Comparison of Wild and Cultivated Codonopsis pilosula Based onTraditional Quality Evaluation / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo conduct a systematic comparative study on wild and cultivated Codonopsis pilosula（CP） from three aspects， including characters， microscopy， and contents of primary and secondary metabolites. MethodWild and cultivated CP samples were collected， their characters were measured using vernier caliper， tape measure and balance， the paraffin sections were stained with safranin-fixed green dyeing， and their microstructure were observed under the optical microscope. The content of alcohol-soluble extracts in wild and cultivated CP was determined according to the method for determination of extract under CP in the 2020 edition of Chinese Pharmacopoeia， the starch content was determined by anthrone colorimetry， the content of total polysaccharides was determined by kit method， Fiber analyzer was used to determine the content of fiber components， and ultra performance liquid chromatography（UPLC） was used to determine the content of monosaccharides， disaccharides and some secondary metabolites. Multivariate statistical analysis methods such as principal component analysis（PCA） and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis（OPLS-DA） were employed to screen key differential components between wild and cultivated CP on the basis of variable importance in the projection（VIP） value>1 and P<0.05. ResultIn terms of morphological characteristics， the "lion's head-like" shape， longitudinal wrinkles， and circumferential wrinkles below the root cap of wild CP were more pronounced in wild CP compared to the cultivated ones. Regarding transverse sectional features， wild CP had more fissures on the outer side of the cortex and a larger duramen. Under microscopic examination， wild CP had more stone cells， a larger proportion of xylem， and the presence of cork cells arranged in rings in the xylem， while cultivated CP has a larger proportion of phloem， smaller vessel diameters， and a more loosely arranged vascular system. In terms of primary metabolites， the contents of 45% ethanol-soluble extract and total polysaccharides in cultivated CP were significantly higher than those in the wild ones（P<0.05）， the contents of lignin， hemicellulose， cellulose， fructose and glucose in wild CP were significantly higher than those in the cultivated ones（P<0.05）， while sucrose content in the cultivated CP was significantly higher than that in the wild ones（P<0.05）. Concerning secondary metabolites， the contents of tryptophan and tangshenoside Ⅰ in cultivated CP were significantly higher than those in the wild ones（P<0.05）， whereas the contents of lobetyolinin， lobetyol and atractylenolide Ⅲ in wild CP were significantly higher than those in the cultivated ones（P<0.05）. ConclusionThere are significant differences between wild and cultivated CP in terms of morphological characteristics， microscopic features and chemical composition. Glucose， fructose， sucrose， tangshenoside Ⅰ， tryptophan and cellulose components are the key differential components between wild and cultivated CP. Wild CP contains more polyacetylenes and fructose， whereas cultivated CP has higher levels of tangshenoside Ⅰ and sucrose， with noticeably lower cellulose content. These distinctions may be related to their growth conditions， growth years and cultivation techniques. Based on the results of this study， it is recommended to increase polyacetylenes and the content ratio of fructose to sucrose as an indicators to characterize different production methods of CP， in order to guide the high-quality production of CP.

Comparison of Wild and Cultivated Paeoniae Radix Rubra Based on Traditional Quality Evaluation / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo compare wild and cultivated Paeoniae Radix Rubra（PRR） in three aspects， including character， microscope， determination of primary and secondary metabolites. MethodSeventeen batches of wild and nine batches of cultivated PRR were collected，their character data were measured by vernier caliper and scales， and their paraffin sections were made by safranin-fixed green dyeing for the observation of microscopic features. The content of ethanol-soluble extracts and total tannin from wild and cultivated PRR was determined by the method of general principle 2201 and 2202 in the 2020 edition of Chinese Pharmacopoeia， the content of polysaccharides was determined by phenol-sulfuric acid method. Anthrone colorimetry was used to determine the content of starch， and Van Soest method of washing fiber was used to determine the content of fiber. The contents of fructose， glucose and sucrose in wild and cultivated PRR were determined by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography evaporative light scattering detection（UPLC-ELSD）， and the secondary metabolites（gallic acid， methyl gallate， catechin， oxypaeoniflorin， albiflorin， paeoniflorin， ellagic acid， 1，3，4，6-tetragalloylglucose， galloylpaeoniflorin， 1，2，3，4，6-O-pentagalloylglucose， naringenin， benzoylpaeoniflorin and benzoylalbiflorin） were determined by UPLC. Principal component analysis（PCA） and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis（OPLS-DA） were used to analyze the data of wild and cultivated PRR， the contribution of different factors to the difference was determined according to the variable importance in the projection（VIP） value>1 and P<0.05. ResultIn term of characters， wild PRR showed the traditional characteristic of Zaopi Fencha， its outer skin was loose and easy to fall off， its surface had longitudinal furrow and wrinkle， but the outer skin of cultivated PRR was not easy to fall off， and its surface was relatively smooth. The radial texture of xylem of wild PRR cross-section was more obvious， showing radial striations， vacuoles and more cracks， while the radial texture of xylem of cultivated PRR cross-section was not obvious， dense and some had cracks. Microscopically， the number of radial vessels arranged in the xylem of wild PRR was more than that of cultivated PRR， the number of calcium oxalate clusters in the phloem and xylem of wild PRR was more than that of cultivated PRR， while the number of starch grains was significantly higher in cultivated PRR. In terms of the content of primary chemical constituents， the contents of polysaccharides and starch of cultivated PRR were significantly higher than those of wild PRR（P<0.05）， while the contents of cellulose， lignin， fructose and glucose of wild PRR were significantly higher than those of cultivated PRR（P<0.05）. The results of determination of 13 secondary metabolites showed that the contents of paeoniflorin， methyl gallate， catechin and oxypaeoniflorin in wild PRR were significantly higher than those in cultivated PRR（P<0.05）， while the contents of albiflorin， gallic acid， ellagic acid， naringenin， benzoylpaeoniflorin and benzoylalbiflorin were significantly lower than those of cultivated PRR（P<0.05）. A total of 10 variables contributing to the differentiation between wild and cultivated PRR were screened， including albiflorin， cellulose， benzoylpaeoniflorin， oxypaeoniflorin， naringenin， ellagic acid， starch， lignin， paeoniflorin and total tannins. ConclusionThere are significant differences between wild and cultivated PRR in characters， microscopic characteristics， contents of primary and secondary metabolites. It is suggested that the content ratio of paeoniflorin and albiflorin， the contents of oxypaeoniflorin and cellulose can be used as indicators to characterize production methods of PRR so as to improve the quality standard of PRR. This study can provide reference for the improvement of quality standard of PRR and the guidance of high quality production of PRR.

