Abstract. The aim of this study was to investigate the mechanism of action of Qizhu formula, a Chinese medicinal empirical formula, in modulating the action of survivin, an inhibitor of apoptosis, in MGC-803 gastric cancer cells. Western blot analysis and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were applied to detect the effect of varying concentrations of Qizhu formula in the modulation of the expression of survivin in MGC-803 human gastric adenocarcinoma cells. The western blot analysis results demonstrated that Qizhu formula exerted no significant effects on the protein expression of the β-actin housekeeping gene, whereas it exerted a significant inhibitory effect on the protein expression of the apoptosis-related survivin gene at concentrations of 250 µg̸ml and, particularly, 500 µg/ml. RT-PCR was used to detect the effect of Qizhu formula on survivin mRNA in MGC-803 human gastric adenocarcinoma cells. The ratio of survivin/β-actin in the 0.1% dimethylsulfoxide and the 125, 250 and 500 µg/ml groups of Qizhu formula was 0.4543, 0.4025, 0.2415 and 0.2235, respectively. Therefore, Qizhu formula exerted a distinct inhibitory effect on the mRNA expression of survivin in MGC-803 cells in a dose-dependent manner. In conclusion, Qizhu formula may modulate the apoptosis of MGC-803 human gastric adenocarcinoma cells, which is associated with the downregulation of survivin mRNA and protein expression.

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Objective. To assess the efficacy of Erzhu Yiren Decoction in treating gastric ulcer of spleen deficiency and dampness-heat and its effect on serum NO, EGF, and PGE2 levels. Methods. A retrospective study was conducted among 64 patients with gastric ulcers of spleen deficiency and dampness heat admitted to our hospital from September 2019 to May 2020, and they were divided at a ratio of 1 : 1 into an observation group (rabeprazole sodium enteric-coated capsules plus Erzhu Yiren Decoction) and a control group (rabeprazole sodium enteric-coated capsules) based on different treatment methods. The clinical symptom scores, the effective rate of ulcer healing under gastroscopy, the quality of ulcer healing (QOUH), serum nitric oxide (NO), endothelial growth factor (EGF), and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) levels were compared between the two groups. Results. The clinical symptom scores of the observation group after treatment were significantly lower than those of the control group ( P < 0.001 ). The observation group obtained a remarkably higher efficacy of ulcer healing under gastroscopy than the control group ( P = 0.039 ). The observation group outperformed the control group in terms of the number of patients with excellent and good QOUH ( P = 0.003 , 0.014), but no statistical difference in the number of patients with poor QOUH between the two groups was found ( P > 0.05 ). Serum NO, EGF, and PGE2 levels of the observation group after treatment were significantly better than those of the control group ( P < 0.001 ). Conclusion. Erzhu Yiren Decoction can relieve the clinical symptoms of patients with gastric ulcers of spleen deficiency and dampness heat; improve the serum NO, EGF, and PGE2 levels; optimize the mucosal maturity; and enhance the overall efficacy, which merits clinical promotion.

To explore the therapeutic effect and mechanism of Weishu capsule (WSC, NffJ;~t~ ~) in treating precancerous lesions of chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG). Methods: Seventy-five cases of precancerous lesions of CAG were distributed to two groups randomly, the WSC group (45 patients) treated with WSC taken orally and the Weining granule (WNG) group (30 patients) treated with Weining granule orally. The treatment course of both groups were 6 months. The clinical and pathological effects and the changes in scores of atrophy, intestinal metaplasia (IM) and its subgroups, dysplasia, carcinoembryonic antigen and proliferating cell nuclear antigen expression were observed before and after treatment. Results:The total effective rate was 91% and the effective rate of atrophy, IM, dysplasia in the WSC group were 64 %, 67 % and 65 % respectively, and the respective scores were lowered significantly after treatment. Compared with the WNG group, the difference between the two groups was statistically significant (P < 0.01, P < 0.05). Immunohistochemical test showed that WSC could inhibit the subgroups of IM, circinoembryonic antigen and proliferating cell nuclear antigen expression significantly (P< 0.01 ). Conclusions: WSC could significantly improve the clinical and pathological changes in the precancerous lesions of CAG. The mechanism might be related to the inducing and promoting effect of WSC on the differentiation and maturity of IM cells and dysplasia cells. WSC could also inhibit and correct the abnormal proliferation of cells.