Tenacissoside H Induces Autophagy and Radiosensitivity of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells by PI3K/Akt/mTOR Signaling Pathway.

Tenacissoside H (TEH), which has anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor effects, is a major active ingredient extracted from the stem of Marsdenia tenacissima. However, the effect of TEH on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) as well as the underlying mechanisms are still indistinct. Presently, HCC cells (including Huh-7 and HepG2) were dealt with different concentrations of TEH. The proliferation and apoptosis of HCC cells were determined via Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK8) assay and flow cytometry. In addition, Western blot was conducted to evaluate the expressions of autophagy-and apoptosis-related proteins. Tissue immunofluorescence was carried out to evaluate LC3B expression in the tumor tissues. The data showed that TEH suppressed the growth of HCC cells in a concentration-dependent manner. Besides, TEH enhanced radiosensitivity and promoted the apoptosis of HCC cells. Moreover, the mRNA and protein levels of autophagy-related genes (LC3-II/LC2-I, ATG5, Beclin-1) were significantly promoted by TEH. Mechanistically, TEH attenuated the activation of PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway. However, inhibition of PI3 K pathway abolished the anti-tumor effects of TEH in HCC cells. Collectively, this study suggested that TEH increases the radiosensitivity of HCC cells via inducing autophagy and apoptosis through downregulating PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway.

Superselective Arterial Hyaluronidase Thrombolysis Is Not an Effective Treatment for Hyaluronic Acid-Induced Retinal Artery Occlusion: Study in a Rabbit Model.

BACKGROUND: Worldwide application of hyaluronic acid has brought about severe complications, including central retinal arterial occlusion, which leads to a deleterious effect on vision. The current study explored the efficacy of superselective arterial hyaluronidase thrombolysis in rabbit retinal artery occlusion induced by hyaluronic acid. METHODS: Occlusion of the internal/external ophthalmic artery in New Zealand White rabbits was induced with superselective injection of hyaluronic acid. Superselective subtraction angiography and fundus examination were conducted to confirm and evaluate the artery embolism. After 30 minutes of embolism, hyaluronidase was injected in the occluded artery through superselective arterial intubation. RESULTS: Compared with preoperative and contralateral eyes, the postoperative eyes showed the symptoms of central retinal arterial occlusion and embolization, confirmed by digital subtraction angiography. After intraarterial hyaluronidase thrombolysis, the embolization failed to dissolve as shown on funduscopic and angiographic examinations. CONCLUSIONS: Superselective ophthalmic artery intervention could accurately and successfully establish the animal models of retinal artery occlusion induced by hyaluronic acid. The precise occlusion site of the retinal artery and complete embolism were confirmed by ophthalmologic examinations. Intraarterial hyaluronidase thrombolysis might not be an effective method to treat retinal artery occlusion induced by hyaluronic acid.

Clinical Characteristics of Transarterial Chemoembolization in Treatment of Primary Hepatocellular Carcinoma Complicated With Respiratory Distress Syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: The present study aims to analyze the clinical characteristics and etiology of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) complicated with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), in order to improve the early diagnosis rate and cure rate. METHODS: A total of 816 patients with primary HCC received 2,200 TACE treatments from January 2014 to May 2018. Among these patients, 6 patients developed ARDS after TACE. The clinical data, lesion characteristics, laboratory tests, treatment process and prognosis of 6 patients were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: The longest lesion diameter ranged within 5.0-10.2 cm (mean: 6.6 cm) in the 6 patients with primary HCC. Among these patients, 4 patients had lesions mainly located in the left lateral lobe of the liver, while 5 patients had no hepatic arteriovenous fistula detected before TACE. Nedaplatin, epirubicin and iodinated oil suspension chemoembolization were used in all 6 patients during TACE, and all of them experienced ARDS symptoms within 24-48 hours after TACE. However, no clear pathogenic bacteria were incubated in the sputum culture after the onset of the disease. Diffused exudative changes of both lungs were found in the chest X-ray, and the oxygenation index (PaO2/FiO2) was within 100-300 mmHg. The symptoms of 6 patients improved after 3-6 days of hormone therapy. CONCLUSION: In this study, we found that although the incidence of ARDS after TACE was low in the treatment for HCC, the symptoms after onset were serious, and the early hormone therapy may be beneficial to improve the prognosis and reduce mortality. Further research with larger samples is still needed to confirm the pathogenesis of ARDS after TACE in the treatment for HCC.

[Value of susceptibility weighted imaging in hepatic fibrosis staging by using MR in a rabbit model].

OBJECTIVE: To assess the feasibility of susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI) in staging hepatic fibrosis(HF). METHODS: Sixty healthy rabbits were divided into three groups: HF group(n=32), control group(n=16), supplementary group(n=12). Rabbits in HF group and supplementary group were injected subcutaneously with 50% CCl4 oil solution to establish hepatic fibrosis model. On the basis of preliminary test, eight rabbits from HF group and four rabbits from control group underwent liver conventional MR scans and SWI once a time at 4, 5, 6, 10 weeks after CCl4 administration.After MR scans at each time point, rabbits were killed to detect pathological staging with Scheuer staging.The liver signal intensity (SI) and liver-to-muscle SI ratios (SIR) were measured. According to the Scheuer classification of histological fibrosis stages, the correlation about the SI value, SIR value and the histological fibrosis stages was investigated by using the Spearman correlation test. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the diagnostic performance of SWI for staging HF on the basis of the histopathologic analysis of HF. RESULTS: There were fifteen rabbits in pathological staging F0, the value of SIR and SI was 0.974 ± 0.018, 374±44, SIR values of pathological staging from F1 to F4 were 0.963 ± 0.018, 0.796 ± 0.023, 0.786 ± 0.025, 0.512±0.024 respectively. SI values of pathological staging from F1 to F4 were 372±18, 376±22, 346±15, 288±19 respectively. In the early period of liver fibrosis, there were no statistical differences in the SI value between F0 and F1, F1 and F2 stage.With progression of hepatic fibrosis, from F2 to F4, SI value decreased, the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). With the progress of liver fibrosis, SIR value was reduced. It was negatively correlated with the HF stages and SIR value(r=-0.896, P<0.05). ROC curve analysis showed that the efficiency of SI value diagnosis in liver fibrosis was high in the late stage of liver fibrosis, but it was low in the early stage.The performance of liver-to-muscle SI ratio on SWI was high in the early stage. Liver-to-muscle SI ratio had a higher diagnostic performance than SI in the diagnosis of liver fibrosis stages. CONCLUSION: SWI can be a safe, reliable method for staging hepatic fibrosis and provide quantitative imaging basis for clinical treatment.