关键词: 食管肿瘤, 肿瘤转移, 启膈方

Abstract: Objective　To investigate the effect of Qige decoction on the incidence of lung metastasis from esophageal cancer（EC） among a nude mouse model of EC established by injecting EC cells into the tail vein.Methods　This study was implemented from February to October 2017.21 BABL/c nude mice were selected and injected 100μl KYSE-150-Luc poorly differentiated esophageal carcinoma cell lines via the tail vein using 1 ml syringes for establishing nude mice models of EC.They were equally randomized into the control group，Qige decoction group，and Capecitabine group.From the third day after the modeling，the former two groups received intragastric administration of 0.2 ml of 0.9% sodium chloride solution once per day，0.2 ml of Qige decoction（3 913 mg/kg） once per day，respectively，for 12 consecutive weeks，while the Capecitabine group received 0.2 ml of Capecitabine（400 mg/kg） once per day，for 12 weeks but 2 weeks on and 1 week off.The lung metastasis of nude mice was observed by using in vivo small animal imaging.The weight of the mice was measured and recorded.After the sacrifice，the number of lung metastastic nodules was counted，the expression levels of E-cad，KRT8，snail，Connexin43 and WNT2 in lung metastases were detected by Western blotting，and lung metastases were examined by microscopy with H&E staining.Results　During the 12th week after modeling，bioluminescence signal of tumor cells was detected in the lung area，suggesting there were spontaneous lung metastases.Capecitabine group showed much lower ratios of baseline weight to the weight at the end of 4，8，12，16 weeks of intervention when compared to other two groups，as did the control group when compared to the Qige decoction group（P<0.05）.For more detail，the control group showed significantly lower photon intensity compared with other two groups（P<0.05）.All groups demonstrated gray-white lung metastastic nodules，and the control group owned more nodules than other groups（P<0.05）.Western blotting results showed that the control group owned significantly lower expression levels of E-cad，KRT8 and Connexin43 and much higher expression levels of snail and WNT2 when compared to other two groups，so did the Capecitabine group when compared to the Qige decoction group（P<0.05）.Microscopy examination of H&E staining pathological sections of lung metastastic nodules showed that all groups had tumor tissues with a nested growth pattern，and the tumor cells were dense and heterogeneous.No obvious signs of tumor necrosis were found in the 3 groups.Conclusion　Qige decoction could inhibit the lung metastasis from EC，which may be associated with enhanced gap junction inhibition of epithelial-mesenchymal transition.Moreover，Qige decoction was superior to Capecitabine in prolonging the weight control.

Key words: Esophageal neoplasms, Neoplasm metastasis, Qige decoction