Defensins, a family of 3-4 KD cationic peptides, have been found recently in the cytoplasmicgranules of human, rabbit, guinea pig and rat polymorphonuclear neutrophils and rabbit alveolarmacrophages. The defence roles of these molecules, such as antimicrobial activity, viral inactiva-tion, tumor cell cytotoxicity, chemotactic and opsonic actions, etc. have been adequately studied.In order to investgate the role of Defensins in the neutrphil-mediated pathological process ofsome diseases, we isolated and purified human neutrophil Defensins. By using Sephadex G100and Bio-gel P10 gel filtration chromatography, the purified molecules were obtained. The puritywas identified by AU-PAGE,SDS-PAGE, and amino acid composition analysis. In vitro fugicidalactivity of the purified human neutrophil Defensins against Candida albicans was also examined.When incubated with 33 Mol concentration of human Defensins, more than 90% of Candida,al-bicans were killed in the methylene blue assay system.

The status quo and application of acupuncture therapy in Oman is introduced in this article. The gene -ral medical condition of Oman is comparatively backward. Function of local traditional medicine is limited. Indications of acupuncture in Oman are various pain syndromes and motor impairment after stroke. However, it is lack of systematic training and management of acupuncture practitioners. And the number of acupuncture clinic is comparatively inadequate. Therefore, qualified acupuncture training, publicity and cooperation with international organizations are highly recommended in the future.
Acupuncture Therapy ; trends ; Humans ; Oman

Notch signal pathway is closely related to the organism's development and a variety of cancers. Current models available for screening modulators of Notch signal pathway all use mouse Notch protein as substrates and those models which use human Notch protein have not been reported. To make the screen results much more reliable, the authors cloned a truncated form of human Notch1 called N100, and built the screening models for the use of it instead of mouse Notch protein. The models included an in vitro screening model based on the purified gamma-secretase enzyme and a cell model using luciferase reporter system. The screening models then have been verified by the known modulators of Notch signal pathway and the IC50 values have been obtained. The verified models can be used to screen modulators of human Notch signaling pathway effectively and it can lay the foundation for finding new modulators of this kind effectively.
Amyloid Precursor Protein Secretases ; Animals ; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical ; methods ; Humans ; Luciferases ; Mice ; Receptors, Notch ; antagonists & inhibitors ; Signal Transduction

Antirheumatic Agents ; therapeutic use ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; drug therapy ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Etanercept ; Female ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Methotrexate ; therapeutic use ; Phytotherapy ; Prednisone ; therapeutic use ; Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor ; therapeutic use

This paper recommends the early diagnosis of epidemic hemorrhagicfever with immunoenzymatic direct staining (IDS) to study the patient'speripheral white blood cells. The samples of blood smears from 63 patientswere examined under the microscope with this metbod. In 54 patients, the results were positive (85. 71%). We systemically observed 10 blood sam-ples from the patients in different courses of the disease, and found thatduring the period of recovery the results were negative. This method wasalso used to observe the blood smears from both 22 patients infected withother viruses and 20 healthy persons, and a negative result was obtained.It was demonstrated that IDS had stronger specificity. The advantages ofthis method are that blood samples are easily taken, carried and preserved,and that the experimental method is simple. Thus, IDS is of practical signifi-cance in preventing and treating the disease.

Objectives To summarize the experience of nursing care to children with dermatomyositis complicated with interstitial pneumonia.Methods The nursing histories of 11 cases of children dermatomyositis complicated with interstitial pneumonia were retrospectively looked into for summarizing the nursing measures.Results The diseases were both effectively controlled in all the children,who were given maintenance therapy by oral taking of hormone after discharge.Conclusion Such nursing measures as close observation of disease,enhanced nursing and first aid of respiratory failure,nursing of infection and secondary infection,care after mesenchymal stem cells transplantation,strengthened disinfection and isolation,are of significance for controlling the disease.

