Effects of 1-stage revascularization and temporary external fixation combined with 2-stage Ilizarov technique in the treatment of bone defects in lower limb destruction injury: A case report.

RATIONALE: To evaluate the clinical effects of 1-stage revascularization, vacuum sealing drainage covering the wound, temporary external fixation and 2-stage Ilizarov bone transport for the treatment limb destruction injury. PATIENT CONCERNS AND DIAGNOSIS: Nine patients with limb destruction injury between September 2014 and June 2019 at our institute were evaluated retrospectively. The age of patient was 21 to 51 years with an average of 33 years. The injuries were caused by vehicle accidents in 4 patients, gunshot in 1 patient, and crushing injuries in 4 patients. All of them had vascular injury. The average length of bone defect was 9.5 (8.3-10) cm. Regular follow-up was performed on wound healing, bone transport time, bone healing time, external fixation index, and limb function. INTERVENTIONS: All patients underwent 1-stage revascularization and temporary external fixation during emergency surgery, and then gradual bone transport by Ilizarov fixator was performed until the broken fracture site was reunited. OUTCOMES: Nine patients were followed up for 12 to 48 months (average 30 months). Six patients were treated with autogenous cancellous bone graft for the second time, and 2 patients healed spontaneously. The mean wound healing time was 86 (73-90) days. The bone transport time was 97 (88.3-105.3) days, and the bone mineralization time was 164.5 (156.8-181.3) days, and the healing time of the docking sites was 6.8 (6.1-8.3) months. The external fixator time was 14.5 (12.5-17) months with the external fixation index was 1.5 (1.4-1.8) m/cm. At the last follow-up, according to the Association for the Study of the Method of Ilizarov functional scores, excellent functional outcomes were obtained in 5 patients, good in 1 patients, moderate in 2 patients. According to the Association for the Study of the Method of Ilizarov Radiological System, excellent functional outcomes were obtained in 6 cases and good in 2 cases. LESSONS: One-stage revascularization and temporary external fixation combined with 2-stage Ilizarov bone transport technique for the treatment of bone defects in limb destruction injury have satisfactory clinical effects and few complications, and can be applied under the condition of strict understanding of surgical indications.

Open total dislocation of ankle joint without fractures: A case report.

RATIONALE: Open total dislocation of ankle joint is rare and often caused by high-energy injury. The present study describes a patient with open total lateral dislocation of ankle joint without fractures and obtained a satisfactory clinical result following early debridement and irrigation, one-stage repairment of ligaments, and plaster external fixation. PATIENT CONCERNS: The patient, a 45-year-old male, complained of right foot pain with bleeding and limited motion. Physical examination showed a 15-cm open wound at the medial ankle region, with soft tissues impaired and ankle bones exposed. The 3 dimensional reconstruction computed tomography (CT) examination showed an open total dislocation of ankle joint without concomitant fractures. DIAGNOSES: open total lateral dislocation of ankle joint without fractures. INTERVENTIONS: Early modern wound care including thorough debridement and irrigation on the wound was performed to remove contaminated soft tissues. Subsequently, the dislocated ankle joint was reduced by hand and the medial and lateral collateral ligaments were repaired using wire anchors. OUTCOMES: The medial wound healed at 2 weeks after surgery, and several common complications such as infection and skin necrosis did not occur. The last follow-up showed a good range of metatarsal flexion and extension of the injured foot, and obvious signs of traumatic arthritis were not observed. According to Kaikkonen ankle function score, the patient was assessed with 90 points. LESSONS: For open total dislocation of ankle joint, early treatment should focus on debridement and irrigation, reduction and fixation of the dislocated ankle, protection of the weak soft tissues, and stable external fixation to promote wound healing and reduce the incidence of related complications.

The incidence and analysis of ipsilateral occult hernia in patients undergoing hernia repair: a single institution retrospective study of 1066 patients.

