Molecular cytogenetic characterization of mammary neuroendocrine carcinoma.

Primary mammary neuroendocrine carcinoma (NEC) is an uncommon entity that accounts for 2% to 5% of breast carcinomas. Recent reports have shown that NEC of the breast is an aggressive subtype of mammary carcinoma that is distinct from invasive ductal carcinoma, not otherwise specified, and have suggested that these tumors have a poorer prognosis than invasive ductal carcinoma, not otherwise specified. In this study, we provide the first cytogenetic characterization of mammary NEC using both conventional G-banding and spectral karyotype on a group of 7 tumors. We identified clonal chromosomal aberrations in 5 (71.4%) cases, with 4 of them showing complex karyotypes. Of these, recurrent numerical aberrations included gain of chromosome 7 (n = 2) and loss of chromosome 15 (n = 2). Recurrent clonal structural chromosomal aberrations involved chromosomes 1 (n = 3), 3 (n = 2), 6q (n = 3), and 17q (n = 3). Of the 4 (57.1%) cases with complex karyotypes, 2 showed evidence of chromothripsis, a phenomenon in which tens to hundreds of genomic rearrangements occur in a one-off cellular crisis. One of these had evidence of chromothripsis involving chromosomes 1, 6, 8, and 15. The other also had evidence of chromosome 8 chromothripsis, making this a recurrent finding shared by both cases. We also found that mammary NEC shared some cytogenetic abnormalities--such as trisomy 7 and 12--with other neuroendocrine tumors in the lung and gastrointestinal tract, suggesting trisomy 7 and 12 as potential common molecular aberrations in neuroendocrine tumors. To our knowledge, this is the first report on molecular cytogenetic characterization of mammary NEC.

Inhibition of Tcf-4 induces apoptosis and enhances chemosensitivity of colon cancer cells.

Aberrant activation of ß-catenin/Tcf-4 signaling has been implicated in human carcinogenesis, including colorectal cancer. In this study, we compared the effects of Tcf-4 knockdown with ß-catenin knockdown on cell proliferation, apoptosis, and chemosensitivity in SW480 and HCT116 colon cancer cells using adenoviral vector-mediated short hairpin RNA (shRNA). Our results show that, compared to ß-catenin knockdown, Tcf-4 knockdown more effectively inhibited colony formation, induced apoptosis, and increased 5-FU and oxaliplatin-mediated cytotoxicity in colon cancer cells. We further investigated the mechanisms involved in the different efficacies observed with ß-catenin and Tcf-4 knockdown in colon cancer cells. FOXO4 is a member of the subfamily of mammalian FOXO forkhead transcription factors and plays a major role in controlling cellular proliferation, apoptosis, and DNA repair. Our data showed that the protein level of FOXO4 did not change after treatment with both ß-catenin and Tcf-4 shRNA. However, ß-catenin shRNA was found to increase the accumulation of phosphorylated FOXO4 S193 and decrease the expression of FOXO target genes p27Kip1 and MnSOD, whereas Tcf-4 shRNA showed the opposite effect. Therefore, compared to ß-catenin knockdown, Tcf-4 knockdown shows better efficacy for inhibiting proliferation and inducing apoptosis of colorectal cancer cells, which may be related to increased FOXO4 transcriptional activity. These results suggest that Tcf-4 is an attractive potential therapeutic target for colorectal cancer therapy.

TNM stages and prognostic features of colorectal mucinous adenocarcinomas: a meta analysis.

