Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of acupuncture plus Chinese medicinal fumigation in treating chronic pelvic inflammatory disease (CPID).Method Totally 120 CPID patients were randomized into group A, group B and group C, 40 cases in each group. Group A was intervened by acupuncture plus Chinese medicinal fumigation, group B was by dry acupuncture treatment, while group C was by Chinese medicinal fumigation alone. After 3 treatment courses, the clinical efficacies were observed, and the relapse rates among the cured cases in 8 months after the whole treatment were compared among the 3 groups.Result The total effective rate and recovery rate were respectively 95.0% and 70.0% in group A, versus 82.5% and 45.0% in group B, and 57.5% and 32.5% in group C, and the total effective rate and recovery rate in group A were significantly different from that in group B and group C (P<0.05). The treatment duration for the recovered cases in group A was significantly different from that in group B and C (P<0.05). The relapse rate in the recovered cases in the 8-month follow-up was 10.7% in group A, versus 44.4% in group B and 53.8% in group C, and the relapse rate in group A was markedly lower than that in group B and C (P<0.05).Conclusion Acupuncture plus Chinese medicinal fumigation is an effective method in treating CPID, and its advantages include content efficacy, short treatment duration, and low relapse rate, etc.

OBJECTIVETo study the possible mechanism of anti-myocardial cell apoptosis of astragaloside induced by adriamycin (ADR).

METHODSFifty SD rats were randomized into five groups: the normal control group,the model group, the astragaloside low dose (A-L) group, the astragaloside medium dose (A-M) group and the astragaloside high dose (A-H) group, 10 in each group. The normal control group was given normal saline by intraperitoneal injection, while the other four groups were given ADR by intraperitoneal injection once every other day for six times with the total dosage of 15 mg/kg. At the same time, different dosage of astragaloside was administrated by gavage to the three treated groups, and sodium carboxymethycellulose (SCMC) was given to the normal control and the model group. Myocardial cell apoptosis was examined by in situ end-labeled DNA (TUNEL), protein and mRNA expressions of bax, bcl-2 were detected respectively with immunohistochemistry assay and RT-PCR.

RESULTSCompared with those in the normal control, apoptosis index was significantly higher, the protein and mRNA expressions of bcl-2 were lower and those of bax were higher, in the model group, resulted in lower ratio of bcl-2/bax (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). However, in the A-H group, apoptosis index decreased significantly, the expressions of bcl-2 were higher, those of bax were lower, and ratio of the bcl-2/bax increased (all P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONHigh dose of astragaloside could suppress the myocardial cell apoptosis induced by ADR with the possible mechanism related to regulating the expressions of bcl-2 and bax.

Animals ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Cardiomyopathies ; chemically induced ; pathology ; Doxorubicin ; Female ; Immunohistochemistry ; In Situ Nick-End Labeling ; Male ; Myocytes, Cardiac ; drug effects ; metabolism ; pathology ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Saponins ; pharmacology ; Triterpenes ; pharmacology ; bcl-2-Associated X Protein ; biosynthesis ; genetics

BACKGROUNDHypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha (HIF-1alpha) is one of the pivotal mediators in the response of lungs to decreased oxygen availability, and increasingly has been implicated in the pathogenesis of pulmonary hypertension. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a downstream target gene of HIF-1alpha, plays an important role in the pathogenesis of hypoxic pulmonary hypertension and hypoxic pulmonary artery remodelling. In this study, we investigated the dynamic expression of HIF-1alpha and VEGF in pulmonary artery of rats with hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension.

METHODSForty male Wistar rats were exposed to hypoxia for 0, 3, 7, 14 or 21 days. Mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP), vessel morphometry and right ventricle hypertrophy index (RVHI) were estimated. Lungs were inflated and fixed for in situ hybridisation and immunohistochemistry.

RESULTSmPAP values were significantly higher than the control values after 7days of hypoxia [(18.4 +/- 0.4) mmHg, P < 0.05]. RVHI developed significantly after 14 days of hypoxia. Expression of HIF-1alpha protein increased in pulmonary arterial tunica intima of all hypoxic rats. In pulmonary arterial tunica media, HIF-1alpha protein was markedly increased by day 3 (0.20 +/- 0.02, P < 0.05), reached the peak by day 7, then declined after day 14 of hypoxia. HIF-1alpha mRNA increased significantly after day 14 of hypoxia (0.20 +/- 0.02, P < 0.05). VEGF protein began to increase markedly after day 7 of hypoxia, reaching its peak around day 14 of hypoxia (0.15 +/- 0.02, P < 0.05). VEGF mRNA began to increase after day 7 of hypoxia, then remained more or less stable from day 7 onwards. VEGF mRNA is located mainly in tunica intima and tunica media, whereas VEGF protein is located predominantly in tunica intima. Linear analysis showed that HIF-1alpha mRNA, VEGF and mPAP were correlated with hypoxic pulmonary artery remodelling. HIF-1alpha mRNA was positively correlated with VEGF mRNA and protein (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONHIF-1alpha and VEGF are both involved in the pathogenesis of hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension in rats.

