Objective To investigate the clinical characteristics of myeloperoxidase (MPO)-antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) associated vasculitis (MPO-AAV) with pulmonary injury and the relationship between pulmonary injury and ANCA against light chain of MPO (LCMPO-ANCA).Methods A total of 195 patients with newly diagnosed primary active MPO-AAV were recruited in this prospective study.Indirect immunofiuorescence assay was used to detect peri-nuclear ANCA (p-ANCA).Immunoblotting and ELISA were used to detect myeloperoxidase-antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (MPO-ANCA).Clinical features of patients with both positive p-ANCA and MPO-ANCA were collected.Disease activity was evaluated by Birmingham Vasculitis Activity Score-version 3 (BVAS-V3) Recombinant light chain of MPO was used to coat substrate of LCMPO-ANCA by ELISA.The clinical characteristics of pulmonary injury and its correlation with serum levels of p-ANCA,MPO-ANCA and LCMPO-ANCA were explored.Results All 195 patients (64 male and 131 female),consisted of 191 patients (98.0％) with microscopic polyangiitis,3 patients (1.5％) with granulomatosis with polyangiitis,and 1 (0.5％) with eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis including 64 men and 131 women.Their mean age was (63.2 ±13.5) years old.The level of MPO-ANCA had a positive correlation with general BVAS-V3 (r =0.193,P =0.007) in all patients,and the level of LCMPO-ANCA was positively related with the pulmonary BVAS-V3 (r =0.228,P =0.001).As for multiple systemic damages,the incidence of lung involvement was 60.51％(118/195),which ranked second to renal involvement (71.80％,140/195).The most common pulmonary injuries represented as pulmonary infiltration of 80.51％ (95/118),pleural effusion / pleurisy of 41.53％(49/118),pulmonary nodule or cavity of 22.03％ (26/118).Compared with those without lung involvement,the patients with pulmonary injuries were older [(66.39 ± 10.70) years old vs (58.30 ±15.72) years old;t =4.277,P =0.001],had a shorter course of disease [2.00(1.00,10.50) months vs 3.00(1.00,3.50) months;t =-2.283,P=0.024],and higher scores of general BVAS-V3 (18.21 ±6.08 vs 15.18 ± 5.64;t =3.501,P =0.001).Also,in the patients with pulmonary lesions,the positive rate of LCMPO-ANCA was significantly higher (35.59％ vs 6.49％;x2 =21.569,P ＜ 0.001),and the level of LCMPO-ANCA was significantly higher (0.377 ±0.229 vs 0.285 ±0.079;t =3.399,P =0.001)than those without lung involvement.The pulmonary BVAS-V3 in the patients with LCMPO-ANCA was significantly higher than that in the patients without LCMPO-ANCA (4.34 ± 2.10 vs 2.59 ± 2.52;t =4.301,P ＜ 0.001),whereas the pulmonary BVAS-V3 was not correlated with LCMPO-ANCA (r =0.035,P =0.708) in patients with lung injuries.Conclusion Pulmonary injury was relatively common and insidious in patients with MPO-AAV.To monitor ANCA level is necessary in patients with pulmonary injury.LCMPO-ANCA might play an important role in the pathogenesis of pulmonary lesions in AAV.

