OBJECTIVETo observe the expression of peripheral blood CD4+ T lymphocyte apoptosis gene in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with cold dampness type (CDT), and to explore its correlation with clinical indicators of RA.

METHODSSixteen RA patients with CDT (as the RA group) and 16 healthy subjects (as the normal control group) were recruited. CD4 T cell apoptosis rate was detected in the RA group and the normal control group using FCM. mRNA expressions of fas, fasL, caspase-3, caspase-8, bcl-2, and bax were detected using RT-PCR. Correlations between the expression of apoptosis gene and clinical activity indicators of RA (ESR, CRP, RF, CCP, integrals for Chinese medial symptoms, morning stiffness time, joint tenderness number, joint swelling number, DAS28-3) were analyzed.

RESULTSThe apoptosis rate of CD4+ T was significantly lower in the RA group than in the control group [(2. 6 +/- 0.9) % vs. (7.7 +/- 1.3) %, P < 0.01]. mRNA expression levels of fas, fasL, caspase-8, caspase-3, and bax mRNA of CD4+ T significantly decreased, but bcl-2 mRNA expression increased in the RA group (P < 0.01). The apoptosis rate of CD4+ T was negatively correlated with ESR (P < 0.05). The mRNA expression of caspase-8 was negatively correlated with joint swelling number (P < 0.05). The mRNA expression of bcl-2 was negatively correlated with integrals for Chinese medial-symptoms and joint function classification (P < 0.01, P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONApoptosis obstacle exists in peripheral blood CD4 +T lymphocyte of RA patients, and is closely related to disease activity.

Apoptosis ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; diagnosis ; metabolism ; pathology ; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes ; Caspase 3 ; metabolism ; Caspase 8 ; metabolism ; Fas Ligand Protein ; Humans ; RNA, Messenger

OBJECTIVE: Because of the widely origin, easily isolation and cultivation, the powerful multiplication ability and some other characteristics, endothelial progenitor cells have become the most important seeding cells in tissue-engineered vascular, but the condition to become a vascular in vitro, characteristics of endothelial progenitor cells and their progress in research and application in the tissue-engineered vascular deserve further study. DATA SOURCES: A computer-based online search of PUBMED database was undertaken to identify articles about endothelial progenitor cells being seeding cells in tissue-engineered vascular application published from January 1997 to July 2006 by using the keywords of "Endothelial progenitor cells,Tissue-engineered vascular,Tissue Engineering Blood Vessel" in English. STUDY SELECTION: The data were selected firstly, and quotation of each articles were read. Inclusive criteria: all articles related to the characteristics of endothelial progenitor cells and their progress in research and application in the tissue-engineered vascular were selected. Exclusive criteria: repetitive research or Meta articles were excluded. DATA EXTRACTION:Totally 136 articles were collected, of which 30 articles were associated with inclusive criteria. The 106 excluded articles were with old content or repetitive research. The 30 articles contained 8 articles on characteristics of endothelial progenitor cells, 14 articles about the advantages of endothelial progenitor cells as seeding cells in tissue-engineered vascular application, 8 articles on the application of endothelial progenitor cells construction in tissue-engineered vascular. DATA SYNTHESIS: ① Endothelial progenitor cells could be isolated from bone-marrow, peripheral blood, spleen and so on. They expressed CD133 and distinction from endothelial cells by CD133. Endothelial progenitor cells could transform to endothelial cells and smooth muscles, too. ② Endothelial progenitor cells could raise the density of capillary and the number of angiovascular. There were many research indicated that endothelial progenitor cells could improve ischemic, repair the injure of endocardium; Endothelial progenitor cells could improve reendothelialization, protect endomembrane, and hold the integrity of endomembrane; when incorporated with ischemic vascular, endothelial progenitor cells could improve patency rate and prevent restenosis. ③ With smooth muscle cells and some other materials, endothelial progenitor cells could widely applied in constructing tissue-engineered vascular and have a brilliant prospect in the tissue-engineering blood vessel. CONCLUSION: The research of endothelial progenitor cells will have a breakthrough in the expression of its vessel and the function in the organization remodeling. As one of the seeding cells, endothelial progenitor cells have widely origin and the powerful multiplication ability, and they have a brilliant prospect in the tissue-engineering blood vessel.

