AIM: To investigate the contraction effect of essential oil of Radix Angelicae Sinensis on isolated uterus in rats. METHODS: Isolated uterine strips of rats were used to observe the reactions in the presence of oxytocine and high k + depolarization solution. RESULTS: The isolated rat uterus contraction induced by oxytocin and Ca 2+ after high K + depolarization was dose dependently inhibited by the essential oil. The cumulative dose response curves of CaCl 2 shifted to right and the maximal responses were depressed. This showed that the essential oil was a non competitive antagonist. The extracellular and intracellular Ca 2+ dependent contraction evoked by oxytocin could also be inhibited by the essential oil. CONCLUSION: The essential oil of Radix Angelicae Sinensis could inhibit the contractility of the isolated uteri, and it might act as an Ca 2+ antagonist to relax the isolated rat uterus.

ObjectiveTo explore the imaging of the thrombosis after pharmacological triggering of plaque rupture in atherosclerotic rabbit model by using 3.0 T high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging.MethodsTwenty male New Zealand white rabbits were divided into an experimental group (n = 16) and a control group (n = 4).The aortic wall injuries were induced by an intravascular balloon in experimental group rabbits after high cholesterol diet.The pharmacological triggering with Russell's viper venom and histamine was performed after 3 months of establishment of model.All of the animals underwent pre-trigger and post-trigger MR examinations including 3D time of fight (3D TOF),T1 WI,T2WI and post contrast T1 WI.Euthanasia was performed in all rabbits and gross anatomy and histological specimen of aorta were obtained.Comparing the location and length of the thrombus between MRI images and histopathology was used Pearson test.Comparing the calculated indexes of abdominal aorta between rabbits with and without thrombosis was used AVONA test and LSD-t test.Results After triggering,8 in 14 survived rabbits developed thrombosis in experimental group,meanwhile,no thrombus was found in control group.The accuracy of multi-sequences MRI for detecting of thrombus was 87.1％ (27/31).MRI data correlated with the histopathology regarding thrombus length ( r = 0.85,P ＜ 0.01 ) and thrombus location ( r = 0.94,P＜0.01 ).Compared with rabbits without thrombosis,the rabbits with thrombosis had narrower lumen of abdominal aorta in the pre-triggered MR images [ ( 5.71 ± 2.38 )mm2 vs.( 8.93 ± 5.36) mm2,P ＜ 0.01 ].ConclusionMRI is useful tool to determine the thrombosis and plaque rupture in atherosclerotic rabbit model.

Objective To investigate the clinical value of echocardiography combined with genetic testing in the fetal cardiac rhabdomyoma. Methods Thirty-three fetal cardiac rhabdomyoma cases diagnosed by fetal echocardiogram in Beijing Anzhen Hospital from Jan. 2011 to Oct. 2015 were enrolled in a retrospective analysis. The results of other examination and pregnancy outcomes of them were followed up, the genetic characteristics of cardiac rhabdomyoma were summarized on the basis of pathology and genetics examination results. Results The pregnancy outcomes:24 cases were terminated pregnancy, 4 cases were born and 5 cases were lost. The results of ultrasound, pathology and genetic examination were detailed in 8 cases. Pathological examination: the typical characteristics of cardiac rhabdomyoma were found in the 8 cases with cardiac rhabdomyoma. The tumor tissue was composed of irregular and swelling shape of cardiomyocytes, and the cytoplasm was vacuole like, which was characteristic of“spider like cells”through microscopic observation. The geneticdetection results: 7 cases had tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) gene mutation, TSC gene abnormalities were not detected in 1 case. Among the 7 cases with TSC gene mutations, 6 cases were with TSC2 gene mutation and the other 1 case was with TSC1 gene mutation. The family gene was investigated in the 5 cases, which including 3 cases of TSC gene mutation in mother passed on to the fetus (1 case with family of three generations of genetic) and 2 cases of spontaneous TSC gene mutation in the fetus. Conclusions Prenatal echocardiography combined with genetic detection have important clinical significance, which not only can clear if cardiac rhabdomyomas were associated with TSC, but also can clear the TSC gene mutation source. So as to further guide the perinatal management.

