MicroRNAs(miRNAs)are a class of small noncoding RNA molecules that function as posttranscriptional gene regulators by base-pairing with their target mRNAs where they either repress translation or direct destructive cleavage.Recent evidences have shown that miRNAs were aberrantly expressed in papillary thyroid carcinoma(PTC)compared with normal thyroid tissue,indicating that they may play a crucial role in the initiation and progression of PTC.Some deregulated miRNAs might potentially be adjunct markers in the preoperative diagnosis of papillary thyroid carcinoma.

Embryonic stem cells undergo extensive self-renewal and have the capacity to differentiate along multiple cell lineages.Research on totipotency and directional differentiation of embryonic stem cells in order to treat intractable disease,such as cancer,heart failure,atherosclerosis by tissue regeneration and cell transplantation are investigated.Epigenetic modification,including DNA methylation,chromatin restructure,and non-coding RNA-mediated regulatory events,regulate the differentiation of embryonic stem cells without detectable genetic changes.These mechanisms are often associated with starting-up and maintenance of epigenetic silence.The achievement and focuses on the molecular mechanism of embryonic stem cells during directional differentiation regulated by epigenetic modification are reviewed.

Objective To evaluate irregular hepatectomy combined with removal of tumor thrombi, postoperative hepatic artery chemotherapy(HAC) and portal vein chemotherapy (PVC) for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with portal vein tumor thrombi (PVTT). Methods From Jan. 1987 to Dec. 1996, 62 HCC cases with PVTT underwent the combined therapy. Among them HAC and PVC were given in 40 cases. 59 patients were followed up for over 3 years. Results 6 cases died of postoperative hepatic and renal failure in 3 months. Recurrent rate and survival rate at 1, 2, 3 year was 46%(18/39), 59%(23/39),79%(31/39)and 69%(27/39),51%(20/39), 31%(12/39) respectively in group of combined HAC and PVC compared with 80%(16/20),90%(18/20),100%(20/20)and 30%(6/20),10%(2/20), 5%(1/20)in group without postoperative HAC and PVC. Conclusions Irregular hepatectomy with removal of tumor thrombi is an effective treatment for HCC with PVTT. Postoperative use of HAC and PVC significantly reduces the recurrence rate and improves survival.

Studies on nanotechnology in the diagnosis and treatment of vascular disease are increasingly widespread. Nanoteehnology produces a marked effect by its targeted characteristic, which provides a new pathway in the diagnosis and treatment of vascular disease. This paper presents the progress on nanotechnolo-gy in the imaging and treatment of vascular disease both at home and abroad.

Objective To explore the clinical features of hyperthyroidism combined with Moyamoya disease. Methods The manifestations of clinic and neuroimaging in 4 patients with hyperthyroidism combined with Moyamoya disease were retrospectively analyzed.Results 4 patients were young or middle-aged females and onset of the disease were acute or subacute. 2 cases had the history of hyperthyroidism for 4 and 1 years and other 2 cases were diagnosed of hyperthyroidism in the duration of hospital stay. All of them presented with focal neurologic deficit(3 of motor weakness or fatigue in the limbs, 2 of facial paralysis and 2 of aphasia). All of them had thyromegaly Ⅰ?～Ⅱ? and 1 of them had vascular murmur in thyroid region.Thyroid function tests revealed thyrotoxicosis, the level of fT3 was 10.1～30.8 pmol/L,the level of fT4 was 17.9～154.8 pmol/L, the level of TSH was 0.01～0.1 mU/L.DSA or MRA showed stenosis or occlusion of the terminal portions of the bilateral or unilateral internal carotid arteries and abnormal vascular network in the vicinity of the arterial occlusion. The patients recovered after the anti-thyroid therapy and treatments for the cerebral stroke. Then ,15 ～ 60 months were followed up respectively, there was no relapsed of cerebral stroke in them. Conclusion Hyperthyroidism combined with Moyamoya disease is only seen in females. Cerebral stroke is occurred during the presence of thyrotoxicosis. Anti-thyroid treatment is beneficial for recovery of the centre nervous system and prevention of recurrence.

Objective To investigate the protective effect and its mechanism of prescription Zu Zhong 1 Hao (a traditional Chinese medical prescription, including Astragalus membranaceus, Atractylodes macrocephala, Arisaema cure Bile, Rhizoma pinelliae, the seed of Prunus persiea , Angelica sinensis , Ligusticum Chuanxiong, Paeonia lactiflora , and Pueraria ,etc) pretreatment on focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion in rats. Methods Sixty SD rats were randomly divided into sham-operation, ischemia-reperfusion, flunarizine and prescription Zu Zhong 1 Hao low-, medium-and high-dose groups (n=10 in each group). A rat model of focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion was induced by suture method (ischemia for 3 hours followed by reperfusion for 24 hours). Nitric oxide (NO) was measured by the nitrate reductase method; superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity was assessed by the xanthine oxidase method; maiondialde-hyde (MDA) was determined by the thiobarbiturie acid method; and tumor necrosis factor-a(TNF-α) was detected by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. Results Prescription Zu Zhong 1 Hao significantly improved neurological deficits in focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion in rats, reduced the content of NO and MDA in brain tissue, increased SOD activity, and down-regulated the expression of TNF-α. Among them, the role of the high-dose group was more significant (P<0. 01). There were also significant differences between the low-and medium-dose groups and the ischemia-reperfusion group (P<0. 05). Conclusions The pretreatment of prescription Zu Zhong 1 Hao has the protective effect on focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury, and its mechanism may be associated with the decreased content of NO and MDA in brain tissue, increased SOD activity, and down-regulated TNF-α expression.

Aim To assess the protective role of chry-sophanol in rats with diabetes-associated cognitive de-cline (DACD) and explore the potential molecular mechanisms.Methods The learning and memory performance was assessed by Morris water maze test;the activities of AChE,ChAT,iNOS and oxidative stress markers including CAT,SOD and GSH-PX in the hippocampus were detected using respective com-mercial kits.The level of BDNF was also measured with commercial ELISA kit.Results Chrysophanol significantly improved learning and memory functions in the diabetic groups.Additionally,the activities of AChE,BDNF also found to be evidently increased, while decreased activities of ChAT,iNOS,CAT,SOD and GSH-PX were observed in the hippocampus of dia-betic rats.Conclusions Collectively,chrysophanol has a protective role against DACD and this neuropro-tection is associated with increasing BDNF level.Chry-sophanol can also suppress the activities of iNOS, CAT,SOD and GSH-PX in diabetic rats.It is likely to be a novel therapeutic drug for the treatment of diabetic patients with cognitive deficits in clinical practice.

β-Amyrin synthase (β-AS) genes of Glycyrrhiza uralensis from 6 different regions were analyzed by PCR-SSCP and sequenced, then the correlationship between β-AS SNP and regions of Glycyrrhiza uralensis were determined. According to the 1 coding single nucleotide polymorphism on the first exon of β-AS gene at 94 bp site, Glycyrrhiza uralensis could be divided into 3 genotypes. In these genotypes, the percentage of 94A type in genuine regions was much higher, and it had significant differences with the percentage in non-genuine regions (P < 0.001). The results of the experiment proved that different β-AS genotypes at 94 bp site from different regions may be one of the important reasons to result in the genuineness of Glycyrrhiza uralensis.

0 05) Under the same treatment concentration of rsFasL or granzyme B, percentage in TUNEL positive staining and Caspase 3 activity in the experimental group were much lower than those in the control group ( P

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