AIM:To explore the effects of endothelial indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) on the migration and the expression of contractile proteins in the pericytes.METHODS: Human pulmonary artery endothelial cells ( HPAECs) and rat cerebral microvascular pericytes were cultured in vitro.Over-expression of IDO in the HPAECs ( IDO-HPAECs) was established.The pericytes were treated with HPAEC-conditioned medium (control group), IDO-HPAEC conditioned medium (treatment group), or IDO-HPAECs-conditioned medium containing 1-methyl-DL-tryptophan (1-mT) ( inhibition group) .The concentrations of nitric oxide ( NO) , tryptophan and kynurenine in the co-culture system were de-termined.The viability, migration and the expression of the contractile proteins in the pericytes were compared.RE-SULTS:No statistical difference of the pericyte viability after treatment with IDO-HPAEC-conditioned medium at 6~48 h was observed (P>0.05).The migratory ability of the pericytes significantly decreased in treatment group compared with control group (P<0.01), and significantly increased in inhibition group compared with treatment group (P<0.01).The concentration of NO in the co-culture system had no significant difference among groups (P>0.05).The concentration of tryptophan was significantly lower in treatment group than that in control group (P<0.01), and significantly higher in in-hibition group than that in treatment group (P<0.01).The concentration of kynurenine was significantly higher in treat-ment group than that in control group (P<0.01), and significantly lower in inhibition group than that in treatment group (P<0.01).The expression ofα-smooth muscle actin and desmin was significantly lower in treatment group than that in control group (P<0.01), and significantly higher in inhibition group than that in treatment group (P<0.01).CON-CLUSION:Endothelial IDO inhibits the migration and the expression of the contractile proteins in the pericytes, and may play essential roles in the regulation of microvasculatures.

Objective To evaluate the clinical outcomes of intravesical instillation of resiniferatoxin (RTX) for the treatment of overactive bladder(OAB). Methods 30 patients (28 females and 2 males) included in the study.The mean age was 39 years (range,21 to 60 years).The mean course of the illness was 6.9 years (range,2 to 30 years).The voiding diaries of pretreatment showed that frequency at day time varied from 9 to 26 times with a mean of 15.0 times;frequency at night ranged from 3 to 13 times with a mean of 6.4 times.Of the 12 patients undergoing cystoscopy 10 had chronic inflammation in both mucous and submucous.Based on biopsy 1 case was pathologically diagnosed as glandulous cystitis,2 as interstitial cystitis,and others as chronic inflammation.100 ml of RTX at a concentration of 100 nmol/L was intravesically instillated in all the patients and was retained within the bladder for 30 minutes. Results RTX instillation had no vesical irritation and other adverse effects,and no local anesthesia was required.The symptoms were improved immediately in all the patients after 1 day of RTX intervention.The decreases in both diurnal (5 to 15 times,mean 8.9 times) and nocturnal (0 to 5 times,mean 3.0 times) frequencies were significant(P

Objective To determine the effect of signal transducers and activators of transcription 3 (STAT3) gene silencing by shRNA mediated by lentiviral vector for the treatment of colorectal cancer. Methods The recombinant lentiviral vector pRNAT-shSTAT3, empty lentiviral vector pRNAT-GFP, and lentiviral packaging plasmids in supernatant were collected to transfect HT-29 cells for harvesting the HT-29-shSTAT3 cells and HT29-GFP cells. Fifteen male rats were divided into three groups (n = 5 ), and then they were inoculated with HT-29cells, HT-29-GFP cells and HT-29-shSTAT3 cells, respectively. Cell growth was assessed by MTT assay and the changes in cell cycle were detected by flow cytometry. The changes in microvessel density (MVD) of tumors were detected by immunohistochemistry. All data were analysed by one-way analysis of variance. Results The growth of HT-29-shSTAT3 cells was significantly suppressed compared with HT-29 and HT-29-GFP cells (F = 632.50,P ＜ 0. 05 ). The proportions of cells at the G0/G1 phase were 68.7% ± 2.9% in HT-29-shSTAT3 cells, 38.5% ±1.6% in HT-29-GFP cells and 38.7% ± 2.3% in HT-29 cells, with a significant difference among the three groups (F = 166.53, P ＜ 0.05 ). The MVDs of HT-29 cells, HT-29-GFP cells and HT-29-shSTAT3 cells were 29 ±5, 28 ±4 and 10 ±3, respectively, with a significant difference among the three groups (F=31.60, P ＜0.05). Conclusion STAT3 gene silencing by shRNA mediated by lentiviral vector can significantly inhibit the growth of colorectal cancer cells.

