Qiuying Jiang

The inhibitory effect of a polysaccharide from Codonopsis pilosula on tumor growth and metastasis in vitro

In this study, we prepared an acidic polysaccharide (CPPA) from the roots of Codonopsis pilosula. The effects of CPPA on tumor cell growth, invasion, and migration were examined in vitro. The CPPA not only induced a potent inhibitory effect on the invasion and migration potential of human epithelial ovarian cancer HO-8910 cells in vitro, evaluated by wound healing, transwell and cell adhesion assays, but also had an efficient anti-proliferation effect on tumor cells. Moreover, the CD44 expression on the HO-8910 cells was also attenuated by CPPA treatment. Therefore, our results indicate that CPPA may be a potential candidate compound for the prevention of tumor metastasis, presumably by inhibiting invasion, migration and adhesion of tumor cells, as well as the CD44 expression on the tumor cells.

Extraction, purification and antitumor activity of a water-soluble polysaccharide from the roots of Polygala tenuifolia.

One polysaccharide PTP was isolated and purified from the roots of Polygala tenuifolia. It consisted of galactose, glucose and galactose in the ratio of 3.1:3.7:2.5, and a small amount of rhamnose, mannose and xylose. 17 general amino acids were identified to be components of the protein-bound polysaccharide analyzed by automatic amino acid analyzer. In order to test the anti-cancer activity of PTP, we investigated its effect against the growth of human ovarian cancer cells SKOV3 in vitro and in ovarian cancer rats. The intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and glutathione (GSH) in SKOV3 cells following PTP treatment were also quantified to explore the possible mechanism underlying the antitumor activity of the polysaccharide. The result showed that PTP is effective on inhibiting the proliferation of SKOV3 cells in a concentration-dependent manner. Furthermore, treatment with PTP caused a rapid depletion of intracellular GSH content and accumulation of intracellular ROS, thus resulting in the apoptosis, which may prove to be a pivotal mechanism for its cancer protection action. In addition, a significant tumor growth inhibition effect was observed in nude mice after PTP administration for 7 weeks. All above indicated PTP could be beneficial towards ovarian cancer therapy.

Purification and antitumor activity of two acidic polysaccharides from the roots of Polygala tenuifolia

Two acidic polysaccharide fractions (PTPa and PTPb) extracted from the roots of Polygala tenuifolia, were obtained by DEAE-Sephacel anion-exchange, and Sephadex G-100 gel-permeation chromatography. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) identified that PTPa and PTPb was composed of Ara, Glc, Gal, Man and GlcUA in the proportion of 2.4:1.2:0.6:0.4:1.1 and 2.1:1.7:0.5:0.6:1.7, respectively. Their molecular weight was evaluated to be 5.9×10(4) (PTPa) and 2.5×10(4) Da (PTPb) as determined by high performance size exclusion chromatography (HPSEC). Pharmacological studies revealed PTPa and PTPb significantly inhibited the growth of A549 cells in vitro and exhibited significantly higher antitumor activity against solid tumor A549 in vivo than did a blank control. Moreover, treatment with two acidic polysaccharides caused an enhancement of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities in tumor-bearing mice and a reduction in thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) level. Taken together, these results indicated that two acidic polysaccharides from the roots of P. tenuifolia may be useful as potent antitumor agents for the prevention of lung tumorigenesis.

Clinical significance of basal-like breast cancer in Chinese women in Heilongjiang province.

BACKGROUND Our objective was to clarify the clinical and biological characteristics of basal-like breast cancer (BLBC) and non-basal-like breast cancer (TN3BKE) in Heilongjiang. METHODS We examined, by immunohistochemistry, expression of biological markers cytokeratin (CK) 5/6 and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and B cell specific moloney murine leukemia virus integration site 1( Bmi-1) in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). We studied the correlation between BLBC and several factors related to tumor progression, along with its prognostic value. RESULTS In the 229 cases of operable TNBC, BLBC was detected in 178 (77.7%) and TN3BKE- in 51 (22.2%). There was no significant difference in clinicopathological factors between them, However, BLBC was significantly associated with Bmi-1 expression (P=0.000) and shorter disease-free survival (DFS) (P = 0.045) and overall survival (OS) (P=0.041). CONCLUSIONS Compared with the non-basal group, patients with BLBC have a high expression of Bmi-1 and a poor prognosis.

Afatinib treatment of a squamous lung cancer after tumor progression of nivolumab

Nivolumab prolonged disease control in a patient with advanced squamous lung cancer that was refractory to multiple treatments. The rapid eradication of cancer after the administration of nivolumab caused hemoptysis and repeated infection. Six months after immunotherapy, mediastinal lymph node metastasis developed and afatinib effectively relieved dysphonia associated with nerve paralysis.

