Taxol could induce tumor cell apoptosis throug h activation of Fas/FasL and caspases. bcl-2 also played an important role in t axol-induced cell apoptosis. Furthermore, taxol had the similar action with lip opolysaccharide on inducing the release of bioactive substances including tumor necrosis factor, interleukin and nitric oxide. There were as well some progresse s in taxol-resistance of tumor cells.

Objective To investigate the protective effect of genistein on endotoxin-induced acute lung injury in rats,and explore the underlying mechanisms.Methods Thirty-two male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four experimental groups: saline control(S), genistein alone(G),lipopolysaccaride(LPS) alone(L),and genistein pretreatment(G+L).Each treatment group consisted of eight animals.Animals were observed for 6h after LPS challenge,and the wet/dry(W/D) weight ratio of the lung and the protein contents of the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid(BALF) were used as indexes of lung injury.Neutrophil recruitment and activation were evaluated by BALF cellularity and myeloperoxidase(MPO) activity.RT-PCR analysis was performed with lung tissue to assess the gene expression of ICAM-1.The histopathologic changes were also observed using the H&E stains of lung tissue.Results Lung injury parameters,including the wet/dry weight ratio and protein content in BALF,were significantly higher in the L group than in the S group(P

In recent years, high plasma homocysteine ( HHcy ) as an independent risk factor for coronary atherosclerotic heart disease ( CHD) has been widely received clinical attention.Some detection methods and clinical research for patients with CHD are constantly developing.Enzymatic cycling assay, the most commonly used method at present, represents important application value in the aspects of disease occurrence, severity prediction and therapeutic monitoring for CHD.

Objective To screen the mutations of MYOC gene in a Chinese primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) family from Cbengqing and investigate the relationship between the mutations in MYOC/TIGR gene and POAG.Methods In a large 4-generation glaucoma family, myocilin gene (MYOC) was screened in 39 family members, 8 of which were confirmed patients. Normal controls included 100 normal Chinese subjects.The known mutations of MYOC gene ( including G34C, C136T, G144T, G227A, C624G,G736A, C1009G, A1036G, C1081T, G1099A, G1138A, A1139C, T1430A, C1441A and C1442T) were detected by single strand conformation polymorphism(SSCP) , po]ymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis and DNA sequencing.Results G227A mutation was detected in 2 POAG patients and 1 asymptomatic patient, but not in the controls.Cl009del mutation was identified in all patients of the pedigree and an offspring member but not in the controls. No other mutations were detected.Since the C1009del mutation was revealed for the first time, a new GenBank number FJ237047 correponding to ACI62293 was applied.Conclusions The G227A mutation is a known site and there is no relationship between G227A mutation and glaucoma. But C1009del may be related to glaucoma which suggests that morbidity could be higher in the relatives of POAG than the controls.