AIM: The significance of the mucinous adenocarcinoma in TNM staging and prognosis for colorectal tumor patients is still controversial. The aim was to provide a meta-analysis for TNM staging and prognostic features of colorectal tumors. METHODS: 30 individual case-control studies were finally included into this meta-analysis, involving a total of 444,489 cancer cases and 45,050 mucinous adenocarcinomas, of relations with TNM staging and prognostic features. RESULTS: Compared to non-mucinous adenocarcinoma patients, the TNM IV stage accounted for a larger percentage of mucinous adenocarcinomas (OR=1.48, 95%CI 1.28-1.71, POR<0.001) and the prognosis was significantly poor (HR=1.06, 95%CI 1.04-1.08, P<0.001). After heterogeneity testing, the results was similar to the holistic approach outcome (HR=1.48, 95%CI 1.35-1.62, P<0.001). CONCLUSION: Compared to patients with non-mucinous adenocarcinomas, mucinous adenocarcinoma patients with later TNM staging make up a big percentage, and mucinous adenocarcinoma is an independent risk factor for poor prognosis.

Complications of laparoscopic cholecystectomy and its prevention: a review and experience of 400 cases.

In the present era laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) has become the gold standard treatment of choice for gallstone disease. This technique has made a new revolution in minimal invasive surgery, but also the spectrum of complications has changed. In this paper we shared our personal experience of LC in 400 hundred cases from January 2007 to December 2010, its complications and prevention. According to our experience the complications were liver bed injury (n=32, 8%), spilled gall stones (n=29, 7.25%), port site infection (n=11, 2.75%), vascular injury (n=18, 4.5%), conversion to open surgery (n=16, 4%), biliary leak (n=10, 2.5%), bowel injury (n=3, 0.75%), CBD stricture (n=4, 1%) and umbilical port hernia (n=2, 0.5%). Before the procedure, patient consent and awareness to all possible complications which may occur intra-operatively is very important. A good surgical team and experience in this procedure seems to prevent hazardous complications.

Nm23-H1 protein binds to APE1 at AP sites and stimulates AP endonuclease activity following ionizing radiation of the human lung cancer A549 cells.

Non-metastatic protein-23 homolog-1 (Nm23-H1) is a multifunctional protein with DNase and histidine protein kinase activities. Human apurinic endonuclease-1 (APE1) is the AP endonuclease DNA base excision repair (BER) enzyme involved in several important cellular functions. Since the relationship between Nm23-H1 and APE1 proteins is unclear, we evaluated their interaction at different time points after irradiating human lung cancer A549 cells with X-rays. We found that Nm23-H1 and APE1 overexpression was induced by irradiation in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Subcellular distribution pattern of both proteins was reversed after irradiation. After irradiation, APE1 that initially showed nuclear localization was gradually increased in the cytoplasm, whereas Nm23-H1 that mainly showed cytoplasmic localization was gradually increased in the nuclei of A549 cells. Nm23-H1 and APE1 interaction was demonstrated by His-pull-down and co-immunoprecipitation assays. The presence of Nm23-H1/APE1 complex in X-ray-irradiated A549 cells was also detected by DNA affinity precipitation analysis of a DNA fragment containing an AP site. Although the AP endonuclease activity of Nm23-H1 was too weak to be detected, the AP endonuclease activity of APE1 was increased with the enhanced Nm23-H1 expression. In conclusion, our data point to a mechanism by which Nm23-H1 protects cells against oxidative stress through the engagement of DNA BER enzyme APE1.

Elevated expression of APE1/Ref-1 and its regulation on IL-6 and IL-8 in bone marrow stromal cells of multiple myeloma.

A number of growth factors secreted by bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs), including interleukin-6 and -8 (IL-6/8), are important for the initiation and progression of multiple myeloma (MM). However, the mechanisms that regulate the production of IL-6/8 by BMSC have not yet been well characterized. Human dual functional protein apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease-1/redox factor-1 (APE1/Ref-1) is essential for cell survival and proliferation. Previous studies showed that APE1/Ref-1 was overexpressed in tumor cells, but few studies showed its expression in supportive cells in the tumor microenvironment. We first detected APE1/Ref-1 expression in BMSCs of normal, initial, and recurrent MM patients, and then explore the correlation between APE1/Ref-1 level and IL-6/8 secretion of BMSCs. A marked increase of APE1/Ref-1 expression and abnormal subcellular distribution were observed in MM BMSCs. APE1/Ref-1 overexpression was related to higher secretary level of IL-6/8 by MM BMSCs and the IL-6/8 secretion was blocked significantly by adenovirus-mediated APE1/Ref-1-specific (small interfering RNA) siRNA. Our results also demonstrated that APE1/Ref-1-specific siRNA significantly inhibited DNA binding activity of AP-1 and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), 2 important transcription factors in the regulation IL-6/8 secretion in MM BMSCs. The results provided by the present study indicate APE1/Ref-1, which plays a regulatory role in IL-6/8 production by BMSCs, may be a potential therapeutic target of MM.

