Animals ; Colonoscopy ; methods ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; pathology ; Disease Models, Animal ; Heterogeneous-Nuclear Ribonucleoproteins ; metabolism ; Precancerous Conditions ; pathology ; Rodentia

Objective To investigate the relationship between ultrasonographic appearance of the endometrium and steroid. Methods A total of 30 women with normal cycle were used for this study. On the day of positive urinary LH, the subjects were classified into group A, group B and group C according to Gonen's criterions of endometrial echogenic patterns. Blood samples were taken for measurement of FSH, LH, PRL, E_2, P, T levels on the third day of the cycle, the pre-ovulatory phase, and the sixth or seventh day after ovulation. Results During the early follicular phase and pre-ovulatory phase, serum E_ 2 concentration was highest in group A, then group B and lowest in group C; there was significant difference between group A and group C (P

Objective To study the relationship between ultrasonographic appearance of the endometrium and the blood flow of uterine artery,ovarian stroma and VEGF in the spontaneous ovulating cycle.Methods A total of 30 women with normal ovulating function participated in this study.On the day of positive urinary LH,the subjects were divided into three groups(A,B and C) according to Gonen's criterions of endometrial echogenic patterns.The peak systolic velocity(PSV),end-diastolic velocity(EDV),resistance index(RI) in uterine arteries and ovarian stromal vessels were measured with transvaginal color Doppler ultrasonography;follicle-stimulating hormone(FSH),luteinizing hormone(LH),estradiol(E_(2)) and progesterone(P) were assessed by fluoroimmunoassay;and vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) was assessed by Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay on the third day of the cycle,the pre-ovulating phase,and the 6～7 day after ovulation.Results ① During the pre-ovulatory phase uterine arteries and ovarian stromal blood flow PSV in group A was significantly higher than that in group C(P0.05).Conclusion Lower receptivity in the hyperechogenic endometrium may be related with corpus luteum defection and disorder of the uterine blood vessel activities.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Antigens, CD34 ; metabolism ; Child ; Colonic Neoplasms ; pathology ; Cystadenocarcinoma, Mucinous ; metabolism ; secondary ; Cystadenocarcinoma, Serous ; metabolism ; secondary ; Female ; Humans ; Macrophage Migration-Inhibitory Factors ; metabolism ; Microvessels ; pathology ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; secondary ; Stomach Neoplasms ; pathology ; Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 ; metabolism ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo clone tpn17 and tpn47 genes of Treponema pallidum and then construct their prokaryotic expression systems,to establish ELISAs based on rTpN17 and rTpN47 as antigens and to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of the ELISAs for detection of serological diagnosis of syphilis.

METHODSThe whole length of tpn17 and tpn47 genes was amplified by PCR and then their prokaryotic expression systems were constructed. SDS-PAGE was used to measure the expression of the target recombinant proteins rTpN17 and rTpN47. Ni-NTA affinity chromatography was applied to extract rTpN17 and rTpN47, while Western blot was performed to determine the specific immunoreactivity of rTpN17 and rTpN47. By using rTpN17 and rTpN47 as the coated antigen, respectively, ELISAs (rTpN17-ELISA and rTpN47-ELISA) were established to detect serum samples from 200 healthy individuals, 25 RA patients, 17 SLE patients and 211 syphilis patients. The detection effects of the ELISAs were compared to those of TRUST and TPHA.

RESULTThe sequence similarity of the cloned tpn17 and tpn47 genes was 100 % compared with the corresponding sequences in GenBank. The expression outputs of rTpN17 and rTpN47 were approximately 37.2 % and 26.8 % of the total bacterial proteins, respectively. Both the extracted rTpN17 and rTpN47 could take place remarkable conjugation reactions to the sera with positive antibody against Treponema pallidum.The positive detection rate of TPHA (99.1%) was the highest (P<0.001). The positive detection rates of rTpN17-ELISA (85.3 %) and rTpN47-ELISA (84.3 %) were similar (P>0.05). The positive detection rates of TRUST (72.5 %) was lower than that of rTpN17-ELISA (P=0.001) but similar to that of rTpN47-ELISA (P=0.014). The detection results of all the serum samples from healthy individuals, RA patients and SLE patients were negative, whereas 7.1 % (3/42) of the samples from RA or SLE patients were positive.

CONCLUSIONrTpN17 and rTpN47 are still maintaining their original immunoreactivity. The ELISAs using rTpN17 or rTpN47 as the antigen are rapid, simple and convenient, higher sensitivity and specificity methods for serological screening and detection of syphilis.

Antibodies, Bacterial ; Antigens, Bacterial ; Blotting, Western ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; methods ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Syphilis ; diagnosis ; Syphilis Serodiagnosis ; Treponema pallidum ; chemistry ; immunology ; isolation & purification

BACKGROUNDCyclosporine A (CsA) has been widely used in the treatment of aplastic anemia (AA), but the application of CsA was limited in patients who had liver diseases or abnormal liver function due to its liver toxicity. Glycyrrhizin has long been used in China in the treatment of various liver diseases to lower transaminases. In this study, we observed the efficacy and safety of glycyrrhizic acid combined with CsA in the treatment of newly diagnosed patients with non-severe AA (NSAA).

METHODSA total number of 76 patients with newly diagnosed NSAA were enrolled into the study at our hospital between July 2005 and June 2010. The patients were divided randomly into two groups: the glycyrrhizin-treatment group (group A) and the control group (group B) with 38 patients in each group. All patients received 3 - 5 mg×kg(-1)×d(-1) CsA for at least 4 months and were treated either with or without glycyrrhizin for 4 months.

