Objective: To analyze the clinical effect of traditionaldog-days acupoint application and Magic Acupuncture Patch (Manji) in the prevention and treatment of chronic bronchitis (CB) in remission stage in the past five years, and explore the principle of action and effective stimulation, to provide the evidence for treating CB by acupoint application. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on 405 patients with CB who met the inclusion criteria. All patients were treated with dog-days acupoint application or Magic Acupuncture Patch between 2013 and 2017. The clinical data of 405 patients were statistically analyzed to compare the prevention and treatment effects of dog-days acupoint application and Magic Acupuncture Patch, and different degrees of stimulation of dog-days acupoint application. Results: Among the dog-days acupoint application groups, the total effective rate was 63.6％ in the light stimulation group, 93.1％ in the moderate stimulation group, and 94.8％ in the strong stimulation group. The differences in the total effective rate between the light stimulation group and the moderate stimulation group, as well as the strong stimulation group, were statistically significant (both P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the total effective rate between the moderate stimulation group and the strong stimulation group (P>0.05). The total effective rate was 83.9％ in the dog-days acupoint application group, versus 45.4％ in the Magic Acupuncture Patch group, and there was a statistically significant difference between the two groups (P<0.05). Conclusion: The efficacy of dog-days acupoint application in the prevention and treatment of CB is better than that of Magic Acupuncture Patch; the degree of stimulation is the basis for the effect of dog-days acupoint application on prevention and treatment of CB, and the moderate and strong stimulations are more appropriate.

OBJECTIVETo identify the differentially expressed proteins or peptides and potential biomarkers of tumorigenesis for colorectal cancers.

METHODSImmobilized pH gradient two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) was used to separate and obtain the differentially expressed protein spots between colorectal cancers and matched normal mucosa. Liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was used to characterize these proteins. Selected candidate proteins were further studied by Western blot, semi-quantitative RT-PCR and immunohistochemical staining.

RESULTSThirty-five protein spots showed marked expression changes (more than 5-fold) in colorectal carcinoma compared to normal mucosa. Fifteen proteins were up regulated and 20 were down regulated. Fourteen of these proteins were identified by tandem mass spectrometry, among which secretagogin (SCGN) was down-regulated and glucose-related protein (GRP) 78 was up-regulated in the tumors. The SCGN down-regulation was further supported by Western blot and RT-PCR analyses. Immunohistochemistry revealed that SCGN was strongly expressed in neuroendocrine cells of the colonic crypts and 53 of 54 (98%) neuroendocrine tumors. At protein level, although GRP78 was up regulated in colorectal carcinoma, there was no difference in the mRNA expression level between the tumor and paired normal mucosa.

CONCLUSIONSThe 2-DE combined with MS is a powerful tool for screening potential tumor biomarkers. The differentially expressed candidate proteins identified by 2-DE may be of significance in understanding the tumorigenesis of the colon cancer. SCGN is a potential biomarker for neuroendocrinal differentiation. GRP78 up-regulation in colorectal carcinomas may be related to its post-translational modification.

Biomarkers, Tumor ; genetics ; metabolism ; Calcium-Binding Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; metabolism ; Electrophoresis, Gel, Two-Dimensional ; Gene Expression Profiling ; methods ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Heat-Shock Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Molecular Chaperones ; genetics ; metabolism ; Neuroendocrine Cells ; metabolism ; Neuroendocrine Tumors ; metabolism ; Proteomics ; methods ; RNA, Messenger ; metabolism ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Secretagogins

OBJECTIVETo observe the cell apoptosis after tractive spinal cord injury in rats, determine expression of apoptosis correlative genes, and study the molecular mechanism of cell apoptosis.

