BACKGROUND:Apolipoprotein E is one of the important plasma apolipoproteins with polymorphism and involved in lipid metabolism and cholesterol balance modulation, playing also a role in the normal growth and repair of the nervous system.OBJECTIVE: To analyze apolipoprotein E gene polymorphism in patients with vascular dementia (VaD) in comparison with patients with cerebral infarction (CI) patients and healthy controls, so as to elicit the relationship between apolipoprotein E gene polymorphism and VaD.DESIGN: Case-control study.SETTING: Department of Neurology, General Hospital of Jinan Military Area Command of Chinese PLA.PARTICIPANTS: The participants were recruited from the inpatients and outpatients with cerebrovascular diseases and healthy subjects for routine physical examination in the General Hospital of Jinan Military Area Command of Chinese PLA between August 2001 and October 2003, including 35 cases of VaD, 36 CI cases and 40 healthy controls.METHODS: Four milliliters of venous blood was collected from the elbow vein form all participants after fasting for 12 hours for detection of apolipoprotein E genotype using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Blood lipids and apolipoprotein contents were also examined.of triglyceride, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), as well as apolipoprotein A and aoplipoprotein B.RESULTS: Data of 35 VaD 36 CI patients and 40 healthy controls were all VaD group and CI group had higher ε4 allele frequency were higher (22.86% and 22.22% vs 7.5%, respectively, P ＜ 0.05) but lower ε3 allele frequency (70% and 69.45% vs 86.25%, respectively, P ＜ 0.05); the frequencies of all alleles were basically comparable between VaD and CI groups er in E ε4 allele carriers [(5.85±L03), (4.73±0.29), (4.96±0.87) mmol/L, respectively] than in E ε2 [(3.91±0.87), (3.12±0.65), (3.06±0.33) mmol/L] and ε3 [(1.34±0.21), (1.00±0.28), (0.94±0.32) g/L] allele carriers in VaD group (P ＜ 0.05).CONCLUSION: Apolipoprotein E gene polymorphism is closely associated with the onset of VaD, for which ε4 allele might be a risk factor with similar impact in CI.

Objective To assess the effectiveness of the combined treatment model for Wilms'tumor and to improve treatment results.Methods Fifty-five patients diagnosed with Wilms' tumor between July 1981 to June 2010 were analyzed retrospectively.Eighteen patients were diagnosed by preoperative ultrasound-guided fine needle biopsy,and 53 patients were confirmed by postoperative pathology results.Seven cases were in clinical stage Ⅰ,19 cases in clinical stage Ⅱ,21 cases in stage Ⅲ,six cases in stage Ⅳ and two cases in stage Ⅴ.Thirty-five cases had histopathological subtype,30 cases had the favorable type,and five cases had the unfavorable type.Among the 55 patients,kidney tumor resection was performed on 48 cases,wide edge partial nephrectomy was performed on two cases,tumor enucleation was performed on one bilateral renal tumor case,kidney tumor resection with pulmonary metastasectomy was performed on two cases,and two cases had no surgical procedures.Eighteen cases received preoperative chemotherapy,40 cases received postoperative chemotherapy,and 12 cases received postoperative radiotherapy.Patients were grouped according to age,stage,histological type,treatment model,treatment course and whether or not they had radiotherapy.The Kaplan-Meier method was used in the evaluation and comparison of over survival (OS),disease free survival (DFS) and relapse free survival (RFS) of the different groups to reveal the relationship between different grouping factors with the prognosis of Wilms' tumor. ResultsThe median of follow-up was 34 mon ( ranging from 3 to 355 mon).The 3-year OS,5-year OS and 2-year DFS were 77.6％,69.0％ and 52.4％,respectively.The differences of OS in different stages ( P =0.006 ),DFS between pure operation group and combined therapy group ( P =0.004 ) and RFS between radiotherapy group and no radiotherapy group ( P =0.03 ) were significant,P ＜ 0.05.ConclusionsThe normative multi-disciplinary treatment model for patients with Wilms' tumor can achieve good results and is well tolerated.

