KIF26B and CREB3L1 Derived from Immunoscore Could Inhibit the Progression of Ovarian Cancer.

Background: Ovarian cancer (OV) is characteristic of high incidence rate and fatality rate in the malignant tumors of female reproductive system. Researches on pathogenesis and therapeutic targets for OV need to be continued. This study mainly analyzed the immune-related pathogenesis and discovered the key immunotherapy targets for OV. Methods: WGCNA was used for excavating hub gene modules and hub genes related to the immunity of OV. Enrichment analysis was aimed to analyze the related pathways of hub gene modules. Biological experiments were used for exploring the effect of hub genes on SKOV3 cells. Results: We identified two hub gene modules related to the immunoscore of OV and found that these genes in the modules were related to the extracellular matrix and viral infections. At the same time, we also discovered six hub genes related to the immunity of OV. Among them, KIF26B and CREB3L1 can affect the proliferation, migration, and invasion of SKOV3 cells by the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway. Conclusions: The local infection or inflammation of ovarian may affect the immunity of OV. KIF26B and CREB3L1 are expected to be potential targets for the immunotherapy of OV.

Advance in the sulfur-based electron donor autotrophic denitrification for nitrate nitrogen removal from wastewater.

In the field of wastewater treatment, nitrate nitrogen (NO3--N) is one of the significant contaminants of concern. Sulfur autotrophic denitrification technology, which uses a variety of sulfur-based electron donors to reduce NO3--N to nitrogen (N2) through sulfur autotrophic denitrification bacteria, has emerged as a novel nitrogen removal technology to replace heterotrophic denitrification in the field of wastewater treatment due to its low cost, environmental friendliness, and high nitrogen removal efficiency. This paper reviews the advance of reduced sulfur compounds (such as elemental sulfur, sulfide, and thiosulfate) and iron sulfides (such as ferrous sulfide, pyrrhotite, and pyrite) electron donors for treating NO3--N in wastewater by sulfur autotrophic denitrification technology, including the dominant bacteria types and the sulfur autotrophic denitrification process based on various electron donors are introduced in detail, and their operating costs, nitrogen removal performance and impacts on the ecological environment are analyzed and compared. Moreover, the engineering applications of sulfur-based electron donor autotrophic denitrification technology were comprehensively summarized. According to the literature review, the focus of future industry research were discussed from several aspects as well, which would provide ideas for the application and optimization of the sulfur autotrophic denitrification process for deep and efficient removal of NO3--N in wastewater.

METTL3-mediated m6A modification of SIRT1 mRNA inhibits progression of endometriosis by cellular senescence enhancing.

BACKGROUND: Endometriosis (EMs), the ectopic planting of functional endometrium outside of the uterus, is a leading cause of infertility and pelvic pain. As a fundamental mRNA modification, N6-methyladenosine (m6A) participates in various pathological processes. However, the role of m6A RNA modification in endometriosis remains unclear. The present study explores METTL3-mediated m6A modification and the mechanisms involved in endometriosis. METHODS: The dominant m6A regulators in EMs were analysed using RT‒PCR. Candidate targets and possible mechanisms of METTL3 were assessed by m6A-mRNA epitranscriptomic microarray and RNA sequencing. A primary ESCs model was employed to verify the effect of METTL3 on m6A modification of SIRT1 mRNA, and the mechanism was elucidated by RT‒PCR, Western blotting, MeRIP, and RIP assays. CCK-8 viability assays, Transwell invasion assays, EdU proliferation assays, wound healing migration assays, and senescence-associated ß-galactosidase staining were performed to illuminate the potential biological mechanism of METTL3 and SIRT1 in ESCs in vitro. An in vivo PgrCre/ + METTL3 -/- female homozygous mouse model and a nude mouse xenograft model were employed to further investigate the physiologic consequences of METTL3-mediated m6A alteration on EMs. RESULTS: Our data show that decreased METTL3 expression significantly downregulates m6A RNA methylation levels in ESCs. Silencing m6A modifications mediated by METTL3 accelerates ESCs viability, proliferation, migration, and invasion in vitro. The m6A reader protein YTHDF2 binds to m6A modifications to induce the degradation of SIRT1 mRNA. SIRT1/FOXO3a signalling pathway activation is subsequently inhibited, promoting the cellular senescence of ESCs and inhibiting the ectopic implantation of ESCs in vitro and in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate that METTL3-mediated m6A methylation epigenetically regulates the ectopic implantation of ESCs, resulting in the progression of endometriosis. Our study establishes METTL3-YTHDF2-SIRT1/FOXO3a as a critical axis and potential mechanism in endometriosis.

