Clinical outcomes after endoscopic resection and the risk of lymph node metastasis in rectal neuroendocrine tumors: a single-center retrospective study.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The incidence of rectal neuroendocrine tumors (R-NETs) has increased in recent years. However, the predictors of lymph node (LN) metastasis and clinical outcomes, particularly following endoscopic treatment, remain unclear. Our study aims to elucidate the potential risk factors for LN metastasis and the clinical outcomes of patients undergoing endoscopic resection in R-NETs. METHODS: A total of 128 patients with R-NETs were retrospectively identified from a single center between June 2012 and December 2021. Risk factors for LN metastasis in R-NETs were analyzed using multivariate analysis. Additionally, the clinical outcomes of endoscopic resections in patients with R-NETs were assessed. RESULTS: In our study, 128 patients with R-NETs were retrospectively analyzed. The risk factors for LN metastasis determined by multivariate analysis were tumor size and patient age at diagnosis. Among the 111 patients treated with endoscopic resection and with tumor margin records available, 92 underwent endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) and 19 underwent conventional endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR). There was no significant difference between the two groups regarding the positive rates of basal tumor margin and lateral tumor margin. Furthermore, 64 patients who underwent endoscopic resection for R-NETs were successfully followed up (range, 1.64-76.71 months), during which only one patient developed local recurrence. CONCLUSION: Tumor size and age at diagnosis were predictors for LN metastasis of R-NETs. Both ESD and EMR are alternative techniques with a favorable prognosis for R-NETs, even in cases with positive resection margins. However, due to the relatively small number of patients undergoing EMR and missing data in follow-up protocols, definitive conclusions require further large-scale studies.

DPY30 promotes colorectal carcinoma metastasis by upregulating ZEB1 transcriptional expression.

DPY30 belongs to the core subunit of components of the histone lysine methyltransferase complex, which is implicated in tumorigenesis, cell senescence, and other biological events. However, its contribution to colorectal carcinoma (CRC) progression and metastasis has yet to be elucidated. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the biological function of DPY30 in CRC metastasis both in vitro and in vivo. Herein, our results revealed that DPY30 overexpression is significantly positively correlated with positive lymph nodes, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and CRC metastasis. Moreover, DPY30 knockdown in HT29 and SW480 cells markedly decreased EMT progression, as well as the migratory and invasive abilities of CRC cells in vitro and lung tumor metastasis in vivo. Mechanistically, DPY30 increased histone H3K4me3 level and promoted EMT and CRC metastasis by upregulating the transcriptional expression of ZEB1. Taken together, our findings indicate that DPY30 may serve as a therapeutic target and prognostic marker for CRC.

DPY30 Promotes Proliferation and Cell Cycle Progression of Colorectal Cancer Cells via Mediating H3K4 Trimethylation.

DPY30, a core subunit of the SET1/MLL histone H3K4 methyltransferase complexes, plays an important role in diverse biological functions through the epigenetic regulation of gene transcription, especially in cancer development. However, its involvement in human colorectal carcinoma (CRC) has not been elucidated yet. Here we demonstrated that DPY30 was overexpressed in CRC tissues, and significantly associated with pathological grading, tumor size, TNM stage, and tumor location. Furthermore, DPY30 knockdown remarkably suppressed the CRC cell proliferation through downregulation of PCNA and Ki67 in vitro and in vivo, simultaneously induced cell cycle arrest at S phase by downregulating Cyclin A2. In the mechanistic study, RNA-Seq analysis revealed that enriched gene ontology of cell proliferation and cell growth was significantly affected. And ChIP result indicated that DPY30 knockdown inhibited H3 lysine 4 trimethylation (H3K4me3) and attenuated interactions between H3K4me3 with PCNA, Ki67 and cyclin A2 respectively, which led to the decrease of H3K4me3 establishment on their promoter regions. Taken together, our results demonstrate overexpression of DPY30 promotes CRC cell proliferation and cell cycle progression by facilitating the transcription of PCNA, Ki67 and cyclin A2 via mediating H3K4me3. It suggests that DPY30 may serve as a potential therapeutic molecular target for CRC.

Conditional survival and recurrence of remnant gastric cancer after surgical resection: A multi-institutional study.

