Effect of baicalin on renal fibrosis in rats with diabetic nephropathy by TGF-β1 / 医学研究生学报

ObjectiveDiabetic nephropathy (DN) is a pathological process involving the kidney that develops from Diabetes Mellitus (DM). The onset is hidden and difficult to reverse. Baicalin is an important flavonoid compound in Scutellaria Baicalensis. It has the functions of clearing heat and detoxifying, anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant. In recent years, the role of baicalin in lowering blood glucose and lipids and improving metabolic syndrome has received widespread attention. Therefore, we observed the protective effect of baicalin on the kidneys of DN rats and explored its possible regulatory mechanism.MethodsForty-five male SD rats were randomly divided into a normal control group, a DN model group, and a baicalin-treated group, with 15 rats in each group. The normal group was routinely bred, and the DN model was established in the model group and the baicalin treatment group, and the corresponding preparations were given gavage treatment. After a fixed time point, rat body weight, fasting blood glucose (FBG), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and serum creatinine (Scr) levels were measured, and the histopathological changes of the kidneys in each group were observed. TGF-β1 and α- SMA protein expression was measured by Western blot.ResultsCompared with the DN group, the FBG, BUN, Scr and 24h urine output of the baicalin treatment group were significantly decreased, and the body weight did not change significantly. Histopathological observation showed that compared with DN group, the pathological damage, glycogen deposition and fibrosis of the rats in the baicalin treatment group were significantly improved. Compared with the DN group, the results of Western blot showed that the expression of TGF-β1 and α-SMA protein in the baicalin treatment group were significantly decreased (P<0.05).ConclusionBaicalin can delay the progression of DN and improve renal fibrosis, and its mechanism may be closely related to the inhibition of α-SMA expression by baicalin by low regulation of TGF-β1.

Pathological Research of Splenic Extramedullary Hematopoiesis in Aged Rats / 中国实验血液学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the occurrence and various influencing factors of the splenic extramedullary hematopoiesis in rats.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 411 rats of different sex and species were assigned to this study. These rats were fed different feed in the same environment, and killed after 104 weeks. The spleen of all animals was embedded in paraffin, sectioned, stained with hematoxylin and eosin(H& E), then examined by optical microscopy to observe splenic extramedullary hematopoiesis.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>At the end of the study, it was found that the splenic extramedullary hematopoiesis occurred in 116 animals (28.22%). The splenic extramedullary hematopoiesis that included the erythroid, granulocytic and megakaryocytic lineages (23.11%); the inciderce of splenic extramedullary hematopoiesis in Wistar rats was higher than that in SD rats; the incidence of splenic extramedullary hematopoiesis in female was higher than that in male; the feed had no effect on splenic extramedullary hematopoiesis of all animals; different species and different feed were also did not involve in the level of splenic extramedullary hematopoiesis.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Species and sex show effect on the incidence of splenic extramedullary hematopoiesis, but does not involve in the level of splenic extramedullary hematopoiesis; feed had no influences on all indexes of splenic extramedullary hematopoiesis. The results of this study may provide a reference for the study of the splenic extramedullary hematopoiesis of the aging human.</p>