Notch signal pathway is closely related to the organism's development and a variety of cancers. Current models available for screening modulators of Notch signal pathway all use mouse Notch protein as substrates and those models which use human Notch protein have not been reported. To make the screen results much more reliable, the authors cloned a truncated form of human Notch1 called N100, and built the screening models for the use of it instead of mouse Notch protein. The models included an in vitro screening model based on the purified gamma-secretase enzyme and a cell model using luciferase reporter system. The screening models then have been verified by the known modulators of Notch signal pathway and the IC50 values have been obtained. The verified models can be used to screen modulators of human Notch signaling pathway effectively and it can lay the foundation for finding new modulators of this kind effectively.

Metabonomics is an important part of systems biology. Many research shows that metabonomics has an poten?tial incomparable advantages in clinical diagnosis. When human body was stimulated by exogenous or endogenous factor, it could respond throughalteration of low molecular weight metabolites. Therefore, researches of the dynamic changes of com?plex metabolites could explore the pathological or physiological changes in the body. With advance of modern technologies nuclear magnetic resonance and chromatography couple to mass spectrometer are widely applied to the metabonomics. Now, comprehensive analysis the dynamic changes of patients in vivo then setting up relationship between biomarkers and related diseases become possible through the application of Metabolomics in clinical. Finally, we discuss the realization of disease diagnosis by metabolome analysis.

Case teaching is one of the important means to improve teaching effect in the process of pharmacology teaching. According to the teaching object, teaching objectives and requirements to build one useful teaching case library about pharmacology, which can be used and shared for a long time, is the premise of case teaching in pharmacology. According to the actual situation of case teach-ing in our university, this study researched and explored the background of case library building, the basic principles of case compilation, the establishment of team, the teacher-led and the student-oriented processes of case building, and the process of sorting and summarizing cases in the case library build-ing, which promotes the reform in the pharmacology case teaching, improves teaching quality, and also provides a reference for other universities or schools and disciplines on teaching case library building.

Objective: To examine the expression and promoter CpG island methylation of glutathione S-transferase M3 (GSTM3) gene in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), and to evaluate the relationship of expression, methylation of GSTM3 gene with the metastasis and oncogenesis of ccRCC. Methods: Using semi-quantitative RT-PCR technique, we examined GSTM3 expression in surgical specimens of 24 primary ccRCCs and adjacent non-malignant tissues, 14 metastatic ccRCCs and 2 ccRCC cell lines (RCC05-TXJ,RCC05-ZTJ) with different metastatic potentials. RCC05-TXJ cells were cultured in RPMI 1640 medium and treated with DNA methyltransferase inhibitor 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine (5-Aza-CdR). Semi-quantitative RT-PCR was used to examine the expression of GSTM3 in response to 5-Aza-CdR treatment. Nested bisulfite sequencing PCR and DNA sequencing were used to analyze different methylation locuses in GSTM3 gene promoter in 10 primary ccRCCs and adjacent non-malignant tissues. We also examined the methylation level in 10 primary ccRCCs and the corresponding non-malignant tissues as well as 8 metastatic tissues by nested methylation-specific PCR. Results: Expression of GSTM3 gene in metastatic ccRCC cells (RCC05-TXJ) was lower than that in the non-metastatic ccRCC cells (RCC05-ZYJ). Down-regulation of GSTM3 gene expression was found in 17 of the 24 primary ccRCCs as compared with the non-malignant tissue. Expression of GSTM3 in the metastatic ccRCCs was lower than that in primary ccRCCs. 5-Aza-CdR treatment increased GSTM3 expression in RCC05-ZYJ. Methylation in GSTM3 promoter was found in 4 of 10 ccRCC tissues, 2 of 10 adjacent tissues, and 1 of 8 metastatic tissues. No significant difference was found between ccRCC and adjacent tissues (P = 0.628) or ccRCC and metastatic disease (P = 0.314) due to limit number of cases. Conclusion: Our findings support that promoter aberrant methylation is one of the major mechanisms of GSTM3 gene down-regulation in ccRCC. The preliminary identification of GSTM3 promoter methylation sites may provide a basis for further study.