The present study was designed to evaluate the dynamic survival and recurrence of remnant gastric cancer (RGC) after radical resection and to provide a reference for the development of personalized follow-up strategies. A total of 298 patients were analyzed for their 3-year conditional overall survival (COS3), 3-year conditional disease-specific survival (CDSS3), corresponding recurrence and pattern changes, and associated risk factors. The 5-year overall survival (OS) and the 5-year disease-specific survival (DSS) of the entire cohort were 41.2% and 45.8%, respectively. The COS3 and CDDS3 of RGC patients who survived for 5 years were 84.0% and 89.8%, respectively. The conditional survival in patients with unfavorable prognostic characteristics showed greater growth over time than in those with favorable prognostic characteristics (eg, COS3, ≥T3: 46.4%-83.0%, Δ36.6% vs ≤T2: 82.4%-85.7%, Δ3.3%; P < 0.001). Most recurrences (93.5%) occurred in the first 3 years after surgery. The American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage was the only factor that affected recurrence. Time-dependent Cox regression showed that for both OS and DSS, after 4 years of survival, the common prognostic factors that were initially judged lost their ability to predict survival (P > 0.05). Time-dependent logistic regression analysis showed that the AJCC stage independently affected recurrence within 2 years after surgery (P < 0.05). A postoperative follow-up model was developed for RGC patients. In conclusion, patients with RGC usually have a high likelihood of death or recurrence within 3 years after radical surgery. We developed a postoperative follow-up model for RGC patients of different stages, which may affect the design of future clinical trials.

Correlation Between Interleukin-1ß-511 C/T Polymorphism and Gastric Cancer in Chinese Populations: A Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND Several studies have indicated that interleukin (IL)-1ß-511 C/T polymorphism may contribute to individual susceptibility to gastric cancer, but the results vary among regions and races. No relevant meta-analysis has been conducted in a Chinese population. Therefore, we performed the current meta-analysis to investigate the possible correlation between IL-1ß-511 C/T polymorphism and gastric cancer susceptibility in Chinese subjects. MATERIAL AND METHODS PubMed, EmBase, Cochrane Library, Chinese Biology Medicine (CBM), Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Wanfang databases were searched for case-control studies published before 21 January 2015 and investigating a correlation between IL-1ß-511 C/T polymorphism and gastric cancer susceptibility. Two investigators independently screened the studies, extracted data, and evaluated the quality of included studies with the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. Meta-analysis was conducted with STATA 12.0. RESULTS A total of 27 articles from 28 case-control studies were collected. Meta-analysis showed that IL-1ß-511C/T polymorphism was related to increased susceptibility to gastric cancer in Chinese subjects [T vs. C: OR=1.21, 95%CI (1.07-1.37), P<0.01; TT vs. CC: OR=1.41, 95%CI (1.11-1.80), P<0.01; CT vs. CC: OR=1.26, 95% CI (1.05-1.50), P<0.01; TT+CT vs. CC: OR=1.31, 95%CI (1.08-1.58), P<0.01; and TT vs. CT+CC: OR=1.24, 95%CI (1.05-1.47), P<0.01]. Subgroup analysis showed a significant correlation between IL-1ß-511C/T polymorphism and susceptibility to gastric cancer in residents of southern China and in patients with intestinal-type gastric cancer, but not in residents of northern China or in patients with diffuse gastric cancer. Moreover, H. pylori-infected subjects carrying T (CT+TT) exhibited a relatively higher risk of GC [OR=2.4, 95% CI (1.2-5.1), P=0.02]. CONCLUSIONS IL-1ß-511C/T polymorphism is significantly associated with increased susceptibility to gastric cancer in residents of southern China and in intestinal-type gastric cancer. We also found a synergistic interaction between IL-1ß-511C/T polymorphism and H. pylori infection in the development of GC.

The safety, feasibility, and oncological outcomes of laparoscopic completion total gastrectomy for remnant gastric cancer: a prospective study with 3-year follow-up (FUGES-004 study).

