The Efficacy of Pyrotinib as a Third- or Higher-Line Treatment in HER2-Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients Exposed to Lapatinib Compared to Lapatinib-Naive Patients: A Real-World Study.

Background: Pyrotinib is a novel irreversible pan-ErbB receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor. Evidence of the efficacy of pyrotinib-based treatments for HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer (MBC) in patients exposed to lapatinib is limited. Methods: Ninety-four patients who received pyrotinib as a third- or higher-line treatment for HER2-positive MBC were included in this retrospective study. The primary and secondary endpoints were overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). Propensity score matching (PSM) and inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) analysis were implemented to balance important patient characteristics between groups. Results: Thirty (31.9%) patients were pretreated with lapatinib and subsequently received pyrotinib as an anti-HER2 treatment, and 64 (68.1%) patients did not receive this treatment. The OS and PFS indicated a beneficial trend in lapatinib-naive group compared to lapatinib-treated group in either the original cohort (PFS: 9.02 vs 6.36 months, p = 0.05; OS: 20.73 vs 14.35 months, p = 0.08) or the PSM (PFS: 9.02 vs 6.08 months, p = 0.07; OS: 19.07 vs 18.00 months, p = 0.61) or IPTW (PFS: 9.90 vs 6.17 months, p = 0.05; OS: 19.53 vs 15.10 months, p = 0.08) cohorts. Subgroup analyses demonstrated lapatinib treatment-related differences in PFS in the premenopausal subgroup and the no prior trastuzumab treatment subgroup, but no significant differences were observed in OS. Conclusion: Pyrotinib-based therapy demonstrated promising effects in HER2-positive MBC patients in a real-world study, especially in lapatinib-naive patients, and also some activity in lapatinib-treated patients.

Effect of Hypotensive Brain Death on the Donor Liver and Its Mechanism in an Improved Bama Miniature Pig (Sus scrofa domestica) Model.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to observe the effect of hypotensive brain death on the donor liver and understand its pathophysiological mechanism in improved pig model. METHODS: The model was induced using the modified intracranial water sac inflation method in 16 Bama miniature pigs. Effects of hypotensive brain death on liver function and tissue morphology were evaluated via changes in liver function enzyme index, liver tissue alkaline phosphatase levels, hourly bile flow, and liver tissue pathology. Its pathophysiological mechanism was examined on the basis of changes in portal vein blood flow, hepatic artery blood flow, portal venous endotoxin level, and liver tissue cytokine levels. RESULTS: After model establishment, portal vein blood flow, hepatic arterial blood flow, hourly bile flow, and alkaline phosphatase content in hepatic tissue significantly decreased, and serum aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, and lactate dehydrogenase levels significantly increased. Hematoxylin-eosin staining of liver tissue showed that after model establishment, hepatic tissue injury was gradually aggravated and hepatic cells were irreversibly damaged at 7 hours. Portal vein endotoxin levels significantly increased after brain death. Tumor necrosis factor α, interleukin 1, and endothelin 1 levels in liver tissues significantly increased at 3, 6, and 12 hours after brain death (P < .05), and hypoxia-inducible factor 1-α and nitric oxide levels significantly decreased (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Hepatic injury was progressively aggravated under hypotensive brain death. The mechanism of donor liver injury under hypotensive brain death may involve low liver perfusion, release of intestinal endotoxin and inflammatory factors (eg, tumor necrosis factor α and interleukin 1), decreased hypoxia-inducible factor 1-α, and endothelin 1 and nitric oxide imbalance.

[Inhibitory effect of migration-inducing gene-7-shRNA recombinant retrovirus combined with endostatin on growth and metastasis of hepatoma xenograft].

Objective: To investigate the inhibitory effect of migration-inducing gene-7(Mig-7)interfered with retrovirus-mediated RNA(shRNA)combined with recombinant human endostatin(ES)on the growth and metastasis of subcutaneous xenograft of human hepatoma cells in nude mice. Methods: Two Mig-7-mRNA oligonucleotide sequences(Mig-7-shRNA-1 and Mig-7-shRNA-2)and one sequence as a negative control(Mig-7-shRNA-N)were designed. The specific Mig-7-shRNA recombinant retrovirus expression vector plasmid was constructed and used for the transfection of human hepatoma MHCC-97H cells with high expression of Mig-7. The subcutaneous xenograft tumor model of human hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)in nude mice was established, and according to the condition of transfection and administration, the nude mice were divided into pSIREN-M1 group, pSIREN-MN group, ES group, and pSIREN-M1+ES group. The xenograft tumor volume, mass, and metastasis were compared between groups. Immunohistochemistry was used to observe the formation of vasculogenic mimicry(VM)in xenograft tumor and the difference in tumor microvascular density(MVD), and Western blot was used to measure the expression of Mig-7 and vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)in each group. A one-way analysis of variance was used for comparison between groups, and the Fisher's exact test was used for comparison of continuous data between groups. Results: Compared with the pSIREN-MN group, the pSIREN-M1 group had significantly lower xenograft tumor volume, mass, and metastasis rate, Mig-7 expression, and formation of VM(P < 0.05), as well as significantly higher VEGF expression and MVD(P < 0.05). Compared with the pSIREN-MN group, the ES group had significantly lower xenograft tumor volume, mass, and metastasis rate, VEGF expression, and MVD(P < 0.05), as well as significantly higher Mig-7 expression and formation of VM(P < 0.05). Compared with the pSIREN-M1 group and the ES group, the pSIREN-M1+ES group had significantly lower xenograft tumor volume, mass, and metastasis rate, Mig-7 expression, formation of VM, VEGF expression, and MVD(P < 0.05). Conclusion: Mig-7-shRNA recombinant retrovirus combined with ES has a better inhibitory effect on the growth and metastasis of HCC xenograft tumor than Mig-7-shRNA recombinant retrovirus or ES alone. The anti-tumor angiogenesis therapy alone, which targets vascular endothelial cells in vivo, has a limited effect, since it may promote the formation of VM.

