Cytotoxic glutarimide-containing polyketides isolated from Streptomyces sp. JCM 4793.

Glutarimide-containing polyketides usually exhibit anti-fungi activity, which was well exampled by cycloheximide. In our work, three new polyketide structures, 12-amidestreptimidone (1), 12-carboxylstreptimidone (2) and 3-(5S,8R)-(2-amino-2-oxoethyl-2'-methoxy-2'-oxoethyl)-8,10-dimethyl-7-oxododeca-5-hydroxy-9E,11-diolefin (3) were isolated from Streptomyces sp. JCM 4793. 3 without the glutarimide moiety is not active against fungi as expected, while 1 bearing the amide moiety is much more active than its carboxylic form 2. Here we report the isolation, structural elucidation, antifungal activity, and proposed biosynthesis pathway of 1-3.

Clinical application of ERCP concurrent laparoscopic cholecystectomy in the treatment of cholecystolithiasis complicated with extrahepatic bile duct stones.

Objective: To compare the clinical efficacy of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) combined with laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) and laparoscopic common bile duct exploration and lithotomy (LCBDE) in the treatment of cholecystolithiasis combined with bile duct stones. Methods: From September 2018 to January 2022, 195 patients with cholecystolithiasis complicated with extrahepatic bile duct stones from Department of Department of General Surgery, Shanghai Jiading Central Hospital met the inclusion criteria, including 60 cases in the LC group and 86 cases in the LCBDE group. The general condition, operation success rate, complications and residual stone rate of the two groups were retrospectively analyzed. Results: In the simultaneous operation group, 58 patients successfully performed ERCP, and the indwelling rate of the abdominal drainage tube (41.7 % vs. 95.3 %) was significantly better than that in the LCBDE group. There was no significant difference in the conversion rate to open surgery, operation time, and intraoperative blood loss between the two groups. In the simultaneous surgery group, 4 patients (6.7 %) developed pancreatitis after ERCP, which was cured by conservative treatment. The pain score at 6 h after operation was significantly lower than that in the LCBDE group (3.9 ± 1.6 vs 6.5 ± 2.4). There were no significant differences in biliary leakage (1.7 % vs. 4.7 %), postoperative cholangitis (5.0 % vs. 5.8 %), incision infection (3.3 % vs. 3.5 %), and bile duct stone residue rate (5.0 % vs 3.5 %) between the two groups. There was no severe pancreatitis, second operation or death. The duration of hospital stay was shortened in the concurrent operation group (5.1 ± 2.3d vs 7.9 ± 3.7d), and the operation cost was significantly higher than that in the LCBDE group (48839.9 ± 8549.5 vs 34635.9 ± 5893.7 yuan). Conclusion: ERCP combined with LC and LCBDE are both safe and effective methods for the treatment of cholecystolithiasis combined with extrahepatic bile duct stones. The simultaneous operation group has certain advantages in patient comfort and rapid rehabilitation, which can be popularized in qualified units.

Targeting ONECUT3 blocks glycolytic metabolism and potentiates anti-PD-1 therapy in pancreatic cancer.

BACKGROUND: Reprogramming glucose metabolism, also known as the Warburg effect (aerobic glycolysis), is a hallmark of cancers. Increased tumor glycolysis not only favors rapid cancer cell proliferation but reprograms the immune microenvironment to enable tumor progression. The transcriptional factor ONECUT3 plays key roles in the development of the liver and pancreas, however, limited is known about its oncogenic roles, particularly metabolic reprogramming. METHODS: Immunohistochemistry and Western blotting are applied to determine the expression pattern of ONECUT3 and its clinical relevance in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Knockdown and overexpression strategies are employed to determine the in vitro and in vivo functions of ONECUT3. Chromatin immunoprecipitation, luciferase reporter assay, and gene set enrichment analysis are used to decipher the molecular mechanisms. RESULTS: The glycolytic metabolism is inversely associated with T-cell infiltration in PDAC. ONECUT3 is identified as a key regulator for PDAC glycolysis and CD8+ T-cell infiltration. Genetic silencing of ONECUT3 inhibits cell proliferation, promotes cell apoptosis, and reduces glycolytic metabolism as evidenced by glucose uptake, lactate production, and extracellular acidification rate. Opposite effects of ONECUT3 are observed in overexpression studies. ONECUT3 enhances aerobic glycolysis via transcriptional regulation of PDK1. Targeting ONECUT3 effectively suppresses tumor growth, increases CD8+ T-cell infiltration, and potentiates anti-PD-1 therapy in PDAC. Pharmacological inhibition of PDK1 also shows a synergistic effect with anti-PD-1 therapy. In clinical setting, ONECUT3 is closely associated with PDK1 expression and T-cell infiltration in PDAC and acts as an independent prognostic factor. CONCLUSIONS: Our study reveals a previous unprecedented regulatory role of ONECUT3 in PDAC glycolysis and provides in vivo evidence that increased glycolysis is linked to an immunosuppressive microenvironment. Moreover, targeting ONECUT3-PDK1 axis may serve as a promising therapeutic approach for the treatment of PDAC.

