WSC1 Regulates the Growth, Development, Patulin Production, and Pathogenicity of Penicillium expansum Infecting Pear Fruits.

In this study, the role of WSC1 in the infection of pear fruit by Penicillium expansum was investigated. The WSC1 gene was knocked out and complemented by Agrobacterium-mediated homologous recombination technology. Then, the changes in growth, development, and pathogenic processes of the knockout mutant and the complement mutant were analyzed. The results indicated that deletion of WSC1 slowed the growth rate, reduced the mycelial and spore yield, and reduced the ability to produce toxins and pathogenicity of P. expansum in pear fruits. At the same time, the deletion of WSC1 reduced the tolerance of P. expansum to cell wall stress factors, enhanced antioxidant capacity, decreased hypertonic sensitivity, decreased salt stress resistance, and was more sensitive to most metal ions. Our results confirmed that WSC1 plays an important role in maintaining cell wall integrity and responding to stress, toxin production, and the pathogenicity of P. expansum.

Genetic characterization of 19 X-STRs in Sierra Leone population from Freetown.

A total of 550 individuals (265 males and 285 females) from Sierra Leone, a west-African coastal country, were genotyped using the Microreader™ 19X ID System kit. No significant deviations from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium were observed. A total of 250 alleles were identified with corresponding allele frequencies spanning from 0.0012 to 0.6762. PIC of the loci ranged from 0.4615 to 0.9481. The CPE, CPDF, and CPDM were 0.9999997856, 0.999999999999999999995774, and 0.999999999998997, respectively. The highly combined MECKruger, MECKishida, MECDesmarais, and MECDesmarais Duo were achieved as 0.99999992508, 0.999999999990802, 0.999999999990836, and 0.99999998412, respectively. Genetic comparisons revealed that genetic homogeneity existed in similar ethno origin or geographic origin populations. This is a pioneering genetic investigation using the Microreader™ 19X ID System kit in the population of Sierra Leone.

Cryosurgery in combination with brachytherapy of iodine-125 seeds for pancreatic cancer.

A major limit of cryoablation is incomplete destruction of cells in the border zone of the cryogenic lesion in which the tissue temperature is warmer than (-)20 °C. The use of iodine-125 seed implantation is likely to be complementary to cryosurgery for treatment of pancreatic cancer. The procedure of cryosurgery and iodine-125 seed implantation is performed with percutaneous approaches under guidance of ultrasound and/or CT. The number of iodine-125 seeds implanted for every patient was 34 in median. Forty-nine patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer received cryosurgery with combination of iodine-125 seed implantation. During a median follow-up of 18 months, the median of over all survival was 16.2 months. The 6-, 12-, 24- and 36-month overall survival rates were 94.9%, 63.1%, 22.8% and 9.5%, respectively. Compared with patients with cryosurgery alone, combination treatment shows higher the 6- and 12-month survival rates and longer the median survival.

[Complications of cryoablation in 644 lung cancer patients and its treatment].

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Most lung cancer patients present an advanced stage at diagnosis without suitable surgical chances. Cryotherapy has been applied to the advanced lung cancer with safety and effectiveness. The aim of this study is to analyze the most common complications that occur after percutaneous cryoablation when applied to advanced lung cancer METHODS: Total 644 lung cancer patients had been treated with percutaneous cryoablation guided by ultrasound and/or CT scan. The cardiovascular and respiratory complications were monitored. RESULTS: Complications were relatively minor and could be controlled with routine methods. Serious complications included cardiac arrest and hemopneumothorax, and thus preventative steps should be taken. CONCLUSION: Percutaneous cryoablation for lung cancer is a simple, effective and relatively safe method, but attention should be paid to the possible complications during cryoablation.

The experimental study for efficacy and safety of pancreatic cryosurgery.

