A review of the effects of estrogen and epithelial-mesenchymal transformation on intrauterine adhesion and endometriosis.

Uterus transplantation has become an option for women suffering from some form of infertility. Current review discusses key physiological functions of the endometrium requiring the transition of tissue cells between the mesenchyme and epithelial cell phenotype, a process known as epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Estrogen and EMT play a key role in the pathogenesis and treatment of intrauterine adhesion and endometriosis. There is also a close regulatory relationship between estrogen and EMT, and investigation of this relationship is of great significance for the treatment of endometrial disorders. The present review discusses the effects of estrogen on endometrial dysfunction, with a focus on the relationship between estrogen and EMT in endometrial disorders, taking into consideration the mechanisms by which receptors that regulate their functions and proteins that regulate their local biological functions interact with the factors involved in EMT. In addition, the review summarizes emerging drugs targeting receptors or proteins and provides information on the direction of new therapies for endometrial disorders.

INHBA-AS1 affects ornithine metabolism and EMT process of cervical cancer HeLa cells through c-Myc/SCD pathway / 中国肿瘤生物治疗杂志

@#[摘 要] 目的：探讨抑制素β亚基A反义RNA1（INHBA-AS1）对宫颈癌HeLa细胞EMT和鸟氨酸代谢途径的影响及其机制。方法：体外常规培养HeLa细胞，实验分为10组：对照组、阴性对照（NC）组、sh-INHBA-AS1组、PluriSIn 1[硬脂酰辅酶A去饱和酶（stearyl CoA desaturase，SCD）抑制剂]组、NC+PluriSIn 1组、sh-INHBA-AS1+PluriSIn 1组、10058-F4（c-Myc抑制剂）组、NC+10058-F4组、sh-INHBA-AS1+10058-F4组、sh-INHBA-AS1+OE-c-Myc组。平板克隆实验检测各组细胞的增殖能力，FCM检测各组细胞的凋亡情况，Transwell小室实验检测各组细胞的侵袭、迁移能力，qPCR法检测各组细胞中INHBA-AS1、c-Myc、SCD和EMT相关基因（N-cadherin、TGF-β、ZEB1）mRNA的表达，WB法检测各组细胞中c-Myc、SCD、EMT相关（N-cadherin、TGF-β、ZEB1）、S-腺苷-甲硫氨酸脱羧酶（SAMDC）和亚精胺/精胺N1-乙酰转移酶（SSAT）蛋白的表达，ELISA检测各组细胞上清液中鸟氨酸脱羧酶（ODC）的含量。结果：敲减INHBA-AS1表达使HeLa细胞的增殖、侵袭和迁移能力显著降低（均P<0.05）而细胞凋亡率显著升高（P<0.05），qPCR、WB法检测结果显示，敲减INHBA-AS1均可显著抑制HeLa细胞中c-Myc、SCD、N-cadherin、TGF-β、ZEB1和SAMDC的表达（均P<0.05），而促进SSAT的表达（P<0.05），并降低HeLa细胞上清液中ODC的含量（P<0.05）。与c-Myc抑制剂和SCD抑制剂单独处理相比，其联合敲减INHBA-AS1后上述作用更加显著（均P<0.05）；与sh-INHBA-AS1组相比，进一步过表达c-Myc后HeLa细胞的增殖能力显著升高（P<0.05）、SCD和N-cadherin蛋白表达水平显著升高（P<0.05）、细胞上清液中ODC含量显著升高（P<0.05）。结论：INHBA-AS1可通过c-Myc调控SCD的表达，从而影响HeLa细胞鸟氨酸代谢和EMT进程，进而促进HeLa细胞的增殖、侵袭和迁移能力。

Clinical study on multi-focused laser in the treatment of vulvar lichen sclerosus.