Controllable Preparation of Highly Crystalline Sulfur-Doped Π-Conjugated Polyimide Hollow Nanoshell for Enhanced Photocatalytic Performance.

In this study, a series of highly crystalline π-conjugated polyimide photocatalysts with porous nano hollow shell (HSPI) was prepared for the first time by the hard template method by adjusting the addition ratio of the template precursor. SiO2 nanospheres not only serve as template agents but also as dispersants to make precursors of SPI more uniform, and the degree of polymerization will be better, resulting in significantly enhanced crystallinity of HSPI relative to bulk SPI (BSPI). More strikingly, it is found that HSPI has a larger specific surface area, stronger visible light absorption, and higher separation efficiency of photogenerated electron and hole pairs compared with BSPI by various spectral means characterization analysis. These favorable factors significantly enhanced the photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange (MO) by HSPI. This work provides a promising approach for the preparation of cheap, efficient, environmentally friendly, and sustainable photocatalysts.

Exploitation and Verification of a Stroma- and Metastasis-Associated Risk Prognostic Signature in Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma.

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD), one of the most malignant tumors, not only has abundant mesenchymal components, but is also characterized by an extremely high metastatic risk. The purpose of this study was to construct a model of stroma- and metastasis-associated prognostic signature, aiming to benefit the existing clinical staging system and predict the prognosis of patients. First, stroma-associated genes were screened from the TCGA database with the ESTIMATE algorithm. Subsequently, transcriptomic data from clinical tissues in the RenJi cohort were screened for metastasis-associated genes. Integrating the two sets of genes, we constructed a risk prognostic signature by Cox and LASSO regression analysis. We then obtained a risk score by a quantitative formula and divided all samples into high- and low-risk groups based on the scores. The results demonstrated that patients with high-risk scores have a worse prognosis than those with low-risk scores, both in the TCGA database and in the RenJi cohort. In addition, tumor mutation burden, chemotherapeutic drug sensitivity and immune infiltration analysis also exhibited significant differences between the two groups. In exploring the potential mechanisms of how stromal components affect tumor metastasis, we simulated different matrix stiffness in vitro to explore its effect on EMT key genes in PAAD cells. We found that cancer cells stimulated by high matrix stiffness may trigger EMT and promote PAAD metastasis.

Filling Mesopores of Conductive Metal-Organic Frameworks with Cu Clusters for Selective Nitrate Reduction to Ammonia.

The electrocatalytic nitrate reduction reaction (NO3-RR) to ammonia (NH3) under ambient conditions not only has the benefit of lowering energy consumption, but also helps remove nitrate contamination. Inspired by the unique structure of nitrate/nitrite reductase with the active spheroproteins encapsulated by larger enzymes, herein, we develop an in situ synthetic strategy for the construction of metal cluster-conductive metal-organic framework (MOF) composite electrocatalysts. The metallic Cu clusters are filled into the mesopores of a conductive copper-based MOF (i.e., CuHHTP); meanwhile, CuHHTP with a porous structure provides an internal environment to limit the growth of metallic Cu clusters with an ultrasmall size (i.e., 1.5 ± 0.2 nm) and restrains their aggregation. The obtained Cu@CuHHTP exhibits superb performance for NO3-RR. In a neutral electrolyte with 500 ppm NO3-, Cu@CuHHTP shows a high NO3- conversion of 85.81% and a selectivity for NH3 of 96.84%. 15N isotope labeling experiments confirm that the formation of NH3 originates from the process of NO3-RR. Theoretical calculations confirm that Cu clusters are the active sites in the composite electrocatalysts, in which the proper d-band center and the "accept-donate" mechanism in charge transfer are the key factors for the improvement of the electrocatalytic performance.