Autopsy ; Fetus ; Heart Neoplasms ; pathology ; Humans ; Rhabdomyoma ; pathology ; Tuberous Sclerosis ; pathology

Objective Toinvestigatetheimmunophenotypiccharacteristicsofacutemyeloidleukemia(AML) patients with NPM1 mutation. Methods The immunophenotype of 237 newly diagnosed AML patients were detected by flow cytometry. Real-time quantitative PCR was employed to detect the NPM1 mutation. The immunophenotype was then compared between the NPM1 mutated and wild type patients. Results The incidence of NPM1 mutation was 19.0 ％ (45/237) in all AML patients.The NPM1 mutated patients had lower expression of CD34,CD117,HLA-DR,CD15 and CD19 than the wild type patients(all P＜0.05).For AML patients with normal karyotype,the incidence of NPM1 mutation was 37.7 ％ (40/106),and the NPM1 mutated patients had lower expression of CD34,HLA-DR,CD15 and CD7 than the wild type patients(all P＜0.05).The NPM1 mutated patients with normal karyotype had lower expression of CD34 HLA-DR and CD7 in M1 subtype(all P ＜ 0.05); lower expression of HLA-DR and higher expression of CD9 in M2 subtype (all P ＜ 0.05) ; and lower expression of CD117 in M5 subtype compared with wild type patients (P ＜0.05). Conclusion The immunophenotypic characteristics of AML patients are changed by NPM1 mutation. The changes of immunophenotype varied in different FAB subtypes.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the possibility of using melanoma antigen-1 (MAGE-1) peptide as a tumor vaccine to treat hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

METHODSThe expressions of MAGE-1 in 8 HCC cell lines and in liver cancer tissue from a patient were detected using RT-PCR. The type of human leucocyte antigen I(HLA I) of both 8 HCC cell lines and peripheral blood mononuclear cells of the patient was detected using a microcytotoxicity method to screen out target cell lines for the cytotoxicity assay. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from the HCC patient pulsed with an MAGE-1 peptide (NYKCRFPEI) were used as antigen presenting cells. Autogenous peripheral blood mononuclear cells were stimulated with antigen presenting cells every 7 days for 4 times to elicit cytotoxic T lymphocytes. The phenotype of effector cells was analyzed using flow cytometry. The cytotoxicity of effector cells was detected with a lactate dehydrogenase releasing assay.

RESULTSThe expressions of both MAGE-1 and HLA-A24 were detected in BEL7405 cell line which were used as the positive target cell line in the cytotoxicity assay. The expression of MAGE-1 alone was detected in HLE, BEL7402, BEL7404, QGY7703 and SMMC7721 cell lines, and the expression of neither MAGE-1 nor HLA-A24 was shown in QGY 7701 and HpG2 cell lines. The last 7 cell lines could be used as negative target cell lines in the cytotoxicity assay. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells expanded 32 folds during 28-day culture. The ratio of CD3(+) T cells increased by 16% (from 54% to 70%), and the ratio of CD8(+) T cells increased by 20% (from 36% to 56%) during 28-day culture. When the ratio of effector cells to target cells was 10:1, effector cells exhibited 62.5% cytotoxicity against autogenous lymphoblasts pulsed with the peptide (NYKCRFPEI) of MAGE-1 antigen, 40.25% cytotoxicity against BEL7405 cells, compared with 17.88% cytolysis observed against autogenous lymphoblasts, 19.55% against HLE cells, and 1.6% against QGY7701 cells. When the ratio of effector cells to target cells was 3.3:1, the cytotoxicity of effector cells against the peptide pulsed autogenous lymphoblasts was 53.6%, which was much higher against autogenous lymphoblasts, HLE cells and QGY7701 cells at 15.6%, 13% and 1%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONThe results demonstrate that cytotoxic T lymphocytes with the ability to specifically lyse target cells expressing both MAGE-1 and HLA-A24 could be successfully induced by the MAGE-1 peptide NYKCRFPEI in vitro. This indicates that a good result might be anticipated if this peptide is used as a tumor vaccine to treat HLA-A24 HCC patients.

Adult ; Antigens, Neoplasm ; Cancer Vaccines ; immunology ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; immunology ; HLA-A Antigens ; analysis ; HLA-A24 Antigen ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; immunology ; Male ; Melanoma-Specific Antigens ; Neoplasm Proteins ; genetics ; immunology ; RNA, Messenger ; analysis ; T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic ; immunology ; Tumor Cells, Cultured

