Puerarin Affects 1HMR Spectroscopy Quantified Hepatic Fat Signal Fraction in Intrauterine Growth Restricted Rats.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the impact of puerarin early intervention on growth parameters and Hepatic Fat Signal Fraction (HFF) quantification in Intrauterine Growth Restricted(IUGR)rats through Proton Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS). METHODS: Pregnant rats were divided into three groups: control, IUGR with puerarin treatment, and IUGR without treatment. The treatment and nontreatment groups were received a low-protein diet during pregnancy, while the control group received a normal diet. After birth, pups in the treatment group received a unilateral intraperitoneal injection of 50 mg/kg/d puerarin. Male rats were evaluated at 3,8 and 12 weeks, including measurements of weight, body length and waist circumference and body mass index (BMI). Conventional magnetic resonance imaging and 1HMRS were conducted using a 3.0 T whole-body MR scanner. RESULTS: Newborn pups in the treatment and non-treatment groups showed significantly lower body weight, BMI, and body length at 3 weeks compared to the control group. However, there were no significant differences in HFF and waist circumference between the three groups at 3 weeks. At 8 and 12 weeks post-delivery, significant differences in body weight, BMI, waist circumference were observed in newborn pups of IUGR non-treatment rats compared to the control group. In contrast, there were no significant differences in body weight, BMI, waist circumference between the treatment group and the control group at 8 and 12 weeks. Moreover, the treatment group exhibited notably higher HFF compared to the control group at both time points. At 12 weeks post-birth, a significant difference in HFF was observed between the IUGR non-treatment and treatment groups, although no significant difference was found at 8 weeks. CONCLUSION: Early intervention with puerarin following birth has a significant impact on liver fat content and may potentially reduce adult obesity among IUGR rats.

Comparison of ZOOMit-DWI sequence and conventional DWI sequence in endometrial cancer. / ZOOMit-DWI序列和常规DWIåºåˆ—åœ¨å­å®«å† è†œç™Œä¸­çš„å¯¹æ¯”.

OBJECTIVES: Magnetic resonance diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) has important clinical value in diagnosis and curative effect evaluation on endometrial carcinoma. How to improve the detection rate of endometrial small lesions by DWI is the research focus of MRI technology. This study aims to analyze the image quality of small field MRI ZOOMit-DWI sequence and conventional single-shot echo-planar imaging (SS-EPI) DWI sequence in the scanning of endometrial carcinoma, and to explore the clinical value of ZOOMit-DWI sequence. METHODS: A total of 37 patients with endometrial carcinoma diagnosed by operation and pathology in the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University from July 2019 to May 2021 were collected. All patients were scanned with MRI ZOOMit-DWI sequence and SS-EPI DWI sequence before operation. Two radiologists subjectively evaluated the anatomical details, artifacts, geometric deformation and focus definition of the 2 groups of DWI images. At the same time, the signal intensity were measured and the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), contrast to noise ratio (CNR), and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of the 2 DWI sequences were calculated for objective evaluation. The differences of subjective score, objective score and ADC value of the 2 DWI sequences were analyzed. RESULTS: The SNR of the ZOOMit-DWI group was significantly higher than that of the SS-EPI DWI group (301.96±141.85 vs 94.66±41.26), and the CNR of the ZOOMit-DWI group was significantly higher than that of the SS-EPI DWI group (185.05±105.45 vs 57.91±31.54, P<0.05). There was no significant difference in noise standard deviation between the ZOOMit-DWI group and the SS-EPI DWI group (P>0.05). The subjective score of anatomical detail and focus definition in the ZOOMit-DWI group was significantly higher than that of the SS-EPI DWI group (both P<0.05). The subjective score of artifacts and geometric deformation of ZOOMit-DWI group was significantly lower than that of the SS-EPI DWI group (both P<0.05). ADC had no significant difference between the ZOOMit-DWI group and the SS-EPI DWI group (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The image quality of ZOOMit-DWI is significantly higher than that of conventional SS-EPI DWI. In the MRI DWI examination of endometrial carcinoma, ZOOMit-DWI can effectively reduce the geometric deformation and artifacts of the image, which is more conducive to clinical diagnosis and treatment.

