Objective To measure the serum levels of vitamin D,total immunoglobulin E (tIgE),interleukin-4 (IL-4) and IL-6 in patients with atopic dermatitis (AD),to evaluate the association between vitamin D and severity of AD,and to investigate the role of vitamin D in inflammatory and immunoregulatory processes during the occurrence of AD.Methods Peripheral blood samples were collected from 37 patients with AD (AD group) and 30 healthy controls (control group).The serum levels of vitamin D,tIgE,and IL-6 were measured by chemiluminescent sandwich enzyme immunoassay,and those of IL-4 by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.The severity of AD was assessed by the SCORing atopic dermatitis (SCORAD) score.The t test or Mann-Whitney U test was performed to assess the differences in vitamin D,tIgE,IL-4 and IL-6 levels between the AD group and control group,chi-square test to compare the proportion of patients with vitamin D deficiency,insufficiency and sufficiency,and Pearson's correlation analysis or Spearman's correlation analysis to evaluate the correlations between the SCORAD score and serum levels of vitamin D,tIgE,IL-4 and IL-6.Results Compared with the control group,the AD group showed significantly decreased serum levels of vitamin D (24.77 ± 9.29 vs.28.98 ± 6.87 μg/L,t =2.015,P =0.048),but significantly increased serum levels of tIgE (137.68 [37.59-414.53] vs.45.16 [14.56-112.12] IU/ml,Z =-3.399,P =0.001),IL-4 (8.86 ± 4.83 vs.4.78 ± 3.07 ng/L,t =4.147,P ＜ 0.001) and IL-6 (6.53 [3.99-15.30] vs.4.58[2.85-8.17] ng/L,Z =-2.173,P =0.030).Among patients with AD,the SCORAD score was negatively correlated with serum levels of vitamin D (r =-0.505,P =0.001),positively correlated with those of tIgE (r =0.531,P =0.001) and IL-4 (r =0.519,P =0.001),but uncorrelated with those of IL-6 (r =-0.139,P =0.411).There were significant differences in the proportion of patients with vitamin D deficiency,insufficiency and sufficiency between the AD group and control group (x2 =8.762,P =0.013).AD patients with vitamin D deficiency showed significantly increased serum levels of tIgE (2846.87 [319.02-7300.00] IU/ml) and IL-4 ([16.37-2.05] ng/L) compared with those with vitamin D insufficiency (110.07 [26.20-501.48] IU/ml,P =0.045;[8.28 ± 4.48] ng/L,P =0.011) and those with vitamin D sufficiency (123.93 [91.61-273.68] IU/ml,P =0.024;[8.00 ± 4.63] ng/L,P =0.041).In addition,serum levels of IL-6 were also higher in patients with vitamin D deficiency than in those with vitamin D sufficiency (15.10 [8.49-30.72] vs.6.22 [4.47-9.47] ng/L,P =0.011].Conclusions Vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency exists in patients with AD.Vitamin D deficiency is correlated with high serum levels of tIgE,IL-4 and IL-6,and the severity of AD is closely correlated with increased serum levels of tIgE and IL-6 as well as decreased serum levels of vitamin D.

