Objective: To study the alkaloid constituents of Huperzia serrata (Thunb.) Trev.. Methods: Various chromatographies were used for separation and purification of the alkaloids and spectroscopic analysis was used for determination of the chemical structure. Results: An alkaloid constituent(alkaloid A) was isolated from H. serrata . Conclusion: Alkaloid A was a new compound, named huperzinine B.

Objective To investigate the clinical manifestations and treatment regiment of children with juvenile dermatomyositis(JDM).Methods The clinical manifestation,changes of serum muscale enzyme,myopathic laboratory examination,treatment and prognosis of 15 children with JDM retrospectively admitted from Jan.1990 to Jan.2004 were analyzed.Results All of the children had symmetrical weakness of the proximal muscles.The most frequent features were heliotrope and Gottron's papules.Elevated muscle enzymes were noted in all cases.Electromyography revealed typical change of myopathic type and muscle biopsy was compalible with myositis in all cases.Most of patients achieved normal muscle enzymes within 1 month and had improved muscle strength with 2.5 monthes of the initiation of corticosteroid therapy.Conclusion It is very important to know the clinical features of JDM,and prompt diagnosis and treatment will result in an improved prognosis.

Objective To evaluate the role of CT and MR/in the diagnosis of posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome(PRES).Methods Eight women with PRES(6 pregnant women,1 case after chemotherapy,and 1 patient with hypertension)were enrolled in our study.All of them had MR imaging (T_1WI,T_2WI,FLAIR,DWI),and five cases underwent post-contrast T_1WI and three dimensional contrast enhanced MR angiography(3D CEMRA).Two cases also had CT scan.Results MRV in all 8 patients showed no evidence of stenosis,dilation,or thrombosis in cranial veins and sinuses.MRI demonstrated multiple lesions located in bilateral parieto-occipital lobes(8 cases),bilateral basal ganglia(2 cases),and bilateral frontal lobes(4 cases).The lesions were prominent within white matter,some of them involved gray matter(3 cases).Lesions appeared as hyperintense signals on FLAIR and T_2-weighted images, isointense or mildly hypointense signals on T_1-weighted images,normal or decreased intensity on DWI,and isointensity or hyperintensity on apparent diffusion coefficient(ADC)maps.Post-contrast T_1WI showed mild reversible enhancement and 3D CEMFdisplayed numerous reversible“grape-like”enhancements in terminal arterial branches along the middle cerebral artery(MCA),anterior cerebral artery(ACA)and posterior cerebral artery(PCA).Follow-up scan showed decreased abnormal signals.Conclusion Lesions of PRES are usually located in parieto-occipital lobes,especially in white matter,but they can also be seen in frontal lobes and basal ganglia bilaterally.Post-contrast T_1WI and 3D enhanced MRA can provide useful information in the manifestation of reversible enhancement.MRI has advantages to display lesion in PRES,

AIMTo study the alkaloid constituents of Huperzia serrata (Thunb.) Trev..

METHODSChromatographic methods were used for the isolation and purification. Structure was elucidated on the basis of chemical analysis and spectroscopic data.

RESULTSAn alkaloid constituent was isolated from H. serrata (Thunb.) Trev..

CONCLUSIONThe compound was found to be a novel lycodine type alkaloid with tricyclic structure named huperzinine C.

Huperzia ; chemistry ; Molecular Conformation ; Molecular Structure ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Pyridines ; chemistry ; isolation & purification

Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 6 ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Loss of Heterozygosity ; Male ; Microsatellite Repeats ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma ; genetics

OBJECTIVETo construct an eukaryotic expression vector for vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) 165 gene and obtain VEGF expression in rat bladder smooth muscle cells.

METHODSVEGF165 cDNA was cloned into the eukaryotic expression vector pcDNA3.1(-), and the resultant recombinant vector pcDNA3.1(-)/VEGF165 was transfected into the rat bladder smooth muscle cells by electroporation. VEGF expression in the cells was determined by RT-PCR and immunofluoresence assay, and the biological activity of VEGF in the supernant of the transinfected cell culture was tested by MTT assay.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONVEGF expression was obtained in the transinfected cells, and the supernant of the transinfected cell cultures stimulated the proliferation of the endothelial cells.