BACKGROUND: Misdiagnosis or failure to intraoperatively detect occult hernia in the inguinal region can lead to the recurrence of postoperative hernia and the appearance of local pain symptoms, which affect the patient's quality of life and make it difficult to reperform hernia repair. METHODS: This study included 1066 inguinal hernia patients who underwent surgical treatment at Shanghai Tongren Hospital between January 2016 and October 2018 to investigate ipsilateral occult hernia epidemiology, to analyze the characteristics of ipsilateral occult hernias with regards to patient age, gender, classification and anatomical site, and to explore the superiority and inferiority of the expert hernia surgeons/ non-expert hernia surgeons group and of operation methods in finding occult inguinal hernias. RESULTS: The incidence of ipsilateral occult hernia in the surgical population was 8.26%. Ipsilateral occult hernia included indirect inguinal hernia, direct inguinal hernia, femoral hernia, obturator hernia, and spigelian hernia, among which the highest incidence was direct inguinal hernia (4.11%), followed by indirect inguinal hernia (2.45%). There was no difference in the incidence of ipsilateral occult hernia between males and females, but there were significant differences in the incidence of ipsilateral occult hernia, which decreased gradually with increasing age in patients younger than 70 years-old; there was no difference in incidence in patients over 70 years-old. There were significant differences in the incidence of ipsilateral occult hernia in the bilateral inguinal region between direct and femoral hernia, with the higher incidence found on the right side; in contrast, there was no difference in the incidence of indirect inguinal hernia in the bilateral inguinal region. There was no difference in the ability of experienced physicians to detect ipsilateral occult inguinal hernias, either professionally or by surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Ipsilateral occult inguinal hernia has a higher incidence in patients with inguinal hernia, especially older patients; therefore, it is necessary for experienced surgeons to carefully detect for possible occult hernia during the operation and in elderly patients.

A Primary Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Thyroid Presenting as the Anaplastic Thyroid Carcinoma: A Case Report.

Background: Primary squamous cell carcinoma of the thyroid (PSCCT) is an uncommon malignancy that is difficult to diagnose and differentiate. There is no consensus for the early clinical, radiological, or ultrasonic identification of PSCCT before pathological changes are observed in patients. There is also no suitable treatment due to the absence of a definite diagnosis. Case Presentation: A 76-year-old female patient complained about a rapidly growing cervical mass, dyspnea, dysphagia, and a change in her voice. Based on the results of thyroid ultrasound, fine-needle aspiration, and plain and enhanced CT, the patient was initially diagnosed with anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC). Thereafter, we removed the mass that was the patient's main complaint. The gross examination of the patient's symptoms also supported our previous diagnosis. However, her disease was finally diagnosed as PSCCT, according to the histopathology and immunohistochemistry findings of the mass. Conclusion: Our case highlights the need for a comprehensive framework in the management of PSCCT. The more auxiliary examinations (e.g., ultrasonographic, radiology, or biopsy examinations) we take, the more likely we are to identify this disease. Immunohistochemistry is currently the preferred examination for the diagnosis of PSCCT, while surgical resection combined with radio-sensitizing therapy and adjuvant chemotherapy is the main treatment method for PSCCT.

Perfusion Computer Tomography Assessment of the Effect of Angiotensin II On Blood Flow Distribution in Rabbits with Intrarenal VX2 Tumors.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Unlike other organs, which only have one set of capillary network, the renal microvasculature consists of two sets of capillary network series connected by efferent arterioles. Angiotensin II constricts the efferent glomerular artery. Hence, renal tumor blood flow (BF) distribution may be different from tumors in other organs. This study aims to investigate the effects of angiotensin II on the hemodynamics of intrarenal VX2 tumors using perfusion computed tomography(CT). METHODS: Twenty-four male New Zealand white rabbits were randomly divided into three groups: groups A (blank controls), group B (negative controls), and group C (angiotensin II-treated animals). Group B and C were established to the model of intrarenal VX2 tumors. Furthermore, perfusion CT of the kidney was performed in each group. Prior to perfusion CT scan in group C, the mean arterial blood was elevated to 150-160 mmHg by angiotensin II. The BF, blood volume (BV), mean transit time (MTT), capillary permeability-surface area product (PS), and relative permeability-surface area product (RPS) of tumors and renal tissues were calculated. RESULTS: Compared with normal renal cortex tissues in group A, the BF, BV and PS values of tumors in group B were significantly lower, MTT was prolonged and RPS increased. Compared with group B, only the RPS of these tumors increased from 83.23 ± 29.17% to 120.94 ± 31.84% by angiotensin II infusion. Angiotensin II significantly increased the RPS value of the renal cortex distant from the tumor (CDT) and the right renal cortex (RRC). CONCLUSIONS: Perfusion CT can accurately observe the influence of angiotensin II on normal and tumor BF in kidneys. This clarifies the effect of angiotensin II on intrarenal tumor hemodynamics.

