Our study aimed to investigate the roles and possible regulatory mechanism of miR-1277 in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). HCC patients were identified from patients who were diagnosed with focal liver lesions using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The expression levels of miR-1277 in the serum of HCC patients and HepG2 cells were measured. Then miR-1277 mimics, miR-1277 inhibitor and scramble RNA were transfected into cells. The effects of miR-1277 overexpression and suppression on HepG2 cell proliferation, migration and invasion were then investigated. Additionally, the expression levels of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related markers, including E-cadherin, β-catenin and Vimentin, were detected. Besides, target prediction and luciferase reporter assay were performed to explore the potential target of miR-1277. MiR-1277 was significantly down-regulated in the serum of HCC patients and HepG2 cells. Suppression of miR-1277 promoted HepG2 cell proliferation, migration and invasion, whereas overexpression of miR-1277 had opposite effects. In addition, after miR-1277 was suppressed, the expressions of E-cadherin and β-catenin were significantly increased, while the expressions of Vimentin were markedly decreased. Besides, Morphogenetic Protein 4 (BMP4) was identified as the direct target of miR-1277. Knockdown of BMP4 reversed the effects of miR-1277 suppression on HepG2 cell migration and invasion, as well as the expressions of E-cadherin, β-catenin and Vimentin. Our results indicate that down-regulation of miR-1277 may promote the migration and invasion of HepG2 cells by targeting BMP4 to induce EMT. Combination of MRI and miR-1277 level will facilitate the diagnosis and treatment of HCC.

Background:The aim of this study was to evaluate the utility of computed tomography (CT) vascular reconstruction in the localization diagnosis of perigastric mass.Methods:Fifty-eight patients with pathologically detected perigastric mass underwent abdominal dynamic contrast-enhanced CT. CT vascular reconstructions were produced from arterial phase data using volume rendering (VR), multiplanar reconstruction (MPR), and maximal intensity projection (MIP). Image analysis was focused on the relationship between the mass, perigastric arteries, and the gastric wall. Localization diagnosis values were compared between CT vascular reconstruction and dynamic-enhanced CT images.Results:Among the 58 cases of perigastric mass, 41 cases originated from the stomach, 7 cases from the left liver lobe, 6 from the pancreas, 2 from lessor omental bursa, 1 from transverse mesocolon, and 1 from left adrenal gland. The accuracy of CT vascular reconstruction images in the localization diagnosis of perigastric mass was higher than that of dynamic-enhanced CT images (98.3% and 86.2%, respectively, P = .04). On the reference level, 35 (35/41) patients with stomach-originated masses showed the mass adjacent perigastric arteries pushed away from the stomach (arterial displacement sign), and 15 (15/17) patients with nonstomach-originated masses showed perigastric arteries between the mass and the stomach (arterial entrapment sign). The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the localization diagnosis of perigastric mass with arterial displacement sign were 85.4%, 100%, 100%, and 73.9%, respectively, and with arterial entrapment sign, 88.2%, 100%, 100%, and 95.3%, respectively.Conclusion:CT vascular reconstruction can clearly depict the relationship between perigastric mass and adjacent perigastric arteries, which may help us more accurately differentiate between stomach-originated and nonstomach-originated masses compared with original dynamic-enhanced CT images.

Background: Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) of infants with bilirubin encephalopathy shows abnormal changes in the metabolite concentrations in various parts of the brain. Diffusional kurtosis imaging (DKI) is an extension of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), which includes non-Gaussian diffusion effects, thereby allowing more comprehensive characterization of microstructural changes in pathological analysis. Objectives:Our study retrospectively analyzed DKI data to determine whether the DKI profiles of newborns with bilirubin encephalopathy can evaluate microstructural changes and illustrate related mechanisms. This study also verified whether DKI parametrics can serve as an in vivo marker for neonatal bilirubin encephalopathy. Patients and Methods:A total of 17 patients with neonatal bilirubin encephalopathy and 21 healthy, age-matched control newborns were included in this study. Conventional MRI and DKI were performed for all patients and controls. The mean kurtosis (MK), axial kurtosis (AK), radial kurtosis (RK), fractional anisotropy (FA), and mean diffusion (MD) were obtained from the voxels of interest (VOIs) within the bilateral globus pallidus, putamen, and thalamus. Results:Compared with the control group, the MK, AK, RK, and FA in all VOIs were significantly decreased in neonatal bilirubin encephalopathy, whereas MD increased. Among the kurtosis tensor parameters, RK had the largest change between groups (reduced 15.2% in globus pallidus, 8.8% in putamen and 9.0% in thalamus, respectively). Between neonatal bilirubin encephalopathy and control newborns, the values of MK, AK, RK, and MD more markedly varied in the globus pallidus than in the putamen and thalamus. However, FA more obviously changed in the thalamus than in the globus pallidus and putamen.Conclusions: DKI detects significant microstructural changes, which are consistent with known patterns of neurological damage in neonatal bilirubin encephalopathy. DKI parametrics can comprehensively evaluate microstructural changes and may serve as an in vivo marker for neonatal bilirubin encephalopathy.