Objective To investigate the clinical value of the peripheral blood monocyte human leukocyte antigen-DR (mHLA-DR) for assessment of degree of severity and the diagnosis of acute pancreatitis (AP). Methods A case-control study was conducted. Eighty-six AP patients admitted to Shandong Liaocheng People's Hospital from June 2014 to May 2015 were enrolled. Patients were classified into four groups [mild (n = 33), moderate (n = 25), severe (n = 16), critical (n = 12)] according to the disease classification. Eighty healthy persons subjected to physical examination center of our hospital at the same time were served as controls. Acute physiology and chronic health evaluation Ⅱ (APACHE Ⅱ) scores in patients were estimated. Flow cytometry was used to measure the expression of the peripheral blood mHLA-DR, and the Pearson method was used to analyze the relationship between the level of mHLA-DR and the APACHE Ⅱ score. The receiver-operating characteristic curve (ROC) was plotted, and then the clinical value of the peripheral blood mHLA-DR was analyzed for the diagnostic value in AP patients. Results The expression of the mHLA-DR in patients with AP was significantly lower than that of healthy control group [(63.7±18.6)% vs. (86.4±8.3)%, t = 5.319, P < 0.001]. The expression levels of the mHLA-DR in mild group, moderate group, severe group, and critical group were (79.6±6.5)%, (66.4±9.4)%, (49.9±8.1)%, (32.5±12.0)%, respectively, and the APACHE Ⅱ score were 4.67±1.99, 5.88±2.05, 9.06±2.62, 12.33±3.96, respectively. Pair wise comparisons were statistically significant (all P < 0.05). The HLA-DR expression level in the peripheral blood of patients with AP was negatively correlated with the APACHE Ⅱ score (r = -0.695, P < 0.001). The area under the ROC curve (AUC) of mHLA-DR expression in peripheral blood for AP was 0.894 [95% confidence interval (95%CI) = 0.847-0.941, P < 0.001], and the cut-off point was 84.40%, with the sensitivity of 75.0%, the specificity of 90.7%, and the accuracy rate of 83.1%. The AUC of mHLA-DR expression for mild AP was 0.938 (95%CI = 0.889-0.987, P < 0.001), and the cut-off point was 72.70%, with the sensitivity of 87.9%, the specificity of 88.7%, and the accuracy rate of 88.4%. The AUC of mHLA-DR expression for severe and critical AP was 0.943 (95%CI = 0.881-1.005, P < 0.001), and the cut-off point was 57.85%, with the sensitivity of 84.0%, the specificity of 96.4%, and the accuracy rate of 90.6%. Conclusions The expression levels of the peripheral blood mHLA-DR in AP patients can reflect the degree of disease, and contribute to the diagnosis of AP. The value of mHLA-DR may be used as a new biological indicator in the diagnosis and assessment for the severity of AP.

Objective To investigate the relationship between plasma albumin and hemoglobin(Hb) levels and prognosis in patients with severe craniocerebral trauma. Methods The clinical data of 124 patients with severe craniocerebral trauma form January 2010 to January 2014 were analyzed retrospectively. The relationship between plasma albumin and Hb levels and prognosis were analyzed. Hb level was obtained in 3 days of admission, and then the patients were divided into Hb <90 g/L group, Hb 90-99 g/L group, Hb 100-110 g/L group, Hb >110 g/L group, and also were albumin <25 g/L group, albumin 25-28 g/L, albumin 29-31 g/L group, albumin>31 g/L group according to the mean albumin level. Multifactor Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the relationship between Hb, albumin levels and prognosis. Results Among 124 patients, 37 patients (29.8%) were given red blood cell (RBC) transfusion, and 28 patients (22.6%) received albumin treatment. The hospital mortality was 20.2% (25/124). The age, scores of Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation Ⅱ (APACHE Ⅱ ), and hospital mortality in different Hb level groups had no significant differences (P>0.05). The age, scores of GCS score and APACHEⅡ score in different albumin level groups had no significant differences (P>0.05), but the hospital mortality in different albumin level groups had significant difference: 31.2%(10/32), 24.2%(8/33), 9.7%(3/31), 14.3%(4/28), P<0.05. Multifactor Logistic regression analysis showed that albumin level was the relevant factor for the severe craniocerebral trauma (P<0.01), the hospital mortality was decreased with the rising of the albumin level, but the risk of death was higher in albumin>31 g/L group than that in albumin 29-31 g/L group. Conclusions 29-31 g/L albumin level is the best for severe craniocerebral trauma patients. There is no significant impact of Hb on the prognosis for severe craniocerebral trauma patients.