[Logistic regression analysis of risk factors of temporomandibular disorder in undergraduates of Xinjiang Medical University].

PURPOSE: To investigate the prevalence of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) in undergraduates of Xinjiang Medical University and analyse its possible risk factors. METHODS: A sample of 700 medical students included 244 males and 456 females was selected from Xinjiang Medical University and underwent examination of temporomandibular joint, questionnaire survey. Their average age was 20.08±1.457 years. Prevalence of TMD was analyzed, and the possible risk factors associated with the disease were identified by logistic regression analysis with SPSS17.0 software package. RESULTS: The prevalence of TMD was 42.40% in this population. There was no difference between different ethnics. Chewing-side preference, bruxism，orthodontic treatment，tooth extraction，psychological factors，anterior overjet, posterior scissors-bite were the main risk factors which increased the occurrence of TMD. CONCLUSIONS: Poor oral habits, psychological factors and malocclusion were related to the development of TMD.

Thyroid cancer with concurrent breast tubular cancer: A case report and literature review.

Here one concurrent case of a patient with both thyroid and breast cancers was discussed with a comprehensive literature review. On March 21, 2016, a 42-year-old female patient was admitted into our hospital because of right neck mass and left breast mass for 1 week during a routine health examination. On March 22, the combined procedures of complete resection of right thyroid gland plus isthmus with dissection of lymph nodes in right VI region plus left breast regional lumpectomy were performed under endotracheal anesthesia. Final diagnosis: Mammary cancer (right thyroid gland), PT1aN1aM0 (stage I); ductal breast cancer (left breast), PT1NxM0 (re-operation within two weeks). For either disease, a practicing clinician should stay on a high alert for individual and familial endocrine diseases. And breast molybdenum target imaging and type B ultrasound should be performed regularly for screening. It is always prudent to catch and treat diseases as early as possible. The conclusion is as follows.

[Baseline Correction Algorithm for Raman Spectroscopy Based on Non-Uniform B-Spline].

As one of the necessary steps for data processing of Raman spectroscopy, baseline correction is commonly used to eliminate the interference of fluorescence spectra. The traditional baseline correction algorithm based on polynomial fitting is simple and easy to implement, but its flexibility is poor due to the uncertain fitting order. In this paper, instead of using polynomial fitting, non-uniform B-spline is proposed to overcome the shortcomings of the traditional method. Based on the advantages of the traditional algorithm, the node vector of non-uniform B-spline is fixed adaptively using the peak position of the original Raman spectrum, and then the baseline is fitted with the fixed order. In order to verify this algorithm, the Raman spectra of parathion-methyl and colza oil are detected and their baselines are corrected using this algorithm, the result is made comparison with two other baseline correction algorithms. The experimental results show that the effect of baseline correction is improved by using this algorithm with a fixed fitting order and less parameters, and there is no over or under fitting phenomenon. Therefore, non-uniform B-spline is proved to be an effective baseline correction algorithm of Raman spectroscopy.

[Research of the Raman Signal De-Noising Method Based on Feature Extraction].