METHODSThe T(13)-L(2) spinal cord of rats was injured by traction after the amplitude of P1-N1 wave decreased to 70% in postoperation than in preoperation through cortical somatosensory evoked potential (CSEP) monitor. Then rats were killed in 30 min, 6 h, 1, 4, 7, 14 and 21 d respectively after operation (n = 4). Cell apoptosis was examined by the flow cytometer and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated DUTP-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL) reaction, the expression of p53, bax and bc1-2 genes was tested with immunohistochemistry.

RESULTSThe flow cytometer test and TUNEL method showed that the apoptosis cell ratio raised in 6 h and reached at peak in 7 d after injury, and then declined till 21 d, they showed significant difference (P < 0.05, 0.01). TUNEL method showed that injured group had a large number of apoptosis glial cells in white matter. Immunohistochemical staining showed that the positive expression of p53, bax and bc1-2 protein raised at 6 h, expression of p53 protein reached at peak in 4 d, bax and bc1-2 protein reached at peak in 7 d after injury. Compared with control group and laminectomy group, the injured group showed significant difference (P < 0.05, 0.01).

CONCLUSIONThere is cell apoptosis phenomenon after tractive spinal cord injury in rats. Morphology indicates that apoptosis includes neurons and glialcytes, which is an important form of cell death and pathological changes in secondary lesion period after tractive spinal cord. There exist high expression of apoptosis correlative gene p53 and bax after spinal cord injury, they may play an important role in reduction of cells to apoptosis.

Animals ; Apoptosis ; genetics ; Disease Models, Animal ; Female ; Gene Expression ; Genes, bcl-2 ; genetics ; Genes, p53 ; genetics ; Male ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 ; genetics ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Spinal Cord Injuries ; genetics ; pathology ; bcl-2-Associated X Protein

BACKGROUNDPreoperative tumor grading becomes one of the most important predictors for lymphadenectomy at primary surgery for clinical stage I endometriod adenocarcinoma. However, there is an inconsistency of tumor grade between preoperative curettage and final hysterectomy specimens, and its associated factors are poorly understood. This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of tumor grade by preoperative curettage so as to achieve a better stratified management for clinical stage I endometriod adenocarcinoma.

METHODSClinical data of totally 687 patients with clinical stage I endometriod adenocarcinoma who underwent preoperative curettage and primary surgery were retrospectively collected. Compared with final hysterectomy specimens, the sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of tumor grade by preoperative curettage were calculated and their associations with clinicopathologic parameters, including age, status of menopause, position of uterus, location and size of lesion, histological grade, depth of myometrial invasion, cervical invasion, extrauterine spread, peritoneal cytology, metastasis to retroperitoneal lymph node, serum CA125 level, and hormone receptor status, were analyzed.

RESULTSIn final hysterectomy specimens, 139 of 259 grade 1 patients by curettage were upgraded to grade 1 or 2; 31 of 296 grade 2 were upgraded to grade 3, with a significantly discrepant rate of 40.9% (281/687) and an upgraded rate of 24.7% (170/687). The specificity and negative predictive value for grade 3 were 90.7% and 89.9%, while the sensitivity and positive predictive value for grade 1 were 67.1% and 40.9%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONSPreoperative tumor grade by curettage does not accurately predict final histological results, especially in those classified as grade 1. Complete surgical staging seems to be necessary for clinical stage I endometriod adenocarcinoma.

Adenocarcinoma ; diagnosis ; pathology ; surgery ; Adult ; Curettage ; methods ; Endometrial Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; pathology ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Hysterectomy ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; methods ; Retrospective Studies

The effect of acupuncture on substance withdrawl syndromes and craving relapse prevention of the recent 10 years were reviewed as well as its mechanism. The therapeutic effect and the possible mechanism were analyzed on the basis. From the three aspects of anti protracted abstinence symptoms, craving relapse prevention and mechanism of acupuncture, the development tendency and the prospect of application on drug withdrawl with acupuncture were expected. And it is proposed that clinical observation of acupuncture intervention on craving should be developed, the mechanism of acupuncture impact on cognitive behavior, blocking study and memory processing related to drug addiction should be explored, so as to further give play to the advantages of acupuncture on anti-drug addiction.
Acupuncture Therapy ; Humans ; Substance-Related Disorders ; therapy ; Time Factors