Problematic smartphone use is associated with differences in static and dynamic brain functional connectivity in young adults.

Introduction: This study aimed to investigate the possible associations between problematic smartphone use and brain functions in terms of both static and dynamic functional connectivity patterns. Materials and methods: Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data were scanned from 53 young healthy adults, all of whom completed the Short Version of the Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS-SV) to assess their problematic smartphone use severity. Both static and dynamic functional brain network measures were evaluated for each participant. The brain network measures were correlated the SAS-SV scores, and compared between participants with and without a problematic smartphone use after adjusting for sex, age, education, and head motion. Results: Two participants were excluded because of excessive head motion, and 56.9% (29/51) of the final analyzed participants were found to have a problematic smartphone use (SAS-SV scores ≥ 31 for males and ≥ 33 for females, as proposed in prior research). At the global network level, the SAS-SV score was found to be significantly positively correlated with the global efficiency and local efficiency of static brain networks, and negatively correlated with the temporal variability using the dynamic brain network model. Large-scale subnetwork analyses indicated that a higher SAS-SV score was significantly associated with higher strengths of static functional connectivity within the frontoparietal and cinguloopercular subnetworks, as well as a lower temporal variability of dynamic functional connectivity patterns within the attention subnetwork. However, no significant differences were found when directly comparing between the groups of participants with and without a problematic smartphone use. Conclusion: Our results suggested that problematic smartphone use is associated with differences in both the static and dynamic brain network organizations in young adults. These findings may help to identify at-risk population for smartphone addiction and guide targeted interventions for further research. Nevertheless, it might be necessary to confirm our findings in a larger sample, and to investigate if a more applicable SAS-SV cutoff point is required for defining problematic smartphone use in young Chinese adults nowadays.

[Correlation of Lipin gene expression with hepatic fat content in rats with intrauterine growth retardation]. / LipinåŸºå› è¡¨è¾¾ä¸Žå®«å† å‘è‚²è¿Ÿç¼“å¤§é¼ è‚è„è„‚è‚ªå«é‡çš„ç›¸å ³æ€§ç ”ç©¶.

OBJECTIVES: To study the correlation of the expression of Lipin1 in visceral adipose tissue and Lipin2 in liver tissue with hepatic fat content in rats with intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR). METHODS: Pregnant rats were given a low-protein (10% protein) diet during pregnancy to establish a model of IUGR in neonatal rats. The pregnant rats in the control group were given a normal-protein (21% protein) diet during pregnancy. The neonatal rats were weighed and liver tissue was collected on day 1 and at weeks 3, 8, and 12 after birth, and visceral adipose tissue was collected at weeks 3, 8, and 12 after birth. The 3.0T 1H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to measure hepatic fat content at weeks 3, 8, and 12 after birth. Real-time PCR was used to measure mRNA expression levels of Lipin2 in liver tissue and Lipin1 in visceral adipose tissue. Western blot was used to measure protein levels of Lipin2 in liver tissue and Lipin1 in visceral adipose tissue. A Pearson correlation analysis was performed to investigate the correlation of mRNA and protein expression of Lipin with hepatic fat content. RESULTS: The IUGR group had significantly higher mRNA and protein expression levels of Lipin1 in visceral adipose tissue than the control group at weeks 3, 8, and 12 after birth (P<0.05). Compared with the control group, the IUGR group had significantly lower mRNA and protein expression levels of Lipin2 in liver tissue on day 1 after birth and significantly higher mRNA and protein expression levels of Lipin2 at weeks 1, 3, 8, and 12 after birth (P<0.05). At week 3 after birth, there was no significant difference in hepatic fat content between the IUGR and control groups (P>0.05), while at weeks 8 and 12 after birth, the IUGR group had a significantly higher hepatic fat content than the control group (P<0.05). The protein and mRNA expression levels of Lipin1 were positively correlated with hepatic fat content (r=0.628 and 0.521 respectively; P<0.05), and the protein and mRNA expression levels of Lipin2 were also positively correlated with hepatic fat content (r=0.601 and 0.524 respectively; P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Upregulation of the mRNA and protein expression levels of Lipin1 in visceral adipose tissue and Lipin2 in liver tissue can increase hepatic fat content in rats with IUGR and may be associated with obesity in adulthood.

