Objective: To investigate the inlfuence of angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) on lectin-like oxidized low density lipoprotein receptor-1 (LOX-1) protein expression and to explore the protective effect of ACE2 on vascular endothelial cells. Methods: Our work includedin vitro andin vivo studies. For in vitro experiment, the human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) were cultured and transfected with replication deficient recombinant adenovirus of ACE2 (Ad-ACE2), and LOX-1 protein expression stimulated by angiotensin 2 was examined by Western blot analysis. Forin vivo study, atherosclerosis plaques were induced in 20 apolipoprotein E-deifcient (ApoE-/-) mice, and then randomly divided them into 2 groups: ACE2 group, the mice received Ad-ACE2 (2.5×109 pfu/ml) injection through caudal vein, EGFP (enhanced green lfuorescent protein) group, the mice received equal replication deifcient recombinant adenovirus of EGFP (Ad-EGFP) injection through caudal vein.n=10 in each group. The animals were executed after 1 month treatment to collect abdominal aorta. Lipid content in atherosclerosis plaque was evaluated by Oil red O staining and LOX-1 protein expression was examined by immunohistochemistry and Western blot analysis. Results: Bothin vitro andin vivo experiments conifrmed that endothelial cell LOX-1 protein expression was signiifcantly inhibited by ACE2 transfection. The lipid content in ACE2 group was obviously lower than that in EGFP group byin vivo study. Conclusion: ACE2 may inhibit LOX-1 protein expression and therefore reduce the progress of atherosclerosis.

BACKGROUND: The participation of laboratories in external quality assessment (EQA) programs is required for the quality assurance of nucleic acid amplification of Chlamydia trachomatis. This study aimed to construct a new quality control (QC) material applicated in EQA of C. trachomatis PCR. METHODS: A QC material-HTB-SiHa cells transfected with a recombinant plasmid containing the cryptic plasmid sequence-was constructed for C. trachomatis PCR detection, and four different panels, each consisting of 4 positive samples with serial dilution of the constructed QC material and 1 negative sample, were distributed by the National Center for Clinical Laboratories among four groups of 275, 268, 317, and 304 participants across China from 2011 through 2012. A total of eight commercial kits were used for C. trachomatis PCR detection in participants. RESULTS: Nine laboratories reported false-positive results (0.9%). As the series dilution increased, the correct reporting of the data sets decreased; the lowest correct rate was 96.3% in the weakest positive samples (104 copies/mL). Eight laboratories reported false-positive results, and 42 laboratories reported false-negative results in the EQA detection of C. trachomatis. No significant differences were observed in the detection of the constructed C. trachomatis positive samples (97.9%, 98.5%, 100%, 98.5%; P=0.36) and negative samples (100%, 99.0%, 100%, 99.0%; P=0.764) using four commercial kits commonly used in China. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the EQA study indicated that the constructed material provides a noninfectious, stable control material with sufficient volume for PCR detection of C. trachomatis.
Cell Line ; Chlamydia Infections/diagnosis ; Chlamydia trachomatis/*genetics ; DNA, Bacterial/*analysis ; False Negative Reactions ; Humans ; Laboratories/*standards ; Plasmids/genetics/*metabolism ; Polymerase Chain Reaction/*standards ; Quality Control ; Reagent Kits, Diagnostic

Objective To investigate the association between arterial stiffness of the common carotid artery(CCA)and insulin resistance in hemodialysis patients. Methods Arterial stiffness index β of CCA was evaluated by an ultrasonic phase-lock Echo-tracking system in 80stable non-diabetic hemodialysis patients.Insulin resistance was detected by the homeostasis model assessment method(HOMA-IR).Plasma hemoglobin,serum albumin,total cholesterol,high density lipoprotein,low density lipoprotein,triglyceride,lipoprotein(a),ApoA1,ApoB,CRP,calcium,phosphorus and creatinine were determined by standard methods. Results The stiffness index β was 11.41±4.13 in patients with previous cardiovascular disease(CVD)and 9.75±3.63 in those without CVD(P＜0.05).The stiffness index β was positively correlated with HOMA-IR(r=0.321,P＜0.01),as well as with age(r=0.376,P＜0.01),pulse pressure(r=0.267,P＜0.05),and duration of hemodialysis(r=0.219,P＜0.05).In stepwise multiple regression analysis,HOMA-IR(β=0.228,P＜0.05)and age(β=0.308,P＜0.01)were identified as significant independent variables for stiffness index β of CCA. Conclusions Insulin resistance is associated with aaefial stiffness in nondiabetic hemodialysis patients.The increased arterial stiffness may be the link between insulin resistance and cardiovascular morbidity as well as mortality in hemodialysis patients.

