A full length cDNA fragment encoding for human thrombopoietin receptor c-Mpl has been amplified by RT PCR from the total RNA of human HEL cells. The complete sequence of the cloned cDNA was determined and is identical to that previously reported. Then the fragment was subcloned into the mammalian expression vector pcDNA3 and the resulting plasmid is designated as pcMPL. K562 cells, which do not express c-mpl, were transfected with pcMPL and pcDNA3, respectively. The transformants were selected with G418 and then tested by Northern and Southern blotting. A group of engineered cell lines stably expressing c-mpl have been obtained,which will facilitate further research on the signaling mediated by c-Mpl.

OBJECTIVETo assess the performance of FibroScan in evaluating the curative effects of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) on liver fibrosis, and to analyze factors influencing the diagnostic accuracy.

METHODSData of FibroScan values, types of disease, use of drug, liver function indexes, prothrombin time (PT) and international normalized ratio (INR) were collected at both pre- (1 month prior) and post-FibroScan for 102 patients who underwent at least two FibroScan procedures. Patients were subgrouped according to presence of fibrosis, presence of cirrhosis, and TCM formulation and statistically analyzed.

RESULTSThe pre- and post-FibroScan mean liver stiffness measurements (LSMs) were significantly different when the variation of LSM was more than or equal to2 kPa for the non-fibrotic group (vs. the fibrotic group), or when the variation wasmore than or equal to4 kPa for the cirrhotic group (vs. the non-cirrhotic group). In addition, the three TCM formulation groups showed significant differences, with the most robust difference exhibited between the FuZheng HuaYu formulation group and the other treatment groups (P = 0.010). No significant differences were observed for the liver function indexes, PT, or INR. However, the post-FibroScan levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) was significantly reduced in patients with reduced LSM.

CONCLUSIONFibroScan may be a useful non-invasive clinical tool for evaluating the comprehensive curative effect of treatments for chronic liver diseases, and its performance is not obviously impacted by ALT, AST, GGT, PT, and INR. The criteria for efficacy established by FibroScan are 2 kPa for the patients without liver fibrosis and 4 kPa for patients with liver cirrhosis.

BACKGROUND: Spirituality has been an important part of Transpersonal Psychology and is believed to have a large effect on the mental health because it has been systematized. The aim of this study was to determine the level of spiritual disposition on human beings along with its effects on one's mental health. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study targeted 400 women residing in Youn-Gil city of JiLin Prov., which is a district of the Cho-Sun tribe in China. Their spiritual well-being was studied using the Spiritual Well-being Scale-Korean Version. The spiritual well-being scale consists of 2 sub-scales of religious well-being and existential well-being. The study was evaluated using a lie scale, psychotic trend, and a combined anxiety-depression scale. The results were considered to be factors of one's mental health. The correlation between the spiritual well-being and each tendency was analyzed by regression analysis. RESULTS: The total score of the Cho-Sun tribal women according to the spiritual well-being scale was 68.29 which was much less than the 100.65 of Korean Christian women. There was no significant correlation between the spiritual well-being and the Lie trend. However, it was found that 86% (344) of Cho-Sun tribal women scored above 70 in the Lie trend with a mean score of 74.57 which is higher than normal populations. Regarding the correlation between the spiritual well-being and psychotic trend, the psychotic trend became significantly higher when the religious well-being was at a high level. On the other hand, the psychotic trend became significantly lower when the existential well-being was at a high level. Regarding the correlation between the spiritual well-being and anxiety, the anxiety was significantly higher when the religious well-being was at a high level. However, the anxiety level was significantly low when the existential well-being was at a high level. Regarding the correlation between the spiritual well-being and depression, the depression level was somewhat significantly high when the religious well-being was at a high level. However, the depression level was significantly low when the existential well-being was at a high level. CONCLUSION: This study evaluated the effects of spiritual well-being on a person's mental health among Cho-Sun tribal women in Youn-Gil city of JiLIn Prov., P.R. of China. The results found that the religious well-being, which is a sub-scale of spiritual well-being, had negative effects while the existential well-being had positive effects on the mental health. These results proved that a person's religious disposition had negative effects on their mental health in a communitarian society.
Anxiety ; China* ; Depression ; Female ; Hand ; Humans ; Mental Health* ; Psychology ; Spirituality