Neoadjuvant intra-arterial versus intravenous chemotherapy in colorectal cancer.

ABSTRACT: To investigate the clinical benefits of transcatheter arterial infusion chemotherapy compared with intravenous chemotherapy in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC).From May 2013 to March 2018, 83 patients (50 men and 33 women) with surgically proven CRC were retrospectively included. Before surgery, 62 patients received conventional systemic chemotherapy, and 21 transcatheter arterial chemotherapy. Basic characteristics, disease control rate (DC), adverse reactions, postoperative complications, and toxicity profiles were collected and compared between the 2 groups.The sigmoid colon (43.37%) was the most common primary tumor location, and the least was the transverse colon (6.02%). Most lesions invaded the subserosa or other structures T3-4 (78.31%), and other lesions invaded the muscular layer T1-2 (21. 69%). The overall DC was 80.65% in the intravenous chemotherapy group and 90.48% in the arterial chemotherapy group (P < .05). Adverse events included myelosuppression and gastrointestinal reactions such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abnormal liver function, and neurotoxicity, which were significantly less common in the intra-arterial group than in the intravenous group (P < .05). Postoperative complications included abdominal infection (11.29% vs 14.29%), intestinal obstruction (6.45% vs 4.76%), anastomotic bleeding (1.61% vs 0.00%), and anastomotic fistula (6.45% vs 4.76%) in the intravenous and intra-arterial groups, respectively (P > .05).Preoperative transcatheter arterial infusion chemotherapy is a safe and effective neoadjuvant chemotherapy measure for CRC with fewer adverse reactions and a higher overall DC.

Correlations of PPARα and PPARγ expressions with 1H-MRS quantified hepatic fat content in pups of rats that experienced intrauterine growth restriction.

Background: Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) measurement of hepatic fat content in intrauterine growth restriction rats has rarely been reported. This study was to explore the association of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha and gamma (PPARα and PPARγ) expression with 1H-MRS quantified hepatic fat content in offspring of rats that experienced intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR).Methods and findings: IUGR was established by feeding a low-protein diet to female rats during pregnancy. Male pups of IUGR rats were weighed, liver tissues were collected at the ages of 1 day and 1, 3, 8 and 12 weeks post birth. Visceral adipose tissues (VATs) were collected at 3, 8, and 12 weeks post birth. Male pups also received conventional magnetic resonance imaging and 1H-MRS using a 3.0 T whole-body MR scanner at 3, 8, and 12 weeks post birth. The peak area ratios in the MR spectra were calculated to determine hepatic lipid content. The expression of PPARα protein was detected by Western blot. The expression of PPARα mRNA was measured by real-time quantitative PCR. Significantly lower PPARα protein and mRNA expression were observed in liver tissues of male pups of IUGR rats at 1 day and 1, 3, 8, and 12 weeks post birth compared to male pups of control rats. In contrast, significantly higher PPARγ protein and mRNA expression were observed in VATs of male pups of IUGR rats at 3, 8, and 12 weeks post birth compared to male pups of control rats. PPARα protein and mRNA expression in the liver negatively correlated with the hepatic fat content (r = -0.611, -0.607, respectively), whereas PPARγ protein and mRNA expression in VATs positively correlated with the hepatic fat content (r = 0.659, 0.668, respectively).Conclusion: 1H-MRS allows noninvasive assessment of hepatic fat content in rats. PPARα protein and mRNA expression were significantly decreased in the livers of rats, whereas PPARγ protein and mRNA expression was significantly increased in VATs in pups of IUGR rats.

