ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of acupuncture of "Tianshu"(ST25) at different depths on colonic transportation function, expressions of colonic substance P (SP) and interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) in rats with slow transit constipation (STC), so as to explore its mechanisms underlying improvement of STCï¼. METHODS: Fifty male Wistar rats were selected and randomly divided into controlï¼STC modelï¼conventional acupunctureï¼deep needling group 1 and deep needling group 2 groupsï¼with 10 rats in each groupï¼The STC model was established by gavage of 1 mg/mL compound diphenoxylate suspension (10 mg/kg), once every other day for 21 days, and rats of the control group were given the same dose of distilled water by gavageï¼EA (2 Hz, 2 mA) was applied to "Tianshu"(ST25), with the acupuncture needle inserted to a depth of 3 mm for rats of the conventional acupuncture group, 4.5 mm for those of deep needling group 1, and 10 mm for those of the deep needling group 2. The acupuncture needle was twirled for 1 min, then retained for 15 min each time, once a day for 15 consecutive daysï¼Following modeling, rats of the 4 groups and the control group received gavage of active carbon 2 mL (100 g/L) for observing the excretion time of the first black stool grain to assess the intestinal transit function. The colonic myoelectric activities (frequency and amplitude) were recorded by using BIOPAC multichannel physiograph. The immunoactivity of SP and c-kit (a transmembrane protein kinase for identification of ICC) of colonic musculature was detected by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: Compared with the control groupï¼the time of excretion of the first black stool grain, and the amplitude of colonic electromyogram (EMG) were significantly increased (P<0.01), while the frequency of EMG, expressions of SP and c-kit (ICC) were significantly decreased in the model group (P<0.01). In contrast to the model group, both deep needling group 1 and 2 had a decrease in the time of excretion of the first black stool grain, and amplitude of intestinal EMG, and an increase of frequency of intestinal EMG, and immunoactivity of SP and c-kit (P<0.01). The effect of deep needling 2 is superior to that of deep needling 1 in reducing the time of excretion of the first black stool grain (P<0.05), lowering the amplitude of EMG of the gut smooth muscle (P<0.05) and in increasing the frequency of EMG (P<0.05) and the expressions of SP and c-kit (P<0.05). No significant changes were found in the levels of frequency and amplitude of EMG, and expressions of SP and c-kit after routine needling in comparison with the model group (P>0.05), except the excretion time of the first black stool grain (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Deep needling at ST25 at depth of 4.5 mm and 10 mmï¼especially at depth of 10 mmï¼has a significant effect in promoting gut motility to ameliorate constipation in rats with STC, which may be related to its function in up-regulating the expressions of SP and ICC activity.
Subject(s)
Acupuncture Points , Constipation , Animals , Male , Rats , Colon , Constipation/genetics , Constipation/therapy , Defecation , Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit/genetics , Rats, Wistar , Substance P/geneticsABSTRACT
CD8+ tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes have been regarded as potential biomarkers for cancer prognosis, while the prognostic effect of CD8+ tumor-infiltrating T cells remains controversial in breast cancer. In the present study, a meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the prognostic value of CD8+ T cells in breast cancer and the associations between CD8+ T cells and the pathological characteristics. The PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane Library were systematically searched entries added from the establishment of the database to November 2021 and prospective or retrospective studies of patients with breast cancer were included. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to assess the quality of evidence for each study. STATA 15.1 was used for the data analysis. A total of 14 studies comprising 22,222 patients were included in the final analysis and the pooled results suggested that a high CD8+ T-cell infiltration level was significantly related to better overall survival [hazard ratio (HR)=0.70, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.60-0.82, P<0.001] and disease-free survival (HR=0.63, 95% CI: 0.49-0.81, P<0.001) for patients with breast cancer. In addition, a high CD8+ T-cell infiltration level was significantly associated with decreased expression of estrogen receptor [odds ratio (OR)=1.92, 95% CI: 1.30-2.85, P=0.001] and progesterone receptor (OR=1.66, 95% CI: 1.14-2.42, P=0.008), and increased human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 expression (OR=0.79, 95% CI: 0.66-0.94, P=0.010) in patients with breast cancer, while there was no significant association between CD8+ T-cell infiltration and age, tumor size or lymph node status of patients with breast cancer (P>0.05). In conclusion, CD8+ T-cell infiltration is of prognostic value in patients with breast cancer. High levels of CD8+ T-cell infiltration were related to improved prognosis, including OS and DFS, in patients with breast cancer.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) of bilateral "Tianshu"(ST25) at different frequencies on the first black stool discharge time, colonic electromyography (EMG) and immunoactivity of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and substance P (SP) in the colon tissue in rats with slow transit constipation (STC), so as to choose a better stimulating frequency in the treatment of STC. METHODS: A total of 50 male Wistar rats were randomized into control, model, 2 Hz-EA, 100 Hz- EA, and 2 Hz/100 Hz-EA groups, with 10 rats in each group. The STC model was established by intraperitoneal injection of compound diphenoxylate suspension fluid (10 mg/kg). EA was applied to bilateral ST25 for 30 min, once a day for 14 consecutive days. The discharge time for the first black stool was recorded after gavage of mixed suspension fluid of active carbon (2 mL) for assessing the gastrointestinal motility. The colonic EMG was recorded by using a pair of silver electrodes and bioelectric amplifier. The expression of SP and VIP in the colonic tissue was detected by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: Following mode-ling, the colonic EMG amplitude, the discharge time for the first black stool and VIP immunoactivity were significantly increased (P<0.01), and the EMG frequency and SP immunoactivity were significantly decreased ï¼P<0.01ï¼ in the model group compared with the control group. Compared with the model group, the increase of the discharge time for the first black stool, EMG amplitude and VIP immunoactivity, the decrease of EMG frequency and SP immunoactivity were reversed in the 3 EA groups (P<0.01, P<0.05). The therapeutic effect of 100 Hz-EA was notably weaker than that of both 2 Hz-EA and 2 Hz/100 Hz-EA in up-regulating EMG frequency and SP immunoactivity and in down-regulating the discharge time for the first black stool, EMG amplitude and VIP immunoactivity (P<0.05, P<0.01). There was no significant difference between the 2 Hz/100 Hz-EA and 2 Hz-EA groups (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: EA can accelerate colonic EMG activities, which may be associated with its functions in down-regulating VIP immunoactivity and up-regulating SP immunoactivity in the colonic tissues. The therapeutic effects of 2 Hz/100 Hz-EA and 2 Hz-EA are better than that of 100 Hz-EA.