The effects of GPA, anti-GPA IgG, ?1acid glycoprotcin (?1-AGP), ovomucoid (OM) and wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) on the invasion of erythrocytes by P. falciparum were obseryed in vitro. GPA, anti-GPA IgG and WGA at low concentrations had obviously inhibitory effects on thc invasion. There were hyperbolic relationships between the concentrations of these inhibitors and their inhibition rates. OM, ?1-AGP and non-spccific anti-serum had no obvious effect on the invasion. It is confirmed for the first time from the biological characteristics of receptor-ligand interaction that thc combination of GPA with P. falciparum merozoites has high spccificity, high affinity with a tendency to sa-turation and can produce specific biological effects.

Aim To investigate apoptosis induced by 3,3'-diethyl-9-methylthia-carbocyanine iodide(DMTCCI) , an inhibitor of DNA primase found in our previous study, and the mechanism of DMTCCI in human myelogenous leukemia HL-60 cells. Methods HL-60 cells were cultured in RPMI-1640 medium and treated with different concentrations of DMTCCI. MTT assay was used to detect growth inhibition.Flow cytometry and DNA ladders were used to detect apoptosis. Western blotting was used to observe the expression of survivin, Bcl-xL, Bad, Bax, Bcl-2, caspase-9, caspase-3, caspase-6, PARP, DFF45 and lamin B protein. Caspase-3 activity was measured by ApoAlert Caspase-3 Assay Kit. Results DMTCCI inhibited proliferation of human leukemia HL-60 cells with IC50 value of 0. 24 μmol · L-1. The results of flow cytometry and DNA ladders showed that DMTCCI could induce apoptosis of HL-60 cells. The expression levels of protein survivin and Bcl-xL were down-regulated, Bad and Bax were up-regulated,while Bcl-2 protein had no change in response to DMTCCI treatment in HL-60 cells. Treatment of HL-60cells with DMTCCI induced the proteolytic cleavage of caspase-9, caspase-3, caspase-6, PARP, DFF45and lamin B protein. Caspase-3 activity apparently increased at 3 h and reached a peak at 12 h after exposure to 1 μmol · L-1 of DMTCCI in HL-60 cells. Conclusion DMTCCI inhibited proliferation and induced apoptosis of human leukemia HL-60 cells. Bcl-2 family proteins, survivin and caspases family proteins might playa role in the apoptosis process induced by DMTCCI.

