BACKGROUND: Full-understanding of the mechanism of microRNA (miRNA) in the process of intervertebral disc degeneration at the cellular and molecular levels can provides new idea for the early prevention or treatment of a series of spinal diseases to intervertebral disc degeneration. OBJECTIVE: To summarize the research status of the role of miRNA in the cause and mechanism of intervertebral disc degeneration. METHODS: A computed-based online retrieval of PubMed, Wanfang and CNKI databases was conducted with the keywords of “miRNA, intervertebral disc degeneration, extracellular matrix, apoptosis, autophagy, cartilage endplate, nucleus pulposus, fibrous ring” in English and Chinese, respectively. Finally 58 eligible articles were included for review. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The role of miRNA in intervertebral disc degeneration has been widely studied, and some of the specific mechanisms have been verified. Most of the studies are limited to the nucleus pulposus, and there are few reports on cartilage endplate and annulus fibrosus. With the in-depth study of miRNA, there is still much space for clinical research.

The transitional near-infrared (NIR) laser was defined as ranging from 1.3μm to 1.4μm, within which the most sensitive tissue to laser damage changed from the retina to the cornea.The ocular damage effect has attracted much attention due to the increased varieties and output power of laser in this spectrum region in recent years.Compared with visible and mid-and-far infrared wavelengths, the ocular damage effect induced by transitional NIR wavelengths has many peculiarities and impact factors due to the bulk absorptionby ocular media.This paper reviews the existing ocular damage threshold data and analyzes the characteristics, impact factors and unresolved issues relating to ocular effects induced by laser radiation over the transition zone.

?-lactamase inhibitor research is popular for its potential on ?-lactam antibiotics resistant strain.A ?-lactamase binding peptide SIPIS04-01 was obtained by the yeast two-hybid system.In vitro assay showed that it can inhibit the ?-lactamase activity.In order to improve the expression level of the recombinant peptide,a two-copy expression plasmid pYG563 was constructed by random orientation tandem repeat method after codon modification,the two-copy plasmid was successfully expressed and the product was increased by 48.4% than that of one-copy plasmid.Purified peptide showed inhibitory activity against TEM-1 ?-lactamase in vitro and the inhhibitory constant Ki was measured.

Objective To analyze the medication regularity of TCM famous doctors for diabetes by using improved Apriori algorithm to obtain more efficient data mining methods. Methods This article put forward Apriori vertical data storage, and improved ADPM obtained by difference set method was used to conduct data mining to find out the medication regularity in Guo Jia Ji Ming Lao Zhong Yi Tang Niao Bing Yan An Liang Fang. Results After screening, 402 prescriptions were included, involving 24 kinds of high-frequency medicine, 15 high-frequency medical combinations, and 18 highly-dependent medical combinations, which were mainly tonifying deficiency medicine, clearing heat medicine, blood-activating and stasis-resolving medicine, and damp-draining diuretic medicine. Conclusion ADPM algorithm can be applied in the analysis on medication regularity and find out high-frequency medicine, medical combinations and medical dependent relation, with high efficiency.

Objective To investigate the mRNA expression of IKB kinase (IKK-α) and interferon-α (IFN-α) in the peripheral blood leukocytes of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and to explore the role of IKK-α in the production of IFN-α in SLE patients. Methods SYBR green dye I based real-time quantitative PCR was used to detect the mRNA expression levels of IKK-α and IFN-α in the peripheral blood leucocytes of SLE patients and healthy controls. Serum levels of IFN-α were measured with ELISA method. Results IKK-α mRNA expression levels in SLE patients were significantly higher than those of normal controls (P<0.05). IKK-α mRNA expression levels in SLE patients with active disease were significantly higher than patients with stable disease (P<0.01). IFN-α mRNA expression level in SLE patients was significantly lower than that of the normal controls (P<0.01). IFN-α mRNA expression levels in SLE patients with active disease were significantly higher than patients with stable disease (P<0.01). Serum levels of IFN-α in SLE patients with active disease was significantly higher than that of the normal controls and patients with stable disease (P<0.05). The anti-dsDNA antibody correlated positively, and complement C3 correlated negatively with serum concentration of IFN-α. IKK-α mRNA expression levels in SLE patients correlated positively with serum concentration of IFN-α. Conclusion IKK-α correlates positively with serum concentration of IFN-α. The IFN-α level is significantly correlated with disease activity, This suggests that IKK-α may play an important role in the pathogenesis of SLE.