10-year changes and development of surgical treatment for breast cancer in China / 中华肿瘤杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the changes and development of surgical treatment for breast cancer from 1999 to 2008 in China, and compare the differences between the surgical methods used in high-resource and low-resource areas.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Clinicopathological data of surgical treatment for female primary breast cancer was collected via medical chart review at hospitals in seven geographic areas in China. Chi-square test and chisqure test for linear trends were used to analyze the changes and development of the surgical methods used for breast cancer in the 10 years.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>A total of 4211 primary breast cancer patients were selected from the 10-year database, including 4078 women (97.5%) treated by surgical operation. Among 3271 women (80.21%) treated with modified radical mastectomy, the surgical rate was rising from 68.89% in 1999 to 80.17% in 2008, ascending by 11.28% (χ(2) = 31.143, P < 0.001). In high-resource areas, the surgical rate of modified radical mastectomy was rising from 45.64% in 1999 to 76.13% in 2008, ascending by 30.49% (χ(2) = 89.393, P < 0.001), while in low-resource areas it kept a steady rate at 80% in the ten years (χ(2) = 2.113,P = 0.146). Among 231 women (5.66%) treated with breast-conserving surgery, the surgical rate was rising from 1.29% in 1999 to 11.57% in 2008, ascending by 10.28% (χ(2) = 102.835, P < 0.001). In high-resource areas, the surgical rate of breast-conserving surgery was rising from 2.68% in 1999 to 16.87% in 2008, ascending by 14.19% (χ(2) = 69.544, P < 0.001), while in low-resource areas it was rising from 0.42% in 1999 to 6.22% in 2008, ascending by 5.80% (χ(2) = 30.003, P < 0.001). Among 469 women (11.50%) treated with Halsted radical mastectomy, the surgical rate was declining from 28.28% in 1999 to 4.96% in 2008, descending by 23.32% (χ(2) = 206.202, P < 0.001). In high-resource areas, the surgical rate of Halsted radical mastectomy was declining from 50.34% in 1999 to 3.29% in 2008, descending by 47.05% (χ(2) = 274.830, P < 0.001), while in low-resource areas it was declining from 14.58% in 1999 to 6.64% in 2008, descending by 7.94% (χ(2) = 8.166, P = 0.004). Among 3786 women treated with breast mastectomy (including modified radical mastectomy and Halsted radical mastectomy), the surgical rate was declining from 98.46% in 1999 to 86.36% in 2008, descending by 12.10% (χ(2) = 95.744, P < 0.001). In high-resource areas, the surgical rate of breast mastectomy was declining from 96.64% in 1999 to 80.66% in 2008, descending by 15.98% (χ(2) = 53.446, P < 0.001), while in low-resource areas it was declining from 99.58% in 1999 to 92.12% in 2008, descending by 7.46% (χ(2) = 36.758,P < 0.001).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The main primary surgical treatment for breast cancer is modified radical mastectomy during the period 1999 - 2008. Halsted radical mastectomy is gradually replaced by modified radical mastectomy and breast-conserving surgery. The rate of changes for breast-conserving surgery and mastectomy is higher in high-resource areas than that in low-resource areas. Breast-conserving surgery will become the main treatment for early-stage breast cancer.</p>

Inhibiting effect of letrozole combined with curcumin on xenografted endometrial carcinoma growth in nude mice / 癌症

<p><b>BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE</b>Letrozole is an aromatase inhibitor that is used in the treatment of estrogen-sensitive tumors such as endometrial carcinoma, however, its therapeutic effect is still to be further improved. It is reported that curcumin has antitumor capability and can enhance the sensitivity of tumor cells to anticancer agents. This study was to investigate the inhibitory effect of letrozole combination with curcumin on the implanted endometrial tumor growth.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Nude mice were implanted with endometrial carcinoma RL-952 cells. All tumor-bearing mice were randomly divided into 5 groups: control(without treatment), Let(1) (letrozole, 1 microg/d), Let(10) (letrozole, 10 microg/d), Cur [ curcumin, 300 mg/kg.d)], and Let + Cur group [10microg/d letrozole + 50mg/ (kg.d) curcumin]. The tumor growth was monitored. Tumor cells apoptosis was detected in both control and treated groups. The expressions of bcl-2 mRNA and bcl-2 protein were detected using RT-PCR and Western blot, respectively.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Fifty mice were successfully implanted with the endometrial tumor. Treatment with letrozole markedly inhibited tumor growth; the inhibitory effect was further enhanced by the combination of letrozole and curcumin. The inhibitory rates in Let (1), Let (10), the Cur, and the Let + Cur groups were 15.95%, 22.49%, 21.57%, and 35.89%, respectively. Treatment with curcumin inhibited the expression of bcl-2 in tumor cells at the mRNA and protein levels. The apoptosis rates in the control group and the four experimental groups mentioned above were 16.97%, 32.90%, 35.80%, 34.16%, and 47.24%, respectively. Tumor cells apoptosis were observed in mice treated with either letrozole or curcumin; however, combination of letrozole and curcumin further enhanced the inhibitory rate in tumor growth.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Treatment with letrozole or curcumin could inhibit the xenografted endometrial tumor growth by inducing apoptosis in tumor cells. Combination of letrozole and curcumin further enhanced the inhibitory effect of tumor growth.</p>

