Thalidomide induces mucosal healing in postoperative Crohn disease endoscopic recurrence: Case report and literature review

Identification of four key biomarkers and small molecule drugs in nasopharyngeal carcinoma by weighted gene co-expression network analysis

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a heterogeneous carcinoma whose underlying molecular mechanisms involved in tumor initiation, progression, and migration are largely unclear. The aim of the present study was to identify key biomarkers and small-molecule drugs for screening, diagnosing, and treating NPC via gene expression profile analysis. Raw microarray data was used to identify 430 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. The key modules associated with histological grade and tumor stage were identified using weighted gene co-expression network analysis. qRT-PCR was used to verify the differential expression of hub genes. Gene ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), and the connectivity map database were used to identify potential mechanisms and screen small-molecule drugs targeting hub genes. Functional enrichment analysis showed that genes in the green module were enriched in the regulation of cell cycle, p53 signaling pathway, and cell part morphogenesis. Four DEG-related hub genes (CRIP1, KITLG, MARK1, and PGAP1) in the green module, which were considered potential diagnostic biomarkers, were taken as the final hub genes. The expression levels of these four hub genes were verified via qRT-PCR, and the results were consistent with findings from the GEO analysis. Screening was also conducted to identify small-molecule drugs with potential therapeutic effects against NPC. In conclusion, four potential prognostic biomarkers and several candidate small-molecule drugs, which may provide new insights for NPC therapy, were identified.

Thalidomide Prevented and Ameliorated Pathogenesis of Crohn's Disease in Mice via Regulation of Inflammatory Response and Fibrosis

Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic, relapsing form of inflammatory bowel disease, seriously threatening human health. Thalidomide has been used for the treatment of CD. However, the effects and the possible mechanisms of thalidomide on CD are still unclear. Herein, our study demonstrated that thalidomide protected colon mucosa against trinitro-benzene-sulfonic acid (TNBS)-induced injury, diminished inflammatory infiltration and levels of IFN-γ, IGF-1, IL-6, IL-17, TNF-α, while increased the levels of IL-10 and TGF-γ. Moreover, it reversed the intestinal fibrosis and inhibited the accumulated infiltration, down-regulated the expression of col1a2, col3a2, MMP-3, MMP-9, MMP-1, TGF-γ, α-SMA, but up-regulated the expression of TIMP-1 and Vimentin. Although it could be observed that the effect of thalidomide administration in modeling was better than after modeling, there was no statistical difference between the two groups. The present study provided evidence that the therapeutic effect of thalidomide alleviated the inflammatory response and damage of colon tissue, mainly by restoring the imbalance of TH17/Treg cells and inhibiting intestinal fibrosis in TNBS-induced mice colitis.

Thalidomide-induced sinus bradycardia in Crohn's disease: case report and literature review

Thalidomide is effective in inducing and maintaining clinical remission, as well as mucosal healing, in patients with refractory Crohn's disease (CD). However, long-term use of thalidomide has raised concern because of the high incidence of adverse events. Cardiovascular events induced by thalidomide have been reported in patients with multiple myeloma, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and transfusion-dependent refractory anemia. We report here an extremely rare case of sinus bradycardia induced by thalidomide in an adult patient with CD. This patient's heart rate converted back to a normal sinus rhythm after withdrawal of thalidomide, but recurred after restarting of thalidomide. Cardiac toxicity should be closely monitored when using thalidomide in patients with CD.