Objective To observe the inhibitory effect of atorvastatin on bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis in SD rats and study their possible mechanism.Methods 30 male SD mice under SPF condition with average body weight of 250g were randomly allocated to three groups (n =10,each) of saline control group (control group),bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis group (pulmonary fibrosis group) and atorvastatin treatment group (treatment group).Bleomycin (5mg/kg) (versus 0.2 ml saline in control group) were endotracheally instilled in pulmonary fibrosis group and the treatment group in order to establish the model of pulmonary fibrosis.Subsequently,the rats in the treatment group received daily atorvastatin (10 mg/kg) orally.5 rats in each group were sacrificed on 7th and 28th day after intratracheal instillation.Their lung tissues were taken and tested.The histological changes in the lungs were evaluated by hematoxylin-eosin and masson stain.The tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) level and hydroxyproline content in lung tissues were measured by enzymelinked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).The expressions of Kruppel-like factor 2 (KLF2) protein and mRNA in lung tissues were measured by Western blotting and Real-Time PCR.Results The lung tissue in model group had significant bleeding and oozing inflammatory response on the 7th day and pulmonary fibrosis on the 28th day.Bleeding and oozing inflammatory response and pulmonary fibrosis were subdued in treatment group on the same days as compared to the model group.Hydroxyproline and TNF-α contents in lung tissue were significantly higher in model group than in control group (both P＜0.05).KLF2 protein and KLF2-mRNA expressions in lung tissues were significantly lower in model group than in control group (both P＜0.05).The above changes were partially reversed in treatment group.Compared to model group,treatment group showed that hydroxyproline and TNF-α contents in lung tissues were significantly reduced (both P＜0.05) and KLF2 protein and KLF2 mRNA expressions in lung tissues were significantly increased (both P＜ 0.05).Conclusions Atorvastatin can reduce the secretion of TNF-α and alleviate bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis.The mechanism inhibiting fibrosis might be associated with up-regulation of KLF2-mRNA expression.

Acute-On-Chronic Liver Failure ; complications ; virology ; Adult ; DNA Mutational Analysis ; Female ; Genetic Variation ; Hepatitis B virus ; genetics ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; complications ; virology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged

Objective To assess the risk factors of the in-hospital mortality of acute type A aortic dissection after operation. Method From January 2003 to June 2008,185 patients, 144 males and 41 females, with acute type A aortic dissection operated on were enrolled. The average age of patients was (49.46 ± 11.04 ) years old.The patients' demographics, history, clinical features, and some laboratory examinations were reviewed. Univariate and multivariate analysis followed by logistic regression analysis were carried out to identify the predictors of inhospital mortality. Results The in-hospital mortality rate was 9.1%. The results of univariate and multivariate analyses as follows: pre-operation positive neurological symptom (Univariate OR = 5.084,95%CI:1.792 -14.426, P = 0.002; Multivariate OR = 5.538,95%CI: 1.834 - 16.721, P = 0.002, respectively), hypotension (Univariate OR = 6.986,95%CI:1.510- 32.323,P =0.013; multivariate OR = 1.998,95%CI:0.315-12.679,P = 0.463, respectively) and renal failure (Univariate OR = 3.594,95%CI:1.237 - 10.438,P =0.019; Multivariate OR = 3.254,95%CI:1.034- 10.242, P= 0.044, respectively). Conclusions There are two predictors, pre-operation positive neurological symptom and renal failure, of pre-hospital mortality found in current analyses. Our results may improve the regimen made by cardiac surgeons and emergency doctors so as to help patients and their relatives to make correct decision.