This study was aimed to establish the real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) with erythrocyte Kidd blood group gene for detecting the hematopoietic chimera and to investigate the feasibility of this method. The TaqMan MGB probes and special primers were designed on basis of difference of erythrocyte Kidd blood group alleles, the hematopoietic chimerism was detected by RT-qPCR, the DNA chimerism was simulated by means of dilution of multiple proportions, and the sensitivity analysis was performed. The results showed that the RT-qPCR with erythrocyte Kidd blood group gene could effectively distinguish JK*A and JK*B alleles. There was no significant difference between the theoretic value and the practical measured value by this method (P > 0.05). As 156 donor's cells could be discriminated from 10(4) chimeric cells, this method may effectively detect donor's cells with correlation coefficient 0.998. It is concluded that the established RT-qPCR with erythrocyte Kidd blood group gene shows the feasibility for quantitative detection of hematopoietic chimera, and may be used to quantitatively detect chimera in a certain range.
Chimera ; Erythrocytes ; Humans ; Kidd Blood-Group System ; genetics ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of simvastatin(Sim) and losartan(Los) on cardiac fibrosis and myocardial expression of MMP-2 mRNA, MMP-9 mRNA and TIMP-1 mRNA, TIMP-2 mRNA in pressure overloaded rat hearts.

METHODSThe pressure overload model was induced by descending aortic constriction (DAC) in rats. SD rats were randomized into 6 groups (n = 20 each): normol control group, control sham group, DAC group, Los group (DAC + Los, 5 mg/kg), Sim group (DAC + Sim, 2 mg/kg), Los + Sim group (DAC + Los + Sim, Los 5 mg/kg, Sim 2 mg/kg). Water, Los or Sim drug was administrated by gavage daily beginning from day 5 after operation for 30 days. Collagen was measured on Masson stained myocardial sections, and the level of MMP-2 mRNA, MMP-9 mRNA and TIMP-1 mRNA, TIMP-2 mRNA in left ventricle were detected by RT-PCR.

RESULTSCollagen volume fraction (CVF) in DAC group was significantly higher than the normal control and sham groups (P < 0.01) which could be significantly reduced by Los and Sim (P < 0.05), especially in DAC + Los + Sim group (P < 0.01). The levels of myocardial MMP-2 mRNA, MMP-9 mRNA and TIMP-1 mRNA, TIMP-2 mRNA were also significantly higher in DAC group than in normal control and sham groups (P < 0.01). Treatment Sim and Los alone and especially in combination significantly decreased the TIMP-1 mRNA, TIMP-2 mRNA expressions (P < 0.01) while MMP-2 mRNA, MMP-9 mRNA levels remained unchanged (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONUpregulation of myocardial MMP-2 mRNA, MMP-9 mRNA and TIMP-1 mRNA, TIMP-2 mRNA expressions might contribute to myocardial fibrosis in this model, Sim and Los significantly inhibited myocardial fibrosis possibly by downregulating myocardial TIMP-1 mRNA, TIMP-2 mRNA expressions in this model.

Animals ; Gene Expression Regulation ; Heart Failure ; metabolism ; Losartan ; pharmacology ; Male ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 2 ; metabolism ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 ; metabolism ; Myocardium ; metabolism ; pathology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Simvastatin ; pharmacology ; Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-1 ; metabolism ; Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-2 ; metabolism