Objective Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) associated vasculitis(AAV)is a systemic necrotizing small-vessel vasculitis, and myeloperoxidase(MPO) is one of the main antigens that ANCA can recognize.This study was to investigate the clinical significance of MPO, activated complement C5a fragment and ceruloplasmin ( Cp) in the peripheral blood of patients with MPO-ANCA associated vasculitis ( MPO-AAV) in active phase by observing their changes. Methods 132 MPO-AAV patients at active stage were selected as the patient group, while the control group was made up of 30 healthy controls.Peri-nuclear ANCA (p-ANCA) and MPO-ANCA in the patient group were detected by IIF and ELISA, respectively.The levels of MPO, Cp and C5a in both groups were tested by ELISA.The Birmingham vasculitis activity score (BVAS) of every patient was calculated.In the patient group, the relationship among MPO, Cp, C5a and MPO-ANCA were analysed, and the association between BVAS and each of them was also explored. Results The levels of MPO, CP, C5a in the patient group were significantly higher than those in the health control group [MPO:400.7(333.5~506.1) vs 286.9(225.5~329.1)IU/L, P<0.001;C5a:336.7 (277.6~403.5) vs 236.8 (204.2~304.1) ng/mL, P<0.001;Cp:481.1 (387.9~535.9) vs 326.9 (177.1~405.5) ng/mL,P<0.001].The associations between MPO and Cp, C5a and MPO, C5a and Cp in the patient group were statistically significant ( r=0.663, P<0.001;r=0.792, P<0.001;r=0.637, P<0.001, respectively).No significant correlation was found in MPO-ANCA and any of these indexes.MPO-ANCA had a positive association with the total BVAS, the kidney BVAS, and the lung BVAS ( r=0.247, P=0.004;r=0.339,P<0.001 and r=0.191, P=0.028, respec-tively) .p-ANCA had a positive correlation with the kidney BVAS ( r=0.208, P=0.017) while C5a had a negative correlation with the kidney BVAS ( r=-0.207, P=0.018) . Conclusion The levels of MPO, Cp and C5a increased significantly in the peripheral blood of MPO-AAV patients in active phase.The complex interactions among MPO, Cp, C5a and ANCA might influence the clinical damage in MPO-AAV.Notablely, the influence from MPO-ANCA might be most obvious while C5a might affect renal damage more markedly.

Objective To analyze the clinical characteristics of vasculitis associated with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody against myeloperoxidase (MPO-ANCA),and to investigate preliminarily the relationship between MPO-ANCA and the clinical damages.Methods One hundred and thirty-two patients with primary antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) associated vasculitis,which were diagnosed for the first time,were involved into this prospective study.All the patients had positive laboratory tests for peri-nuclear ANCA (p-ANCA) and MPO-ANCA.The characteristics of their clinical presentations were analyzed.The levels of p-ANCA and MPO-ANCA in the peripheral blood were detected and the relationship between the levels and the damages were explored.T-test and Spearman rank correlation analysis were used for statistical analysis.Results Of the 132 patients from 8 different clinical departments,128 (97.0％) were microscopic polyangiitis (MPA),3 (2.3％) were granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA),and 1 (0.7％) was eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA).The mean age was (62±15) years old.The average time between onset of the disease and diagnosis was (10 ±18) months,and only 14 (10.6％) were diagnosed within one month.Among the major organ involvements,the occurrence of renal,lung,joint,heart,peripheral nerve,skin,and central nerve involvement was 72.0％(95 cases),67.4％(89 cases),26.5％(35 cases),19.7％ (26 cases),17.4％(23 cases),10.6％(14 cases) and 9.8％(13 cases),respectively.Lung was more susceptible to be involved among the aged in their early course [(66±11) years,(55±19) years,t=-3.478,P＜0.01; (6±10) months,(18±27) months,t=2.920,P＜0.01],and joint involvement was more common in the younger [(57±18) years vs (64±13) years,t=2.335,P＜0.05] patients.p-ANCA had no relationship with the disease activity or the range of organ involvements(r=0.013,P＞0.05; r=0.087,P＞0.05).MPO-ANCA had a positive association with disease activity but had no significant correlation with the range of organ involvements(r=0.258,P＜0.01; r=0.022,P＞0.05).Conclusion The MPO-ANCA associated vasculitis is not rare in our country.MPA is the most common vasculitis which mainly affects the aged population,and its diagnosis is often delayed due to the lack of characteristic clinical presentations.It is possible that MPO-ANCA may play a pathogenic role in vasculitis,and the various clinical manifestations might be related with the specificities of MPO-ANCA.