High resolution diffusion-weighted imaging with readout segmentation of long variable echo-trains for determining myometrial invasion in endometrial carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: We assessed the image quality of endometrial cancer lesions by readout segmentation of long variable echo-trains (RESOLVE) diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) compared with that by single-shot echo-planar imaging (SS-EPI) DWI, aimed to explore the value of RESOLVE DWI for determining myometrial invasion and clinical stage in endometrial cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From April 2017 to March 2018, a total of 30 endometrial cancer patients (mean age 52.8 ± 9.0 years), who had undergone RESOLVE DWI and SS-EPI DWI, were included in the study. The image quality of endometrial carcinoma by two kinds of DWI scanning methods was compared qualitatively and quantitatively. The Spearman rank correlation test was used to assess the correlation of qualitative image quality scores between two readers. The accuracy of two DWI methods in detecting myometrial invasion and staging of endometrial carcinoma was calculated according to postoperative pathological results. The indexes were analyzed including sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV). RESULTS: The qualitative score of RESOLVE DWI group was superior to SS-EPI DWI group in every aspect of five aspects (all P < 0.001). Interobserver agreement of depiction was good or excellent in two DWI sequences. Signal to noise ratio and contrast to noise ratio values in RESOLVE DWI group were both higher than those in SS-EPI DWI group (P<0.001). No statistical difference of apparent diffusion coefficient value was observed between two DWI groups (P = 0.261). The specificity, accuracy, PPV, and NPV of estimating myometrial invasion by RESOLVE DWI in three cases (intramucosal lesion, <50% superficial invasion and ≥ 50% deep invasion) were all higher than those by SS-EPI DWI for endometrial carcinoma. Especially RESOLVE DWI was valuable in judging <50% superficial invasion (95%CI:0.586, 0.970). No significant difference in accuracy staging was between the two DWI groups (P = 0.125). CONCLUSION: RESOLVE DWI can provide higher quality images of endometrial carcinoma than SS-EPI DWI. The high-quality images are helpful for precise assessment of myometrial invasion in endometrial cancer.

Comparison of anesthesia and tumor implantation methods for establishing rabbit VX2 hepatocarcinoma.

In this study, we compared different anesthesia and operation methods for modeling VX2 hepatocarcinoma in rabbits. Forty New Zealand white rabbits were randomly divided into three groups: A, B, and C. Group A underwent ultrasound-guided implantation and intravenous anesthesia; Group B underwent ultrasound-guided implantation and inhalation anesthesia; Group C underwent laparotomy implantation and intravenous anesthesia. Anesthesia and operation differences were compared between groups A and B, and A and C, respectively. We used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to assess tumor formation and growth, and pathological examination and immunohistochemistry to confirm the biological characteristics of the specimens. The anesthetic preparation and postoperative resuscitation times were shorter in group A compared to group B; there were no significant between-group differences in the intraoperative satisfactory effect rate or mortality rate. The operation time, incision length, hemorrhage volume, and leukocyte counts were lower in group A than group C; there were no significant between-group differences in the postoperative infection rate or mortality rate. MRI revealed that the celiac implantation rate decreased dramatically in groups A and B; there were no significant between-group differences in the largest tumor diameter, tumorigenesis rate, intrahepatic multifocal implantation rate, or abdominal wall invasion rate. Ten samples were confirmed by pathological examination and immunohistochemistry to have VX2 tumors. To conclude, using an inhalation-based anesthetic method is beneficial for improving the efficiency of the VX2 tumor implantation operation. Compared with laparotomy implantation, ultrasound-guided implantation required less operation time, had lower levels of internal damage, and had a lower celiac implantation rate.

Application of spectroscopy (1HMRS) to assess liver metabolite concentrations in rats with intrauterine growth restriction.

OBJECTIVE: Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) measurement of liver metabolism in intrauterine growth restriction rats has seldom been reported. This study investigated the application of 1H-MRS in assessing liver metabolism in newborn pups that experienced intrauterine growth restriction. METHODS: Intra-uterine growth restriction was established by feeding rats low-protein diets during pregnancy. Newborn pups received conventional magnetic resonance imaging and 1H-MRS using a 3.0T whole body MR scanner at 3, 8 and 12 weeks post birth. RESULTS: The success rate of 1H-MRS was 83.33%. Significantly lower body weight, BMI and body length at 3 weeks as well as significantly lower body weight, BMI and waist circumference at 8 and 12 weeks were observed in newborn pups of IUGR rats compared with pups of control rats. Significant differences in ACho/H2O, ACr/H2O, AGlx/H2O and ALipid/H2O at 3 and 8 weeks as well as significant differences in ACr/H2O, ALipid/H2O and AGlx/H2O at 12 weeks were observed between pups of control rats and pups of IUGR rats. CONCLUSION: 1H-MRS allows noninvasive assessment of liver metabolism in the rat and demonstrated the poor liver development of rats that experienced IUGR.

