Double-stranded oligomeric nucleotide encoding PEP-1 peptides was synthesized, prokaryotic expression pET15b-pep-1-p27mt recombinant constructed, E. coli BL21 (DE3)pLysS transformed and induced with IPTG to highly express fusion protein PEP-1-P27mt. Fusion protein with an N-terminal His-tag could be purified by Ni2+-resin affinity chromatography and identified by SDS-PAGE and Western blotting. Cultured EC9706 cells treated with PEP-1-P27mt revealed that PEP-1-P27mt was transduced into cells after 15 min and reached maximal intracellular concentrations in 2 h. PEP-1-P27mt of 1 micromol/L final concentration could most strongly suppress the growth. It was suggested that PEP-1 can carry P27mt across membrane, which provides a new biological protocol for using cyclin dependent kinase inhibitors p27mt in suppressing the growth of tumor cells.

Objective To observe the clinical efficacy ofFufang Shenlu Granule for kidney-yang deficiency aplastic anemia (AA) and its effects on CD4+ T lymphocyte subsets, and explore its mechanism.Methods Forty AA patients were randomly divided into treatment group and control group, 20 cases in each group. The treatment group was treated withFufang Shenlu Granule combined with conventional western medicine therapy, while the control group was only treated with conventional western medicine therapy. The treatment lasted for 6 months, and follow-up visits lasted for at least one year. The clinical efficacy and T lymphocyte subsets ratio changes before and after treatment in the two groups were observed.Results The clinical efficacy of treatment group was better than that of control group (P<0.05). After treatment, the blood cell counts of the two groups were improved than those of before treatment (P<0.05,P<0.01). After treatment, the red blood cell count and hemoglobin of treatment group were higher than those of control group (P<0.05). Compared with the data before treatment in treatment group, the ratio of CD4+CD25+ cells in all CD4+ cells, and the ratio of CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ cells in all CD4+CD25+ cells increased (P<0.05); the ratio of Th1 and Th2 cells in all CD3+CD4+ decreased (P<0.05). The ratio of Th2 cells was lower than that before treatment in the control group (P<0.05).ConclusionFufang Shenlu Granule can enhance the treatment efficiency of AA with kidney-yang deficiency syndrome. The mechanism may be related to the decrease of Th1 cells, the increase of CD4+CD25+Tregs and their FoxP3 expression.

Double-stranded oligomeric nucleotide encoding PEP-1 peptides was synthesized, prokaryotic expression pET15b-pep-1-p27mt recombinant constructed, E. coli BL21 (DE3)pLysS transformed and induced with IPTG to highly express fusion protein PEP-1-P27mt. Fusion protein with an N-terminal His-tag could be purified by Ni2+-resin affinity chromatography and identified by SDS-PAGE and Western blotting. Cultured EC9706 cells treated with PEP-1-P27mt revealed that PEP-1-P27mt was transduced into cells after 15 min and reached maximal intracellular concentrations in 2 h. PEP-1-P27mt of 1 μmol/L final concentration could most strongly suppress the growth. It was suggested that PEP-1 can carry P27mt across membrane, which provides a new biological protocol for using cyclin dependent kinase inhibitors p27mt in suppressing the growth of tumor cells.

Objective To investigate the possible role of interstitial cell of Cajal (ICE)in the pathogenesis of diabetic gastroparesis and the protective effect of"Xiaopi prescription (消痞方)".Methods Fifty healthy male Spregue-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into 5 groups (each n=10):normal, model,and 3 Xiaopi prescription groups:low,middle and high dosages.Diabetes was induced by intravenous injection of alloxan,and equal amount of normal saline was intravenously injected in the normal group.Gastric lavage method was used to administer the traditional Chinese medicine decoction of Xiaopi prescription in corresponding amount (5,10 and 20 g?kg~(-1)?d~(-1)) in respective low,middle and high dosage groups.In the normal control group and diabetic model group,only equal amount of normal saline was administered into the stomach.Gastric emptying rate was measured by method of nutritious semisolid paste;c-kit positive cells of ICC were quantitatively measured with immunohistochemistry assay and computer image analysis system;c-kit mRNA positive cells were quantitatively measured with in situ hybridization and computer image analysis system.Results①Gastric emptying rate:The rate was significantly lower in the model group than that in the normal control group (P0.05),but higher than those in the model group and the low dosage group (all P0.05).②c-kit immmunohistochemistry:c-kit positive cell presented yellow in color,and its membrane was stained yellow,this kind of cells primarily were distributed around the neural plexus in the inter-space between the circular and longitudinal muscular fibers, and around the ganglionic cells forming"sheath-like"structure.The results of numbers of c-kit positive cells in the various groups:the number of the cells in the model group was significantly lower than that in the normal group (P0.05),but the numbers in the former two dosage groups were obviously higher than those in the model group (all P0.05),being significantly lower than that in the normal group,middle and high dosage groups (all P0.05),but obviously higher than those in the model group (all P0.05),being significantly lower than that in the normal,middle and high dosage groups (all P

