primary CNS lymphoma.

Value of Magnetic Resonance Imaging Texture Analysis in the Differential Diagnosis of Benign and Malignant Breast Tumors / 中国医学科学杂志(英文版)

Objective To investigate the difference in texture features on diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) images between breast benign and malignant tumors.Methods Patients including 56 with mass-like breast cancer, 16 with breast fibroadenoma, and 4 with intraductal papilloma of breast treated in the Hainan Hospital of Chinese PLA General Hospital were retrospectively enrolled in this study, and allocated to the benign group (20 patients) and the malignant group (56 patients) according to the post-surgically pathological results. Texture analysis was performed on axial DWI images, and five characteristic parameters including Angular Second Moment (ASM), Contrast, Correlation, Inverse Difference Moment (IDM), and Entropy were calculated. Independent sample t-test and Mann-Whitney U test were performed for intergroup comparison. Regression model was established by using Binary Logistic regression analysis, and receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis was carried out to evaluate the diagnostic efficiency.Results The texture features ASM, Contrast, Correlation and Entropy showed significant differences between the benign and malignant breast tumor groups (P=0.014, P=0.019, P=0.010, P=0.007). The area under the ROC curve was 0.685, 0.681, 0.754, and 0.683 respectively for the positive texture variables mentioned above, and that for the combined variables (ASM, Contrast, and Entropy) was 0.802 in the model of Logistic regression. Binary Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that ASM, Contrast and Entropy were considered as the specific imaging variables for the differential diagnosis of breast benign and malignant tumors.Conclusions The texture analysis of DWI may be a simple and effective tool in the differential diagnosis between breast benign and malignant tumors.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging Features of the Supratentorial Extra-axial Hemangioblastoma:A Case Report / 中国医学科学院学报

We reported a case of supratentorial extra-axial hemangioblastoma diagnosed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). As a simple solid mass,this tumor has its unique MRI features due to its tissue structures.

Value of Magnetic Resonance Imaging Texture Feature Analysis in the Differential Diagnosis between Pancreatic Serous Cystadenoma and Mucinous Cystadenoma / 中国医学科学院学报

Objective To investigate the difference of tumor textures presented on T1-weighted image(T1WI) and T2-weighted image(T2WI) between pancreatic serous cystadenoma and mucinous cystadenoma. Methods Subjects including 24 patients with serous cystadenoma and 20 patients with mucinous cystadenoma who were treated in Hainan Branch of Chinese PLA General Hospital were enrolled in this study.The texture analysis was performed on T1WI and T2WI,and the texture parameters included angular second moment,contrast,correlation,inverse difference moment(IDM),and entropy.Independent sample t-test and Mann-Whitney U test were performed for the between-group comparison,the regression model was established by Binary Logistic regression analysis,and receiver operating characteristics curve(ROC) was drawn.Results The contrast and IDM of T1WI and the contrast,correlation,and IDM of T2WI showed significant differences between serous cystadenoma and mucinous cystadenoma(T1WI:P=0.714,P=0.003,P=0.069,P=0.004,P=0.818;T2WI:P=0.122,P=0.000,P=0.000,P=0.024,and P=0.081).The area under the ROC curve was 0.736-0.846 for the positive texture variables,and the area under the ROC curve was 0.879 for the variables in the model of Logistic regression.Binary Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that the contrast was a specific imaging variable for the differential diagnosis between serous cystadenoma and mucinous cystadenoma.Conclusion The texture analysis of T1WI and T2WI may be a simple and effective tool in the differential diagnosis between pancreatic serous cystadenoma and mucinous cystadenoma.

Epidermoid Cyst in the Fourth Ventricle:Report of One Case / 中国医学科学院学报

We reported a case with epidermoid cyst (EC) in the fourth ventricle. The insinuation and scalloping growth pattern were the distinctive imaging characteristics of EC in the fourth ventricle on magnetic resonance imaging. The accurate identification of the punctate enhancement of vessels around the lesion may be helpful for its differential diagnosis from hemangioblastoma.