To improve time resolution of the Raman measurement system, we need to adopt short scanning time. In this case, the weak Raman signal with vibrational spectrum of the molecular structure is easily to be buried by the high background noise, which influences the further analysis seriously. So it is necessary to de-noise the raw Raman signals. Conventional methods manage to de-noise signal by means of smoothing or averaging based on the difference between signal and noise in frequency characteristic or statistical features. They are commonly applied in the situation where the background noise is not so strong, and cannot give satisfactory results to the Raman signals with low signal-to-noise ratio. In this paper, the algorithm proposed detects peak positions and get peak half-width based on wavelet transform, and then reconstructs the Raman signals by least square fitting algorithm with characteristic parameters obtained, which extracts the useful signal from high background noise efficiently. In the simulation, the Raman curve fitted by the proposed algorithm was smooth, and the peak positions obtained were accurate, so the signal-to-noise ratio improved significantly. In the experiment, we adopted this algorithm to de-noise the tested Raman signal of Cefuroxime Axetil Tablets and Roxithromycin, respectively. The peak positions, peak half-width and amplitude were obtained and proved to be accurate. Therefore, the useful pure Raman signal could be recovered from the high background noise efficiently by the proposed algorithm, which improved the time resolution of Raman system. Both the simulation and the experiment showed that the proposed method could be easily performed with only a few parameters. Comparing with conventional methods, it could achieve satisfactory results under high background noise and provide accurate and reliable information for further analysis.

[Design of Raman Spectroscopy Rapid Detection System for Synthetic Edible Pigment Based on PERS].

Based on Plasmon-enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (PERS) technology, the detection system for rapid field determination of synthetic edible pigments in food，such as beverage，meat productsand preserves，is presented. The hardware framework of this detection system is mainly composed of double central control chips (ARM and FPGA), a sample pretreatment module (containing a nanoparticle giving device), a laser diode source, and a spectral data acquisitioning module; Besides, the software can run the sample pretreatment module automatically while receiving the Raman spectrogram. To verify its performance in edible synthetic pigments, the rapid detection system was applied to determine carmine, citrine, allure red in three actual samples (i.e. preserves, sodas, sausage). The relative standard deviations of the sample detection were in the range of ±5%, which indicated that the system developed in this paper have the advantage of favorable sensitivity, excellent repeatability and short testing time. Thus, it meets the requirements for rapid field determination of synthetic pigments in food.

A Method to Improve Electron Density Measurement of Cone-Beam CT Using Dual Energy Technique.

PURPOSE: To develop a dual energy imaging method to improve the accuracy of electron density measurement with a cone-beam CT (CBCT) device. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The imaging system is the XVI CBCT system on Elekta Synergy linac. Projection data were acquired with the high and low energy X-ray, respectively, to set up a basis material decomposition model. Virtual phantom simulation and phantoms experiments were carried out for quantitative evaluation of the method. Phantoms were also scanned twice with the high and low energy X-ray, respectively. The data were decomposed into projections of the two basis material coefficients according to the model set up earlier. The two sets of decomposed projections were used to reconstruct CBCT images of the basis material coefficients. Then, the images of electron densities were calculated with these CBCT images. RESULTS: The difference between the calculated and theoretical values was within 2% and the correlation coefficient of them was about 1.0. The dual energy imaging method obtained more accurate electron density values and reduced the beam hardening artifacts obviously. CONCLUSION: A novel dual energy CBCT imaging method to calculate the electron densities was developed. It can acquire more accurate values and provide a platform potentially for dose calculation.

[Raman Spectroscopy Measurement System of Dual Wavelength Laser Module].

Fluorescence interference is one of common interference factors during detection of Raman spectroscopy, while shifted-excitation Raman difference spectroscopy (SERDS) is an effective detection means to reject it. SERDS excites the test substance by two laser with different wavelengths, then difference the obtained Raman spectroscopies. SERDS can eliminate the fluorescence interference effectively, because the fluorescence backgrounds of the two spectroscopies are the same while the Raman peaks are translated. The key factor of SERDS is the stability of the two excitation light wavelengths, the instability of wavelength difference would seriously affect the characteristics of the Raman peak reproduction. In this paper, the Raman spectroscopy measurement system is presented, where dual wavelength laser module can stably produce two bunch of excitation light (respectively 784.7 and 785.8 nm), which satisfies the requirements of SERDS detection. The major factors influencing wavelength of the laser are laser power and temperature. The system monitors them in real time to guarantee the stability of exciting light's wavelength. The hardware framework of this measurement system is mainly composed of ARM, dual wavelength laser module as well as its driving circuit, temperature control circuit, a digital optical switch, a spectrometer; the software of this system can achieve the Raman spectrogram automatically and then carry on the subsequent processing. The stability tests of this system for drive current and laser temperature are done. The experimental results demonstrate that the range of current proves to be less than 0.01 mA, the range of temperature less than 0.004 degrees C. The system can guarantee the stability of excitation wavelength effectively. Finally, perform the Raman spectroscopy detection to sesame oil of some brand and get good results.

