A rare case of giant retroperitoneal neurilemmoma.

Neurilemmoma, also known as schwannoma or neurinoma, is a tumor that originates from neural sheath Schwann cells. Giant neurilemmomas derived from the retroperitoneum have rarely been reported. We herein describe a woman with a giant retroperitoneal neurilemmoma that was initially incorrectly diagnosed as an inflammatory abdominal mass. The tumor extended from the patient's hypogastrium to her pelvic cavity and measured 20 × 15 × 10 cm. The tumor was excised via laparotomy and diagnosed as a retroperitoneal neurilemmoma through histological and immunohistochemical examination. Although rare, particularly in the giant form, neurilemmoma should be considered as an important differential diagnosis in patients with a retroperitoneal tumor or inflammatory abdominal mass. Complete excision should be considered for the potential cure of giant retroperitoneal neurilemmomas.

Suppression of KIF22 Inhibits Cell Proliferation and Xenograft Tumor Growth in Colon Cancer.

Background: Kinesin family member 22 (KIF22) is known as a regulator of cell mitosis and cellular vesicle transport. The alterations of KIF22 are associated with a series of tumors; however, its possible role in the progression of colon cancer is still unclear. Materials and Methods: This retrospective research collected 82 paired tissues with colon cancer. KIF22 protein and mRNA expression levels were detected by immunohistochemistry assays and Immunoblot assays, respectively. Short hairpin RNA (shRNA) plasmids were used to suppress the expression of KIF22 in HCT116 and HT29 cells, and the silencing efficiencies of shRNA plasmids targeted KIF22 were detected by quantitative PCR assays and immunoblot assays. In addition, 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2-H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assays and xenograft tumor growth assays were performed to observe cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo. Results: In human colon cancer tissues, the expression level of KIF22 was increased and correlated with clinical pathological features, including tumor stage and clinical stage (p = 0.034, and p = 0.015, respectively). Suppression of KIF22 inhibited cell proliferation and xenograft tumor growth. Conclusion: KIF22 might play an important role in the regulation of cell proliferation in colon cancer and might therefore serve as a promising therapeutic target.

[Determination of aconitine alkaloids in a pesticide--0.25% aconitine alkaloids mixed with emulsion by high performance liquid chromatography].

The raw root of Aconitum, an important Chinese traditional medicine, contains some very toxic alkaloids such as aconitine, mesaconitine and hypaconitine etc. They are usually processed to lower the alkaloid content before used as a drug. The extract of crude drug (aconite) can be made into a plant pesticide by means of mixing with some emulsion. In order to evaluate the quality of the pesticide, we developed a rapid, specific and precise method using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for the separation and quantitation of the alkaloids in the aconite extract and the mixed products (the aconite extract is mixed with emulsion). Before the determination by HPLC, the sample must be acidified with 2% (mass percentage) HCl at first. Extract the acid liquid with CHCl3. Alkalize the extract with ammonia, and add a little of 0.1 mol/L NaHCO3 and 0.1 mol/L Na2CO3 till pH 9. Extract it with CHCl3. Evaporate the extract and add a certain amount of methanol. Add the internal standard into the sample. Inject the combined sample solution onto a column of chemically bonded octadecylsilane phase and develop the chromatogram with MeOH-H2O-CHCl3-triethylamine (68:32:2:0.1, volume ratio). Aconitine, mesaconitine, hypaconitine and medroxyprogesteroni acetas (internal standard) were on base line separated. Quantify the alkaloids by peak area ratio (aconitine alkaloids vs internal standard). This method has high recovery (> 92%) and good reproducibility (RSD < 3.2%).