OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects and mechanisms of cordycepin,an effective component of cordyceps militaris, on renal interstitial fibrosis (RIF) and its related eIF2α/TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway.

METHODFirstly, 15 C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into 3 groups,the control group (Group A), the model group (Group B) and the cordycepin-treated group (Group C). After renal interstitial fibrotic model was successfully established by unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO), the mice in Group C were intraperitoneally administrated with cordycepin(5 mg x kg(-1) d(-1)) and the ones in Group A and B were administrated with physiological saline for 5 days. At the end of the study, the obstructed kidneys were collected and detected for the pathological changes of RIF, and the mRNA expressions of collagen type I (Col I) and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) in the kidney by Northern blot. Secondly, after renal tubular epithelial (NRK-52E) cells cultured in vitro were exposed to transforming growth factor (TGF) -β with or without cordycepin, the mRNA expressions of Col I and collagen type IV( Col IV) by Northern blot, and the protein expressions of eukaryotic initiation factor 2α (eIF2α), phosphorylated eIF2α ( p-eIF2α), Smad2/3 and phosphorylated Smad2/3 (p-Smad2/3) were tested by Western blot.

RESULTIn vivo, cordycepin alleviated RIF in model mice, including improving fibrotic pathological characteristics and mRNA expressions of Col I and α-SMA. In vitro, cordycepin induced the high expression of p-elF2α, and inhibited the expressions of p-Smad2/3, Col I and Col IV induced by TGF-β in NRK-52E cells.

CONCLUSIONCordycepin attenuates RIF in vivo and in vitro, probably by inducing the phosphorylation of eIF2α, suppressing the expression of p-Smad2/3, a key signaling molecule in TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway, and reducing the expressions of collagens and α-SMA in the kidney.

Actins ; analysis ; Animals ; Deoxyadenosines ; pharmacology ; Fibrosis ; Kidney ; drug effects ; pathology ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Phosphorylation ; Protein-Serine-Threonine Kinases ; physiology ; Signal Transduction ; drug effects ; Smad Proteins ; physiology ; Transforming Growth Factor beta ; antagonists & inhibitors ; physiology

Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells are the main progenitor cells of osteoblasts , and are regarded as the seed cells for bone repair and regeneration because of their osteogenic differentiation potential .Promoting the osteogenic differentiation and bone formation is feasible to treat osteoporosis .LncRNAs regulate gene expression at the transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels , influence fundamental biological processes including cell differentiation and organ development , and are closely associated with many diseases including osteoporosis .This paper reviews the research of lncRNA in regulating osteogenic differentiation to provide a new tar -get for bone formation and treatment of osteoporosis .

BACKGROUNDHyperparathyroidism (HPT) occurs at an early age and has a high disability rate. Unfortunately, confirmed diagnosis in most patients is done at a very late stage, when the patients have shown typical symptoms and signs, and when treatment does not produce any desirable effect. It has become urgent to find a method that would detect early bone diseases in HPT to obtain time for the ideal treatment. This study evaluated the accuracy of high field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) combined with spiral computed tomography (SCT) scan in detecting early bone diseases in HPT, through imaging techniques and histopathological examinations on an animal model of HPT.

METHODSEighty adult rabbits were randomly divided into two groups with forty in each. The control group was fed normal diet (Ca:P = 1:0.7); the experimental group was fed high phosphate diet (Ca:P = 1:7) for 3, 4, 5, or 6-month intervals to establish the animal model of HPT. The staging and imaging findings of the early bone diseases in HPT were determined by high field MRI and SCT scan at the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th month. Each rabbit was sacrificed after high field MRI and SCT scan, and the parathyroid and bones were removed for pathological examination to evaluate the accuracy of imaging diagnosis.

RESULTSParathyroid histopathological studies revealed hyperplasia, osteoporosis and early cortical bone resorption. The bone diseases in HPT displayed different levels of low signal intensity on T(1)WI and low to intermediate signal intensity on T(2)WI in bone of stage 0, I, II or III, but showed correspondingly absent, probable, osteoporotic and subperiosteal cortical resorption on SCT scan.

