Intraoperative cell salvage is associated with reduced allogeneic blood requirements and has no significant impairment on coagulation function in patients undergoing cesarean delivery: a retrospective study.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study is to examine the association between Intraoperative cell salvage (ICS), allogeneic blood transfusion (ABT) and coagulation function in obstetrics. METHODS: A total of 486 pregnant women undergoing cesarean delivery, of whom 157 were enrolled in this retrospective study. Patients were divided into ICS group (n = 101, ICS used during operation) and control group (n = 56, ICS not used during operation). Clinical data, including plasma prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), fibrinogen (Fib) and thrombin time (TT) levels, were collected from all patients preoperatively (within 12-24 h) and postoperatively (within 6-12 h) and analyzed by t test, two-way repeated-measures ANOVA and Spearman's correlation. RESULTS: The use of ICS is associated with lower requirement rate for ABT (P < .001), while the blood loss was similar between the two groups (P = .990). Mean volume of ICS transfusion was 432.65 mL. Compared to preoperative values, the postoperative PT and APTT levels were significantly increased, while Fib was decreased in the two groups (all P < .01). No significant difference in coagulation function was observed between groups in preoperative and postoperative phase (P > .05). Furthermore, PT, APTT and TT after surgery were not correlated with the transfused volume of salvaged blood (P > .05) while the levels of Fib were negatively correlated with the volume (P < .01). In addition, there were no transfusion reactions in both two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Intraoperative cell salvage is correlated with reduced allogeneic blood requirements but did not impair blood coagulation significantly in patients undergoing cesarean delivery.

Long noncoding RNA ROR promotes breast cancer by regulating the TGF-ß pathway.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is the leading cause of oncological mortality among women. Efficient detection of cancer cells in an early stage and potent therapeutic agents targeting metastatic tumors are highly needed to improve survival rates. Emerging evidence indicates that lncRNAs (long noncoding RNAs) are critical regulators of fundamental cellular processes in a variety of tumors including breast cancer. The functional details of these regulatory elements, however, remain largely unexplored. METHODS: In this study, lncRNA ROR (linc-ROR) was examined by real-time PCR in different breast cancer cell lines and breast tumor tissues/non-tumor tissues were collected from both breast cancer patients and healthy controls. Linc-ROR was knockdown in breast cancer cell lines and the effects on cell proliferation, migration and invasion were tested both in vitro and in vivo tumor model. Effects of linc-ROR knockdown on TGF-ß signaling pathway were investigated by Western blot. RESULTS: Our studies have suggested that linc-ROR, a critical factor for embryonic stem cell maintenance, probably acts as an oncogenic factor in breast cancer cells, causing poor prognostic outcomes. Overexpression of linc-ROR seems to be responsible for promoting proliferation and invasion of cancer cells as well as tumor growth in nude mice. The regulatory action of linc-ROR can affect the activity of the TGF-ß signaling pathway, which has been proven critical for mammary development and breast cancer. CONCLUSIONS: The results have highlighted the potential importance of linc-ROR in the progression of advanced breast cancer, and thus will stimulate efforts in the development of novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.

Chemopreventive effect of five drugs on renal interstitial fibrosis induced by an aristolochic acid-containing Chinese herb in rats.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: This study focuses on the chemopreventive effect of five drugs on renal interstitial fibrosis induced by an aristolochic acid-containing Chinese herb Mu-Tong. METHODS: Renal interstitial fibrosis was induced in rats by administration of the Mu-Tong solution intragastrically for 6 weeks, and 36 rats were randomly divided into six groups: (1) Mu-Tong, (2) Mu-Tong + captopril, (3) Mu-Tong + losartan, (4) Mu-Tong + simvastatin, (5) Mu-Tong + spironolactone, and (6) Mu-Tong + diammonium glycyrrhizinate. Blood biochemistry and extracellular matrix were detected at weeks 0, 2, 4, and 6. At the end of week 6, kidney tissue of all groups was evaluated with special Masson staining for the degree of renal fibrosis as well as regular histopathology. RESULTS: Mu-Tong caused progressive elevation of blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, hyaluronic acid, procollagen type III, and laminin. All five drugs suppressed elevation of blood biochemistry and extracellular matrix to some degree, but only the simvastatin group showed a significantly reduced percentage of positive Masson staining area in renal section compared to the Mu-Tong group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our study indicates that Mu-Tong induces a similar kidney injury with general characteristics in patients with renal interstitial fibrosis. All five different drugs have suppressive effects on Mu-Tong-induced renal function damage, and in particular, simvastatin shows a protective effect on development of Mu-Tong-induced renal interstitial fibrosis to a certain degree.