Objective To compare and the advantages and disadvantages of 3 methods of bone grafting in the posterior treatment of thoracolumbar burst fracture.Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted of 258 thoracolumbar burst fractures treated with posterior short-segment fixation from March 2013 to March 2015 at Orthopedic Department One,Foshan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.Of them,87 were treated with transpedicular bone grafting (group A),87 with laminar and intertransverse process bone grafting (group B) and 84 with small joint turnover plus bone grafting (group C).The 3 groups were compared in terms of cobb angle,loss of correction,bony fusion,internal fixation failure,and Oswestry disability index (ODI).Results The 3 groups were comparable due to insignificant differences in the preoperative general data between them (P ＞ 0.05).The cobb angles in the 3 groups at one week after operation (4.9° ± 1.0°,4.8° ± 0.6° and 4.8° ± 0.6°) and at the final follow-up (6.1 o ± 1.5°,14.5° ± 3.7° and 15.3° ± 4.1 °) were significantly smaller than those before operation (27.5° ± 4.9°,27.6° ± 4.6° and 27.6° ± 4.2°) (P ＜ 0.05).The cobb angles in groups B and C at the final follow-up were significantly larger than those at one week after operation (P ＜0.05).At the final follow-up,both the cob angles and the loss of kyphoplasty correction in groups B and C were significantly larger than in group A (P ＜ 0.05).The fusion rate in group A (100％) was significantly larger than in group B (80.5％) and C (76.2％).There were no significant differences between the 3 groups in the rate of internal fixation failure (0,1.1％ and 2.4％) (x2 =2.108,P=0.348).The ODI for the 3 groups at 6 months after operation (28.5 ± 4.1,28.7 ± 3.9 and 28.8 ± 3.7) and at the final follow-up (10.7 ± 2.6,11.0 ± 2.7 and 11.4 ± 3.1) were all significantly lower than the preoperative values (94.3 ± 0.7,94.4 ± 0.9 and 94.4 ± 0.8) (P ＜ 0.001).In all the patients,the ODI at the final follow-up was significantly lower than that at 6 months after operation(P ＜ 0.001).Conclusions In the treatment of thoracolumbar burst fractures,all the posterior approach plus transpedicular bone grafting,posterolateral bone grafting and reversed bone grafting plus short segmental internal fixation can effectively restore vertebral height and result in a high rate of fusion.Although the latter 2 methods of bone grafting are effective,they may be disadvantageous in leading to long-term loss of vertebral height and kyphosis correction.

Forty two general practice residents who participated in the standardized training in Suzhou Municipal Hospital from April to December 2022 were randomly divided into two groups with 21 in each group. The control group received the traditional teaching method, and the study group received additional training with a special management model for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. After 3 months of training, the teaching effects were evaluated with the improved Mini Clinical Evaluation Exercise (Mini CEX) in two groups and the teaching satisfaction was also assessed. Compared with the control group, the study group showed significant better performance in outpatient service, including the treatment and rehabilitation planning ( t=3.82, P<0.001), humanistic care ( t=4.83, P<0.001), health education ( t=9.56, P<0.001), communication skills ( t=3.34, P=0.002), and overall performance ( t=3.13, P=0.003). The satisfaction of teaching in study group was also higher than that in the control group ( Z=-2.02, P=0.044). The study shows that incorporating the "specialized management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease" model into the general practice standardized residency training can significantly improve the teaching effects.

OBJECTIVETo compare the inter- and intra-observer reliability of the GATA and SMU classification systems for spinal tuberculosis and assess the clinical value of SMU classification.

METHODSOne hundred patients with spinal tuberculosis treated in our hospital from January 2004 to December 2011 were randomly selected for analysis, including 54 males and 46 females with a mean age of 45 years (range, 16-68 years). All the patients had X-ray, CT and MRI examinations. Five observers experienced in spinal tuberculosis independently assigned the classification using the GATA and SMU classification systems, and the assignment was repeated 3 months later to test its reproducibility. Kappa value was used to determine the intra- and inter-observer reliability.

RESULTSFor GATA and SMU classification systems, the inter-observer percentage of agreement averaged (59.9∓4.84)% (κ=0.412∓0.058) and (81.6∓6.06)% (κ=0.753∓0.068), and the intra-observer percentage of agreement was (75.6∓5.27)% (κ=0.624∓0.078) and (89.8∓2.28)% (κ=0.862∓0.037), respectively.

CONCLUSIONThe SMU classification system of spinal tuberculosis has a higher inter-observer and intra-observer reliability than the GATA classification system, but its clinical value needs to be further tested in future clinical trials.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Observer Variation ; Reproducibility of Results ; Tuberculosis, Spinal ; classification ; diagnosis ; Young Adult