Animals ; Animals, Newborn ; Cell Line ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Cloning, Molecular ; Culture Media, Conditioned ; metabolism ; pharmacology ; DNA, Complementary ; genetics ; Eukaryotic Cells ; metabolism ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique ; Gene Expression ; Genetic Vectors ; genetics ; Humans ; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle ; cytology ; metabolism ; Rats ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Transfection ; Urinary Bladder ; cytology ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; genetics ; metabolism ; pharmacology

Objective To construct plasmid vectors of calmodulin(CaM)Mg2+binding site mutants,and to express,purify and identify the mutant proteins. Methods Three kinds of cDNAs coding for the mutated CaM were cloned into pGEX?6P?3 plasmid vectors. These recombinant plasmids were transfected into Escherichia coli BL21 to express GST fusion proteins of CaM mutants. The fusion proteins were purified with Glutathione?Sep?harose 4B beads and PreScission protease. Results Both enzyme digestion analysis and DNA sequence identification proved the successful con?struction of the CaM mutant plasmids. SDS?PAGE results showed the high purity of each CaM mutant protein. The concentrations of three CaM mu?tants were around 1.0 mg/mL. Conclusion Prokayotic expression vectors of CaM Mg2+binding site mutants were successfully developed,and the eli?gible CaM mutant proteins were obtained. This study provided an important basis for further study on CaM’s biological function.

Objective To study the effect of maternal subclinical thyroid abnormalities [including subclinical hypothyroidism, hypothyroxinemia and positive anti-thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPOAb) with normal thyroid function] in women during 16-20 weeks of gestation on offspfing's intellectual development and motor function. Methods Sera from 1 268 women during 16-20 weeks of gestation (collected 2 years ago) were obtained and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), total thyroxine (TT4), free thyroxine (FT4) and TPOAb levels were measured. Pregnant specific thyroid function reference ranges were used to screen for subclinical hypothyroidism (18 cases), hypothyroxinemia (19 cases) and positive TPOAb (34 cases). From the same cohort, a total of 142 pregnant women who were euthyroid with negative TPOAb were selected as controls (a case: control ratio of 1 : 2). Intellectual and motor development score evaluations were performed in their children at 25-30 months of age. Results In the group of pregnant women with subclinical hypothyroidism, the offspring' s intelligence score was (109.89±13.81) points, which was 8.88 points lower than in the control group (P < 0.01). Similarly, the motor score of the offspring was (108.11±9.93) points, which was 9.98 points lower than in the control group (P < 0.01). In the pregnant women with hypothyroxinemia, the offspring's intelligence score was (112.32±15.10) points, 9.30 points lower than in the control group (P <0.01); the motor score was (112.21±12.26) points, 7.57 points lower than in the control group (P < 0.01). In the pregnant women with positive TPOAb and euthyroid function, the offspring's intelligence score was (112.70±20.64) points, 10.56 points lower than in the control group (P < 0.01); the motor score was (110.64±12.49) points, 9.03 points lower than in the control group (P < 0.01). Conclusion Maternal subclinical thyroid abnormality between 16-20 weeks of gestation adversely may affect offspring intellectual and motor development, suggesting the necessity for screening and treatment of maternal subclinical thyroid abnormality in the early stages of pregnancy.

