The application of a single-hand-operated hepatic pedicle clamping clamp in laparoscopic hepatectomy.

OBJECTIVE: In this paper, a single-hand-operated hepatic pedicle clamp was introduced, and its application value in laparoscopic liver tumor resection was preliminarily discussed. METHODS: The clinical data of 67 patients who underwent laparoscopic liver tumor resection at the First Affiliated Hospital of Wannan Medical College from March 2019 to October 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. The Pringle maneuver was performed with a hepatic pedicle clamp during the operation. The preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative clinical data were observed and recorded. RESULTS: Sixty-seven patients had a median block number, block time, intraoperative blood loss, and postoperative length of hospital stay of 4, 55 min, 400 ml, and 7 days, respectively. The average operation time was 304.9±118.4 min, the time required for each block was 3.2±2.4 s, and the time required for each removed block was 2.6±0.7 s. None of the patients developed portal vein thrombosis or hepatic artery aneurysm formation. CONCLUSION: The hepatic pedicle clamping clamp is simple to use in laparoscopic hepatectomy, optimizes the operation process, and has a reliable blocking effect. It is recommended for clinical application.

MicroRNA-485-5p targets keratin17 to regulate pancreatic cancer cell proliferation and invasion via the FAK / SRC / ERK pathway.

Background: It is crucial to probe into the biological effect and mechanism of miRNA-485-5p regulating keratin 17 (KRT17) in pancreatic cancer (PC) to understand its pathogenesis and identify potential biological targets. Methods: The bioinformatics means were used to evaluate the clinical significance of KRT17 expression in the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. TargetScan database analysis in conjunction with dual luciferase and RNA Immunoprecipitation (RIP) experiments was used to probe the interaction relationship of miRNA-485-5p with KRT17. The expression of miRNA-485-5p and KRT17 in PC tissue and cancer cell lines was detected by Q-PCR paired with western blot assay. The biological function of miRNA-485-5p in regulating KRT17 was investigated in the PC cell line via gene silencing/overexpression technique. A western blot experiment was utilized to investigate the regulatory effect of KRT17 on cell cycle-related proteins and the FAK/Src/ERK signal pathway. Results: The level of KRT17 was increased in PC tissues and this significantly decreased the survival rate of PC patients. TargetScan in combination with dual luciferase and RIP experiments verified the miRNA-485-5p target KRT17. The expression of KRT17 was high in the PC cell line, although the expression of miRNA-485-5p was low. Silencing KRT17 or overexpression of miRNA-485-5p significantly inhibited PC cell viability, proliferation, invasion, and colony formation, while promoting apoptosis. Overexpression of KRT17 drastically reversed the function of miRNA-485-5p. The silenced KRT17 remarkably downregulated the expression of cyclinD1, Cyclin Dependent Kinase 1 (CDK1), CDK2, Phospho-Focal Adhesion Kinase (p-FAK), p-Src, and p-ERK proteins in the PC cells. Conclusion: Generally, an essential signaling cascade of miRNA-485-5p/KRT17/FAK/Src/ERK influences the biological functions of PC cells.

ITGB6 promotes pancreatic fibrosis and aggravates the malignant process of pancreatic cancer via JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway.

Integrin ß6 (ITGB6) is upregulated in multiple tumor types and elevated ITGB6 levels have been detected in patients with chronic pancreatitis. However, the role of ITGB6 in pancreatic fibrosis and cancer remains to be elucidated. In the present study, ITGB6 expression was assessed using western blotting and qRT-PCR. Besides, cell proliferation, cycling, migration, and invasion were evaluated using CCK-8, flow cytometry, wound healing, and transwell assays, respectively. The expression of fibrosis and JAK2/STAT3 signaling markers was detected by western blotting and immunofluorescence analysis. Moreover, nude mice were subcutaneously injected with co-cultured cell suspensions to establish an in vivo model. The results showed that ITGB6 was highly expressed in pancreatic cancer tissues and TGF-ß-induced pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs). Inhibition of ITGB6 expression in PSCs resulted in clear inhibition of activated PSC proliferation, migration, and fibrogenesis. Additionally, reduced ITGB6 expression inhibits the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway. Interestingly, activators of the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway reversed the effects of ITGB6 disruption on PSCs. Activated PSCs notably promoted the proliferation, invasion, and migration of pancreatic cancer cells in a co-culture assay. In contrast, activated PSCs with low ITGB6 expression failed to significantly affect the malignancy of pancreatic cancer cells. Moreover, in vivo results showed that interference with ITGB6 inhibited the activation of PSCs and promoted the development of pancreatic cancer. Silencing ITGB6 inhibited the proliferation, migration, and fibrosis-like effects of activated PSCs and indirectly inhibited the metastasis and malignant process of pancreatic cancer by inhibiting the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway. Therefore, ITGB6 is a potential candidate target for pancreatic cancer prevention and treatment.