Microarray analysis of DNA damage repair gene expression profiles in cervical cancer cells radioresistant to 252Cf neutron and X-rays.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to obtain stable radioresistant sub-lines from the human cervical cancer cell line HeLa by prolonged exposure to 252Cf neutron and X-rays. Radioresistance mechanisms were investigated in the resulting cells using microarray analysis of DNA damage repair genes. METHODS: HeLa cells were treated with fractionated 252Cf neutron and X-rays, with a cumulative dose of 75 Gy each, over 8 months, yielding the sub-lines HeLaNR and HeLaXR. Radioresistant characteristics were detected by clone formation assay, ultrastructural observations, cell doubling time, cell cycle distribution, and apoptosis assay. Gene expression patterns of the radioresistant sub-lines were studied through microarray analysis and verified by Western blotting and real-time PCR. RESULTS: The radioresistant sub-lines HeLaNR and HeLaXR were more radioresisitant to 252Cf neutron and X-rays than parental HeLa cells by detecting their radioresistant characteristics, respectively. Compared to HeLa cells, the expression of 24 genes was significantly altered by at least 2-fold in HeLaNR cells. Of these, 19 genes were up-regulated and 5 down-regulated. In HeLaXR cells, 41 genes were significantly altered by at least 2-fold; 38 genes were up-regulated and 3 down-regulated. CONCLUSIONS: Chronic exposure of cells to ionizing radiation induces adaptive responses that enhance tolerance of ionizing radiation and allow investigations of cellular radioresistance mechanisms. The insights gained into the molecular mechanisms activated by these "radioresistance" genes will lead to new therapeutic targets for cervical cancer.

Knock down of the dual functional protein apurinic /apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 enhances the killing effect of hematoporphrphyrin derivative-mediated photodynamic therapy on non-small cell lung cancer cells in vitro and in a xenograft model.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is considered to be effective treatment for many cancers including lung cancer, head and neck cancers, and prostate cancer. It uses the combination of nontoxic photosensitizers and harmless visible light to generate reactive oxygen species and kill cells. However, DNA repair and reactive oxygen species-induced signaling pathway activation play crucial roles in cellular response to PDT and may also result in therapeutic limitation of PDT. To improve the cancer therapeutic efficacy of PDT, we targeted apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease (APE1), which is essential for both DNA repair and redox regulation of gene transcription, as a potential candidate for PDT combined gene therapy. In our study, an adenovirus-mediated APE1 silencing strategy was introduced to test its therapeutic enhancement for the non-small cell lung cancer cell line A549 both in vitro and in vivo after hematoporphrphyrin derivative (HpD)-mediated PDT. The adenovirus vector Ad5/F35-shAPE1 was validated to significantly suppress the protein expression of APE1 in cultured A549 cell and in its xenograft of nude mice. Ad5/F35-shAPE1 effectively inhibited APE1 protein upregulation induced by PDT and resulted in an increase in A549 cell killing by photoirradiation compared with the hematoporphrphyrin derivative-PDT alone group. Ad5/F35-shAPE1 suppressed the DNA repair capacity for single-strand breaks and abolished the activation of some stress-related transcription factors such as hypoxia-induced factor (HIF)-1 that consequently lead to increased cell apoptosis after PDT. Additionally, knock down of APE1 enhanced the tumor suppression efficacy of PDT on the A549 xenograft. Our study indicated that APE1-targeted gene therapy combined with PDT is a promising strategy for enhancement of the efficacy of PDT in treatment of non-small cell lung cancer.

