Expression of RhoA and COX-2 and their roles in the occurrence and progression of brain glioma.

This study was conducted to detect the expression of RhoA and COX-2 in the brain glioma and to discuss their roles in the occurrence and progression of brain glioma. Brain glioma tissues were collected from 22 cases with brain glioma by surgical resection (tumor group); normal brain tissues were collected from 15 cases with brain trauma by surgical resection (healthy group). Western Blot and immunohistochemistry were applied to detect the expression of RhoA and COX-2 in the tissues. The brain glioma cell lines with silenced RhoA expression or silenced COX-2 expression were used to analyze the roles of RhoA and COX-2 in the occurrence and progression of brain glioma through the cell proliferation and invasion/migration assays. The relative expression of RhoA and COX-2 in the brain glioma was 0.82±0.13 and 0.75±0.14, respectively, which was significantly higher than that in the normal brain tissues (0.12±0.08 and 0.043±0.14) (P<0.05). The percentage of RhoA-positive brain glioma cells and COX-2-positive cells was 75.32±15.02% and 82.39±17.82%, respectively; it was significantly higher than that of the normal brain tissues (17.03±7.72 and 5.83±4.01) (P<0.05). As compared with glioma cell line SHG-44, the relative proliferation rate of C8-D9 and E5-B9 was 20.72% and 25.45%, respectively; the relative invasion/migration rate was 20.91% and 20.97%, respectively. The G0/G1 phase decreased significantly (P<0.05) and significantly increased in stage S and G2/M (P<0.05). Both RhoA and COX-2 were upregulated in the brain glioma tissues; their over-expression contributed to the proliferation and invasion/migration of the brain glioma cells.

Sevoflurane Postconditioning Reduces Hypoxia/Reoxygenation Injury in Cardiomyocytes via Upregulation of Heat Shock Protein 70.

Sevoflurane postconditioning (SPostC) has been proved effective in cardioprotection against myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury. It was also reported that heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) could be induced by sevoflurane, which played a crucial role in hypoxic/reoxygenation (HR) injury of cardiomyocytes. However, the mechanism by which sevoflurane protects cardiomyocytes via HSP70 is still not understood. Here, we aimed to investigate the related mechanisms of SPostC inducing HSP70 expression to reduce the HR injury of cardiomyocytes. After the HR cardiomyocytes model was established, the cells transfected with siRNA for HSP70 (siHSP70) or not were treated with sevoflurane during reoxygenation. The lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) level was detected by colorimetry while cell viability and apoptosis were detected by MTT and flow cytometry. Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and Western blotting were used to detect HSP70, apoptosis-, cell cycle-associated factors, iNOS, and Cox-2 expressions. Enzyme-linked immuno sorbent assay (ELISA) was used to measure malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD). SPostC decreased apoptosis, cell injury, oxidative stress and inflammation and increased viability of HR-induced cardiomyocytes. In addition, SPostC downregulated Bax and cleaved caspase-3 levels, while SPostC upregulated Bcl-2, CDK-4, Cyclin D1, and HSP70 levels. SiHSP70 had the opposite effect that SPostC had on HR-induced cardiomyocytes. Moreover, siHSP70 further reversed the effect of SPostC on apoptosis, cell injury, oxidative stress, inflammation, viability and the expressions of HSP70, apoptosis-, and cell cycle-associated factors in HR-induced cardiomyocytes. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that SPostC can reduce the HR injury of cardiomyocytes by inducing HSP70 expression.

The impact of anesthetic techniques on survival for patients with colorectal cancer: evidence based on six studies.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Epidural-supplemented general anesthesia is perceived as a more beneficial method over general anesthesia since it reduces incidence of side effects, provides better postoperative pain relief and lowers the possibility to use immunosuppressive anesthetics. However, previous prospective and retrospective studies reported conflicting results in the effects of epidural anesthesia on post-operative outcomes of colorectal cancer surgery. Therefore, this study aims to pool available evidence to assess the association between epidural anesthesia and the post- operative outcomes in this group of patients. METHODOLOGY: Relevant studies were searched in databases and a meta-analysis was performed to estimate the association between epidural anesthesia and overall survival and recurrence free survival. RESULTS: Compared with the anesthetic choice without epidural anesthesia, epidural-supplemented anesthesia is associated with significantly longer overall survival (HR: 0.72, 95% CI: 0.55-0.94, p = 0.01) but not with prolonged recurrence free survival (HR: 1.06, 95% CI: 0.96-1.16, p = 0.23). These results showed a highlevel of robustness in sensitive test. CONCLUSION: Although epidural anesthesia might not lead to improved recurrence free survival, it had significant benefit in improving overall survival and reducing all-cause of death. It might be a useful anesthetic technique for colorectal cancer patients undergoing surgery. However, prospective studies are required to confirm whether this benefit is causative with epidural anesthesia.

Waterjet dissection for partial nephrectomy without hilar clamping in a porcine model.

Hilar clamping is typically used in partial nephrectomy to control hemorrhage, which may damage the renal tissue under warm ischemia conditions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate waterjet technology in partial nephrectomy without renal hilar vascular control in a porcine model. Bilateral partial nephrectomy using waterjet was performed in 8 pigs (16 kidneys: 8 for wedge resections, 8 for pole resections). The operations were performed successfully in all animals. The mean dissection time was 30.6 ± 2.9 minutes for pole resections and 36.5 ± 3.5 minutes for wedge resections. The mean blood loss was 51.6 ± 11.7 mL for pole resections and 38.7 ± 9.2 mL for wedge resections. The novel waterjet technique provided precise and effective hydrodissection of the kidney, avoiding damage to the vascular structures or collecting system.