Objective To investigate the diagnostic value and biological features of protein induced by vitamin K absence or antagonist Ⅱ (PIVKA-Ⅱ) and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).Methods Serum samples of 72 patients with HCC (HCC group), 54 patients with hepatitis B cirrhosis (cirrhosis group) and 30 patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) without cirrhosis (CHB group) were tested with the PIVKA-Ⅱ and AFP detection kits.Diagnostic efficacies of PIVKA-Ⅱ and AFP were evaluated by receiver-operating characteristic curve (ROC).The cut-off value of PIVKA-Ⅱ for diagnose HCC was also determined.Sensitivities and specificities of PIVKA-Ⅱ and AFP were compared.Results The medians of PIVKA-Ⅱ levels in HCC group, cirrhosis group and CHB group were 14.36, 11.21, and 329.88 mAU/mL, respectively.The serum PIVKA-Ⅱ level in the HCC group was significantly higher than that in cirrhosis group (U=342.50, P<0.01).And serum PIVKA-Ⅱ level in cirrhosis group was also higher than that in CHB group (U=481.50,P>0.05).The serum PIVKA-Ⅱ levels in patients with BCLC stage A, B, C in HCC group were 22.13, 345.46, and 13 057.72 mAU/mL, respectively.After comparison of stage A and C with stage B, the differences were both statistically significant (stage A to B: U=119.0, P<0.01;stage B to C: U=158.0, P<0.01).The sensitivity and specificity of PIVKA-Ⅱ with a cut-off value of 30.01 mAU/mL by means of Youden index were 0.750 and 1.000, respectively.When combined PIVKA-Ⅱ with AFP, the sensitivity and specificity were 0.800 and 0.964, respectively.The area under the curve (AUC) was highest (AUC=0.930, 95%CI: 0.852-0.974), and significantly higher than that using PIVKA-Ⅱ alone (AUC=0.892, 95%CI: 0.834-0.950,x2=21.43,P<0.01).Conclusions The diagnostic value of serum PIVKA-Ⅱ is superior to AFP.Combined with AFP, serum PIVKA-Ⅱ can improve the detection rate of HCC, and has advantages during the development of HCC and can be used to monitor the condition of HCC patients.

Objective:To explore the predictive value of the recurrence risk estimator at 90-days(RRE-90) score combined with lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) and high sensitivity C-reactive protein(hs-CRP) in the recurrence risk of acute atherosclerotic cerebral infarction.Methods:Totally 400 patients with acute atherosclerotic cerebral infarction who were hospitalized for the first time in neurology department were followed up for 90 days.However, 8 cases were lost and 392 cases were included finally.According to recurrence or not, 64 cases were divided into recurrence group and 328 cases into non-recurrence group.The RRE-90 score was applied to all the participants and the levels of Lp-PLA2 was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, the levels of hs-CRP was detected by immunoturbidimetry.The ROC curve was used to analyze the predictive value of RRE-90 score combined with Lp-PLA2 and hs-CRP for the recurrence risk of acute cerebral infarction.Results:Compared with the non-recurrence group(RRE-90: (3.07±1.01)score, Lp-PLA2: (103.53±8.11)μg/L, hs-CRP: (4.07±1.48)mg/L), the levels of (RRE-90 score: (4.11±0.78)score, Lp-PLA2: (121.52±13.95)μg/L, hs-CRP: (12.40±2.46) mg/L)in the recurrence group of cerebral infarction were significantly higher ( P<0.05, P<0.01). Compared with RRE-90 score (0.705), Lp-PLA2 (0.697), hs-CRP (0.622), RRE-90 score combined with Lp-PLA2 (0.752), RRE-90 score combined with hs-CRP (0.746), RRE-90 score combined with Lp-PLA2 and hs-CRP (0.782) had the largest area under the curve for predicting recurrence of cerebral infarction within 90 days, with statistical significance( P<0.05), sensitivity was 87.8%, specificity was 89.6%. Conclusion:RRE-90 score combined with Lp-PLA2 and hs-CRP detection can further improve the accuracy of predicting recurrence within 90 days in patients with cerebral atherosclerotic infarction, and the predictive value is high.