Highly oxygenated chemical constitutes and rearranged derivatives with neurotrophic activity from Ganoderma cochlear.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: The morphological characteristics of Ganoderma cochlear (Blume & T. Nees) Bres were identical to G. sinsense J.D. Zhao, L.W. Hsu & X.Q. Zhang, however, with the fungus stipe lying in the back of the pileus. Fruiting bodies and spores of G. cochear have been traditionally used for smoothing, sleeping improvement, memory impairment, anti-aging, and prolonging life. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a chromic progressive neurodegenerative disorder associated with loss of memory and cognition. Hallmarks of AD include aging, amyloid-ß plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, neuron loss, neuronal degeneration, network disruption, cognitive dysfunction, inflammation and oxidation stress. In this study, norlanostanoids from G. cochear are identified as potential neurotrophic chemists related to the memory impairment usage to slow down pathogenetic process and restore neural circuits for AD. AIM OF STUDY: Chemical and biological investigations in this study uncovered the potential constituents related to the traditional usage of G. cochlear. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The extract of the mushrooms was purified using various column chromatography techniques and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The structures of the isolates were elucidated by combination of spectral, and single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The neurotrophic activity was evaluated by the differentiation state of PC12 cells, and the dose-dependent and time-dependant expression of growth-associated protein (GAP-43) was analyzed by western blotting. RESULTS: Ganorbifates J-T (1-11), eleven previously undescribed triterpenoids together with five known trinorlanostanoids (12-16) were isolated from the fruiting bodies of G. Cochlear. Among them, ganorbifates N-O (5-6) had a demethylation at C-28 compared to the classic skeleton of 3,4-seco-25,26,27-trinorlanostanoids to form a new group of 3,4-seco-25,26,27,28-tetranorlanostanoids. Based on this, a novel skeleton of ganorbifate M (4) was further established by the arrangement of C-29 from C-4 to C-7. A plausible biosynthetic pathway of compounds 4-6 was proposed. Eight of the sixteen isolates showed neurotrophic activity with the concentration of 10 µM. Furthermore, compound 15 exhibited a dose-dependent neurogenic activity, and also strengthened the expression of the growth-associated protein (GAP-43) in NGF-induced PC-12 cells, whereas 11 showed an inhibitory effect at higher concentration. CONCLUSION: These results demonstrated that 3,4-seco-norlanostanoids had reliable potential in promoting the outgrowth of PC-12 cells and could be used in the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease, which is consist with the beneficial effects of G. Cochlear.

Benefits and safety of photodynamic therapy in patients with hilar cholangiocarcinoma: A meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a therapy evaluated for the treatment of cancers resistant to standard oncological treatments. PDT might be beneficial for the palliation of hilar cholangiocarcinoma. AIM: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of PDT for treating hilar cholangiocarcinoma. METHODS: PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and Web of Science were searched for articles published up to May 2021. The patients were grouped as PDT+stent vs. stent alone. The outcomes were survival, quality of life, and adverse events (AEs). Data were summarized using hazard ratios (HRs), odds ratios (ORs), and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: Six studies were included in this meta-analysis. There were 235 and 211 patients in the PDT+stent and stent groups, respectively. The 1-year survival rate of the PDT+stent group was 0.56, and that of the control group was 0.25. The 2-year survival rate of the PDT+stent group was 0.16, and that of the control group was 0.07. PDT significantly prolonged overall survival compared to the controls (P = 0.002). No differences were detected in the occurrence of cholangitis (P = 0.996) and all other AEs (early complications, stent malfunction, total AEs, acute pancreatitis, liver abscess, and biliary hemorrhage) between the two groups. CONCLUSION: PDT in patients with hilar cholangiocarcinoma could improve survival without additional AEs. Large-scale randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm the findings.

