Acupuncture Therapy ; Adult ; Burns ; complications ; Female ; Gastroparesis ; etiology ; therapy ; Humans

Objective To investigate the significance of serum krebs Yon den lungen-6(KL-6), surfactant protein A(SP-A), surfactant protein D(SP-D )and matrix metalloprotease 7(MMP-7) in the diagnosis of idiopathic pul-monary fibrosis (IPF) and its relationship with pulmonary function .Methods Serum levels of KL-6, SP-D, SP-A and MMP-7 were detected by ELISA in 38 patients with IPF and serum from 38 patients with pneumonia and 38 normal controls.Serum levels of markers were further analyzed by operating characteristic curve receiver (ROC), from which the ideal level of each serum marker was obtained , and the follow-up of 6 months in patients with IPF . Explore the significance of the diagnosis of IPF and its correlation with pulmonary function .Results The expres-sion of MMP-7, SP-A, SP-D and KL-6 in serum of IPF patients was higher than that in the control group and healthy control group ( P<0.05) .The optimal cutoff value of KL-6 was 723.0 U/ml, SP-A was 67.2 ng/ml, SP-D was 98.1 ng/ml, and MMP-7 was 10.1 ng/ml.The sensitivity of KL-6 was 71.1% and 98.7%, SP-A was 81.6%and 97.4%, SP-D was 81.6%and 97.4%, MMP-7 was 68.4%and 98.7%.The sensitivity of combined KL-6, SP-A, SP-D and MMP-7 four serum markers was 100%, compared with a single serum index , the P value was less than 0.05, with statistical significance .IPF patients serum SP-A, MMP-7 and forced vital capacity within 6 months were significantly correlated(r1 =-0.574,P1 <0.001;r2 =-0.465,P2 =0.003).Conclusion KL-6, SP-A, SP-D and MMP-7 were highly expressed in serum of patients with IPF , and in the diagnosis of IPF , com-bined detection of 4 serum markers can improve the early diagnosis of IPF patients .Combined serum SP-A and MMP-7 levels can improve the accuracy of the IPF patients with pulmonary function changes , the prediction of dis-ease progression has a certain significance .

The pathogen of Kawasaki disease(KD) is still unknown although infection is considered as the most possibility factor.However epidemiologic studies showed that genetic background might be a main factor in the onset of KD.The recent papers on gene polymorphism including angiotensin-convertion enzyme,nitric oxide synthase and cytokine related with KD were searched and analyzed in this review.

Chemokine CXCL9/Mig (monokine induced by IFN-?) belongs to the subfamily of chemotactic cytokines known as CXC-chemokines. In vivo CXCL9 is mainly induced by IFN-? in macrophages and primary glial cells. In vitro, CXCL9 can be secreted by cells such as macrophages, microvascular endothelial cells and neutrophils, in response to the synergy of IFN-? and TLR(toll-like receptor) ligands. CXCL9 is a chemoattractant for activated T lymphocytes, tumor-infiltrating T-lymphocytes, but not for neutrophils or monocytes. The receptor specific for CXCL9 is CXCR3, a G protein-coupled protein which has seven transmembrane domain. The structure and the chemical characterization of CXCL9, as well as its effects on autoimmune deseases, allograft rejection, cancer therapy were reviewed.

Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Ankle Injuries ; therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Sprains and Strains ; therapy ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

Adult ; Cryptococcosis ; Cryptococcus neoformans ; Humans ; Lung Diseases, Fungal ; Male

Objective To compare the efficacy of tamsulosin and nifedipine for the adjunctive expulsive therapy in patients with lower ureteral stones. Methods A total of 180 patients with stones (0.4-1.0 cm in diameter) located in the lower ureter (juxtavesical or intramural tract) were randomly divided into 3 groups (60 cases in each group). Group 1 served as controls; group 2 received nifedipine (10mg, 3 times daily) ; and group 3 received tamsulosin (0.4 mg, once daily). All patients were observed for 2 weeks. Results During 2 weeks, expulsion of stones was observed in 26 cases (43. 3% ) of group 1, in 44 (73. 3% ) of group 2, and 49 (81. 1% ) of group 3. The difference in expulsion rates between groups 2, 3 and group 1 was statistically significant (P 0. 05). In groups 1 , 2 and 3, renal colic recurred within 2 weeks and analgesics were used in 5 cases (8.3%), 1 (1.7% ) and 0, respectively, with significant difference between the groups (P

In order to explore the effects of Panax notoginoside (PNS) on the expression of transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) and Smad-7 in renal tissues of diabetes, a rat model of diabetic nephropathy was set up by intravenous injection of streptozotocin (STZ). Wistar rats were randomly divided into normal group, diabetic control group, group treated by PNS at low-dosage (PL), group treated by PNS at high-dosage (PH) and group treated by catopril (C), respectively. Fasting blood glucose (FBG), renal index, endogenous creatinine clearance rate (C(Cr)) and urinary albumin (UAlb) in 24 h were examined after 6 weeks. Meanwhile, the expressions of TGF-β1 and Smad7 in renal tissues were immunohistochemically dectected. At the end of the sixth week, FBG, renal index, C(cr), UAlb were all elevated significantly in control group (P<0.01). The expression of TGF-β1 protein was increased while Smad7 protein decreased in renal tissue (P<0.01). However, the treatment with PNS reversed the aforementioned changes in renal tissues of diabetic rats. These results indicate that PNS possess a protective effect on the kidney of diabetic rats and it might protect kidney by inhibiting the expression of TGF-β1 protein and enhancing the expression of Smad7 protein.

Objective To optimize in vitro amplification of human γδ T cells with cytokines for tumor adoptive immunotherapy.Methods On the basis of the immobilized anti-TCR γδ antibody plus IL-2 system, other γ chain receptor family cytokines, including IL-7, IL-15 and IL-21, were tested to amplify human peripheral blood γδ T cells either alone or in diversity combination.The percentage of γδ T cells was measured by flow cytometry, and the proliferation efficiency of γδ T cells was calculated.The expression of proliferation-or cytotoxicity-related molecules on γδ T cells was examined by flow cytometry in order to explore the relevant mechanisms.The cytotoxicity of γδ T cells to Daudi cells was detected by lactate dehydrogenase.Results IL-15 alone but not IL-7 or IL-21 increases the γδ T cell purity, amplification efficiency and cytotoxicity to reach comparable levels to those of IL-2.IL-2 plus IL-15 up-regulates the expression of CD69 on γδ T cells and significantly increases their amplificationefficiency (P<0.05).IL-2 plus IL-21 enhanced the cytotoxicity of γδ T cells against Daudi cells by increasing the expression of granzyme A (P<0.001).The combination of IL-2, IL-15 and IL-21 significantly improves cytotoxicity of γδ T cells but reduces their amplification efficiency.In addition, when IL-21 was applied for a short time, it also enhanced the cytotoxicity of γδ T cells (P<0.05).Conclusions The combination of IL-2 and IL-15 as well as a short time addition of IL-21 is the best cytokine recipe to amplify human peripheral blood γδ T cells in vitro with immobilized anti-TCR γδ antibody, which can increase both the proliferation efficiency and the cytotoxicity to tumor cells of γδ T cells.