Aim To investigate the effects of tamoxifen on the proliferation and DNA synthesis of cultured human pituitary adenoma cells and make a further investigation of the mechanism of the inhibitory effect of tamoxifen on the proliferation of pituitary adenoma cells. Methods The techniques of MTT colorimetry, 3H-TdR, flow cytometry, PKC activity detection and cAMP/ cGMP levels detection were used to detect or observe the effects of tamoxifen on proliferation, DNA synthesis, cell cycle, PKC activity and cAMP/ cGMP levels of cultured human pituitary adenoma cells, respectively.Results ①Tamoxifen (0.1,1 and 10 ?mol?L -1) inhibited the proliferation and DNA synthesis of cultured human pituitary adenoma cells in a dose-dependent manner.② tamoxifen (1,10 and 20 ?mol?L -1) increased the ratio of G_1 phase of pituitary adenoma cells, and decreased the ratio of S and G_2 phase markedly;②compared with control, PMA, a PKC activator, increased the activity of membrane and total PKC in human pituitary adenoma cells. However, after a 15-min treatment with tamoxifen (10 ?mol?L -1),a significant reduction of the activity of cytoplasm, membrane and total PKC in human pituitary adenoma cells was observed;③tamoxifen (1 and 10 ?mol?L -1) increased the amount of cAMP in the cytoplasm of human pituitary adenoma cells, but had no effect on that of cGMP. Conclusion These data provide an important clue to explore the molecular mechanisms of the inhibitory effect of tamoxifen on the proliferation of pituitary adenoma cells, and suggest that the modulating effect of tamoxifen on the proliferation of pituitary adenoma cells results from interactions of several cellular signaling pathways.

Objective To investigate the effects of antithyroid drug(ATD) on oxidative stress in Graves disease patients with and without infiltrative ophthalmopathy.Method The levels of superoxide dismutase(SOD),glutathione peroxidase(GPx) and catalase(CAT) in erythrocytes of Graves disease patients(18 with and 20 without infiltrative ophthalmopathy) were measured before and after treatment with ATD.Results Compared with the normal control group,the levels of SOD,GPx and CAT were significantly higher in Graves disease patients with and without infiltrative ophthalmopathy.After euthyroidism was achieved with the treatment of ATD,the levels of SOD,GPx and CAT were normalized in the patients without infiltrative ophthalmopathy,but oxidative stress was still present in the patients with infiltrative ophthalmopathy.Conclusion The oxidative stress is obvious in patients with Graves ophthalmopathy,which suggests that oxidative stress is involved in orbital inflammation.

Objective To explore the relationship between visfatin and mild cognitive impairment(MCI)in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM).Methods A perspective study involving 75 hospitalized T2DM patients were divided into groups with(MCI,n=35)and without (NMCI,n =40)mild cognitive impairment.Another 30 non-diabetic patients were chosen as normal control(NC).Fasting plasma levels of glucose (FPG),insulin (FINS),lipid,glycosylated hemoglobin (HbAlc),HOMA-IR and visfatin were measured and calculated.Results The serum visfatin level was higher in MCI(28.81±3.32)μg/L than in NMCI(20.69±3.40)μg/L and NC(19.06±2.35)μg/L (F=96.491,P＜ 0.01).Visfatin was negatively correlated with Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) total score (MoCA-TS) (r =-0.646,P ＜ 0.01),but positively correlated with course of disease,waist hip ratio,FPG,HbAlc,FINS,HOMA-IR and triglyceride (r=0.282,0.276,0.318,0.496,0.339,0.433,0.309,P＜0.05 or P＜0.01).MoCA-TS was negatively correlated with course of disease,HbAlc,HOMA-IR,triglyceride,total cholesterol,low density lipoprotein cholesterol (r =-0.582,-0.365,-0.234,-0.330,0.277,-0.238,P＜0.05 or P＜0.01),but positively correlated with high density lipoprotein cholesterol(r=0.290,P＜0.05).Higher values of visfatin(OR =3.246,P＜0.01),HbAlc(OR=2.308,P＜0.01)and course of disease(OR=1.634,P＜0.05)were the risk factors for MCI.Conclusions The elevated visfatin level might be a risk factor for MCI in T2DM patients.

