Objective To evaluate the clinical outcome of microendoscopic surgery in treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis. Methods Twenty patients with lumbar spinal canal stenosis were treated with microendoscopic dis-cectomy by using the METRx microendoscopie spinal system. A fenestration of lamina, removal of ligamentum flavum and part of the facet were performed endoscopically,to obtain the complete decompression of dural sac and bi-lateral nerve roots. Clinical outcomes were evaluated with the modified functional scoring system. Results For thisgroup patients,the mean operation time was 112min,mean operative blood loss was 90ml,and mean duration of hos-pital-stay was 10.1 days. In the mean follow up of 9 months,15 cases were excellent,2 good and 3 fair based on the modified functional scoring system. Conclusion Microendoscopic spinal surgery is a safe, effective and ideal decom-pressive surgical method for lumbar spinal canal steneais.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors(PPAR) belong to the nuclear hormone receptor family.They have been implicated as important regulators of various physiological processes,such as lipid and lipoprotein metabolism and inflammation.This article reviews the structure of PPARs,their activity regulation and ligands and their correlation with lung diseases.

Gemcitabine has become a first-line chemotherapeutic durg.Unfortunately,many patients fail to derive benefits from gemcitabine in clinics.The variability of human equilibrative nucleoside transporter 1 (hENT1)expression in tumor cells,which plays a dominant role in the transport of gemcitabine across the cell membrane,may be one of the reason for gemcitabine chemoresistance in pancreatic cancer.

Twelve of 28 isolates of Trichomonas vaginalis collected from patients in hospitals in Guangzhou were found naturally infected with Mycoplasma hominis by PCR using specific primers.It suggests that the symbiosis of M.hominis in T.vaginalis also commonly occurs in China.

Objective To investigate the roles of the expressions of B cell lymphoma-2 (bcl-2) and Bcl-assosiated X (bax) in the pulmonary vascular remodeling (PVR) of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) secondary to left-right shunt congenital heart disease (CHD).Methods A total of 80 SPF SD rats were randomly divided into 8 groups,shunt groups (SⅠ,SⅡ,SⅢ and SⅣ) and control groups (CⅠ,CⅡ,CⅢ and CⅣ).PAH rat model was established in the shunt groups by left-to-right shutting,and the control groups received sham operation.The rats from Ⅰ,Ⅱ,Ⅲ and Ⅳ groups were sacrificed in 4,8,12 and 16 weeks after operation.Mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP) was recorded.Pathologic observations were made to assess pulmonary vascular remodeling.Their lung tissues were detected by in situ hybridization histochemistry (ISHH) technique and Western blotting for bcl-2 and bax.And apoptosis of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PSMCs) and endothelial cells (ECs) were also detected by TUNEL.Results After 12 weeks or 16 weeks shunt,following indexes of the shunt groups were significantly higher than the control groups (P

ObjectiveTo develop a cell culture system with consistent expression of whole hepatitis C virus (HCV) gene and Renilla luciferase gene and to facilitate the study on HCV pathogenesis and the screening of new antiviral drugs.MethodsRenilla luciferase (RLuc) reporter gene and a mutation that could yield higher virus gene expression were introduced into the C-terminus of non-structural protein 5A (NS5A) of the JFH1 viral genome by using recombinant PCR.The viral RNA was transfected into Huh7.5 cells.Naǐve Huh7.5 cells were infected by the supernatant from the viral RNA transfected cells.HCV replication and infection were determined by virus titration,Renilla luciferase assay,immunofluorescence assay and western blotting.IFN-α was used to evaluate the feasibility of this system for anti-HCV new drug screening.ResultsThe viral RNA replicated efficiently in transfected cells.These cells could produce high titer of HCV-Rluc reporter virus and the virus titer reached to 1.5 × 104 FFU/ml at day 15 of posttransfection.The activity of Renilla luciferase was inhibited by IFN-α in a dose dependent manner in Huh7.5 cells infected by HCV-Rluc reporter virus.ConclusionThe recombinant HCV-JFH1-Rluc reporter gene system is sensitive and efficient.It can be a useful tool for high throughput screening of anti-HCV drugs.

Traditionally regarded as a vitamin regulating calcium and phosphorus homeostasis, vitamin D is now discovered as a highly versatile molecule involved in immunity, cancer, infectious diseases, fibrosis, fatty liver diseases, and alcoholic liver diseases.In several studies, lower vitamin D status has been found to be associated with increased risk and unfavorable outcome of acute infections.This paper reviews the research progress of the roles played by vitamin D in various inflammatory diseases and its mechanisms.

Objective To compare the efficacy and safety of tenofovir (TDF) and entecavir (ETV) in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) .Methods Studies that compared the treatment efficacy and safety between TDF and ETV in CHB patients were searched through electronic databases before Mar 2015 .Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) normalization rate ,hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA suppression rate ,hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg ) seroconversion rate ,drug resistance rate and safety profile were reviewed .RevMan 5 .2 was used for analysis .Results A total of 13 studies met inclusion criteria and 1 934 patients were analyzed ,including 884 patients treated with TDF and 1 050 with ETV .The HBV DNA suppression rate of TDF was superior to ETV at week 48 (OR=1 .36 ,95% CI:1 .05 -1 .76 ,P=0 .02) .The ALT normalization rate of ETV was superior to TDF at week 24 (OR= 0 .68 ,95% CI:0 .48-0 .96 ,P= 0 .03) .The virological response at week 24 ,ALT normalization rate at week 48 and serological response at week 24 and 48 were not significantly different between patients treated with TDF and ETV (all P>0 .05) .The resistance rate was not significantly different between patients treated with TDF and ETV 24 months after treatment (P=0 .51) .And the safety profiles of these two drugs were similar (P>0 .05) .Conclusions TDF has better virological response compared with ETV .The drug resistance rate and safety profile are similar between TDF and ETV .

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that regulate both mRNA and protein expression of target genes and play important roles in proliferation,differentiation,development and metabolism of cells.This paper reviews the research progress on miRNAs involvement in liver diseases,including viral hepatitis,fatty liver,drug induced liver disease,primary biliary cirrhosis and primary hepatocellular carcinoma.

Objective To develop a time saving and sensitive cell culture system based on hepatitis C virus chimera expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein(EGFP) and to facilitate the study on HCV pathogenesis and screening of anti-HCV drugs.Methods Enhanced green fluorescent protein reporter gene and a mutation V2440L that can yield higher virus titers were introduced into the C-terminus of non-structural protein 5A (NS5A) of the JFH1 viral genome by using recombinant PCR.The viral RNA was transfected into Huh7.5 cells.Viral RNA in supernatant of HCV RNA-transfected cells was determined after transfection by RT-PCR.HCV replication and infection were determined by immunofluorescence assay.IFN-α was used to evaluate the feasibility of this system for anti-HCV drugs screening.Results The viral RNA replicated efficiently in transfected cells.These cells can produce HCV-EGFP reporter virus.Viral RNA levels in supernatant were 3.06× 105 copies/ml and 7.96×106 copies/ml at 72 h and 9 d after transfection,respectively.The virus titer reached to 104 FFU/ml 9 d after transfection.The expression of EGFP was inhibited by IFN-α in a dose dependent manner in Huh7.5 cells infected by HCV-EGFP reporter virus.Conclusion The recombinant HCV JFH1-EGFP reporter gene system is a time saving,cost effective and sensitive method for studying viral replication cycles and screening of anti-HCV drugs.