Objective To evaluate clinical significance of two real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR kits for quantitative detection of HBV DNA and detection performance at different viral load levels.Methods A series of calibrators with different concentrations(1×106,5×105,1×105,5×104,1×104,5×103,1×103,5×102,1×102,1×101 kIU/L) were prepared with AB-type sera using the second generation WHO international standard (NIBSC code:97/750). HBV viral load in the sera of 78 patients,30 healthy blood donors and 10 calibrators were detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR HBV DNA test kit from PIJI Bio-Technical Development Company Ltd (PG kit) and Cobas AmpliPrep/Cobas TaqMan HBV test kit. The correlation of the two methods was evaluated, and the performance of the two kits different viral load levels was evaluated. The false negative rate was analyzed. Negative control, low positive control and high positive control were included in every batch. Results Both two kits showed the correct results for the 10 specimens from the WHO international standards. The lowest detection limit of HBV DNA for Roche Cobas AmpliPrep/Cobas TaqMan HBV test and PG kit were 2.00 (kIU/L, lg) and 3.00 (kIU/L,lg) ,respectively. There was linear correlation between the results from Roche Cobas AmpliPrep/Cobas TaqMan HBV test and PG kit ( R2=0.938 7, P < 0.01 ), the upper limit of Roche kit had coincided with theoretical value. The samples with HBV DNA level above the upper limit of detection were diluted and retested to obtain the precise result. The result form Roche Cobas AmpliPrep/Cabas TaqMan HBV test [(8.35±0.20) kIU/L, lg] was higher than that from PG kit [(7.73±0.42 ) kIU/L, lg] (t=3. 776, P <0.05) . The detection of 108 serum samples showed that the level of HBV DNA detected by Roche Cobas AmpliPrep/Cobas TaqMan HBV test [(5.88±1.64) kIU/L, lg] was higher than that by PG kit [(5.25±1.55 kIU/L,lg] (t=12. 297 ,P <0.01 ). The correlation coefficients were high in samples with high HBV viral load[HBV DNA(>5.00 and≤7.00) kIU/L,Ig,R2=0. 779 7, P <0.01 ;HBV DNA( >7.00 ands≤9.00) kIU/L,lg,R2=0.603 7, P <0.01]. The correlation coefficient was low in samples with low HBV viral load[HBV DNA ( > 3.00 and≤5.00) kIU/L, lg, R2=0. 417 3, P <0.01 )]. When HBV DNA ( >3.00 and≤4.00) kIU/L,lg,the false negative rate was 33.3% (5/15). When HBV DNA ( > 1.08and≤3.00) kIU/L,lg,none of positive samples was detected with PG kit. Conclusions PG kit is not as good as Cobas AmpliPrep/Cobas TaqMan HBV test . The linear correlation between the results from the two kits is good. The correlation between the results detected with PG kit and Cobas AmpliPrep/Cobas TaqMan HBV test is higher in the high viral load groups than in the low viral load group. It is suggested that PG kit had a narrower linear range.

To investigate the protective effect of genistein on endotoxin-induced acute lung injury in rats, and explore the underlying mechanisms, 32 male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 4 experimental groups: saline control, genistein alone, lipopolysaccaride alone, and genistein pretreatment. Each treatment group consisted of eight animals. Animals were observed for 6 h after LPS challenge, and the wet/dry (W/D) weight ratio of the lung and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid(BALF) protein content were used as a measure of lung injury. Neutrophil recruitment and activation were evaluated by BALF cellularity and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity. RT-PCR analysis was performed in lung tissue to assess gene expression of ICAM-1. The histopathological changes were also observed using the HE staining of lung tissue. Our results showed that lung injury parameters, including the wet/dry weight ratio and protein content in BALF, were significantly higher in the LPS alone group than in the saline control group (P＜0.01). In the LPS alone group, a larger number of neutrophils and greater MPO activity in cell-free BAL and lung homogenates were observed when compared with the saline control group (P＜0.01). There was a significant increase in lung ICAM-1 mRNA in response to LPS challenge (P＜ 0. 01, group L versus group S).Genistein pretreatment significantly attenuated LPS-induced changes in these indices. LPS caused extensive lung damage, which was also lessened after genistein pretreatment. All above-mentioned parameters in the genistein alone group were not significantly different from those of the saline control group. It is concluded that genistein pretreatment attenuated LPS-induced lung injury in rats.This beneficial effect of genistein may involves, in part, an inhibition of neutrophilic recruitment and activity, possibly through an inhibition of lung ICAM-1 expression.