Silencing of NLRP3 Sensitizes Chemoresistant Ovarian Cancer Cells to Cisplatin.

Background: Ovarian cancer is a fatal gynecological malignancy. The resistance to chemotherapy in ovarian cancer treatment has been a thorny issue. This study is aimed at probing the molecular mechanism of cisplatin (DDP) resistance in ovarian cancer. Methods: Bioinformatics analysis was conducted to examine the role of Nod-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) in ovarian cancer. The NLRP3 level in DDP-resistant ovarian cancer tumors and cell lines (SKOV3/DDP and A2780/DDP) was evaluated by applying immunohistochemical staining, western blot, and qRT-PCR. Cell transfection was conducted to regulate the NLRP3 level. Cell abilities to proliferate, migrate, invade, and apoptosis were measured employing colony formation, CCK-8, wound healing, transwell, and TUNEL assays, respectively. Cell cycle analysis was completed via flow cytometry. Corresponding protein expression was measured by western blot. Results: NLRP3 was overexpressed in ovarian cancer, correlated with poor survival, and upregulated in DDP-resistant ovarian cancer tumors and cells. NLRP3 silencing exerted antiproliferative, antimigrative, anti-invasive, and proapoptotic effects in A2780/DDP and SKOV3/DDP cells. Additionally, NLRP3 silencing inactivated NLRPL3 inflammasome and blocked epithelial-mesenchymal transition via enhancing E-cadherin and lowering vimentin, N-cadherin, and fibronectin. Conclusion: NLRP3 was overexpressed in DDP-resistant ovarian cancer. NLRP3 knockdown hindered the malignant process of DDP-resistant ovarian cancer cells, providing a potential target for DPP-based ovarian cancer chemotherapy.

Cross-Talk between N6-Methyladenosine and Their Related RNAs Defined a Signature and Confirmed m6A Regulators for Diagnosis of Endometriosis.

An RNA modification known as N6-methyladenosine (m6A) interacts with a range of coding and non-coding RNAs. The majority of the research has focused on identifying m6A regulators that are differentially expressed in endometriosis, but it has ignored their mechanisms that are derived from the alterations of modifications among RNAs, affecting the disease progression primarily. Here, we aimed to investigate the potential roles of m6A regulators in the diagnostic potency, immune microenvironment, and clinicopathological features of endometriosis through interacting genes. A GEO cohort was incorporated into this study. Variance expression profiling was executed via the "limma" R package. Pearson analysis was performed to investigate the correlations among 767 interacting lncRNAs, 374 interacting mRNAs, and 23 m6A regulators. K-means clustering analysis, based on patterns of mRNA modifications, was applied to perform clinical feature analysis. Infiltrating immune cells and stromal cells were calculated using the Cibersort method. An m6A-related risk model was created and supported by an independent risk assay. LASSO regression analysis and Cox analyses were implemented to determine the diagnostic genes. The diagnostic targets of endometriosis were verified using PCR and the WB method. Results: A thorough investigation of the m6A modification patterns in the GEO database was carried out, based on mRNAs and lncRNAs related to these m6A regulators. Two molecular subtypes were identified using unsupervised clustering analysis, resulting in further complex infiltration levels of immune microenvironment cells in diversified endometriosis pathology types. We identified two m6A regulators, namely METTL3 and YTHDF2, as diagnostic targets of endometriosis following the usage of overlapping genes to construct a diagnostic m6A signature of endometriosis through multivariate logistic regression, and we validated it using independent GSE86534 and GSE105764 cohorts. Finally, we found that m6A alterations might be one of the important reasons for the progression of endometriosis, especially with significant downregulation of the expressions of METTL3 and YTHDF2. Finally, m6A modification patterns have significant effects on the diversity and complexity of the progression and immune microenvironment, and might be key diagnostic markers for endometriosis.

