Objective To investigate the regulatory effect of adrenomedullin (AM) on the cell-cell contact formation of podocytes and the possible mechanism.Methods Podocytes were treated with AM (10-7 mol/L),AM combined with a PKA inhibitor H89 (10-4 mol/L),and forskolin (10-5 mol/L) as positive control respectively for 12 hours.Immunofluorescent staining was applied to observe the distribution of cell adhesion molecules and actin-associated proteins.Western blotting assay was used to assess their protein levels.Rho GTPases activity was analyzed by GST-pull down assay and their protein levels were tested by Western blotting.Results AM induced the redistribution of adhesion molecules,actin-associated proteins as well as the F-actin at cell-cell contacts between podocytes.This effect was similar to that of forskolin and could be blocked by H89.The levels of those proteins did not change significantly (P ＞ 0.05).AM up-regulated the activities of RhoA,Rac1 and Cdc42 (P ＜ 0.05),which were partially blocked by H89.The protein levels of Rho GTPases showed no difference compared with the control (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusions AM may promote cell-cell contact formation of podocytes,probably through enhancing the activity of Rho GTPases and then resulting in the redistribution of adhesion molecules,actin-associated proteins and F-actin,which is partially mediated through cAMP-PKA signaling pathway.

Objective To study the difference of oxygen free radical metabolism between healthy native Tibetans and mi- grated Hans at different altitude.Methods The activity of Total-antioxidation capability(T-AOC),superoxide dis- mutase(SOD),glutathione peroxidase(GSH-PX)and the content of,reactive oxygen species(ROS),malondialdehyde (MDA)and nitric oxide(NO)in serum in healthy native Tibetans and migrated Hans at different altitude were meas- ured.Results The activity of T-AOC,SOD,GSH-PX and the content of NO were increased in serum in native Tibet- ans group than that in migrated Hans group(P

The deltacoronavirus is a new member of the subfamily Coronaviridae of the family Coronaviridae. Deltacoronaviruses can infect birds and mammals. Deltacoronaviruses were detected in early 2007 in Asian leopard cats and Chinese ferret badgers. In 2014, porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV) infection spread rapidly in the USA. Moreover, cell culture-adapted PDCoV has been obtained from infected piglets. Animal experiments have confirmed that the isolated PDCoV is highly pathogenic and causes severe diarrhea in piglets. Thus, the PDCoV can be considered to be a good model to study the deltacoronavirus. In this review, we discuss the etiology, epidemiology, pathogenicity, culture, and diagnostic methods of the PDCoV.
Animals ; Coronavirus ; classification ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Coronavirus Infections ; veterinary ; virology ; Diarrhea ; veterinary ; virology ; Phylogeny ; Swine ; Swine Diseases ; virology

Objective To investigate the efficacy of TACE combined with radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.Methods A total of 72 patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinomas were analyzed retrospectively,including 35 patients underwent TACE combined with RFA (combined group),37 patients underwent single TACE (control group).After the operation,the short-term effect,the changes of liver function,serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) level,the complication and the long-term survival rates of the two groups were compared.Results The total effective rate of the combined group (29/35,82.86％) was significantly higher than that of control group (20/37,54.05％;P=0.009).In the combined group,the AFP reduced to (102.19±32.13)μg/L,and the control group reduced to (218.46±49.87)μg/L,which had statistical difference (P＜0.001).The survival rates of 1-year,2-year and 3-year in the combined group were 82.86 ％,54.29 ％,34.29 ％ with a median survival time of 25 months;while in the control group those were 54.05％,32.43％,13.51％ with a median survival time of 16 months;there were statistically significant differences in the survival rate between two groups (P=0.009).After treatment,the hepatic functions of both group had a transient change,and 2 weeks after the operation,there was no significant difference between the two groups (all P＞0.05).Conclusion The combination of TACE and RFA is an effective method for the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.

