Effects of selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor robenacoxib on primary cells derived from feline injection-site sarcoma.

Feline injection-site sarcomas (FISSs) are highly invasive malignant mesenchymal neoplasms that arise from injection sites in cats. Although the tumorigenesis of FISSs is still uncertain, there is a consensus that FISS is associated with chronic inflammation caused by irritation of injection-related trauma and foreign chemical substances. Chronic inflammation can provide a proper microenvironment for tumour development, which has been known as one of the risk factors of tumorigenesis in many tumours. To investigate the tumorigenesis of FISS and screen for its potential therapeutic targets, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), an inflammation-enhancing enzyme, was selected as a target for this study. In vitro experiments using FISS- and normal tissue-derived primary cells and robenacoxib, a highly selective COX-2 inhibitor, were performed. The results demonstrated that expression of COX-2 could be detected in formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded FISS tissues and FISS-derived primary cells. Cell viability, migration and colony formation of FISS-derived primary cells were inhibited, and cell apoptosis was enhanced by robenacoxib in a dose-dependent manner. However, susceptibility to robenacoxib varied in different lines of FISS primary cells and was not completely correlated with COX-2 expression. Our results suggest that COX-2 inhibitors could be potential adjuvant therapeutics against FISSs.

A Stable Quaternized Chitosan-Black Phosphorus Nanocomposite for Synergetic Disinfection of Antibiotic-Resistant Pathogens.

Antibiotics are widely used for treatment of bacterial infections, and their overuse has contributed to microbial resistance. Currently, an alternative antibiotic-free therapy for inactivating bacteria is of great interest. Black phosphorus (BP), a biocompatible and nontoxic rising-star two-dimensional layered material, has gained remarkable interest in many bioapplications including biosensing, cancer therapy, drug delivery, and also antibacterial treatment. However, BP nanosheets suffer from instability in ambient environments due to rapid oxidation and degradation. To address this issue, BP nanosheets were modified with quaternized chitosan (QCS) by electrostatic adsorption to prepare a BP-QCS composite for photothermal/pharmaco treatment of bacterial infection. The BP-QCS has obviously enhanced solubility and chemical stability in aqueous suspensions. We have demonstrated that under near-infrared (NIR) irradiation, the BP-QCS can synergistically inactivate more than 95% methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) (MRSA) and Escherichia coli within 10 min with a dose of only 75 µg/mL in vitro. Meanwhile, the BP-QCS composite under NIR can synergistically inactivate 98% S. aureus in vivo. Furthermore, the BP-QCS suspensions at effective antibacterial concentrations have negligible cytotoxicity and in vivo toxicity.

[Long-term outcome of interventional therapy for malignant biliary obstruction: a retrospective analysis of 109 cases].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the long-term outcome and its relative influenced factors of interventional therapy in dealing malignant biliary obstruction (MBO). METHOD: 109 MBO patients, 54 males and 55 females, aged (71 +/- 12), underwent interventional therapy: 55 patients received percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography and drainage (PTCD), and 54 underwent bile duct stent implantation. One week later, total bilirubin (TB), direct bilirubin (DB), and alanine transaminase (ALT) were examined, and Child-Pugh scoring was conducted.38 of the patient underwent transcatheter arterial chemo-embolization (TACE). RESULTS: One week after drainage the levels of ALT, TB, and DB of the patients undergoing PTCD and stent implantation all decreased in comparison with those before the treatment, the levels of the stent implantation group being significantly lower than those of the PTCD group (P = 0.019, 0.002, and 0.002 respectively), but there was no significant difference in Child-Pugh scale between these 2 group (P = 0.396). One week after TACE the levels of TB, DB, and Child-Pugh scale of the TACE group were all significantly lower than those of the patients without TACE (P = 0.000, 0.002, and 0.002 respectively), however, there was no significant difference in ALT level between these 2 groups (P = 0.834). The cumulative mean survival time was 26.45 weeks [standard error (SE) 4.07], and the mean survival time of the PTCD group was 28.19 weeks (SE, 6.54), not significantly different from that of the stenting groups were [21.38 weeks (SE, 2.51), P = 0.713]. The mean survival time of the TACE group was 43.71 weeks (SE, 8.32), significantly longer than that of the patients without TACE [14.38 weeks (SE, 2.66), P = 0.000]. CONCLUSION: Stenting is more effective than PTCD on relieving jaundice when the decreasing extent of bilirubin level is concerned. TACE therapy following PTCD and stent implantation will significantly contribute to the survival time of MBO patients.