Use of nimotuzumab combined with cisplatin in treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma and its effect on expressions of VEGF and MMP-2

PURPOSE

This paper aims to observe the expressions of VEGF and MMP-2 in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma treated by nimotuzumab combined with cisplatin.

METHODS

Altogether, 104 patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma treated in our hospital from April 2014 to August 2016 were selected as research subjects. Among them, 50 patients treated with cisplatin were divided into a control group and 54 patients treated with nimotuzumab combined with cisplatin were divided into an observation group. The two groups of patients were compared in terms of efficacy after treatment and incidence of adverse reactions. Changes of serum VEGF and MMP-2 concentrations before and after treatment were detected using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the 3-year overall survival (OS) of patients was observed.

RESULTS

Compared with the control group, patients in the observation group had significantly higher total remission rate (RR) (P < 0.05) and significantly lower incidence of adverse reactions (P < 0.05). Before treatment, there was no significant difference between the observation and control groups in the concentrations of VEGF and MMP-2 (P > 0.05). After treatment, the concentrations in the two groups were significantly lower than those before treatment (P < 0.05), and the concentrations in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the 3-year OS between the observation and control groups (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Nimotuzumab combined with cisplatin could improve the conditions of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma. After treatment, the expression of VEGF and MMP-2 decreased significantly. We speculated that it improves the survival rate of patients by reducing the expression of VEGF and MMP-2.

Changes in hippocampal ultrastructure and vimentin expression in rhesus monkeys following selective deep hypothermia and blood occlusion

Previous studies have shown that selective cerebral profound hypothermia combined with antegrade cerebral perfusion can improve resistance to cerebral hypoxia-ischemia in monkeys. The aim of this study was to observe the effect of selective cerebral profound hypothermia on the ultrastructure and vimentin expression in monkey hippocampi after severe cerebral ischemia. Eight healthy adult rhesus monkeys were randomly divided into two groups: profound hypothermia (N = 5) and normothermia (N = 3). Monkeys in the profound hypothermia group underwent bilateral carotid artery and jugular vein occlusion for 10 minutes at room temperature. Ringer's solution at 4°C was then perfused through the right internal carotid artery and out of the right jugular vein, maintaining the brain temperature below 18°C. Sixty minutes later, cerebral blood flow was restored. The normothermia group underwent all procedures with the exception that the Ringer's solution was 37°C during perfusion. All animals in the profound hypothermia group were successfully resuscitated. No significant abnormalities of hippocampal morphology or ultrastructure were observed. In contrast, no monkeys were alive after perfusion in the normothermia group and they had abnormal hippocampal morphology and ultrastructure to different extents. Vimentin expression in the hippocampus was significantly lower in the profound hypothermia group (47.88% ± 1.66) than the normothermia group (79.51% ± 1.00; P < 0.01). We conclude that selective cerebral profound hypothermia following 10-min occlusion of the bilateral common carotid arteries was able to downregulate vimentin expression in the hippocampus and protect it from severe cerebral ischemia.