Objective To study the protective mechanism of astragaloside on skin photoaging. Methods BALB/c mice were randomly divided into four groups: model group irradiated with ultraviolet rays (UV), model plus matrix group pretreated with the matrix before UV irradiation, model plus astragaloside group pretreated with astragaloside 0.08% cream before UV irradiation, normal control group received no irradiation or pretreatment. After 4-week irradiation, the mice were sacrificed, and skin tissues were resected from the back of these mice. Then, reverse transeription PCR (RT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry were performed to detect the mRNA and protein expression of TGF-βR Ⅱ and Smad 7, respectively. Gray scale ratio was used to represent the mRNA levels of TGF-βR Ⅱ and Smad 7. Results There was a significant difference in the mRNA level (F = 80.98, 736.80, respectively, both P < 0.01) and protein positivity rate (F = 45.36,132.25, respectively,both P < 0.01) of TGF-βR Ⅱ and Smad 7 among the 4 groups. The mRNA level and protein positivity rate of TGF-βR Ⅱwere 0.2588±0.0283 and (28.20 ± 5.24)% respectively in the model group, significantly lower than those in the normal control group[0.5688 ± 0.0439, (53.00 ± 4.72)%, both P < 0.01] and model plus astragaloside group [0.3767 ± 0.0374, (41.64 ± 2.59)%, both P< 0.01]; on the contrary, the mRNA level and protein positivity rate of Smad 7 in the model group [0.8637 ± 0.0514, (82.06 ± 2.18)%] were significantly higher than those in the normal control group [0.5900 ± 0.0585, (47.50±3.81)%, both P < 0.01] and model plus astragaloside group [0.7131 ± 0.0410, (64.36 ± 2.62)%, both P< 0.01]. In the model plus astragaloside group, the mRNA level and protein positivity rate of TGF-βR Ⅱ were significantly higher than in the model plus matrix group [0.2653 ± 0.0456, (28.74 ± 2.28)%, both P < 0.01], while those of Smad 7 were statistically lower than in the model plus matrix group [0.8553 ± 0.0575, (82.62 ± 4.02)%, both P < 0.01]. However,no significant difference was observed in the mRNA level or protein positivity rate of TGF-βR Ⅱ or Smad 7 between the model group and model plus matrix group (all P > 0.01). Conclusion Astragaloside can prevent skin photoaging by the alteration of TGF-β pathway via up-regulating TGF-βR Ⅱ expression and down-regulating Smad 7 expression.

Objective To investigate the expression of Golgi phosphoprotein 3 (GOLPH3) at protein and mRNA levels in serous epitheial ovarian carcinoma and its significance.Methods The expression of GOLPH3 at protein and mRNA levels were evaluaed by Western blot and Real time RT-PCR,respectively,in 42 cases of serous epithelium ovarian carcinoma,14 cases of benign serous ovarian tumors and 7 cases of normal ovarian epithelium tissues.Results GOLPH3 mRNA was significantly higher from 2.97 to 7.04 fold in ovarian serous cystadenocarcinoma tissues compared with ovarian serous carcinoma tissues (P ＜ 0.05).There was no positive expression of GOLPH3 protein in normal ovarian epithelium tissues.GOLPH3 protein positive expression rate was higher in ovarian serous cystadenocarcinoma (73.81 ％) than that in ovarian serous carcinoma (35.71％) (P ＜ 0.01).GOLPH3 protein was correlated with the pathologic differentiation (P =0.019),the FIGO stage (P =0.042),and lymphatic metastasis (P =0.000),but was not associated with age (P =0,881).The positive rate and overexpression of GOLPH3 in poor differentiated grade group were higher than that in well and middle differentiated grade group (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions GOLPH3 may play an important role on the development of ovarian serous cystadenocarcinoma,and may be a potential target of gene therapy.

