Objective To explore whether blood exosome carrying miR-140-3p can regulate the malignant progression of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) through targeting ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme E2C (UBE2C). MethodsThis study was consisted of bioinformatics analysis, clinical research, cell analysis, and animal experiments. We searched GEO database for data of SCLC related microRNA (miRNA) dataset GSE19945, mRNA dataset GSE40275, and GSE60052. T-test was used to detect the differential expression of miR-140-3p in normal tissues and SCLC tissues in the dataset, and the expression of miR-140-3p in different tissues and extracellular vesicles was analyzed through a database. SCLC tissue and paired cancerous tissues excised at Yongzhou Central Hospital were collected between December 2021 and December 2022, and healthy volunteers 7 days before the start of the study was selected. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to detect the expression level distribution of miR-140-3p and UBE2C in tissue samples of SCLC patients and healthy volunteers. SCLC patients were divided into low expression and high expression groups based on the median expression level, and the correlation between the expression levels of miR-140-3p and UBE2C and patient pathological parameters was analyzed. 20 male nude mice was selected. The nude mice were randomly divided into 4 groups: miR-140-3p, UBE2C analog negative control group, and analog control group, with 5 mice in each group. Immunohistochemical detection system was used to detect tumor tissue sections in nude mice. Results A total of 45 patients and 30 healthy volunteers were included. SCLC malignant progression was significantly associated with the expression of miR-140-3p and UBE2C. The expression of miR-140-3p was low in blood-derived exosomes from SCLC patients. Overexpression of miR-140-3p inhibited the proliferation (47.33±2.52 vs. 107.67±10.69, P<0.05), migration [(11.63±2.62)% vs. (31.77±4.30)%, P<0.05] and invasion (44.33±3.06 vs. 102.67±8.50, P <0.05) and promoted their apoptosis [(14.48±1.20)% vs. (10.14±1.21)%, P<0.05]. Bioinformatics analysis yielded the target gene UBE2C of miR-140-3p. In vitro experiments further demonstrated that miR-140-3p directly targetd UBE2C to inhibit SCLC cell proliferation, migration, invasion, epithelial mesenchymal transition, and promote apoptosis. Mouse xenotransplantation experiments showed that miR-140-3p mimic significantly inhibited tumor growth. ConclusionTherefore, the miR-140-3p extracellular vesicle and the oncogenic gene UBE2C may be potential targets for inhibiting the malignant progression of SCLC.
ObjectiveTo explore early effectiveness of unilateral biportal endoscopy (UBE) technique in the treatment of migrated lumbar intervertebral disc herniation. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 87 patients with migrated lumbar intervertebral disc herniation, who were treated with UBE technique between May 2021 and December 2022 and met the selection criteria. There were 55 males and 32 females, with an average age of 48.8 years (range, 29-74 years). The disease duration ranged from 2 to 23 months, with an average of 9.1 months. The surgical segments included 17 cases of L3, 4, 32 cases of L4, 5, and 38 cases of L5, S1. According to Lee’s classification criteria, there were 12 cases of type 1, 17 cases of type 2, 37 cases of type 3, and 21 cases of type 4. The operation time, length of hospital stay, and complications were recorded. The visual analogue scale (VAS) score was used to assess the degree of low back and leg pain before operaion and at 3 days, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months after operation. The Oswestry disability index (ODI) was used to evaluate the lumbar spine function. At last follow-up, the modified MacNab criteria was used to evaluate the effectiveness. According to the preoperative migrated intervertebral disc classification, the patients were allocated into groups Ⅰ to Ⅳ. The differences in VAS score and ODI were compared. Results All 87 patients successfully completed the operations. There was no nerve root injury, dural sac injury, or dural tear during operation. The operation time was (58.6±14.6) minutes and the length of hospital stay was (4.0±0.8) days. All incisions healed by first intention after operation. No symptomatic epidural hematoma occurred. All patients were followed up for 12 months. There were significant differences in VAS scores and ODI at each time point after operation when compared with those before operation (P<0.05). There were significant differences in VAS score at 3 days after operation when compared with that at 3, 6, and 12 months after operation (P<0.05). For ODI, except that there was no significant difference between 6 and 12 months after operation (P>0.05), there were significant differences between other time points after operation (P<0.05). At last follow-up, the effectiveness was rated as excellent in 66 cases, good in 13 cases, and fair in 8 cases according to the modified MacNab criteria, and the excellent and good rate was 90.8%. There was no intervertebral disc herniation recurred during follow-up period. There was no significant difference in VAS score and ODI among groups Ⅰ -Ⅳ before operation and at each time point after operation (P>0.05). ConclusionThe UBE technique is safe and effective in the treatment of migrated lumbar intervertebral disc herniation, with a low complication rate and satisfactory early effectiveness.