BACKGROUND: The efficacy of laparoscopic completion total gastrectomy (LCTG) for remnant gastric cancer (RGC) remains controversial. METHODS: The primary outcome was postoperative morbidity within 30 days after surgery. Secondary outcomes included 3-year disease-free survival (DFS), 3-year overall survival (OS), and recurrence. Inverse probability treatment weighted (IPTW) was used to balance the baseline between LCTG and OCTG. RESULTS: Final analysis included 46 patients with RGC who underwent LCTG at the FJMUUH between June 2016 and June 2020. The historical control group comprised of 160 patients who underwent open completion total gastrectomy (OCTG) in the six tertiary teaching hospitals from CRGC-01 study. After IPTW, no significant difference was observed between the LCTG and OCTG groups in terms of incidence (LCTG vs. OCTG: 28.0 vs. 35.0%, P =0.379) or severity of complications within 30 days after surgery. Compared with OCTG, LCTG resulted in better short-term outcomes and faster postoperative recovery. However, the textbook outcome rate was comparable between the two groups (45.9 vs. 32.8%, P =0.107). Additionally, the 3-year DFS and 3-year OS of LCTG were comparable to those of OCTG (DFS: log-rank P =0.173; OS: log-rank P =0.319). No significant differences in recurrence type, mean recurrence time, or 3-year cumulative hazard of recurrence were observed between the two groups (all P >0.05). Subgroup analyses and concurrent comparisons demonstrated similar trends. CONCLUSIONS: This prospective study suggested that LCTG was noninferior to OCTG in both short-term and long-term outcomes. In experienced centers, LCTG may be considered as a viable treatment option for RGC.

Inhibition of NLRP3 attenuates sodium dextran sulfate-induced inflammatory bowel disease through gut microbiota regulation.

BACKGROUND: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic, life-threatening inflammatory disease of gastrointestinal tissue characterized by inflammation of the gut. Recent studies have shown that gut microbiota is involved in the pathophysiology of IBD. However, it is unknown whether direct inhibition of NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome regulates IBD and alters gut microbiota. METHODS: Here, the NLRP3 expression was evaluated in the colon of IBD subjects. Then, we investigated the effects of NLRP3 inhibition by MCC950 on the gut microbiota and IBD-like symptoms induced by dextran sulfate sodium (DSS). RESULTS: Firstly, NLRP3 and IL-1ß levels were increased in patients with IBD as compared with healthy individuals. Then, the animal experiment showed that NLRP3 inhibition by MCC950 significantly attenuated IBD-like symptoms such as diarrhea and colonic inflammation in DSS-induced mice. In addition, NLRP3 inhibition inhibited NLRP3/ASC/caspase-1/IL-1ß signaling pathway in the colon, which was over-activated by DSS. Furthermore, MCC950 increased the abundance of phylum Firmicutes, decreased the abundance of phylum Bacteroidetes, and increased the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio, indicating that the inhibition of NLRP3 inflammasome could regulate the abundance of intestinal flora. According to correlation analysis, NLRP3 might produce its functional role in the regulation of oxidation indicators by changing the gut microbiota composition, especially the phylum Bacteroidota, genus Lactobacillus and species Lactobacillus reuteri. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that NLRP3 inflammasome inhibition attenuates IBD-like symptoms by regulating gut microbiota, and provides a basis for the clinical application of NLRP3 as a target for the treatment of IBD.

Development and External Validation of Web-Based Models to Predict the Prognosis of Remnant Gastric Cancer after Surgery: A Multicenter Study.

BACKGROUND: Remnant gastric cancer (RGC) is a rare malignant tumor with poor prognosis. There is no universally accepted prognostic model for RGC. METHODS: We analyzed data for 253 RGC patients who underwent radical gastrectomy from 6 centers. The prognosis prediction performances of the AJCC7th and AJCC8th TNM staging systems and the TRM staging system for RGC patients were evaluated. Web-based prediction models based on independent prognostic factors were developed to predict the survival of the RGC patients. External validation was performed using a cohort of 49 Chinese patients. RESULTS: The predictive abilities of the AJCC8th and TRM staging systems were no better than those of the AJCC7th staging system (c-index: AJCC7th vs. AJCC8th vs. TRM, 0.743 vs. 0.732 vs. 0.744; P>0.05). Within each staging system, the survival of the two adjacent stages was not well discriminated (P>0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that age, tumor size, T stage, and N stage were independent prognostic factors. Based on the above variables, we developed 3 web-based prediction models, which were superior to the AJCC7th staging system in their discriminatory ability (c-index), predictive homogeneity (likelihood ratio chi-square), predictive accuracy (AIC, BIC), and model stability (time-dependent ROC curves). External validation showed predictable accuracies of 0.780, 0.822, and 0.700, respectively, in predicting overall survival, disease-specific survival, and disease-free survival. CONCLUSIONS: The AJCC TNM staging system and the TRM staging system did not enable good distinction among the RGC patients. We have developed and validated visual web-based prediction models that are superior to these staging systems.

