B7-H3 confers stemness characteristics to gastric cancer cells by promoting glutathione metabolism through AKT/pAKT/Nrf2 pathway / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

BACKGROUND@#Cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) are a small subset of cells in tumors that exhibit self-renewal and differentiation properties. CSCs play a vital role in tumor formation, progression, relapse, and therapeutic resistance. B7-H3, an immunoregulatory protein, has many protumor functions. However, little is known about the mechanism underlying the role of B7-H3 in regulating gastric cancer (GC) stemness. Our study aimed to explore the impacts of B7-H3 on GC stemness and its underlying mechanism.@*METHODS@#GC stemness influenced by B7-H3 was detected both in vitro and in vivo . The expression of stemness-related markers was examined by reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction, Western blotting, and flow cytometry. Sphere formation assay was used to detect the sphere-forming ability. The underlying regulatory mechanism of B7-H3 on the stemness of GC was investigated by mass spectrometry and subsequent validation experiments. The signaling pathway (Protein kinase B [Akt]/Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 [Nrf2] pathway) of B7-H3 on the regulation of glutathione (GSH) metabolism was examined by Western blotting assay. Multi-color immunohistochemistry (mIHC) was used to detect the expression of B7-H3, cluster of differentiation 44 (CD44), and Nrf2 on human GC tissues. Student's t -test was used to compare the difference between two groups. Pearson correlation analysis was used to analyze the relationship between two molecules. The Kaplan-Meier method was used for survival analysis.@*RESULTS@#B7-H3 knockdown suppressed the stemness of GC cells both in vitro and in vivo . Mass spectrometric analysis showed the downregulation of GSH metabolism in short hairpin B7-H3 GC cells, which was further confirmed by the experimental results. Meanwhile, stemness characteristics in B7-H3 overexpressing cells were suppressed after the inhibition of GSH metabolism. Furthermore, Western blotting suggested that B7-H3-induced activation of GSH metabolism occurred through the AKT/Nrf2 pathway, and inhibition of AKT signaling pathway could suppress not only GSH metabolism but also GC stemness. mIHC showed that B7-H3 was highly expressed in GC tissues and was positively correlated with the expression of CD44 and Nrf2. Importantly, GC patients with high expression of B7-H3, CD44, and Nrf2 had worse prognosis ( P = 0.02).@*CONCLUSIONS@#B7-H3 has a regulatory effect on GC stemness and the regulatory effect is achieved through the AKT/Nrf2/GSH pathway. Inhibiting B7-H3 expression may be a new therapeutic strategy against GC.

Research progress on the use of BioEnterics intragastric balloon for treating obesity / 中华健康管理学杂志

Use of a BioEnterics intragastric balloon is a noninvasive,repeatable,low-cost,and safe method that can help in weight reduction. Injection of substances such as saline or air into a part of the stomach leads to a reduction in food intake and delays gastric emptying.This article aims to introduce the clinical application of different types of balloons and summarize the progress in treating obesity.

Clinical application of magnetic-controlled capsule endoscopy in screening and early diagnosis of stomach diseases / 中华健康管理学杂志

Gastric disease is a great burden in China; chronic gastritis, gastric ulcer, and gastric cancer incidences are the highest in the world.However,the screening rate of gastric disease in China is low because endoscopy and other screening methods are not accepted widely and they consume large amounts of manpower and material resources.The screening of gastric cancer has not been implemented,leading to high mortality because of gastric cancer. In recent years, the rapid development of magnetic-controlled capsule endoscopy provides a painless,highly accepted screening method for gastric cancer and other diseases.This article aims to introduce clinical applications of magnetic-controlled capsule endoscopy in screening and early diagnosis of stomach diseases.

Chronic pancreatitis affecting the basal levels of several pancreas-related endocrine hormones: a clinical trial / 中华胰腺病杂志

Objective to determine the basal levels of several pancreas-related endocrine hormones in patients with chronic pancreatitis.Methods according to inclusion and exclusion criteria,consecutive patients from February 2016 to August 2016 in Department of Gastroenterology,Changhai Hospital,Second Military Medical University and ten healthy control (matched for age and gender) were included.Basal levels of glucagon-like peptide 1,pancreatic polypeptide,Secretin,glucagon,somatostatin between groups of CP vs healthy control,CP with abnormal glycometabolism vs CP with normal glycometabolism and alcoholic CP vs non-alcoholic CP were compared.Results a total of 53 patients with chronic pancreatitis and 8 healthy subjects were included in this study.(1) CP vs healthy controls:the level of secretin in healthy control patients is significant lower than that in CP patients;(2) CP with abnormal glycometabolism vs CP with normal glycometabolism:the level of triglyceride and somatostatin is significant lower than that in CP patients;the prevalence of patients with chronic alcohol consumption and the level of glucagon-like peptide 1 in CP with abnormal glycometabolism is significant higher than that in CP with normal glycometabolism;(3) the prevalence of abnormal glycometabolism in alcoholic CP group is significant higher than that in non-alcoholic CP.The results above are all of statistical significance.Conclusions in addition to dysfunction of islets/3-cells,CP also easily affects the level of other pancreas-related hormones such as secretin,somatostatin and glucagon-like peptide 1.Otherwise,chronic alcohol consumption is also strongly related with abnormal glycometabolism,the mechanism deserves further researches.