OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of high-dose Astragalus injection and cyclophosphamide (CTX) on infection, urine protein and immune function of the patients with lupus nephritis. METHODS: Forty-three patients diagnosed as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) complicated by kidney damage and qi-deficiency syndrome were randomly divided into trial group (n=23) and control group (n=20). Patients in both groups were treated for 3 months. Intravenous drip infusion of 0.8 g CTX was administered to all patients once a month, while intravenous drip infusion of 20 ml Astragalus injection was only administered to patients in the trial group every day for 12 days in each month. RESULTS: The decrease of active clinical symptom score after the treatment in the trial group was greater than that in the control group (P<0.05). The infection rates of the trial group and the control group were 4.35% and 25% respectively. The decrease of 24-hour urine protein and CD8, and the increase of red blood cell count and serum albumin in the trial group were greater than those in the control group, and there were significant differences between the two groups (P<0.05). White blood cell count in the trial group was decreased less than that in the control group after the treatment (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: High-dose Astragalus injection used together with CTX is more effective than CTX alone in decreasing infection rate and urine protein and improving immune function for patients with lupus nephritis.

Objective To expound the mechanism and the clinical features of Tong-Du-Huo-Luo exercise in treating ankylosing spondylitis.Methods Besides taking SASP per os,the patients in treatment group did Tong-Du-Huo-Luo exercise twice daily. Patients in control group took SASP only.The patients in both groups had accepted the treatments for 6 months.Results Compared with western medicine treatment,the Tong-Du-Huo-Luo exercise can bring better effects on ability of expanding chest,finger-floor distance,pulvinar-wall distance,and improving the results of Schober test and blood sedimentation test.Conclusions Tong-Du-Huo-Luo exercise is an effective method in treating ankylosing spondylitis patients.

Objective To observe the therapeutic effect of Ziyin Yangxue Qingre Formula (Formula for enriching yin,nourishing blood and clearing heat) on primary Sjogren's Syndrome (pSS).Methods Totally 64 female pSS patients were randomized into a treating group (33 cases),and a control group (31 cases).The control group was administered Hydroxychloroquine Sulfate Tablet.In addition,the treating group was prescribed Ziyin Yangxue Qingre Formula.Three-month treatment was as one course.After one course of treatment,the changes in symptom scores,salivation quantity,tear quantity,and immuno-infective indices were observed to compare the effect between both groups.Results The total effective rate of the treating group(87.88%) was significantly higher than that (64.52%) of the control group (P

Objective To investigate the role of spinal cord TNF-a in the development of bone cancer pain in mice. Methods Seventy-two 4-6 week old C3H/He mice weighing 18-25 g were randomly divided into 3 groups (n = 24 each) : group I sham operation (group S) ; group II bone cancer pain (group BCP) and group Ⅲ etanercept (group E). Bone cancer pain was induced by implantation of osteosarcoma NCTC 2472 cells into the intramedullary space of right femur in group II and Ⅲ . Group Ⅲ received intraperitoneal etanercept 100 μg at 3 days before and immediately before and day 3 and 6 after tumor cell inoculation. In group S culture medium α-MEM containing no cancer cell was injected instead. The paw withdrawal threshold to mechanical stimuli (PWMT) and paw withdrawal latency to thermal stimuli ( PWTL) were measured before inoculation (baseline) and at day 3, 5,7, 10, 14 after inoculation respectively. Eight animals were killed on the 7th, 10th, and 14th day after inoculation in each group. The spinal cords were removed and TNF-α mRNA expression in the spinal cord was determined by RT-PCR. Results Cancer pain was significantly attenuated by pretreatment with etanercept. The TNF-α mRNA expression in the spinal cord was significantly increased after inoculation and was significantly attenuated by pretreatment with etanercept in group Ⅲ . Conclusion Spinal cord TNF-a is involved in the development of bone cancer pain in mice.