Objective To investigate the effect on cell cycle of hepatitis B virus x protein and ap- proach the molecular mechanism of x protein's carcinogenesis. Methods Gene transfection mediated by the lipofectamine was used to introduce the eukaryotic expression vector of HBV x gene into human hepato- cellular carcinoma cell line HepG2(HepG2X cell).The selective medium containing G418 was used to select the cell clones which the X protein was expressed constantly.Flow eytometry was used to detect the cycle of the cells;raf-1 protein was detected by Western blot.Results X protein could be expressed on 21?10~3 loca- tion in the transfected cells,while there were no protein expressed in the control cells.The proliferation of X cells increased significantly according to MTS method(P

To study the significance of the levels of plasma inflammatory cytokines (IL-6,IL-8,IL-10 and TNF-?) in patients with acute deep venous thrombosis (DVT) of lower extremity. Methods Forty untreated DVT cases were selected as the subjects in the DVT group, while thirty healthy subjects, whose ages and genders showed no significant difference with the DVT patients, were collected as the control group. The plasma levels of IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-? were detected by radioimmunoassay (RIA), and the plasma level of IL-10 was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Correlation analysis was used to investigate the relationships between the levels of different inflammatory cytokines within DVT group. Results The levels of plasma cytokines in the DVT group were all significantly higher than those in control group (P

Objective To evaluate the role of cadiocyte connexin 43 (Cx43) in mito-KATP channel mediated cardioprotection against ischemia-reperfusion(I/R) injury induced by sevoflurane preconditioning in isolated rat hearts.Methods Forty hearts from male adult SD rats weghing 200-250 g were excised and perfused in a Langendorff apparatus with K-H solution with 95 ％ O2-5 ％ CO2 at 36.5-37.5 ℃.Their hearts were randomly divided into 5 groups (n =8 each): control group (group C),group I/R,sevoflurane preconditioning group (group S),sevoflurane preconditioning + 5-HD group (group SH) and 5-HD group (group H).Myocardial I/R was induced by occlusion of the anterior descending branch of left coronary artery (LAD) for 30 min followed by 120 min reperfusion.After 10 min of equilibration,group C received continuous perfusion and LAD was exposed but not occluded.Group I/R received continuous perfusion for 30 min and LAD was occluded.In group S,SH and H,3％ sevoflurane,3 ％ sevoflurane mixed with 100μmmol/L 5-HD and 100 tmmol/L 5-HD was added into K-H solution to perfuse for 15 min respectively.After that,the hearts were washed by K-H solution for 15 min.HR,left ventricular systolic pressure ( LVSP),left ventricular diastolic pressure (LVDP) and ± dp/dtmax were recorded before administration (T0),immediately after administration (T1),immediately before ischemia ( T2 ),at 30 min of ischemia (T3) and 120 min of reperfusion (T4).At the end of reperfusion,left ventricular tissue was removed for determination of myocardial infarct size and expression of Cx43 and phosphor Cx43 (p-Cx43) by immunohistochemistry and Western blot respectively.Results Compared with group C,HR,LVSP and ± dp/dtmax were significantly decreased,LVDP was increased and the expression of Cx43 and p-Cx43 were down-regulated in groups I/R,SH and H (P ＜ 0.05).Compared with group I/R,HR,LVSP and ± dp/dtmax were significantly increased,LVDP and myocardial infarct size decreased,and the expression of Cx43 and p-Cx43 up-regulated in group S ( P ＜ 0.05),no significant difference was found in groups S + H and H( P ＞ 0.05 ).Conclusion Sevoflurane preconditioning can open mito-KATP channel,promote cadiocyte Cx43 phosphorylation,attenuate I/R injury in isolated rat hearts.

Objective To evaluate the value of digital subtraction computed tomography angiography(DSCTA)in the diagnosis of intracranial small aneurysms.Methods 92 patients with intracranial aneurysms confirmed by digital subtraction angiography(DSA) or surgery were selected as the subjects of this study.Their clinical and CT imaging data were analyzed retrospectively.The diagnos-tic accuracy of DSCTA and conventional CTA for intracranial aneurysms was compared.Results A total of 102 aneurysms were con-firmed in the 92 patients,100 of them were detected by DSCTA and 89 by conventional CTA (χ2 =8.707,P =0.003).Two small aneurysms of less than 5.0 mm located respectively at the cavernous sinus and beneath the clinoid segments were missed by DSCTA, while 13 by conventional CTA.When aneurysms of less than 3.0 mm and 3.0-5.0 mm were combined with calculation,the sensi-tivity of DSCTA in detecting aneurysms of less than 5.0 mm was significantly higher than that of conventional CTA (χ2 =8.393,P =0.004).Conclusion DSCTA has more advantages than conventional CTA in the diagnosis of intracranial aneurysms,especially for the small aneurysms adjacent to the skull base.DSCTA can be used as a preferred technique in the screening and diagnosis of in-tracranial aneurysms.