CONCLUSIONHigh field MRI combined with SCT scan not only detects early bone diseases in HPT, but also indicates staging, and might be a reliable method of studying early bone diseases in HPT.

Animals ; Bone Diseases ; diagnosis ; pathology ; Calcium ; blood ; Female ; Hyperparathyroidism ; complications ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; methods ; Male ; Osteoporosis ; diagnosis ; Phosphorus ; blood ; Rabbits ; Tomography, Spiral Computed ; methods

OBJECTIVETo investigate the expression of cell adhesion molecules and Their significance in invasive micropapillary carcinoma (IMPC) of the breast.

METHODSImmunohistochemical study for E-cadherin was performed on 64 cases of IMPC and 57 cases of invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC).

RESULTSE-cadherin was mainly expressed on the cell membrane of tumor cells. The expression of E-cadherin in IMPC (85.9%, 55/64) was significantly higher than that in IDC (43.9%, 25/57). E-cadherin expressed in the intercellular contact surface of IMPC cells. In contrast, it was weakly positive/not expressed on the outer membranous surface of the tumor clusters in IMPC. The rate of lymph node metastasis in IMPC (85.9%, 55/64) was significantly higher than that in IDC (52.6%, 30/57), the rate of alpha-catenin and beta-catenin coexpression in IMPC (45.1%, 26/51) with lymph node metastasis and E-cadherin normal expression was also significantly higher than that in IDC (15.4%, 2/13).

CONCLUSIONWeak cell adhesion molecule expression on the outer surface of IMPC cell clusters, in contrast to strong cohesion in intercellular contact surface, may help to explain the high metastatic potential of this type of breast cancer.

Adult ; Aged ; Breast Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Cadherins ; metabolism ; Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast ; metabolism ; secondary ; Carcinoma, Papillary ; metabolism ; secondary ; Cell Membrane ; metabolism ; Cytoskeletal Proteins ; metabolism ; Female ; Humans ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Middle Aged ; Trans-Activators ; metabolism ; alpha Catenin ; beta Catenin

OBJECTIVETo discuss the best surgical approach to the skull base neoplasms.

METHODSRetrospective analysis the 79 skull base neoplasms cases treated with surgical resection in Qilu hospital of Shandong university from 1992 to 2002. Eleven surgical approaches including midfacial degloving, frontal coronal discission, nasal eversion, maxillary swing, partial maxillary resection, total resection of orbit, mandibular swing, combination of front, temple, preauricular, post aureum, neck, and transoral approaches were used to resect the tumor which involved fossae pterygopalatine, paranasal sinuses, nasopharynx, antero, meso and posterobasilar region, lobi frontalis and lobi temporalis of cerebrum.

RESULTSSeventy-nine skull base neoplasms were totally removed and no one died from the operation. Although 5 cases complicated with cerebrospinal fluid leak and all recovered within 1 week, no serious cranium-cerebrum complication occurred. In 29 patients with benign tumor including 11 cases of meningioma, 3 cases of chondroma, 1 case of hemangio-meningioma, 1 case of cavernous hemangioma, 2 cases of osteodysplasia fibromas, 9 cases of neurofibroma, 1 case of glomus jugular tumor, 1 case of neurilemmoma, 19 have survived over 5 years and the longest one has survived over 8 years. For 50 patients with malignant tumor including 3 cases of well-differentiated squamous cell carcinoma, 17 cases of moderately differentiated squamous cell carcinoma, 11 cases of poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma, 1 case of undifferentiated carcinoma, 2 cases of chondrosarcoma, 5 cases of canceration of papilloma, 2 cases of adenocarcinoma, 1 case of esthesioneuroblastoma, 2 cases of malignant fibrohistiocytoma, 1 case of fibrosarcoma, 2 cases of malignant mixed tumour, 3 cases of sarcoma survival rates of 3 and 5 years were 59.2% (29/49), 38.5% (10/26) respectively.