Objective To observethe efficacy of mice infected with Sparganum mansoni by using different dosages of praziquantel.Methods A total of 156 Kunming mice were divided into 2 batches.each of them wag orally infted with 5 spargana.Thirty-six mice in the first batch were equally divided into 6 groups.the mice in group 1-5 were inoculated with spargana cultured in different concentrations of praziquantel for 3 days,the group 6 served as a control.One hundred and twenty mice in the second batch were equally divided into 12 groups,each mouse was inoculated with spargana obtained from frogs or tadpoles,group 1-9 were treated by different desages of praziquantel 1 or5 weeks post infection.group 10-12 served as controls.All of the mice wore sacriftced and dissectedl or 2 weeks after the treatment.the mean number of worms recovered was cmculated and worm reduction rates were determined.Results The number of worm recovered from mice infected with spargana cultured in 10-40 μg/ml of praziquantel had no significant difference with that of the control(P>0.05).The worm reduction rate wag 16.60%while the spargana beins cultured in 50 μg/ml of praziquantel.The worm reduction rates of the mice that sacrificed 1 week or 2 weeks after being treated by the same dosage of praziquantel had no significant difference(P>0.05).When being treated with 200.400 or 800 mg/kg of praziquantel 1 week post infection,the number of worm recovered from mice infected with spargana from frogs had no significant difference with those of the control 1 and 2 weeks after the treatment(P>0.05).The worm reduction rates between the groups with the same dosage 1 week and 2 weeks post treatment had no significant difference(P>0.05).When being treated with 200 or 400 mg/kg of praziquantel 1 week post infection,the number of worm recovered from mice infected with spargana from tadpoles had no statistically difference with that of the control 1 week after treatment (P>0. 05). The worm reduction rate of mice was only 17.02% while being treated with 800 mg/kg of praziquantel. The worm reduction rates among groups with different dosages had no significant difference (P>0.05). Compared with the mice infected with spargana from frogs treated with 1 200 or 1 800 mg/kg of praziquantel 5 weeks post infection, the difference between the numbers of worm recovered from mice 1 week and 2 weeks after treatment had no statistically significance (P > 0.05), but they were significantly higher than those of the controls (P<0.05 ). The worm reduction rates among the groups with the same dosage had no significant difference (P>0.05). ConclusionsPraziquantel (10-50 μg/ml) has no evident killing effect on spargnna in vitro, but when the dosage is higher(1 800 mg/kg), it has certain efficacy for treating the mice infected with spargana by oral inoculation.

Objective To investigate the roles of SENP1 in regulation of biological characteristics of NK cells.Methods Lentivirus-mediated-Senp1-small-hairpinRNA (shRNA) transduction was applied to NK92 cells.The expression of SENP1 in NK92 cells was determined by real-time PCR and Western blot.The proliferation of NK92 cells was detected by CCK-8 assay.The apoptosis of NK92 cells was determined by Annexin Ⅴ and PI labeling.The cytotoxicity of NK92 cells against K562 cells was evaluated by luciferase reporter assay.Results Treatment of NK92 cells with IL-21 resulted in SENP1 upregulation.Lentivirus mediated SENP1 knockdown reduced proliferation and increased apoptosis in NK-92 cells,but SENP1 inhibition had slight impact on the cytotoxic ability of NK92 cells to kill K562 cells.Conclusion SENP1 mediates the regulatory effect of IL-21 on the proliferation and survival of NK92 cells.

Taking full advantage of professional knowledge,clinical pharmacist involved in the whole treatment process of one case of mycobacterium infection by assisting doctors in determining and optimizing the anti-infective treatment plan, and performing pharmaceutical care. After the active, rational and effective anti-infective treatment, the patient's infection was controlled effectively. The active participation of clinical pharmacist gains clinical experience for the treatment of rare bacterial infections.

