[Effect of electroacupuncture on gastrointestinal function of patients after laparoscopic cholecystectomy under general anesthesia].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effects of electroacupuncture at bilateral Zusanli(ST36), Shangjuxu(ST37), and Sanyinjiao (SP6) acupoints on gastrointestinal function after laparoscopic cholecystectomy under general anesthesia. METHODS: A total of 150 patients(American Society of Anesthesiologists［ASA］ grades Ⅰ and Ⅱ) undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy in the Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery of the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine were randomly assigned into three groups: electroacupuncture group (n=50), simple acupuncture group (n=50), and control group (n=50). Patients in the control group received routine treatment；on the basis of routine treatment, patients in the simple acupuncture group were acupunctured at bilateral ST36, ST37 and SP36；patients in the electroacupuncture group were treated with electroacupuncture at bilateral ST36, ST37 and SP36（50 Hz，5 mA）. In both simple acupuncture group and electroacupuncture group, the corresponding treatments were conducted 1 h after surgery, Patients as well as in the morning (8:00-10:00) and afternoon (14:00-16:00) on the first day after surgery, 30 min each time. The time of bowel sound recovery, the time to the first postope-rative exhaust and defecation, the time of postoperative fluid diet recovery, abdominal pain score, and gastrointestinal reaction score were recorded and analyzed. RESULTS: Compared with the control group, the electroacupuncture group and the simple acupuncture group showed shortened time of bowel sound recovery, shortened time to the first postoperative exhaust and defecation, and shortened time of postoperative liquid diet recovery (P<0.01), as well as decreased postoperative abdominal pain score and gastrointestinal reaction score (P<0.01). Furthermore, the time of bowel sound recovery, the time to the first postoperative exhaust and defecation, and the time of postoperative liquid diet recovery were shortened in the electroacupuncture group compared with those in the simple acupuncture group (P<0.01). The total effective rate of electroacupuncture group was 94.0% (47/50), the total effective rate of simple acupuncture group was 88.0% (44/50), significantly higher than 78.0% (39/50) in the control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Both electroacupuncture and simple acupuncture can promote the recovery of gastrointestinal function in patients after laparoscopic cholecystectomy under general anesthesia, and electroacupuncture is superior to simple acupuncture,but they have no significant difference in alleviating postoperative abdominal pain and gastrointestinal reactions.

Long noncoding RNA matrilineal expression gene 3 inhibits hepatocellular carcinoma progression by targeting microRNA-5195-3p and regulating the expression of forkhead box O1.

We investigated the effect of the long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) maternally expressed gene 3 (MEG3) on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tumorigenesis and progression by targeting miR-5195-3p and transcription factor forkhead box O1 (FOXO1) to identify a novel target for HCC treatment. HCC clinical samples were collected, and cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), and transwell migration and invasion assays were performed. Furthermore, interaction was detected via double luciferase reporter and RNA pull-down assays. MEG3, miR-5195-3p, and FOXO1 expression was determined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and Western blotting. Xenograft tumor models were established to investigate the effect of MEG3 in vivo. Compared with normal tissues, MEG3 expression was significantly downregulated in HCC tissues. MEG3 overexpression inhibited the viability and migration of HCC cells. Double luciferase reporter and RNA pull-down assays confirmed the binding between MEG3 and miR-5195-3p as well as between miR-5195-3p and FOXO1. RT-qPCR and Western blotting results showed that MEG3 inhibited the expression of miR-5195-3p and promoted that of FOXO1. Additionally, MEG3 overexpression inhibited HCC tumorigenesis and progression in xenograft tumor models while depletion of MEG3 exerted the opposite way. Therefore, the lncRNA MEG3 inhibits HCC tumorigenesis and progression through the miR-5195-3p/FOXO1 signaling axis.

Postoperative liver metastasis of primary inflammatory pseudotumorous follicular dendritic cell sarcoma of the spleen: a case report.

Follicular dendritic cell sarcoma (FDCS) is a rare and low incidence tumor. So far, there is no standard treatment for the disease. Surgery is the main treatment for FDCS. Here, we report the case of a 51-year-old woman who was admitted with the chief complaint of "spleen-occupying lesion detected via physical examination more than 1 month ago". Spiral plain scan and enhanced computed tomography (CT) of the upper abdomen showed a vascular-derived tumor, with a high possibility of hemangioma or hemangiolymphangioma. Later, on 25 December 2019, the patient underwent laparoscopic splenectomy, and the pathological diagnosis of primary splenic FDCS was made. The patient did not receive adjuvant chemotherapy or radiotherapy. At a regular follow-up inspection 11 months later, on 18 December 2020, an abdominal scan + enhanced CT revealed multiple new abnormal intrahepatic nodules, which combined with her history, indicated the possibility of metastases. Subsequently, she was readmitted to hospital and surgical treatment was decided upon after multi-disciplinary consultation and discussion. Laparoscopic S1/S3/S4/S5 hepatectomy plus cholecystectomy was performed on 31 December 2020. The postoperative pathology findings revealed (liver tumor, S3, S4, S5) metastatic inflammatory pseudotumor follicular dendritic sarcoma, tumor diameter 0.6-1.2 cm. Due to the lack of clinical reports on postoperative organ metastasis of this disease, less experience, and controversy in drug selection of radiotherapy and chemotherapy, the patient refused to receive radiotherapy and chemotherapy. She now undertakes regular outpatient reexamination, and has been followed-up until now, during which time she has not progressed, and the efficacy is considered satisfactory.

m6A-Induced LncRNA MEG3 Suppresses the Proliferation, Migration and Invasion of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cell Through miR-544b/BTG2 Signaling.

OBJECTIVE: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant tumors. Long non-coding RNA plays an important role in the development of HCC. This study analyzed the impact of MEG3 on malignant behavior of HCC and explored its possible molecular mechanism. METHODS: Expression of MEG3 in HCC tissues and cell lines was measured by qRT-PCR. Transfection efficiency of MEG3 was verified by qRT-PCR. Cell proliferation, transwell migration, invasion and cell cloning assays were used to detect the effect of MEG3 on the proliferation, migration and invasion ability of HCC cells. The bioinformatics analysis was applied to predict the binding between miR-544b and MEG3 as well as BTG2. Luciferase reporter assay was performed to verify their interaction. Finally, the m6A modification of MEG3 by METTL3 was identified through RIP experiments. RESULTS: MEG3 was lowly expressed in HCC tissues and cells. Overexpression of MEG3 inhibits the proliferation, migration and invasion of HCC cells. MiR-544b can be sponged by MEG3, and overexpression of miR-544b reverses the anti-cancer effect of MEG3. We further confirmed that BTG2 gene is the target gene of miR-544b. Epigenetic studies have shown that METTL3-mediated N6-methyladenosine modification led to MEG3 downregulation. CONCLUSION: In HCC, MEG3 and BTG2 are lowly expressed while miR-544b is highly expressed. MEG3 regulates the expression of BTG2 through miR-544b, thus affecting the malignant behavior of HCC. METTL3 regulates the m6A modification of MEG3 and its expression. This study clarified the role of MEG3/miR-544b/BTG2 axis in HCC and also provided new targets for HCC research.