RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Pancreatic duct (PD) obstruction and hypertension may play a central role in the onset and progression of acute pancreatitis (AP). However, only a few studies have reported using pancreatic stenting to relieve PD obstruction in the early phase of AP, with conflicting results. Whether pancreatic stenting is effective in the early phase of AP remains unknown. We conducted this experiment in order to study the therapeutic efficacy and safety of pancreatic stenting in the early stage of AP. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis of 336 AP patients from 2011 to 2018 who underwent pancreatic stenting within 48 hours of admission. RESULTS: A total of 330 (98.2%) patients underwent successful pancreatic stenting, of whom 23 (7.0%) had severe AP, 178 (53.9%) had moderately severe AP, and 129 (39.1%) had mild AP. Visible PD obstructive material was observed in 94 (28.5%) patients. The mean oral refeeding time since admission and length of hospital stay were 3.5±2.7 and 7.4±6.7 days, respectively. Procedure-related adverse events, in-hospital mortality, and local complication rates were 0.3%, 0.3%, and 7.6%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Early endoscopic pancreatic stenting in AP patients effectively shortened the fasting time and length of hospital stay and did not increase the risk of adverse events, death, or local complications. A further prospective randomized controlled clinical trial is currently underway to validate the safety and efficacy of this procedure.
RESUMEN
Increasing evidence indicates that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) function as important regulators in biological processes and are dysregulated in various tumors. The lncRNA DANCR functions as an oncogene in various cancers, but elucidation of its role in pancreatic cancer (PC) requires further investigation. In the current study, we demonstrate that DANCR was increased in PC tissues and cell lines. Knockdown of DANCR significantly suppressed cell proliferation, migration, and invasion and influenced the levels of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition-associated proteins, as demonstrated by the observation of enhanced E-cadherin levels and reduced N-cadherin levels in PC cells. In addition, we identified direct binding to the predicted miR-33b binding site on DANCR. We also showed that there is reciprocal repression between DANCR and miR-33b. Furthermore, a miR-33b inhibitor partially abrogated knockdown of DANCR and caused inhibitory effects. We also demonstrated that DANCR functions as a miR-33b sponge to positively regulate MMP16 expression in PC cells. Collectively, the data reveal that DANCR exerts its function by regulating miR-33b/MMP16 expression, implying an important role for a lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA functional network and suggesting a novel potential therapeutic target for PC.