Objective To explore the relationship between serum levels of osteoprotein (OPG), soluble nuclear factor-κB receptor activator ligand (sRANKL), inflammatory factors and coronary heart disease (CHD) and its severity. Methods The patients who underwent coronary angiography (CAG) due to chest pain admitted to department of cardiology of Tianjin Chest Hospital from April 2017 to December 2018 were enrolled, and they were divided into CHD group and non-CHD group according to the CAG results. The gender, age, history of hypertension, smoking history, diabetes, the levels of cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), apolipoprotein AI (apoAI), apolipoprotein B (apoB), lipoprotein (a) [Lp (a)], MB isoenzyme of creatine kinase (CK-MB) and other clinical data of patients were collected. The serum levels of OPG, sRANKL, matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). According to the results of CAG, the patients with CHD were divided into single-, double-, triple-branch coronary artery lesion groups, and the relationship between the levels of serum OPG, sRANKL, inflammatory factors and the degree of coronary artery lesions was observed. Multivariate Logistic regression was used to analyze the risk factors of CHD, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was plotted to analyze the predictive value of main risk factors for CHD. Results A total of 472 patients were enrolled in the final analysis during the study period, including 264 patients in the CHD group, 208 patients in the non-CHD group, 79 patients in the CHD group with single-branch disease, 75 patients with double-branch disease, and 110 patients with three-branch disease. ① Compared with the non-CHD group, the CHD group had more older male patients, as well as higher proportion of hypertension and diabetes, the levels of serum Lp (a) and CK-MB were significantly increased, and the levels of serum HDL-C and apoAI were significantly lowered. There was no statistically significant difference in serum TC, LDL-C, or apoB between the two groups. The levels of serum OPG, MMP-9, MCP-1, IGF-1 and IL-6 in the CHD group were significantly higher than those in the non-CHD group [OPG (μg/L): 1.79±0.50 vs. 1.50±0.30, MMP-9 (μg/L): 57.91 (33.50, 130.46) vs. 38.33 (29.43, 109.78), MCP-1 (μg/L):298.30 (207.96, 537.16) vs. 252.73 (165.22, 476.01), IGF-1 (μg/L): 734.03±486.11 vs. 217.75±126.45, IL-6 (ng/L):64.76±40.25 vs. 48.60±15.80, all P < 0.05], and the levels of serum sRANKL was significantly lower than that in the non-CHD group (ng/L: 344.31±122.14 vs. 378.74±109.27, P < 0.05). ② The serum OPG level showed a slight upward tendency with the increase in the number of coronary artery lesions, and the sRANKL level showed a slight downward tendency [OPG (μg/L) in the single-, double-, triple-branch coronary artery lesion groups was 1.74±0.49, 1.76±0.50, 1.85±0.52, and sRANKL (ng/L) was 354.96±116.64, 340.05±124.24, 339.57±125.03, respectively) without statistically significant differences (all P > 0.05). The levels of IGF-1 and IL-6 were increased with the number of coronary artery lesions [IGF-1 (μg/L) in the single-, double- and triple-branch coronary artery lesions groups was 372.13±258.42, 676.06±350.29, 1 033.47±468.06, and IL-6 (ng/L) was 48.87±16.72, 65.36±18.84, 75.76±22.72, respectively], and the differences among different lesion groups were statistically significant (all P < 0.01). Correlation analysis showed that IGF-1 level was significantly positively correlated with the number of coronary artery lesions (r = 0.612, P < 0.01), while IL-6 was not correlated with the number of coronary artery lesions (r = 0.185, P > 0.05).③ Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that elevated serum OPG and IGF-1 levels were risk factors for CHD [OPG: odds ratio (OR) = 1.995, 95% confidence interval (95%CI) = 1.936-2.067, P = 0.012; IGF-1: OR = 1.009, 95%CI = 1.004-1.015, P = 0.001]. ④ ROC curve analysis showed that the area under ROC curve (AUC) of OPG and IGF-1 was 0.716 and 0.867, respectively. When the cut-off value of OPG was 1.13 μg/L, the sensitivity was 81.7%, the specificity was 58.1%; when the cut-off value of sRANKL was 401.20 μg/L, the sensitivity was 69.7%, the specificity was 95.7%. Conclusions CHD was associated with increased in OPG, related inflammatory cytokines including MMP-9, MCP-1, IGF-1 and IL-6, and decreased in sRANKL. The level of IGF-1 was positively correlated with the severity of CHD. The serum levels of OPG and IGF-1 were risk factors for CHD, which had good predictive value for CHD.