BACKGROUND:Neural stem cels can repair the damaged brain tissues with potentials of proliferation and differentiation, which become one of the important directions for treating cerebral palsy. OBJECTIVE:To observe the clinical effect and safety of neural stem cel transplantation on the treatment of cerebral palsy in children. METHODS:Neural stem cels were isolated from human embryonic brain and identified by immunofluorescence staining, which were transplanted intravenously into 26 children with cerebral palsy. Children's motor functions were evaluated by gross motor function measure scale and Peabody development motor scale-fine motor scale before treatment, and 3 and 6 months after treatment. Routine blood test and liver-kidney function were detected before and after treatment. Clinical adverse reactions in children with cerebral palsy were monitored. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The lost cases were not found during 6 months of folow-up. Specific proteins of neural stem cels were al positive in this study. At 3 and 6 months after transplantation, the A, B, C functional area scores and total score on the gross motor function measure scale were obviously increased (P < 0.05,P < 0.01), but the C and D functional area scores were not remarkably elevated (P > 0.05). At 3 months after transplantation, the fine motor quotient, grasping subtest and visual-motor integration were not remarkably increased (P > 0.05); these scores, however, were elevated after 6 months with statistical significance (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). The results of routine blood test and liver-kidney function in 26 children were in normal range, and there were no serious adverse reactions during the cel transplantation. Therefore, neural stem cel transplantation has high safety and good curative effects to improve the motor function of children with severe cerebral palsy, especialy for gross motors.

Objective To investigate the effects of transient receptor potential cation channel 6 (TRPC6) on the expression of nephrin, desmin and caspase 9 and on the apoptosis of podocytes in a mouse model of podocyte injury induced by TGF-β1.Methods Conditionally immortalized mouse podocytes were cultured in vitro and divided into four groups: control, TGF-β1 treatment, TGF-β1+PGPU6/GFP/Neo-TRPC6-mus-581 (TRPC6 knockdown) and TGF-β1+PGPU6/GFP/Neo-NC (negative control).Real-time RT-PCR and Western blot analysis were performed to detect the expression of nephrin, desmin and caspase 9 at mRNA and protein levels, respectively.Flow cytometry was used to analyze the apoptotic rate of podocytes.DAPI fluorescent staining was used to observe the morphological changes of apoptotic podocytes.Results Green fluorescent protein (GFP)-expressing podocytes at 48 hours after transfection were significantly more than those at 24 hours after transfection.The level of TRPC6 in mouse podocytes transfected with PGPU6/GFP/Neo-TRPC6-mus-581 was significantly decreased as compared with that of the control group (P<0.05).No significant difference in the expression of TRPC6 was observed between the negative control group and the control group.Compared with the control group, the TGF-β1 treatment group showed increased expression of desmin and caspase 9 at both mRNA and protein levels (P<0.01), but decreased expression of nephrin at mRNA and protein levels at 48 hours after TGF-β1 intervention (P<0.05).The up-regulated desmin and caspase 9 and the down-regulated nephrin induced by TGF-β1 could be inhibited by the means of TRPC6 knockdown.The apoptosis rate of podocytes in TGF-β1 treatment group was (14.0±2.1)%, while that in TRPC6 knockdown was (10.90±0.56)% (P<0.05).The apoptosis rate of podocytes in negative control group was higher than that in TGF-β1 treatment group (P>0.05).More apoptotic cells with typical morphological features of apoptosis were observed after exposure to TGF-β1 for 48 hours.Conclusion TGF-β1 could induce the apoptosis of podocytes, inhibit the expression of nephrin and enhance the expression of caspase 9 and desmin, the possible mechanisms of which may be related to TRPC6 signal pathway.These changes in TGF-β1-treated podocytes could be alleviated by inhibiting the expression of TRPC6, which might have a protective effect on podocyte injury.