Effect of nonpeptide NK1 receptor antagonist L-703,606 on the edema formation in rats at early stage after deep partial-thickness skin scalding

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the effect and the relevant potential mechanism of nonpeptide neurokinin 1 (NK1) receptor antagonist L-703,606 in the edema formation after burn injury.@*METHOD@#L-703,606 treatment was performed in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats at early stage after deep partial-thickness skin scalding. One hundred and fifty two adult male SD rats were used in the study and randomly divided into sham scald (SS, n=8), scald control (SC, n=48), and L-703,606 treatment (LT, n=48) groups. The rats in SC and LT groups were subjected to 20% total body surface area (TBSA) deep partial-thickness skin scalding. Modified Evans blue extravasation, tracing electron microscopy by lanthanum nitrate and mean water content assay were employed to observe and detect the changes of vascular permeability, ultrastructure and edema formation in adjacent tissue to the wounds and in the jejuna of rats at early stage (72 h) after scald.@*RESULTS@#The pathological increase of vascular permeability in the periwound tissue and jejunum of rats in LT group were significantly lower than that in SC group (P<0.01), and recuperated earlier. Meanwhile, the changes of water contents of corresponding tissues in LT group were lighter than those in SC group (P<0.01). The ultrastructural changes of the microvessels in the peri-wound tissue of LT group showed that the junctions between microvascular endothelium cells were more narrow than those of SC group, moreover, and the number of opening and the engorgement and cavitation of the vascular endothelium cells decreased, the areosis and edema in perivascular tissue lightened, and the precipitation of the high eletron density lanthanum tracing agent in the interspace of the tissue decreased significantly in LT group.@*CONCLUSIONS@#It is concluded that nonpeptide NK1-receptor antagonist L-703,606 could lighten the vascular permeability and edema formation in the periwound tissue and jejunum, and accelerate the normalization process of pathological changes in the tissues of rats after scald.

The influence of non-peptide NK1 receptor antagonist L-703, 606 on the early tissue edema formation in rats with deep partial-thickness scald / 中华烧伤杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the influence of non-peptide neuro-kinase 1 (NK1) receptor antagonist L-703, 606 on the early tissue edema formation in rats with deep partial-thickness scald.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>One hundred and fifty-two SD rats were enrolled in the study and were randomly divided into normal control (NC, n = 8), scald control (SC, n = 48, with 20% TBSA deep partial thickness scald), L-703, 606 treatment (LT, n = 48, with 20% TBSA deep partial-thickness scald 20 minutes after caudal vein injection of 250 nmol/kg L-703, 606) and beta-aescin treatment (AT, n = 48, with 20% TBSA deep-partial-thickness scald 30 minutes after caudal vein injection of 1.8 mg/kg beta-aescin) groups. The rats were sacrificed at 1, 4, 8, 24, 48 and 72 post scald hours (PSHs), with 8 rats at each time point. The peri-wound tissue and jejunum samples were harvested for the detection of vascular permeability and tissue water content with modified Evans blue extravasation method and average water content assay.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The vascular permeability was significantly higher in the peri-wound tissue and jejunum in SC, LT an AT groups than that in NC group (P < 0.01) at 1 PSH, and it decreased gradually at 4 PSH. The vascular permeability in the peri-wound tissue in LT and AT group was significantly lower than that in SC group (P < 0.01), and that in LT group was markedly higher than that in AT group (P < 0.01) at 48 and 72 PSHs. The vascular permeability of jejunum tissue in LT group was lower than that in SC group within 24 PSH (P < 0.01), while that in AT group was lower than that in LT group at the early postscald stage (P < 0.01), but no obvious difference was found between the two groups after 72 PSH (P > 0.05). The change in the tissue water content was as follows: Dehydration was observed in peri-wound tissue in SC, LT and AT groups at 1 PSH. The tissue water content increased gradually thereafter and reached the peak at 8 and 24 PSH. Certain degree of dehydration was observed in jejunum tissue in SC, LT and AT groups at early postscald stage. The water content in jejunum tissue in LT group was evidently higher than that in SC and AT groups (P < 0.05 or 0.01), edema was evident at 8 PSH, and it became more obvious at 48 PSH, then it subsided gradually. Edema was less evident in LT group.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Nonpeptide NK1-receptor antagonist L-703, 606 was able to mitigate the vascular permeability and reduce tissue water content in peri-wound and jejunal tissues.</p>