Identification and Analysis of Potential Immune-Related Biomarkers in Endometriosis.

Background: Endometriosis is an inflammatory gynecological disease leading to deep pelvic pain, dyspareunia, and infertility. The pathophysiology of endometriosis is complex and depends on a variety of biological processes and pathways. Therefore, there is an urgent need to identify reliable biomarkers for early detection and accurate diagnosis to predict clinical outcomes and aid in the early intervention of endometriosis. We screened transcription factor- (TF-) immune-related gene (IRG) regulatory networks as potential biomarkers to reveal new molecular subgroups for the early diagnosis of endometriosis. Methods: To explore potential therapeutic targets for endometriosis, the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), Immunology Database and Analysis Portal (ImmPort), and TF databases were used to obtain data related to the recognition of differentially expressed genes (DEGs), differentially expressed IRGs (DEIRGs), and differentially expressed TFs (DETFs). Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses were performed on the DETFs and DEIRGs. Then, DETFs and DEIRGs were further validated in the external datasets of GSE51981 and GSE1230103. Then, we used quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) to verify the hub genes. Simultaneously, the Pearson correlation analysis and protein-protein interaction (PPI) analyses were used to indicate the potential mechanisms of TF-IRGs at the molecular level and obtain hub IRGs. Finally, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to assess the diagnostic value of the hub IRGs. Results: We screened a total of 94 DETFs and 121 DEIRGs in endometriosis. Most downregulated DETFs showed decreased expression in the endometria of moderate/severe endometriosis patients. The top-ranked upregulated DEIRGs were upregulated in the endometra of infertile women. Functional analysis showed that DETFs and DEIRGs may be involved in the biological behaviors and pathways of endometriosis. The TF-IRG PPI network was successfully constructed. Compared with the control group, high C3, VCAM1, ITGB2, and C3AR1 expression had statistical significance in endometriosis among the hub DEIRGs. They also showed higher sensitivity and specificity by ROC analysis for the diagnosis of endometriosis. Finally, compared with controls, C3 and VCAM1 were highly expressed in endometriosis tissue samples. In addition, they also showed high specificity and sensitivity for diagnosing endometriosis. Conclusion: Overall, we discovered the TF-IRG regulatory network and analyzed 4 hub IRGs that were closely related to endometriosis, which contributes to the diagnosis of endometriosis. Additionally, we verified that DETFs or DEIRGs were associated with the clinicopathological features of endometriosis, and external datasets also confirmed the hub IRGs. Finally, C3 and VCAM1 were highly expressed in endometriosis tissue samples compared with controls and may be potential biomarkers of endometriosis, which are helpful for the early diagnosis of endometriosis.

Monitoring or Colluding? Institutional Investors' Heterogeneity and Environmental Information Disclosure Behavior.