Objective To investigate the correlation between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of FOXP3 gene and the susceptibility of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods Two SNPs rs2280883 and rs3761549 of FOXP3 gene in 392 HCC patients and 372 healthy controls were analyzed by Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/ Ionization Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF).Results At rs3761549,C allele frequency was significantly higher ( OR =1.32,95％ CI 1.03 -1.70,P =0.027) in HCC patients than healthy controls.Compared with healthy controls,HCC patients had higher frequencies of TT genotype (79.6％ ) at rs2280883 or CC genotype (77.6％) at rs3761549 of FOXP3 gene.Patients carrying rs2280883 TT genotype ( OR =1.53,95％ CI 1.10 - 2.14,P ＜ 0.00001 ) or rs3761549 CC genotype ( OR =1.92,95％ CI 1.39 - 2.64,P ＜ 0.00001 ) were more susceptible to HCC.Stratified analysis showed that rs3761549 CC genotype was significantly associated with higher incidence of portal vein tumor thrombus ( x2 =5.578,P =0.018 ),and rs3761549 TT/CT genotype was significantly associated with higher rate of tumor recurrence in HCC patients (x2 =6.561,P =0.010).Conclusions FOXP3 gene polymorphisms at rs2280883 and rs3761549 might be associated with increased susceptibility to HCC. rs3761549,CC genotype and TT/CT genotype were respectively associated with higher incidence of portal vein tumor thrombus and tumor recurrence in HCC patients.

Objective To explore the feasibility of applying threshold and region-growing based algorithm in computed tomography (CT) images for the estimation of hepatic lesion volumes in patients with Tusanqi related hepatic sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (SOS).Methods From July 2012 to January 2015,at the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University,20 patients who were diagnosed with SOS and had complete CT images were enrolled.Stereology and threshold and regiongrowing based algorithm were performed to estimate volumes of the low-density region in the liver,respectively,and then the measured volumes of hepatic lesion and operation time were compared.Paired samples t test and the Bland-Altman statistical test were performed for statistical analysis.Results The hepatic lesion volumes measured by stereology and threshold and region-growing based algorithm were (1.001±0.327) dm3 and (1.045±0.363) dm3,respectively,and the difference was not statistically significant (P＞0.05).The consistency between the two methods was good.The operation time of threshold and region-growing based algorithm was (597.55±52.86) s (minimum 500 s),which was less than that of stereology (1 251.60 ± 105.88) s (minimum 1 075 s),and the difference was statistically significant (t =32.808,P＜ 0.01).Conclusion There is no statistically significant difference in the measured hepatic lesion volume of patients with SOS between stereology and the threshold and regiongrowing based algorithm,but the operation time of threshold and region-growing based algorithm is shorter.

Objective To investigate the clinical significance of procalcitonin(PCT)and serum amyloid A (SAA)in early bacterial infection in preschool children.Methods 67 children with bacterial infection(bacte-rial infection group),62 children with viral infection(viral infection group)and 60 healthy children(healthy control group)were enrolled in this study,latex enhanced turbidimetric immunoassay was used to detect SAA and turbidimetric immunoassay was used to detect the level of PCT,the levels of SAA and PCT and the posi-tive rate were compared among all groups,and the sensitivity,specificity and positive predictive value,negative predictive value and Youden index of SAA and PCT levels.Results The levels of SAA and PCT in the bacte-rial infection group before treatment were significantly higher than those in the viral infection group and the healthy control group(P<0.05),7 days after treatment,the levels of SAA and PCT decreased significantly (P<0.05);the level of PCT in viral infection group was not significantly different from that in healthy control group(P>0.05),but the positive rate of SAA was significantly different from that of the healthy control group(P<0.05).The sensitivity,specificity,positive predictive value and negative predictive value of PCT for early bacterial infection in preschool children were 92.5%,93.5%,93.9%,92.1%,respectively,of the SAA values were 97.0%,59.7%,72.2% and 94.9%,respectively,there were significant differences between the two groups in specificity and positive predictive value(P<0.05).Conclusion Detection of SAA and PCT lev-els was helpful for early diagnosis,differential diagnosis and prognosis of bacterial infection in preschool chil-dren.

There are trillions of bacteria in the human′s intestine, these bacteria constitute the largest human microbiota what are called intestinal flora , the intestinal flora participate in or affect the occurrence and development of a variety of diseases with the host as a whole .This review is focused on the relationship between intestinal microbiota and digestive diseases .It is helpful for clinicians to expand their understanding of the pathogenesis of related diseases and to broaden the diagnosis and treatment of diseases by understanding and studying the effects of intestinal microflora on the development of these diseases .