In vitro and in vivo magnetic resonance imaging with chlorotoxin-conjugated superparamagnetic nanoprobes for targeting hepatocarcinoma.

The present study aimed to assess the in vitro and in vivo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features of chlorotoxin (CTX)-conjugated superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) nanoprobes. CTX-conjugated nanoprobes were composed of SPIO coated with polyethylene glycol (PEG) and conjugated with CTX. The nanoprobes were termed SPIO-PEG-CTX. MRI of the SPIO and SPIO-PEG-CTX solutions at a different concentration was performed with a 3.0-T MRI scanner (Philips Achieva 3.0T X Series; Phillips Healthcare, The Netherlands). Rabbit VX2 hepatocarcinoma was established by a traditional laparotomy method (injection of the tumor particles into the liver using a 15G syringe needle) following approval by the institutional animal care and use committee. Contrast-enhanced MRI of VX2 rabbits (n=8) was performed using the same MRI scanner with SPIO­PEG-CTX solutions as the contrast agent. Data were analyzed with calibration curve and a paired t-test. The SPIO-PEG-CTX nanoparticles were successfully prepared. With increasing concentrations of the solutions, the MRI signal intensity was increased at T1WI, but decreased at T2WI, which were the same as that for SPIO. Rabbit VX2 carcinoma appeared as a low MRI signal at T1WI, and high at T2WI. After injection of the contrast agent, the MRI signal of carcinoma was decreased relative to that before injection at T2WI (1,161±331.5 vs. 1,346±300.5; P=0.004<0.05), while the signal of the adjacent normal hepatic tissues was unchanged (480.6±165.1 vs. 563.4±67.8; P=0.202>0.05). The SPIO-PEG-CTX nanoparticles showed MRI negative enhancement at T2WI and a targeting effect in liver cancer, which provides the theoretical basis for further study of the early diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Simultaneous changes of magnetic resonance diffusion-weighted imaging and pathological microstructure in locally advanced cervical cancer caused by neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

PURPOSE: To investigate the changes to diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) correlated with histopathology after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) in patients with locally advanced cervical cancer (LACC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-three patients with LACC were examined with 3T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with DWI and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps. MRIs were performed for each patient at three timepoints: before the first NACT, 2 weeks after the first NACT, and 2 weeks after the second NACT. Uterine cervical specimens were collected at the same timepoints. Specimens were stained for tumor cell density, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), and aquaporin 1 (AQP1). Treatment responses were classified as the effective group (complete and partial response) and the ineffective group (stable and progressive disease). RESULTS: The ADC value of the effective group after the first chemotherapy was higher than that before chemotherapy (P = 0.002), and expressions of three pathological indicators (tumor cell density, PCNA, and AQP1) significantly decreased after the first NACT compared with those prechemotherapy (P < 0.001). Changes of PCNA expression were negatively correlated with changes of ADC values after the first NACT in the effective group (r = -0.56, P = 0.03). Changes of cellular density were negatively correlated with changes of ADC values from the time of prechemotherapy to after the second NACT in the effective group (r = -0.51, P = 0.04). CONCLUSION: The ADC change after successful chemotherapy is closely related with cellular characteristics preceding size reduction. ADC may be used as an early imaging biomarker of NACT response in LACC.

Evaluating the therapeutic effect of hepatocellular carcinoma treated with transcatheter arterial chemoembolization by magnetic resonance perfusion imaging.