High-quality environmental information disclosure is not only an effective way for the firm to fulfill its environmental responsibility and promote green development, but also an important governance mechanism to reduce the degree of information asymmetry between the firm's management and shareholders and alleviate the agency conflict. As an important shareholder of a firm, there are two different hypotheses about the influence of institutional investors on firm decision-making and behavior: monitor and collusion. Institutional investors are not homogeneous, and there are significant differences in the impact of different types of institutional investors on firm decision-making and behavior. We divide institutional investors into the stable institutional investors and the unstable institutional investors, using the data of listed firms in China's A-share heavy pollution industry between 2008 and 2020, and this study explores the effect of institutional investors' heterogeneity on environmental information disclosure behavior from the perspective of environmental information disclosure quality. Empirical evidence shows that institutional investors as a whole have a positively significant impact on environmental information disclosure quality. Further analysis shows that the stable institutional investors have positive impact on environmental information disclosure quality compared with the unstable institutional investors. After a series of robustness tests, the conclusion is still valid. The results of this paper show that institutional investors, especially the stable institutional investors, can effectively reduce the degree of information asymmetry, alleviate the agency conflict of the firm, play an active role in corporate governance, strengthen the main responsibility of firm ecological environment protection, and promote the green development of firm. The conclusion of this paper has important reference significance for the regulators to formulate policies to improve environmental information disclosure quality and promote green development according to the heterogeneity of institutional investors.

Business Strategy and Environmental Information Disclosure Quality: Empirical Evidence from Chinese Heavy Pollution Listed Firms.

Using the data of listed firms in China's A-share heavy pollution industry between 2008 and 2020, based on organizational theory, this study examines the impact of prospector-type firms and defender-type firms on environmental information disclosure quality. Empirical evidence shows that prospector-type firms reduce environmental information disclosure quality, compared with defender-type firms. After a series of robustness tests, the conclusion is still valid. This paper tests the impact mechanism of business strategy on environmental information disclosure quality and finds that financing constraints play a mediating effect in the relationship between business strategy and environmental information disclosure quality. This paper enriches and expands the literature in the field of influencing factors of environmental information disclosure quality and economic consequences of business strategy. At the same time, the conclusion of this paper has important reference significance for regulators to formulate policies to improve environmental information disclosure quality according to the heterogeneity of business strategy.

CPEB3, an RNA-Binding Protein, Modulates the Behavior of Endometriosis-Derived Stromal Cells via Regulating CXCL12.

Endometriosis is a benign gynecological disease sharing several features with malignant tumor. Cytoplasmic polyadenylation element-binding protein 3 (CPEB3), a potential target of miR-21-5p, is downregulated in endometriotic specimens. However, the function of CPEB3 in endometriosis is elusive. In this study, in cultured primary human endometrial stromal cells (ESCs), the overexpression and inhibition of CPEB3 were achieved by transduction of adenovirus-mediated CPEB3 overexpressed plasmid and shRNA, respectively. Functional analysis uncovered that upregulated CPEB3 reduced cell viability and arrested cell cycle entry. The expression of cyclin D1 and c-Myc was decreased after CPEB3 overexpression. Overexpression of CPEB3 facilitated ESC apoptotic potential, accompanied by increased Bax, cleaved-caspase 3 and cleaved-caspase 9, and reduced Bcl2. Moreover, elevated CPEB3 weakened migration and invasion abilities of ESCs. CPEB3 overexpression also reduced the expression of fibronectin and vimentin and the activities of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 and MMP-2. Interestingly, these effects were counteracted by CPEB3 inhibition. Furthermore, CPEB3 controlled the protein level of CXCL12, a homeostatic chemokine. CXCL12 elevation partially reversed the effects of CPEB3 on inhibiting ESC proliferation, migration and invasion, and promoting apoptosis. Based on these findings, it seems possible that CPEB3, as a critical player, attenuated the progression of endometriosis through repressing CXCL12 expression.

Short-Term Evaluation of Guided Bone Reconstruction with Titanium Mesh Membranes and CGF Membranes in Immediate Implantation of Anterior Maxillary Tooth.

