Objective To study the expression and significance of ?-catenin in keratosic dermatosis and non-melanocytic skin tumors. Methods ?-catenin expression was determined in 10 specimens of normal skin,10 cases of seborrheic keratosis(SK),26 cases of actinic keratosis(AK),17 cases of Bowen's disease(BD) and 35 cases of primary cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma(SCC) by immunohistochemical EnVision two-step staining method. Results The expression of ?-catenin was significantly higher in SK,AK,BD and SCC than in normal skin(P0.05),but that was significantly lower in SK and AK than in BD(P0.05). Conclusion The cytoplasmic and/or nuclear expression of ?-catenin may play a role in the progression from normal skin to keratosic dermatosis and non-melanocytic skin tumors.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effect of sustained-release alpha-lipoic acid tablets (SRLA) on blood lipid, glucose and insulin levels in hyperlipidemic New Zealand rabbits.

METHODSTwenty-four New Zealand rabbits were randomized into normal diet group, high-fat diet group, and high-fat diet + SRLA (300 mg/tablet) group with corresponding feed. At the beginning and 4 weeks after the feeding, the serum levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), blood glucose, and serum insulin were measured, and insulin sensitivity index (ISI) was calculated.

RESULTSFour weeks after feeding with high-fat diet, the insulin levels was elevated and the ISI lowered in the New Zealand rabbits, indicating successful establishment of the animal model of hyperlipidemia. Compared with the high-fat diet group, the serum levels of TG, TC, LDL-C and insulin were significantly reduced (P<0.05), and the ISI was significantly increased (P<0.05) in high fat diet + SRLA group. But no statistically significant difference was found in the blood glucose among the 3 groups.

CONCLUSIONSRLA can significantly correct blood lipid and insulin disorders in hyperlipidemic New Zealand rabbits and prevent the occurrence of insulin resistance and hyperlipidemia.

Animals ; Blood Glucose ; metabolism ; Delayed-Action Preparations ; Hyperlipidemias ; blood ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; Insulin ; metabolism ; Lipids ; blood ; Male ; Rabbits ; Tablets ; Thioctic Acid ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use

Objective:To investigate the multilocus sequence typing feature of the virulence-associated genes of Staphylococcus aureus(S. aureus) separated from the clinical specimens of a multi-center cohort children in Guangzhou area. Methods:A total number of 412 Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from 2 059 non-repeated fecal specimens of children by three groups′ researchers in Guangzhou Women and Children′s Medical Center from August 2018 to November 2018. While collecting specimens, patient clinical information is also properly collected and preserved. After extracting the DNA of the strain, the virulence-associated genes were detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), including the staphylococcal enterotoxin (SE) genes ( sea, seb, sec, sed, see) and the Panton-Valentine leucocidin-encoding gene ( pvl).The multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) method was performed to reveal the MLST feature of these genes and the statistical difference were examined by the the χ 2 test. Results:Among the 412 isolates of S. aureus, 256 strains (256/412, 62.1%) contains at least one SE gene. Among the enterotoxin gens, the sec (125/412, 30.3%), seb(98/412, 23.8%)and sea (66/412, 16.0%)genes were the three most prevalent members of SEs. The frequency of pvl gene in Staphylococcus aureus was 18.7%(77/412).Among them, the frequency of Staphylococcus aureus sea gene isolated from patients with gastroenteritis (58/319, 18.2%) was significantly higher than that from the non-gastroenteritis group (8/93, 8.6%)(χ2=4.912, P=0.027). The frequency of Staphylococcus aureus pvl gene isolated from the patients with pneumonia (8/21, 38.1%) was greater than that from the non-pneumonia group (6/47, 12.8%)(χ2=4.252, P=0.039). In addition, the virulence-associated gene of S. aureus was closely related to the specific ST type, 82.4% (28/34) of ST6 carried sea gene, all ST338 and ST59 carried seb gene, 96% (48/50) ST45 carried sec gene, and the pvl gene carrying rate of ST338 was 5/5. Conclusions:The SEA toxin produced by ST6 Staphylococcus aureus may be closely related to the diagnosis of gastroenteritis in children. The frequency of pvl virulence gene in Staphylococcus aureus in children with community-acquired pneumonia was higher than that in the non-pneumonia group, and closely related to the CC59.

OBJECTIVETo explore treatments of severe post-kidney-transplant lung infection by integrative Chinese and Western medicine (ICWM), in order to elevate the curing rate as well as to lower the death rate.