[Specific killing effects of combination of double suicide gene and survivin antisense oligonucleotide on breast tumor cells and vein endothelial cells].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the selectively killing effects of combination of adenovirus mediated double suicide gene driven by kinase-domain insert containing receptor (KDR) promoter and survivin antisense oligonucleotide on breast tumor cells and vein endothelial cells. METHODS: Human embryonal kidney cells 293 were transfected with the plasmids of pAdEasy-KDR-CDglyTK and the adenovirus was generated. The KDR expressive cells of MCF-7, ECV304 were infected by adenovirus and survivin ASODN was transferred into the same cells meanwhile. The infection rates of adenovirus and transfection efficiency of survivin ASODN were observed and the expression of CDglyTK was detected by RT-PCR. The expression of survivin was measured by Western blot. The killing effects and bystander effects on cells were assessed by MTT assay. RESULTS: The cells infected by the adenovirus mediated double suicide gene could be transfected with the survivin ASODN and the infection rate was not affected as well as the transfection rate. The high expression of CDglyTK gene was found in the two kinds of cells and survivin ASODN decreased the survivin protein level. When survivin ASODN was transferred into MCF-7, ECV304 cells, the survival rates were 56.4% +/- 3.8% and 55.9% +/- 3.6% respectively. The combination of survivin ASODN and AdKDR-CDglyTK gene therapy showed significantly lower survival rate comparing with using each treatment alone (P < 0.05) and the survival rate decreased gradually with the increasing of the concentration of GCV and 5-FC. But the survival rate for combined gene therapy group was slightly lower in GCV 100 microg/ml, 5-FC 2000 microg/ml than that of AdKDR-CDglyTK group (P > 0.05). The combination of survivin ASODN and AdKDR-CDglyTK therapy showed synergistic killing efficacy and more significant bystander effects. CONCLUSION: The combined therapy with AdKDR-CDglyTK system and survivin ASODN shows obvious killing effects on breast tumor cells and vein endothelial cells.

Preoperative radiotherapy improves survival in rectal signet-ring cell carcinoma-a population-based study.

BACKGROUND: To investigate the clinical value of preoperative and postoperative radiotherapy (RT) in patients with rectal signet-ring cell carcinoma (SRCC). METHODS: Using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program patients with stage II-III rectal SRCC were retrospectively included between 1988 and 2012. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed to analyze the effect of preoperative and postoperative RT on cause-specific survival (CSS). RESULTS: A total of 292 patients were included: 138 patients received preoperative RT, 101 patients received postoperative RT, and 53 patients underwent surgery alone. Overall, 5- and 10-year CSS was 43.8 and 37.6%, respectively. Preliminary survival analysis demonstrated that preoperative RT improved CSS versus surgery alone, especially in patients with stage III disease. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that preoperative RT was independent predictors for CSS in stage III rectal SRCC. CSS in preoperative and postoperative RT groups was comparable. CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative RT significantly improved survival outcomes in patients with stage III rectal SRCC.

Lymph node dissection improved survival in patients with metastatic thoracic esophageal cancer: An analysis of 220 patients from the SEER database.

BACKGROUND: To assess the clinical value of lymph node dissection and lymph node status in patients with metastatic thoracic esophageal cancer (MTEC). METHODS: The Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database was used to identify patients with MTEC who had undergone esophagectomy from 2004 to 2012. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox proportional hazard regression were used to identify factors significantly associated with overall survival. RESULTS: A total 220 eligible patients were identified, 162 (73.6%) of which underwent lymph node dissection. The 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year overall survival rates were 55.0%, 17.9%, and 9.2%, respectively; the median survival time was 13 months. Lymph node dissection was an independent prognostic factor of overall survival (hazard ratio: 0.527, 95% confidence interval: 0.377-0.736, p < 0.001). Patients who had undergone lymph node dissection had better overall survival than those who did not (1-year, 62.8% vs. 33.7%; 3-year, 21.4% vs. 7.9%). In patients who had undergone lymph node dissection, multivariate analysis determined that nodal stage was an independent prognostic factor. However, the extent of lymph node dissection was not associated with overall survival. CONCLUSIONS: Lymph node dissection improves survival in patients with MTEC who undergo esophagectomy, and the current lymph node staging can be used as a prognostic factor in patients with MTEC.