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to basic information concerning the efficacy and safety of cryosurgery for pancreatic cancer. Fifteen healthy pigs were used to perform biochemical analysis and histological assessment. METHODS: Following anesthesia and laparotomy, an argon-helium cryoprobe was inserted into the pancreas. The introduction of argon gas induced a rapid decrease in temperature to -160 degrees C (Group I, 5 pigs) or -110 degrees C (Group II, 5 pigs), respectively, resulting in ice-ball formation of 15-20mm diameter after 5 min. Following freezing, helium gas was circulated in the probe tip to increase the temperature to 10-20 degrees C over 3 min to thaw. The freeze/thaw cycle was then repeated. Group III (3 pigs) had a cryoprobe inserted, but without freezing, and Group IV (2 pigs) included untreated or normal control animals. Levels of serum amylase (AMY), IL-6 and C-RP were measured prior to freezing and for 7 days following the procedure. All pigs were euthanized 7 days post-treatment and pancreases were examined histologically. RESULTS: Neither hyperaemia, edema or hemorrhage were observed in the un-frozen parts of the pancreas. Histological assessment revealed a significant level of necrosis in the central and lateral regions of the tissue frozen within the ice-ball. All cellular ultrastructure was destroyed and only observable as a few of remaining nuclei with broken crests and degranulated mitochondria and rough endoplasmic reticulum. There was a significant increase of serum AMY levels for a brief period in both "deep frozen" and the "shallow frozen" groups. However, the AMY also increased in two pigs in the "normal control" group and one pig from the "inserted cryoprobe without freeze" control group. All experimental pigs appeared healthy until the sacrifice time. CONCLUSION: Cryosurgery is a safe and effective ablative procedure for pancreatic tissue resulting in minimal complications.

Sequential use of transarterial chemoembolization and percutaneous cryosurgery for hepatocellular carcinoma.

AIM: To evaluate the efficacy of sequential use of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) and percutaneous cryosurgery for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: Four hundred and twenty patients were enrolled in this study. The patients, who were considered to have unresectable tumors due to their location or size or comorbidity, were divided into sequential TACE-cryosurgery (sequential) group (n = 290) and cryosurgery alone (cryo-alone) group (n = 130). Patients in the sequential group tended to have larger tumors and a greater number of tumors than those in the cryo-alone group. Tumors larger than 10 cm in diameter were only seen in the sequential group. TACE was performed with the routine technique and percutaneous cryosurgery was conducted under the guidance of ultrasound 2-4 wk after TACE. RESULTS: During a mean follow-up period of 42 +/- 17 mo (range, 24-70 mo), the local recurrence rate at the ablated area was 17% for all patients, 11% and 23% for patients in sequential group and cryo-alone groups, respectively (P = 0.001). The overall 1-, 2-, 3-, 4- and 5-year survival rate was 72%, 57%, 47%, 39% and 31%, respectively. The 1- and 2-year survival rates (71% and 61%) in sequential group were similar to those (73% and 54%) in cryo-alone group (P = 0.69 and 0.147), while the 4- and 5-year survival rates were 49% and 39% in sequential group, higher than those (29% and 23%) in cryo-alone group (P = 0.001). Eighteen patients with large HCC (> 5 cm in diameter) survived for more than 5 years after sequential TACE while no patient with large HCC (> 5 cm in diameter) survived more than 5 years after cryosurgery. The overall complication rate was 24%, and the complication rates were 21% and 26% for the sequential and cryo-alone groups, respectively (P = 0.06). The incidence of hepatic bleeding was higher in cryo-alone group than in sequential group (P = 0.02). Liver crack only occurred in two patients of the cryo-alone group. CONCLUSION: Pre-cryosurgical TACE can increase the cryoablation efficacy and decrease its adverse effects, especially bleeding. Sequential TACE and cryosurgery may be the better procedure for unresectable HCC, especially for large HCC.

A pilot study on combination of cryosurgery and (125)iodine seed implantation for treatment of locally advanced pancreatic cancer.

