Aim To study the effect of Radix Tetrastig-ma Hemsleyani Flavone ( RTHF ) on the proliferation and invasion in lung carcinoma A549 cells as well as the possible mechanisms underlying these processes. Methods A549 cells were treated with different con-centrations of RTHF for different time. MTT assay and colone formation assay were used to detect the ability of cell proliferation. Wound healing methods and tran-swell chamber assay were adopted to determine cell mi-gration and invasion. Western blotting assay was used to detect the expression of metastasis-related proteins MMP-2 , MMP-9 , and TIMP-2 . Results RTHF obvi-ously suppressed the proliferation of A549 cells in a dose-and time-dependent manner. Microscope found an apparent decrease of cells in the denude zone of cell migration and transwell testing results show that the treatment of invasion was significantly lower than the proportion in the control group ( P <0. 01 ) . The pro-tein expressions of MMP-2 and MMP-9 were down-reg-ulated and that of TIMP-2 was up-regulated in a dose-dependent manner. Conclusion RTHF inhibits the growth and invasion of lung carcinoma A549 cells, which might be achieved by down-regulating the ex-pressions of MMP-2 and MMP-9 protein.

Objective To determine the level of peripheral CD4+CD25+ regulatory T lymphocytes in patients with vitiligo at different stages and to study its relationship with the development of vitiligo. Methods Blood samples were collected from 34 outpatients with vitiligo, including 19 cases of progressive vitiligo and 15 cases of stable vitiligo, as well as from 20 normal human controls. Flow cytometry was used to detect the levels of peripheral CD4+ and CD4+CD25+ T lymphocytes in these samples. Results Compared with the controls, the percentage of CD4+CD25+ regulatory T lymphoeytes in peripheral lymphocytes was significantly lower in patients with progressive vitiligo than those in patients with stable vitiligo and normal human con-trois [(2.43±0.30)% vs (3.49±0.39)% and (3.34±0.24)%, both P <0.05], but no significant difference was found between patients with stable vitiligo and normal human controls (P＞0.05). A significantly nega-tive correlation was observed between the percentage of CD4+CD25+ regulatory T lymphocytes and lesion area in patients with progressive vitiligo (r = -0.48, P <0.05), but not in patients with stable vitiligo (P ＞0.05). There was no significant correlation between the course of disease and the percentage of peripheral CD4+CD25+ regulatory T lymphocytes in patients with progressive vitiligo or stable vitiligo (both P ＞ 0.05). Conclusion There is an abnormal proportion of peripheral CD4+CD25+ regulatory T lymphocytes in patients with vitiligo, which may be related to the development of vitiligo.