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is commonly used in treating liver diseases worldwide, especially in China. The advantages of using TCM for treatment of liver diseases include: protecting hepatocytes, inhibiting hepatic inflammation and antifibrosis in the liver. In this article, we introduce TCM herbal preparations from the Chinese materia medica (such as Fuzheng Huayu) that are typically used for the treatment of liver diseases. Literature surrounding the mechanisms of TCM therapy for treatment of liver diseases is presented and discussed. We propose that side effects of herbal compounds are often under-appreciated, and that more care should be taken in the prescription of potentially hepatotoxic medicines. Further, to deepen the understanding of TCM mechanisms, new techniques and methodologies must be developed. Future studies will lead to the enhancement of clinical outcomes of TCM. As complementary and alternative therapies, TCMs will play an expanding role in the future of liver disease treatment.
Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury ; prevention & control ; Humans ; Liver Diseases ; drug therapy ; Materia Medica ; therapeutic use ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional

Objective:To investigate the effect of low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) on the progression of retinal arteriosclerosis by using a deep learning model.Methods:A cohort study was performed.Data of 1 928 individuals who underwent the medical examination at Beijing Yijiandian Clinic between January 2016 and August 2023 were reviewed, including baseline demographics, physical examination, serological test and fundus photography.Retinal arteriosclerosis was identified using a deep learning model.Five groups were divided according to LDL-C levels, including 389 subjects in group 1 (0.64-1.90 mmol/L), 387 subjects in group 2 (1.91-2.26 mmol/L), 384 subjects in group 3 (2.27-2.57 mmol/L), 385 subjects in group 4 (2.58-2.95 mmol/L), and 383 subjects in group 5 (2.96-6.06 mmol/L).The association between LDL-C levels and progression of retinal arteriosclerosis and the dose-response relationship were analyzed by logistic regression analysis and restricted cubic spline (RCS) regression model.This study adhered to the Declaration of Helsinki.The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Peking University People's Hospital (No.2021PHB058-001).Written informed consent was obtained from each subject.Results:The incidence of retinal arteriosclerosis progression was 22.10% (426/1 928) during the mean follow-up (66.84±6.58) months.The proportions of fundus progression in groups 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 were 15.68%(61/389), 21.71%(84/387), 21.35%(82/384), 25.71%(99/385), and 26.11%(100/383), respectively, with statistical significant differences among them ( χ2=15.97, P=0.003).Using group 1 as a reference, LDL-C 2.58-2.95 mmol/L was an independent risk factor for progression of retinal arteriosclerosis ( OR=1.52, 95% CI: 1.04-2.22), and RCS analysis showed an " L" shaped association.The effect of LDL-C on retinal arteriosclerosis showed a threshold effect, with the risk of retinal arteriosclerosis progression increasing with increasing LDL-C when LDL-C was <2.34 mmol/L ( OR=1.97, 95% CI: 1.10-3.62), and stabilizing when LDL-C was ≥2.34 mmol/L. Conclusions:LDL-C has a threshold effect on the impact of retinal arteriosclerosis progression, and the threshold is 2.34 mmol/L.

