Clinical Efficacy and Safety Analysis of PD-1/PD-L1 Inhibitor vs. Chemotherapy in the Treatment of Advanced Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objective: To systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of pembrolizumab (PD-1/PD-L inhibitor) and adjuvant chemotherapy to treat NSCLC and provide evidence-based reference for clinical use. Methods: By searching the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, PubMed, and Web of Science, according to the inclusion criteria, literature selection, data extraction, and quality evaluation were carried out for the included literature. The I 2 test was used to evaluate heterogeneity between studies, and the meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3 software provided by Cochrane. Results: Finally, 14 relevant documents meeting the standards were included. It is a statistical difference in one-year survival rate [OR = 1.50, 95% CI (1.28, 1.76), P < 0.00001, I 2 = 0%, Z = 4.99]; overall response rate[OR =1.57, 95% CI (1.29, 1.90), P < 0.00001, I 2 = 0%, Z = 4.58]; progression-free survival [OR = 2.99, 95% CI (2.29, 3.91), P < 0.00001, I 2 = 26%, Z = 8.00]; and overall survival [OR = 1.38, 95% CI (1.07, 1.78), P = 0.01, I 2 = 46%, Z = 2.50] and reduces the incidence of adverse drug reactions [OR = 2.54, 95% CI (1.99, 3.25), P < 0.00001, I 2 = 69%, Z = 7.43]. Conclusion: Pembrolizumab adjuvant chemotherapy is effective in the treatment of advanced NSCLC, but attention should be paid to the occurrence of adverse reactions in clinical. Due to the limitations of the methodology included in the study, this conclusion required more validation of large-sample RCT.

Pancreatic ß-Cell Death due to Pdx-1 Deficiency Requires Multi-BH Domain Protein Bax but Not Bak.

Diabetes develops in Pdx1-haploinsufficient mice due to an increase in ß-cell death leading to reduced ß-cell mass and decreased insulin secretion. Knockdown of Pdx1 gene expression in mouse MIN6 insulinoma cells induced apoptotic cell death with an increase in Bax activation and knockdown of Bax reduced apoptotic ß-cell death. In Pdx1 haploinsufficient mice, Bax ablation in ß-cells increased ß-cell mass, decreased the number of TUNEL positive cells and improved glucose tolerance after glucose challenge. These changes were not observed with Bak ablation in Pdx1-haploinsufficient mice. These results suggest that Bax mediates ß-cell apoptosis in Pdx1-deficient diabetes.

IL6 induces TAM resistance via kinase-specific phosphorylation of ERα in OVCA cells.

About 40-60% of ovarian cancer (OVCA) cases express ERα, but only a small proportion of patients respond clinically to anti-estrogen treatment with estrogen receptor (ER) antagonist tamoxifen (TAM). The mechanism of TAM resistance in the course of OVCA progression remains unclear. However, IL6 plays a critical role in the development and progression of OVCA. Our recent results indicated that IL6 secreted by OVCA cells may promote the resistance of these cells to TAM via ER isoforms and steroid hormone receptor coactivator-1. Here we demonstrate that both exogenous (a relatively short period of treatment with recombinant IL6) and endogenous IL6 (generated as a result of transfection with a plasmid encoding sense IL6) increases expression of pERα-Ser118 and pERα-Ser167 in non-IL6-expressing A2780 cells, while deleting endogenous IL6 expression in IL6-overexpressing CAOV-3 cells (by transfection with a plasmid encoding antisense IL6) reduces expression of pERα-Ser118 and pERα-Ser167, indicating that IL6-induced TAM resistance may also be associated with increased expression of pERα-Ser118 and pERα-Ser167 in OVCA cells. Results of further investigation indicate that IL6 phosphorylates ERα at Ser118 and Ser167 by triggering activation of MEK/ERK and phosphotidylinositol 3 kinase/Akt signaling, respectively, to activate the ER pathway and thereby induce OVCA cells resistance to TAM. These results indicate that IL6 secreted by OVCA cells may also contribute to the refractoriness of these cells to TAM via the crosstalk between ER and IL6-mediated intracellular signal transduction cascades. Overexpression of IL6 not only plays an important role in OVCA progression but also promotes TAM resistance. Our results indicate that TAM-IL6-targeted adjunctive therapy may lead to a more effective intervention than TAM alone.

[Relationship of IL-6 and IL-8 secretion in epithelial ovarian cancer cell lines with their sensitivity to tamoxifen as well as MAPK, Akt and estrogen receptor phosphorylation].

AIM: To investigate the relationship of IL-6 and IL-8 secretion in four epithelial ovarian cancer cell lines (A2780, CAOV-3, SKOV-3 and ES-2) with their sensitivity to tamoxifen (TAM) as well as MAPK, Akt and estrogen receptor (ER) phosphorylation, and to explore the mechanism of endocrine therapy resistance caused by IL-6 and IL-8 in ovarian cancer cells. METHODS: Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were performed to analyze the expression of IL-6 and IL-8. MTT assay was carried out to examine the response of ovarian cancer cells to TAM. Western blot was used to detect phosphorylated MAPK, Akt and ER. RESULTS: Except A2780 cells, three other ovarian cancer cells constitutively expressed IL-6 and IL-8. The mRNA levels of IL-6 and IL-8 correlated with their protein levels in four ovarian cancer cells. The four ovarian cancer cells showed different response to TAM. A2780 cells was the most responsive, whereas CAOV-3, SKOV-3 and ES-2 cells were TAM-resistant to a different degree. There was a notable difference in phosphorylated MAPK, Akt and ER (serine 118 and 167) among the four ovarian cancer cells. CONCLUSION: Autocrine production of IL-6 and IL-8 in epithelial ovarian cancer cell lines is inversely associated with cell response to TAM, and positively associated with phosphorylated MAPK, Akt and ER.

[Comparative study of the protective immunity activated by antigens of adult worms and muscle larvae of Trichinella spiralis].

AIM: To compare the immune protective effects of the mice immunized by antigens derived from adult worms and muscle larvae of Trichinella spiralis. METHODS: The adult worm and muscle larvae antigens of Trichinella spiralis were prepared and two groups of mice (adult worm antigen group and muscle larvae antigen group) were immunized with them, respectively. After 10 days of the final vaccination, the mice in each group were challenged with infective larvae of Trichinella spiralis. The number of intestinal adult worms and muscle larvae were examined and their reduction rate was calculated. Meanwhile, the level of serum IgG in each group was detected by ELISA. RESULTS: Compared with control group, the number of intestinal adult worms and muscle larvae in adult worm group and muscle larvae antigen group was lower(P<0.05) and number of intestinal adult worms and muscle larvae in adult worm antigen group was at the lowest(P<0.01). When the mice in the two groups were challenged with infective larvae of Trichinella spiralis, the titer of serum IgG detected on the same day was higher than that before they were vaccinated with the antigens(P<0.01, P<0.05) and it was also higher than that in control group(P<0.01, P<0.05). The level of serum IgG of the mice detected on the day when they were challenged with infective larvae of Trichinella spiralis was significantly higher than that before the mice were vaccinated and it was also higher than that in adult worm antigen group(P<0.01). CONCLUSION: Both the adult worm and muscle larvae antigens of Trichinella spiralis can stimulate mice to produce protective immunity and the mice immunized with adult worm antigens have stronger resistance to the subsequent challenge infection.