PURPOSE: The aim of the present prospective study was to evaluate the effect of titanium mesh and concentrated growth factor (CGF) membranes in reconstructing severe labial bone defects during immediate implantation of anterior maxillary tooth. METHODS: Patients with severe defects presenting on the anterior labial bone plate of maxillary were enrolled in this study. During immediate implantation, the titanium mesh was used to maintain the space of bone graft, collagen membrane, and xenograft bone that were used to guide bone regeneration (GBR). Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) was used to measure the height and the labial bone thickness around the implant at the time of the second stage surgery, 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years after restoration. The pink esthetic score (PES) was used to evaluate the esthetic outcomes after restoration. RESULTS: 18 patients were enrolled in this study. The survival rate of implants was 100%, and no complication was observed, except for 1 case of titanium mesh exposure which did not affect osteogenesis. In the second stage of surgery, the labial bone was completely reconstructed, and the top of the implant was covered with a small amount of new bone. The thickness of the labial bone was 3.01 mm (±0.23), 2.96 mm (±0.21), 2.93 mm (±0.19), and 2.92 mm (±0.16) at the time of the second stage surgery, 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years after restoration, respectively. The height of the marginal bone around implants was above the top of implant at the time of the second stage surgery and then reduced 0.72 mm (±0.07), 0.91 mm (±0.08), and 0.90 mm (±0.07) at the time point of 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years after restoration, respectively. The changes of bone thickness and height were statistically significant within one year, but stable after one year. The PES values showed the same tendency. CONCLUSIONS: With the limitation of the present prospective study, the combination of titanium mesh and CGF membrane could provide space maintenance for bone augmentation of alveolar bone defects and improve the bone regeneration in patients with severe labial bone defect when immediate implant of anterior maxillary.

Identification and Analysis of Potential Autophagy-Related Biomarkers in Endometriosis by WGCNA.

Background: Endometriosis is a serious gynecological disorder characterized by debilitating pain, infertility and the establishment of innervated endometriosis lesions outside the uterus. Early detection and accurate diagnosis are pivotal in endometriosis. The work screened autophagy-related genes (ATGs) as potential biomarkers to reveal new molecular subgroups for the early diagnosis of endometriosis. Materials and Methods: The gene lists of ATGs from five databases were integrated. Then, weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was used to map the genes to the gene profile of endometriosis samples in GSE51981 to obtain functional modules. GO and KEGG analyses were performed on the ATGs from the key modules. Differentially expressed ATGs were identified by the limma R package and further validated in the external datasets of GSE7305 and GSE135485. The DESeq2 R package was utilized to establish multifactorial network. Subsequently, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to identify new molecular subgroups. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and Western blotting were used to confirm the differential expression of hub ATGs, and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and Spearman correlation analysis were applied to assess the diagnostic value of hub ATGs in 40 clinical samples and human primary endometrial stromal cells (ESCs). Results: We screened 4 key modules and 12 hub ATGs and found the key genes to be strongly correlated with endometriosis. The pathways of ATGs were mainly enriched in autophagy, apoptosis, ubiquitin-protein ligase binding, and MAPK signaling pathway. The expression levels of EZH2 (Enhancer of Zeste homolog 2) and RND3 (also known as RhoE) had statistically significant changes with higher values in the endometriosis group compared with the controls, both in the tissue samples and primary ESCs. Besides, they also showed higher specificity and sensitivity by the receiver operating characteristic analysis and Spearman correlation analysis for the diagnosis of endometriosis. The TF-mRNA-miRNA-lncRNA multifactorial network was successfully constructed. Four new molecular subgroups were identified, and we preliminarily showed the ability of IQCG to independently differentiate subgroups. Conclusion: EZH2 and RND3 could be candidate biomarkers for endometriosis, which would contribute to the early diagnosis and intervention in endometriosis.

Combination of Immune-Related Genomic Alterations Reveals Immune Characterization and Prediction of Different Prognostic Risks in Ovarian Cancer.