Objective: To investigate the feasibility of establishing a model of allograft penile transplantation in adult beagle dogs and explore the conditions for constructing a stable animal model of penis transplant. METHODS: Following the principles of similarity, repeatability, feasibility, applicability, and controllability in the construction of experimental animal models, we compared the major anatomic features of the penis of 20 adult beagle dogs with those of 10 adult men. Using microsurgical techniques, we performed cross-transplantation of the penis in the 20 (10 pairs) beagle dogs and observed the survival rate of the transplanted penises by FK506+MMF+MP immune induction. We compared the relevant indexes with those of the 10 cases of microsurgical replantation of the amputated penis. RESULTS: High similarities but no statistically significant differences were observed in penile anatomic features between the 20 beagle dogs and 10 men. All the 10 cases of cross-transplantation of the penis were successfully completed in the 20 beagle dogs, of which the transplanted glans survived with normal micturition in 12 but developed necrosis in the other 8; the success rate of one-time venous anastomosis was 95.0% (38/40) and that of one-time arterial anastomosis was 87.5% (35/40), with an average vascular anastomosis time of (71.0±9.0) minutes, a mean operation time of (133.0±10.3) minutes, and a mean blood loss of (135.8±41.4) ml. In the 10 cases of penile replantation, the success rate of one-time venous anastomosis was 100% (20/20) and that of one-time arterial anastomosis was 90.0% (18/20), with an average vascular anastomosis time of (65.0±7.9) minutes, a mean operation time of (117.4±10.0) minutes, and a mean blood loss of (85.0±10.8) ml. In the 12 cases of replantation of the amputated penis, the success rate of one-time venous anastomosis was 100% (24/24) and that of one-time arterial anastomosis was 95.8% (23/24), with an average vascular anastomosis time of (79.0±17.6) minutes, a mean operation time of (125.0±20.6) minutes, and a mean blood loss of (140.0±44.3) ml. No statistically significant differences were found in the relevant indexes among the three groups. CONCLUSIONS The anatomic structure of the corpus cavernosum penis of beagle dogs is highly similar to that of men, almost the same in cross-section anatomy. Microsurgical replantation and allograft transplantation of the penis were both successfully performed in beagle dogs, which showed similar operative indexes to those of human penile replantation. The construction of the allograft penile transplantation model in adult beagle dogs is feasible clinically, with the advantages of operability and repeatability.
Adult ; Anastomosis, Surgical ; Animals ; Arteries ; surgery ; Dogs ; Feasibility Studies ; Graft Survival ; Humans ; Male ; Microsurgery ; Models, Animal ; Necrosis ; etiology ; Operative Time ; Penis ; anatomy & histology ; pathology ; transplantation ; Postoperative Complications ; etiology ; Replantation ; Survival Rate ; Urination ; Veins ; surgery

In order to investigate the effect of salidroside on inhibiting liver fibrosis and its relationship with CXC chemokine ligand 16(CXCL16) in vivo and in vitro, totally 45 C57 BL/6 J male mice were randomly divided into normal group, model group and salidroside group, with 15 mice in each group. The mice in model group and salidroside group were injected intraperitoneally with 15% carbontetrachloride(CCl_4) olive oil solution to establish liver fibrosis model, and the mice in normal group were injected intraperitoneally with the same dose of olive oil. Salidroside group was given with 100 mg·kg~(-1 )salidroside by gavage, while the normal group and model group received the same amount of double distilled water by gavage. All mice were sacrificed after 5 weeks of intragastric administration. The pathological changes of mouse liver were observed by hematoxylin-eosin(HE) staining, and the degree of liver fibrosis was observed by sirius red staining. The protein expressions of collagen Ⅰ(ColⅠ), α-smooth muscle actin(α-SMA), fibronectin(FN), CXCL16, phosphorylated Akt(p-Akt), Akt in liver tissues were detected by Western blot. Hepatic stellate cell line JS 1 was cultured in vitro and divided into control group, model group(100 μg·L~(-1) CXCL16) and salidroside group(100 μg·L~(-1) CXCL16+1×10~(-5) mol·L~(-1) salidroside). Cell migration was detected by cell scratch, the mRNA expressions of ColⅠ and α-SMA were detected by RT-PCR, and the protein expressions of p-Akt and Akt were detected by Western blot. As compared with the normal group, the protein expressions of ColⅠ, α-SMA, FN, CXCL16, and p-Akt in the model group were significantly increased, and salidroside could reduce the expression of these indicators(P<0.05 or P<0.01). In vitro, CXCL16 could promote the migration of JS 1, increase the mRNA expressions of ColⅠ and α-SMA in JS 1, and enhance Akt phosphorylation in JS 1(P<0.05 or P<0.01). As compared with the model group, salidroside could inhibit the migration of JS 1 induced by CXCL16(P<0.05), and reduce the high expression of ColⅠ and α-SMA mRNA and the phosphorylation of Akt in JS 1 induced by CXCL16(P<0.05). In conclusion, salidroside might attenuate CCl_4-induced liver fibrosis in mice by inhibiting the migration, activation and Akt phosphorylation of hepatic stellate cells induced by CXCL16.
Animals ; Carbon Tetrachloride ; Chemokine CXCL16 ; Glucosides ; Hepatic Stellate Cells ; Liver/pathology* ; Liver Cirrhosis/genetics* ; Male ; Mice ; Phenols