Objective
To investigate predictive value of procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels for spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) in patients with liver cirrhosis ascites.
Methods
The clinical data of 140 patients with liver cirrhosis ascites treated in our hospital from January 2012 to January 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. According to the presence of SBP, these patients were divided into SBP group and non-SBP group. The clinical data were compared between these two groups. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was constructed to assess their sensitivities and specificities of PCT and CRP for diagnosis of SBP.
Results
The PCT and CRP levels of the SBP group were significantly higher than those of the non-SBP group (P<0.05). The differences of serum ALT, AST and white cell count between the SBP group and the non-SBP were not statistically significant (P>0.05). The ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the ROC curve of PCT and CRP were 0.895 and 0.926, their corresponding cut-off value 2.1 μg/L and 24.8 mg/L, the sensitivities were 86.9% and 89.5%, the specificities were 85.1% and 83.5%, respectively.
Conclusion
Abnormally elevated PCT and CRP levels might have an important detective value for SBP in patients with liver cirrhosis ascites.
Objective To explore the effect of interfering RNA (shRNA) on biological activity of A549 cells and tumor growth in nude mice after knockdown of estrogen receptor α (ERα) gene. Methods The ERα gene in A549 cells was knocked down by shRNA. RT-PCR and Western blot were used to detect the gene expression and protein expression after knockdown; colony formation experiment was used to detect the proliferation of cells, and RT-PCR was used to detect the expression of Ki-67 and PCNA; flow cytometry was used to detect apoptosis rate; transwell assay was used to detect cell invasion ability; Western blot was used to detect the expression of epithelial cadherin (E-cad) and neuropathic cadherin (N-cad) protein. The control group and A549 cells transfected with ERα-shRNA1 were injected subcutaneously in nude mice to construct transplanted tumors. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of Ki-67 and N-cad in tumor tissues. Results Compared with the control group, after transfection of ERα-shRNA1 and ERα-shRNA2, the mRNA and protein expressions of ERα were reduced significantly (P<0.05), and shRNA1 with high interference efficiency was used for subsequent experiments. Compared with the control group, the A549 cells were transfected with ERα-shRNA1, the colony formation rate was down-regulated significantly (P<0.05), the apoptosis rate was increased significantly (P<0.05), the expression of Ki-67 and PCNA were down-regulated significantly (P<0.05), the number of invasive cells was reduced significantly, the expression of E-cad was increased, and the expression of N-cad was decreased (P<0.05). The results of tumor formation in nude mice showed that interfering with ERα expression can significantly inhibit tumor growth (P<0.05), and down-regulate the rate of Ki-67 and N-cad positive cells (P<0.05). Conclusion Knockdown of ERα inhibits the proliferation and migration ability of NSCLC cells and the occurrence and development of transplanted tumors in nude mice.