OBJECTIVETo investigate action of hydrophilic constituents from Coptidis Rhizoma on glucose-lowering effect metabolism of berberine in HepG2 cells.

METHODHydrophilic fractions of Coptidis Rhizoma were prepared by high speed counter current chromatography and separated by silica gel column chromatography. MTT assay was used to monitor the proliferation of HepG2 cells, and Kit was used to test the glucose consumption in culture solution.

RESULTCholine was separated from Coptidis Rhizoma for the first time. Cell assay showed choline can significantly increase the glucose lowering effect of berberine and improve the cytotoxicity of berberine within test concentration. Compared with same dose of berberine, berberine 38 mg x L(-1) in combination with choline 100 mg x L(-1) can make glucose consumption increase by 34% and elevate cell livability up to 75% in HepG2 cells.

CONCLUSIONThe results suggest that choline had a synergistic effect on improving glucose absorption of berberine and decreasing cytotoxicity of berberine.

Absorption ; drug effects ; Berberine ; pharmacology ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Choline ; analysis ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Drug Synergism ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; Glucose ; metabolism ; Hep G2 Cells ; Humans ; Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions

In recent years, the science and technology of organ transplantation have developed rapidly, which has been widely applied worldwide. However, multiple challenges remain to be resolved by clinicians, such as functional damage and immune rejection of transplant organs, immune deficiency caused by extensive use of immunosuppressants, chronic allograft dysfunction and adverse reactions. This article introduced relevant key research results published in 2021, taking the function and mechanism of immune cell subsets in the process of organ transplantation rejection or immune tolerance, and the research and application of new materials and drugs in organ transplantation as the main clues. The latest research progresses on regional immune response, especially the application of tissue-resident memory T cell in organ transplantation, were briefly summarized, and the future development of transplantation immunology was prospected.

Objective:To investigate the role of Sestrin2 overexpression in regulating mitochondrial fission and its mechanism in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cell model of glucose and oxygen deprivation/recovery (OGD/R). Methods:(1) SH-SY5Y cells were divided into normal control group, OGD/R group, Vector group, and Sestrin2 overexpression group; Sestrin2 overexpression or empty vector stable cell lines in the Sestrin2 overexpression group and Vector group were constructed by lentivirus infection; cells in the later 3 groups were subjected to oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) for 4 h followed by restoration of O 2 supply for 18 h. The cell survival rate was detected by cell counting kit (CCK)-8 assay. The protein levels of Sestrin2, dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1), mitochondrial fission protein 1 (Fis1), B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2), Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax), Kelch-like ECH-related protein 1 (Keap1) in the cytoplasm and nuclear factor E2-related factor (Nrf2) in the nucleus were detected by Western blotting. The mitochondria ultrastructure was observed by transmission electron microscope. The Nrf2 nuclear translocation was detected by immunofluorescence staining. (2) Cell lines with Sestrin2 overexpression were divided into Sestrin2 overexpression group, Brusatol+ Sestrin2 overexpression group, and DMSO+ Sestrin2 overexpression group. Cells in the Brusatol+ Sestrin2 overexpression group were pretreated with normal medium containing Brusatol (Keap1/Nrf2 pathway inhibitor, final concentration: 100 nmol/L) for 4 h before OGD/R; cells in the DMSO+ Sestrin2 group were pretreated with normal medium containing DMSO (final volume fraction: 0.1%) for 4 h before OGD/R. Cells in these groups were then subjected to OGD for 4 h followed by restoration of O 2 supply for 18 h. The protein levels of Drp1, Fis1, Keap1 in the cytoplasm, and Nrf2 in the nucleus were measured by Western blotting. Results:(1) As compared with those in the OGD/R group, cells in the Sestrin2 overexpression group had significantly increased survival rate (61.33%±1.15% vs. 81.00%±3.00%), significantly up-regulated Bcl-2/Bax ratio (0.467±0.006 vs. 0.880±0.010), significantly decreased Drp1, Fis1 and cytoplasmic Keap1 protein levels (1.089±0.033 vs. 0.865±0.014; 0.829±0.009 vs. 0.350±0.007; 0.967±0.017 vs. 0.881±0.024), and significantly up-regulated nuclear Nrf2 protein level (0.627±0.025 vs. 0.957±0.015, P<0.05). The mitochondrial structure in the Sestrin2 overexpression group under electron microscope was more complete than that in the OGD/R group, and obvious nuclear translocation of Nrf2 was noted. (2) As compared with the Sestrin2 overexpression group, Brusatol+ Sestrin2 overexpression group had significantly decreased nuclear Nrf2 protein level (0.920±0.013 vs. 0.627±0.035), and statistically increased Drp1 and Fis1 protein levels (0.994±0.020 vs. 1.084±0.005; 0.728±0.010 vs. 0.906±0.022, P<0.05). Conclusion:Sestrin2 overexpression could suppress mitochondrial fission, reduce cell apoptosis, and attenuate OGD/R injury of SH-SY5Y cells by activating Keap1/Nrf2 pathway via down-regulating cytoplasmic Keap1 protein level and promoting Nrf2 nuclear translocation.