AIM: To study the therapeutic value of combination of cryosurgery and (125)iodine seed implantation for locally advanced pancreatic cancer. METHODS: Forty-nine patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer (males 36, females 13), with a median age of 59 years, were enrolled in the study. Twelve patients had liver metastases. In all cases the tumors were considered unresectable after a comprehensive evaluation. Patients were treated with cryosurgery, which was performed intraoperatively or percutaneously under guidance of ultrasound and/or computed tomography (CT), and (125)iodine seed implantation, which was performed during cryosurgery or post-cryosurgery under guidance of ultrasound and/or CT. A few patients received regional celiac artery chemotherapy. RESULTS: Thirteen patients received intraoperative cryosurgery and 36 received percutaneous cryosurgery. Some patients underwent repeat cryosurgery. (125)Iodine seed implantation was performed during freezing procedure in 35 patients and 3-9 d after cryosurgery in 14 cases. Twenty patients, 10 of whom had hepatic metastases received regional chemotherapy. At 3 mo after therapy, CT was repeated to estimate tumor response to therapy. Most patients showed varying degrees of tumor necrosis. Complete response (CR) of tumor was seen in 20.4% patients, partial response (PR), in 38.8%, stable disease (SD), in 30.6%, and progressive disease (PD), in 10.2%. Adverse effects associated with cryosurgery included upper abdomen pain and increased serum amylase. Acute pancreatitis was seen in 6 patients one of whom developed severe pancreatitis. All adverse effects were controlled by medical management with no poor outcome. There was no therapy-related mortality. During a median follow-up of 18 mo (range of 5-40), the median survival was 16.2 mo, with 26 patients (53.1%) surviving for 12 mo or more. Overall, the 6-, 12-, 24- and 36-mo survival rates were 94.9%, 63.1%, 22.8% and 9.5%, respectively. Eight patients had survival of 24 mo or more. The patient with the longest survival (40 mo) is still living without evidence of tumor recurrence. CONCLUSION: Cryosurgery, which is far less invasive than conventional pancreatic resection, and is associated with a low rate of adverse effects, should be the treatment of choice for patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer. (125)Iodine seed implantation can destroy the residual surviving cancer cells after cryosurgery. Hence, a combination of both modalities has a complementary effect.

[Risk factors of postoperative complications of pancreatoduodenectomy].

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Pancreatoduodenectomy is the main treatment for pancreatic carcinoma and periampullary carcinoma. This study was to explore risk factors of postoperative complications of pancreatoduodenectomy for pancreatic carcinoma and periampullary carcinoma. METHODS: Clinical data of 94 patients with pancreatic carcinoma or periampullary carcinoma, underwent pancreatoduodenectomy at the second affiliated hospital of Guangzhou Medical Collage and Gansu Provincial Tumor Hospital from Jan. 1993 to Nov. 2006, were analyzed. Thirteen clinicopathologic factors that could possibly influence postoperative mortality and morbidity were selected for univariate analysis and multivariate analysis using Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS: Univariate analysis showed that major risk factors of postoperative mortality and morbidity of the patients were total serum bilirubin level, serum album level, duration of jaundice, decompression of jaundice, operating time, intra-operative bleeding, and depth of tumor invasion (P<0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that intra-operative bleeding, operating time, total serum bilirubin level, and duration of jaundice were independent risk factors (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: Postoperative mortality and morbidity of pancreatoduodenectomy for periampullary carcinoma are closely related to intra-operative bleeding, operating time, serum bilirubin level and duration of jaundice.

hOGG1 Ser326Cys polymorphism and susceptibility to gallbladder cancer in a Chinese population.