Animals ; Blood Pressure ; Chronic Disease ; Hypertension, Pulmonary ; etiology ; Hypertrophy, Right Ventricular ; etiology ; Hypoxia ; complications ; metabolism ; Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit ; Male ; Pulmonary Artery ; metabolism ; RNA, Messenger ; analysis ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Transcription Factors ; genetics ; physiology ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; genetics ; physiology

Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of heat-sensitive point moxibustion plus manipulative reduction in treating thoracic facet joint disorder. Method A single-blind randomized controlled trial was carried out. Eighty-two patients meeting the criteria were randomly allocated to an observation group of 42 cases and a control group of 40 cases. The observation group received heat-sensitive point moxibustion plus manipulative reduction and the control group, TDP plus manipulative reduction. Both groups were treated five times a week, five times as a course for a total of two courses (including the patients cured after less than two courses). The therapeutic effects were evaluated by using the McGill Pain Questionnaire the as the observation index, comparing pre-/post-treatment Pain Rating Index (PRI) scores, Visual Analogous Scale (VAS) scores and Present Pain Intensity (PPI) scores and referring to the Criteria of the Diagnosis of and the Therapeutic Effect on Syndromes in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Result After treatment, the PRI, VAS and PPI scores decreased significantly in both groups (P<0.01) and were lower in the observation group than in the control group (P<0.01). The cure rate was 57.1% (24/42) in the observation group, which was significantly higher than 27.5% in the control group (11/40,P<0.01). The total efficacy rate was 95.2% (40/42) in the observation group, which was significantly higher than 80.0% in the control group (32/40,P<0.01). Conclusion Heat-sensitive point moxibustion plus manipulative reduction has a very good therapeutic effect on thoracic facet joint disorder. The effect is significantly better than that in the control group.

OBJECTIVEOur research was aim to investigate the effect of microRNA-328 (miR-328) on proliferation of chronic myeloid leukemia(CML) cell K562 and the mediated effect of C/EBPα.

METHODSThe eukaryotic expression vectors of miR-328 targeting gene and suppressor gene (hsa-miR-328 and hsa-miR-328-inhibitor) were constructed, and transfected into K562 cells respectively. The mRNA expression levels of miR-328 and C/EBP α were detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative RT-PCR; C/EBP α protein expression was detected by Western blot; CCK-8 was used to estimate the cell viability.

RESULTSThe recombinant genes of hsa-miR-328 and hsa-miR-328-inhibitor were successfully constructed and transfected into K562 cells. Fluorescent cells were observed after 24 h, and the visible fluorescence cells were gradually increased after 48 h or 72 h, the miR-328 showed no effect on the mRNA expression of C/EBPα detected by RT-PCR. Meanwhile, miR-328 showed recovering effect on C/EBPα translation and inhibition of K562 cells proliferation.

CONCLUSIONmiR-328 has been successfully constructed and transfected into K562 cells, miR-328 inhibits the proliferation of K562 cells by up-regulation of C/EBPα.

CCAAT-Enhancer-Binding Protein-alpha ; Cell Proliferation ; Cell Survival ; Humans ; K562 Cells ; Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive ; MicroRNAs ; Transfection ; Up-Regulation