PURPOSE: To compare the characteristics of magnetic resonance perfusion-weighted imaging (MRPWI) scans before and after transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and to apply MRPWI in evaluating the therapeutic effect of TACE and prognosis of HCC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-five patients with HCC undergoing their first TACE treatment were enrolled in this study. T2WI, T1WI, and PWI of MRI were performed 24-48 h before TACE and 48-168 h after TACE. Perfusion parameters calculated with the maximum slope were used to create a time-signal intensity curve (TSC). The efficacy of TACE treatment in HCC was evaluated by examining the hemodynamic changes in TSC caused by TACE treatment. RESULTS: TSC before TACE showed a pattern of a quick decrease and a slow increase in the tumor region of interest in 34 patients with HCC, whereas the TSC for normal liver tissues showed a pattern of slow decrease and slow increase. After TACE, the fluctuating range of TSC was significantly reduced in 31 patients, slightly reduced in three, and did not change significantly in one. The 3-year survival rate was 28.6%. CONCLUSION: MRPWI of the liver does not only show the anatomy of HCC lesions but also reflects hemodynamic changes of HCC before and after TACE to a certain extent. It is very useful for clinical evaluation of the efficacy of TACE for HCC.

[MR subtraction in the differentiation of benign and malignant tumors].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI in conjunction with MR subtraction in the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant breast tumors at 3 Tesla. METHODS: A total of 78 patients with breast tumors enrolled in this study, including 45 malignant lesions and 33 benign lesions verified by histopathology. Dynamic MR contrast enhanced imaging was done by T1 high resolution isotropic volume excitation sequence. MR subtraction was used to retrospectively analyze the MR dynamic image. A dynamic phase subtraction (DPS) map is a map image with pixel-by-pixel subtraction of an early-phase image from a delayed maximum enhancement phase image obtained in a dynamic study. The sensitivity and specificity were calculated with or without subtraction in the diagnosis of benign and malignant breast tumors. RESULTS: The sensitivity of benign breast masses increased from 0.879 to 0.939, and the specificity increased from 0.818 to 0.909 with reference to the DPS map. There was statistical difference between with or without DPS (Z=2.023, P=0.043). The sensitivity of breast malignant masses increased from 0.889 to 0.933, and the specificity increased from 0.867 to 0.911 with reference to the DPS map, with statistical difference between with or without DPS map (Z=2.294, P=0.021). The pattern of TIC changed from continuous to a plateau in 8 patients, from a plateau to washout in 10, and from continuous to washout in 5. No changes were observed in the other 55 patients. CONCLUSION: MR Subtraction is a simple and useful technique to identify breast lesions. It helps to accurately set the location of the ROI TIC and improve the detection rate of benign and malignant breast tumors.

Basic T1 Perfusion magnetic resonance imaging evaluation of the therapeutic effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in locally advanced cervical cancer.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the dynamic changes of blood perfusion coinciding with tumor regression after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) in locally advanced cervical cancer (LACC). METHODS: Thirty patients with LACC received conventional 3.0-T magnetic resonance imaging and perfusion-weighted imaging scans at 3 different times (before NACT, 2 weeks after the first NACT, and 2 weeks after the second NACT). Characteristics of time-intensity diagrams and patterns of blood perfusion maps according to the parameter of area under the curve (AUC) were observed. Eight perfusion parameters were compared among 3 time points at 2 different chemotherapy-sensitive groups by the software of Basic T1 Perfusion. RESULTS: The effective chemotherapy rate was 73.3% (22/30). The characteristic of time-intensity diagrams in cervical cancer was a rapid onset with plateau. There were 3 patterns of AUC perfusion maps. The common perfusion map was rich blood supply type in the effective chemotherapy group and peripheral blood supply type in the ineffective chemotherapy group. Four parameter values (relative enhancement, maximum enhancement, wash-in rate, and AUC) were significantly reduced 2 weeks after the second NACT than those before the therapy (P = 0.000; P = 0.009; P = 0.011; and P = 0.000) in the effective chemotherapy group, especially the value of relative enhancement 2 weeks after the first NACT, was obviously decreased compared to that before the therapy (P = 0.042). The value of time to peak 2 weeks after the second NACT was significantly longer than that before the therapy in the effective chemotherapy group (P = 0.001). There were no obvious changes of blood perfusion parameters among the 3 different times in the ineffective chemotherapy group. CONCLUSIONS: Tumor blood perfusion has obviously decreased after effective NACT in the treatment of LACC.