APE1 overexpression is associated with cisplatin resistance in non-small cell lung cancer and targeted inhibition of APE1 enhances the activity of cisplatin in A549 cells.

PURPOSE: Apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease (APE1), a bifunctional AP endonuclease/redox factor, is important in DNA repair and redox signaling, may be associated with chemoresistance. In this study, we first investigated APE1 expression and its correlation with cisplatin resistance and prognosis in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Then, we investigated the effect of chimeric adenoviral vector Ad5/F35 carrying human APE1 siRNA (Ad5/F35-APE1 siRNA) on the sensitivity of cisplatin in A549 human lung adenocarcinoma cells. METHODS: Tumor specimens from 103 patients with operable NSCLC were obtained from 1999 to 2001. Among these patients, 72 patients have been treated with at least three cycles of cisplatin-based chemotherapy. APE1 protein expression was examined by immunohistochemistry and Western blot on the tumor samples and a cultured A549 cell line, respectively. Cell survival and apoptosis were determined by MTT and TUNEL, respectively. RESULTS: 83.3% (20/24) cisplatin-resistant tumors showed high APE1 expression levels, while 8.3% (4/48) cisplatin-sensitive tumors showed high APE1 expression levels (p<0.01). Univariate analysis indicated that overall survival and disease-free survival were significantly better in NSCLC patients with low vs those with high APE1 expression levels (p<0.01). Treatment with cisplatin resulted in a dose-dependent increase in APE1 protein expression in A549 cells, and Ad5/F35-APE1 siRNA effectively inhibited APE1 expression. Ad5/F35-APE1 siRNA significantly enhanced sensitivity of A549 cells to cisplatin, associated with increased cell apoptosis. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that APE1 is a new promising target for the combination of cisplatin-based chemotherapy in NCSLC patients.

[The expression of APE1 and its correlation with prognostic significance after 252Cf radiotherapy in cervical cancer].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expression feature of the apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease (APE1) and its correlation with clinicopathology and prognostic significance after 252Cf radiotherapy in cervical cancer. METHODS: The expression of APE1 was detected by immunohistochemistry technique in 89 cases of cervical cancer (treated by 252Cf), 15 cases cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and 10 cases of normal cervical tissue, and its association with clinicopathological data as well as prognosis were analyzed. RESULTS: The expression of APE1 in cervical cancer is higher significantly than that in normal cervical tissue and CIN (P < 0.01). In normal cervical tissue and CIN, the APE1 express was located in the nucleus. In cervical cancer, the APE1 express was located in the nucleus (59), cytoplasm (8) or nucleus and cytoplasm (22), the location of APE1 was related with FIGO stage and pathological grade (P < 0.01), and not related with lymph node metastasis. The level of APE1 express related with FIGO stage, pathological grade and lymph node metastasis (P < 0.05), and not related with age and pathological type. The Kaplan-Meier survival analysis demonstrated that the survival time of the group of APE1 nucleus expression (median survival time is 70.9 months) and the group of APE1 low expression (median survival time is 75.8 months) is longer significantly than that of the group of APE1 cytoplasm expression (median survival time is 57.8 months) and the group of APE1 high expression (median survival time is 56.5 months) (P = 0.025, 0.001). CONCLUSION: The dystopic express of APE1 might play a pivotal role in carcinogenesis and progression of cervical cancer, and the express of APE1 might estimate the prognosis after 252Cf radiotherapy.

Targeting truncated APE1 in mitochondria enhances cell survival after oxidative stress.