OBJECTIVETo study the effects of inhibitory peptide of Staphylococcus epidermidis (SE) biofilm (briefly referred to as inhibitory peptide) on adhesion and biofilm formation of SE at early stage.

METHODSBy using peptide synthesizer, the inhibitory peptide was synthesized with purity of 96.8% and relative molecular mass of 874.4. (1) Solution of SE ATCC 35984 (the same below) was cultivated with inhibitory peptide in the final concentrations of 1-256 µg/mL, and the M-H broth without bacteria solution was used as blank control. The MIC of the inhibitory peptide against SE was determined (n=3). (2) Solution of SE was cultivated with trypticase soy broth (TSB) culture solution containing inhibitory peptide in the final concentrations of 16, 32, 64, 128, and 256 µg/mL (set as inhibitory peptide groups in corresponding concentration), and solution of SE being cultivated with TSB culture medium was used as negative control group. Growth of SE was observed every one hour from immediately after cultivation (denoted as absorbance value), and the growth curve of SE during the 24 hours of cultivation was drawn, with 3 samples in each group at each time point. (3) Solution of SE was cultivated with TSB culture solution containing inhibitory peptide in the final concentrations of 16, 32, 64, 128, and 256 µg/mL (set as inhibitory peptide groups in corresponding concentration), and solution of SE being cultivated with TSB culture medium was used as negative control group. Adhesive property of SE was observed after cultivation for 4 hours (denoted as absorbance value, n=10); biofilm formation of SE was observed after cultivation for 20 hours (denoted as absorbance value, n=10). (4) Solution of SE was cultivated with TSB culture solution containing inhibitory peptide in the final concentration of 128 µg/mL (set as 128 µg/mL inhibitory peptide group), and solution of SE being cultivated with TSB culture medium was used as negative control group. Adhesive property of SE and its biofilm formation were observed with confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM), and the sample numbers were both 3. Data were processed with one-way analysis of variance, LSD test, and Dunnett T3 test.

RESULTS(1) The MIC of inhibitory peptide against SE exceeded 256 µg/mL. (2) There was no significant difference in the growth curve of SE between inhibitory peptide groups in different concentrations and negative control group. (3) After 4 hours of cultivation, the absorbance values of adhesive property of SE in 256, 128, 64, and 32 µg/mL inhibitory peptide groups were respectively 0.20 ± 0.04, 0.27 ± 0.03, 0.35 ± 0.04, and 0.40 ± 0.04, which were significantly lower than the absorbance value in negative control group (0.53 ± 0.10, P<0.05 or P<0.01); the absorbance value of adhesive property of SE in 16 µg/mL inhibitory peptide group was 0.47 ± 0.09, which was close to the absorbance value in negative control group (P>0.05). After 20 hours of cultivation, the absorbance values of biofilm formation of SE in 256, 128, and 64 µg/mL inhibitory peptide groups were respectively 0.49 ± 0.10, 0.68 ± 0.06, and 0.93 ± 0.13, which were significantly less than the absorbance value in negative control group (1.21 ± 0.18, P<0.05 or P<0.01); the absorbance values of biofilm formation in 32 and 16 µg/mL inhibitory peptide groups were respectively 1.18 ± 0.22 and 1.15 ± 0.26, which were close to the absorbance value in negative control group (with P values above 0.05). (4) CLSM showed that more adhering bacteria and compact structure of biofilm were observed in negative control group, but less adhering bacteria and loose structure of biofilm were observed in 128 µg/mL inhibitory peptide group.

CONCLUSIONSThe inhibitory peptide can inhibit adhesion and biofilm formation of SE at early stage, but its structure still needs to be further modified.

Bacterial Adhesion ; Biofilms ; growth & development ; Humans ; Microscopy, Confocal ; Peptides ; Staphylococcus epidermidis ; genetics ; metabolism ; physiology