[Expression of major histocompatibility complex class â chain-related protein A and B in operable lung adenocarcinoma and its clinical significance].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the expression of major histocompatibility complex classⅠchain-related protein A and B (MICA/B) in operable lung adenocarcinoma and its clinical significance. METHODS: Between January 2002 and December 2003, 100 patients with operable lung adenocarcinoma in People's Hospital of Zhengzhou were collected. The expression of MICA/B was examined by immunohistochemistry staining.According to immunohistochemical staining, the cases with score ≥5 points were high expression of MICA/B while <5 points were low expression of MICA/B.Chi-square test was utilized to analyze the relationship between MICA/B expression and clinicopathologic features. The association between MICA/B protein and overall survival in the patients with operable lung adenocarcinoma was analyzed by Kaplan-Meier survival curve, together with Log-Rank test. The COX regression model was established to analyze the single and combined effects of these covariants. RESULTS: The percentage with high expression of MICA/B protein in operable lung adenocarcinoma tissue was 38% (38/100). The over-expression rate of MICA/B protein in the group with mutant epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene was significantly higher than that in the group with wild EGFR gene (93.8% vs 11.8%, P<0.001). No statistical significance was observed between the expression of MICA/B protein and other clinicopathologic parameters, including age, sex, TNM stage, T- staging, histological grade and lymph node metastasis. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that overexpression of MICA/B protein was closely associated with shorter survival time (10.4 vs 28.9 months, P=0.005). CONCLUSION: Overexpression of MICA/B in operable lung adenocarcinoma tissue is closely related to the mutations of EGFR and overall survival, which may be a poor prognosis indicator in patients with operable lung adenocarcinoma.

Erlotinib enhances the CIK cell-killing sensitivity of lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells.

We examined the effects and molecular mechanism of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor erlotinib on NKG2D ligand expression in human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells and the cytotoxicity of cytokine-induced killer cells. Flow cytometry was used to detect NKG2D ligand expression in A549 cells under effects of erlotinib and EGFR downstream molecules, including LY294002 (phosphoinositide 3-kinase inhibitor), SB203580 (mitogen-activated protein kinase inhibitor), and STAT21 (signal transduction and transcription 3 inhibitor) after 24 h. A lactate dehydrogenase release assay was used to detect, at different effector-to-target ratios, the A549 cell killing activity of cytokine-induced killer cells before and after treatment with 10 mM erlotinib. Erlotinib suppressed MICA expression in A549 cells and upregulated MICB and UL16 binding protein 1 expression. EGFR downstream molecules mitogen-activated protein kinase and signal transduction and transcription 3 inhibitor did not affect the expression of NKG2D ligands in A549 cells. The phosphoinositide 3-kinase inhibitor reduced MICA expression in A549 cells, while erlotinib enhanced the killing sensitivity of cytokine-induced killer cells in A549 cells. The anti-lung carcinoma effects of EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor were associated with the sensitivity of lung cancer cells to enhanced immune cell killing.

[Classification and surgical treatment of lumbosacral nerve root anomalies].

In this paper 12 cases of lumbosacral nerve-root anomalies proved on operations were reported. Two roots with a common conjoined origin entering the common intervertebral foramen separately were seen in two cases; two roots arising respectively from the lateral and ventral sides of the dural sac at the level of upper margin of the pedicle, in which one ran transversely into the foramen and another obliquely ran downward, in one case; two roots with closely adjacent origins, in which one ran transversely into the foramen at the level of upper margin of the pedicle and another obliquely ran downward, in four cases; a single root with abnormally large whereas the adjacent root with abnormally small, in five cases. We proposed a classification method for the sake of appropriate surgical program, which assorted the anomalies into three types: (I) General volume of nerve roots in the spinal canal or nerve-root canal abnormally increased, either the diameter of a single root increases or two roots entered the common. foramen; (II) The origin and course of two roots were anomalous; (III) Combination of I and II.