The high steady-state level of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) oxidative lesions is assumed to be the result of high susceptibility to DNA damage attack and limited DNA repair capacity in mitochondria. As a key enzyme of base excision repair (BER), human apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease (APE1) is often scarce in mitochondria, and mitochondria-targeted APE1 with robust repair activity represents a promising therapeutic candidate. In this study, overexpression vectors of mitochondria-targeted truncated APE1 (mtAPE1) and that of full-length APE1 (flAPE1) were constructed and transfected to human umbilical vein endothelial cells to test their protective effects after hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress. The overexpression of truncated APE1 was achieved at protein and enzyme activity levels in mitochondria of mtAPE1-transfected cells. In parallel, enhanced mtDNA repair capacity and increased cell survival were observed. MtAPE1 transfection also prevented apoptosis by blocking mitochondria-dependent pathways. In contrast, flAPE1 transfection rendered slight elevation of nuclear APE1 protein level and nuclear APE activity but no benefits for cell resistance to oxidative stress. The present results suggest that overexpression of the truncated APE1 in mitochondria appears to be a viable approach to protecting healthy cells from some deleterious effects of oxidative stress.

Vector-based Ape1 small interfering RNA enhances the sensitivity of human osteosarcoma cells to endostatin in vivo.

Osteosarcoma is a highly vascular and extremely destructive malignancy, and the survival of patients with osteosarcoma has not improved significantly in recent years. Antiangiogenic therapy currently holds great potential in conjunction with conventional treatment modalities for osteosarcoma. However, there are examples of gradual loss of response, and perhaps acquired resistance to antiangiogenic drugs. The acquired resistance of antiangiogenesis may be associated with a lot of hypoxia-response genes. The human apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease (Ape1) protein, a bifunctional redox factor and apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) endonuclease, plays a crucial role in protecting against cell death due to hypoxia. We therefore hypothesized that Ape1 may contribute to the resistance of antiangiogenic therapy. To investigate the effect of Ape1 on the sensitivity of human osteosarcoma cells to endostatin, we constructed an Ape1 small interfering RNA expression vector, pSilenceApe1. Transfection of human osteosarcoma 9901 and HOS cells with pSilenceApe1 resulted in a dose-dependent loss of Ape1 protein. pSilenceApe1 also significantly suppressed the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) protein in the 9901 cells. Combined treatment with pSilenceApe1 and recombinant human endostatin (rhES) showed potent antiangiogenic effects in the transwell chamber invasion assay. Then, 20 nude mice bearing 9901 xenografts were divided into four groups: the phosphate-buffered saline treatment control group; the rhES treatment group (1.5 mg/kg, daily); the pSilenceApe1 treatment group (20 microg, once every 3 days); and the combination of rhES and pSilenceApe1 treatment group. pSilenceApe1 significantly suppressed the expression of Ape1 and VEGF protein in the 9901 xenografts. The tumor-inhibition rate of the pSilenceApe1, rhES, and combination of rhES and pSilenceApe1 treatment groups was 38.23, 35.29, and 62.18%, respectively. Furthermore, a significant decrease in microvessel density with an increase in apoptosis was observed following combined treatment with pSilenceApe1 and rhES, compared with control and either agent alone in 9901 xenografts. These results indicate that Ape1 small interfering RNA could enhance the sensitivity of osteosarcoma cells to endostatin.

[Construction and identification of a multiple myeloma-specific APE1 siRNA expression vector].

OBJECTIVE: To construct a multiple myeloma (MM)-specific APE1siRNA expression vector, and detect the specific knock-down effect of the siRNA on expression of APE1 protein. METHODS: APE1siRNA cDNA sequence was designed, synthesized and inserted into pSilencer 2.0-U6 linear expression vector. pSilencer APE1siRNA was digested by enzyme EcoRI and BamHI, then linear vector and IgP fragments were conjugated by T4 DNA ligase. pSilencer IgP-APE1siRNA and pSilencer IE-IgP-APE1siRNA were digested by enzyme EcoRI or XhoI. Linear vector and IE or Kappa fragments were conjugated by T4 DNA ligase. Then a MM specific pSilencer K-IE-IgP-APE1siRNA was cloned. The recombinant products were identified by DNA sequencing and enzyme digestions at each step. pSilencer K-IE-IgP-APE1siRNA plasmid was transfected to KM3, HOS, MDA-231 cells by liposome. APE1 gene silence induced by RNAi was analysed by Western blot. RESULTS: APE1 protein in KM3 cells could be knocked down effectively and specifically by pSilencer K-IE-IgP-APE1siRNA vector. After 2 days, the level of APE1 protein in KM3 cells transfected with siRNA was 0.118 +/- 0.047, while that transfected with plasmid only was 0.988 +/- 0.029. The efficiency of gene silence was 90%. CONCLUSION: A MM specific APE1siRNA expression vector was successfully constructed.