Objective:To investigate the clinical characteristics and prognosis of idiopathic inflammatory myopathy (IIM) patients with positive anti-melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 (MDA5) antibody.Methods:A total of 194 hospitalized IIM patients who were tested for myositis-specific autoantibodies (MSAs) in the Departments of Rheumatology and Immunology of Tianjin Medical University General Hospital from January 2015 to September 2020 were collected, including 29 cases with positive anti-MDA5 antibody and 165 cases with negative anti-MDA5 antibody. Their clinical data were analyzed retrospectively. T test was used for measurement data with normal distribution. Measurement data with non-normal distribution were tested by Mann-Whitney U rank sum test. χ2 test was used for counting data. Risk factors were analyzed by binary Logistic regression, survival analysis by Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression analysis. Results:IIM patients with positive anti-MDA5 antibody had a high incidence of dermatomyositis specific skin rash, and the skin rash was the most common presenting symptom. In the positive anti-MDA5 antibody group, muscle symptoms were mild; and the patients were prone to have fever, arthritis, oral ulcer and weight loss. All patients were complicated with interstitial lung disease (ILD). In patients with negative anti-MDA5 antibody, white blood cell (WBC) count [7.59(5.61, 9.89)×10 9/L vs 4.07(3.17, 5.50×10 9/L, Z=-5.05, P<0.001], platelet (PLT) [249.00 (200.00, 302.00)×10 9/L vs 205.00 (178.00, 244.00)×10 9/L, Z=-2.59, P=0.010], lymphocyte (LY) [1.34(0.85, 1.94)×10 9/L vs 0.64(0.40, 0.83)×10 9/L, Z=-5.78, P<0.001), serum creatine kinase (CK) [558.00 (72.00, 2 959.00) U/L vs 64.00 (35.00, 149.50) U/L, Z=-3.97, P<0.001], creatine kinase isoenzymes (CK-MB) [38.00 (17.00, 127.00) U/L vs 16.00 (14.00, 25.00) U/L, Z=-3.84, P<0.001], myoglobin (MYO) [243.65 (60.50, 829.83) ng/ml vs 34.55(21.00, 104.23) ng/ml, Z=-3.98, P<0.001], troponin T (TnT) [0.09(0.03, 0.44) ng/ml vs 0.02(0.01, 0.04) ng/ml, Z=-4.17, P<0.001], albumin (ALB) [34.00(30.00, 38.00) g/L vs 31.00 (26.50, 36.00) g/L, Z=-2.68, P=0.007], cluster of differentiation 4 (CD4) + T cells [498.00(276.00, 752.00) cells/μl vs 259.50 (179.00, 498.25) cells/μl, Z=-2.79, P=0.005], partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO 2) [39.00(36.13, 42.00) mmHg vs 35.35 (31.30, 38.88) mmHg, Z=-3.75, P<0.001], partial pressure of oxygen (PaO 2) [82.00(71.90, 90.20) mmHg vs 73.25(64.30, 84.05) mmHg, Z=-2.08, P=0.037], arterial oxygen saturation (SaO 2) [96.50% (95.05%, 97.30)% vs 95.80%(93.70%, 96.55%), Z=-2.11, P=0.035], diffusion capacity for carbon monoxide of the Lung (DLco) [(63±21) % vs (52±14)%, t=0.96, P=0.006] were significantly reduced, while UTP [260.50 (172.25, 401.25) g vs 331.00 (252.75, 666.25) g, Z=-2.18, P=0.029], alanine aminotransferase (ALT) [40.00 (21.00, 83.00) U/L vs 56.00(40.00, 107.50), Z=-2.27, P=0.023], glutamyltranspeptidas (GGT) [22.50(15.00, 42.00) U/L vs 57.00 (38.00, 101.50) U/L, Z=-4.98, P<0.001], D-Dimer [850.00 (485.00, 1 799.50) ng/ml vs 1 346.00 (896.50, 2 