Tetramethylpyrazine (TMP), an effective component of traditional Chinese medicine Chuanxiong, is commonly used to resolve embolism. Its possible therapeutic effect against atherosclerosis has received considerable attention recently. Angiotensin II (Ang II) is highly implicated in the proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), resulting in atherosclerosis. The mechanisms of TMP in the proliferation of VSMCs induced by Ang II remain to be defined. The present study was aimed to study the effect of TMP on Ang II-induced VSMC proliferation through detection of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) activity and bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) expression. Primary cultured rat aortic smooth muscle cells were divided into the control group, Ang II group, Ang II + TMP group and TMP group. Cells in each group were harvested at different time points (15, 30 and 60 min for detection of NF-kappaB activity; 6, 12 and 24 h for measurement of BMP-2 expression). NF-kappaB activation was identified as nuclear staining by immunohistochemistry. BMP-2 expression was observed through Western blot, immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization. The results showed that: (1) Ang II stimulated the activation of NF-kappaB. Translocation of NF-kappaB p65 subunit from cytoplasm to nucleus appeared as early as 15 min, peaked at 30 min (P<0.01) and declined after 1 h. (2) TMP inhibited Ang II-induced NF-kappaB activation (P<0.01). (3) Ang II increased BMP-2 expression at 6 h but declined it significantly at 12 and 24 h (P<0.01). (4) BMP-2 expression was also kept at high level at 6 h in Ang II + TMP group but maintained at the normal level at 12 and 24 h. (5) There was no significant difference in NF-kappaB activation and BMP-2 expression between the control group and TMP group. These results indicate that TMP inhibits Ang II-induced VSMC proliferation through repression of NF-kappaB activation and BMP-2 reduction, and BMP-2 expression is independent of the NF-kappaB pathway. In conclusion, TMP has therapeutic potential for the treatment of atherosclerosis.
Angiotensin II ; antagonists & inhibitors ; Animals ; Atherosclerosis ; drug therapy ; Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2 ; Bone Morphogenetic Proteins ; analysis ; antagonists & inhibitors ; Immunohistochemistry ; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular ; cytology ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle ; metabolism ; NF-kappa B ; analysis ; antagonists & inhibitors ; Pyrazines ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Transforming Growth Factor beta ; analysis ; antagonists & inhibitors

Objective To investigate the MR findings of fetal cleft lip (CL) and evaluate the advantages and limitations of MRI in the diagnosis. Methods Twelve pregnant women suspicious of fetal CL/cleft palate(CP) on ultrasonography were enrolled in the study. The findings of ultrasonography, MRI and following-up were compared. Results MRI and ultrasonography detected 12 fetuses with CL/CP. The following-up results showed 1 case with incomplete cleft lip and the other 11 cases with complete cleft lips and cleft palates. MRI and unltrasonography were consistent with the follow-up in CL detection, showing completed or uncompleted soft tissue interruption of the fetal lips with amniotic fluid filling which is high signal on T_2WI. On MRI, CP showed discontinuous of the soft tissue which were interrupted by long T_2 signal and communicating with oral cavity and nasal cavity. MRI missed 1 case and excluded 1 case of CP. Ultrasonography predicted 5 case of CL, excluded 1 CP but missed 6 cases. The accuracy, sensitivity and specificity in detection CL/CP was 91.7% (11/12), 90.9% (10/11), 100% (1/1) for MRI and 50.0% (6/12),45.5% (5/11), 100% (1/1) for ultrasonography, respectively. Conclusion MR imaging had advantage over ultrasonography in detecting CP, MRI is an essential when CP is suspicious on ultrasonography.

Objective:To establish a modified controlled abciximab and device investigation to lower late angioplasty complication (CADILLAC) score, and to compare the predictive value of modified CADILLAC score, the global registry of acute coronary event (GRACE) score and the thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) score in predicting the risk of short-term death after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with acute ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).Methods:A retrospective study was conducted. The clinical data of 169 STEMI patients under going PCI admitted to the department of cardiology of Guizhou Provincial People's Hospital from September 2019 to December 2020 through emergency chest pain fast track were enrolled. A multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to screen the factors closely related to the mortality risk within 30 days of STEMI, and a modified CADILLAC scoring system was established by referring to CADILLAC scoring settings. The score of modified CADILLAC, GRACE and TIMI scores of patients were calculated after admission, and the number of deaths due to cardiovascular disease (CVD) within 30 days after onset was recorded. The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC curve) was used to evaluate the predictive value of three scoring systems on the risk of death within 30 days after PCI in patients with STEMI.Results:In 169 STEMI patients, 16 patients died of CVD within 30 days after PCI, and the actual case mortality was 9.47%. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that age > 75 years old, cardiac function Killip ≥ Grade Ⅲ, ventricular arrhythmia, ST segment elevation ≥ 0.2 mV, cardiac troponin I (cTnI) increase, systolic blood pressure (SBP) < 90 mmHg (1 mmHg ≈ 0.133 kPa) were all independent predictors of death after PCI in STEMI patients. The improved CADILLAC scoring system was constructed based on the above predictive factors combined with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) less than 0.40. The GRACE, TIMI and modified CADILLAC scores of dead patients were significantly higher than those of survival patients (GRACE score: 197.60±31.83 vs. 149.81±36.72, TIMI score: 11.21±2.13 vs. 7.27±1.97, modified CADILLAC score: 12.60±2.52 vs. 6.96±2.17, all P < 0.05). The higher the risk stratification of the three scores, the higher the mortality of patients with CVD within 30 days after PCI [the mortality of patients with low, medium and high risk in GRACE score were 2.41% (2/83), 9.61% (5/52) and 26.47% (9/34); the mortality of patients with low, medium and high risk in TIMI score were 3.12% (3/96), 12.82% (5/39) and 23.53% (8/34); and the mortality of patients with low, medium and high risk in modified CADILLAC score were 3.19% (3/94), 7.69% (4/52) and 39.13% (9/23), respectively, all P < 0.01]. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) of the GRACE, TIMI and the modified CADILLAC scores predicting the risk of death 30 days after PCI in STEMI patients were 0.855 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) was 0.702-0.923], 0.725 (95% CI was 0.666-0.812) and 0.882 (95% CI was 0.732-0.936), respectively, all P = 0.000; the sensitivity of its prediction accuracy were 81.59%, 78.65% and 89.26%, and the specificity were 78.62%, 57.12% and 75.54%, respectively. Conclusions:The GRACE and the modified CADILLAC scores have predictive value for the short-term mortality risk of STEMI patients after PCI, and the modified CADILLAC score is more accurate. But the TIMI score has a poor predictive effect on the short-term mortality risk of STEMI patients after PCI.

