Prognostic significance and relationship of SMAD3 phospho-isoforms and VEGFR-1 in gastric cancer: A clinicopathological study.

BACKGROUND: The TGF-ß/SMAD3 and VEGFR-1 signaling pathways play important roles in gastric cancer metastasis. SMAD3 phosphorylation is a crucial prognostic marker in gastric cancer. AIM: To determine the prognostic value and relationship of SMAD3 phospho-isoforms and VEGFR-1 in gastric cancer. METHODS: This was a single-center observational study which enrolled 98 gastric cancer patients and 82 adjacent normal gastric tissues from patients aged 32-84 years (median age 65) between July 2006 and April 2007. Patients were followed up until death or the study ended (median follow-up duration of 28.5 mo). The samples were used to generate tissue microarrays (TMAs) for immunohistochemical (IHC) staining. The expressions of TGF-ß1, pSMAD3C(S423/425), pSMAD3L(S204), and VEGFR-1 in gastric cancer (GC) tumor tissue and normal tissue were measured by IHC staining using TMAs obtained from 98 GC patients. Prognosis and survival information of the patients was recorded by Outdo Biotech from May 2007 to July 2015. The relationship between TGF-ß1, pSMAD3C(S423/425), pSMAD3L(S204), and VEGFR-1 protein expression levels was analyzed using Pearson's correlation coefficient. The relationship between protein expression levels and clinicopathological parameters was analyzed using the Chi-squared test. A survival curve was generated using the Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. RESULTS: TGFß-1 and VEGFR-1 expression was significantly upregulated in gastric cancer tissue compared to adjacent non-cancerous tissue. The positive expression of phosphorylated isoforms of Smad3 varied depending on the phosphorylation site [pSMAD3C(S423/425): 51.0% and pSMAD3L(S204): 31.6%]. High expression of pSMAD3L(S204) was significantly correlated with larger tumors (P = 0.038) and later N stages (P = 0.035). Additionally, high expression of VEGFR-1 was closely correlated with tumor size (P = 0.015) and pathological grading (P = 0.013). High expression of both pSMAD3L(S204) and VEGFR-1 was associated with unfavorable outcomes in terms of overall survival (OS). Multivariate analysis indicated that high expression of pSMAD3L(S204) and VEGFR-1 were independent risk factors for prognosis in GC patients. VEGFR-1 protein expression was correlated with TGF-ß1 (r = 0.220, P = 0.029), pSMAD3C(S423/425) (r = 0.302, P = 0.002), and pSMAD3L(S204) (r = 0.201, P = 0.047), respectively. Simultaneous overexpression of pSMAD3L(S204) and VEGFR-1 was associated with poor OS in gastric cancer patients. CONCLUSION: Co-upregulation of pSMAD3L(S204) and VEGFR-1 can serve as a predictive marker for poor gastric cancer prognosis, and pSMAD3L(204) may be involved in enhanced gastric cancer metastasis in a VEGFR-1-dependent manner.

[Measurement and estimation of grassland evapotranspiration in a mountainous region at the upper reach of Heihe River basin, China].

Evapotranspiration (ET) is an important component of water cycle, but its measurement in high altitude mountainous region is quite difficult, inducing the insufficient understanding on the actual ET in high altitude mountainous region and the effects of ET on this region' s water cycle. In this paper, two small type weighing mini-lysimeters were applied to measure the daily ET in a piece of grassland in a high altitude mountainous region of the Heihe River basin from July 1st, 2009 to June 30th, 2010. Based on the measured data, the methods of FAO-56 Penman-Monteith (F-P-M), Priestley-Taylor (P-T), and Hargreaves-Samani (H-S) were employed to estimate the ET to analyze the applicability of the three methods for the mountainous region, and the pan coefficient at the measurement spots was discussed. During the measurement period, the total annual ET at the measurement spots was 439.9 mm, accounting for 96.5% of the precipitation in the same period, and the ET showed an obvious seasonal distribution, being 389. 3 mm in May-October, accounting for 88. 5% of the annual value. All the three methods could be well applied to estimate the summer ET but not the winter ET, and their applicability followed the sequence of P-T > F-P-M > H-S. At the measurement spots, the daily pan coefficient in summer was 0.7-0. 8, while that in winter was quite variable.

[Characteristics of stemflow for typical alpine shrubs in Qilian Mountain].

Taking the typical alpine shrubs Potentilla fruticosa, Salix cupularis, Hippophae rhamnoides, and Caragana jubata in Qilian Mountain as test objects, a field investigation from June 1 to October 31, 2010 was conducted on the variation characteristics of the shrub stemflow, and analyzed the affecting effects of rainfall intensity and canopy structure morphology. The stemflow generated when the rainfall in early period was 2.1 mm, with an average of 3.4%, 3.2%, 8.0%, and 4.2% of the gross rainfall for P. fruticosa, S. cupularis, H. rhamnoides, and C. jubata, respectively. There was a significant positive linear correlation between the stemflow and rainfall intensity. With increasing rainfall, the stemflow percentage showed a trend of increase-decrease-increase. Stemflow played an important role in supplying water to the shrub rhizosphere, and the average funneling ratio was 59, 30, 110, and 49 for P. fruticosa, S. cupularis, H. rhamnoides, and C. jubata, respectively. The stemflow percentage had a significant exponential relationship with the maximum rain intensity in 10 minutes (I10). When the I10 was more than 6.0 mm x h(-1), the stemflow of H. rhamnoides and C. jubata showed a persistently increasing trend, while that of P. fruticosa and S. cupularis tended to be stable. Canopy structure morphology had complicated effects on the stemflow. In the same rainfall intensities, the height and crown projection area of the shrubs were the important factors affecting the generation of stemflow.