IL-1ß induced RXRα overexpression through activation of NF-κB signaling in gastric carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Abnormal expression of Retinoid X Receptor α (RXRα) seems to be a frequent incident in a variety of cancers. However, the expression pattern and the mechanisms in gastric carcinoma (GC) remain unclear. METHODS: In GC tissues and cell lines, the expression levels of RXRα mRNA and protein were detected by Q-PCR and Western blot, respectively; the localization of RXRα was evaluated by immunohistochemistry (IHC) or immunocytochemistry (ICC). The effect of IL-1ß on RXRα expression and localization was detected by Western blot and ICC. Nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) pathway was assessed via Western blot. RESULTS: RXRα expression was markedly elevated at both mRNA and protein levels in GC tissues and cell lines (all P<0.05). The abnormal overexpression of RXRα was predominantly visualized in cytoplasm. IL-1ß significantly induced cytoplasmic expression of RXRα in a time-dependent manner. Co-incubation with IL-1ß enhanced phospho-IKKα (p-IKKα) expression and this effect could be inhibited by the specific inhibitor for NF-κB (all P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: IL-1ß upregulated RXRα through activation of NF-κB signaling and these suggested a possible clinic significance of retinoid receptor expression in the diagnosis and treatment of GC.

[In vitro antitumor effect of adenovirus containing CD-TK fusion gene driven by VEGF promoter on LoVo cells].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the in vitro antitumor effect of adenovirus containing cytosine deaminase (CD) and thymine kinase (TK) gene driven by vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) promoter (Ad-VEGFp-CDglyTK) on human colorectal cancer LoVo cells. METHODS: The adenoviral vectors Ad-VEGFp-CDglyTK, Ad-CMV-CD, Ad-CMV-TK and Ad-CMV- CDglyTK were transfected into LoVo cells, which were then treated with the prodrugs 5-FC or GCV to observe the plating efficiency and growth inhibition effect and bystander effect of the vectors on LoVo cells. RESULTS: Compared with the two vectors containing single suicide gene, Ad-VEGFp-CDglyTK showed more remarkable inhibitory effect on the plating efficiency and growth of the tumor cells, and the bystander effect of the fusion suicide gene was much stronger than that produced by single suicide gene. But the LoVo cells infected with Ad-VEGFp-CDglyTK exhibited similar sensitivity to the prodrugs with the cells infected with Ad-CMV-CDglyTK. CONCLUSION: Ad-VEGFp-CDglyTK has potent antitumor effect on LoVo cells in vitro, which is comparable with the effect of Ad-CMV-CDglyTK.

[Assessment of hemodynamics in patients with Budd-Chiari syndrome after interventional treatment].

OBJECTIVE: To study the changes in morphology of liver and spleen and hemodynamics of the patients with Budd-Chiari syndrome (BCS) after interventional treatment. METHODS: The dimensions of liver and spleen were detected by routine ultrasonography in 30 normal control subjects and 256 BCS patients before and after inventional therapy. Color duplex sonography was employed to measure the hemodynamic changes. RESULTS: Compared with the control group, BCS patients before interventional therapy showed obvious liver and spleen enlargements (P<0.005), specially the caudate lobe of the liver (P<0.001), which were significantly reduced 7 days after interventional treatment (P<0.005), but the spleen was still larger than that of the control group (P<0.005) even till 6 months after the therapy. Color Doppler flow imaging (CDFI) revealed local high-speed blood flow in patients with stenosis of the inferior vena cave (IVC), but color flow was not detected in patients with IVC obstruction, who had hepatic vein dilation (P<0.005) with slowed blood flow and collateral formation of in the liver, as well as decreased velocity of blood flow in the portal vein. After interventional treatment, the diameter of the involved IVC increased with blood flow restoration and the size and shape of the stent were detected clearly. The velocity of blood flow was increased in both the hepatic and portal veins (P<0.005). CONCLUSION: Interventional therapy can relieve obstruction of blood flow in the liver and improve the hemodynamics of patients with BCS.

[Effect of KDR recombinant adenovirus containing double suicide gene on proliferation, apoptosis and cell cycle of human umbilical vein endothelial ECV304 cells].