The electrogenerated chemiluminescent behavior of hemin and its catalytic activity for the electrogenerated chemiluminescence of lucigenin.

The electrogenerated chemiluminescent (ECL) behavior of hemin at a platinum electrode in the alkaline solution has been investigated in detail. Under the optimum conditions the linear response range of hemin is 1.0 x 10(-5)-1.0 x 10(-8) g ml(-1), the detection limit was 1.0 x 10(-8) g ml(-1), and the relative standard derivation for 1 x 10(-7) g ml(-1) hemin was 2.8%. It has been also found that hemin would catalyze the ECL of lucigenin at a platinum electrode in a neutral solution in the presence of hydrogen peroxide, the catalytic ECL intensity was linear with the concentration of hemin in the range of 1.0 x 10(-14)-1.0 x 10(-10) g ml(-1). IgG labeled with hemin was used to examine the ECL catalytic activity of hemin after conjugating to protein, and the results showed that hemin retained ECL catalytic activity when conjugated to protein.

Coulometric detector based on porous carbon felt working electrode for flow injection analysis.

A coulometric detector based on carbon felt as working electrode has been designed. Ascorbic acid, hydroquinone, gallic acid and sulfur dioxide were used as electroactive compounds to determine the electrochemical characteristics of this detector. The coulometric conversion efficiency, selectivity, linear response range, detection limit and mass transfer coefficient were investigated in order to use the detector as a cleanup device in a flow injection system with dual-detector. This system has been used for determination of sulfur dioxide in wine, and the results are compared to those from the aspiration-oxidation method.

Adsorptive and electrochemical behaviors of estradiol valerate at a mercury electrode.

It was found that estradiol valerate could be adsorbed at a mercury electrode under open circuit. The adsorptive and electrochemical behaviors of estradiol valerate on a static mercury electrode were investigated by cyclic voltammetry, linear scan voltammetry and chronocoulometry. Based on this, a sensitive and selective adsorptive stripping square-wave voltammetric method was developed for the determination of estradiol valerate based on the optimization of solution conditions and electrochemical parameters. It was found that in a Britton-Robinson buffer solution containing 18% alcohol (pH 9.5), estradiol valerate gave a sensitive reductive peak at potential -1.29 V (vs. SCE) and the peak current was linear with the concentration of estradiol valerate in the range 2.0 x 10(-8)-2.5 x 10(-6) mol L-1. The detection limit was 1.1 x 10(-8) mol L-1. The interference of some common steroid estrogens was examined and it was found that they did not interfere in the determination of estradiol valerate in the present system.

Determination of sulfur dioxide in wines and beverages by flow injection analysis with reductive amperometric detection and electrolytic cleanup.

A new flow injection method is described for the determination of sulfur dioxide in red and white wines and other beverages. A dual-electrode electrochemical detector eliminates interferences by reduction at an upstream coulometric electrode before reductive detection of sulfur dioxide at the amperometric electrode. The data for free and total sulfur dioxide in wines and other beverages agree well with those obtained by the standard aspiration-oxidation method.

A study of the chemiluminescence of some acidic triphenylmethane dyes.

Chemiluminescence was observed when some acidic triphenylmethane dyes were oxidized with hydrogen peroxide in alkaline solution. Trace amounts of Co(II) catalysed this chemiluminescent reaction strongly, especially in the presence of the cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide. The chemiluminescence spectra of some compounds and the absorption spectra of some products of the chemiluminescent reactions were investigated, and some acidic triphenylmethane dyes were studied by the Hückel molecular orbital method. On the basis of these investigations, a possible mechanism for this chemiluminescent reaction, and an initial explanation for the relationship between the structure of the reagents and their chemiluminescent behaviour were proposed. The optimum conditions for use of some of the chemiluminescent reaction systems were selected by means of the modified simplex method, and a chemiluminescent analytical method for determination of ultratrace amounts of cobalt was established, with a detection limit of 5 pg/ml. It was used for analysis of natural water samples, and good results were obtained.