Long non-coding RNA HOTAIR/microRNA-761 sponge regulates PPME1 and further influences cell biological functions in thyroid carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Most well-differentiated thyroid carcinomas display good therapeutic outcomes, but there are still some patients who are not sensitive to the general treatments lose their treatment opportunities. Thus, it is important to understand the molecular mechanisms that cause thyroid carcinoma, so as to find effective diagnostic and therapeutic targets. AIM OF THE STUDY: To explore the role of homeobox transcript antisense RNA (HOTAIR) in thyroid carcinoma through protein phosphatase methylesterase 1 (PPME1) by sponging microRNA 761 (miR-761). METHODS: The regulation network amongst HOTAIR, miR-761 and PPME1 was predicted by online sources. RT-PCR was conducted to evaluate the expression of HOTAIR and miR-761 in tumor tissues. Clinical data was collected and analyzed by Chi-square test. Cell apoptosis and proliferation was evaluated using three types of cancer cells (HTh-7, CAL-62, BCPAP) after treated with si-HOTAIR and miR-761inhibitor. The binding site among HOTAIR, miR-761 and PPME1 was verified by dual luciferase reporter assay. PPME1 expression was measured after HOTAIR and miR-761 were suppressed by western blot. Survival time was measured in nude mice using log-rank test. RESULTS: HOTAIR was expressed to a significantly greater extent than miR-761 in thyroid tumor tissues (P < .001). miR-761 and PPME1 were negatively correlated (coef = -1.91, P < .001). HOTAIR competitively binds to miR-761 and miR-761 directly targets PPME1. HOTAIR was highly correlated with TNM (χ 2 = 5.797, P = .016), tumor size (χ 2 = 7.955, P = .005) and lymphatic metastasis (χ 2 = 6.0, P = .014). HOTAIR promoted cell proliferation and inhibited cell apoptosis, whereas miR-761 did not. HOTAIR elevated and miR-761 suppressed PPME1 expression. HOTAIR expression appears to affect the survival time in vivo. CONCLUSION: HOTAIR regulated thyroid cancer cells by binding to miR-761 through PPME1.

MiR-410-3p activates the NF-κB pathway by targeting ZCCHC10 to promote migration, invasion and EMT of colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a prevalent malignancy of the digestive tract. miR-410-3p is involved in oncogenesis and development of CRC, but the specific regulation mechanism is still not known clearly. METHODS: The expression of miR-410-3p and zinc finger CCHC-type containing 10 (ZCCHC10) in CRC cells was detected by qRT-PCR and western blot method, respectively. The dual-luciferase reporter gene detection was applied for determination of interaction between miR-410-3p and ZCCHC10. The wound healing assay and transwell assay were carried out to measure cell migration and invasive ability, respectively. RESULTS: The miR-410-3p expression levels were markedly increased, but ZCCHC10 levels were reduced in CRC cells and tissues. Dual-luciferase reporter gene detection indicated that miR-410-3p targeted ZCCHC10 directly. Functionally knockdown of ZCCHC10 or overexpression of miR-410-3p activated nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) signaling pathway, promoted epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process, as well as cell migration and invasion of CRC cells. After adding NF-κB inhibitor BAY 11-708 to inhibit NF-κB pathway, the promoting effects of si-ZCCHC10 on cell migration, invasion and EMT of HT29 and SW480 cells were suppressed. Meanwhile, overexpression of ZCCHC10 inhibited the effects of miR-410-3p on cell migration, invasion and EMT of HT29 and SW480. CONCLUSION: miR-410-3p-mediated ZCCHC10 suppression regulates NF-κB activation, thereby promoting EMT process, cell migration and invasion of CRC cells. This study provides a new insight into the specific mechanism by which miR-410-3p mediates CRC progression.

Evaluation of thyroid hemangioma by conventional ultrasound combined with contrast-enhanced ultrasound: a case report and review of the literature.

Primary thyroid hemangioma is an extremely rare clinical disease. Only 31 cases have been reported to date according to a PubMed search, and most were postoperatively diagnosed by pathologic examination. Ultrasonography is the first-line imaging modality for thyroid disease screening. However, preoperative ultrasonic diagnosis of thyroid hemangioma has been rarely reported. We herein describe a 24-year-old woman with a painless mass in the left thyroid lobe. Routine ultrasound (US) and contrast-enhanced US (CEUS) were performed. Routine US revealed an anechoic tumor with linear echogenic septal lines and compressibility. CEUS showed a characteristic "slow in and slow out" pattern of contrast filling and perfusion. Based on the combined findings of routine US and CEUS, the initial diagnosis was thyroid venous hemangioma. Postoperative pathological examination demonstrated multiple irregular dilated vessel lumens filled with red blood cells and multiple hemorrhagic zones. Immunohistochemical staining showed positivity for CD31 and smooth muscle actin.. Overall, this case showed US characteristics of a rare case of thyroid hemangioma, which is of importance for preoperative planning to avoid a large amount of blood loss during surgery. This case together with our literature review will help radiologists to bridge the knowledge gap of thyroid hemangioma, especially at the initial US screening.