BACKGROUND: Previous animal studies demonstrated that bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells could differentiate into nerve cells under a certain condition; however, the clinical application for treating nervous system disease has been less reported. OBJECTIVE: To observe a short-term effect of autologous bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell transplantation on treating cerebral hemorrhage.METHODS: A total of 32 patients with cerebral hemorrhage who were selected from the Department of Neurosurgery, Liaocheng Brain Hospital between November 2007 and January 2009 were considered as a treatment group. According to general data and the amount of hematoma, they were treated by drilling drainage or hematoma evacuation. Drainage tubes were detained into hematoma cavity, and 3.5 mL autologous bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell suspension was injected through drainage tube. A total of 40 additional patients who did not treated with stem cell transplantation were considered as a control group. Neurologic impairment (NIHSS) and activities of daily living (Barthel index) were performed before and 6 months after transplantation; meanwhile, the brain MRI, serum biochemical and tumor marker were evaluated to detect security of stem cell transplantation. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The NIHSS score and Barthel index in the treatment group were similar to those in the control group before transplantation. Compared with control group, NIHSS scores were significantly decreased in the treatment group (P < 0.01), but Barthel index was significantly increased 6 months after transplantation (P < 0.01). Compared with before transplantation, NIHSS score were significantly decreased (P < 0.01), but Barthel index was significantly increased in the treatment group 6 months after transplantation (P < 0.01). Two patients in the treatment group had febrile, which was recovered after treatment. The following-up 6 months after transplantation demonstrated that brain MRI and biochemical indicators were normal except an increasing of CA-153 caused by lung cancer in one patient. The autologous bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell transplantation for treatment of cerebral hemorrhage is safe and effective in a short-term period; however the long-term effect still needs to be further studied.

Objective To investigate the recent efficacy and safety of autologous bone marrow stem cells transplantation in treatment of early spinal cord injury. Methods 51 cases of early spinal cord injury admitted to Liaocheng People Hospital from 2007.11 to 2009.8 were enrolled in this study. In transplantation group, 24 patients were treated by subarachnoid space injection with autologous bone marrow stem cell transplantation. The patients who were not transplanted in the same period of hospitalization were selected as control group. Motor and sensory function ( AISA score) was assessed at 1, 3, 6 months before and after transplantation in two groups patients. And blood routine, clotting mechanisms, biochemical items andtunor markers were determined in followed up. Results After one month of transplantation, two groups ofpatients had recovered in motor and sensory function to some degree. After three months of transplantation,there was significant different between transplantation group and control group in sensory function recovery (P < 0. 05 ). After 6 months of transplantation, there were significant different between transplant group and control group in motor and sensory function recovery (P<0.05). Blood examination results did not show markedly abnormal in followed -up patientsConclusion The safety and recent effect of autologous bone marrow stem cells transplantation in treatment of early spinal cord injury were satisfied, but the long - term effect was still unclear.

AIM:To explore the role of sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) in the dysfunction of vascular endo-thelial cells exposed to high glucose.METHODS: In human aortic endothelial cells cultured under high-glucose ( 22 mmol/L glucose) medium, nitric oxide ( NO) level, polymorphonuclear neutrophil-endothelial cell adhesion rate, protein level of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 ( ICAM-1) , migration of endothelial cells and Akt/endothelial nitric oxide syn-thase ( eNOS) pathway activation were observed after S1P, sphingosine kinase-1 inhibitor and/or Akt inhibitor treatments. RESULTS:S1P decreased NO level, increased polymorphonuclear neutrophil adhesive rate, enhanced ICAM-1 protein level, and inhibited migration of endothelial cells and activation of Akt/eNOS pathway in endothelial cells cultured under high-glucose condition.Sphingosine kinase-1 inhibitor, which reduced S1P content, significantly improved the above endo-thelial cell function indexes and restored the activation of Akt/eNOS pathway.CONCLUSION: S1P promoted high glu-cose-induced dysfunction of endothelial cells probably by inhibiting the activation of Akt/eNOS signal pathway.Targeting S1P is expected to become one of potential treatment strategies to reduce endothelial cell dysfunction.