[Baseline correction method for Raman spectroscopy based on B-spline fitting].

Baseline drift is a widespread phenomenon in modern spectroscopy instrumentation, which would bring a very negative impact to the feature extraction of spectrum signal, and the baseline correction method is an important means to solve the problem, which is also the important part of Raman signal preprocessing. The general principle of baseline drift elimination is using the fitting method to the fit the baseline. The traditional fitting method is polynomial fitting, but this method is prone to over-fitting and under-fitting, and the fitting order is difficult to be determined. In this paper, the traditional method is improved; the B-spline fitting method is used to approach the baseline of Raman signal through constant iteration The advantages of B-spline, namely low-order and smoothness, can help the method overcome the shortcomings of polynomial method. In the experiments, the Raman signal of malachite green and rhodamine B were detected, and then the proposed method and traditional method were applied to perform baseline correction Experimental results showed that the proposed method can eliminate the Raman signal baseline drift effectively without over- and under-fitting, and the same order can be used in both positions where large or small baseline drift occurred. Therefore, the proposed method provided more accurate and reliable information for the further analysis of spectral data.

Fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy for small-cell lung cancer patients with brain metastases.

OBJECTIVE: Patients with small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) are at high risk of developing brain metastases (BM). Fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (FSRT) alone or combined with whole brain radiation therapy can be used to treat intracranial metastases. This study was aimed to explore FSRT for BM from SCLC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 45 patients with BM from SCLC treated with fractionated linear accelerator FSRT. Multivariate analysis was used to determine independent risk factors of overall survival (OS). RESULTS: There were 35 patients treated with salvage FSRT and 10 patients treated with primary FSRT. The median OS was 10 months from the beginning of FSRT and 19 months from diagnosis of BM. The median OS of salvage FSRT group and primary FSRT group was 22 and 10 months from the diagnosis of BM, respectively (P = 0.011); 11 and 8 months from FSRT, respectively (P = 0.828). Recursive partitioning analysis class and the stage of the primary tumor were independent predictors of increased OS (relative risk [RR] = 2.634, P = 0.021 and RR = 2.324, P = 0.0210, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Salvage and primary FSRT were both effective treatment options for BM from SCLC. Salvage and primary FSRT may have different OS from the time of diagnosis of BM.

Molecular mechanism of inhibitory effects of C-phycocyanin combined with all-trans-retinoic acid on the growth of HeLa cells in vitro.

We studied the effects of all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA), C-phycocyanin (C-PC), or ATRA+C-PC on the growth of cervical cells (HeLa cells), cell cycle distribution, and apoptosis. The anticancer mechanism of the drug combination was revealed. MTT assay was adopted to determine the effects of C-PC and ATRA on the growth of HeLa cells. The expression quantities of cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 4, cyclin D1, Bcl-2, caspase-3, and CD59 were determined by in situ hybridization, immunofluorescence, immunohistochemistry staining, Western blot, and RT-PCR. TUNEL assay was adopted to determine the cellular apoptosis levels. Both C-PC and ATRA could inhibit the growth of HeLa cells, and the combination of ATRA+C-PC functioned cooperatively to induce apoptosis in HeLa cells. The dosage of ATRA was reduced when it cooperated with C-PC to reduce the toxicity. ATRA treated with C-PC could induce more cell cycle arrests than the single drug used by decrease in cyclin D1 and CDK4 expression. The combination of the two drugs could upregulate caspase-3 and downregulate the Bcl-2 gene and induce cell apoptosis. Moreover, the combination therapy has an important immunological significance in decreased expression of the CD59 protein. Singly, C-PC or ATRA could inhibit the growth of HeLa cells, and the effects of treatment were further enhanced in the combination group. In combination with C-PC, the dosage of ATRA was effectively reduced. The C-PC + ATRA combination might take effect by inhibiting the progress of the cell cycle, inducing cell apoptosis and promoting complement-mediated cytolysis.