Objective: To investigate the clinical effect of Multi-focused (MF) laser in the treatment of vulvar lichen sclerosus (VLS). Methods: In this single-center, randomized controlled trial, we compared the effect of fractionated MF laser with other treatments on patients with biopsy-proven VLS. Patients with VLS were enrolled in this study and randomly divided into three groups. Patients in the experimental group were treated with a CO2 laser, control group 1 was treated with radiofrequency, and control group 2 was treated topically with glucocorticoids and soaking with Chinese patent medicine. The pruritus degree, skin elasticity, skin color, lesion scope, and total score were compared before treatment, at one month after treatment, and three months after treatment. Results: One month after treatment, the pruritus degree, skin elasticity, skin color, lesion scope, and total score decreased in the experimental group, and the differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05). In control group 1, the differences in pruritus degree, skin color, and total score were statistically significant (P < 0.05), but the differences in skin elasticity and lesion scope were not statistically significant (P > 0.05). In control group 2, the differences in pruritus degree and total score were statistically significant (P < 0.05), but the differences in skin elasticity, skin color, and lesion scope were not statistically significant (P > 0.05). At one month after the end of treatment, the differences in pruritus degree, skin elasticity, skin color, lesion scope, and total score among the three groups were not statistically significant. At three months after the end of treatment, the differences in the scores of the five indicators were statistically significant. Conclusion: For the three treatment methods for VLS, topical corticosteroids + traditional Chinese medicine can quickly relieve itching symptoms in patients, but it cannot significantly improve skin elasticity, skin color, and lesion scope, and VLS easily relapses after treatment. Radiofrequency can improve itching symptoms and skin color but has poor effects on the change of skin elasticity and lesion scope. Multi-focused laser treatment can alleviate the degree of pruritus, improve skin color and elasticity, and narrow the lesion scope, and VLS will not relapse within three months after treatment.

Analysis of the Clinical Efficacy of Conservative Treatment for an Unruptured Cornual Pregnancy.

Context: Early diagnosis and early treatment of cornual pregnancy are very important. Conservative treatment before rupture can greatly reduce the patient's trauma. It's very important to choose a treatment method for cornual pregnancy with a high level of effectiveness, few adverse reactions, and no effects on fertility. Objective: The study intended to compare the clinical efficacy of different treatments for unruptured cornual pregnancy to find a safe, effective, minimally invasive treatment for unruptured cornual pregnancy that has few side effects and doesn't affect fertility. Design: The research team retrospectively collected the clinical data of patients to analyze the benefits of treatments for cornual pregnancy. Setting: The study took place in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Wuhan Third Hospital in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. Participants: Participants were 61 patients with an unruptured cornual pregnancy who had been admitted to the hospital between September 2002 and May 2012. Intervention: Participants were divided into four groups according to the treatment they received: (1) 20 patients who had been orally administered mifepristone combined with misoprostol and received uterine curettage were included in the drug abortion + curettage group (D group); (2) 16 patients who had received ultrasound-guided uterine aspiration were included in the uterine aspiration group (U group); (3) 15 patients who had received methotrexate (MTX) chemotherapy were included in the chemotherapy group (C group); and (4) 10 patients who had received ultrasound-guided hysteroscope operation were included in the hysteroscope operation group (H group). Outcome Measures: Adverse reactions and the decrease in participants' blood ß-HCG were recorded in detail. The participants were followed up for two months. Results: Of the 61 participants, 12 underwent surgery after failed conservative treatment, one in the D group, four in the U group, three in the C group, and four in the H group. No significant difference existed in the baseline data among the four groups. The decline rates of ß-HCG at seven days after treatment and the treatment success rates of participants in the D group were significantly higher than those in the U group, the C group, and the H group (all P < .05). The time at which the ß-HCG turned negative and the average hospital stays weren't significantly different among the four groups. Conclusions: The current study found that oral administration of mifepristone, combined with misoprostol, plus uterine curettage was superior to the other three methods in treatment of unruptured cornual pregnancy. The drug abortion + curettage treatment was found to be a safe, effective, minimally invasive treatment for unruptured cornual pregnancy, which has few side effects and doesn't affect fertility.

Improving anaerobic sewage sludge digestion by implementation of a hyper-thermophilic prehydrolysis step.

The present study focuses on a two-step process for treatment and stabilisation of primary sludge. The process consists of a hyper-thermophilic hydrolysis step operated at 70 degrees C and a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 2 days followed by a thermophilic (55 degrees C) anaerobic digestion step at a HRT of 13 days. A one-step anaerobic digester operated at 55 degrees C and 15 days HRT was used as a reference process. The two-step process was characterized by a 12% higher organic suspended solids removal efficiency and better pathogen reduction effect than the conventional one-step digestion. The microbial community of the digester fed with pre-treated sludge was characterised by a higher activity compared to that of the digester treating raw sludge. Moreover, the pre-treatment of the primary sludge resulted up to 48% increase of the methane potential (20.09 and 13.56 mmol CH(4)g(-)VS(-1) with and without pre-treatment, respectively) and up to 115% increase of the methane production rate. Finally it was shown that the extra energy requirements for the operation of a pre-treatment step would be covered by the energy produced from the extra methane production and in addition there would be a significant energy surplus of 2.17 kJ d(-1) for the system tested.