Circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) has emerged as an ideal biomarker for the early diagnosis and prognosis of gastric cancer (GC). In this work, a pump-free, high-throughput microfluidic chip coupled with catalytic hairpin assembly (CHA) and hybridization chain reaction (HCR) as the signal cascade amplification strategy (CHA–HCR) was developed for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) assays of PIK3CA E542K and TP53 (two GC-related ctDNAs). The chip consisted of six parallel functional units, enabling the simultaneous analysis of multiple samples. The pump-free design and hydrophilic treatment with polyethylene glycol (PEG) realized the automatic flow of reaction solutions in microchannels, eliminating the dependence on external heavy-duty pumps and significantly improving portability. In the reaction region of the chip, products generated by target-triggered CHA initiated the HCR, forming long nicked double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) on the Au nanobowl (AuNB) array surface, to which numerous SERS probes (Raman reporters and hairpin DNA-modified Cu₂O octahedra) were attached. This CHA–HCR strategy generated numerous active “hot spots” around the Cu₂O octahedra and AuNB surface, significantly enhancing the SERS signal intensity. Using this chip, an ultralow limit of detection (LOD) for PIK3CA E542K (1.26 aM) and TP53 (2.04 aM) was achieved, and the whole process was completed within 13 min. Finally, a tumour-bearing mouse model was established, and ctDNA levels in mouse serum at different stages were determined. To verify the experimental accuracy, the gold-standard qRT–PCR assay was utilized, and the results showed a high degree of consistency. Thus, this rapid, sensitive and cost-effective SERS microfluidic chip has potential as an ideal detection platform for ctDNA monitoring.

Cofilin 1 induces the epithelial-mesenchymal transition of gastric cancer cells by promoting cytoskeletal rearrangement

Danshen, the dried root of Salvia miltiorrhiza, one of the most investigated medicinal plants with well‐defined phytochemical constituents, has shown prominent clinical outcomes for antioxidant, anti‐inflammatory, and anticoagulant activities to attain vascular protection and additional benefits for cancer therapy. More recently, activation of neutrophil and excessive formation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) have been observed in pathological conditions of metastatic cancers; thus, we hypothesized that suppression of NETs could account for an essential cellular event underlying Danshen‐mediated reduction of the incidence of metastasis. Using an experimental pulmonary metastases model of red fluorescent protein‐ (RFP‐) labeled gastric cancer cells in combination with macroscopic ex vivo live‐imaging system, our data indicated that Danshen impaired the fluorescent intensity and quantity of metastatic nodules. Moreover, Danshen could prevent neutrophil trafficking to the metastatic sites with decreased plasma levels of neutrophil elastase (NE) and procoagulant potential featured by fibrinogen. We further established phorbol 12‐myristate 13‐acetate‐ (PMA‐) induced NET formation of human neutrophils and screened representative active compounds derived from the hydrophilic and hydrophobic fractions of Danshen using qualitative and quantitative methods. As a result, we found that salvianolic acid B (Sal B) and 15,16‐dihydrotanshinone I (DHT I) exhibited superior inhibitory activities on NET formation and significantly attenuated the levels of citrullinated histone H3 (citH3), a biomarker for NET formation. Multitarget biochemical assays demonstrated that Sal B and DHT I distinctly modulated the enzymatic cascade involved in NET formation. Sal B and DHT I could disrupt NET formation at the earlier stage by blocking the activities of myeloperoxidase (MPO) and NADPH oxidase (NOX), respectively. Lastly, combining treatment of Sal B and DHT I under subED₅₀ doses displayed remarkable synergism effect on NET inhibition. Altogether, these data provide insight into how promiscuous compounds from herbal medicine can be effectively targeted NETs towards hematogenous metastasis of certain tumors.

Objective. This study was designed to evaluate the clinical efficacy of combined traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and conventional chemotherapy versus conventional chemotherapy in patients with stage II‐IIIA non‐small‐cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after radical surgery. Methods. A retrospective cohort study was conducted in patients with stage II‐IIIA NSCLC from Subei People′s Hospital and Yangzhou Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital in Yangzhou City of Jiangsu Province from 2012 to 2016. Patients were divided into two groups: the TCM user group (patients receiving treatment with integrated TCM and conventional chemotherapy) and the non‐TCM user group (patients receiving conventional chemotherapy only). The two groups were compared for their median disease‐free survival (DFS) and median overall survival (OS). Results. A total of 67 patients with stage II‐IIIA NSCLC were enrolled between January 2012 and December 2016. The median DFS for the non‐TCM user group was 601 days (95% confidence interval [CI], 375.7‐826.3). The median DFS for TCM user group could not be calculated. However, log‐rank analysis showed that the median survival time in the TCM user group was significantly longer than that of the non‐TCM user group (P < 0.05). In addition, several significant risk factors were detected for predicting disease prognosis in patients with NSCLC, such as age, ECOG, lymphatic metastasis, and body mass index (BMI). For patients harboring these independent risk factors, the DFS of TCM user group was much longer than that of non‐TCM user group (P < 0.05). Conclusion. Adjuvant therapy with TCM may reduce the rate of tumor recurrence and metastasis and prolong DFS of patients with stage II‐IIIA NSCLC.