Objective To explore the biofilm forming ability and the ability to survive in stress environment of staphylococcus epidermidis strains isolated from catheters .Methods Semiquantitative biofilm assay and bacteria cell counting were performed to explore the biofilm forming ability and the ability to survive in stress environment of staphylococcus epidermidis strains .Results Staphylococcus epidermidis strain of 1457 and 5 clinical strains isolated from catheters had the similar ability of biofilm formation (P>0 .05) ,similar growth ability of planktonic and biofilm cells ,similar attachment ability to polystyrene ,similar ability to survive in an oxidative and ethanol stress environment (P>0 .05) .Conclusion The biofilm forming ability and the ability to survive in stress environment of staphylococcus epidermidis strains isolated from catheters were similar to staphylococcus epidermidis 1457 strain .

Objective To explore the sensitivity of Enterococcus f aecium and Enterococcus f aecalis isolated from 2011 to 2013 and provide reference for anti-infection therapy .Methods The identification and drug sensitivity test of clinical isolates were carried out by using VITEK2 Compact system .Results The ratio of Enterococcus f aecium to Enterococcus f aecalis isolates was 1 .93 and it was increasing year by year .No vancomycin ,linezolid and tigecycline resistant Enterococcus f aecium and Enterococcus f aecalis i-solates was detected .The rates of Enterococcus f aecium sensitive to quinupristin-dalfopristin and tetracycline were higher than En-terococcus f aecalis(P<0 .05) ,and the rates of Enterococcus f aecium sensitive to nitrofurantoin ,ampicillin ,penicillin G ,moxifloxa-cin ,levofloxacin and ciprofloxacin were lower than that of Enterococcus f aecalis(P<0 .05) .Conclusion The detection rates of En-terococcus was shifting to Enterococcus f aecium ,and the trends became obvious year after year .The drug sensitivity of Enterococcus f aecium and Enterococcus f aecalis is different ,and doctors should choose the proper therapy according to their specific drug resist-ance .At present ,vancomycin ,linezolid and tigecycline are preffered for the treatment against infection caused by Enterococcus f aeci-um and Enterococcus f aecalis .

Objective To characterize the expressions of androgen receptor (AR) and estrogen receptor (ER) in penis skin of patients with congenital hypospadias. Methods Dorsal prepuce, ventral prepuce, and urethral plate were harvested from 30 patients with congenital hypospadias. The expressions of AR and ER in epidermal cells and dermal fibroblasts were assessed respectively by automated immunohistochemistry. Image Pro plus 6.0 was used to analyze the optical density (OD) value of AR and ER in different parts of epidermal cells and dermal fibroblasts. Results AR and ER were located mainly in nucleis of the squamous basal cells and prickle cells, and were also found in nucleis of subcutaneous fibroblast cells. The expression of AR was lower in epidermis of urethral plate than that of dorsal prepuce and ventral prepuce (P<0.05), but no significant difference was detected in dermal fibroblasts. The expression of ER was higher in epidermis of dorsal prepuce than that of urethral plate and ventral prepuce (P<0.05). The dermal expression of ER in fibroblast cells was increased successively in dorsal prepuce, ventral prepuce and urethral plate (P<0.05). Conclusion Lower expression of AR in urethral plate may contribute the development of hypospadias. Disorder of ER in dermal fibroblast cells of prepuce may play an important role in hypospadias.

Objective To investigate the toxic effect of immunosuppressive drugs on apoptosis of rat pancreatic islet cells in vitro and the protective action of Bcl-2.Methods Islet cells expressing Bcl-2 and the control islet cells were cultured at different concentrations of tacrolimus and the apoptosis rate of islet cells and insulin accumulation in the culture medium were detected after 48h.Results Low and high concentrations of tacrolimus induced the apoptosis of islet cells and decreased insulin secretion.The Bcl-2 inhibited the apoptosis of islet cells induced by tacrolimus and improved the insulin secretion.Conclusion Tacrolimus may directly damage to isolated rat islet cells and the expression of Bcl-2 can protect the cells from the damage of immunosuppressive drugs.