[Study of the radiotherapy modality for patients with stage IIb-IIIb cervical stump cancer].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the radiotherapy modality progress of stageIIb-IIIb cervical stump cancer. METHODS: The clinical data of 13 patients with stageIIb-IIIb cervical stump cancer undergoing radiotherapy from January 2000 to April 2012 was reviewed. Before 2006, 8 patients received conventional external beam radiotherapy and brachytherapy.Since 2006, 5 patients received intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and brachytherapy. RESULTS: The median survival was 12-139 months. The median overall survivals and disease free survivals in the conventional radiotherapy (CRT) group were 57 months and 50 months, 3 cases of them recurred during 8-19 months and died of tumor progression.While, the median overall survivals and disease free survival in the IMRT group both were 21 months and nobody recurred. In the CRT group, 7 patients suffered toxicities, including 5 patients grade I-II acute rectum reaction, 2 patients grade I bladder reaction; and 3 had grade I-III, late rectum reaction, 2 patients for grade II bladder late reaction.In the IMRT group, toxicities including 1 case grade I acute or late rectum reaction, and no bladder reaction. CONCLUSION: In our experience, the recommended IMRT and interstitial brachytherapy for the selected patients with advanced cervical stump carcinoma may be obtain better tumor dose distribution and more sparing of the organ at risk.

CD59 underlines the antiatherosclerotic effects of C-phycocyanin on mice.

The effects of C-phycocyanin (C-PC) on atherosclerosis and the regulatory effects of CD59 gene on anti-atherosclerotic roles of C-PC were investigated. Apolipoprotein E knockout (ApoE(-/-)) mice were randomly divided into four groups: control group, C-PC treatment group, CD59 transfection group and C-PC+CD59 synergy group. The mice were fed with high-fat-diet and treated with drug intervention at the same time. Results showed the atherosclerotic mouse model was successfully established. CD59 was over-expressed in blood and tissue cells. Single CD59 or C-PC could reduce blood lipid levels and promote the expression of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 but inhibit pro-apoptotic Fas proteins in endothelial cells. The expression levels of cell cycle protein D1 (Cyclin D1) and mRNA levels of cyclin dependent protein kinase 4 (CDK4) in smooth muscle cells were restrained by CD59 and C-PC. CD59 or C-PC alone could inhibit the formation of atherosclerotic plaque by suppressing MMP-2 protein expression. In addition, C-PC could promote CD59 expression. So both CD59 and C-PC could inhibit the progress of atherosclerosis, and the anti-atherosclerotic effects of C-PC might be fulfilled by promoting CD59 expression, preventing smooth muscle cell proliferation and the apoptosis of endothelial cells, reducing blood fat levels, and at last inhibiting the development of atherosclerosis.

Molecular mechanism of inhibitory effects of CD59 gene on atherosclerosis in ApoE (-/-) mice.

