[Effect of Compound Tongfu Granule on Intestinal Permeability in Elderly Sepsis Patients].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of Compound Tongtu Granule (CTG) on intestinal permeability in elderly sepsis patients. METHODS: Eighty elderly sepsis patients were randomly assigned to the experimental group and the control group by randomized double blinded method, 40 in each group. On the basis of conventional antiseptic treatment program, patients in the experimental group took CTG, while those in the control group took placebos. The dosage for CTG or placebos was 14.3 g each package, one package each time, twice daily for 14 successive days. Patients' abdominal symptoms and signs, levels of serum inflammatory factors (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and procalcitonin), levels of plasma endotoxin, and the intestinal permeability (IP, represented by urinary lactulose/mannitol excretion rate) were compared between the two groups before and after treatment. RESULTS: After 14-day treatment, patients in the experimental group had improved abdominal symptoms, increased frequency of defecation, significantly decreased levels of plasma endotoxin and IP, when compared with the control group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: CTG could improve the intestinal barrier function in elderly sepsis patients.

Prediction of lymph node metastasis in early esophageal cancer.

BACKGROUND: Given the poor prognosis of patients with lymph node metastasis, estimating the lymph node status in patients with early esophageal cancer is crucial. Indicators that could be used to predict lymph node metastasis in early esophageal cancer have been reported in many recent studies, but no recent studies have included a review of this subject. AIM: To review indicators predicting lymph node metastasis in early esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and early esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC). METHODS: We searched PubMed with "[early esophageal cancer (Title/Abstract)] and [lymph node (Title/Abstract)]" or "[early esophageal carcinoma (Title/Abstract)] and [lymph node (Title/Abstract)]" or "[superficial esophageal cancer (Title/Abstract)] and [lymph node (Title/Abstract)]." A total of 29 studies were eligible for analysis. RESULTS: Preoperative imaging (size), serum markers (microRNA-218), postoperative pathology and immunohistochemical analysis (depth of invasion, tumor size, differentiation grade, lymphovascular invasion, neural invasion, expression of PIM-1 < 30%) were predictive factors for lymph node metastasis in both early ESCC and EAC. Serum markers (thymidine kinase 1 ≥ 3.38 pmol/L; cytokeratin 19 fragment antigen 21-1 > 3.30 ng/mL; stathmin-1) and postoperative pathology and immunohistochemical analysis (overexpression of cortactin, mixed-lineage leukaemia 2, and stanniocalcin-1) were predictive for lymph node metastasis in early ESCC. Transcription of CD69, myeloid differentiation protein 88 and toll-like receptor 4 and low expression of olfactomedin 4 were predictive of lymph node metastasis in early EAC. A total of 6 comprehensive models for early ESCC, including logistic regression model, nomogram, and artificial neural network (ANN), were reviewed. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve of these models reached 0.789-0.938, and the ANN performed best. As all these models relied on postoperative pathology, further models focusing on serum markers, imaging and immunohistochemical indicators are still needed. CONCLUSION: Various factors were predictive of lymph node metastasis in early esophageal cancer, and present comprehensive models predicting lymph node metastasis in early ESCC mainly relied on postoperative pathology. Further studies focusing on serum markers, imaging and immunohistochemical indicators are still in need.

Epigenetic inactivation of the SFRP1 gene in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