Objective The epidemiological characteristics of congenital heart disease(CHD)among Tibetan children whose age ranged from 4 to 18 at different altitude were investigated in Qinghai province.Methods 32 578 Tibetan children living at 2535 m,3600 m and 4200 m were surveyed with the following 3 steps:prescreened,counterchecked and diagnosed with color Doppler.The entity distribution was then analysed and the age and gender were compared respectively.Resuits 235 CHD cases were identified.The total morbidity was 7.21‰.CHD morbidity was rising with the increase of altitude with 5.45‰ at 2535 m,6.80‰ at 3600 m and 9.79‰ at 4200 m respectively.There were significant static differences between 4200 m and the others with χ2=7.002(P＜0.01)to 2535 m and χ2=5.540(P＜0.05)to 3600 m.However,there was no statistical difference between 2535 m altitude and 3600 m altitude.The morbidity in different age had no statistical difference at 2535 m altitude but statistically increased with the increase of age at 3600 m and 4200 m.The total ratio of 16-18 age was significantly higher than other age periods with χ2=10.79(P＜0.005)to 4-7 age period and with χ2=5.60(P＜0.05)to 8-12 age period.The atrial septal defect(ASD)morbidity rates in three places was 39.1%followed by ventricular septal defect(VSD)with 32.8%and patent duetus arteriosus(PDA)with 24.7%.However,the constitute of CHD was different in different altitudes that VSD with 43.5%at 2535 m.ASD with 42.8%at 3600 m and PDA with 50.8%at 4200 m which was the highest morbidity.Conclusion Morbidity.constitutes and difference in gender and age were related to altitude.

Endothelin-3 (ET-3) is aberrantly expressed in both metastatic melanoma tissues and cultured melanoma cells. Our previous work showed that ET-3 could promote survival of metastatic melanoma cells via its altered expression. In this study, we investigated the mechanisms responsible for these gene-induced phenotypes in melanoma cells. An ET-3 gene sequence-specific shRNA vector pLVTHM-ET3-RNAi was constructed and transfected into human malignant melanoma cells A375 and MMRU, and the resultant molecular events and cellular changes were examined. As compared with the empty-vector group, cell proliferation was slowed down, and the growth inhibition rates were 38.9% in A375 cells and 38.4% in MMRU cells after transfection. In addition, cell invasion capability was also inhibited, with a reduction of 62.2% in A375 cells and 54.3% in MMRU cells. The percentage of apoptotic cells was found to increase. Meanwhile, in both cell lines, secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC) levels were down-regulated together with inhibition of its upstream signaling molecule, NF-κB. Thus, the current results suggested that down-regulated expression of ET3 attenuates the malignant behaviors of human melanoma cells partially by decreasing the expression of SPARC and NF-κB.
Cell Line, Tumor ; Endothelin-3 ; genetics ; Gene Silencing ; Humans ; Melanoma ; genetics ; pathology ; Osteonectin ; genetics

Andrographis Herba is a commonly used plant medicine, and has been recorded in pharmacopeias of different countries. However, there are some differences in the quality standards. Based on this, this paper compare the quality standards of Andrographis Herba between Chinese Pharmacopoeia, Hong Kong Chinese Materia Medica Standards, United States Pharmacopoeia, European Pharmacopoeia and Indian Pharmacopoeia, including origin, botanical characteristics, identification(microscopic identification and chromatographic identification), content determination, specific test(such as impurities, loss on drying, extractives, pesticides, heavy metals, mycotoxins, and other items) and storage requirements, so as to provide a reference for studying international quality standards of Andrographis.
Andrographis ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; Materia Medica ; Reference Standards