Objective:To study the expression characteristics of Dickkopf1 (DKK1) in different time and space during tooth development of the postnatal mice, and to provide the theoretical basis for clarifying the mechanism of Wnt signaling pathway in regulating the tooth development.Methods:The postnatal Kunming mice at days 0.5, 6.5, 12.5, 18.5, 24.5, and 30.5 respectively after birth were selected and divided into various groups by time,three in each group.The mice in each group were sacrificed and the paraffin sections of mandibular bone including the first molar were prepared at the thickness of 5 μm, followed by HE staining and immunohistochemical staining in order to detect the expressions of DKK1 in tooth tissue and periodontal tissue.Results:At 0.5 d after birth, the mandibular first molar tooth germ was in the bell stage.At 6.5 d the enamel development of mandibular first molar was almost completed, and the epithelium root sheath extended to the root direction.At 12.5 d the dentin development of crown was completed, with the root formatted about 1/3. At 18.5 d the root had formatted about 2/3.At 24.5 d the root had reached the full length.At 30.5 d the apical foramen was narrow, and the root development was basically completed.There was no DKK1 expression at 0.5 d, but it expressed in the odontoblasts and predentin at 6.5 d. From days 12.5 to 30.5,the expressions of DKK1 were positive in periodontal ligament, alveolar bone, and cellular cementum as odontoblasts, which were gradually increased with the prolongation of time.However, no expression of DKK1 was detected in the pulp.Conclusion:DKK1 shows regular expressions at different tooth developmental stages after birth, suggesting its potential role in the growth of dentin and periodontal tissues.

Objective To detect the value of autoantibedy profile in primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). Methods 96 serum samples of patients with primiary biliary cirrhosis, 100 serum samples of other antoimmune disease and 49 serum samples of healthy were tested for anti- M2, anti-3E(BPO), anti-Sp100,anti-PML,anti-gp210,anti-LKM-1 ,anti-LC-1 ,anti-SLA/LP by EUROLine. Results The positive of the anti-M2,anti-BPO, anti-Sp100, anti-PML and anti-gp210 for PBC was 76. 0%, 84.4%, 32. 3%, 28. 1% and 35.4% ,respectively. The positive of the anti-M2, anti-BPO, anti-Sp100, anti-PML and anti-gp210 for other autoimmune disease was 13.0% ,9. 0% ,3.0% ,2.0% and 1. 0%, respectively. The sensitivity of the anti-M2 for PBC was 76. 0% ,with specificity of 87. 0%. The sensitivity of the anti-BPO for PBC was 84. 4%, with specificity of 91.0% ;the sensitivity of the anti-Sp100 for PBC was 32. 3%, with specificity of 97.0%. The sensitivity of the anti-PML for PBC was 28. 1% ,with specificity of 98.0%. The sensitivity of the anti-gp210 for PBC was 35.4%, with specificity of 99. 0% . Anti-LKM-1, anti-LC-1, anti-SLA/LP positive patients with PBC were not detected;the incidence rate of liver function failure in anti-gp210 positive serum higher than anti-gp210 negative serum (χ2 = 11.17, P < 0. 01). Conclusions Multiple autoantibedies can be detected in the sera of PBC patients. The detection of autoantibody profile is useful for the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of PBC, and may he helpful for therapy and prognosis of PBC.