Inhibitory effect of caffeic acid phenethyl ester on the growth of SW480 colorectal tumor cells involves beta-catenin associated signaling pathway down-regulation.

AIM: To study the anti-tumor effect of caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) and the influence of CAPE on beta-catenin associated signaling pathway in SW480 colorectal cancer (CRC) cells. METHODS: SW480 cells were treated with CAPE at serial concentrations. The proliferative status of cells was measured by methabenzthiazuron (MTT) assay. Cell cycle and cell apoptosis were analyzed using flow cytometry (FCM). Western blotting assay was used to evaluate the protein level of beta-catenin, c-myc and cyclinD1. Beta-catenin localization was determined by indirect immunofluorescence. RESULTS: CAPE displayed a strong inhibitory effect in a significant dose- and time-dependent manner on SW480 cell growth. FCM analysis showed that the ratio of G0/G1 phase cells increased, S phase ratio decreased and apoptosis rate increased after SW480 cells were exposed to CAPE for 24 h. Pretreatment of SW480 cells with CAPE significantly suppressed beta-catenin, c-myc and cyclinD1 protein expression. CAPE treatment was associated with decreased accumulation of beta-catenin protein in nucleus and cytoplasm, and concurrently increased its accumulation on the surface of cell membrane. CONCLUSION: CAPE can inhibit SW480 cell proliferation by inducing cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Decreased beta-catenin and the associated signaling pathway target gene expression may mediate the anti-tumor effects of CAPE.

[Characteristic and clinicopathologic significance of lymphangiogenesis in colorectal cancer].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the distribution patterns and proliferative activity of lymphatic vessels in colorectal carcinomas (CRC) and their relationship with tumor metastasis and disease prognosis. METHODS: The microlymphatic density (MLD) and microvascular density in tumoral and non-tumoral areas of 96 cases of CRC were evaluated by immunohistochemistry, using monoclonal antibodies for podoplanin and CD34 respectively. The Ki-67 expression of the lymphatic and blood vessels was detected by double-labeling immunohistochemistry. The relationship between MLD and clinicopathologic features and prognosis was analyzed. RESULTS: The lymph vessels at central and superficia1 portions of CRC often had a reticular architecture with numerous tiny and ill-defined lumina, while those at the tumor borders had large and open lumina. The MLD at tumor borders (51.2 +/- 25.5) was significantly higher than that in normal colorectal mucosa (29.4 +/- 9.0) and other portions of CRC (P < 0.01). The Ki-67 labeling index of the lymphatic lining cells at tumor borders (0.23 +/- 0.17) was significantly higher than that in other portions of CRC (P < 0.05). The MLD significantly correlated with lymphatic involvement by tumor cells, regional lymph node metastasis and distant metastasis (P < 0.01). The 5-year survival rate was also significantly lower in patients with high MLD (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Neolymphatic vessels are commonly seen in CRC, especially at tumor borders. High MLD at tumor borders is associated with metastasis. The detection of MLD at tumor borders may thus be useful in predicting lymph node metastasis and prognosis in patients with CPC.

Effect of caffeic acid phenethyl ester on proliferation and apoptosis of colorectal cancer cells in vitro.

