Pharmacotherapy of patients with left ventricular assist devices / 中国临床药理学与治疗学

Left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) are increasingly used in patients with end-stage heart failure. Devices significantly affect patient physiology, leading to unique complications and different drug treatment strategies. The pharmacist is an integral part of a multidisciplinary team and has the responsibility to help patients use their medicines safely and appropriately. It is important to anticipate common postoperative complications and prepare appropriate treatments for them. This article reviews the current guidelines and research literature on the management of pharmacotherapy in patients with LVAD, integrates clinical research practice, summarizes the medication relevant experience and presents a review.

Effects of preoperative jaundice relieving on surgical treatment of hilar cholangiocarcinoma / 中华消化外科杂志

Objective To investigate the effects of preoperative jaundice relieving on hemihepatectomy of hilar cholangiocarcinoma.Methods The clinical data of 18 patients who received preoperative percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography and drainage (PTCD) or endoscopic nasobiliary drainage (ENBD) before hemihepatectomy at the Tongji Hospital of Huazhong University of Science and Technology from January 2007 to January 2012 were retrospectively analyzed.The condition of the 18 patients (jaundice relieving group) was compared with that of 24 patients (non-jaundice relieving group) who did not receive PTCD or ENBD before hemihepatectomy.The differences in the pre-and postoperative blood loss,blood transfusion,operation time and postoperative incidence of complications between the 2 groups were analyzed.All data were analyzed using the t test or chi-square test.Results After PTCD or ENBD,the levels of total bilirubin (TBil),direct bilirubin (DBil),alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were (27 ± 5) μmol/L,(22 ± 6) μmol/L and (52 ± 42) U/L,which were significantly lower than (287 ± 120)μmol/L,(212 ± 86)μmol/L,and (267 ± 180)U/L before PTCD or ENBD in the jaundice relieving group (t =4.33,6.61,4.19,P ＜0.05).In the jaundice relieving group,left hemihepatectomy was performed on 14 patients,and right hemihepatectomy on 4 patients,and the radical resection rate was 16/18.In the nonjaundice relieving group,left hemihepatectomy was performed on 11 patients,and right hemihepatectomy on 13 patients,and the radical resection rate was 83.3％ (20/24).There was no significant difference in the radical resection rate between the 2 groups (x2 =1.09,P ＞ 0.05).The operation time,volume of intraoperative blood loss,volume of blood transfusion were (5.0 ± 0.8) hours,(562 ± 207) ml and (430 ± 317) ml in the jaundice relieving group,and (6.3 ± 1.5)hours,(815 ± 463)ml and (750 ± 146)ml in the non-jaundice relieving group,with significant differences between the 2 groups (t =4.77,7.80,4.65,P ＜ 0.05).The incidences of postoperative complications,bleeding and postoperative hepatic failure were 3/18,1/18 and 1/18 in the jaundice relieving group,and 75.0％ (18/24),33.3％ (8/24) and 33.3％ (8/24) in the non-jaundice relieving group,with significant differences between the 2 groups (x2=5.14,7.58,7.58,P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion Preoperative jaundice relieving could shorten the operation time and reduce the volume of intraoperative blood loss and the incidence of postoperative complications.

Expression and clinical significance of dicer in hilar cholangiocarcinoma tissues and cells / 中华肝胆外科杂志

ObjectiveTo investigate the relationship between Dicer expression and clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis by detecting the expression of Dicer in hilar cholangiocarcinoma tissues and cells.MethodsThe expression of Dicer in tissues was detected using immunohistochemistry.Western blotting and RT-PCR were used to investigate Dicer expression in QBC939 and HIBEpic cells.The relationship between Dicer expression and clinicopathological characteristics was analyzed.A Kaplan-Maier analysis was performed to analyze the disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) after radical surgical resection of hilar cholangiocarcinoma.ResultsWhen compared to control,Dicer was significantly down-regulated in hilar cholangiocarcinoma tissues (P＜0.05) and in QBC939 (P＜0.05).The expression of Dicer was higher in well differentiated adenocarcinoma than poorly and moderately differentiated tumours. Univariate analysis showed low expression of Dicer protein was significantly correlated with short disease-free survival and overall survival of patients with hilar cholangiocarcinoma after radical surgical resection (P＜0.01). Multivariate analysis revealed that the expression of Dicer was the most important factor for predicting prognosis after radical surgical resection of hilar cholangiocarcinoma (P＜0.05).ConclusionsDicer could be used as a prognostic marker for hilar cholangiocarcinoma.

Isolation and characterization of tumorigenic extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma cells with stem cell-like properties.