Clinical characteristics and survival in the operable breast cancer patients with different molecular subtypes / 中华肿瘤杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>According to the immunohistochemical (IHC) test of ER, PR and HER-2, breast cancer can be divided into 4 different molecular subtypes: Luminal A subtype (ER or PR positive and HER-2 negative), Luminal B subtype (ER or PR positive and HER-2 positive), HER-2 subtype (ER and PR negative, HER-2 positive) and Basal-like subtype (ER, PR and HER-2 negative). This study was to analyze the clinical features of different breast cancer subtypes, and try to find the evidence of combined and individualized treatment for patients with breast cancer.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The data of 408 surgically treated breast cancer patients in the Cancer Hospital of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences from January 1, 2002 to December 31, 2002 were collected and retrospectively analyzed. The clinicopathological features and recurrence, metastasis as well as survival of these four subtypes were compared.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Of the 408 cases, Luminal A subtype accounted for 60.8% (248/408), Luminal B subtype 7.8% (32/408), HER-2 subtype 12.5% (51/408), and Basal-like subtype 18.9% (77/408). Basal-like subtype had less lymph node metastases than other subtypes (P<0.05). HER-2 subtypes consisted of less patients aged 45 years or younger than other subtypes (P<0.05). Luminal B subtype contained less advanced cases than other subtypes (P<0.01). By August 2008, the median time of follow-up was 64 months (range, 3-79 months). Fifty-eight cases presented local recurrence or metastasis, and 51 of them died of the disease. The 5-year overall survival rates (OS) for patients with Luminal A, Luminal B, Basal-like and HER-2 subtype were 89.83%, 86.15%, 79.85% and 86.70% , respectively. The 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) rates of the four subtypes were 83.52%, 68.88%, 71.66% and 75.83%, respectively. The rate of local recurrence or metastasis in Luminal A subtype was significantly lower than that in Luminal B and Basal-like subtypes (P<0.05). The DFS time in Luminal B subtype was shorter than that in Luminal A subtype (P=0.0481). The OS and DFS time in Basal-like subtype were all shorter than that in Luminal A subtype (P=0.0077 and P=0.0306, respectively).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The distribution of each subtype in Chinese breast cancer patients is similar to that in European and American breast cancer patients. Luminal A is the most common subtype in Chinese breast cancer patients, and has a good prognosis. While Basal-like and Luminal B subtype have a poor prognosis.</p>

Clinical characteristics comparison between triple-negative and non-triple-negative breast cancer / 中华外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To compare the clinical characteristics of triple-negative (TN) breast cancer and non-triple-negative (NTN) breast cancer, enrich the information of TN patients, and provide evidences for individualized combined treatment.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The data of 408 cases received operation in the year of 2002 was enrolled in this study. TN patients were confirmed according to the immunohistochemical (IHC) test of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and HER-2/neu. The clinical characteristics, recurrence, metastasis and survival were compared between the two groups.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Seventy-seven patients (18.9%) were confirmed TN cases. The median follow-up was 64 months (range, 3-79 months). Of all the cases, 58 occurred local recurrence or metastasis and 51 died, it was 19 and 12 in TN group. Compared with the NTN group, the TN patient tended to be younger and the tumor mass larger (P=0.015 and 0.011). However, axillary lymph nodes metastasis occurred more often in NTN patients than in TN patients (P=0.001). The rate of local recurrence and metastasis in TN group was significantly higher than in NTN group (P=0.005 and 0.025), and TN cases were more likely to develop lung metastasis than NTN patients (P<0.01). The 3-year and 5-year overall survival rate in TN group were significantly lower than in NTN group (86.4% vs. 93.4%, P=0.0205; 77.7% vs. 87.9%, P=0.0215). The 3-year and 5-year disease-free survival rate in TN group were also significantly lower than in NTN group (78.4% vs. 92.4%, P=0.0038; 72.8% vs. 85.8%, P=0.0041). Tumor size, lymph node status and triple-negative were the most important factors influencing the prognosis on multivariate Cox regression analysis.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>TN breast cancer haa some specific clinical characteristics. The prognosis of TN patients is worse than that of NTN patients. Further study is needed to find individualized treatment for TN breast cancer patients.</p>