Objective: To investigate the value of bedside echocardiography in diagnosis and risk assessment of in-hospital death of patients with Stanford type A aortic dissection. Methods: The clinical data of 229 patients with Stanford type A aortic dissection diagnosed by CT angiography in Zhongshan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University between January 2009 and January 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into survival group(191 cases)and non-survival group(38 cases)according to presence or absence of in-hospital death. The bedside echocardiography features were analyzed, and influence factors of in-hospital death were determined by multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results: (1) Compared with the survival group, the non-survival group had lower surgery rate (60.52%(23/38) vs. 85.34%(163/191), P<0.01). Age, gender and Debakey classification were similar between survival group and death group (all P>0.05). (2) The bedside echocardiography results showed that prevalence of aortic valve involvement(65.79%(25/38) vs.34.03%(65/191), P<0.01) and severe aortic regurgitation (44.74%(17/38) vs. 14.14%(27/191), P<0.01) were significantly higher in non-survival group than in survival group. The non-survival group had larger aortic root diameter than the survival group ((55.5±6.4)mm vs. (42.3±7.8)mm, P<0.01). There were no significant differences in pericardial effusion, expansion of aortic sinus, and left ventricular ejection fraction between survival group and non-survival group (all P>0.05). (3) The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that aortic valve involvement(OR=3.275, 95%CI 1.290-8.313, P<0.05), aortic root diameter(OR=1.202, 95%CI 1.134-1.275, P<0.01), and surgery (OR=0.224, 95%CI 0.079-0.629, P<0.01) were independent risk factors for in-hospital death in patients with Stanford type A aortic dissection. Conclusions Bedside echocardiography has significant diagnostic value for Stanford type A aortic dissection. Aortic valve involvement, enlargement of aortic root diameter and without surgery are independent risk factors for patients with Stanford type A aortic dissection.

Objective： ：To detect the gene mutation in cholangiocarcinoma patients using the next generation sequencing (NGS) technology, and to analyze its correlation to the prognosis of the patients. Methods: From June 2016 to June 2018, 40 patients diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma received NGS examination to screen the possible mutations (single base mutation, structural variation, copy number variation and gene fusion, etc.). The disease control rates (DCR), progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) of the patients, who received the first line therapy, were retrospectively reviewed to analyze the relationship between signaling pathway as well as its genetic variation and the prognosis of cholangiocarcinoma patients. Results: The median PFS of patients with and without TP53 mutation was 11.0 and 8.3 months, respectively (P=0.332), while OS was 14.3 and 32.9 months, respectively (P=0.041). The median PFS of patients with and without PI3K mutations was 8.3 and 11.0 months, respectively (P=0.285), while OS was 14.3 and 37.0 months, respectively (P=0.020). The median PFS of patients with and without mTOR pathway mutations was 6.3 and 10.3 months, respectively (P=0.020), while OS was 15.6 and 19.6 months, respectively (P=0.892). There was no significant effect of pathway-related gene mutations on patients’survival. Conclusion: The prognosis of cholangiocarcinoma patients with TP53 and PI3K pathway activation had obviously poor prognosis than those without. No significant difference was observed between the patients with and without mTOR pathway activation and IDH mutation.

Objective To investigate the material basis and antitumor mechanism of Marsdenia tenacissima (MT) on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by bioinformatics, network pharmacology and molecular docking technology. Methods Active ingredients of MT were collected by literature search and screened by Swiss ADME website, which targets were predicted by Swiss Target Prediction. The chip data of HCC (GSE147888) were downloaded from the NCBI Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Differentially expressed genes were screened by R software. HCC-related targets were collected from the Genecards and OMIM databases. The Venny online tool was used to obtain the intersection of the herbal medicine targets and the disease targets. Subsequently, drug-target network and protein–protein interaction (PPI) network were constructed by Cytoscape software and String platform. GO enrichment analysis and KEGG pathway analysis were performed to analysis the functions and pathways enriched by key genes. The expression of key genes in HCC and its effect on survival were analyzed by the GEPIA database. The Human Protein Atlas (HPA) was used to analyze the immunohistochemical expression of key genes in HCC. Finally, molecular docking was carried out to investigate interactions between the top five targets and their related active compounds. Results A total of 50 active components were screened and 12 common targets were identified related to MT and HCC. Scutellarein-4-Methylether, Tenasogenin, Sinapic Acid, Dresgenin and Kaempferol were considered as the critical components. JUN, MMP9 and PTGS2 were recognized as key therapeutic targets. The GO analyses demonstrated that key targets mainly involved in the process of gene silencing and inflammatory response. KEGG analysis suggested that key targets were enriched in TNF signaling pathway and IL-17 signaling pathway. Survival analysis by the GEPIA showed significant differences in the expression of ESR1, MMP1, MMP9, JUN, and PPARG between high and low risk groups. Immunohistochemical results showed that ESR1 and MMP9 were differentially expressed in normal and hepatocellular carcinoma tissues. The molecular docking results verified that the drug active ingredient could be stably bound to the target protein. Conclusion This study reflected the multi-component, multi-target and multi-pathway characteristics of the MT in the treatment of HCC, which could provide a scientific basis for the clinical application of MT in HCC.