INTRODUCTION: The secreted frizzled-related protein 1 (SFRP1) gene, as a Wnt signaling modulator, is frequently inactivated by promoter methylation in many tumors including gastric cancer, breast cancer, oral squamous cell carcinoma, and esophageal adenocarcinoma. However, the role of SFRP1 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is not clear. In this study, we investigated the epigenetic inactivation of the SFRP1 gene in ESCC. METHODS: Nine ESCC cell lines, two immortalized human esophageal epithelial cell lines, twenty ESCC tissues, and paired adjacent nontumor tissues were analyzed in the study. Methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR), bisulfite sequencing, reverse-transcription PCR, immunohistochemistry, and chromatin immunoprecipitation assay were used to detect SFRP1 promoter methylation, expression of the SFRP1 gene, and histone modification in the SFRP1 promoter region. RESULTS: The SFRP1 promoter was found to be highly methylated in 95% (19/20) of the ESCC tissues and in nine ESCC cell lines, compared with 65% (13/20) of the paired nontumor tissues. Moreover, we confirmed that complete methylation of the SFRP1 gene promoter was correlated with its greatly reduced expression level. After individual treatment with 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine (DAC) and trichostatin A (TSA), the messenger RNA (mRNA) level of the SFRP1 gene was not obviously rescued in the EC9706 cell line. Combined incubation with DAC and TSA can, however, substantially increase the SFRP1 mRNA expression level in the EC9706 cell line. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assay showed that acetylated histone H3 and H4 were found in the SFRP1 promoter region. CONCLUSION: Promoter hypermethylation of SFRP1 is a frequent event in ESCC. Promoter methylation and histone acetylation may cooperatively regulate expression of the SFRP1 gene.

A study on relationship between elderly sarcopenia and inflammatory factors IL-6 and TNF-α.

BACKGROUND: This report aims to study the relationship between sarcopenia of elderly in community and inflammatory factors IL-6 and TNF-α. METHODS: A total of 441 elders who undertook physical examinations were included into this study. The age of these subjects were >60, in which 235 subjects were male and 206 subjects were female. According to the diagnostic standards of sarcopenia set by EWGSOP and AWGS, these subjects were divided into two groups: sarcopenia, and non-sarcopenia groups. The living habits, disease status, biochemical indexes, and levels of IL-6 and TNF-α of these subjects were investigated. RESULTS: The morbidity rate of sarcopenia was 17.02% in male subjects and 18.9% in female subjects. In elderly subjects >80 years old, morbidity rate was 25.3% in male subjects and 35.1% in female subjects. The history of smoking in patients with sarcopenia was long, and their regular exercise history was short (P < 0.01). Furthermore, differences in handgrip strength (HG), fat-free mass (FFM), bone mineral content (BMC), plasma albumin (ALB) and serum creatinine (Cr), and body fat content (FAT) in patients between the sarcopenia and non-sarcopenia groups were statistically significant (P < 0.05). Moreover, differences in IL-6 and TNF-α levels between these two groups were statistically significant (P < 0.05). In addition, BMI was positively correlated to TNF-α levels, and ALB was negatively correlated to IL-6; while BMI and VFA were positively correlated to TNF-α levels, and SMM, HDL-C, Hb, HG were negatively correlated to IL-6 level (P < 0.05). Multiple linear regression analysis suggested plasma ALB and BMI were the independent risk factors of TNF-α, while VFA was the independent risk factor of IL-6. CONCLUSIONS: The onset of sarcopenia was associated with poor exercise habits, disease history, and nutritional status. The emergence of sarcopenia was accompanied by increased levels of inflammation factors TNF-α and IL-6. Plasma albumin, BMI, and VFA were inflammatory factor predictors of TNF and IL-6.

Aberrant methylation of the 3q25 tumor suppressor gene PTX3 in human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

AIM: To identify the novel methylation-silenced gene pentraxin 3 (PTX3) in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). METHODS: PTX3 mRNA expression was examined in six human ESCC cell lines, one human immortalized normal esophageal epithelial cell line, primary ESCC tumor tissue, and paired adjacent nontumor tissue using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Semi-quantitative immunohistochemistry was used to examine cellular localisation and protein levels. Methylation specific PCR and bisulphite genomic sequencing were employed to investigate the methylation of the candidate gene. RESULTS: In the majority of ESCC cell lines, we found that PTX3 expression was down-regulated due to gene promoter hypermethylation, which was further confirmed by bisulphite genomic sequencing. Demethylation treatment with 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine restored PTX3 mRNA expression in ESCC cell lines. Methylation was more common in tumor tissues (85%) than in adjacent nontumor tissues (25%) (P < 0 .01). CONCLUSION: PTX3 is down-regulated through promoter hypermethylation in ESCC, and could potentially serve as a biomarker of ESCC.