Comparison of efficacy and toxicity of bevacizumab, endostar and apatinib in transgenic and human lung cancer xenograftzebrafish model

The poor prognosis in non-small-cell lung cancer has driven the development of novel targeted therapies. Vascular endothelial growth factor is the most potent force in mediating tumor angiogenesis, and many angiogenesis inhibitors have been developed for oncology treatment. We performed a study to characterize the efficacy, safety and tumor suppression of three lung cancer related anti-angiogenic drugs (bevacizumab, endostar and apatinib) using transgenic zebrafish embryo and human lung cancer xenotransplantation model. All three drugs demonstrated remarkable angiogenesis and tumor inhibition effect in the zebrafish model, within the nonlethal dose range. Endostar and bevacizumab showed competitive anti-tumor efficacy. The anti-tumor performance of apatinib was hamstrung by its elevated toxicity at 35 °C. The addition of pemetrexed to anti-angiogenesis therapy had no obvious additional benefit in tumors.

A pumpkin polysaccharide induces apoptosis by inhibiting the JAK2/STAT3 pathway in human hepatoma HepG2 cells

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of a purified polysaccharide (PPPF) from pumpkin fruit on the Janus activated kinase (JAK)/signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) signaling during apoptotic process. The results showed that PPPF or STAT3 siRNA inhibits the cell growth of HepG2 cells via induction of apoptosis. Moreover, PPPF is able to suppress both constitutive and IL-6-induced phosphorylation of STAT3 (on Tyr705) and subsequent nuclear translocation in cancer cells. Such inhibition is found to be achieved through down-regulation of constitutive phosphorylation of JAK2, but not JAk1, c-Src, ERK1/2, and Akt, which means STAT3 tyrosine phosphorylation in HepG2 cells following PPPF treatment is associated with a reduction in JAK2 activity. In addition, the protein expression of SHP-1 was increased in cells in response to PPPF treatment, whereas SHP-2, SOCS-1 and SCOS-3 protein expression remain unchanged. In vivo animal experiment also indicated that PPPF had a potent inhibitory effect on tumor growth in mice bearing HepG2 xenograft tumors. Thus we can conclude that PPPF directly induces apoptotic cell death of HepG2 cells via down-regulation of the JAK2/STAT3 signal transduction pathways, which may facilitates the development of a therapeutic strategy for treating HCC.

Rectal cancer only metastasis to the thyroid which has a primary papillary thyroid cancer

A 62-year-old woman had a radical surgery with a permanent colostomy for a Dukes’ B rectal cancer in January 2011. Thirteen months after the surgery, the patient demonstrated a gradually elevated carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and cancer antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9) value. Ultrasonography, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) scans showed no organ or lymph node metastases during reexaminations except a progressively enlarging thyroid mass. And this mass existed early before the elevation of CEA and CA 19-9 levels. Thyroidectomy was performed because of an increased sensation of difficulty breathing, and the pathologic result showed both metastatic adenocarcinoma and papillary thyroid cancer. After the thyroidectomy, an 18F-FDG whole body positron emission tomography (PET) scan was used to evaluate other possible metastases, which showed no other metastasis to lymph nodes or other organs. The patient with a history of goiter over 50 years showed no obvious symptoms except an enlarged thyroid. After rectal cancer surgery, the patient completed two cycles of XELOX chemotherapy. The patient complained of slowly growing thyroid after the rectal surgery. CT scan taken one month after the rectal cancer surgery revealed an enlarged but homogeneous left lobe of the thyroid. Five months after the surgery, chest CT examinations showed a mass that contains both solid and cystic components in the left lobe of the thyroid. Thirteen months postoperation, CEAvalue elevated to 6.41 ng/ml, which exceed the mark for the first time (the normal value is 0–5 ng/ml), and CA 19-9 rose to 13.29 units/ml (the normal value is 0–37 units/ ml). CEA and CA 19-9 values continuously increased to 22.68 ng/ml and 44.33 units/ml at 17 months after surgery, respectively. During this period, imageological examination demonstrated nometastasis but a thyroidmass. Themass evoked dyspnea 21months after rectal surgery, and the patient underwent partial thyroidectomy with the left lobe and isthmus of the thyroid resection. After thyroidectomy, both CA 19-9 and CEA levels instantly fell within normal range. Another six cycles of chemotherapy were followed after thyroidectomy to lower the risk of recurrence and metastasis. The patient is still well lived with no metastasis or elevation of CA 19-9 and CEA levels as last checked in September 2013.