Aged ; Case-Control Studies ; Cerebral Infarction ; blood ; genetics ; Female ; Fibrinogen ; genetics ; metabolism ; Haplotypes ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Polymorphism, Genetic

Objective To analyse the clinical efficacy of methotrexate (MTX) combined with intrauterine embryo sac garrotte injection in the treatment of cesarean scar pregnancy (CSP), and discuss its clinical significance. Methods A total of 77 patients with CSP treated in our hospital during June 2013 to December 2016 were selected in this study. Forty patients treated with embryo sac destruction and methotrexate injection were included in the observation group, while 37 cases treated by uterine artery embolization combined with curettage were used as the control group. The time of vaginal bleeding, the time of postoperative blood level of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) returned to the normal level, average hospitalization cost and the curative rate were recorded in two groups. All patients were followed up by the outpatient visit. Results In the observation group, the vaginal bleeding time [(22.1±6.7) days vs. (29.5±10.8) days] and treatment cost [(8774.2 ± 714.5) yuan vs. (15258.3 ± 1084.2) yuan] were less than those of the control group (P<0.001). There were no significant differences in the recovery time of HCG [(26.4±9.0) days vs. (25.1±10.4) days] and treatment success rate (87.5%vs. 91.9%) between the two groups (P>0.05). No bleeding or threatened rupture of scar were found in two groups of patients. Conclusion In this study, we take the embryo sac puncture combined with methotrexate injection in the treatment of scar pregnancy. This method has the advantages of low operative difficulty, definite clinical curative effect and low cost

OBJECTIVETo analyze the clinical characteristics of bone metastasis of malignant tumors.

METHODSThe clinical data and survival time of 355 patients with bone metastasis of malignant tumors were retrospectively analyzed.

RESULTSThe bone metastasis occurred more frequently in men (male:female = 1.45:1). The most common primary tumors were lung cancer in men and breast cancer in women. The thoracic vertebrae, ribs, lumbar vertebrae and pelvic were frequently involved metastatic sites and the multiple bone metastasis was common (83.4%). The main symptom was pain (75.2%). Local masses, disfunctions, pathologic fracture and paraplegia occurred in a few patients while many patients were asymptomatic (22.0%). The most frequent radiographic manifestation was the osteolytic bone destruction (82.2%). Integrated treatments were taken, including chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, biological therapy, radiotherapy, surgery, bisphosphonate analgetics, etc. The clinical benefit rate in pain relief was 98.5% and the effective rate was 72.2% in radiographic imaging. The median survival time was 13.9 months. Among them, it was 34.9 months in prostate cancer and 4.6 months in hepatocellular carcinoma. The survival time was longer in bone metastasis without other organ metastasis. There was no significant difference between the single and multiple bone metastases regarding the survival time.

CONCLUSIONIt is important to master the clinical features of bone metastasis of malignant tumors for early diagnosis and treatment, and to improve the quality of life and prolong the survival time.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Bone Neoplasms ; complications ; diagnosis ; secondary ; therapy ; Breast Neoplasms ; pathology ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; pathology ; secondary ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; pathology ; Lung Neoplasms ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pain ; etiology ; Pain Management ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; pathology ; Quality of Life ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate ; Young Adult

Objective To investigate the effects of carvedilol and metoprolol on the expression of autoantibodies against cardiac β1,β2 and α1, adrenergic receptors in aged patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) and ventricular arrhythmia (VA). Methods Sixty-eight patients with CHF and VA were randomly divided metoprolol treatment group or carvedilol treatment group on the basis of digoxin and diuretic treatment. All patients were followed up for six months cardiac function was monitored by echocardiography, VA by Holter and the three autoantibodies by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay ( ELJSA). Results (1) Systolic blood pressure and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) were significantly lower in carvedilol group than that in metoprolol group (P < 0.05). (2) The positive ratio of autoantibodies against the cardiacβ1 adrenergic receptor was significantly decreased compared with that of pre-treatment ( P < 0.05) in metoprolol group. The positive ratios of autoantibodies against cardiac β1,β2 and α1-adrenergic receptors were all significantly decreased compared with that of pre-treatment (P <0. 01) in carvedilol group. Moreover, the incidence of VA was significantly decreased in carvedilol group ( P < 0.05 ) but not in metoprolol group. Conclusion Carvedilol is superior to metoprolol on decreasing the incidence of VA in aged patients with chronic heart failure and ventricular arrhythmia.