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of adenovirus (Ad)-mediated fusion gene systemdriven by KDR promoter on the proliferation, apoptosis and cell cycle of human umbilical vein endothelial ECV304 cells. METHODS: The KDR-expressing ECV304 cells and LS174T cells not expressing KDR were both infected by the AdEasy-KDR-CDglyTK followed by treatment with the prodrugs 5-flurocytosine (5-FC) and/or ganciclovir (GCV) at different concentrations. The killing effects of the transfection on the cells were evaluated and bystander effects analyzed by coculturing the uninfected cells by AdKDR-CDglyTK with different ratios of infected cells. Flow cytometry was employed for determining the cell cycle distribution and electron microscopy performed to observe the pathological changes of cells. RESULTS: The infection rates of the resultant recombinant Ad (rAd) were similar in the cells and gradually increased with the increment in the multiplicity of infection (MOI) of the Ads. The infected cells exhibited different sensitivities to the two prodrugs: ECV304 cells infected with rAd were highly sensitive to the prodrugs, but the infected LS174T cells were not (P<0.001). The killing effect of CD/TK fusion gene on the target cells was much stronger than that of either single suicide gene (P<0.001), showing also obvious bystander effect. In addition, the cell cycle of ECV304 cells was arrested at S phase with morphologic features of apoptosis and necrosis as displayed by electron microscopy. CONCLUSIONS: CD/TK fusion gene system driven by KDR promoter selectively kills the KDR-CDglyTK-expressing endothelial cells, the mechanism of which may involve cell cycle arrest and necrosis and apoptosis of the cells.

[Adenovirus-mediated CDglyTK fusion gene system driven by KDR promoter selectively kills colorectal cancer cells].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the selective killing effect of adenovirus (Ad)-mediated double suicide gene driven by kinase domain-containing receptor(KDR) promoter on human colorectal cancer LoVo cells and human umbilical vein endothelial ECV304 cells. METHODS: The plasmid pAdEasy-KDR-CDglyTK was transfected into 293 packaging cells for amplification of the infectious Ad and used to infect the KDR-producing cells (ECV304 and LoVo) and the KDR-nonproducing cells (LS174T) respectively. The three cells were treated with the prodrugs 5-flurocytosine (5-FC) and ganciclovir (GCV) at different concentrations after infection. The killing effects of the fusion gene system on the cells were evaluated. The distribution of cell cycle was detected by flow cytometry. RESULTS: The infection rates of the recombinant Ad were similar among the 3 cells, gradually increasing with the increment of multiplicity of infection (MOI) and reaching 100% with the MOI of 200. The LoVo cells and ECV304 cells infected with Ad-KDR-CDglyTK were highly sensitive to both of the prodrugs (P>0.1), whereas the infected LS174T cells failed to exhibit similar sensitivity (P<0.001). The killing effect of CD/TK fusion gene on the target cells was much stronger than that of either suicide gene (P<0.001). The cell cycle of LoVo cells was arrested at G1 phase. CONCLUSION: The CD/TK fusion gene system driven by KDR promoter can selectively kill KDR-expressing human colorectal cancer LoVo cells and endothelial cells.

[Specific killing effects of adenovirus-mediated double suicide gene driven by KDR promoter on venous endothelial cells and gastric cancer cells in vitro].

OBJECTIVE: To study the specific killing effect of adenovirus(Ad)-mediated double suicide gene under regulation by KDR promoter on gastric cancer cells and venous endothelial cells in vitro. METHODS: KDR-expressing MGC803 and ECV304 cells and non-KDR-expressing LS174T cells were infected by the two Ads (AdEasy-KDR-CDglyTK and AdEasy-CMV- CDglyTK), and expression of CDglyTK was detected by reverse transcriptional (RT) PCR. After treatment with 5-FC and GCV, the killing effects of the double suicide genes on various cells were evaluated. RESULTS: The infection rate of the two resultant recombinant Ads did not differ significantly in the cells. RT-PCR demonstrated the presence of CDglyTK gene product in all the cells infected by Ad-CMV-CDglyTK and all but SL147T cells infected by Ad-KDR-CDglyTK. All the cells infected by Ad-CMV-CDglyTK and ECV304 and MGC803 cells infected Ad-KDR-CDglyTK were highly sensitive to the prodrugs. In contrast, LS174T cells infected by Ad-KDR-CDglyTK did not appear sensitive to the two prodrugs (P<0.001). In addition, the effect of the double suicide gene was much stronger than that of either of the single suicide gene (P<0.001), showing also considerable bystander effect. CONCLUSIONS: The double suicide gene driven by KDR promoter has specific killing effect on KDR-expressing gastric tumor cells and venous endothelial cells in vitro.

Research of shRNAmir inhibitory effects towards focal adhesion kinase expression in the treatment of gastric cancer.