Objective: To investigate the clinicopathologic features of cardiac myxofibrosarcomas. Methods: The clinical data, pathomorphologic and immunohistochemical features were evaluated in five cases of cardiac myxofibrosarcoma collected from January 2009 to December 2014, with relevant literature review. Results: Five patients with cardiac myxofibrosarcoma, including four women and one man [age range 39-61 years; mean (50.4±9.0) years] were included. All tumors were broadbased and located mainly in the left atrium, with one case extending through the atrial wall and pericardium to the left lower lung lobe. The morphological grade was low in one case, intermediate in one, and high in three. Using Fédération Nationale des Centres de Lutte Contre le Cancer (FNLCC) grading system, one case was grade 1 and four cases were grade 2. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed diffuse and strong expression for vimentin in all cases. Smooth muscle actin and muscle specific actin were variably expressed. Complete tumor excision was performed in one case, and tumor debulking was performed in the other four cases. Clinical follow-up was available in three cases. One patient with en bloc excision of the tumor mass survived 13 months and the other two with tumor debulking died one month after surgery. Conclusions The most common location for cardiac myxofibrosarcoma is the left atrium. Some myxofibrosarcoma may be histologically bland and misdiagnosed as myxoma due to histological similarities. Thus caution should be exercised in their microscopic differentiation. Precise imaging, multidisciplinary approach and adequate initial surgery may contribute to improving the clinical outcomes of myxofibrosarcoma.

Objective To study feasibility of TBL teaching method in the experimental teaching of physiology. Meth-ods The undergraduate students were randomly divided into observation group and control group. The traditional teaching method was used to control group,TBL teaching mode was used to observation group. Results The scores of ex-perimental and theory were higher significantly in the observation group than those in the control group (P<0.05 or P<0.01﹚. Conclusion TBL teaching method may be feasibility in the physiology experimental teaching,the enthusiasm and comprehensive ability of undergraduate students' is improved by TBL teaching, the teaching effect of TBL teach-ing method is better than traditional teaching.

OBJECTIVETo improve the diagnostic accuracy of fetal pulmonary venous abnormalities through the analysis of the fetal pulmonary vein anatomy.

METHODS234 cases of congenital cardiac abnormalities were detected by echocardiography during pregnancy in An Zhen Hospital, Capital Medical University from May 2010 to August 2015. Autopsy was then performed. The type of fetal pulmonary venous malformation, cardiac abnormalities, systemic venous malformations, and other internal organs deformities were documented.

RESULTSThere were ninteen cases of pulmonary venous malformations among the 234 cases of fetal congenital heart disease. These included two cases of congenital pulmonary venous hypoplasia (CPVH) or atresia, four cases of partial anomalous pulmonary venous drainage (PAPVD), seven cases of total anomalous pulmonary venous drainage (TAPVD), five cases of atresia of common pulmonary vein (CPV), one case of congenital pulmonary venous hypoplasia with total anomalous pulmonary venous drainage. There were eleven cases with single ventricle, eight cases with right aortic arch, seven cases with single atrium and six cases with pulmonary valve stenosis. Eleven cases had pulmonary hypoplasia and nine cases had abnormal spleen.

CONCLUSIONSThere are many variations in pulmonary venous abnormalities associated with severe and complex cardiac abnormalities and internal organs malformation. Care should be exercised during autopsy examination to look for all branches of the pulmonary vein.

Autopsy ; Female ; Fetal Diseases ; Heart Defects, Congenital ; diagnosis ; Humans ; Pregnancy ; Pulmonary Veins ; abnormalities ; Spleen ; pathology

O bjective To investigate the clinicopathological features and differential diagnosis of Danon disease. Methods:Two cases of Danon disease were selected from Beijing Anzhen Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University from January 2019 to December 2019. The clinical history, histological, immunohistochemical, ultrastructural and gene mutation analysis were collected.Results:Both of the patients were male, aged 21 and 19 years old, respectively. They were diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy by clinicians. The histologic features of endocardial biopsies were hypertrophy and vacuolar degeneration of cardiomyocytes. Part of cardiomyocytes appeared as intracellular clear areas lacking myofibers. The nuclei were large, irregular and hyperchromatic. And lipofuscin was occasionally observed in the nuclei of cardiomyocytes. Ultrastructural feature of electron microscopic was glycogen accumulation. Genetic analysis identified two lysosome-associated membrane protein-2 (LAMP2) gene mutations. A 1-bp deletion in exon 8 (c.973delC) was found in patient 1, leading to a frame-shift mutation. A 3-bp duplication in exon 5 (c.719_721dupAGC) was found in patient 2, leading to an insertion mutation.Conclusions:Danon disease is a rare disease characterized by hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. It is caused by mutations in the LAMP2 gene. Vacuolar degeneration of cardiomyocytes, glycogen accumulation under electron microscope and the mutation of LAMP2 gene are the critical features of Danon disease. Familiar with its clinicopathological characteristics would be helpful to avoid the misdiagnosis of Danon disease.