527.00) ng/ml, Z=-2.55, P=0.011], immunoglobulin (Ig)E [60.00 (25.60, 147.50) U/ml vs 173.00(68.25, 471.50) U/ml, Z=-3.06, P=0.002], C4[20.25(16.68, 25.03) mg/L vs 23.60(20.20, 28.35) mg/L, Z=-2.38, P=0.017], Fer [228.01 (115.40, 513.36) ng/ml vs 1 636.39 (851.80, 3 888.82) ng/ml, Z=-6.01, P<0.001], krebsvondenlungen-6 (KL-6) [365.00 (180.25, 1 018.75) U/ml vs 788.00 (406.00, 1 364.00) U/ml, Z=-2.10, P=0.035] were higher when compared to patients with positive anti-MDA5 antibody. In the anti-MDA5 antibody positive group, patients had high mortality rate [8.5%(14/165) vs 34.5%(10/29), χ2=13.07, P<0.001], and the use of intravenous immunoglobulin [32.7%(54/165) vs 65.5%(19/29), χ2=11.30, P=0.001] and steroid pulse therapy [4.8%(86/165) vs 27.6%(8/29), χ2=13.98, P<0.001] were more frequent. Patients in the positive anti-MDA5 antibody group were classified into two sub groups based on lung features: the rapidly progressive interstitial lung disease (RP-ILD) group (48.28%, 14/29) and the chronic interstitial lung disease (C-ILD) group (51.72%, 15/29). RP-ILD patients had significantly elder disease onset age, higher C-reaction protein (CRP), Fer, IgE levels and the positive rate of anti-Ro52 antibody, while ALT was lower. The difference was statistically significant. Regression analysis suggested that older onset age [ HR (95% CI)=1.154 (1.069, 1.246), P<0.001], male [ HR(95% CI)=6.383(1.038, 39.242), P=0.045], positive anti-MDA5 antibody [ HR(95% CI)=17.180 (2.900, 101.766), P=0.002], LY decrease [ HR (95% CI)=0.083 (0.008, 0.817), P=0.033], high serum Fer level [ HR (95% CI)=1.001(1.000, 1.001), P=0.016], increased D-Dimer [ HR(95% CI)=1.000(1.000, 1.001), P=0.004] and compicated with carcinoma [ HR (95% CI)=11.849 (1.978, 70.970), P=0.007] were independent risk factors for death in IIM patients. Binary logistic regression analysis suggested that late onset age [ OR(95% CI)=1.090 (1.005, 1.183), P=0.038], high Fer level [ OR (95% CI)=1.001 (1.000, 1.001), P=0.022] and decreased ALB [ OR (95% CI)=0.818 (0.696, 0.963), P=0.016] might be risk factors for RP-ILD in patients with positive anti-MDA5 antibody. Conclusion:In patients with positive anti-MDA5 antibody group, typical skin damage, mild muscle symptoms, high proportion of ILD and poor prognosis are chardcteristic when compared to patients without this autoantibody. It is necessary to monitor the disease activity closely and explore the treatment strategy.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia in the elderly, and there is no specific treatment to stop or reverse its progression. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is an important entry point for early diagnosis and prevention of AD. More and more studies have explored the risk factors and biomarkers for conversion from MCI to AD, and a series of risk prediction models have been established. This article analyzes and summarizes the different predictors and risk prediction models so as to provide basis for early identifying the high-risk group of AD, managing the controllable risk factors, and providing references for the selection and improvement of these models.