Objective To study the protective effect and related mechanism of pterostilbene(PTE)on renal ischemia-reperfusion injury(IRI)in mice.Methods Twenty-four C57 mice were randomly divided into 4 groups(n=6),including the sham operation group(S group),the renal ischemia reperfusion group(IR group),the renal ischemia reperfusion+5 mg/kg PTE group(IR+PTE1 group)and the renal ischemia reper-fusion+10 mg/kg PTE group(IR+PTE2 group).Hematoxylin-eosin(HE)and TUNEL staining were used to evaluate renal tissue injury.Creatinine(Cr),blood urea nitrogen(BUN),malondialdehyde(MDA)in renal tissue,inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor(TNF-α),interleukin(IL)-1β and IL-6 levels in serum were detected with relevant kits.The expression of Bcl-2 interacting protein 3(BNIP3)and microtubule-asso-ciated protein light chain(LC)-3 Ⅱ in kidney tissue was detected by Western blot.Results Compared with the S group,serum levels of Cr,BUN,MDA,TNF-α,IL-1β and IL-6 in the IR group were increased,renal tu-bule injury score and apoptosis index were increased,and expressions of BNIP3 and LC-3 Ⅱ were down-regula-ted,with statistical significance(P＜0.05).Compared with the IR group,serum levels of Cr,BUN,MDA,TNF-α,IL-1β and IL-6 in the IR+PTE1 group were decreased,renal tubule injury score and apoptosis index were decreased,and expressions of BNIP3 and LC-3 Ⅱ were up-regulated,with statistical significance(P＜0.05).Compared with the IR+PTE1 group,serum levels of Cr,BUN,MDA,TNF-α,IL-1β and IL-6 in the IR+PTE2 group were decreased,renal tubule injury score and apoptosis index were decreased,and expres-sions of BNIP3 and LC-3 Ⅱ were up-regulated,with statistical significance(P＜0.05).Conclusion PTE has protective effect on renal IRI in mice.

were no significant differences in the detection rate of recto-sigmoid colon,mid colon,right colon and total detection of polyps among the 3 groups (P >0.05).Conclusion 4-L split-dose PEG is better than the oth-er 2 regimens in the colon cleansing quality,so it can better reach the intestinal cleaning standards before enteroscopy,which is a more suitable regimen for bowel preparation.

Objective To investigate the correlations of serum Apelin-13 and fatty acid binding protein 4(FABP4)levels with metabolic and bone metabolic indicators in postmenopausal women with different bone mass.Methods A total of 145 postmenopausal women were selected as subjects and divided into three groups based on bone mineral density(BMD)test results:normal bone mass group(49 cases),osteopenia(ON)group(51 cases),and osteoporosis(OP)group(45 cases).Se-rum Apelin-13,FABP4 levels,bone metabolic indicators,and biochemical indicators were measured and compared among the three groups.Spearman correlation analysis was used to analyze the correla-tions of Apelin-13,FABP4,and other indicators with BMD.Multivariate Logistic regression analysis was performed to analyze the risk factors for OP,and the receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve was plotted to analyze the predictive value of serum Apelin-13 for postmenopausal osteoporosis(PMOP).Results The serum Apelin-13 level in the OP group was lower than that in the ON group and the normal bone mass group(P＜0.05).No significant difference in serum FABP4 levels was found among the three groups(P＞0.05).The levels of serum parathyroid hormone(PTH),alkaline phosphatase(ALP),type Ⅰ procollagen amino-terminal propeptide(PⅠNP),type Ⅰ collagen cross-linked C-terminal peptide(CTX Ⅰ),and bone-specific alkaline phosphatase(BALP)in the OP group were higher than those in the ON group and the normal bone mass group(P＜0.05).Lumbar post-menopause BMD was positively correlated with serum Apelin-13 levels(P＜0.05),but had no cor-relation with serum FABP4 levels(P＞0.05).Lumbar BMD was negatively correlated with serum PTH,ALP,P Ⅰ NP,CTX Ⅰ,BALP,and age(P＜0.05),but positively correlated with body weight,body mass index,T-score,fasting insulin,and insulin resistance index(P＜0.05).Multi-variate Logistic regression analysis showed that serum Apelin-13,PTH,ALP,P Ⅰ NP,CTX Ⅰ,and BALP levels were independent factors influencing the occurrence of OP in postmenopausal women(P＜0.05).ROC curve results showed that the optimal cut-off value of serum Apelin-13 for predic-ting PMOP was 18.51 pg/mL,with an area under the curve of 0.716,a sensitivity of 70.0％,and a specificity of 64.4％.Conclusion Apelin-13 is lowly expressed in the serum of PMOP patients,and its expression level is closely related to lumbar BMD,which may serve as an early screening in-dicator and potential therapeutic target for PMOP.