[High field magnetic resonance background suppression diffusion imaging in the diagnosis of liver foci of space occupying lesion].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the diagnostic value of the 3.0T magnetic resonance liver diffusion weighted imaging with background suppression (DWIBS) in liver foci of space occupying lesion. METHODS: A total of 43 cases of liver bureau stove perch pathological change were included: 15 were hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with 24 lesions; 7 were liver metastatic tumor with 13 lesions; 10 were liver hemangioma with 12 lesions; and 11 liver cyst with 20 lesions. After taking the conventional T1WI and T2WI sequence, the magnetic resonance background suppression diffusion imaging technology (diffusion weighted imaging with background suppression, DWIBS) was applied, following the dynamic enhanced scan. With the MRI to DWIBS workstation for classifying positron emission computed tomography (PET) processing, the T2WI diagram and dynamic enhanced diagram were compared respectively for the 3 sequences of lesion detection rate, T2WI, and DWIBS, to enhance the delay time between the two joint and combined lesion detection rate. With the MRI workstation software scanning image generation ADC diagram, the ADC values were measured for liver cancer, liver metastatic tumor, liver hemangioma and liver cysts. RESULTS: The 3 sequences of detection rates of the T2WI, DWIBS and enhanced delay period T1WI were 91.3%, 94.2%, and 95.6%. The detection rate of DWIBS plus T2WI was 92.7%; that of T2WI plus enhanced delay time was 94.9%, and that of DWIBS plus enhanced delay time was 96.3%, with the rate of DWIBS plus enhanced delay period obviously higher than that of the DWIBS plus T2WI (P<0.05). The ADC value of the benign liver tumor was obviously higher than that of the malignant tumors: hepatic cyst (2.614 ± 0.57)×10⁻³ mm²/s, liver hemangioma (2.055 ± 0.21)×10⁻³ mm²/s, metastatic carcinoma (1.374 ± 0.32)× 10⁻³ mm²/s, and liver cancer (1.287 ± 0.14)×10⁻³ mm²/s. Except for the liver cancer and the liver metastatic tumor, there was significant difference between the other groups (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Combing the DWIBS technology, the PET-like images and the ADC value acquired, the combined enhanced sequences could further facilitate the demonstration of the liver foci of space occupying lesion, the accuracy of identification and diagnosis of the liver foci of space occupying lesion.

The value of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging in assessing the response of locally advanced cervical cancer to neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to investigate whether magnetic resonance diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) of locally advanced cervical cancer (LACC) both in the sagittal and axial planes could be used to assess the response of LACC to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT). METHODS: Thirty women with LACC received conventional magnetic resonance imaging and DWI at 3 different times (before NACT, 2 weeks after the first NACT, and 2 weeks after the second NACT). Treatment response was determined according to the change in tumor size 2 weeks after the second NACT, and they were classified as the effective group and the ineffective group. The apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs) were compared between 2 imaging planes, and dynamic changes in ADCs were observed in different chemotherapy-sensitive groups and imaging planes. One-way analysis of variance was calculated between those ADC parameters and tumor response. RESULTS: The effective chemotherapy rate was 76.67%. Apparent diffusion coefficient values of the axial plane at 3 different times were 0.88 (SD, 0.08) × 10⁻³ mm²/s, 0.96 (SD, 0.10) × 10⁻³ mm²/s, and 1.19 (SD, 0.11) × 10⁻³ mm²/s, respectively. Meanwhile, ADC values of the sagittal planes were 0.89 (SD, 0.09) × 10⁻³ mm²/s, 0.97 (SD, 0.12) × 10⁻³ mm²/s, and 1.19 (SD, 0.12) × 10⁻³ mm²/s at 3 different stages. There were no statistical differences between the ADC values of the 2 planes at 3 different times (P = 0.927, P = 0.863, P = 0.946). Apparent diffusion coefficients 2 weeks after the first NACT were significantly increased compared with those before chemotherapy both in the axial and sagittal planes (P = 0.003, P = 0.012). In the ineffective group, ADCs 2 weeks after the first NACT were not statistically higher than those before chemotherapy (axial planes, P = 0.694; sagittal planes, P = 0.900). After 2 weeks of the first NACT, ADCs in both planes were obviously increased in the effective group than those in the ineffective group (P = 0.043, P = 0.022). CONCLUSIONS: The axial and sagittal DWI may detect the changes in LACC after therapy. Apparent diffusion coefficient values measured both in the 2 planes may be used to evaluate the response of LACC to NACT.