METHODSBased on conventional ways of Western medical treatments of 18 cases of severe post-kidney-transplant lung infection, such as putting the patients in single individual ward, antibiotics to prevent infection, respiratory machines, blood filtration, nutritional support, steroids, and maintaining electrolytes balance, we applied integrated Chinese medicinal treatments, like altering conventional prescription "pneumonia III", and conducted clinical observation of effectiveness, and indexes including white blood cell (WBC), neutrophilic granulocyte, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), blood creatinine (Cr), etc.

RESULTSOf the 18 cases studied, 7 were already cured, 8 proved the treatment effective, 3 died. All clinical indexes had statistically significant changes compared with those of before treatment (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONICWM can increase curing rate and lower death rate.

Adult ; Aged ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; therapeutic use ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Immunocompromised Host ; Immunosuppressive Agents ; therapeutic use ; Kidney Transplantation ; Lung Diseases ; drug therapy ; immunology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Opportunistic Infections ; drug therapy ; Respiratory Tract Infections ; drug therapy ; immunology

CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes ; metabolism ; Case-Control Studies ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; immunology ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; immunology ; Humans ; Interferon-gamma ; biosynthesis ; Lymphocytes ; immunology ; Oligodeoxyribonucleotides ; pharmacology

OBJECTIVEThe aim of this study is to explore the cytotoxic effect of CD8+ T subsets in peripheral blood with chronic hepatitis B subjects who are at immune tolerance phase and immune clearance phase (before and after three months' treatment with interferon-alpha), further to investigate their impact in the pathogenesis of chronic hepatitis B and antiviral therapy.

METHODSThe subjects of chronic hepatitis B, including 20 subjects of immune tolerance phase and 20 subjects of immune clearance phase, are enrolled in the study. And we use flow cytometry to detect Lysosome-associated membrane protein-1 (LAMP-1, CD107a) and Granzyme B (GrB) expression of CD8(high) and CD8(low) T cells in peripheral blood with chronic hepatitis B subjects.

RESULTS(1) At immune clearance phase, the CD8+ T subsets expressing GrB and CD107a are higher than counterpart of immune tolerance phase. (2) At immune tolerance phase and immune clearance phase in HBV infection, the CD8(low) T cells expressing GrB and CD107a are higher than that of CD8(high) T cells. (3) After three months' treatment with interferon-a, except for GrB+ CD107a+ CD8(high) T cells, CD8(high) T cells expressing GrB and CD107a present a tendency of ascensus at the same time with that of CD8(low) T cells a tendency of descensus except for GrB(-)CD107a+ CD8(low) T cells. (4) The CD8+ T cell expressing GrB and CD107a, correlate positively with HBV DNA load at immune tolerance phase, but correlated negatively at immune clearance phase.

CONCLUSIONS(1) GrB and CD107a molecule expressed by different CD8+ T cell subsets play an important role in disease evolution and antivirus therapy of chronic hepatitis B, the cytotoxic effect of CD8(high) T cell subset became more and more stronger during the treatment of IFN-alpha, and the cytotoxic effect of CD8(low) T cell subset couldn't be neglected before antivirus therapy. (2) To some degree, the correlation between HBV-DNA load and the expression of GrB and CD107a at different CD8+ T cell subsets, could hint the relationship between virus and immune response.

Alanine Transaminase ; blood ; CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes ; immunology ; Cytotoxicity, Immunologic ; Female ; Granzymes ; analysis ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; immunology ; Humans ; Lysosomal-Associated Membrane Protein 1 ; analysis ; Male

We reported a technical report of traumatic lower cervical spondylolisthesisca used by bilateral pedicle fracture, without neurological compression. The patient was treated with the minimally invasive technique of percutaneous pedicle screw fixation. Fracture healing and normal cervical motion were confirmed by plain films and physical examinations on the 18-monthpostoperatively. The technique of percutaneous pedicle screw fixation might be an alternative strategy for the treatment of traumatic lower cervical spondylolisthesis with pedicle fracture.
Cervical Vertebrae ; Female ; Fracture Healing ; Humans ; Physical Examination ; Spondylolisthesis*

Objective To investigate the clinical differences and the mechanism of ischemic stroke related to intracranial branch atheromatous diseases.Methods All 213 consecutive patients diagnosed with ischemic stroke related to intracranial branch atheromatous diseases by using diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI),admitted to our hospital from January 22,2008 to October 13,2011,were studied.These patients were classified into paramedian pontine arteries group (PPA group,n=56)and lenticulostriate arteries group (LSA group,n=157) according to the DWI findings.The clinical characteristics were compared between the two groups.Results The differences on the mean length of hospital stay and white matter degeneration were statistically significant between PPA group and LSA group (t=-2.044,P=0.045; x2=6.832,P=0.009).In univariate logistic regression analysis,the odds ratio (OR) of concomitant white matter degeneration comparing with the opposite was 11.652,95％CI was (1.483-91.529) and P value was 0.020.Conclusion The ischemic stroke related to intracranial branch atheromatous diseases usually accompanies with concomitant white matter degeneration,and the characteristics are different resulting from different blood supplies.