Objective To observe the effect of peripheral blood microRNA-182 (miR-182) combined with interleukin-17 (IL-17) in the early diagnosis of cerebral infarction (CI) in patients with eclampsia. Methods A prospective non-randomized controlled study was conducted. The patients with eclampsia admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) of Liaocheng People's Hospital from January 1st, 2013 to September 30th 2016 were enrolled. Cerebral imaging was conducted in 7 days after admission to make a definite diagnosis of the occurrence of CI, excluding patients with cerebral hemorrhage. Patients were divided into CI group and non-CI group. Twenty healthy women of childbearing age were selected as control group. Peripheral venous blood of all patients with eclampsia at 1 day after admission, the expression of miR-182 was detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR), regulatory T cells (Treg) and T helper 17 cells (Th17) ratio was detected by flow cytometry, and the level of plasma IL-17 was detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Pearson method was used to analyze the correlation between the indexes. The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was used to analyze the diagnostic value of each index for CI in patients with eclampsia. Results In the 30 patients with eclampsia, there were 13 cases of CI, including 10 case of cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) and 3 cases of arterial thrombus; 17 cases of non-CI, including 15 cases of reversible posterior leukoencephalopathy syndrome (RPLS) and 2 cases without obvious abnormalities. Compared with control group, the levels of miR-182, Th17% and IL-17 in non-CI group and CI group were significantly higher, and the Treg% was significantly lower. The levels of parameters mentioned above were further increased in CI group than those in non-CI group [miR-182 (2-ΔΔCt): 2.35±0.79 vs. 1.75±0.56, Th17%: (5.16±1.89)% vs. (3.93±1.92)%, IL-17 (ng/L):37.45±6.20 vs. 26.65±5.13, all P < 0.05]. Pearson correlation analysis showed that miR-182 was positively correlated with Th17% and IL-17 (r1 = 0.761, r2 = 0.842, both P < 0.01). ROC curves showed that when the cut-off value of miR-182 was 2.88, the diagnosis sensitivity of preeclampsia CI was 84.6%, the specificity was 82.4%, and area under the ROC curve (AUC) was 0.816 [95%CI confidence interval (95%CI) = 0.641-0.992]; when cut-off value of IL-17 was 34.44 ng/L, diagnosis of preeclampsia CI the sensitivity was 71.5%, the specificity was 85.3%, and AUC was 0.773 (95%CI = 0.602-0.945); when miR-182 was combined with IL-17, the diagnosis sensitivity was 92.3%, specificity was 83.6%, and AUC was 0.896 (95%CI = 0.759-1.032). Conclusions To some extent the expression of miR-182 and IL-17 in peripheral blood can predict the occurrence of CI in early stage. When the two are used together, the predictive value is better.

OBJECTIVE: The periaqueductal gray matter (PAG), a small midbrain structure, presents dysfunction in migraine. However, the precise neurological mechanism is still not well understood. Herein, the aim of this study was to investigate the texture characteristics of altered PAG in episodic migraine (EM) patients based on high resolution brain structural magnetic resonance (MR) images. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The brain structural MR images were obtained from 18 normal controls (NC), 18 EM patients and 16 chronic migraine (CM) patients using a 3T MR system. A PAG template was created using the International Consortium Brain Mapping 152 gray matter model, and the individual PAG segment was developed by applying the deformation field from the structural image segment to the PAG template. A grey level co-occurrence matrix was used to calculate the texture parameters including the angular second moment (ASM), contrast, correlation, inverse difference moment (IDM) and entropy. RESULTS: There was a significant difference for ASM, IDM and entropy in the EM group (998.629 ± 0.162 × 10−3, 999.311 ± 0.073 × 10−3, 916.354 ± 0.947 × 10−5) compared to that found in the NC group (998.760 ± 0.110 × 10−3, 999.358 ± 0.037 × 10−3 and 841.198 ± 0.575 × 10−5) (p < 0.05). The entropy was significantly lower among the patients with CM (864.116 ± 0.571 × 10−5) than that found among patients with EM (p < 0.05). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.776 and 0.750 for ASM and entropy in the distinction of the EM from NC groups, respectively. ASM was negatively related to disease duration (DD) and the Migraine Disability Assessment Scale (MIDAS) scores in the EM group, and entropy was positively related to DD and MIDAS in the EM group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The present study identified altered MR image texture characteristics of the PAG in EM. The identified texture characteristics could be considered as imaging biomarkers for EM.
Biomarkers ; Brain ; Brain Mapping ; Entropy ; Gray Matter ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Mesencephalon ; Migraine Disorders ; Periaqueductal Gray ; ROC Curve