CONCLUSIONIn order to resect the tumor completely and reduce the complication and malformation as far as possible, different surgical approaches must be designed according to the pathological changes characters and involved area,and the surgeon should select the shortest approach, avoid to damage the important neurovascular structure, and resect the tumor through the natural anatomy space by the shelter incision.

Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Otorhinolaryngologic Surgical Procedures ; methods ; Retrospective Studies ; Skull Base Neoplasms ; surgery

OBJECTIVETo investigate the relationship between CCR5 delta32 gene polymorphism and condyloma acuminata.

METHODSWe used polymerase chain reaction to amplify the CCR5 gene fragments in 60 patients with condyloma acuminata and 50 age- and sampling date-matched controls, and compared the difference of genotypes between these two groups.

RESULTSNo genotype difference was found between these two groups.

CONCLUSIONCondyloma acuminata are not associated with genetic polymorphism of CCR5 delta32 gene.

Condylomata Acuminata ; genetics ; Genetic Association Studies ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Genotype ; Humans ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Receptors, CCR5 ; genetics

Objective The use of tourniquets in total knee arthroplasty has been controversial. Many studies have focused only on the different time courses and neglected the effects of pressures. Currently,there is no study explaining the mechanism of tourniquet-induced injury. The aim of this study was to explore the effects of different tourniquet pressures on pain and swelling after total knee arthroplasty and to explore the mechanism of injury. Methods Ninety-six patients who underwent total knee arthroplasty at Nanjing General Hospital from June 2017 to December 2017 were randomly as-signed to 240 mmHg group (low pressure),270 mmHg group (medi- um pressure),and 300 mmHg group (high pressure). The patient's pain and thigh circumference were measured before and 1-2 days after surgery. Blood samples were taken before and 3,8,and 24 hours after surgery. Superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1),prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and myoglobin were detected,analysed and compared. Results In the perspective of the pain and swelling of affected limb after surgery,the 300 mmHg group (73.24±10.51) was significantly different from the 240 mmHg group (58.18±9.66) and the 270mmHg group (63.06±10.06). In the perspective of the SOD1 level in serum,the 300mmHg group (97.77±13.82) was significant-ly different from the 240mmHg group (63.72±15.02) and the 270 mmHg group (70.58±5.85) at 3h after surgery,and then the diver-gence was gradually decreased. In the perspective of the PGE2 level in serum,the 300 mmHg group (478.05±35.80) was significantly different from the 240mmHg group (334.42±33.12) and the 270mmHg group (391.85±19.41) at 3h after surgery,and the divergence was started to decrease after 8 h. In the perspective of the myoglobin level in serum,the 300 mmHg group (30.43±9.79) was also sig-nificantly different from the 240 mmHg group (17.58±1.93) and the 270 mmHg group (22.28±4.21) at 8 h after operation,the diver-gence was started to decrease after 24 h. which began to decrease after 24 h. Correlation analysis showed that there was a significant cor-relation between pain (correlation coefficient 0.518,P<0.001),swelling (correlation coefficient 0.345,P<0.05) and stress after sur-gery. Conclusion The pain and swelling of the affected limb is positively correlated with the pressure of the tourniquet during the operation. Muscle necrosis is the main mechanism of the injury. Oxidative stress occurs in the ischemic phase and inflammation occurs in the reperfusion phase.

OBJECTIVETo analyze clinical manifestations, treatment and prognosis of 4 cases with endemic typhus.

METHODThe clinical data of four endemic typhus patients in prognosis were retrospectively analyzed. These four atypical cases of endemic typhus with pneumonia were treated in our department from October 2011 to March 2012. They were all male, with an age range of 15 months to 7 years. The four patients had long history, mild respiratory symptom and no improvement was found after treatment with cephalosporins. There were no evidences of bacterial, viral, or fungal infections and we thought they might have infection with other pathogen. Three were from rural areas. Routine blood tests, Weil-Felix reaction, blood smear (Giemsa staining) , and indirect immunofluorescence assay were performed.

