OBJECTIVE:To compare the effects of strontium ranelate and PTH(1-34)on bone quality of ovariectomized rats. METHODS:80 SD rats were randomly divided into sham operation group(group A,n=10)and dual ovariectomy(group B,n=70). 3 months after operation,group B were randomly divided into 7 groups,with 10 rats in each group. B0 group were given nor-mal saline [0.9 g/(kg·d)] subcutaneously;B1-B3 groups were given low-dose,medium-dose and high-dose of strontium ranelate [0.45,0.9,1.35 g/(kg·d)] intragastrically;B4-B6 groups were given low-dose,medium-dose and high-dose of PTH(1-34)[30, 60,90 μg/(kg·d),treated for 5 days,rested for 2 days] subcutaneously. Group A was same to group B0 in therapy regimen. All rats were sacrificed 8 weeks later. The contents of P1NP and CTX-1 in serum of rats were determined by ELISA assay;bone densi-ty of 4th lumbar vertebrae was detected by bone densitometer;BV/TV,Tb.Th,Tb.N and Tb.Sp were detected by CT;maximal load and elastic modulus of 5th lumbar vertebrae were measured by compression test. RESULTS:Compared with group A,the se-rum levels of P1NP and CTX-1 in B0-B6 groups increased significantly,while bone density of 4th lumbar vertebrae,maximal load and elastic modulus of 5th lumbar vertebrae decreased significantly in B0-B3 groups(P<0.05);BV/TV level of 4th lumbar verte-brae decreased significantly,while Tb.Sp level increased significantly in B0 group(P<0.05). Compared with B0 group,bone den-sity of 4th lumbar vertebrae,maximal load and elastic modulus of 5th lumbar vertebrae increased significantly in B1-B3 groups (P<0.05);P1NP content,BV/TV,Tb.N level,bone density of 4th lumbar vertebrae,maximal load and elastic modulus of 5th lumbar vertebrae increased significantly in B4-B6 groups,and were higher than in B1-B3 groups(P<0.05). Tb.Sp level of B1-B6 groups decreased significantly and were lower than those of B1-B3 groups(P<0.05). There was no statistical significance in Tb.Th level among 8 groups and CTX-1 content among B0-B6 groups (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS:PTH(1-34) is better than strontium ranelate in inhibiting bone loss,improving vertebral bone micro-structure and biomechanical properties of ovariectomized rats.

The fruit of Pandanus tectorius (PTF) has a long history of use as a folk medicine to treat hyperlipidemia in Hainan province, South China. Our previous studies have shown that the n-butanol extract of PTF is rich in caffeoylquinic acids and has an adequate therapeutic effect on dyslipidemic animals induced by high-fat diet. In this work, seven caffeoylquinic acids isolated from PTF were screened for the lipid-lowering activity in HepG2 hepatoma cells. Oil-Red O staining, microscopy and intracellular triglyceride (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) quantification showed that 3-O-caffeoylquinic acid (3-CQA), 3, 5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid (3,5-CQA), and 3,4,5-tri-O-caffeoylquinic acid (3,4,5-CQA) significantly inhibited lipid accumulation induced by oleic acid and decreased intracellular levels of TC and TG in a dose-dependent manner. These three caffeoylquinic acids showed no significant cytotoxicity at concentrations of 1 -50 μmol x L(-1) as determined by MTT assay. Realtime quantitative PCR revealed that 3-CQA and 3, 5-CQA significantly increased the expression of lipid oxidation-related genes PPARα, CPT-1 and ACOX1 while 3-CQA, 3, 5-CQA and 3,4,5-CQA decreased the expression of lipogenic genes SREBP-1c, SREBP-2, HMGR, ACC, FAS. Overall, 3-CQA, 3, 5-CQA and 3, 4, 5-CQA may be the principal hypolipidemic components in PTF which can decrease intracellular lipid accumulation through up-regulating the expression of lipid oxidative genes and down-regulating the expression of lipogenic genes.

Objective To measure histidine triad nucleotide?binding protein 1(HINT1)protein expression and gene promoter methylation, and to analyze the relationship between HINT1 gene promoter methylation and clinical pathological features of melanoma. Methods Fifty?six patients with melanoma and 51 patients with nevus were enrolled as subjects and controls, respectively. Methylation?specific PCR (MSP) was performed to measure the methylation of HINT1 gene promoter in lesional and paratumoral tissue specimens from the patients with melanoma, as well as in lesional specimens from the patients with nevus. Immunohistochemistry was carried out to quantify the expression of HINT1 protein in these tissue specimens. Results MSP showed that the methylation rate of HINT1 gene promoter was significantly higher in melanoma tissues than in paratumoral and nevus tissues(76.8%[43/56]vs. 33.9%[19/56]and 35.3%[18/51], χ2 = 20.810 and 18.749, respectively, both P < 0.05), but was insignificantly different between paratumoral and nevus tissues(χ2=0.022, P>0.05). Immunohistochemistry revealed that the expression rate of HINT1 was 21.4%(12/56)in melanoma tissues, compared to 82.4%(42/51)in nevus tissues(χ2 = 39.633, P <0.01). There was a significant difference in the methylation rate of HINT1 promoter between HINT1?positive and ?negative melanoma tissues(6/12 vs. 37/44[84.1%], P<0.05), and between Clark levelⅠ-ⅡandⅢ-Ⅴmelanoma tissues(59.1%[13/22]vs. 88.2%[30/34],χ2=6.365,P=0.012). Conclusions HINT1 protein is lowly expressed in melanoma, which may be associated with high methylation of its gene promoter. Moreover, the high methylation ofHINT1 gene promoter may be involved in the initiation and progression of melanoma.