Advances in the role of gut microbiota in the regulation of the tumor microenvironment (Review).

As a protector of human health, the gut microbiota plays an important role in the development of the immune system during childhood, and the regulation of dietary habits, metabolism and immune system during adulthood. Dysregulated gut flora is not pathogenic, but it can weaken the protective effect of the immune system and cause various diseases. The tumor microenvironment is a physiological environment formed during tumor growth, which provides nutrients and growth factors necessary for tumor growth. As an important factor affecting the tumor microenvironment, the intestinal microflora affects the development of tumors through the mechanisms of gut and microflora metabolites, gene toxins and signaling pathways. The present article aimed to review the components and mechanisms of action, clinical applications, and biological targets of gut microbiota in the regulation of the tumor microenvironment. The present review provides novel insights for the future use of intestinal flora, to regulate the tumor microenvironment, to intervene in the occurrence, development, treatment and prognosis of tumors.

Analysis of risk factors of lymph node metastasis and clinical significance of deep submucosal invasion in 64 cases of T1 stage colorectal cancer / 中华消化杂志

Objective:To investigate the risk factors of lymph node metastasis and the clinical significance of deep submucosal invasion in patients with T1 stage colorectal cancer.Methods:From January 30, 2010 to December 31, 2019, at Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, among patients with T1 stage colorectal cancer, 41 patients underwent radical surgery for colorectal cancer (surgery group) and 23 patients received endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) (ESD group) were enrolled. The tumor gross type, maximum diameter, histologically poorly differentiated components, degree of invasion (the type of mucosal muscle destruction, the width and depth of invasion), the budding grade of tumor, and whether with vascular tumor thrombus were recorded. The additional treatment and prognosis of patients were collected by telephone follow-up. The risk factors of lymph node metastasis in stage T1 colorectal cancer, the correlation between the complete muscularis mucosa destruction and the width and depth of invasion in the ESD group, and the effects of additional treatment after operation on the prognosis of patients were analyzed. Independent sample t test and chi-square test were used for statistical analysis. Results:The rate of lymph node metastasis in patients with poorly differentiated components or vascular tumor thrombus was higher than that in patients without poorly differentiated components or vascular tumor thrombus (3/6 vs. 12.1%, 7/58; 3/4 vs. 11.7%, 7/60), and the differences were statistically significant ( χ2=5.934 and 11.409, both P<0.05). All patients in the surgery group had complete muscularis mucosa destruction. In ESD group, the width of tumor invasion was ≥ 2 mm in 16 cases, including complete destruction of muscularis mucosa in 15 cases and partial destruction in one case; the width of tumor invasion was <2 mm in seven cases, including complete destruction of muscularis mucoa in two cases and partial destruction in five cases; the depth of infiltration was ≥ 2 000 μm in 14 cases, including complete destruction of muscularis mucosa in 13 cases and partial destruction in one case; the depth of infiltration was <2 000 μm in nine cases, including complete destruction of muscularis mucosa in four cases and partial destruction in five cases. The complete muscularis mucosa destruction was related with tumor of invasion width ≥ 2 mm and invasion depth ≥ 2 000 μm (15/16 vs.2/7, 13/14 vs. 4/7), and the differences were statistically significant ( χ2=10.729, 6.659, both P<0.05). Among the 64 patients with T1 stage colorectal cancer in this study, six cases (9.4%) had poor prognosis; five cases (7.8%) died, and three of them (4.7%) were tumor-related deaths. Adjuvant therapy was added in 10 cases in surgery group and 10 cases in ESD group, and there were no poor prognosis in those patients. There were no significant difference in the incidences of poor prognosis of patients without additional treatment and patients with additional treatment of the two groups (9.7% (3/31) vs. 0 (0/10) and 23.1% (3/13) vs. 0 (0/10)) (both P>0.05). Conclusion:When T1 stage colorectal cancer with tumor submucosal invasion, clinicians should comprehensively evaluate the prognostic risk based on various pathological characteristics such as the degree of tumor differentiation, vascular tumor thrombus and mucosal muscle destruction.

Zinc finger proteins and digestive system cancers / 国际肿瘤学杂志

Zinc finger proteins (ZNFs) belong to the largest transcriptional factor family in human genome. ZNFs are widely involved in the development and progression of digestive system cancers by promoting or inhibiting carcinogenesis. Studies have shown that the abnormal expressions of various ZNFs are closely related to the clinicopathologic features and prognosis of patients with digestive system cancers, including gastric cancer, liver cancer, colorectal cancer and pancreatic cancer. Exploring the underlying mechanism of ZNFs will help to provide new targets for clinical treatment of digestive system cancers.