Study of the evolution of 3-MCPDEs and GEs in the infant formula production chain employing a modified indirect method based on magnetic solid phase extraction.

Herein, a modified indirect method was established for the determination of 3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol esters (3-MCPDEs) and glycidyl esters (GEs), employing magnetic solid phase extraction by boronic acid-functionalized magnetic nanoparticles to replace the traditional clean-up procedure. Compared with routine methods, it has been proved to be more sensitive with limits of detection in the range of 0.02-1.5 µg/kg and less susceptible to contamination of phenylboronic acid derivatives and fatty acid methyl esters. The proposed method was applied to analyze 42 samples covering the entire infant formula (IF) production chain. Results revealed that homogenization process contributed 79-91 % of the total growth of the contaminants due to the vegetable oil addition, while the following evaporation and spray-drying processes contributed 9-21 % of the total growth owing to involved heat treatment. The GE levels in final IF products exceeded the maximum level set by EU regulation 2020/1322, indicating quality safety concerns in the production chain.

The occurrence and probabilistic risk assessment of 3-MCPDEs and GEs in infant formulas from Chinese market employing Monte Carlo simulation technique.

3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol esters (3-MCPDEs) and glycidyl esters (GEs) are food contaminants and have arisen continuous attention due to their toxicity, especially towards infants. Current risk assessment of these contaminants was mostly employing deterministic approaches, lacking quantitative characterization of the likelihood, incidence, or severity of the risks involved. Herein, 3-MCPDE and GE levels in 46 representative infant formulas (IFs) from Chinese market were determined by GC-MS/MS. Then, combining the occurrence data and consumption data from China National Food Consumption Survey, the Monte Carlo simulation-based probabilistic model for risk assessment of 3-MCPDEs and GEs in IFs from Chinese market was established. The results showed that all P90 (90th percentiles) hazard quotient values were below 1, demonstrating 3-MCPDEs didn't pose health risks to most populations aged 0-36 months old. However, for 0-12 months old groups, P10 (10th percentiles) margin of exposure values were all below 25000, indicating GEs may pose potential risks to 10% of this group. Uncertainty analysis revealed that the probabilistic model had considered uncertainties of model input and distribution, and realized refined assessment. This study is the first report on probabilistic assessment of 3-MCPDEs and GEs in IFs, which also provided references for the formulation of related regulatory limits in China.

Analysis of the evolution of potential and free furfural compounds in the production chain of infant formula and risk assessment.

Furfural compounds are produced during infant formula production when heat treatment is involved. In this study, a robust method was established for determining potential and free furfural compounds (furfural, 5-methyl-2-furfural, 2-acetylfuran and 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfural) using a modified QuEChERS technique coupled with GC-MS/MS. Further, 36 samples of two batches, covering the whole infant formula production chain were analyzed by the method to investigate how furfurals evolved during process. Then risk assessment was conducted using the Toxtree and T.E.S.T. software and evaluated by hazard quotient. Results showed the contents of bound and free 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfural demonstrated largest increase during spray-drying (6-11 times) and homogenization stages (12-33 times), respectively. As the sum up of bound and free 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfural, potential 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfural was found can cause safety risks in the production chain due to the high hazard quotient value (3.11), indicating it should be controlled in homogenization and spray-drying stages.

Enucleation versus hepatectomy for hepatic hemangiomas: A meta-analysis.

Objective: To compare the safety and efficacy of enucleation and hepatectomy for the treatment of hepatic hemangioma (HH). Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted to identify studies evaluating enucleation versus hepatectomy for HH starting from the time of database creation to February 2022. Extraction of the data used in this study was done from the literature. The differences between the two surgical approaches were evaluated by comparing and analyzing the relevant data by means of meta-analysis. Results: A total of 1,384 patients (726 underwent enucleation, and 658 with hepatectomy) were included in our meta-analysis from 12 studies. Enucleations were associated with favorable outcomes in terms of operation time [mean difference (MD): -39.76, 95% confidence interval (CI): -46.23, -33.30], blood loss (MD: -300.42, 95% CI: -385.64, -215.19), length of hospital stay (MD: -2.33, 95% CI: -3.22, -1.44), and postoperative complications (OR: 0.57, 95% CI: 0.44-0.74). There were no differences between the groups in terms of patients needing transfusion (OR: 0.85, 95% CI: 0.50, 1.42), inflow occlusion time (MD: 1.72, 95% CI: -0.27, 3.71), and 30-day postoperative mortality (OR: 0.23, 95% CI: 0.02-2.17). Conclusion: Compared with hepatectomy, enucleation is found to be effective at reducing postoperative complications, blood loss, and operation time and shortening the length of hospital stay. Enucleation is similar to hepatectomy in terms of inflow occlusion time, 30-day postoperative mortality, and patients needing transfusing to hepatectomy.