To construct a safer and more efficient gene engineering Lactococcus Lactis for expressing phenylalaine ammonia lyase (PAL) which will be benefit for PKU therapy, pal cDNA of Parsly and synthesized sequence based on Lactococcus Lactis bias codons were recombined into two Lactococcus Lactis NICE systems. The activities of the expressed PAL were detected, and the effect of Lactococcus Lactis bias codons on the expression of exterior protein was analyzed. The results showed that the expression level of PAL was increased by using Lactococcus Lactis bias codons in both Lactococcus Lactis NICE systems. Through which several safer andmore efficient strains of the gene engineering Lactococcus Lactis were obtained.
Cloning, Molecular ; Codon ; genetics ; Genetic Vectors ; genetics ; Lactococcus lactis ; genetics ; metabolism ; Phenylalanine Ammonia-Lyase ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Recombinant Proteins ; biosynthesis ; metabolism ; Transformation, Bacterial

BACKGROUNDThe management of atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance/low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (ASCUS/LSIL) is still controversial and it is advisable to make a triage for these two cytological abnormalities. P16(INK4) (P16) has been shown to be a potential biomarker for predicting high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and cervical cancer. The aim of the study was to determine the value of P16 expression by immunostaining method compared with high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) DNA test in the triage of ASCUS/LSIL women.

METHODSTotally 86 eligible residual liquid-based cytological specimens with ASCUS and 45 with LSIL were obtained. All specimens were submitted to HR-HPV DNA test (HC2) and P16 immunocytochemical staining simultaneously. And all women underwent colposcopy and biopsy after cytology.

RESULTSThe positive rate of P16 staining was 32.6% in ASCUS and 42.2% in LSIL, which was significantly lower than that of HR-HPV test in both ASCUS (P < 0.05) and LSIL (P < 0.05). Moreover, the positive rate of P16 staining was 12.7% in normal histology, 61.5% in CIN 1, 87.0% in CIN 2-3, and 100.0% in cancer, in which P16 positive rate was significantly lower than HR-HPV positive rate in normal group. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV) and accuracy of P16 staining for predicting CIN 2 or more were 87.5%, 68.6%, 38.9%, 96.0%, and 72.1%, respectively in the ASCUS; while 90.0%, 71.4%, 47.4%, 96.2% and 54.7%, respectively in the LSIL, in which the specificity and accuracy of P16 staining were significantly higher than those of HR-HPV test in both ASCUS and LSIL (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONP16 immunostaining had significantly higher specificity and accuracy than HR-HPV DNA test for predicting for high-grade CIN and cervical cancer in ASCUS and LSIL and can be used for the triage of women with ASCUS/LSIL cytological abnormality.

Adult ; Aged ; Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia ; diagnosis ; metabolism ; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16 ; metabolism ; DNA, Viral ; genetics ; Female ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Middle Aged ; Papillomavirus Infections ; diagnosis ; virology ; Triage ; methods ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; metabolism ; Vaginal Smears ; Young Adult

This study was purposed to investigate the molecular basis of a para-Bombay phenotype for screening and identification of rare blood group. ABO and H phenotypes of the proband were identified by serological techniques. The exon 6 to exon 7 of ABO gene and full coding region of α-1,2-fucosyltransferase (fut1) gene of the proband were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction and direct sequencing of the amplified fragments. The haplotype of compound heterozygote of fut1 was also identified by cloning sequencing. The results indicated that a rare para-Bombay phenotype was confirmed by serological techniques. Two deletion or insertion variant sites near nucleotide 547 and 880 were detected in fut1 gene. The results of cloning sequence showed that one haplotype of fut1 gene was two bases deletion at 547-552 (AGAGAG→AGAG), and another one was two bases deletion at position 880-882 (TTT→T). Both two variants caused a reading frame shift and a premature stop codon. It is concluded that a rare para-Bombay phenotype is found and confirmed in blood donor population. The molecular basis of this individual is compound heterozygote of two bases deletion on fut1 gene which weaken the activity of α-1, 2-fucosyltransferase.
ABO Blood-Group System ; genetics ; Alleles ; Base Pairing ; Female ; Fucosyltransferases ; genetics ; Genotype ; Heterozygote ; Humans ; Mutation ; Phenotype ; Sequence Deletion