Promoter methylation and expression of Runx3 gene in gastric cancer / 中华胃肠外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To analyze the relationships among the aberrant methylation of Runx3 gene promoter, the Runx3 protein expression and clinicopathological features in gastric cancer.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Methylation specific PCR was used to measure the promoter methylation status of Runx3 gene in tumor and the adjacent normal mucosal tissues from 40 patients with gastric cancer. Protein expression of Runx3 was measured by immunohistochemistry.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The frequency of promoter methylation of Runx3 gene in gastric cancer tissue(55.0%) was significantly higher compared to the adjacent normal tissues (12.5%)(P<0.01). The positive rate of protein expression of Runx3 in gastric cancer tissue(37.5%) was significantly lower compared to the adjacent normal tissues (100%). There was marked association between hypermethylation and negative protein expression (P<0.05). The frequency of Runx3 promoter methylation was associated with histological type, N grade, and tumor stage.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The promoter hypermethylation is a main mechanism of reduced or loss expression of Runx3 gene, which may provide molecular diagnosis and stage evaluation of gastric cancer.</p>

Expression of chemokine receptor CXCR4 in colorectal carcinoma and its relationship with clinicopathological parameters / 中华胃肠外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the expression of chemokine receptor CXCR4 in colorectal carcinoma and its relationship with the clinicopathological parameters, and to reveal the role of CXCL12/CXCR4 in the invasion and metastasis of colorectal carcinoma.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>CXCR4 expression was studied in 53 colorectal cancer tissues and 27 normal tissues by immunohistochemistry. Its relationship with clinicopathological characteristics of colorectal cancer patients were analyzed. The CXCR4 expression in tumor and normal specimens and its metastatic sites were assessed by RT-PCR and Western blot.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Fifty-three colorectal cancer patients,collected from July 2005 to February 2007 in our hospital,were enrolled in this study. CXCR4 was positive in 39 cancer tissue specimens(73.6%) and its high expression rate (in > 50% of cells) was 45.3%. High CXCR4 expression rate was significantly higher in patients with lymph node metastases (N(1)+N(2): 65.4%) than that in those without metastases(N(0) 25.9%). There were also associations between the high CXCR4 expression and the vascular and lymphatic vessel invasions (P<0.01). Meanwhile, there was a rising trend of high expression rate according to American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage and pathologic grade,but no significant difference was found(P>0.05). There were no significant correlation of CXCR4 expression with clinicopathological parameters such as tumor location, tumor size, depth of tumor invasion(P>0.05). In addition, the CXCR4 mRNA expression in primary tumor specimens (n=27) from AJCC stage IIII( patients was significantly higher than that in normal tissues. CXCR4 mRNA expression of liver metastasis specimens(n=5) was significantly higher as compared with the primary colorectal cancer specimens(P<0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Chemokine receptor CXCR4 is associated with the progression of colorectal carcinoma. High CXCR4 expression is associated with metastasis. The CXCL12-CXCR4 signaling pathway may be a potential novel target of therapy for patients with colorectal cancer.</p>

Clinical study on treatment of acute biliary tract infection with biliary drainage via endoscope combined with Chinese drug medication / 中国中西医结合杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the curative effects of biliary drainage via endoscope (ENBD) combined with Chinese drug medication on acute biliary tract infection (ABTI) and the influence of treatment on complement 3 (C3), C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Sixteen patients with ABTI were randomly assigned to two groups: the 9 patients in the combined treatment group (CTG) treated with ENBD combined with Chinese medicine and the 7 patients in routine treatment group (RTG) treated with ENBD alone. Another 18 patients with simple gallbladder stone were taken as the control group (CG). The curative effect was observed and the serum concentrations of C3, CRP and IL-6 were determined before and after treatment.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Before treatment, the concentrations of CRP and IL-6 were significantly higher and C3 lower in all ABTI patients than those in patients with simple gallbladder stone (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). After treatment, the general condition of patients was improved, the recovery time of intestinal tract function was shortened and the concentrations of C3, CRP and IL-6 significantly decreased in CTG, with the effects better than those in RTG respectively (P < 0.01 or P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>ENBD combined with Chinese drug medication shows favorable curative effects on ABTI. Treatment with Chinese medicine according to syndrome differentiation could decrease blood level of pro-inflammatory cytokines and promote recovery of the injured immune function.</p>

Advances in research on relationship between Hedgehog signal pathway and gastroenteric tumor / 中国癌症杂志

Hedgehog(HH),a vital endodermal signal,plays a critical role in the embryonic development of the GI system.During mammalian embryonic development,deficiency of HH signaling leads to gastrointestinal malformations.Nevertheless,normal presence of HH family is also found in the adult gut,and HH signaling now may be important for homeostasis of the gut in such a case.However,many researches revealed that the HH signal's involved in gastrointestinal carcinogenesis and its role is altered in various tumors due to various mechanisms.This review focused on the progress of HH signal pathway in gastrointestinal tumors.