BACKGROUND: How to find an effective gene locus resistant to atherosclerosis has become a hotspot of today's medicine. Membrane attack complex (MAC) has proved to be related with the occurrence and development of atherosclerosis. Complement regulatory protein CD59 is a key regulator of complement MAC assembly. So this study aimed at discussing the effects of CD59 gene on occurrence and development of atherosclerosis and relative mechanism. METHODS: Apolipoprotein E knockout (ApoE (-/-)) mice were randomly divided into four groups: control group, empty plasmid-treated group, 0.5 ml CD59-treated group and 1.0 ml CD59-treated group. At the end of the 12th week, CD59 mRNA levels in whole blood were determined by RT-PCR and CD59 protein expressions were detected by western blot. The biochemical indexes in blood serum were detected. The paraffin sections of aortic root of mice were made and the degrees of atherosclerotic plaques formation were observed by hematoxylin/eosin (HE) staining. The expressions of cell apoptosis-related proteins (Bcl-2 and Fas) and plaque stability related protein (MMP-2) were detected by immunohistochemistry. Then the cell apoptosis levels were detected by TUNEL, the expression of Cyclin D1 and the mRNA level of cyclin dependent protein kinase 4 (CDK4) were detected by immunofluorescence and in situ hybridization, respectively. RESULTS: Atherosclerotic mouse model was successfully established. CD59 gene was overexpressed in blood cells and tissue cells after liposome transfection. CD59 could reduce blood lipid levels, promote the expression of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 protein and inhibit pro-apoptotic Fas proteins, so finally lead to degradation of apoptosis levels of endothelial cells. In addition, Cyclin D1 protein and CDK4 mRNA levels were restrained by CD59 so as to inhibit the proliferation of smooth muscle cells. CD59 could inhibit the formation of atherosclerotic vulnerable plaque by suppressing the MMP-2 expression, which was further confirmed by HE staining. The anti-atherosclerotic effects were enhanced with the increase of CD59 gene dose. CONCLUSIONS: CD59 could lower blood lipid levels, positively regulate cell cycle, maintain the stability of cell proliferation and apoptosis of aorta cells, slow down the development of atherosclerotic vulnerable plaque, and finally inhibit the progress of atherosclerosis. So CD59 gene might be a new genetic locus for the therapy of atherosclerosis.

Fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy for 136 patients with locally residual nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (FSRT) in patients with residual nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). METHODS: From January 2000 to December 2009, 136 NPC patients with residual lesions after primary radiotherapy (RT) were treated by FSRT. The total dose of primary RT was 68.0-78.0 Gy (median, 70.0 Gy). The median time from the primary RT to FSRT was 24.5 days. Tumor volumes for FSRT ranged from 0.60 to 77.13 cm3 (median, 13.45 cm3). The total FSRT doses were 8.0-32.0Gy (median, 19.5 Gy) with 2.0-10.0 Gy per fraction. RESULTS: Five-year local failure-free survival (LFFS), freedom from distant metastasis (FFDM), overall survival (OS), and disease free survival (DFS) rates for all patients were 92.5%, 77.0%, 76.2%, and 73.6%, respectively. No statistical significant differences were found in LFFS, DFS and OS in patients with stage I/II versus stage III/ IV diseases. Nineteen patients exhibited late toxicity. T stage at diagnosis was a significant prognostic factor for OS and DFS. Age was a prognostic factor for OS. CONCLUSION: FSRT after external beam radiotherapy provides excellent local control for patients with residual NPC. The incidence of severe late toxicity is low and acceptable. Further investigation of optimal fractionation regimens will facilitate reduction of long-term complications.

Identification of a novel short peptide seal specific to CD59 and its effect on HeLa cell growth and apoptosis.

BACKGROUND: In the past, some small peptide ligands identified by phage display technologies have successfully been used in early cancer diagnostics and therapy. In the present study, a novel CD59-binding peptide was identified and its effect on HeLa cell growth and apoptosis was investigated. METHODS: A phage display library was screened yielding a novel short peptide, sp22, that specifically binds to CD59, a protein that shows altered expression in various diseases, including cancer. The effect of ectopic sp22 administration and exogenous sp22 expression on the growth and apoptosis of HeLa cells was assessed. For the latter, we constructed and transfected a sp22-pIRES vector into HeLa cells. RESULTS: Our results show that sp22 peptides can inhibit the level of CD59 mRNA expression, down-regulate Bcl-2 expression, increase Fas and caspase-3 expression, increase the level of cytolysis, and increase the apoptosis of HeLa cells. In contrast, sp22 peptides had no effect on normal human embryonic lung (HEL) cells exhibiting a relatively low CD59 expression level. Compared to untransfected HeLa cells, exogenously sp22 expressing HeLa cells showed a reduced CD59 expression, an increased complement-mediated lysis, a decreased cellular survival ratio, and an increase in apoptotic cells. CONCLUSION: The newly identified sp22 peptide can, in a dose-dependent manner, inhibit CD59 expression. Concomitantly, sp22 can increase complement-mediated lysis and apoptosis signals. This information may be instrumental for the design of novel therapeutic strategies.