Recent studies suggest that the ability to form and grow tumors specifically resides in a small cell population called cancer stem cells (CSCs). These studies were conducted mainly on various human cancers; however, isolation and characterization of stem cells from cholangiocarcinoma have not been attempted. The molecular markers CD24, CD44, CD34, and epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) are widely used, individually or in combination, to characterize some types of CSCs. In this study, we used these markers to identify a subpopulation of cells in extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ECC) with cancer stem/progenitor cell-like properties. We found that CD24(+) CD44(+) EpCAM(high) cells (0.39-2.27%) were present in human ECC tissues. The expression of a CD24(+) CD44(+) EpCAM(high) subpopulation was consistent with primary cancers and could be duplicated during serial in vivo passaging in NOD/SCID mice. CD24(+) CD44(+) EpCAM(high) cells isolated from 3 cholangiocarcinoma xenografts showed high tumorigenic potential compared with CD24(-) CD44(-) EpCAM(low/-) cells. These tumorigenic ECC cells exhibited the stem cell properties of self-renewal and ability to produce heterogeneous progeny. We report the identification of a CSC population in ECC characterized by CD24, CD44 and EpCAM phenotypes. Our findings could provide new insight into the tumorigenesis of cholangiocarcinoma and offer a potential target for anti-cancer therapy.

Inhibitory effects of miR-146b-5p on cell migration and invasion of pancreatic cancer by targeting MMP16 / 华中科技大学学报（医学）（英德文版）

Previous studies have shown that miRNAs participate in a wide range of biological functions and play important roles in various human diseases including cancer. We found miR-146b-5p significantly dysregulated in human pancreatic cancer cells by qRT-PCR. To demonstrate its function and regulation mechanism, we overexpressed miR-146-5p by transfecting the mimics. Our data showed that miR-146b-5p overexpression significantly reduced the abilities of migration and invasion of MIA PaCa-2 pancreatic cancer cells. Furthermore, we found that matrix metalloproteinase 16 (MMP16) was a downstream target of miR-146b-5p by dual-luciferase reporter assay. Altogether, our findings suggest that miR-146b-5p may be involved in pancreatic cancer cell migration and invasion by targeting MMP16, and miR-146b-5p may be a potential therapeutic target for the pancreatic cancer.

The Role of sICAM-1 Detection in the Diagnosis of Acute Rejection Following Liver Transplantation / 华中科技大学学报（医学）（英德文版）

In order to evaluate the applied value of soluble intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (sI-CAM-1) in acute rejection (AR) following liver transplantation, the expression of sICAM-1 protein was sequentially detected by using ELISA in serum and bile of 43 patients receiving liver transplantation. In AR group, the expression levels of sICAM-1 protein were increased 3 days before and immediately on the establishment of AR diagnosis, and there was significant difference in the expression of bile between AR group and control group (P＜0.01). After reversion of AR with hormone intensive therapy, there was significant difference in the sICAM-1 protein expression of serum and bile between AR group and control group. It was concluded that the sequential detection of sICAM-1protein level in serum and bile was a reliable and noninvasive method for the early diagnosis of AR after liver transplantation and was valuable to observe the curative effects of anti-AR therapy.

The role of sICAM-1 detection in the diagnosis of acute rejection following liver transplantation / 华中科技大学学报（医学）（英德文版）

In order to evaluate the applied value of soluble intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) in acute rejection (AR) following liver transplantation, the expression of sICAM-1 protein was sequentially detected by using ELISA in serum and bile of 43 patients receiving liver transplantation. In AR group, the expression levels of sICAM-1 protein were increased 3 days before and immediately on the establishment of AR diagnosis, and there was significant difference in the expression of bile between AR group and control group (P<0.01). After reversion of AR with hormone intensive therapy, there was significant difference in the sICAM-1 protein expression of serum and bile between AR group and control group. It was concluded that the sequential detection of sICAM-1 protein level in serum and bile was a reliable and noninvasive method for the early diagnosis of AR after liver transplantation and was valuable to observe the curative effects of anti-AR therapy.

Application of IL-15mRNA determination in the early diagnosis and differential diagnosis of early acute rejection following liver transplantation / 中华器官移植杂志

Objective To evaluate the value of IL15mRNA determination in the early diagnosis and differential diagnosis of acute rejection(AR) after liver transplantation.Methods RT-PCR was used to detect the mRNA of IL-15 in serum and bile on the 30th day after liver transplantation in 43 patients subject to orthotopic piggy-back liver transplantation.Serum and bile of the patients were cultured for bacteria.The acute rejection was confirmed pathologically. Results Acute rejection(occurred) in 16 out of 43 cases as the AR group and bacterial infection(BI) in 12 cases as the BI group.The (remaining) 15 patients were uneventful as the control group.Before diagnosis of AR and BI,the gene expression rate of IL-5 in bile was significantly higher in AR group((62.5 %)) than in BI group((16.7 %)) and control group((13.3 %))(P