AIM: To investigate the clinical application of ultrasonic elastography in quantitative assessment of fatty liver grading. METHODS: A total of 105 patients with fatty liver were divided into mild group (n = 46), moder...AIM: To investigate the clinical application of ultrasonic elastography in quantitative assessment of fatty liver grading. METHODS: A total of 105 patients with fatty liver were divided into mild group (n = 46), moderate group (n = 39), and severe group (n = 20). Forty-five healthy individuals served as a normal control group. All patients who underwent routine ultrasound scan and further ultrasonic elastography were evaluated accordingly to the evaluation standards for ultrasonic elastography. The ratio of surface areas of blue region/total surface area in the desired region was measured. RESULTS: Ultrasonic elastography technique, in comparison to traditional ultrasound, had a rather high consistence in grading of fatty liver [κ value = (95.3%63.6%)/(1%-63.6%) = 0.87, P = 0.001]. The score of ultrasonic elastography increased with the severity of fatty liver with a sensitivity of 97.14% and a specificity of 91.11%. A significant difference was found in the ratio of surface areas of blue regions between different groups (P < 0.05).CONCLUSION: Ultrasonic elastography can be used in quantitative assessment of the severity of fatty liver.展开更多
We investigated the ability of NK4, an antagonist of human hepatocyte growth factor （HGF）, to inhibit the influence of HGF on proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis of human prostate cancer cells. Expressi...We investigated the ability of NK4, an antagonist of human hepatocyte growth factor （HGF）, to inhibit the influence of HGF on proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis of human prostate cancer cells. Expression vector pBudCE4.1-EGFP-NK4 containing NK4 cDNA was used to transfect human prostate cancer DU145 cells, and the effects of the autocrine NK4 on tumor cell proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis were assessed in vitro. in vivo, we subcutaneously implanted DU145 cells, mock-transfected clone （DU145/empty vector） cells and NK4- transfected clone （DU145/NK4） cells into nude mice, and then evaluated tumor growth, cell proliferation and cell apoptosis in vivo. We found that DU145/NK4 cells expressed NK4 protein. In the in vitro study, autocrine NK4 at- tenuated the HGF-induced tumor cell proliferation, migration and invasion, and stimulated apoptosis. Furthermore, autocrine NK4 effectively inhibited the HGF-induced phosphorylation of c-Met, extracellular signal-regulated kinase-1 （ERK1）. and protein kinase B 1/2 （Aktl/2）. Histological examination revealed that autocrine NK4 inhibited prolifera- tion and accelerated apoptosis of prostate cancer cells. These results show that genetic modification of DU145 cells with NK4 cDNA yields a significant effect on their proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis. Molecular targeting of HGF/c-Met by NK4 could be applied as a novel therapeutic approach to prostate cancer.展开更多
文摘AIM: To investigate the clinical application of ultrasonic elastography in quantitative assessment of fatty liver grading. METHODS: A total of 105 patients with fatty liver were divided into mild group (n = 46), moderate group (n = 39), and severe group (n = 20). Forty-five healthy individuals served as a normal control group. All patients who underwent routine ultrasound scan and further ultrasonic elastography were evaluated accordingly to the evaluation standards for ultrasonic elastography. The ratio of surface areas of blue region/total surface area in the desired region was measured. RESULTS: Ultrasonic elastography technique, in comparison to traditional ultrasound, had a rather high consistence in grading of fatty liver [κ value = (95.3%63.6%)/(1%-63.6%) = 0.87, P = 0.001]. The score of ultrasonic elastography increased with the severity of fatty liver with a sensitivity of 97.14% and a specificity of 91.11%. A significant difference was found in the ratio of surface areas of blue regions between different groups (P < 0.05).CONCLUSION: Ultrasonic elastography can be used in quantitative assessment of the severity of fatty liver.
文摘We investigated the ability of NK4, an antagonist of human hepatocyte growth factor （HGF）, to inhibit the influence of HGF on proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis of human prostate cancer cells. Expression vector pBudCE4.1-EGFP-NK4 containing NK4 cDNA was used to transfect human prostate cancer DU145 cells, and the effects of the autocrine NK4 on tumor cell proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis were assessed in vitro. in vivo, we subcutaneously implanted DU145 cells, mock-transfected clone （DU145/empty vector） cells and NK4- transfected clone （DU145/NK4） cells into nude mice, and then evaluated tumor growth, cell proliferation and cell apoptosis in vivo. We found that DU145/NK4 cells expressed NK4 protein. In the in vitro study, autocrine NK4 at- tenuated the HGF-induced tumor cell proliferation, migration and invasion, and stimulated apoptosis. Furthermore, autocrine NK4 effectively inhibited the HGF-induced phosphorylation of c-Met, extracellular signal-regulated kinase-1 （ERK1）. and protein kinase B 1/2 （Aktl/2）. Histological examination revealed that autocrine NK4 inhibited prolifera- tion and accelerated apoptosis of prostate cancer cells. These results show that genetic modification of DU145 cells with NK4 cDNA yields a significant effect on their proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis. Molecular targeting of HGF/c-Met by NK4 could be applied as a novel therapeutic approach to prostate cancer.