RESULTBlood smear and IFA tests showed evidences for endemic typhus. The clinical presentations were atypical, the patients had no headache, but all had fever, rash, and pneumonia of varying severity. None of the patients had a severe cough, but bronchial casts were observed in one case. Recurrent fever was reported in three cases. Physical examinations showed no eschars, but one patient had a subconjunctival hemorrhage, and one had skin scratches, cervical lymphadenopathy, pleural effusion, pericardial effusion, and cardiac dilatation. Two patients had remarkably increased peripheral blood leukocyte counts; both these patients also had high alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels and one had a high C-reactive protein (CRP) level. Weil-Felix testing was negative or the OX19 titer was low. The peripheral blood smear (Giemsa stain) showed intracellular pathogens in all four cases. After combined therapy with doxycycline and macrolide antibiotics, all four patients recovered well.

CONCLUSIONThe endemic typhus children often come from rural areas. The clinical presentations were atypical, they usually have no headache, but have fever (often Periodic fever) , rash, and pneumonia of varying severity in these four cases. Combined therapy with doxycycline and macrolide antibiotics was effective in all four patients.

Anti-Bacterial Agents ; therapeutic use ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Doxycycline ; therapeutic use ; Fever ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect ; Humans ; Infant ; Leukocyte Count ; Lung ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Macrolides ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Pneumonia ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Radiography ; Retrospective Studies ; Staining and Labeling ; methods ; Typhus, Endemic Flea-Borne ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; pathology

OBJECTIVETo use the snail survey data of Yugan, Jiangxi Province as an example to evaluate the effects and advantages of global positioning system integrated with digital maps and remote sensing data in order to manage and analyze the whole country's surveillance data of schistosomiasis by using geographic information system.

METHODSThe data of geographic information and snail information of 20 marshlands in Yugan, Jiangxi Province were collected, and by the correction of remote sensing images based on the digital maps and index extraction, the snail current situation and trend were analyzed and expressed.

RESULTSA series of specific procedure images of these 20 marshlands was established and the effects of Yugan surveillance platform based on geographic information system were validated.

CONCLUSIONThe whole country's surveillance data of schistosomiasis might be successfully integrated with geographic information system by global positioning system and be managed and expressed, which supplies a successful platform in using the surveillance data effectively.

Animals ; Environmental Monitoring ; Epidemiological Monitoring ; Geographic Information Systems ; Humans ; Schistosomiasis ; epidemiology ; prevention & control ; Snails ; Spacecraft

OBJECTIVETo improve the surgery results and living quality of patients following the operation of the combined approach of tympanoplasty and mastoidectomy with close technique.

METHODSThe clinical data and following-up results of 49 patients treated with combined approach of tympanoplasty and mastoidectomy with close technique and 82 patients treated with open mastoidectomy with tympanoplasty were retrospective analyzed.

RESULTSIn the group treated with combined approach tympanoplasty, all patients got dry ear in 20 days and 31 patients' hearing level enhanced over 15 dB after the operation; but in the group treated with open mastoidectomy with tympanoplasty, only 13 patients got dry ear in 20 days and no patients' hearing level enhance over 15 dB after the operation. Although the recurrence rates between two groups were not significant difference, the patients of former group not only took a shorter recovery time and got a better hearing recovery, but also kept a normal external auditory meatus, at the same time, they need not to clear scab at fixed period all life long.

CONCLUSIONSWhen performed on carefully selected patients, combined approach tympanoplasty was a feasible surgical method to improve the surgery results and living quality of patients following the operation, however, the advanced equipment and perfect operation skill are necessary.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Cholesteatoma, Middle Ear ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Mastoid ; surgery ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome ; Tympanoplasty ; methods ; Young Adult