VEGF(165) expressing bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells differentiate into hepatocytes under HGF and EGF induction in vitro.

A short half-life and low levels of growth factors in an injured microenvironment necessitates the sustainable delivery of growth factors and stem cells to augment the regeneration of injured tissues. Our aim was to investigate the ability of VEGF(165) expressing bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) to differentiate into hepatocytes when cultured with hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and epidermal growth factor (EGF) in vitro. We isolated, cultured and identified rabbit BMMSCs, then electroporated the BMMSCs with VEGF(165)-pCMV6-AC-GFP plasmid. G418 was used to select transfected cells and the efficiency was up to 70%. The groups were then divided as follows: Group A was electroporated with pCMV6-AC-GFP plasmid + HGF + EGF and Group B was electroporated with VEGF(165)-pCMV6-AC-GFP plasmid +HGF + EGF. After 14 days, BMMSCs were induced into short spindle and polygonal cells. Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) was positive and albumin (ALB) was negative in Group A, while both AFP and ALB were positive in group B on day 10. AFP and ALB in both groups were positive on day 20, but the quantity of AFP in group B decreased with prolonged time and was about 43.5% less than group A. The quantity of the ALB gene was increased with prolonged time in both groups. However, there was no significant difference between group A and B on day 10 and 20. Our results demonstrated that VEGF(165)-pCMV6-AC-GFP plasmid modified BMMSCs still had the ability to differentiate into hepatocytes. The VEGF(165) gene promoted BMMSCs to differentiate into hepatocyte-like cells under the induction of HGF and EGF, and reduced the differentiation time. These results have implications for cell therapies.

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy on hepatocellular carcinoma after transcatheter arterial chemoembolization.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) of the liver in vivo is in experimental phase. MRS observation on liver cancer after transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) has seldom been reported. This study was to investigate the value of MRS in assessing the metabolic changes of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after TACE. METHODS: Twenty-five consecutive patients with pathologically-confirmed HCC received 1H MRS of all hepatic lesions using 1.5T whole body MR scanner before TACE and at 3-10 days after TACE. Choline-to-lipid (Cho/Lip), glucogen/glucose-to-lipid (Glu/Lip), and glytamine/glutamate-to-lipid (Glx/Lip) ratios were measured and analyzed statistically. RESULTS: The Cho/Lip, Glu/Lip, and Glx/Lip ratios were 0.21 +/- 0.08, 0.11 +/- 0.05, 0.28 +/- 0.10 before TACE, respectively, and were 0.10 +/- 0.08, 0.07 +/- 0.07, 0.18 +/- 0.12 after TACE, respectively, with significant differences (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Using MRS can evaluate the early metabolic responses of HCC to TACE.

Effect of preoperative transcatheter arterial chemoembolization on angiogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma cells.

AIM: To evaluate the effects of four types of preoperative transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) on angiogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. METHODS: A total of 136 patients with HCC underwent liver resection. One to five courses of TACE prior to liver resection were performed in 79 patients (TACE group), in which one to four courses of chemotherapy alone were performed in 11 patients (group A); one to five courses of chemotherapy combined with iodized oil were performed in 33 patients (group B); one to three courses of chemotherapy combined with iodized oil and gelatin sponge were performed in 23 patients (group C); one to three courses of chemotherapy combined with iodized oil, ethanol and gelatin sponge were performed in 12 patients (group D). The other 57 patients only received liver resection (non-TACE group). The microvessels were marked by CD31. The expression of CD31 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) protein were detected by immunohistochemical methods. RESULTS: The mean microvessel density (MVD) in HCC cells was significantly higher in groups A, B, C and D than in the non-TACE group (P < 0.05). The expression of VEGF protein in HCC cells were significantly higher in groups A, B, C and D than in the non-TACE group (P < 0.05). MVD and the expression of VEGF protein were positively correlated. Mean MVD and the expression of VEGF protein were closely related to the number of courses of TACE and the interval of TACE. CONCLUSION: Four different types of preoperative TACE regimens enhanced angiogenesis in HCC cells by up-regulating the expression of VEGF protein. It is necessary to repress angiogenesis of liver cancer after TACE.