ObjectiveTo investagte the effects of single immunoglobin IL-1 receptor related protein (SIGIRR) on inflammation induced by cigarette smoke extract (CSE) in A549 cells derived from mouse alveolar epithelial cells. MethodsA549 cells were divided into a control group and an over-expressed SIGIRR group. Eukaryotic expression vectors pcDNA3.1(+) constructed with SIGIRR cDNA were transiently transfected into A549 cells, in which SIGIRR was forced to be over-expressed. The expression level of SIGIRR after transfection was detected with Western blot and RT-PCR method. After stimulated by CSE in both groups, the protein level of IL-6 was detected by ELISA, the transcriptional activity of cyclooxygenase-2(COX-2) was detected by dual-luciferase reporter assay system, and the release of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was measured by chemiluminescence method. ResultsThe expression level of SIGIRR increased significantly in A549 cells transfected with SIGIRR vectors. The COX-2 expression and the levels of ROS and IL-6 were significantly increased in the control group after CSE stimulation. Nevertheless, in the over-expressed SIGIRR group, the COX-2 expression and the release of ROS was reduced while the protein level of IL-6 was down-regulated compared with the control group(P < 0.05). ConclusionsUp-regulated SIGIRR expression can suppress the levels of ROS, COX-2 and IL-6 in A549 cells stimulated by CSE. It suggests that SIGIRR can inhibit airway inflammation caused by smoking.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the clinical outcomes of larynx-preserving limited resection with total thoracic esophagectomy and gastric pull-up reconstruction for the treatment of cervical esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) without tumor involvement of the larynx and hypopharynx compared with the upper thoracic ESCC.MethodsRetrospective and comparative analysis of consecutive patients with cervical and upper thoracic ESCC who underwent R0 surgical resection from 2006 to 2011 in our center was performed. Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate the patients’ survival.ResultsIn total, 44 pairs of patients, including 71 males and 17 females with an average age of 60.66±8.49 years were enrolled in the study after propensity score matching. The baseline characteristics of the two groups of patients were well balanced. There was no statistical difference in the operation time (P=0.100), blood loss (P=0.685), mortality rate in 30 days (P=1.000), total complication rate (P=0.829), cervical anastomosis leakage (P=0.816), mechanical ventilation (P=1.000), normal oral diet within 15 days (P=0.822) and anastomosis recurrence rate (P=0.676) between the two groups. Survival analysis showed that there was no statistical difference in survival time between the cervical group [31.83 (95%CI 8.65-55.02) months] and upper thoracic group [37.73 (95%CI 25.29-50.18) months, P=0.533]. The 5-year survival rates were 32.6% and 42.1%, respectively.ConclusionLarynx-preserving limited resection with total thoracic esophagectomy and gastric pull-up reconstruction for the treatment of cervical ESCC without involvement of the larynx and hypopharynx may result in a similar clinical outcome to upper thoracic ESCC.