An experimental study on the change in neuropeptide substance P in the burn wound skin in scalded rats / 中华烧伤杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the change in neuropeptide substance P (SP) in the burn wound skin in scalded rats.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The SP distribution density in the rat skin samples from the burn wound, peri-wound area and remote area of scalded rats were determined by immunohistochemistry technique. The mRNA expression of SP was observed by in situ hybridization.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The distribution density of SP in the skin samples from the above three areas decreased obviously since 15 mins postburn, dropped to the lowest level during 6 - 12 postburn hou (PBH), and then recovered thereafter. Comparatively, the recovery in peri-wound area occurred earlier. In addition, there was emigration of macrophage-like large cells with positive SP immunoreactivity from local blood vessels in the dermal layer of the burn wound and peri-wound areas. The large cells were closely related to the local SP-containing nerve fibres at 12 PBHs. Intensified staining of the cells was identified at 24 PBHs with the disintegration of the cells into pieces with release of large amounts of positive SP immunoreactive granules, followed by disappearance of the cells at 48 PBHs. It was indicated by in situ hybridization that the preprotachykinin A (PPTA) mRNA encoding and synthesizing SP was expressed in various cells at 6 PBHs.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>SP might be synthesized and released from cutaneous nerve ending or from local inflammatory cells after skin burn injury.</p>

Repair of contracture deformities of the patients with extremely limited donor skin at late postburn stage / 中华烧伤杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore new methods to repair postburn contracture deformities in patients with extremely limited donor skin.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Five severely burned patients with extremely limited donor skin but severe deformities were enrolled in the study. The mature and the pliable scarred skin was utilized as the donor site for reconstruction of the postburn deformities. Split-thickness scarred skin was harvested for repair of postburn deformities after the scarred skin was expanded by expander, while thin razor-thin scarred skin with allo-acellular dermal matrix (ADM) was employed for the repair of postburn deformities when skin expansion was not feasible.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>All the expanded scarred skin and composite skin grafts survived completely with good function and configuration. The long-term follow-up result was satisfactory, and the grafted skin was similar to that with split-thickness skin grafting.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>It is feasible to employ various split-thickness scarred skin for the reconstruction of postburn deformities. This technique is a new effective procedure for the reconstruction of postburn deformities, especially for those with extreme scarcity of donor site.</p>

The in vitro isolation, culture and transfection of human fetal epidermal stem cells / 中华烧伤杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the in vitro methods of isolation and culture of human fetal epidermal stem cells (HFESCs) and the feasibility of the cultured cells as the target cells for gene transfection.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The HFESCs were isolated by means of type IV collagen rapid adhering method. The culture medium for HFESCs was prepared according to that for human fetal fibroblasts. The cultured cells were identified by immunohistochemistry staining of keratin-19 and integrin-beta1, cell cycle analysis and clone forming rate determination. Then the cultured cells were gene transfected in vitro by liposome mediating method in which eukaryon expression vector pcDNA3.1/VEGF165 containing vascular endothelial growth factor 165 (VEGF165) were transfected into cultured cells, or by virus vector mediating method in which recombinant adenovirus accompanied vector (raav) containing green fluorescent protein (GFP) (raav/GFP) were transfected into the cultured cells, respectively. The results of in vitro gene transfection of HFESCs were observed by immunohistochemisty staining and fluorescence microscope.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>HFESCs grew well and formed large clones with higher cloning efficiency and higher ratio of G1 cells than keratinocytes. The cultured cells were strongly positive with immunohistochemistry staining of keratin-19 and integrin-beta1. After being gene-transfected by pcDNA3.1/VEGF165, the VEGF165 of HFESCs showed positive immunohistochemistry staining property, while the HFESCs transfected by raav/GFP exhibited strong fluorescence.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>HFESCs could be isolated and cultured in vitro by means of rapid adherence to type IV collagen. It seemed feasible that HFESCs were gene transfected with liposome or adeno-associated virus as the vector.</p>