Effect of E-cadherin in epithelial-mesenchymal transition of neuroblastoma / 中华实用儿科临床杂志

Objective:To analyze the expression of E-cadherin in the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) induced by transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) in neuroblastoma.Methods:TGF-β1(1 μg/L, 5 μg/L, 10 μg/L), was applied to SK-N-SH cells in vitro compared with the blank control group.EMT-related genes mRNA and protein expression were detected by carrying out real-time PCR assays and Western blot.A scratch test and migration assay were performed to verify the alteration of SK-N-SH cell migration capacity.Data collected from 18 cases of neuroblastoma patients were selected from the Department of Hematology Oncology, Shanghai Children′s Hospital from January 2008 to December 2012.The expression of E-cadherin in the tumor tissue of the neuroblastoma patients after operation was detected by immunohistochemistry.The clinical features and survival prognosis of these patients were analyzed. Results:Compared with the control group, after SK-N-SH cells were treated with TGF-β1(1 μg/L, 5 μg/L, 10 μg/L), real-time PCR assays and Western blot revealed that the mRNA(0.603±0.081, 0.606±0.008, 0.716±0.166 vs.1.000) and protein expression levels(0.855±0.026, 0.600±0.017, 0.495±0.011 vs.1.000) of E-cadherin were significantly decreased ( F=8.144, P=0.040; F=74.810, P<0.001), while the mRNA(2.132±0.167, 3.494±0.017, 4.184±0.021 vs.1.000) and protein expression levels (1.175±0.053, 1.189±0.058, 1.225±0.106 vs.1.000)of α - smooth muscle actin were significantly increased ( F=547.300, P<0.001; F=68.810, P=0.007), suggesting that EMT changes occur in cells.Scratch test and Transwell migration assay revealed that the number of migrating cells increased obvious with the treatment of TGF-β1 (5 μg/L) ( t=16.070, P=0.040). The 10-year overall survival(OS) rates of neuroblastoma patients with E-cadherin strong positive expression, positive expression, weak positive expression and negative expression in the pathology were (77.78±13.86)%, (75.00±21.66)%, (25.00±21.65)% and 0, respectively ( F=8.160, P=0.040). Conclusions:TGF-β1 can induce the EMT in SK-N-SH cells and increase cell migration.The decrease expression of E-cadherin in neuroblastoma patients is closely associated with clinical progress and recurrence or metastasis of the disease.

Evaluation on Ability to Detect the Intracranial Hematoma with Different Density Using C-Arm Cone-beam Computed Tomography Based on Animal Model / 生物医学工程学杂志

This study aims to evaluate the ability of C-arm cone-beam CT to detect intracranial hematomas in canine models. Twenty one healthy canines were divided into seven groups and each group had three animals. Autologous blood and contrast agent (3 mL) were slowly injected into the left/right frontal lobes of each animal. Canines in the first group, the control group, were only injected with autologous blood without contrast agent. Each animal in all the 7 groups was scanned with C-arm cone-beam CT and multislice computed tomography (MSCT) after 5 minutes. The attenuation values and their standard deviations of the hematoma and uniformed brain tissues were measured to calculate the image noise, signal to noise ratio (SNR) and contrast to noise ratio (CNR). A scale with scores 1-3 was used to rate the quality of the reconstructed image of different hematoma as a subjective evaluation, and all the experimental data were processed with statistical treatment. The results revealed that when the density of hematoma was less than 65 HU, hematomata were not very clear on C-arm CT images, and when the density of hematoma was more than 65 HU, hematomata showed clearly on both C-arm CT and MSCT images and the scores of them were close. The coherence between the two physicians was very reliable. The same results were obtained with C-arm cone-beam CT and MSCT grades in measuring SD value, SNR, and CNR. The reasonable choice of density detection range of intracranial hematoma with C-arm cone-beam CT could be effectively applied to monitoring the intracranial hemorrhage during interventional diagnosis and treatment.

Image quality evaluation of virtual monoenergetic spectral images obtained in two types of dual energy CT based on noise level / 中华放射学杂志

Objective To investigate the image quality difference of the virtual monochromatic spectral(VMS) images synthesized from fast kilovoltage switching and dual-source dual-energy CT for a given radiation dose. Methods A plurality of disposable syringes containing 15 mg/ml iodine contrast agent and saline were placed on the surface of the male anthropomorphic phantom consisting ofhead neck and torso, GE HD750 gemstone spectral imaging and Siemens Somatom Definition Flash dual energy CT protocols were performed on the phantom for a same dose(volume CT dose index 6.52 mGy), and VMS images (40, 60, 70, 80, 100, 120, 140 keV) were reconstructed and obtained(VMSkV switching and VMSdual-source image), respectively. The objective image noise, iodine signal noise ratio(SNR), iodine contrast noise ratio (CNR) and CT values were measured. The results were analyzed using the paired t test and ANOVA. Results All VMS iodine CT values were gradually decreased with the increasing of keV , and iodine CT values on VMSdual-source images were greater than on VMSkV switching images(P<0.05), VMSkV switching iodine CT values in descending order from the head , chest, abdomen at less than 100 keV,while most VMSdual-source iodine CT values were highest on chest(P<0.05). VMSdual-source and VMSkV switching image noise were highest at 40 keV and successively raised from the head, chest , abdomen. VMSkV switching image noise gradually decreased with the increase of keV in the range of 40 to 70 keV , gradually increased up to the trough after 70 keV from 80 keV gradually decreased, while VMSdual-source image noise was lowest at 70 keV or 80 keV , and then with the keV increased gradually increased. Image noise on VMSkV switching images in the range of 40 to 100 keV were higher than that on VMSdual-source images and lower in the range of 100 to 140 keV at most part(P<0.05). VMSdual-source and VMSkV switching iodine SNR were highest at 40 keV or 60 keV,SNR on VMSdual-source images are greater than on VMSkV switching images except 40 keV images on head and abdomen(P<0.05) . VMSdual-source and VMSkV switching iodine CNR were highest at 60 keV,CNR on VMSdual-source images are greater than on VMSkV switching images except 40 keV images on head 100 keV and 120 keV on abdomen(P<0.05).SNR and CNR decreased from the head, chest, abdomen (P<0.05). Conclusion VMS images synthesized from fast kilovoltage switching and dual-source dual-energy CT have different image quality performance at most keV and body parts, but VMS imaging at approximately 70 keV yielded lower image noise, and at approximately 60 keV yielded highest SNR and CNR.