Objective To analyze the pathogen distribution and drug resistance of candida isolated from children with blood infections in our hospital,and to provide reference for clinical effective prevention and treatment.Methods The blood specimens of pediatric patients were collected between January 2009 and December 2015,and were cultured using BacT/ALERT 3D and BD9140 instruments.The candida were separated with Sobaurandps agar culture medium,and identified with chromogenic medium,API 20CAUX test strips or VITEK-2 compact YST card.The minimal inhibitory concentration of 5 drugs were determined by ATB FUNGUS 3 system.Results In 176 cases,92 strains (52.3％) were from neonatal ward,and 46 strains (26.1％) were from PICU.In newborn group,85 strains were isolated from premature,which contained the low and very low birth weight infants (37 strains),pneumonia(20 strains),neonatal respiratory distress syndrome(9 strains).In PICU,the strains were commonly isolated from children with severe infection.Among 176 strains of candida,71 strains (40.3％) were C.albicans,62 strains (35.2％) were C.parapsilosis,16 strains(9.1％) were C.glabrata,9 strains(5.1％) were C.tropicalis,and 18 strains(10.2％) belonged to other candida.Conclusion Candida blood infections can happen at all age of chlidren.The most common strains detected from blood were C.albicans,followed by C.parapsilosis.Most of these strains are susceptible to antifungal drugs,such as fluconazole,except C.glabrata.The sensitive rates to commonly used antifungal drug are more than 93％.The selection of antifungal drugs should be based on the species of strains.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the mechanism that bacteria growing in biofilm(BF) always resist to antimicrobial agents,and to provide the theoretical basis for selecting antimicrobial agents in clinic. METHODS Model of Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli bacterial biofilm was built up with the modified flat-board method and identified with the AgNO_3 staining and confocal scanning laser microscopy.We used imipenem to induce the ESBLs production of BF bacteria.ESBLs production was performed by the standard disk diffusion method. RESULTS The isolation rate of ESBLs producing strains in Klebsiella and E.coli planktonically was 20.0% and 22.5%,respectively.The isolation rate of ESBLs producing strains in Klebsiella biofilm and E.coli was 42.5% and 47.5%,respectively.The isolation rate of ESBLs producing strains in above two biofilms and(E.coli) biofilm being induced by imipenem was 65.0% and 70.0%,respectively.The isolation rate of groups A_1 and B_1,groups B_1 and C_1,groups A_2 and B_2,groups B_2 and C_2 was different from each other significantly with the statistic method of ?~2 test. CONCLUSIONS One of the main reasons that Klebsiella and E.coli resist to antibiotics is the synergetic effect of BF and ESBLs.

Objective:To investigate the effects of nitric oxide(NO) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in the experimental abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) rat model.Methods:An intra-aortic elastase infusion model was used.Control rats received intra-aortic saline infusion.In the remaining groups,intra-aortic elastase infusion was used to induce aneurysm formation.These rats were treated with intraperitoneal injections of saline postoperatively(experimental group),aminoguanidine postoperatively(medicine group).Serum NO and aortic diameter were measured,Changes of histology,iNOS and MMP-9 were observed in the aortic wall.Results:Experimental group produced AAAs with significant production of iNOS,MMPs and serum NO compared with controls.In medicine group reduced aneurysm size and displayed suppression of MMPs expression,inflammatory infiltrates and serum NO production were detected.Conclusion:Expression of iNOS and MMP-9 are induced and serum NO levels are increased in experimental AAA,iNOS and NO production by iNOS play an important role with detrimental effects during experimental aneurysm development.

AIM: To observe the effects of valsartan on the cardiac hypertrophy and the expression of PTEN in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). METHODS: Twenty 12-week-old male SHR were randomly divided into 2 groups:SHR positive control group and valsartan treating group ( 30 mg?kg -1?d -1). 10 homogenous Wistar-kyoto (WKY) rats were served as normal control group. Blood pressure and the ratio of left ventricular weight to body weight(LVW/BW)of rats were monitored periodically during the 8-weeks studies. Expression of PTEN in cardiac myocytes was determined by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: Blood pressure and LVW/BW increased in the valsartan group more than those in the SHR control group, and the expression of PTEN in cardiac myocytes in valsartan group increased more than that in the SHR control group, but the indexes were lower than those in the WKY group. CONCLUSION: Valsartan can not only inhibit the progression of cardiac hypertrophy in spontaneously hypertensive rats, but also increase the expression of PTEN. PTEN may play a role in cardiac hypertrophy.