Cell Transformation, Neoplastic ; drug effects ; genetics ; Dimethyl Sulfoxide ; pharmacology ; Electroporation ; methods ; HL-60 Cells ; Humans ; Membrane Proteins ; genetics ; Neoplasm Proteins ; genetics ; RNA Interference ; RNA, Small Interfering ; genetics ; Stromal Interaction Molecule 1 ; Transfection

OBJECTIVETo study the effects of icariin on Bcl-2 and Bax protein expressions and eosinophils apoptosis in bronchial asthmatic mice.

METHODS48 female Balb/c mice were randomly divided into 6 groups, i.e., the normal control group, the model group, the Dexamethasone group, the low dose icariin group, the middle dose icariin group, and the high dose icariin group, 8 mice in each group. Bronchial asthma in mice were induced by intraperitoneal sensitization and challenged with nebulized ovalbumin (OVA). The mice of each treatment group were administrated with different doses of icariin by peritoneal injection from the first asthma sensitization (the 3rd week after the modeling) to the day before killing once every other day, while mice in the normal control group were administrated with physiological saline. The mice were killed after 6 weeks of treatment. The apoptosis of eosinophils and the Bcl-2 and Bax protein expressions of the lung tissues were detected by TUNEL and immunohistochemical assay respectively.

RESULTSAs compared with the model group, the apoptosis ratio of eosinophils were higher in the rest four treatment groups (P<0.05). The Bcl-2 protein positive areas in the lung tissues and the airway wall were significantly lowered (P<0.05). The Bax protein positive area significantly increased (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONIn bronchial asthmatic mice, icariin could enhance the apoptosis of eosinophils and lessen their infiltration by decreasing the expression of Bcl-2 protein and increasing the expression of Bax protein in lung.

Animals ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Asthma ; metabolism ; Eosinophils ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Female ; Flavonoids ; pharmacology ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; bcl-2-Associated X Protein ; genetics ; metabolism

AIMTo study the anti-tumor bioactive steroid saponins of Paris vietnamensis (Takht.).

METHODSThe constituents were isolated and purified by chromatography and their structures were identified by spectral analysis and physicochemical properties. The cytotoxic bioactivities of the constituents were determined by MTT.

RESULTSEleven compounds were obtained and identified as 3beta, 5alpha,6alpha-trihydroxy-7(8)-en-isospirostanol-3-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl(1-->3) [alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl(1-->2)]-beta-D-glucopyranoside (1), which was named as parisvietnaside A, 25 (R) diosgenin-3-O-alpha-L-arabinofuranosyl(1-->4)-beta-D-glucopyranoside (2), 25(R) diosgenin-3-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl(1-->2)-beta-D-glucopyranoside (3), 25 (R) diosgenin-3-O-alpha-L-arabinofuranosyl (1-->4) [alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl (1-->2)]-beta-D-glucopyranoside (4), 25 (R) diosgenin-3-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl (1-->3) [alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl (1-->2)]-beta-D-glucopyranoside (5), 25 (R) diosgenin-3-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl (1-->4)-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl(1-->4) [alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->2)]-beta-D-glucopyranoside (6), 25 (R) pennogenin-3-O-alpha-L-arabinofuranosyl(1-->4)-beta-D-glucopyranoside (7), 25 (R) pennogenin-3-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl (1-->2)-beta-D-glucopyranoside (8), 25 (R) pennogenin-3-O-alpha-L-arabinofuranosyl (1-->4) [alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->2)]-beta-D-glucopyranoside (9), 25 (R) pennogenin-3-O-beta-D-glycopyranosyl (1-->3) [alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl(1-->2)-beta-D-glucopyranoside (10) and 25 (R) pennogenin-3-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl (1-->4)-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl(1-->4) [alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->2)]-beta-D-glucopyranoside (11). Some constituents had cytotoxic bioactivities.

CONCLUSIONCompound 1 is a new spirostanol saponin, and compounds 2, 3, 6-11 were obtained from Paris vietnamensis (Takht.) for the first time. Compounds 3, 4, 6, 8 had cytotoxic bioactivities against tumor cells HepG2 and SGC-7901.

Adenocarcinoma ; pathology ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; pathology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Humans ; Liliaceae ; chemistry ; Liver Neoplasms ; pathology ; Molecular Conformation ; Molecular Structure ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Rhizome ; chemistry ; Saponins ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Stomach Neoplasms ; pathology

Background The pathological change of the anterior uveitis is the disruption of blood-aqueous barrier.Slit lamp examination appears to be limited for the evaluation of inflammatory response,and fluorescine angiography is an objective approach.However,there are few relative studies up to now in China.Objective Aim of this study was to observe the characteristics and assess the clinical applications of iris fluorescein angiography (IFA)in Chinese uveitis with brown iris.Methods Forty eyes of 40 normal subjects and 21 eyes of 13 patients with the anterior uveitis were collected in this study.IFA,slit-lamp examination and iris photograph were performed on the subjects.All individuals were informed consented at the initiation of this study.Results In normal eyes,fluorescence in iris vessels was blocked by the melanin pigment,but peripupillary weak fluorescent leakage was seen in the normal eyes with the age of ＞60 years old.The multiple patterns of fluorescence leakage were found in the patients suffered from uveitis of various etiologies although the negative slit-lamp finding,including the leakage of fluorescein around the pupillary margin and radial iris vessels in the eyes with mild diseases,transmitted fluorescence of regular iris vessels in the eyes with diffuse and local iris atrophy,and vascular tufts of the pupillary margin with coiled interwind tight clusters of thin vessels at the early phase in the eyes with dilated capillaries,microvascular anomalies and new vessel formation.The hyperfluorescence remained throughout the IFA duration.Conclusions IFA findings in uveitis vary depending on the topography,type and severity of inflammation.IFA has a good clinical applying value because of its objective assessment ability of the degree of the blood-aqueous barrier breakdown and iris neovascularization breakdown.It can exhibit the unvisible lesion under the slit-lamp and monitor the efficacy of medical theraphy in patients with active or quiescent uveitis.

