Identification of peanut skin components for treating hepatocellular carcinoma via network pharmacology and in vitro experiments.

Peanut skin (PS) contains various flavonoids and phenols that have antitumor and antioxidant effects. However, no research has been conducted on PS and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Therefore, this study sought to explore the potential mechanism of PS in treating HCC. PS was searched for in the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform and SYMMAP databases. HCC targets were searched for in five major databases. Protein-protein interaction network, Gene Ontology, and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analyses were performed. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation were used for verification. Furthermore, in vitro experiments were used to verify the regulation of PS on human HCC (HepG2) cells. Ten ingredients and 95 common targets were identified for PS and HCC, respectively. The key targets of ingredients mainly relate to pathways such as hepatitis B, lipid and atherosclerosis, advanced glycation end products (AGEs)-AGE receptors (RAGEs) signaling pathway in diabetic complications, interleukin-17 (IL-17) signaling pathway, mitogen activated kinase-like protein (MAPK) signaling pathway, the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway. In addition, the molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation analysis indicated the ingredients had strong binding ability with the targets. Moreover, in vitro experiments confirmed that luteolin can promote the apoptosis of HepG2 cells by controlling the expression of phosphorylated protein-tyrosine kinase (p-AKT). This study provides preliminary evidence that PS produces a marked effect in regulating multiple signaling pathways in HCC through multiple ingredients acting on multiple core genes, including AKT serine/threonine kinase 1 (AKT1), MYC, caspase 3 (CASP3), estrogen receptor 1 (ESR1), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), jun proto-oncogene(JUN), and provides the basis for follow-up research to verify the mechanism of action of PS in treating HCC.

[Efficacy of curcumin in the treatment of oral submucous fibrosis: a Meta-analysis].

OBJECTIVES: This study was performed to review the efficacy of curcumin in the treatment of oral submucous fibrosis systematically. METHODS: We searched seven databases, including Web of Science, PubMed, EBSCO, The Cochrane Library, CNKI, WanFang Data, and VIP, to obtain randomized controlled trials related to the treatment of oral submucous fibrosis by curcumin. Each database was searched from inception to 30 June 2019. RevMan 5.3 software was used for the meta-analysis. RESULTS: Six randomized controlled trials involving 350 patients were included in this study. Meta-analysis showed that curcumin can increase the maximal mouth opening and improve burning sensation compared with placebo treatment. Curcumin was not as effective as the controls in achieving maximal mouth opening after 1 month of treatment. However, no statistically significant difference was observed between the treatments from 2 months to 6 months. Curcumin significantly improved burning sensation compared with the controls after 3 months of treatment. No statistically significant diffe-rence in burning sensation was observed between the curcumin and control groups after 1, 2, and 6 months of treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The current evidence shows that curcumin is an effective treatment for improving maximal mouth opening and burning sensation in patients with oral submucous fibrosis. Given the limited number and low quality of the included studies, however, more high-quality studies are needed to verify these findings.

[Endoscope assisted transaxillary subglandular breast augmentation].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the feasibility of endoscope assisted transaxillary subglandular breast augmentation in order to minimize the bleeding and tissue injury. METHODS: Since 2005, 27 patients underwent endoscope assisted transaxillary subglandular breast augmentation. Intraoperative bleeding and dissection injury were markedly decreased. RESULTS: There was no hematoma, seroma and infection except for one case with partial poor incision healing. 16 cases were followed-up for six months to one year. Only one case developed fibrous capsular contracture (Baker II). Good results achieved in all the other cases. CONCLUSIONS: Endoscope assisted breast augmentation can reduce the pain, bleeding and tissue injury. It can also help to put implants to right position.