AIM: To study the effect of caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) on proliferation, cell cycle, apoptosis and expression of beta-catenin in cultured human colorectal cancer (CRC) cell line HCT116. METHODS: HCT116 cells were treated with CAPE at serial concentrations of 80, 40, 20, 10, 5, 2.5 mg/L. The proliferative status of HCT116 cells was measured by using methabenzthiazuron (MTT) assay. Cell cycle was analyzed by using flow cytometry (FCM) with propidium iodide (PI) labeling method. The rate of apoptosis was detected by using FCM with annexin V-FITC and PI double labeling method. beta-catenin levels were determined by Western blotting. beta-catenin localization in HCT116 was determined by indirect immunofluorescence. RESULTS: After HCT116 cells were exposed to CAPE (80, 40, 20, 10, 5, and 2.5 mg/L) for 24, 48, 72, 96 h, CAPE displayed a strong growth inhibitory effect in a dose- and time-dependent manner against HCT116 cells. FCM analysis showed that the ratio of G(0)/G(1) phase cells increased, S phase ratio decreased and apoptosis rate increased after HCT116 cells were exposed to CAPE (10, 5, and 2.5 mg/L) for 24 h. CAPE treatment was associated with decreased cytoplasmic beta-catenin, nuclear beta-catenin and a concurrent increase in beta-catenin protein expression at cell-cell junctions. CONCLUSION: CAPE could inhibit HCT116 cell proliferation and induce cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Decreased beta-catenin protein expression may mediate the anti-proliferative effects of CAPE.

[Changes in neuropeptide substance P and calcitonin gene-related peptide in scarless wound healing in fetal rabbit skin].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the role of the neuropeptide in fetal scarless wound healing. METHODS: The animal models were replicated in which a full-thickness wound was inflicted on the back of rabbit fetuses at 22 days gestation (term=31 days). The progress of wound healing was observed on micro-and macro-levels at the 1 st, 2 nd, 3 rd, 5 th, 7 th, 14 th post-injury days respectively. The expression level of substance P(SP) and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) during wound healing was assessed by immunohistochemistry staining. RESULTS: The cutaneous wounds in fetal rabbits healed more rapidly than that in adult and without the formation of scar. The expression of SP and CGRP of wound decreased in fetal rabbit at the early stage post-injury, down to the lowest levels on the 2 nd post-injury day (75%, 80%, vs. fetal control, both P<0.01), then increased gradually, up to the normal levels. The expression of SP and CGRP of wound decreased in adult rabbit at the early stage post-injury, down to the lowest levels on the post-injury 1 st day (60%, 76%, vs. adult control, both P<0.01), then increased quickly, up to a higher level than normal group, reaching the peak on the post-injury 7th day(168%, 126%, vs. adult control, both P<0.01), then returned to the normal levels. CONCLUSION: The low level of neuropeptide may contribute to scarless wound healing in fetal rabbit.

[An experimental study on the role of PGE2 and cAMP on the postburn change of the granulopoiesis in bone marrow in burned mice with endotoxemia].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of PGE(2) and cAMP in the postburn change in granulopoiesis in bone marrow in burned mice with endotoxemia. METHODS: One hundred and seventy eight mice were randomly divided into burn with LPS administration, simple burn, simple LPS administration and control (injection of normal saline) groups. The COX-2 expression and the contents of PGE(2) and cAMP in myeloid cells in injured mice in all groups were determined by RIA (radioimmuno-assay) within 1 postburn week and immunohistochemistry methods. At the same time the change in granulopoiesis was dynamically observed. RESULTS: The granulopoiesis was enhanced slightly at the early stage of burn and with endotoxin challenge, followed by suppression. The COX-2 expression in myeloid cells the contents of PGE(2) on supernatant of marrow cells and intracellular cAMP in the myeloid cells was increased at 12 postburn hour (PBH) up to 5 postburn day (PBD). Furthermore, the change in the cAMP was evidently and positively correlated with that of PGE(2) (r = 0.978, P < 0.01), but was negatively correlated with that of CFU-GM (r = -0.971, P < 0.01) CONCLUSION: PGE(2) might play pivotal roles in the postburn granulopoiesis suppression in bone marrow during endotoxemia. This effect might be accomplished by its ligating to its special receptor and to activate adenylate cyclase so as to increase the intracellular content of cAMP in bone marrows.