Objective: To investigate the different pattern of neck lymph node metastasis, the choice of surgical methods and prognosis in early tongue squamous cell carcinoma. Methods: A total of 157 patients with early oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma were included in this study. Statistical analysis was performed to identify the pattern of lymph node metastasis, to determine the best surgical procedure and to analyze the prognosis. Results: The occurrence of cervical lymph node metastasis rate was 31%(48/157). Neck lymphatic metastasis was significantly related to tumor size (P=0.026) and histology differentiation type (P=0.022). The rate of metastasis was highest in level Ⅱ [33% (16/48)]. In level Ⅳ, the incidence of lymph node metastasis was 5%(7/157), and there was no skip metastases. The possibility of level Ⅳ metastasis was higher, when level Ⅱ (P=0.000) or Ⅲ (P=0.000) involved. The differentiation tumor recurrence, neck lymphatic metastasis and adjuvant radiotherapy were prognostic factors (P<0.05). Multivariate analyses revealed histology differentiation type, neck lymphatic metastases and adjuvant radiotherapy were the independent prognostic factors. Conclusions Neck lymphatic metastasis rate is high in early tongue squamous cell carcinoma, simultaneous glossectomy and neck dissection should be performed. Level Ⅳ metastasis rate is extremely low, so supraomohyoid neck dissection is sufficient for most of the time. The histology differentiation type, neck lymphatic metastasis and adjuvant radiotherapy are independent prognostic factors.

Syringaresinol-4---d-glucoside (SSG), a furofuran-type lignan, was found to modulate lipid and glucose metabolism through an activity screen of lipid accumulation and glucose consumption, and was therefore considered as a promising candidate for the prevention and treatment of metabolic disorder, especially in lipid and glucose metabolic homeostasis. In this study, the effects of SSG on lipogenesis and glucose consumption in HepG2 cells and C2C12 myotubes were further investigated. Treatment with SSG significantly inhibited lipid accumulation by oil red O staining and reduced the intracellular contents of total lipid, cholesterol and triglyceride in HepG2 cells. No effect was observed on cell viability in the MTT assay at concentrations of 0.1-10 μmol/L. SSG also increased glucose consumption by HepG2 cells and glucose uptake by C2C12 myotubes. Furthermore, real-time quantitative PCR revealed that the beneficial effects were associated with the down-regulation of sterol regulatory element-binding proteins-1c, -2 (), fatty acid synthase (), acetyl CoA carboxylase () and hydroxyl methylglutaryl CoA reductase (), and up-regulation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors alpha and gamma (and). SSG also significantly elevated transcription activity oftested by luciferase assay. These results suggest that SSG is an effective regulator of lipogenesis and glucose consumption and might be a candidate for further research in the prevention and treatment of lipid and glucose metabolic diseases.

Obesity is a worldwide epidemic. Promoting browning of white adipose tissue (WAT) contributes to increased energy expenditure and hence counteracts obesity. Here we show that cordycepin (Cpn), a natural derivative of adenosine, increases energy expenditure, inhibits weight gain, improves metabolic profile and glucose tolerance, decreases WAT mass and adipocyte size, and enhances cold tolerance in normal and high-fat diet-fed mice. Cpn markedly increases the surface temperature around the inguinal WAT and turns the inguinal fat browner. Further investigations show that Cpn induces the development of brown-like adipocytes in inguinal and, to a less degree, epididymal WAT depots. Cpn also increases the expression of uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) and other thermogenic genes in WAT and 3T3-L1 differentiated adipocytes, in which AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) plays an important role. Our results provide novel insights into the function of Cpn in regulating energy balance, and suggest a potential utility of Cpn in the treatment of obesity.

Screening and evaluating the diseases responding specifically to traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） will help to highlight the advantages of TCM treatment， and the evaluation method should be standardized with consideration to the unique characteristics of the diseases. The incidence of Sjögren's Syndrome （SS） is increasing year by year， while the pathogenesis of this disease remains unclear. Modern therapies for this disease include biological agents and immunosuppressants， which generally have unsatisfactory efficacy. The TCM treatment of SS focuses on the harmony of the physical and mental health. The Rheumatology Branch of the China Association of Chinese Medicine organizes experts in TCM， Western medicine， and evidence-based medicine to form working groups. Delphi method and bibliometric method were used for analysis， and SS was selected as a disease responding specifically to TCM. Furthermore， the evaluation system was established for this disease， and the consensus regarding this disease was reached after seminar discussion. This paper summarized the whole process of the evaluation of the advantages of TCM treatment of SS. First， because TCM atomization is widely used in clinical practice and enriches TCM administration methods， this therapy is included after other non-drug therapies were taken as characteristic therapies. Second， the evaluation indicators of therapeutic effect should be determined with consideration to international acceptance and the current research status. Third， the expression method should be accurate， standardized， and objective， highlight the natural advantages of TCM， and avoid arbitrary extension. This paper provides a reference for clinicians to explore other diseases responding specifically to TCM.