Objective: To identify Euryales Semen and its closely related species using the ITS2 barcode. Method:The total genomic DNAs were extracted from twenty samples of Euryales Semen and its closely related species. The ITS2 regions of the samples were amplified and bidirectional sequenced. Obtained sequences were submitted to the GenBank with Sequin 12.3. ITS2 sequences of 102 samples belonging to thirty species were downloaded from GenBank. The 122 ITS2 sequences were aligned and the genetic distances were analyzed with MEGA 5.1. Identification analyses were performed using BLAST1 and nearest distance methods, and were presented intuitively by constructing neighbor-joining (NJ) tree. Result: The length of ITS2 region of Euryales Semen was 214 bp, which was only one haplotype. There was significant divergence of the ITS2 regions among the samples. The NJ tree showed that Euryales Semen could be obviously differed from its closely related species, which had good 408 monophyly. Conclusion: ITS2 regions as a DNA barcode can stably and accurately distinguish Euryales Semen from its closely related species and also provide a new technique to ensure clinical safety in utilization of tradi-tional Chinese medicines. The new exploration could broaden the application of DNA barcoding technology in identification of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety profile of a recombinant human tumor necrosis factor receptor: Fc fusion protein in ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Methods This was a multicenter,randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in the first 6 weeks and then followed by an open-labeled trial in the next 6 weeks. One hundred and forty-three patients of active AS were randomly assigned to receive 25 mg twice-weekly subcutaneous injections of rhTNFR:Fc or placebo for 6 weeks. The primary endpoint was proportion of ASAS20 responders at week 6. The secondary endpoints were the proportion of subjects achieving a BASDAI 20%, BASDAI 50% and BASDAI 70% improvement at week 6. Other secondary endpoints, related to reducing signs and symptoms of AS and improving range of motion and physical function, were evaluated.Results Treatment with rhTNFR:Fc resulted in significant improvement. At 6 weeks, 68% of the 71 patients in the rhTNFR: Fc group had a treatment response, as compared with 28% of those in the placebo group(P＜0.01). Improvements over base-line values for other measures of disease activity were significantly greater in the rhTNFR:Fc group, rhTNFR:Fc was well tolerated, The most frequently treatment related adverse event was injection site reaction. Conclusion rhTNFR:Fc has demonstrated consistent evidence of efficacy and is well tolerated in the treatment of active AS.

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of two forms of preparations of dexamethasone palmitate in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).Methods A multicenter,double-blind,randomized,parallel-group clinical trial was carried out according to good clinical practice (GCP).A total of 237cases of RA patients with mild to moderate knee swelling were randomly divided into the treatment group (n=118 ) or the control group (n=119) and were treated with two kinds of dexamethasone palmitate 8 mg injection respectively.The primary efficacy endpoints were the circumference of the knee joint at the upper and the lower edge after the intra-articular injection.The secondary efficacy endpoints were joint tenderness index and patients general assessment.The adveme events were recorded.Analysis of covariance,t test or Wilcoxon test,x2 test or Fisher exact test were used for statistical analysis.Results The upper edges of the treatment group and the control group after treatment were (37.2±3.3) cm and (36.4±3.9) cm respectively,and the lower edges of the two groups were (34.4±2.9) cm and (33.9±3.4) cm respectively.They were all significantly smaller than the edges before treatment [(38.1± 3.3) cm and (37.3±4.0) cm of the upper edges,(35.1±3.0)cm and (34.6±3.6) cm of the lower edges respectively ) (P＜0.O1)].After treatment,the joint tenderness index were improved (P＜0.01).A total ratio of great improvement and improvement of patients general assessment of the two group patients were 67.5％ (79/117) and 74.8％ (86/115) respectively.No statistical significant difference was found in all primary and secondary efficacy endpoints between the two groups (P＞0.05).During the clinical trial,the incidence of adverse events related to the treatment of two groups were 4.2％ and 6.8％,without any significant difference (P＞0.05).Conclusion New preparation of dexamethasone palmitate has the same efficacy and safety as the imported producted in the treatment of RA.The circumference of the knee joints at the upper and the lower edge may be used to assess the effects of intra-articular injections.

OBJECTIVETo study the effects of emodin on proliferation and differentiation of 3T3-L1 preadipocyte and the possible mechanism.

METHODSCell proliferation was determined by MTT spectrophotometry, cell differentiation was determined by Oil Red O staining,and fatty acid synthase (FAS) activity was determined by spectrophotometry.

RESULTSEmodin promoted proliferation of 3T3-L1 preadipocyte at low concentration and inhibited the proliferation at high concentration in a dose-related manner. In contrast, it inhibited cell differentiation into adipocyte at low concentration in a dose-related manner. In vitro emodin inhibited the activity of FAS in a dose-related manner.

CONCLUSIONSThe effects of emodin on 3T3-L1 cell's proliferation and differentiation are dose dependent. Emodin inhibits the activity of FAS. Our results suggest that emodin should have a potential to serve as a fat-reducing drug.

3T3 Cells ; Adipocytes ; drug effects ; physiology ; Animals ; Cell Differentiation ; drug effects ; Cell Division ; drug effects ; Emodin ; pharmacology ; Fatty Acid Synthases ; antagonists & inhibitors ; Lipid Metabolism ; Mice ; Stem Cells ; drug effects ; physiology