RESULTSsixty-eight patients were eligible for evaluation. In the control group, 9.09% patients (n = 3) achieved a complete response while 51.52% (n = 17) attained a partial response. The overall response rate was 60.61% (n = 20). The remaining 13 patients (39.39%) did not have any response. In the glycyrrhizin-treatment group, complete response rate was 20% (n = 7) and partial response rate was 62.86% (n = 22). The overall response rate was 82.86% (n = 29) and the non-response rate was 17.14% (n = 6). Response rate was significantly increased with the addition of glycyrrhizin to CsA compared with CsA alone (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe combination of glycyrrhizin and cyclosporine regimen was an effective treatment for NSAA in terms of improvement of response rate, reduction in CsA-related liver injury, and attenuation of severity of nausea and other adverse events in the treatment of patients with NSAA.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Anemia, Aplastic ; drug therapy ; immunology ; Cyclosporine ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Female ; Glycyrrhizic Acid ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; Humans ; Interferon-gamma ; blood ; Interleukin-2 ; blood ; Male ; Middle Aged

OBJECTIVETo explore the significance of Lens culinaris-reactive alpha-Fetoprotein (AFP-L3) detection in primary hepatocellular carcinoma.

METHODSAFP-L3 was isolated by using microspin column coupled with lens culinaris agglutinin (LCA), AFP and AFP-L3 were detected with chemiluminescent immunoassay, the proportion of AFP L3 levels were calculated, and the relationship between the elevated AFP-L3 (%) levels and benign and malignant liver disease was analyzed.

RESULTSThere were significant differences in positive rate between the patients of HCC, suspected HCC and other liver disease (81.80%, 73.68%, 11.80%, respectively, P < 0.05). Among the undetermined HCC (suspected HCC, liver disease) patients, 12 out of 21 cases of AFP-13 positive were diagnosed to be HCC within 6 months, and 6 of them were diagnosed to be the single small HCC at the early stage through B-Ultrasonic Diagnosis or CT. Among 62 cases of AFP-L3 negative, 3 cases were diagnosed to be HCC within 6 months and the risk of occurrence of HCC for AFP-L3 positive increased 11.9 times.

CONCLUSIONAFP-L3 has no correlation with AFP value, and it can be used as an independent HCC diagnosis factor. The detection of AFP-L3 has a significant implication for the identification of benign or malignant liver disease and the early stage predictive diagnosis of HCC while AFP increases.

Adult ; Aged ; Biomarkers, Tumor ; metabolism ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; diagnosis ; pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Lens Plant ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Invasiveness ; Plant Lectins ; analysis ; Young Adult ; alpha-Fetoproteins ; analysis

OBJECTIVETo determine the association between elevated levels of serum cancer antigen (CA) 125 and hepatitis cirrhosis in different stage, and also to explore the clinical application value of serum CA-125.

METHODSDuring June to December in 2008, 200 cases with hepatitis cirrhosis were random selected in our hospital. CA-125 levels were measured by electrochemiluminescence immunization assay in sera collected from these cases which were termed with Child-Paugh classification and analyzed by SAS.

RESULTSSerum CA-125 levels were correlated closely with ascites, primary peritonitis and liver function Child-Paugh classification, but no associated with primary carcinoma of liver and other liver function index,such as ALT, AST, ALB, TBIL and PT.

CONCLUSIONThe levels of serum CA-125 in hepatitis cirrhosis patients were osculating correlating with lesion of liver and ascite degree, could serve as a sensitive and conventional laboratory index for liver lesion degree and monitoring ascite generation. It was necessary to further study on the association with serum CA-125 level with primary hepatic carcinoma.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Ascites ; pathology ; CA-125 Antigen ; blood ; Female ; Humans ; Liver ; pathology ; Liver Cirrhosis ; blood ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo explore the pathogenesis of tumors by blocking the normal differentiation process of stem cells.

METHODSBone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) from rats were isolated, cultured and purified by whole bone marrow adherence method. The rat BMSCs were induced to differentiate into adipocytes with dexamethasone, insulin and indomethacin. Blockage of the differentiation process was induced by 3-methylcholanthrene (3-MC).

RESULTSThe differentiation experiment showed that at 30 days after the induction, oil red O staining-positive cells occurred with increased intracytolasmic lipid droplets, characteristic for adipocytes. The differentiation blockage experiment showed that at 30 days after induction, the deposits of oil red O staining-cytoplasmic lipid droplets was significantly reduced, indicating that the blocked cells were adipocytes, but not fully differentiated. Morphological identification showed that cell contact inhibition disappeared, abnormal cell nuclei, increased number of micronucleus aberration and karyotype abnormalities, indicating that malignant transformation of the stem cells occurred after the differentiation blockage.

CONCLUSIONSThe results of this study show a blockage of the differentiation of that stem cells at the intermediate phase, and a tendency of malignant transformation of the stem cells. The results of our study provide new evidence that cancer stem cells may be originated by suppression of stem cell differentiation.

Adipocytes ; cytology ; Animals ; Bone Marrow Cells ; cytology ; drug effects ; Cell Differentiation ; drug effects ; Cell Transformation, Neoplastic ; Cells, Cultured ; Dexamethasone ; pharmacology ; Drug Combinations ; Female ; Indomethacin ; pharmacology ; Insulin ; pharmacology ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; cytology ; drug effects ; Methylcholanthrene ; pharmacology ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar

Animals ; Carbon Tetrachloride ; Carbon Tetrachloride Poisoning ; Fatty Liver ; chemically induced ; drug therapy ; Glycyrrhizic Acid ; therapeutic use ; Ligands ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley