Objective To discuss fluvastatin intervention on ventricular remodeling and plasma brain natri-uretic peptide( BNP) levels in dilated cardiomyopathy( DCM) .Methods 64 cases of DCM patients were selected and randomly divided into the intervention group and control group,each group in 32 cases.Both groups were treated with conventional drug therapy, including angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors,β-blockers, diuretics, etc.In conven-tional drug treatment intervention group based on the use of fluvastatin 40mg/d.Intervention in both groups before and 6 months after the intervention,plasma BNP levels were examined and ventricular remodeling indicators,analyzed and compared using Pearson Univariate correlation of each index.Results The total efficiency of the intervention group was higher than that of the control group(87.51%vs 65.63%,χ2 =4.730,P<0.05);6 months after the interven-tion groups,plasma BNP levels were significantly decreased left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF),left ventricular end systolic diameter(LVESD),left ventricular end-diastolic diameter(LVEDD) and relative wall thickness(RWT) were significantly improvements.BNP levels and LVEF and RWT was negatively correlated( r=-0.45,-0.39,all P<0.05);Positively correlated with LVESD and LVEDD showed(r=0.35,0.44,all P<0.05),the difference was statistically significant.Conclusion Fluvastatin intervention can significantly reduce plasma BNP levels in DCM and improve ventricular remodeling.

Objective To study the changes of postprandial plasma C-reactive protein(CRP)concentrations after a high-fat meal (800 calorie;50g fat) in patients at high risk of cardiovascular event,and explore the influence of simvastatin on CRP concentration in very short time. Methods 70 patients at high risk of cardiovascular disease were randomly divided into two groups to accept either simvastatin (20mg/d) (SIM group, n=36)or placebo (ROU group, n=34) at the base of routine therapy. All patients received an oral high-fat meal at baseline and one week later. The concentrations of plasma triglyceride(TG), total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol and CRP in fasting state and at 4 hours postprandially were measured. Results The postprandial plasma TG and CRP concentrations increased significantly ( P

Objective To discuss the change of elasticity of common carotid artery(CCA) with velocity vector imaging(VVI) technique in perimenopausal women.Methods 68 women in perimenopausal period were divided into two groups:estrogen drop group(42 women) and normal control group(26 women) according to the level of estrogen in serum.All women were examined with color Doppler ultrasound,and the maximum time to peak of the velocity(VTTP),maximum velocity(Vmax),maximum radial strain (Smax),maximum strain rate(SRmax) and the change rate of area(ΔS) were measured and assessed in common carotid artery(CCA) including 6 segments:anterior wall,posterior wall,anterolateral wall,anterior internal wall,posterolateral wall and posterointernal wall.Results There were signicantly differences of the elastic parameters between two groups inculding VTTP,Smax and ΔS (P ＜0.01),and there were no statistical difference on the Vmax and SRmax in both two groups(P ＞0.05).Conclusions The change of elasticity in CCA can be observed susceptibly with VVI in perimenopausal women,and VVI is an effective and sensitive technique for detecting CCA elastic characteristics.

Objective To discuss the relationship between echogenicity and fat content in renal tumor.Methods 52 renal tumors were examined with preoperative ultrasonography,all tumors were 3 cm in diameter or less.The tumor echogenicity was classified as echogenicity increasement type (including hyperechoic and slightly hyperechoic) and echogenicity decreasement type (hypoechoic).The relationship between echogenicity and adipose staining in tumor were analyzed.Results In 18 cases pathologically proved benign renal tumor,14(77.8 ％) of the tumors were hyperechoic and were angiomyolipoma(AMLs),4(22.2％) of the tumors were hypoechoic including 2 poor fat AMLs and 2 rare benign tumors,slightly hyperechoic case was not detected.In 34 cases malignant renal tumors,27(79.4％) of the tumors were slightly hyperechoic including 22 clear cell renal cell carcinomas (RCCAs) and 5 papillary RCCAs,7 (20.6％) of the tumors were hypoechoic including 2 clear cell RCCAs,3 papillary RCCAs and 2 chromophobe RCCAs.Hyperechoic case was not detected.The adipose staining of 41 cases of echogenicity increasement type was all positive,in the 11 cases of echogenicity decreasement type,9 tumors were adipose staining negative,while the other 2 tumors were positive,and there were statistically significant between two groups (P ＜0.05).Conclusions Echogenicity was obviously correlate with fat content in renal tumor.Tumors containing rich fat appear to be increased in echogenicity,tumors without fat content appear to be decreased in echogenicity.

Objective To study the clinical significance ofneutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), which in serial plasma and urine samples was measured in participants with lupus nephritis (LN)and healthy persons. Methods NGAL in serial plasma and urine samples was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (EL.ISA) in 35 patients with LN by 1997 ACR systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)standard with varied degree of kidney damage and 30 healthy persons with matching sex and age in physical examination center. Disease activity was measured by the SLE disease activity index (SLEDAI-2K),and 35LN patients were classified in active group and (25 cases) non-active group (10 cases) according to the SLEDAI-2K. Results Urinary NGAL were significantly increased in LN patients [(78.94 ± 81.97) μg/L]compared with healthy persons[(28.50 ± 18.08) μ g/L] (P = 0.002). And urinary NGAL were significantly increased in active group [(92.90 ± 94.88) μg/L] compared with non-active group [(48.20 ± 24.77)μ g/L] (P = 0.049). NGAL in serial plasma had no statistically significant difference between active group and non-active group (P ＞0.05). Conclusions NGAL in urine but not in plasma represents a novel biomarker for renal disease activity in LN. The increase might be related to renal tubule pathological changes.

Objective To observe the changes of mRNA expression related to kidney yang deficiency and the ul-trastructure of hypothalamus in Lewis rats, and further study the constitution of kidney yang deficiency in Lewis rats.Meth-ods Ten 7-8-week old SPF male Lewis rats and twenty 7-8-week old SPF male Wistar rats were used in this study.The rats received subcutaneous injection of hydrocortisone to establish kidney yang deficiency model.The expressions of TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-10, CRH, MR and GR mRNA in the hypothalamus of the two groups were detected and the ultrastructural changes of hypothalamus and adrenal gland were observed to compare the differences between the two groups, and to ex-plore the mechanism of kidney yang deficiency constitution in the Lewis rats.Results Compared with the normal Wistar rats, the expressions of GR and IL-2 mRNA in the hypothalamus were significantly increased ( P<0.01 ) , while the ex-pressions of CRH, TNF-α, IFN-γand IL-10 mRNA were significantly decreased in the Lewis rats (P<0.01).The zona fasciculata of the adrenal cortex was slightly thinner, the mitochondria were slightly swollen and the amount of mitochondria was decreased.The nuclei of hypothalamic neurons were larger, and the mitochondria, neuron synapses and secretory vesi-cles in the presynaptic neurons were decreased.Conclusions There are abnormal expression of immune-related cytokines and CRH mRNA, and ultrastructural changes in the hypothalamus and adrenal gland of Lewis rats with kidney yang defi-ciency.Such changes may be related to the functional imbalance of the hypothalamus-pituitury-adrenal axis.

Background and purpose:Differentiation of tumor tissue is an important factor on determining the prognosis of gastric cancer. This study aimed to investigate the expression levels and clinical signiifcance of gender determining region Y-box 2 (SOX2) gene and octamer binding factor 4 (OCT4) gene in gastric cancer tissues varying different differentiation degrees. Methods: Sixty cases with gastric cancer were recruited in this study. The gastric cancer tissues and corresponding normal mucosa of the 60 cases were obtained. The mRNA and protein level of SOX2, OCT4 gene are evaluated by the quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), Western blot and immunohistochemistry, respectively. The relationship between the expression levels of SOX2, OCT4 gene and clinical pathological parameters were also analyzed in this study. Results:The expression of SOX2 in both mRNA and protein levels had no signiifcant difference between the well-differentiated gastric cancer tissues and normal gastric mucosa (mRNA levels:t=0.1033, P>0.05;protein levels:t=0.116, P>0.05). However, both the mRNA and protein expression of SOX2 in patients with well-differentiated gastric cancer tissues were signiifcant higher than not only in patients with moderately differentiated gastric carcinoma (mRNA levels: t=12.48, P<0.05; protein levels: t=22.78, P<0.05) but also in patients with than poorly differentiated gastric carcinoma (mRNA levels:t=17.56, P<0.05;protein levels:t=30.00, P<0.05). In contrast to SOX2, both the mRNA and protein expression of OCT4 in patients with well-differentiated gastric cancer tissues were signiifcant lower than not only in patients with moderately differentiated gastric carcinoma (mRNA levels:t=13.23, P<0.05; protein levels: t=25.56, P<0.05) but also in patients with poorly differentiated gastric carcinoma (mRNA levels: t=12.10, P<0.05; protein levels: t=69.48, P<0.05). There was no significance of OCT4 mRNA and protein expression between the well-differentiated gastric cancer tissues and normal gastric mucosa (mRNA levels:t=2.436, P>0.05;protein levels:t=1.064, P>0.05). Immunohistochemical study demonstrated that the positive rate of SOX2 in patients with well-differentiated gastric cancer tissues (10/21) were higher than in patients with not only moderately differentiated gastric carcinoma (7/20) but also poorly differentiated gastric carcinoma (2/19, P<0.05), while the positive rate of OCT4 in cases with well-differentiated gastric cancer tissues (2/21) were lower than in cases with not only moderately differentiated gastric carcinoma (6/20) but also the poorly differentiated gastric carcinoma (12/19, P<0.05). There was no correlation between the expression of SOX2, OCT4 in gastric cancer and gender or age (P>0.05). Nevertheless, the expression of SOX2, OCT4 were positive or negative correlated with the pathological staging, the degree of inifltration and lymph node metastasis (P<0.05). Conclusion:Decreased SOX2 expression and increased expression level of OCT4 can promote the formation, development and invasion of gastric cancer and they may become biomarkers or the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis evaluation in gastric carcinoma.

Objective To investigate the effect of Osthole on memory function of sleep deprivation(SD) mice. Methods Forty-eight male mice were randomly divided into 4 groups;normal control group(NC group ), large platform control group(TC group),sleep deprivation group(M group)and Osthole group(Ost group). The model of SD in mice was estabished by using improved multi platform method. The ability of learning and memory was tested by using Morris water maze test and pathological changes of hippocampal neurons in mice were observed by HE staining. The serum,hippcampus malondialdehyde(MDA)contents and superoxide dismutase(SOD)activity, so as the hippocampus No content,were detected. Results Compared with NC group and TC group,the escape la-tency of M group increased significiantly and the number of crossing platform decreased significantly. There were in-creased levels hippocampus tissue,serum MDA level,hippocampal SOD activity and NO content. After supplemen-tation of Osthole,the escape latency significantly shortened in mice. The number of crossing platform was increased while the contents of MDA both in hippocampus and serum were decreased,and the SOD activity in hippocampus re-turned to normal. However,the level of NO in hippocampus was not decreased. Conclusion Osthole can protect the memory function of SD mice by reducing the the damage of hippocampal neurons through antioxidant stress.