With the highest case-fatality rate among women, the molecular pathological alterations of ovarian cancer (OV) are complex, depending on the diversity of genomic alterations. Increasing evidence supports that immune infiltration in tumors is associated with prognosis. Therefore, we aim to assess infiltration in OV using multiple methods to capture genomic signatures regulating immune events to identify reliable predictions of different outcomes. A dataset of 309 ovarian serous cystadenocarcinoma patients with overall survival >90 days from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) was analyzed. Multiple estimations and clustering methods identified and verified two immune clusters with component differences. Functional analyses pointed out immune-related alterations underlying internal genomic variables potentially. After extracting immune genes from a public database, the LASSO Cox regression model with 10-fold cross-validation was used for selecting genes associated with overall survival rate significantly, and a risk score model was then constructed. Kaplan-Meier survival and Cox regression analyses among cohorts were performed systematically to evaluate prognostic efficiency among the risk score model and other clinical pathological parameters, establishing a predictive ability independently. Furthermore, this risk score model was compared among identified signatures in previous studies and applied to two external cohorts, showing better prediction performance and generalization ability, and also validated as robust in association with immune cell infiltration in bulk tissues. Besides, a transcription factor regulation network suggested upper regulatory mechanisms in OV. Our immune risk score model may provide gyneco-oncologists with predictive values for the prognosis and treatment management of patients with OV.

Circular RNA CDR1as Alleviates Cisplatin-Based Chemoresistance by Suppressing MiR-1299 in Ovarian Cancer.

Cisplatin (CDDP) chemoresistance seriously affects the prognosis and survival of patients with ovarian cancer (OC). Previous research has shown that circular RNA CDR1as is biologically associated with a large number of cancers. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the role of CDR1as in CDDP chemoresistance in OC remains unclear. Here, we investigated the mechanism of CDR1as in CDDP-resistant OC. First, we employed bioinformatics analysis and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) to determine the expression of CDR1as and related RNAs in CDDP-sensitive and -resistant OC tissues and cells. Then, functional experiments were used to determine cell proliferation, invasion, migration, and apoptosis in CDDP chemoresistance and parent OC cells in vitro. The effect of CDR1as in CDDP chemoresistance OC progression was tested in nude mice in vivo. Moreover, dual-luciferase assays and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) were performed to confirm the interactions of CDR1as and related RNAs. Finally, we used Western blotting to determine protein expression levels. Our findings interpret the underlying mechanisms of the CDR1as/miR-1299/PPP1R12B axis and shed light on the clinical applications for CDDP-chemoresistant OC.

Immune Characterization of Ovarian Cancer Reveals New Cell Subtypes With Different Prognoses, Immune Risks, and Molecular Mechanisms.

Ovarian cancer (OV) is a considerable threat to the health of women due to its complex mechanisms and atypical symptoms. Various currently available treatments fail to substantially increase the survival rate of OV patients. The tumor microenvironment (TME) is gaining attention due to its role in tumorigenesis and tumor progression. This study mainly investigated the immune characteristics of OV by CIBERSORT and MCP-counter. We reclassified OV into four TME cell subtypes with different prognoses and evaluated the infiltration of the cells in each subtype. The immune risk of diverse subtypes was evaluated based on the immunoscore calculated by Cox regression analysis. The molecular mechanisms and hallmark pathways of the four subtypes were analyzed. The results indicate that the immune procancer cell subtype is associated with the worst prognosis, closely related to the high immune risk group, and characterized by low expression of checkpoints and MHC class I and II molecules, high expression of hypoxia-related genes, high enrichment of the EMT and hypoxia pathways, and low enrichment of the DNA repair and interferon α response pathways. This study contributes to the investigation of immune mechanisms and identifies more effective targets for immunotherapy of OV.

Nicotinamide Phosphoribosyltransferase Upregulation by Phenylephrine Reduces Radiation Injury in Submandibular Gland.