Objective To analyze the current situation of the official micro-blogs of the health and family planning commissions of provincial level, and to understand its application approaches.Methods The internet crawler software was used to collect the 102 899 micro-blog posts published by 24 official micro-blogs of health and family planning commissions of provincial level,and analyze the information of crawling by using content analysis method.Results At present, except for a number of provinces in the eastern regions where such micro-blogs were active and interactive,most of these official micro-blogs were found poor in operation management, especially in the spreading capacity; their micro-blog content was focused on science popularization(59.50%).Part of the content lacked scientific basis,and was short of planning in their information release form and content.Conclusions These micro-blogs need optimization in operations management,service positioning,information release specifications,and content audit.Such efforts can help improve their spreading capacity,influence and user viscosity, in order to better serve the public, achieve the goal of a service-oriented government.

ObjectiveTo investigate and analyze the knowledge, attitude and behavior of oral health for hemiplegic patients. MethodsFrom August 15 to September 15, 2019, patients with hemiplegia caused by central nervous system damages such as stroke and traumatic brain injury in Beijing Bo'ai Hospital were investigated their demographic information, oral health behavior, oral health knowledge, oral health attitude and utilization of oral health services through paper questionnaires. ResultsA total of 200 questionnaires were sent out and 184 valid questionnaires were collected. There were 103 patients with good brushing habits, and the highest proportion was in independent walkers (χ² = 6.564，P = 0.038). The average score of oral health knowledge was 5.3, and the average accuracy of oral health knowledge was 75.7%. The average score of oral health attitude was 3.3, and the average positive attitude was 81.8%. Both the knowledge and attuite scores were not significant in different characteristics (Z < 5.299, P > 0.05). There were 59 patients visiting institute of stomatology in past twelve months, and there was no significant difference among genders and travel modes (χ² < 4.707, P > 0.05). ConclusionThe brushing habits is well in independent walkers. The oral health knowledge and attitude of hemiplegia patients need to be improved, and the utilization of oral health services is low.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of nicotinamide adenine dinucleoside phosphate oxidases 1(NOX1) and nuclear factor-kappa B(NF-κB) in tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)-induced oxidative damage in A549 cells. METHODS: i) TNF-α was used to stimulated A549 cells at the concentrations of 0.0, 10.0, 25.0 and 50.0 μg/L. Cell inhibition rate in each group was tested by CCK-8 assay to select the appropriate concentration. ii) A549 cells in logarithmic growth phase were divided into blank control group, solvent control group, TNF-α group, diphenylene iodine(DPI) group and TNF-α+DPI group for NOX1 inhibitor experiment. Logarithmic growth phase A549 cells were divided into blank control group, TNF-α group, BAY11-7082 group and TNF-α+BAY11-7082 group for NF-κB inhibitor experiment. The relative expression of NOX1 and p65 protein in each group was detected by Western blot method. The relative expression of intracellular reactive oxygen species(ROS) were detected by flow cytometry. RESULTS: i) The inhibition rate of A549 cells increased with the increase of TNF-α dose(P<0.05), and 25.0 μg/L was selected as the stimulation dose of TNF-α in subsequent experiments. ii) The relative expression of NOX1, p65 protein and ROS in the TNF-α group was higher than that in the blank control group, solvent control group and DPI group, respectively(P<0.05). The above indexes in TNF-α+DPI group were lower than that in TNF-α group(P<0.05), but higher than that in DPI group(P<0.05). The relative expression of NOX1, p65 protein and ROS in the TNF-α group were higher than that in the blank control group and the BAY11-7082 group(P<0.05), while the above indicators in the TNF-α+BAY11-7082 group were lower than that in the TNF-α group(P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Inhibition of NOX1 or NF-κB can alleviate the oxidative damage induce by TNF-α in A549 cells.