In order to confirm the role that the 49th amino acid residue plays in enzymatic inactivity of Glutamine 49 phospholipase A2(Gln49-PLA2),site-directed mutagenesis of its 49th amino acid gene codon was conducted using PCR.Aspartic acid 49 phospholipase A2(Asp49-PLA2-Q49D-PLA2),the mutant of Gln49-PLA2 was expressed in E.coli with pET32a+ vector.The fusion protein,expressed as inclusion body,after being denatured,was on-column refolded and purified by immobilized metal affinity chromatography(IMAC),and then cleaved by Factor Xa.The mature Q49D-PLA2 mutant was obtained by Hitrap SP cation exchange and Superdex 75 gel filtration chromatography,with the recovery rate of 1.3%,and the specific activity of the mature Q49D-PLA2 mutant was 72 U/mg.It has been demonstrated that the 49th glutamine amino acid residue is the main reason in enzymatic inactivity of Gln49-PLA2 and the results are helpful for denatured protein refolding,especially in rich disulfide bonds conditions.

Objective To investigate the effect of local application of zoledronic acid(ZA)on the expression of typeⅠcollagen and vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF). Methods Fifty-four male Wistar rats were divided into ZA group, gelatin sponge group, and blank control group after one-side tooth extraction. The expression of typeⅠcollagen and VEGF were detected with SP immunohistochemistry method 1, 2 and 4 weeks after operation. Results The gray value of typeⅠcollagen in ZA group (60.00±1.81,63.47±3.02)was lower than those in gelatin sponge group(68.58±2.90,71.15±5.57) and blank control group(69.16±9.63,72.50±4.10,P<0.05)in the 1 and 2 week.In the ZA and gelatin sponge groups, the gray values of typeⅠcollagen were higher in the 4th week than in the 1st and 2nd week(P<0.05). The expression of VEGF was higher in ZA group (69.93±2.74)than in gelatin sponge group(60.86±4.79)and blank control group (61.52±2.28)in the 1st week(P<0.05). There was significant difference in VEGF expression between the 2nd week and 1st and 4th week(P<0.05). Conclusions Local application of ZA could enhance the expression of typeⅠcollagen but inhibit the expression of VEGF in the early stage.

Objective The aim of this study was to analyze the status and influencing factors of public health service utilization in rural patients with severe mental illness in Yunnan province. Methods The main caregivers of patients with severe mental illness in Yunnan province were selected by stratified cluster sampling method. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the influencing factors of public health service utilization. Results A total of 284 cases of rural patients with severe mental illness were investigated, including 144 males (50.7％) and 140 females (49.3％) . The rate of medical file filing, follow-up rate of village doctor, participation rate of free physical examination and health education acceptance rate among patients with severe mental illness were 89.8％, 84.9％, 73.2％and 56.7％respectively (<0.05) . Female patients had higher participation rate of free physical examination than male patients, and patients having work and patients with controlled disease condition and their caregivers had higher rates of health education acceptance rate than their counterparts ( <0.05) . Conclusion Measures should be taken to strengthen the work of medical examination for male patients, and to expand health education activities for patients having no work and patients with uncontrolled disease condition, so as to improve the public health service utilization in rural areas of Yunnan province.

Objective To analyze the relationship between socioeconomic position and prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) and multi-morbidity among older adults in rural Yunnan Province. Methods A total of 4 833 older adults aged 60 years and over were selected by multi-stage stratified random sampling method in rural Yunnan Province. Information was acquired from questionnaire and health examination. Principal component analysis was used to construct the socioeconomic comprehensive score. Results The prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, stroke, coronary heart disease, COPD and multi-morbidity in target persons was 50.6%, 10.2%, 6.4%, 5.5%, 5.4% and 16.1% respectively. The prevalence of hypertension and diabetes was much higher in female compared with male (both P<0.05), in contrast the prevalence of COPD was much higher in male than female( 2=5.499, P=0.019)The prevalence of hypertension, stroke, coronary heart disease, COPD and multi-morbidity was increased with age(all P<0.05);Minority ethnic were more likely to develop hypertension, coronary heart disease, COPD and multi-morbidity than Han ethnic(all P<0.05). The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that older adults with lower socioeconomic position had higher probability of suffering from hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke, COPD and multi-morbidity (all P<0.05). Conclusions There are significant socioeconomic differences between socioeconomic position and prevalence of five major chronic diseases and multi-morbidity among older adults in rural Yunnan province. Older adults with low socioeconomic position should be key population for future prevention and control of chronic diseases.

Objective To find a effective and generally applicable oral-nursing method to prevent microorganism infection for patient with oral endotracheal tube. Methods 60 patients with oral endotracheal tube were randomly divided into two groups . Intervention group (n=30) was performed with the modified oral care method :Oral-B toothbrush instead of cotton balls, mouth mirror instead of a tongue depressor , aspirator tube instead of suction tube and swab instead of washing method . Control group (n = 30) was performed with traditional oral care. The dental plaque clearance and the number of oral bacteria and bacteria in sputum were analyzed in the two groups. Results The number of dental plaque and the number of oral bacteria after oralnursing in intervention group were significantly lower than those in control group with traditional oral care (P＜0. 05, P ＜ 0. 05) . Conclusions Modified oral care method is effective in removing the dental plaque, reducing the number of bacteria and preventing infection.

Bacterial Typing Techniques ; Leptospira interrogans ; classification ; genetics ; Minisatellite Repeats ; Multilocus Sequence Typing ; methods