First Report of Pindo Palm Heart Rot Caused by Ceratocystis paradoxa in China

On January 12th, 2012, a novel disease with an incidence of 50% was discovered in Pindo palm Butia capitata (Mart.) Becc from the Coconut Grant View Garden (19°33.137' N, 110°47.482' E) located in Wenchang, Hainan Province. Diseased leaflets at the base of the rotted heart leaves had reddish brown lesions; when the infection progressed, the leaves turned yellow and became blighted from the inner to the outer part of the crown. Once the growing point was destroyed, the entire tree ultimately died. Tissues from the edges of lesions from diseased leaflet samples were placed onto potato dextrose agar (PDA) and incubated at 25°C for 3 days. The color of colonies of five isolates obtained turned from white to black in 48 h. The optimum temperature for mycelium growth was from 20 to 30°C, and no growth occurred at temperatures higher than 40°C or lower than 5°C (n = 5). The cylindrical colorless to pale brown conidia were 7.5 to 17.5 μm long × 5.0 to 7.5 μm wide (n = 100); oval black chlamydospores were 12.5 to 22.5 × 7.5 to 15.0 μm (n = 100). The sequence (497 bp) of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the representative isolate BX3 (China Center for Type Culture Collection No. CCTCC AF2014002) was amplified using primer pair ITS1/ITS4 (GenBank Accession No. KF939052) and shared 99% sequence identity with Ceratocystis paradoxa strain xie331-4 (JQ039332). Based upon these biological characteristics and ITS sequence, this pathogen was identified as C. paradoxa (Dade) C. Moreau (anamorph Thielaviopsis paradoxa (de Seynes) Höhn.) (3). Pathogenicity tests were conducted on 8-cm-long sections of young leaflets excised from a 12-year-old pindo palm tree. One side of the midrib of 10 sections was wounded with a sterilized scalpel at the center and the other side was non-wounded, then a PDA plug (4 to 6 × 4 to 6 mm) from the edge of an actively growing colony of BX3 incubated for 3 days were inoculated onto each wounded or non-wounded site. As controls, plain PDA plugs were placed on wounded and non-wounded spots of another 10 sections following the above procedure. Pathogenicity was tested twice. Each inoculated section was then put into a 9-cm petri dish in which two filter papers (Φ = 9 cm) were placed and 8 ml of sterile water were added to maintain high humidity, and then all dishes were placed in a dark incubator at 25°C. After 5 days, typical symptoms developed only on the wounded points inoculated with mycelium plugs. C. paradoxa was re-isolated from the margins of the expanding lesions. C. paradoxa causing fruit rot of B. capitata was reported in Uruguay (2), but to our knowledge, there are no previous reports of this species in China or infecting leaves of B. capitata worldwide (1). We report here a new Ceratocystis disease on B. capitata, and it was named as pindo palm heart rot based on its symptoms. References: (1) D. F. Farr and A. Y. Rossman. Fungal Databases, Systematic Mycology and Microbiology Laboratory, ARS, USDA. Retrieved from http://nt.ars-grin.gov/fungaldatabases/ , Feb 21, 2014. (2) V. Gepp et al. New Dis. Rep. 27:12, 2013. (3) F. Y. Yu et al. Plant Dis. 96:290, 2012.

First Report of Burkholderia andropogonis Causing Bacterial Leaf Spot of Betel Palm in Hainan Province, China

In May 2009, a severe bacterial disease of arecanut (Areca catechu L.) with an incidence of 100% was observed in a plantation of about 8,400 plants in Wenchang City, Hainan Province, China (19°47.171' N, 110°54.335' E). Symptoms consisted of small circular to elongated brown lesions, ranging from 1 to 105 mm in length and 1 to 21 mm in width, surrounded by yellow halos. White colonies, without fluorescent or diffusible pigments, were consistently recovered on King's B Medium plates from lesions surface-sterilized in 70% ethyl alcohol for 1 min. All isolates were gram-negative and each had a single, polar, sheathed flagellum. Isolates were identified as a Burkholderia sp. based on physiological and biochemical tests: oxidase and catalase positive, negative for arginine dihydrolase, gelatin hydrolysis and starch hydrolysis, and negative for acid production from levan (1,3). Sequences (approx. 1,400 bp each) of the 16S rRNA gene amplified from four isolates using primer pair 27F/1492R (2) (GenBank Accession Nos. JX415481, JX415479, JX415482, and JX415483) shared 99% sequence identity with that of Burkholderia andropogonis strain 6369 (DQ786951). Representative isolates Y11 (China General Microbiological Culture Collection Center No. CGMCC 1.12337), Y30 (CGMCC 1.12338), W15, and W20 were compared with B. andropogonis strain NCPPB No. 1012 and all caused a hypersensitive reaction on leaves of Nicotiana benthamiana. Isolate pathogenicity was tested twice with a total of three replications per isolate. Two young leaves each of 2-year-old arecanut plants were infiltrated with a bacterial suspension of 10⁸ CFU/ml, then covered individually with plastic bags for 48 h, and incubated at 100% relative humidity with 16 h of daylight at 25°C by day and 8 h of darkness at 20°C by night. After 7 days, small water-soaked spots with yellow halos were observed and 60 days after inoculation, lesions developed similar to those caused by B. andropogonis in the field. Koch's postulates were fulfilled by reisolating bacteria from typical lesions on inoculated plants. These bacteria were identical to inoculated strains in colony morphology and sequences of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene. To our knowledge, this is the first report of B. andropogonis infection on betel in Hainan Province, mainland China. This disease was first reported in Taiwan, a province of China. Conditions of high humidity and high temperature support disease outbreaks and infection can result in severe economic losses. In 2012, this disease also appeared on a number of plantations located in other counties. As betel is, economically, the second most important crop in Hainan Province, measures should be required to control this disease, especially in typhoon seasons. References: (1) S. H. Hseu et al. Plant Pathol. Bull. 16:131, 2007. (2) D. J. Lane. In: E. Stackebrandt, et al. Nucleic acid techniques in bacterial systematics. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, United Kingdom, pp. 115-175, 1991. (3) X. Li and S. H. De Boer. Plant Dis. 89:1132. 2005.