PURPOSE: Radiation therapy for head and neck cancer commonly leads to radiation sialadenitis. Emerging evidence has indicated that phenylephrine pretreatment reduces radiosensitivity in the salivary gland; however, the underlying cytoprotective mechanism remains unclear. Nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT) is not only a key enzyme for the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide salvage pathway, but also a cytokine participating in cell survival, metabolism, and longevity, with a broad effect on cellular functions in physiology and pathology. However, the regulatory events of NAMPT in response to the irradiated salivary gland are unknown. METHODS AND MATERIALS: The cell viability of primary cultured submandibular gland cells was determined using the PrestoBlue assay. NAMPT expression was measured using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting in vitro and in vivo. Silent information regulator 1 (SIRT1) and phosphorylated Akt protein levels were examined by Western blotting. The cellular locations of NAMPT and SIRT1 were detected by immunohistochemistry. NAMPT promoter activity was assessed using the luciferase reporter gene assay. RESULTS: NAMPT was mainly distributed in the cytoplasm of granular convoluted tubule cells and ductal cells in normal submandibular glands. mRNA and protein expression of NAMPT was downregulated after radiation but upregulated with phenylephrine pretreatment both in vivo and in vitro. Moreover, the protein expression of phosphorylated Akt and SIRT1 was decreased in irradiated glands, and phenylephrine pretreatment restored the expression of both. SIRT1 was mainly located in the cell nucleus and cytoplasm in the normal submandibular gland. Phenylephrine dramatically enhanced the expression of SIRT1, which was significantly reduced by radiation. Furthermore, phenylephrine induced a marked increase of NAMPT promoter activity. CONCLUSIONS: These findings reveal the regulatory mechanisms of NAMPT expression, which help to understand the mechanism of the cytoprotective role of phenylephrine on irradiated tissues.

[Observation on electroacupuncture at neimadian (extra) and neiguan (PC 6) for analgesia after thoracic surgery].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effectiveness and safety of electroacupuncture (EA) at Neimadian (Extra) and Neiguan (PC 6) for analgesia after thoracic surgery. METHODS: One hundred and twenty cases of thoracic surgery were randomly divided into an electroacupuncture (EA) group (60 cases) and a medication group (60 cases). EA was applied at Neimadian (Extra) and Neiguan (PC 6) for postoperation analgesia in the EA group, while patient-controlled intravenous analgesia (PCIA) was applied in the medication group. The score of visual analogue scale (VAS), analgesia effect, safety and beta-endorphin level after the treatment in both groups were compared. RESULTS: Compared with those before the treatment, the VAS scores in every time point after surgery were decreased (all P < 0.05), which were lower in the EA group (P < 0.01). The excellent and good rates were 96.7% (58/60) and 75.0% (45/60) seperately, the analgesia effect in the EA group (2 h after operation) was superior to that in the medication group (P < 0.01). The safety degree in EA group was higher to that in the medication group (P < 0.01). Compared with that before the treatment, the beta-endorphin level in two groups after treatment was both increased, which was higher in the EA group (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Electroacupuncture at Neimadian (Extra) and Neiguan (PC 6) has better analgesia effect (2 h after operation) and safety than PICA on analgesia after thoracic surgery.

Mechanism of the protective effect of phenylephrine pretreatment against irradiation-induced damage in the submandibular gland.

Irradiation is a fundamental treatment modality for head and neck malignancies. However, a significant drawback of irradiation treatment is the irreversible damage to salivary glands in the radiation field. Although the protective effect of phenylephrine pretreatment on salivary glands following irradiation has previously been demonstrated, the exact mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the cytoprotective mechanisms of phenylephrine pretreatment in rat submandibular glands following irradiation. Rats were locally irradiated using a linear accelerator in the head and neck region with a single dose of 20 Gy. Phenylephrine (5 mg/kg) was injected intraperitoneally 30 min prior to irradiation and the submandibular glands were collected on day 7 after irradiation. In comparison with the control group, the irradiation-only group demonstrated severe atrophy, enhanced cell proliferation and increased apoptosis. The phenylephrine-pretreated group, however, demonstrated markedly alleviated atrophy, further increased cell proliferation and decreased apoptosis compared with the irradiation-only group. The data indicated that the cytoprotective mechanisms of phenylephrine pretreatment in the submandibular gland following irradiation may be related to improved cell proliferation and inhibition of cell apoptosis.