To investigate the associations between gene polymorphisms of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) and liver cirrhosis (LC) after hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. A case-control study was conducted in 243 patients with hepatitis B cirrhosis (HBV-LC, case group) and 486 HBV-infected subjects without LC (non-LC, control group) collected from January 2018 to September 2020 at the Changsha Central Hospital Affiliated to Nanhua University. Three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of STAT3 gene, including rs4796793C>G, rs2293152C>G, and rs1053004T>C were selected through literature and biological information database, and the genotypes were detected by real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR (RFQ-PCR). The distribution differences of STAT3 SNPs genotypes between the two groups were compared using Chi-square test and haplotype analysis was conducted by Shesis online. The proportion of HBV C genotype in HBV-LC patients was significantly higher than that in the control group (80.91% vs. 70.79%, χ²=7.109, P=0.008), while the logarithm of ALT was significantly lower than that of the control group (1.78±0.43 vs. 1.95±0.54, t=3.801, P=0.000). The genotypes distributions of rs4796793, rs2293152, and rs1053004 were not significantly different between HBV-LC and non-LC in overall analysis and stratified analysis by gender (χ²=2.610, 1.505, 0.586, 2.653, 2.685, 1.583, 0.351, 5.388, 0.339, respectively, P>0.05 for each). Among the subjects infected with HBV genotype C, rs1053004 CC (vs. TT) significantly increased the risk of HBV-LC [odds ratio (OR) = 1.40, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.03-1.91]. Among the HBV-infected subjects with HBeAg negative, rs4796793 GG genotype (vs. CC) and G allele (vs. C) significantly increased the risks of HBV-LC (OR = 2.17, 95%CI: 1.11-4.23; OR = 1.45, 95%CI: 1.06-1.97, respectively). Haplotypes analysis showed that the frequency of haplotype C-G-T composed of rs4796793, rs2293152, and rs1053004 was significantly lower in HBV-LC than that in the control group (non-LC) (27.3% vs. 35.6%, χ²=9.949, P = 0.001). The correlation between STAT3 and HBV-LC is different in HBV-infected subjects with different infection status. The HBV-infected subjects carrying haplotype rs4796793C-rs2293152G-rs1053004T of STAT3 gene have significantly decreased risk of LC.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/genetics* ; Case-Control Studies ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Genotype ; Hepatitis B virus/genetics* ; Hepatitis B, Chronic/genetics* ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis/genetics* ; Liver Neoplasms/genetics* ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; STAT3 Transcription Factor/genetics*

Acetyl-CoA Carboxylase ; metabolism ; Cell Line ; Curcumin ; pharmacology ; Hepatocytes ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Humans

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and hypoxia-inducible factor 1(HIF-1) α in psoriatic lesions,and to explore their relationship with angiogenesis in psoriasis. METHODS: HIF-1α and iNOS protein were detected by immunohistochemistry and Western blot in 32 cases of psoriasis and 20 healthy controls,and CD34 marking vascular endothelial cells were used to measure the microvascular density (MVD). RESULTS: The expressions of HIF-1α and iNOS protein were very weak in the control skin, but very strong in psoriatic lesions, which showed significant difference in the expressions of iNOS and HIF-1α between the psoriasis and the control group(P<0.05). Expression of HIF-1α (r=0.743, P<0.01) and iNOS (r=0.639,P<0.01) had positive correlation with MVD in psoriasis respectively. There was a positive correlation between iNOS and HIF-1α expression in psoriasis (r=0.717, P<0.01). CONCLUSION Both iNOS and HIF-1α have high expression in psoriasis and might play an important role in the genesis and development of psoriasis.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Biopsy ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit ; genetics ; metabolism ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neovascularization, Pathologic ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II ; genetics ; metabolism ; Psoriasis ; metabolism ; pathology ; Skin ; blood supply ; metabolism ; pathology ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of hypoxia inducible factor -1α (HIF-1α) small interfering RNA (siRNA) on the expression of HIF-1α and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in HaCaT cells under hypoxia. METHODS: HaCaT cells were divided into 4 groups: the normal control group (without any treatment), the hypoxia group (under hypoxia for 24 h), the liposome control group (HaCaT cells transfected with liposome before hypoxia treatment), the RNA interference group (HaCaT cells transfected with siRNA sequences then under hypoxia for 24 h). Real-time PCR and Western blot were utilized to determine HIF-1α and iNOS mRNA and protein expression in HaCaT cells. RESULTS: There was no significant difference of the mRNA expression of HIF-1α between the hypoxia group and the normoxia group (P>0.05), but the protein expressions of HIF-1α was increased in the hypoxic group than that in the normoxia group (P<0.05). Both the mRNA and protein expression of iNOS were increased in hypoxic conditions than that in the normoxia (P<0.05). Decreases were more significant in the mRNA and protein expression of HIF-1α and iNOS in the RNA interference group than that in the liposome control group in HaCaT cells (P<0.05). CONCLUSION Hypoxia increased HIF-1α and iNOS expression in HaCaT cells and inhibition of HIF-1α expression decreased iNOS expression.
Cell Hypoxia ; Cell Line ; Humans ; Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit ; genetics ; metabolism ; Keratinocytes ; cytology ; metabolism ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II ; genetics ; metabolism ; RNA Interference ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; metabolism ; RNA, Small Interfering ; genetics