The human oxoguanine glycosylase 1(hOGG1) gene encodes a DNA glycosylase that is involved in excision repair of 8-OH-dG (8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanine) from oxidatively-damaged DNA. To determine whether hOGG1 plays a role in the risk for adenocarcinoma of the gallbladder, we tested the association of this polymorphism with gallbladder cancer in a Chinese population-based, case control study of 204 cases and 209 controls. The subjects were genotyped with a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RELP) assay. The association between the genetic polymorphism of this gene and risk of the cancer was examined by using a multivariate analysis. We found that the distribution of hOGG1 Ser326Cys genotypes among controls (Ser/Ser, 37.3%; Ser/Cys, 53.6% and Cys/Cys, 9.1%) was significantly different from that among gallbladder cancer cases (Ser/Ser, 43.1%; Ser/Cys, 36.3% and Cys/Cys, 20.6%). Significantly increased risk for gallbladder cancer was both the hOGG1 326Ser/Cys (Odds ratio [OR] = 1.9, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.0-3.7) and hOGG1 326Cys/Cys genotypes (OR = 4.5, 95% CI = 1.1-22.4). We observed no statistically significant association between hOGG1 genotype and gallbladder cancer association in gallstone absence. In contrast, a near-significant increase in risk for gallbladder cancer was observed for gallstone presence with the hOGG1 326Ser/Cys genotype (OR = 2.2, CI = 1.4-3.5) whereas a significant increase in association for gallbladder cancer was observed for gallstone presence with the 326Cys/Cys genotype (OR = 6.1, CI = 2.1-27.2). These data corresponded with the fact that a significant trend towards increased association for gallbladder cancer was observed with potentially higher-risk hOGG1 genotypes in gallstone presence(p < 0.001, chi(2) trend test)but not in gallstone absence(p = 0.89, chi(2) trend test). A significant increase in risk for gallbladder cancer was observed for larger gallstone (those with stone diameters 2 cm or greater) with the hOGG1 326Ser/Cys(OR = 1.9, 95% CI = 1.1-2.9) and hOGG1 326Cys/Cys genotypes(OR = 5.9, 95% CI = 1.6-18.0). These data are consistent with the observation that a significant trend towards increased risk for gallbladder cancer was observed with potentially higher-risk hOGG1 genotypes in gallbladder cancer patients with larger gallstone (p < 0.001, chi(2) trend test). However, we observed no statistically significant association between hOGG1 genotype and gallbladder cancer risk in gallbladder cancer patients with smaller gallstone (those with stone diameters 2 cm smaller) (hOGG1 326Ser/Cys:OR = 2.2, 95% CI = 0.8-4.0; hOGG1 326Cys/Cys:OR = 2.9, 95% CI = 0.6-29.4; p = 0.06, chi(2) tread test). These results suggest that hOGG1 Ser326Cys polymorphism is associated with gallbladder cancer risk.

Percutaneous cryoablation in combination with ethanol injection for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma.

AIM: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of percutaneous hepatic cryoablation in combination with percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI) in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: A total of 105 masses in 65 HCC patients underwent percutaneous hepatic cryoablation. The cryoablation was performed with the Cryocare system (Endocare, Irvine, CA, USA) using argon gas as a cryogen. Two freeze-thaw cycles were performed, each reaching a temperature of -180 degrees C at the tip of the probe. PEI was given in 36 patients with tumor masses larger than 6 cm in diameter 1-2 weeks after cryoablation and then once per week for 4 to 6 sessions. The efficacy was evaluated with survival, change of tumor size and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels. RESULTS: During a follow-up duration of 14 months in average with a range of 5 to 21 months, 33 patients (50.8%) were free of tumors, 22 patients (33.8%) alive with tumor recurrence: two had bone metastases, three were found to have lung metastases, and the remaining 17 recurrences occurred in the liver, of whom only 3 developed a cryosite recurrence. Among the 41 patients who were followed up for more than one year, 32(78%) were alive despite of tumor recurrence. Seven patients (10.8%) died due to disease recurrence. Three patients (4.6%) died due to some noncancer-related causes. Among the 43 patients who had a CT scan available for review, 38 (88.4%) had a shrinkage of tumor mass. Among the 22 patients who received biopsies of cryoablated tumor mass, all biopsies except one, showed only dead or scar tissues. Of the patients who had an increased AFP preablatively, 91.3% had a decrease of AFP to normal or nearly normal levels during postablative 3-6 months. Complications of cryoablation included liver capsular cracking in one patient,transient thrombocytopenia in 4 patients and asymptomatic right-sided pleural effusions in 2 patients. Two patients developed liver abscess at the previous cryoablation site at 2 and 4 months, respectively, following cryoablation, and was recovered after treated with antibiotics and drainage. CONCLUSION: Percutaneous cryoablation offers a safe and possibly curative treatment option for patients with HCC that cannot be surgically removed, and its integration with PEI, may serve as an alternative to partial liver resection in selective patients.