Gastric cancer is the fourth most common type of malignant tumor, with a poor prognosis. Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) mediates the crosslink of intracellular signaling networks, playing a key role in cell migration and invasion. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of FAK interference on the proliferation ability, invasion and metastasis of gastric cancer cells. The FAK-RNAi lentiviral vector was infected into SGC7901 gastric cancer cells in order to observe the in vivo situations of tumor growth and metastasis before and after the FAK interference. The growth of SGC7901 gastric cancer cells in the interference group was significantly inhibited compared with that of the negative control (P<0.05) and the blank control groups (P<0.05), and the FAK expression significantly decreased (P<0.05). The in vitro invasion and metastasis experiments showed that the cell invasion and metastasis abilities of the interference group significantly decreased when compared with those of the negative control (P<0.05) and blank control groups (P<0.05). In the nude mouse subcutaneous tumor transplantation model, the mean ± standard deviation tumor weight of the interference group (1.474±0.9840 g) was lower than that of the negative control (3.134±0.3299 g) and blank control (2.68±0.12 g) groups (P<0.05). In the nude mice, the liver and peritoneal metastasis rates of the interference group were significantly lower than those of the negative control (P<0.05) and the blank control groups (P<0.05), and the FAK mRNA of the interference group significantly reduced (P<0.05). In conclusion, FAK interference could effectively suppress the proliferation, invasion and metastasis of transfected SGC7901 gastric cancer cells, and could inhibit the growth and distant metastasis of gastric cancer in nude mice.

Influence of different treatment modalities on survival of patients with low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma: A retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: To assess the efficacy of different treatment modalities on the outcome of patients with low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma (LG-ESS). METHODS: Patients with LG-ESS who received hysterectomy from March 1991 to December 2013 were retrospectively analyzed. The associations between clinicopathologic variables and disease free survival (DFS) were evaluated. RESULTS: One hundred and fourteen patients met the eligibility requirements. All patients received hysterectomy as the main treatment, 17.5% (20/114) of patients received ovarian preservation, and 62.3% (71/114) of patients received lymphadenectomy. Fifty-six patients received chemotherapy, 36 patients received radiotherapy, and 11 patients received endocrine therapy. The median follow-up duration was 40 months. The 5-year and 10-year DFS rates were 91.8% and 77.4%, respectively. The 5-year and 10-year overall survival rates were 96.7% and 96.7%, respectively. Univariate analyses showed that there were no risk factors associated with DFS. Lymphadenectomy, lymph node status, ovarian preservation, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and endocrine therapy had no significant effect on DFS. CONCLUSIONS: Hysterectomy has been the mainstay of treatment for LG-ESS. The optimal treatment strategy in LG-ESS remains to be determined.

[Adenovirus-mediated CDglyTK fusion gene system driven by KDR promoter selectively kills MCF-7 breast cancer cells and vascular endothelial cells].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the selective killing of MCF-7 human breast cancer cells and vascular endothelial ECV304 cells by adenovirus (Ad)-mediated double suicide gene driven by KDR promoter. METHODS: The plasmid pAdEasy-KDR- CDglyTK was transfected into 293 packaging cells for amplification of the infectious Ad, which were then used to infect KDR-producing ECV304 and MCF-7 cells and LS174T cells that did not produce KDR. The infected cells were treated with 5-FC and/or GCV at different doses to observe the cell-killing and bystander effects of AdKDR-CdglyTK. The cell cycle changes were also detected by flow cytometry. RESULTS: The Ad at the titer of 2.0 x 10(12) pfu/ml was obtained after the amplification, whose infection rates of the cells were similar, but could be increased gradually with the multiplicity of infection (MOI) till reaching 100% with the MOI of 200. The infected cells exhibited different sensitivities to the two prodrugs: ECV304 cells and MCF-7 cells infected with Ad-KDR-CDglyTK showed similar high sensitivity to the prodrugs (P=1.00), whereas the infected LS174T cells appeared to be less sensitive (P<0.001). The killing effect of CD/TK fusion gene on the target cells was much stranger than that of either suicide gene (P<0.001), but all exhbiting considerable bystander effect. In addition, the cell cycle of MCF-7 cells was arrested at G1 phase. CONCLUSIONS: CD/TK fusion gene system driven by KDR promoter can selectively kill KDR-expressing vascular endothelial cells and MCF-7 cells.