OBJECTIVE: To detect potential variant in an ethical Han Chinese pedigree affected with breast cancer. METHODS: The proband and her relatives were subjected to next-generation sequencing using a target capture sequencing kit containing 121 cancer-related genes. Candidate variants were selected by analysis of their type, frequency in population, and segregation with the phenotype. Candidate variant was verified by Sanger sequencing and TA cloning. RESULTS: A c.2013_2014ins GT variant was detected in the BRCA1 gene among all breast cancer patients from this pedigree but not among healthy females. The variant was not recorded in the 1000 Genome Project database or the Exome Aggregation Consortium (ExAC) database. The frameshifting insertion was predicted to form an premature stop codon in gene transcript and can give rise to a truncated protein. CONCLUSION The BRCA1 c.2013_2014ins GT variant probably underlies the pathogenesis of breast cancer in this Chinese pedigree.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; BRCA1 Protein ; genetics ; Breast Neoplasms ; genetics ; Exome ; Female ; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing ; Humans ; Pedigree ; Phenotype

Objective To investigate the correlations of serum Apelin-13 and fatty acid binding protein 4(FABP4)levels with metabolic and bone metabolic indicators in postmenopausal women with different bone mass.Methods A total of 145 postmenopausal women were selected as subjects and divided into three groups based on bone mineral density(BMD)test results:normal bone mass group(49 cases),osteopenia(ON)group(51 cases),and osteoporosis(OP)group(45 cases).Se-rum Apelin-13,FABP4 levels,bone metabolic indicators,and biochemical indicators were measured and compared among the three groups.Spearman correlation analysis was used to analyze the correla-tions of Apelin-13,FABP4,and other indicators with BMD.Multivariate Logistic regression analysis was performed to analyze the risk factors for OP,and the receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve was plotted to analyze the predictive value of serum Apelin-13 for postmenopausal osteoporosis(PMOP).Results The serum Apelin-13 level in the OP group was lower than that in the ON group and the normal bone mass group(P＜0.05).No significant difference in serum FABP4 levels was found among the three groups(P＞0.05).The levels of serum parathyroid hormone(PTH),alkaline phosphatase(ALP),type Ⅰ procollagen amino-terminal propeptide(PⅠNP),type Ⅰ collagen cross-linked C-terminal peptide(CTX Ⅰ),and bone-specific alkaline phosphatase(BALP)in the OP group were higher than those in the ON group and the normal bone mass group(P＜0.05).Lumbar post-menopause BMD was positively correlated with serum Apelin-13 levels(P＜0.05),but had no cor-relation with serum FABP4 levels(P＞0.05).Lumbar BMD was negatively correlated with serum PTH,ALP,P Ⅰ NP,CTX Ⅰ,BALP,and age(P＜0.05),but positively correlated with body weight,body mass index,T-score,fasting insulin,and insulin resistance index(P＜0.05).Multi-variate Logistic regression analysis showed that serum Apelin-13,PTH,ALP,P Ⅰ NP,CTX Ⅰ,and BALP levels were independent factors influencing the occurrence of OP in postmenopausal women(P＜0.05).ROC curve results showed that the optimal cut-off value of serum Apelin-13 for predic-ting PMOP was 18.51 pg/mL,with an area under the curve of 0.716,a sensitivity of 70.0％,and a specificity of 64.4％.Conclusion Apelin-13 is lowly expressed in the serum of PMOP patients,and its expression level is closely related to lumbar BMD,which may serve as an early screening in-dicator and potential therapeutic target for PMOP.

With the intensive aging of the population, it's imperative and important to train a number of geriatric specialists. Essential clinical knowledge and skills as well as accomplishment of medical humanistic spirit are core competences of an eligible geriatrician. The standardized training of geriatric specialists is facing a few challenges such as incomplete comprehension of the training program and trainees, a lack of enough trainees, and a lack of standardized management for the program. An efficient social support system, a normative educational training system, an effective supervision and evaluation system, first-class teaching staff, and qualified trainees are important guarantees for the standardized training program.

Objective:To establish the sex-, age-and season-specific (month) reference intervals (RI) for thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) measurement by big data and indirect method in adults.Methods:TSH data of anonymous patients were collected from Beijing Chaoyang Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University in 2016, the data were selected and outliers were removed. Indirect methods (Hoffmann method and Bhattacharya method) were used to calculate TSH reference intervals of whole population, different genders, ages and seasons (months). TSH RI from two indirect methods of total population, selected population, physical examination population was compared with RI from reagent instruction according to reference change value ( RCV) based on biological variability. Results:A total of 61 599 records were obtained from 90 699 records including 18 776 males and 42 823 females. The TSH RI were obtained by Hoffmann method: the whole population, 0.59-5.59 μIU/ml (1 μIU/ml=1 mIU/L), male, 0.53-5.16 μIU/ml, female, 0.59-6.11 μIU/ml. The upper limits of TSH RI were higher with age and in winter (January): 18-30 years old, 0.62-5.57 μIU/ml, 71-80 years old, 0.49-6.45 μIU/ml; January, 0.59-6.40 μIU/ml, August, 0.60-5.56 μIU/ml; The RI of TSH by Bhattacharya method: the whole population, 0.58-5.80 μIU/ml, male, 0.55-5.02 μIU/ml, female, 0.62-6.21 μIU/ml. The upper limits of TSH RI were also higher with age and in winter (January): 18-30 years old, 0.65-5.67 μIU/ml, 71-80 years old, 0.46-5.99 μIU/ml, January: 0.61-6.52 μIU/ml, August: 0.61-5.69 μIU/ml. Compared to RI from reagent instruction, the differences of TSH RI from two indirect methods of total population, selected population, physical examination population were acceptable.Conclusions:TSH RI was established by indirect method. With the increase of age and winter, the upper limit of TSH reference interval tends to increase.