[Observation on marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells differentiating into functional cells in rabbit with smoke inhalation injury].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the homing and differentiation of marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) transplanted intravenously in smoke inhalation injured rabbits. METHODS: Thirty-two New Zealand big ear rabbits were divided into normal control group (NC), inhalation injury group (II), normal control + MSC treatment group (NM), and MSC treatment group (MT) according to the random number table, with 8 rabbits in each group. Rabbits in NC group were injected with 10 mL phosphate buffered saline (PBS) via ear marginal vein. Rabbits in NM group were injected with 10 mL PBS containing the third generation MSC labeled by BrdU (1 × 10(7) per 10 mL PBS) via ear marginal vein. Severe smoke inhalation injury model was reproduced in the other two groups, among them rabbits in II group were treated as rabbits in NC group, rabbits in MT group treated as rabbits in NM group. On the 7th and 28th day post treatment (PTD), lung tissue and trachea tissue were harvested from four groups for observation on injury with HE staining. Homing of MSC in injured tissue was observed with immunohistochemistry staining. The differentiation of MSC into functional cells was observed with immunohistochemical double staining of combining nuclear marker BrdU with lung (trachea) membrane-specific marker aquaporin-5 (AQP-5), alkaline phosphatase (AKP), CD34, and cytokeratin respectively. RESULTS: (1) MSC homing in lung and trachea tissue was observed in MT group on PTD 7, which was not observed in NM group. (2) AQP-5, AKP, and CD34 positive MSC were observed in lung tissue in MT group on PTD 28, while cytokeratin positive MSC was not observed in trachea tissue. No positively marked MSC was observed in NM group. (3) Injury in lung and trachea was less severe in MT group than in II group; and the proliferation of fibroblasts was less in MT group. CONCLUSIONS: Intravenous injection of MSC to rabbits with smoke inhalation injury can migrate to lung and trachea tissue at obviously inflammatory site, and differentiate into alveolar epithelial cells typeI and II, and pulmonary vascular endothelial cells, which may participate in the process of tissue repair in smoke inhalation injury.

[The effect of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells engraftment on lung tissue at early stage of smoke inhalation injury in rabbits].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) engraftment on lung tissue at early stage of smoke inhalation injury in rabbits. METHODS: MSCs were proliferated by the method of whole marrow culture and identified by flow cytometry. Forty-eight rabbits were randomly divided into smoke inhalation group (S group) and MSCs group (M group) after reproduction of rabbit smoke inhalation injury model. 10 ml of phosphate buffer saline (PBS) containing 1×10(7)/ml MSCs was intravenously injected in M group, meanwhile 10 ml PBS was injected intravenously in S group. Eight rabbits were sacrificed at 2, 6 and 24 hours after intervention, and the lung tissue was harvested for morphological and pathological observation, and lung injury score was used to evaluate smoke inhalation injury. RESULTS: Cultured cells were confirmed to be MSCs with flow cytometry. Lung injury in rabbits of M group was less serious in morphology and histopathology than that in S group. Though there was no significance in lung injury score between M group and S group at 2 hours after injury (4.0±0.7 vs. 4.5±0.6, P>0.05), the lung injury scores in M group at 6 hours and 24 hours after injury were significantly lower than those in S group (6 hours: 6.1±0.9 vs. 8.2±0.9, 24 hours: 4.6±0.9 vs. 10.4±0.8, both P<0.01). CONCLUSION: Intravenous engraftment of MSCs could ameliorate lung injury induced by smoke inhalation, and improve lung injury score significantly.

Temporal variations of CO2 concentration near land surface and its response to meteorological variables in Heihe River Basin, northwest China.

Atmospheric CO2 concentration (CC) near land surface and meteorological variables have been measured at four sites, named Yeniugou (alpine meadow and permafrost), Xishui (mountainous forest), Linze (oasis edge) and Ejina (lower desert), respectively, in Heihe River Basin, northwest China. The results showed that, the half hourly CC at night was larger than in daytime, and the daily averaged CC was the largest in winter. The averaged CC of 932 d at the Linze was about 418 ppm, was about 366 ppm in the 762 d at the Ejina. In the same period from September 23 to November 9, 2004, the averaged CC was about 625, 334, 436 and 353 ppm, at Yeniugou, Xishui, Linze and Ejina, respectively. The linear relationship between daily averaged CC and air temperature T was negative, between CC and relative humidity (RH) was positive. The linear CC-atmospheric pressure (AP) relationship was negative at the Linze and Yeniugou, was positive at the Ejina. The relationship between CC and global radiation R was exponent, and soil temperature Ts was negative linear, and soil water content was complex. The correlation between CC and wind speed was not existent. Using meteorological variables together to simulate CC, could give good results.