Objective: To construct the expression plasmid of a novel gene human NBEAL1 (neurobeachin like 1), and to study its relationship with the pathological grades of glioma. Methods: Total RNA of human glioma cell line U251 was extracted. NBEAL1 expression plasmid pGEX-KG/NBEAL1 was constructed and transferred into E. coli BL21. Recombinant NBEAL1 protein was induced by IPTG and further purified by GST affinity chromatographic column. The purity of recombinant NBEAL1 protein was examined by Western blotting analysis. A NBEAL1 protein specific monoclonal antibody was prepared and was used to study the relationship of NBEAL1 expression with pathological grades of glioma. Results: The NBEAL1 gene fragment was successfully cloned into pGEX-KG expression plasmid and verified by DNA sequencing. The recombinant NBEAL1 protein was expressed in inclusion bodies, with a yield of more than 30% of total bacterial proteins; the purity of purified NBEAL1 protein was above 95%. Western blotting analysis confirmed that the purified protein containing GST tag and NBEAL protein. NBEAL1 protein was lowly expressed in normal brain tissues and highly expressed in low grade glioma tissues; and the expression of NBEAL1 decreased with the increase of glioma malignancy. Conclusion: The NBEAL1 protein has been successfully cloned, expressed and purified. NBEAL1 protein expression in glioma tissues is negatively associated with the pathological grades of glioma.

Objective To investigate the expression of Foxp3~+ lymphocytes in breast carcinoma tissues and their correlation with other pathological factors,and to investigate the mechanism of action of Treg cells.Methods The expression of Foxp3~+ lymphocytes in the breast cancer tissue and non-cancerous tissue was detected by flow cytometry (FCM) in 30 breast carcinoma patients, and its correlation with other pathological factors was statistically analyzed by multiple linear regression analysis.The expression of TGF-β and IL-10 in the lymphocytes infiltrated in breast cancer tissue and non-cancerous tissue was measured by immunohistochemistry, and their correlation with the expression of Foxp3~+ lymphocytes was statistically analyzed by linear correlation dependability analysis. Results There was significant difference in the expression of Foxp3~+ lymphocytes between the malignant and non-cancerous breast tissues(P<0.05),and it was positively correlated with the clinical stage,blood vessel invasion and the matter of axillary lymph node metastasis(P<0.05). The expression of IL-10 in the tumor infiltrating lymphocytes was positively correlated with the expression of Foxp3~+ lymphocytes(P<0.05).Conclusion The expression level of Foxp3~+ lymphocytes is correlated with invasion and metastasis of breast carcinoma, and the IL-10 secreted by Foxp3~+ lymphocytes may be involved in this effect.Foxp3~+ lymphocytes can be used as an assistant marker for prediction and new therpeutic target of breast cancer.

Objective To investigate the distribution characteristics and risk factors of intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis ischemic stroke. Methods We retrospectively collected 342 consecutive patients with first-ever ischemic stroke. Clinical data was collected including demographics, the presence of risk factors,MRI with MRA and other routine admis?sion laboratory tests. Results Intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis (ICAS) was located most frequently in MCA (47.0%), Extracranial internal carotid artery was the most common affected artery (65.0%) among extracranial atherosclerotic steno? sis (ECAS). MetS (OR=1.586,95%CI:1.232~2.268), ApoB/ApoA1 ratio (OR=1.926,95%CI:1.051~4.288), were as?sociated with ICAS (vs ECAS), whereas hypertension (OR=3.603,95%CI:1.675~12.485), MetS (OR=2.268,95%CI:1.274~6.103), HbA1c (OR=2.015,95%CI:1.182~5.613) and ApoB/ ApoA I ratio (OR=1.948,95%CI:1.157~4.285) were related to ICAS (vs NCAS). Hypertension (OR=2.437,95%CI:1.492~3.505,P=0.005), Hcy (OR=2.437,95%CI:1.492~3.505,P=0.005) and HbA1c (OR=1.769,95%CI:1.034~3.121, P=0.005) were the independent risk factors re?lated to posterior circulation strokes (vs anterior circulation strokes ) in ICAS strokes. Conclusions The occurrence of ICAS may be more frequent than that of ECAS in ischemic stroke. Posterior circulation ICAS strokes seems to be close?ly associated with metabolic derangement.