Effects of cellulose nanofibrils/graphene oxide hybrid nanofiller in PVA nanocomposites.

NCF/GO hybrid nanofillers with excellent UV-shielding properties were prepared by using TEMPO-oxidized nanocellulose fibrils (NCF) and graphene oxide (GO) as raw materials; different mass ratios of NCF to GO (2: 1, 4: 1, 8: 1, and 16: 1) were used. The NCF and GO were then combined and used as a hybrid filler to study the synergistic effects on polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nanocomposites. With 5% hybrid nanofiller, the UV-shielding performance of the PVA/NCF/GO composite film was higher than 90%. The tensile strength and Young's modulus of the PVA/CG-2 composite film increased by 74.5% and 278.0%, respectively, and the water absorption decreased by 59%. Moreover, the thermal stabilities of the nanocomposites also improved. This synergistic effect improved the performance of the hybrid nanofiller by avoiding the agglomeration of nanofillers in the polymer matrix and improving the homogeneity of the dispersion. The synergistic effect between the fillers provides a new idea for the preparation of novel multifunctional nanocomposites.

Novel 2, 5-diketopiperazine derivatives as potent selective histone deacetylase 6 inhibitors: Rational design, synthesis and antiproliferative activity.

Histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6) has gained popular attention for its wide participation in various pathological process recently. In this paper, a series of novel derivatives containing 2, 5-diketopiperazine (DKP) skeleton were developed as potent selective HDAC6 inhibitors (sHDAC6is). Most of these compounds exhibited low nanomolar IC50 values toward HDAC6, and the best compound was 21b (IC50 = 0.73 nM) which had 144-10941-fold selectivity over other HDAC isoforms. Western blot assay further validated these compounds to be sHDAC6is. Molecular simulation of 21b was conducted to rationalize the high binding affinity for HDAC6. In the cytotoxicity experiment, 18a, 18b and 18d gave superior or comparable influence on the growth of two multiple myeloma cells U266 and RPMI-8226 compared to ACY-1215. Moreover, the combination of 18a and adriamycin showed synergistic effect against non-small cell lung cancer cell A549. 18a and 18b also demonstrated appropriate drug metabolism in human liver microsome (HLM).

Loss of profilin 2 contributes to enhanced epithelial-mesenchymal transition and metastasis of colorectal cancer.

Profilin 2 (PFN2) functions as an actin cytoskeleton regulator and serves an important role in cell motility. However, a role for PFN2 in the progression of colorectal cancer (CRC), particularly in metastasis, has yet to be clarified. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether PFN2 served specific roles in the progression of human CRC. The results demonstrated that PFN2 was differentially expressed in CRC tissues and cell lines by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blotting. PFN2 expression was also negatively associated with the degree of tumor metastasis. Low PFN2 expression in CRC cells was related with enhanced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and, in turn, may increase migratory capabilities. Overexpression of PFN2 in CRC cell lines with a low level of endogenous PFN2 inhibited the EMT process, as well as the associated migration; in addition, myosin light chain (MLC) phosphorylation was upregulated. Inhibition of MLC phosphorylation attenuated the inhibition of EMT and cell migratory abilities induced by PFN2 overexpression in CRC cell lines, the results suggested that PFN2 may suppress cancer EMT and the subsequent metastasis by regulating cytoskeletal reorganization. These results demonstrated that PFN2 may serve a suppressive role in the metastasis of CRC and therefore may provide a new potential target for cancer therapeutics.

IL-1ß promotes proliferation and migration of gallbladder cancer cells via Twist activation.

Increasing evidence has revealed a correlation between chronic inflammation and gallbladder cancer (GBC). However, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain to be elucidated. In the present study, secretion of interleukin (IL)-1ß was examined in tissues of GBC, chronic cholecystitis and normal gallbladder, as well as in the supernatant of GBC-SD, SGC996 and HIBEpiC cells. The effect of IL-1ß on the proliferation and migration of GBC cell lines was also evaluated. In addition, the role of Twist in IL-1ß-induced proliferation of GBC cells was also studied. It was observed that the level of IL-1ß protein in normal gallbladder tissue was low, while it was significantly increased in GBC and chronic cholecystitis tissues. The level of IL-1ß protein and mRNA in GBC-SD and SGC996 cells was markedly higher than those in HIBEpiC cells. Exogenous IL-1ß promoted the proliferation of GBC-SD and SGC996 cells in vitro and in vivo, and also promoted migration in vitro. The level of Twist protein was significantly increased following treatment with exogenous IL-1ß. In addition, gene silencing of Twist blocked IL-1ß-induced proliferation and migration of GBC-SD and SGC996 cells. Taken together, these results indicate that IL-1ß promotes proliferation and migration of GBC cells via Twist activation.

Laparoscopy Combined With Transanal Endoscopic Microsurgery for Rectal Cancer: A Prospective, Single-blinded, Randomized Clinical Trial.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of laparoscopy combined with transanal endoscopic microsurgery (TEM) in the treatment of rectal cancer. METHODS: A total of 60 rectal cancer patients who underwent radical resection from December 2009 to December 2013 were enrolled in this study. All patients were randomly divided to receive either laparoscopic surgery (LA group) or laparoscopy combined with TEM (LT group). Demographics including age and sex, and tumor characteristics including tumor size, distance from anal verge, and preoperative staging were all recorded. The operation time, hospital stay, cases with intraoperative blood transfusion, the number of resected lymph node, postoperative out-of-bed activity, passage of gas by anus, fasting time, and postoperative complications were assessed. RESULTS: Compared with the LA group, patients in the LT group had shorter operation time (118.5±22.0 vs. 138.1±23.8 min, P=0.002), earlier out-of-bed activity (60.4±19.2 vs. 83.6±9.6 h, P=0.001) and passage of gas by anus (81.4±5.4 vs. 86.2±8.7 h, P=0.013), and shorter hospital stay (8.0±2.8 vs. 11.0±3.5 d, P=0.001). Patients were followed up for a median time of 28 months (range, 3 to 48 mo). No local recurrence and distant metastasis occurred in all cases. CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopy combined with TEM is a feasible and effective treatment for radical excision of middle-upper rectal cancer due to the advantages of lower morbidity and earlier recovery.

Somatostatin receptors 3, 4 and 5 play important roles in gallbladder cancer.

Expression changes of somatostatin receptor subtypes (SSTRs) including SSTR1, SSTR2, SSTR3, SSTR4 and SSTR5 in the development of gallbladder cancer were assessed with attention to relationships with clinical pathological characteristics. SSTRs in 29 gallbladder cancer and 25 normal gallbladder tissue specimens were examined by immunohistochemical staining. Differences between SSTRs expressions and clinical pathological parameters were analyzed by chi-square test. The five subtypes of SSTR were all expressed in gallbladder cancer tissues and SSTR3 presented the highest expression. SSTR5 expression was increased significantly in gallbladder cancer (P<0.05) compared with that in normal gallbladder tissue. SSTR3 expression in highly and moderately differentiated gallbladder cancer was significantly higher than that in poorly differentiated lesions (P<0.05). SSTR4 expression was lower in gallbladder cancer with lymph node metastasis than that in gallbladder cancer without lymph node metastasis (P<0.05). Therfore, these results indicated that SSRT5, SSTR3 and SSTR4 may play important roles in the formation and development of gallbladder cancer.

Transanal endoscopic microsurgery versus laparoscopic lower anterior resection for the treatment of T1-2 rectal cancers.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: It remains unknown whether transanal endoscopic microsurgery (TEMS) is superior to laparoscopic lower anterior resection (LAR) for the treatment of rectal cancer. This study aimed to compare the surgical and oncological effectiveness as well as safety of TEMS and LAR in T1-2 rectal cancer patients. METHODOLOGY: T1-2N0 rectal cancer patients were prospectively and randomly assigned to local excision using TEMS (n=30) or radical resection using LAR (n=30). The primary outcome measures were postoperative recovery course. RESULTS: The operative duration of TEMS was significantly shorter than that of LAR (130.3±16.7 minutes vs. 198.7±16.8 minutes, p<0.01). The TEMS group restarted bowel movement significantly earlier than the LAR group (51.4±5.4h vs. 86.2±8.7h, p<0.01). The postoperative complications were mild and self-limited in the 2 groups. Local recurrences occurred in 2 T2 patients (2/28, 7.1%) at 8 months and 16 months following TEMS, respectively; no patient (0/30, 0.0%) developed local recurrence following LAR. CONCLUSIONS: TEMS was associated with more rapid postoperative recovery and minimal surgical morbidity in T1-2 rectal cancer patients as compared to LAR.