Boron-doped titania for separation and purification of lactoferrin in dairy products.

Lactoferrin (LF), a natural iron regulating glycoprotein, exists in animal milk and plays multiple beneficial roles. Bovine LF is obtained by separation and purification from cow's milk, and has been added as a food additive to functional foods and infant formula now. Therefore, accurate analysis of LF in these foods is very important, but there are challenges such as poor selective extraction and separation efficiency. In this work, considering the cis-diol in LF, boron-doped titania (B-doped TiO2) material was prepared for selectively enrich LF from dairy products. In order to increase the saturation capacity of extracted LF, the amount of boron for doping was optimized, and maximum binding capacity of 63.9 mg g-1 was achieved when the atomic ratio of B to Ti was 1.65 with improved affinity in terms of KD value. In addition, the primary parameters affecting extraction efficiency such as extraction time, extraction pH, desorption time, and desorption solution were also optimized. The method of dispersive solid phase extraction based on B-doped TiO2 combined with ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet detection (UHPLC-UV) was developed and validated. The material greatly reduced the cost of sample pretreatment and the method also was applied to detect the LF in different dairy products such as liquid milk, fermented milk, and infant formula. This method could be used for routine analysis, separation and purification of LF.

IL-2 Modulates TAMs Derived Exosomal MiRNAs to Ameliorate Hepatocellular Carcinoma Development and Progression.

Background. Interleukin-2 (IL-2) is proved to play an irreplaceable role in antitumor regulation in numerous experimental and clinical trials. Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are able to release exosomes to promote the development and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) as essential component of microenvironment. In this study, our intention is to explore the effects of the exosomes from TAMs with IL-2 treatment on HCC development. TAMs were collected and cultured from HCC tissues. The exosomes from the TAMs treated with IL-2 (ExoIL2-TAM) or not (ExoTAM) were identified and used to treat HCC cells in vivo and in vitro. The proliferation, apoptosis, and metastasis of HCC cells were measured. The changes of miRNAs in exosomes were explored to clarify the possible mechanisms. Both decrease of cell proliferation and metastasis and increase of apoptosis were observed with ExoIL2-TAM treatment compared with ExoTAM in vivo and in vitro. miR-375 was obviously augmented in ExoIL2-TAM and HCC cells treated with ExoIL2-TAM. Taken together, IL-2 may modulate exosomal miRNAs from TAMs to ameliorate hepatocellular carcinoma development. This study provides a new perspective to explain the mechanism by which IL-2 inhibits hepatocellular carcinoma and implies the potential clinical value of exosomal miRNAs released by TAMs.

Flexible and hierarchical metal-organic framework composite as solid-phase media for facile affinity-tip fabrication to selectively enrich glycopeptides and phosphopeptides.

Micro-tip-based solid-phase microextraction is considered as one of the green and powerful analytical sample preparation techniques, but its efficiency is severely hampered by some basic issues such as tedious fabrication, instability of sorbent bed, and blocking of the tip, especially for biological samples due to low permeability. These issues are tackled by introducing a flexible and hierarchical substrate in the microtip, having good mechanical strength and specific functionality to capture the desired biomolecules. Considering the well-ordered and flexible structure of melamine foam, it was used as a substrate and for hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC). Metal-organic framework, due to its excellent characteristics, was grafted on its surface anchored by self-assembling polydopamine. The resulting material was characterized and packed in the tip by just pressing the material in the conical structure of the tip. This affinity tip established good and tunable permeability and was used to selectively enrich glycopeptides as well as phosphopeptides. The affinity tip demonstrated excellent performance to enrich glycopeptides and phosphopeptides with a low limit of detection up to 0.5 fmol µL-1 from tryptic digests of horseradish peroxidase and ß-Casein, respectively, and was stable up to 5 rounds of enrichment. Moreover, this affinity-tip also exhibited high selectivity up to up to 1:1000 (HRP digest to BSA digest) for glycopeptides and 1:200 (ß-Casein digest to BSA digest) for phosphopeptides and demonstrated several other fascinating characteristics such as; excellent size exclusion effect for the omission of large-sized proteins, modest backpressure, reproducibility, reusability, smooth enrichment, and successfully applied to a human saliva sample.