BACKGROUNDThe primary reasons for local recurrence and therapeutic failure in the treatment of malignant gliomas are the invasion and interactions of tumor cells with surrounding normal brain cells. However, these tumor cells are hard to be visualized directly in histopathological preparations, or in experimental glioma models. Therefore, we developed an experimental human dual-color in vivo glioma model, which made tracking solitary invasive glioma cells possible, for the purpose of visualizing the interactions between red fluorescence labeled human glioma cells and host brain cells. This may offer references for further studying the roles of tumor microenvironment during glioma tissue remodeling.

METHODSTransgenic female C57BL/6 mice expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) were crossed with male Balb/c nude mice. Then sib mating was allowed to occur continuously in order to establish an inbred nude mice strain with 50% of their offspring that are EGFP positive. Human glioma cell lines U87-MG and SU3 were transfected with red fluorescent protein (RFP) gene, and a rat C6 glioma cell line was stained directly with CM-DiI, to establish three glioma cell lines emitting red fluorescence (SU3-RFP, U87-RFP, and C6-CM-DiI). Red fluorescence tumor cells were inoculated via intra-cerebral injection into caudate nucleus of the EGFP nude mice. Tumor-bearing mice were sacrificed when their clinical symptoms appeared, and the whole brain was harvested and snap frozen for further analysis. Confocal laser scanning microscopy was performed to monitor the mutual interactions between tumor cells and host brain cells.

RESULTSAlmost all the essential tissues of the established EGFP athymic Balb/c nude mice, except hair and erythrocytes, fluoresced green under excitation using a blue light-emitting flashlight with a central peak of 470 nm, approximately 50% of the offsprings were nu/nu EGFP+. SU3-RFP, U87-RFP, and C6-CM-DiI almost 100% expressed red fluorescence under the fluorescence microscope. Under fluorescence microscopic view, RFP+ cells were observed growing wherever they arrived at, locating in the brain parenchyma, ventricles, and para-vascular region. The interactions between the transplanted tumor cells and host adjacent cells could be classified into three types: (1) interweaving; (2) mergence; and (3) fusion. Interweaving was observed in the early stage of tumor remodeling, in which both transplantable tumor cells and host cells were observed scattered in the tumor invading and spreading area without organic connections. Mergence was defined as mutual interactions between tumor cells and host stroma during tumorigenesis. Direct cell fusion between transplantable tumor cells and host cells could be observed occasionally.

CONCLUSIONSThis study showed that self-established EGFP athymic nude mice offered the possibility of visualizing tumorigenesis of human xenograft tumor, and the dual-color xenograft glioma model was of considerable utility in studying the process of tumor remodeling. Based on this platform, mutual interactions between glioma cells and host tissues could be observed directly to further elucidate the development of tumor microenvironment.

Animals ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Female ; Glioma ; metabolism ; pathology ; Green Fluorescent Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Humans ; Luminescent Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Mice, Nude ; Mice, Transgenic

OBJECTIVETo investigate the correlation between the number and activity of circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), insulin resistance and severity of coronary lesions in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD).

METHODSPatients with coronary angiography evidenced CAD were divided in insulin resistance group (IR, n = 25) and insulin sensitive group (IS, n = 44) according to insulin level, 25 health volunteers served as control. Circulating EPCs were marked as KDR/CD133+ cells via fluorescence-activated cell sorter analysis. EPCs were also isolated from peripheral blood and cultured in vitro for 7 days, identified by DiI-acLDL uptake and lectin staining methods. EPCs migration activities were determined by modified Boyden chamber assay, EPCs proliferation activities were determined by MTT assay.

RESULTCirculating EPCs number was significantly lower in IR group compared with IS group [(0.34 +/- 0.08) per thousand vs. (0.47 +/- 0.09) per thousand, P < 0.01] and control group (P < 0.05). Both insulin resistance index (r = -0.291, P = 0.01)and Gensini score (r = -0.3984, P = 0.006)were negatively correlated with number of circulating EPCs. Proliferation and migration capacities of EPCs were also significantly lower in IR group compared to those in IS group (all P < 0.05) and control group (all P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSInsulin resistance/hyperinsulinemia could aggravate severity of coronary artery lesions via reducing the number and activities of circulating EPCs in patients with CAD.

Aged ; Blood Cell Count ; Cell Adhesion ; Cell Movement ; Cell Proliferation ; Cells, Cultured ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Artery Disease ; blood ; pathology ; Endothelial Cells ; cytology ; Female ; Humans ; Insulin Resistance ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Stem Cells ; cytology