Gender, Age, and Concomitant Diseases of Colorectal Diverticulum in China: A Study of 7,964 Cases.

AIM: To analyze the epidemiological features of colorectal diverticulum (CRD) in China. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed CRD patients in 8 tertiary hospitals located in 5 regions of China from 2000 to 2016. The detection rates, number and distribution, demographic information, concomitant disorders, and their associations were investigated. RESULTS: Of 3,446,118 cases, 7,964 (2.3%) were CRD with a mean age of 56 years (11-92 years). The detection rate increased yearly and with increasing age. Males had a higher detection rate than females (3.0 vs. 1.47%, p < 0.01) and 1.8-times higher increase rate. The detection rate increased with age; however, females of > 60 years had a 2.8-times increasing rate than males. CRD occurred most frequently in the right-side colon, followed by rectum. Multiple diverticula were common in males and increased with age, with a 3-times higher increase rate than single lesion. Single-segment CRD occurred more frequently in males than in females (80.1 vs. 76.4%, p < 0.01). Concurred colon polyps were seen in 51.05% cases. CONCLUSION: CRD detection rates increased annually and with age, particularly in senior females in China. Multiple diverticula were common in males and increased with age. CRD was predominant in the right-side colon. Polyps are the most common comorbidity associated with CRD.

Hypoxia promotes C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 expression through microRNA-150 in pancreatic cancer cells.

Hypoxia promotes pancreatic cancer progression by triggering cancer cell invasion. However, the mechanism underlying this process remains unclear, hindering the development of effective therapies. The present study aimed to delineate the molecular mechanisms underlying the prometastatic effect of hypoxia in pancreatic cancer cells. The expression of microRNA-150 (miRNA-150) was detected using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction in pancreatic cancer samples and in the hypoxia-induced CaPan2 human pancreatic cancer cell line. The target gene was identified using bioinformatics and a luciferase reporter assay. Inhibition of the expression of C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4) by miRNA-150 was confirmed using transfection with miRNA-150 mimics. The prometastatic effect of hypoxia was detected using migration assays. The expression of miRNA-150 was shown to be downregulated in pancreatic cancer samples compared with that in normal pancreatic tissue samples. Furthermore, its expression was reduced in hypoxia-induced CaPan2 cells, compared with that in control cells. Bioinformatics and the results of the luciferase reporter assay, demonstrated that miRNA-150 inhibited the expression of CXCR4 by directly targeting the 3' untranslated region of CXCR4 mRNA. The results of the migration assay showed that hypoxia promotes cell migration and invasion. However, this prometastatic effect was reversed by transfection with miRNA-150 mimics. The present results suggest that hypoxia promotes pancreatic cancer migration by downregulating miRNA-150.

Prophylactic somatostatin can reduce incidence of post-ERCP pancreatitis: multicenter randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIM: Post-endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) pancreatitis (PEP) remains the most common complication of ERCP. Somatostatin may inhibit pancreatic secretion and has been tested for PEP prophylaxis. However, the results of previous studies are inconsistent. The aim of the current study was to investigate whether somatostatin can reduce the incidence of PEP. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study was a multicenter, open-label, randomized controlled trial. A total of 908 patients with normal amylase levels who were undergoing ERCP were randomized to receive somatostatin 250 µg bolus injection before ERCP and 250 µg/hour intravenous infusion for 11 hours after ERCP (somatostatin group) or no somatostatin treatments (control group). The incidences of PEP and hyperamylasemia were compared in the two groups. RESULTS: The full analysis set included 900 patients (445 in the somatostatin group, 455 in the control group). PEP developed in 34 patients (7.5 %) in the control group (95 % confidence interval [CI] 5.4 % - 10.3 %) and in 18 patients (4.0 %) in the somatostatin group (95 %CI 2.6 % - 6.3 %; P = 0.03). Hyperamylasemia occurred in 46 patients (10.1 %) in the control group (95 %CI 7.7 % - 13.2 %) and in 27 patients (6.1 %) in the somatostatin group (95 %CI 4.2 % - 8.7 %; P = 0.03). No perforation or death occurred during the study. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that somatostatin was effective and safe for the prevention of PEP and hyperamylasemia in ERCP patients.(ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01431781).

Gene expression analysis of potential genes and pathways involved in the pathogenic mechanisms of parvovirus B19 in human colorectal cancer.

In order to investigate the pathogenic mechanisms of parvovirus B19 in human colorectal cancer, plasmids containing the VP1 or VP2 viral capsid proteins or the NS1 non-structural proteins of parvovirus B19 were constructed and transfected into primary human colorectal epithelial cells and LoVo cells. Differential gene expression was detected using a human genome expression array. Functional gene annotation analyses were performed using Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery v6.7 software. Gene ontology (GO) analyses revealed that VP1-related functions included the immune response, immune system process, defense response and the response to stimulus, while NS1-associated functions were found to include organelle fission, nuclear division, mitosis, the M-phase of the mitotic cell cycle, the mitotic cell cycle, M-phase, cell cycle phase, cell cycle process and cell division. Pathway expression analysis revealed that VP1-associated pathways included cell adhesion molecules, antigen processing and presentation, cytokines and the inflammatory response. Moreover, NS1-associated pathways included the cell cycle, pathways in cancer, colorectal cancer, the wnt signaling pathway and focal adhesion. Among the differential genes detected in the present study, 12 genes were found to participate in general cancer pathways and six genes were observed to participate in colorectal cancer pathways. NS1 is a key molecule in the pathogenic mechanism of parvovirus B19 in colorectal cancer. Several GO categories, pathways and genes were selected and may be the key targets through which parvovirus B19 participates in colorectal cancer pathogenesis.