BackgroundThe prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is difficult to predict and carries high mortality. This study utilized radiomic techniques with clinical examinations to assess recurrence in HCC.PurposeTo develop a Cox nomogram to assess the risk of postoperative recurrence in HCC using radiomic features of three volumes of interest (VOIs) in preoperative dynamic contrast‐enhanced MRI (DCE‐MRI), along with clinical findings.Study TypeRetrospective.Subjects249 patients with pathologically proven HCCs undergoing surgical resection at three institutions were selected.Field Strength/SequenceFat saturated T2‐weighted, Fat saturated T1‐weighted, and DCE‐MRI performed at 1.5 T and 3.0 T.AssessmentThree VOIs were generated; the tumor VOI corresponds to the area from the tumor core to the outer perimeter of the tumor, the tumor +10 mm VOI represents the area from the tumor perimeter to 10 mm distal to the tumor in all directions, finally, the background liver parenchyma VOI represents the hepatic tissue outside the tumor. Three models were generated. The total radiomic model combined information from the three listed VOI's above. The clinical–radiological model combines physical examination findings with imaging characteristics such as tumor size, margin features, and metastasis. The combined radiomic model includes features from both models listed above and showed the highest reliability for assessing 24‐month survival for HCC.Statistical TestsThe least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) Cox regression, univariable, and multivariable Cox regression, Kmeans clustering, and Kaplan–Meier analysis. The discrimination performance of each model was quantified by the C‐index. A P value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.ResultsThe combined radiomic model, which included features from the radiomic VOI's and clinical imaging provided the highest performance (C‐index: training cohort = 0.893, test cohort = 0.851, external cohort = 0.797) in assessing the survival of HCC.ConclusionThe combined radiomic model provides superior ability to discern the possibility of recurrence‐free survival in HCC over the total radiomic and the clinical–radiological models.Evidence Level4.Technical EfficacyStage 2.

ABSTRACT. The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs), the relative apparent diffusion coefficient (rADC), and the pathological prognostic factor human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2) in patients with breast cancer. A total of 64 women with breast cancer underwent breast diffusion-weighted imaging. HER-2 expression was detected in histological specimens. The ADC value, rADC value, and HER-2 level were determined. The ADC and rADC values of the breast cancer group were 1.1495 ± 0.1499 x 10 -3 and 0.6602 ± 0.0853, respectively. The differences in the ADC and rADC values between the two groups were statistically significant. There was no correlation between the ADC value and HER-2 expression in patients with breast cancer (r = -0.508, P = 0.043). However, the rADC value eliminated the individual differences to some extent. Therefore, compared to the ADC value, the rADC value had a better correlation with HER-2 expression.

The aim of this study was to investigate the changes of the multislice computed tomography (MSCT) perfusion parameters and histopathology of the liver in rabbits with VX2 tumors before and after high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) therapy. VX2 carcinoma cells were implanted into the livers of eight New Zealand white rabbits 3 weeks prior to the treatment. MSCT perfusion was performed one week before and one and six weeks after the treatment. These CT perfusion (CTP) data, including hepatic blood flow (HBF), hepatic blood volume (HBV), mean transit time (MTT) and permeability-surface area product (PS), were analyzed semi-quantitatively and qualitatively. Furthermore, the histopathological features of the liver tissues were also assessed semi-quantitatively before and after the treatment. Six weeks after HIFU therapy, MTT increased noticeably from 5.45±0.27 to 10.38±2.22 sec (P<0.05) and PS decreased significantly from 79.03±3.41 to 68.13±0.21 ml/100 g/min (P<0.05), while no significant differences in HBF and HBV were found. Furthermore, more CD3+ T cells were observed at the rim and center of the liver tumors six weeks after treatment. Therefore, HIFU therapy may be a simple and effective method for the treatment of liver tumors. CTP, as an effective method to obtain functional information about HBF, is able to quantify tumor vascularity and angiogenesis in liver tumors.

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