Influence of Photodynamic Therapy on Apoptosis and Invasion of Human Cholangiocarcinoma QBC939 Cell Line

Objective To investigate the effect of photodynamic therapy(PDT) mediated by hematoporphyrin derivative(HPD) on apoptosis and invasion of cholangiocarcinoma QBC939 cell lines. Methods In vitro cultured cholangiocarcinoma QBC939 cell line was exposed to 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14 μg/ml HPD with 5, 10, and 15 J/cm2 light intensity, respectively. The optical density at 450 nm of the QBC939 cells was measured by CCK8 assay and its growth inhibition ratio was calculated. Flow cytometry and transwell migration assay were applied to detect cell apoptosis and invasion respectively. RT-PCR and immunocytochemistry analyses were used to detect expressions of vascular endothelial growth factor-C(VEGF-C), cyclooxygenase-2(COX-2), and proliferating cell nuclear antigen(PCNA). Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) was carried out to examine the secretion of VEGF-C and COX-2 in QBC939 cells. Results Exposure to HPD-PDT can significantly suppress the growth of QBC939 cells(all P<0.05). HPD-PDT can promote apoptosis of QBC939 cells at the early stage. When the concentration of HPD was 2 μg/ml and light irradiation was 5 J/cm2, HPD-PDT had no obvious inhibitory effect on QBC939 cell growth, but can obviously inhibit cell invasion, and significant difference was observed between the HPD-PDT and control groups(P<0.01). The HPD-PDT can reduce the m RNA and protein expressions of VEGF-C, COX-2, and PCNA, and decrease the secretion of VEGF-C and COX-2 in QBC939 cells. Conclusion PDT could promote apoptosis and inhibit growth and invasion of cholangiocarcinoma cells QBC939 in vitro.

Development and multicenter validation of a nomogram for preoperative prediction of lymph node positivity in pancreatic cancer(NeoPangram)

Background:Neoadjuvant therapy is associated with nodal downstaging and improved oncological outcomes in patients with lymph node(LN)-positive pancreatic cancer.This study aimed to develop and validate a nomogram to preoperatively predict LN-positive disease.Methods:A total of 558 patients with resected pancreatic cancer were randomly and equally divided into development and internal validation cohorts.Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to construct the nomogram.Model performance was evaluated by discrimination,calibration,and clinical usefulness.An independent multicenter cohort consisting of 250 patients was used for external validation.Results:A four-marker signature was built consisting of carbohydrate antigen 19–9(CA19–9),CA125,CA50,and CA242.A nomogram was constructed to predict LN metastasis using three predictors identified by multivariate analysis:risk score of the four-marker signature,computed tomography-reported LN status,and clinical tumor stage.The prediction model exhibited good discrimination ability,with C-indexes of 0.806,0.742 and 0.763 for the development,internal validation,and external validation cohorts,respectively.The model also showed good calibration and clinical usefulness.A cut-off value(0.72)for the probability of LN metastasis was determined to separate low-risk and high-risk patients.Kaplan-Meier survival analysis revealed a good agreement of the survival curves between the nomogram-predicted status and the true LN status.Conclusions:This nomogram enables the identification of pancreatic cancer patients at high risk for LN positivity who may have more advanced disease and thus could potentially benefit from neoadjuvant therapy.

Study progress on the mechanism of acupuncture for primary dysmenorrhea

Through searching the literature on the mechanism of acupuncture for primary dysmenorrhea in the last 15 years,this paper summarizes systematically the current study progress on the analgesic mechanism of acupuncture for primary dysmenorrhea,from the perspectives of animal experiment and human trials.In terms of research methods,the behavioral observation,evaluation of central and peripheral biochemical indexes,and molecular biological techniques were mainly used in the animal experiments;whilst the clinical symptoms and evaluation of peripheral serum biochemical indexes were focused on in human trials.As for the research results,the animal experiments showed that acupuncture may play an analgesic role by regulating endocrine,promoting the release of central and peripheral neurotransmitters,regulating immune function,and relieving uterine smooth muscle spasm.However,the human trials have found that acupuncture can produce analgesic effects by regulating serum prostaglandin and ovarian hormone levels,promoting the release of peripheral β-endorphin,improving the uterine artery flow status,and relieving uterine smooth muscle spasm.Although different research methods were used in animal and human studies,the similar results were obtained in acupuncture regulating endocrine levels,promoting release of peripheral neurotransmitters,and alleviating uterine smooth muscle spasms.In addition,at present stage,animal experiments are more than human trials in numbers,and there are relatively few studies on the central mechanism of acupuncture analgesia in human trials.Therefore,in view of this phenomenon,this paper proposes to use functional magnetic resonance imaging(fMRI) technology to explore the central mechanism of acupuncture analgesia in human body,so as to provide a new idea for further exploring the mechanism of acupuncture analgesia in treating primary dysmenorrhea.

Cases for acupoint embedding of epilepsy

In this report,acupoint embedding method was used for a 25-year-old female patient with epilepsy.The patient suffered from repeated paroxysmal unconsciousness combined with convulsions of four limbs for13 years,and exacerbation for 2 months.She was orally administered with antiepileptic drugs which showed poor control.Using the treatment principles of regulating the mind,opening the orifices,extinguishing wind,and relieving epilepsy,suture-embedded acupoints include Dàzhuī(大椎GV14),Bǎihuì(百会GV20),Xuánlú(悬颅GB5),Yāoqí(腰奇EX-B9),Gānshū(肝俞BL18),Jiūwěi(鸠尾CV15),Jiānshǐ(间使PC5),and Fēnglóng(丰隆ST40),and the patient was treated once a month(qw).After treatment for 6 times,the patient had occasionally a seizure that lasted for several seconds,and the patient’s condition was improved obviously.Acupoint embedding method can control the frequency of epileptic seizures effectively,and reduce the dose of antiepileptic drugs,and deserves further research.