OBJECTIVETo study the growth inhibition effect of Brucea javanica Fruit Oil Emulsion (BJFOE) on human ovarian caner SKOV3 cells and the transplanted tumor of SKOV3 nude mice.

METHODSGrowth inhibition effects of different concentrations BJFOE alone or its combination with cisplatin on human ovarian cancer cell SKOV3 were measured using MTT method. The orthotopic transplantation tumor model of human ovarian cancer SKOV3 cell lines was established in nude mice. Totally 32 ovarian cancer nude mice were randomly divided into 4 groups, i.e., the blank control group (Group A), the BJFOE group (Group B), the BJFOE combined Cisplatin group (Group C), and the Cisplatin control group (Group D), 8 in each group. Mice in Group A were intraperitoneally injected with normal saline (0.2 mL/ 20 g), once per two days. Mice in Group B were intraperitoneally injected with BJFOE (0.2 mL/20 g), once per two days. Mice in Group C were intraperitoneally injected with cisplatin (3 mg/kg) 0.2 mL on the first day, and intraperitoneally injected with BJFOE on the second day. Mice in Group D were intraperitoneally injected with cisplatin (3 mg/kg) 0.2 mL, once per two days. All mice were injected for six times, and sacrificed 48 h after the last injection. The lesion formation of the abdominal tumor tissue was observed. Tumor specimens were obtained to perform HE staining. Expression levels of MRP-1/CD9 and integrinα-5 were detected using Western blot.

RESULTSThe inhibition of BJFOE was time-dose depend- ently correlated with its inhibition effect of SKOV3 cells. The inhibition effect of BJFOE in combination of cisplatin was significantly superior to that of using any of the two drugs alone. Western blot results showed expression levels of MRP-1/CD9 and integrinα-5 were up-regulated in Group B and Group D with statistical difference (P < 0.05). But they were down-regulated in Group C with statistical difference (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSIntraperitoneal injecting BJFOE was feasible and effective for treating ovarian cancer. BJFOE also could inhibit the invasion and migration of tumor cells targeting at MRP-1/CD9 and integrinα-5. But its specific anti-tumor mechanism was not clearly probed.

Animals ; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic ; pharmacology ; Brucea ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cisplatin ; Female ; Fruit ; Humans ; Mice ; Mice, Nude ; Neoplasm Transplantation ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; Plant Oils ; pharmacology

Objective To find out the iodine nutritional status and thyroid function of pregnant and lactating women in the urban areas of Wuwei City of Gansu Province,and to provide a scientific basis for iodine supplementation.Methods Blood and urine samples of pregnant (52 persons) and lactating women (59 persons) were collected in 2009.Urinary iodine content was measured with arsenic cerium catalytic spectrophotometric.Serum free three triiodothyronine(FT3),free thyroid hormone(FT4),triiodo thyronine(TT3),serum total thyroxine (TT4) and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) were detected with direct chemiluminescence immunoassay.Results The medians urinary iodine of pregnant and lactating women were 274.68,217.88 μg/L.The rates of low urinary iodine (pregnant women below 150 μg/L,lactating women lower than 100 μg/L) were 9.62％ (5/52) and 6.78％ (4/59).Serum TT3,TT4 levels in pregnant women[(2.48 ± 0.59),(132.18 ± 33.36)nmoL/L] were higher than that in the lactating women[(2.16 ± 0.49),(108.79 ± 28.36)nmol/L,t =-3.123,-3.971,all P ＜ 0.05].Thyroid dysfunction incidence rates of pregnant and lactating women were 17.31％ (9/52) and 8.47％ (5/59).Thyroid dysfunction was mostly subclinical hypothyroidism.Conclusions Overall iodine nutrition of pregnant and lactating women is in good condition,some individuals have the trend of hypothyroidism.It is necessary to carry out routine monitoring of urinary iodine and thyroid function.