Objective To investigate the feasibility of detection of epidermal growth factor receptor ( EGFR) exon 19 deletions and exon 21 L858R mutations in pleural effusion fromnon-small-cell lung cancer ( NSCLC) patients by mutant enriched PCR assay. Methods The mutations of exon 19 and 21 of EGFR gene in pleural samples fromthirty NSCLC patients were analyzed using both the mutant-enriched PCR assay and the non-enriched PCR assay. Results Ten ( 33. 3% , 10/ 30) exon 19 deletions and five ( 16. 7% , 5/30) exon 21 L858R mutation were detected by the mutant-enriched PCR assay, while only 6 cases ( 20. 0% ) and 1 case ( 3. 3% ) were detected by the non-enriched PCR assay respectively. The difference of mutation detection rate of EGFR gene between the two methods was statistically significant ( P = 0. 032) . Mutations were detected in all of partial responders ( 2 /4) among the four patients who received gefitinib therapy. Conclusions Mutant-enriched PCR assay can detect EGFR exon 19 deletions and exon 21 L858R mutation in pleural effusion from NSCLC patients effectively, economically and accurately. It may be a valuable biomarker for gefitinib therapy in advanced NSCLC.
Objective To evaluate the clinical significance of epidermal growth factor receptor EGFR) mutations in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer ( NSCLC) . Methods Plasma DNAs solated fromblood specimens of 170 NSCLC patients, who were admitted in the First Affiliated Hospital of uangzhou Medical College from December 2005 to December 2007, were subjected to the test of EGFR utant-enriched PCR. The correlation of mutant detection with clinical characteristics was analyzed as well.Results Out of the total 170 patients, EGFR mutations were identified in 77 cases ( 77 /170, 45. 3% ) .EGFR mutations were more frequent in the patients with adenocarcinoma ( P lt; 0. 001) and in the nonsmokers P =0. 001) . In the 33 patients treated with gefitinib, those with mutations ( + ) showed a higher esponse rate and prolonged progression-free survival after the treatment compared with those with mutations( - ) ( P =0. 001 and 0. 001, respectively) . Conclusions EGFR active mutations can be specifically and ensitively detected by EGFR mutant enriched PCR assay. Plasma EGFR mutants detection is valuable in uiding clinical decision.
Objective To explore the effects of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells ( BMMSCs) on pulmonary fibroblasts of patients with nonspecific interstitial pneumonitis ( NSIP) , and investigate the therapeutic mechanism of BMMSCs for interstitial pulmonary fibrosis. Methods Human BMMSCs, human pulmonry fibroblasts ( HPFs) from NSIP patients, and normal HPFs were primary cultured in vitro. Then HPFs fromNSIP patients were co-cultured with BMMSCs or normal HPFs using Transwell co-culture system. After 24 hours, levels of transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) and interferon inducible protein 10 ( IP-10) in culture supernatants were detected by ELISA method. Meanwhile, interleukin-6 ( IL-6) , IL-8, and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 ( MCP-1) in co-culture supernatants were detected by liquid chip. After co-cultured for 48 hours, total protein of HPFs was extracted and the expression level of alpha smooth muscle actin ( α-SMA) secreted by HPFs were detected by Western blot.Results HPFs from NSIP patients secreted higher level of IL-6, IL-8, and MCP-1 than normal HPFs, and secreted high level of α-SMA. In the Transwell co-culture system, human BMMSCs significantly reduced the levels of IL-6, IL-8, and MCP-1 secreted from HPFs of NSIP patients, and reduced the high expression of α-SMA in HPFs of NSIP patients. Conclusion Human BMMSCs can significantly reduce the secretion of IL-6, IL-8, MCP-1, and the expression of α-SMA in HPFs from NSIP patients.