Objce tive To investigate the effect and significance of down-regulation of Oct4 gene on biological characteristics of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer stem cells.Methods Breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 cells were used in this study.Breast cancer stem cells were isolated and enriched by serum-free culture.The obtained stem cells were identified through calculating the percentages of CD44 and CD24 stem cells by FACS and evaluating the paclitaxel resistance in vitro and tumorigenicity in mice.RT-PCR, real-time PCR (qPCR) and Western blot were used to detect Oct4 expression.RNA interference was applied to induce Oct4 down-regulation.The interference experiment set up a control group ( no siRNA transfection) , negative control group ( negative siRNA group,transfection of siRNA sequences without any interfering effect on the cells) and Oct4 siRNA group ( transfection of siRNA with interfering effect on the Oct4 gene) .Methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium ( MTT ) and Transwell chamber tests were conducted to detect the proliferation and invasion ability of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer stem cells after Oct4 knock-down, and paclitaxel inhibition test was applied to evaluate drug resistance of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer stem cells after Oct4 knock-down. Resulst MDA-MB-231 breast cancer stem cells grew as spheres cultured in serum-free suspension.MDA-MB-231 breast cancer stem cells showed a higher percentage of CD44+C/D24 -/low cells (97.2%) than that in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells ( 76.6%) ( P<0.05) .The tumor size in mice inoculated with MDA-MB-231 breast cancer stem cells was (124.60±13.65)mm3, significantly larger than that of mice inoculated with breast cancer cells (68.20±9.99 mm3) (P=0.0007).MDA-MB-231 breast cancer stem cells were less sensitive to paclitaxel inhibition than MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells showing by 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) [(4.40±0.48) μg/ml vs.(8.20±0.34) μg/ml, P<0.05].However, the expression of transcriptional factors Oct4 was higher in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer stem cells than that in breast cancer cells (P<0.05).The proliferation potential of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer stem cells with Oct4 siRNA interference was significantly lower than that in the negative siRNA and control groups ( P<0.05) from the third day.The invasion ability of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer stem cells with Oct4 siRNA interference was obviously reduced than that in the control and negative siRNA groups shown by number of penetrated cells [(46.52±2.58) vs.(79.67±3.85) and (77.29±2.13), P<0.05 for both].As for resistance to paclitaxel, IC50 of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer stem cells with Oct4siRNA interference was significantly decreased [(4.48±0.22) μg/ml] compared with that in the control [(7.99±0.59) μg/ml] and negative siRNA group [(8.10±0.68) μg/ml] (P<0.05 for both).Conclusions MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells are successfully obtained by serum-free culture. The proliferation potential, invasion ability and drug resistance of breast cancer stem cells were down-regulated by Oct4 gene knock-down.

Objce tive To investigate the effect and significance of down-regulation of Oct4 gene on biological characteristics of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer stem cells.Methods Breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 cells were used in this study.Breast cancer stem cells were isolated and enriched by serum-free culture.The obtained stem cells were identified through calculating the percentages of CD44 and CD24 stem cells by FACS and evaluating the paclitaxel resistance in vitro and tumorigenicity in mice.RT-PCR, real-time PCR (qPCR) and Western blot were used to detect Oct4 expression.RNA interference was applied to induce Oct4 down-regulation.The interference experiment set up a control group ( no siRNA transfection) , negative control group ( negative siRNA group,transfection of siRNA sequences without any interfering effect on the cells) and Oct4 siRNA group ( transfection of siRNA with interfering effect on the Oct4 gene) .Methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium ( MTT ) and Transwell chamber tests were conducted to detect the proliferation and invasion ability of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer stem cells after Oct4 knock-down, and paclitaxel inhibition test was applied to evaluate drug resistance of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer stem cells after Oct4 knock-down. Resulst MDA-MB-231 breast cancer stem cells grew as spheres cultured in serum-free suspension.MDA-MB-231 breast cancer stem cells showed a higher percentage of CD44+C/D24 -/low cells (97.2%) than that in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells ( 76.6%) ( P<0.05) .The tumor size in mice inoculated with MDA-MB-231 breast cancer stem cells was (124.60±13.65)mm3, significantly larger than that of mice inoculated with breast cancer cells (68.20±9.99 mm3) (P=0.0007).MDA-MB-231 breast cancer stem cells were less sensitive to paclitaxel inhibition than MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells showing by 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) [(4.40±0.48) μg/ml vs.(8.20±0.34) μg/ml, P<0.05].However, the expression of transcriptional factors Oct4 was higher in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer stem cells than that in breast cancer cells (P<0.05).The proliferation potential of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer stem cells with Oct4 siRNA interference was significantly lower than that in the negative siRNA and control groups ( P<0.05) from the third day.The invasion ability of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer stem cells with Oct4 siRNA interference was obviously reduced than that in the control and negative siRNA groups shown by number of penetrated cells [(46.52±2.58) vs.(79.67±3.85) and (77.29±2.13), P<0.05 for both].As for resistance to paclitaxel, IC50 of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer stem cells with Oct4siRNA interference was significantly decreased [(4.48±0.22) μg/ml] compared with that in the control [(7.99±0.59) μg/ml] and negative siRNA group [(8.10±0.68) μg/ml] (P<0.05 for both).Conclusions MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells are successfully obtained by serum-free culture. The proliferation potential, invasion ability and drug resistance of breast cancer stem cells were down-regulated by Oct4 gene knock-down.