Genetic Therapy ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms

Objective To investigate whether functional Wnt-?-catenin signaling is present in activated hepatic stellate cells (HSC),and the effect of blocking this signaling on activation of HSC. Methods?-catenin expression in HSC was examined by immunocytochemistry.Wnt signalings in HSC-T6 were assessed using a T cell factor (TCF)-dependent luciferase reporter gene (pTOP- FLASH) assay.Wnt signalings in HSC-T6 were blocked by transfecting with a dominant negative TCF (dnTCF) expression plasmid,then the expression of alpha smooth muscle actin (?-SMA) and collagen typeⅠwere examined by Western blot.Results?-catenin staining was positive in the nuclei of HSC-T6.Luciferase activity in the cells transfected with pTOPFLASH was significantly higher than that in the cells transfected with pFOPFLASH (P

A batch laboratory test was conducted to examine the effect of biological reductive dechlorination of 2,4-Dichlorophenol(2,4-DCP) by the addition of zero-valent iron(Fe0) in the anaerobic system, through inoculating the anaerobic mixed microorganism acclimated for two months. Meanwhile, several factors that affected "Fe0+ microbe" system were also being discussed. The results showed that, "Fe0+ microbe" system accelerated the biological dechlorination of 2,4-DCP effectively compared to the individual use. The opti-mum quantity of added Fe0 and inoculation was 0.5 g/L and 376.2 mgVSS/L in the combined system respec-tively. It showed the most effective transformation efficiency for 2,4-DCP when initial pH=8.0, whereas it become weaker when initial pH are keeping in acid condition. There existed a proportion between quantity of added Fe0 and inoculation. It enhanced degradable effect of 2,4-dichlorophenol when increased the quan-tity of inoculation at suitable ranges, which generated more enzyme or enzymatic series degraded pollutant.

Objective To investigate the clinical effectiveness of coronary artery bypass grafting through descending thoracic aorta in elderly patients with coronary heast disease and to decrease the post-operative complication.Methods Thirteen elderly patients underwent coronary bypass surgery with minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass (MIDCAB).Age range from 70 to 82 years with a mean of(72.1?6.0)years.Patients suffered from multi vessel disease.Many minimally invasive techniques of“Y”blood vessel graft anastomosis,anastomosis of blood vessel graft to descending aorta,minimally invasive direct,thoracoscope assist were used.Results All patients were survived.The mean duration of intubation was (6.9?0.9) hours.The average ICU stay was (2.5?0.5)days.No patients received blood transfusion.During the short-term follow-up(3 to 14 months) patients had no complaint of angina,Conclusions The technique of“Y”blood vessel graft anastomosis,descending aorta blood vessel graft,minimally invasive direct and thoracoscope assist in combination with coronary artery bypass grafting is a safe and cost-effective new procedure for elderly patients with multi-coronary artery disease.

OBJECTIVETo analyze the factors which influence the safety and prognosis of aorta replacement combined with coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) for thoracic aortic aneurysm associated with coronary artery disease.

METHODSFrom May 1982 to October 2002, 67 patients with thoracic aortic aneurysm were admitted, and 24 of them combined with CABG. Of the 24 patients, 9 received descending aorta replacement combined with CABG, and the other 15 received the ascending aorta replacement combined with CABG. The treatment results were compared with the other 43 patients only undergoing the thoracic aortic replacement.

RESULTSThe mortality rate of the patients with aorta replacement combined with CABG was 13% (3/24). Though the descending aorta replacement combined with CABG could make the cardiopulmonary bypass time and selective cerebral perfusion time longer, (278 +/- 54) min and (188 +/- 59) min respectively, no significant difference was observed in postoperative complications, 3-year survival rate, 3-year-cardiac-event-free rate compared with the patients only undergoing the thoracic aortic replacement (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSThe aorta replacement combined with CABG can be performed safely, and the revascularization for coronary artery disease is useful for preventing occurrence of cardiac events.

Aorta, Thoracic ; surgery ; Aortic Aneurysm, Thoracic ; complications ; surgery ; Blood Vessel Prosthesis Implantation ; Coronary Artery Bypass ; Coronary Artery Disease ; complications ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Retrospective Studies ; Time Factors

Objective To investigate the level of follicular fluid NO, VEGF and ET-1 in assessing IVF-ET outcome. Methods Totally 131 patients undergoing IVF-ET cycles were recruited. The level of follicular fluid NO was measured by chromatometry. The follicular fluid VEGF and ET-1 were measured by ELISA. Transvaginal ultrasound was performed on human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) injection day to determine ovarian volume and antral follicle count. Results The pregnancy rate was 37.40% (49/131). There were significantly increased level of follicular fluid NO, VEGF and decreased level of follicular fluid ET-1 in the pregnant group than those in the non-pregnant group (P<0.05). Total ovarian volume and antral follicle count on HCG injection day were significantly higher in the pregnant group than those in the non-pregnant group (P<0.05). The levels of follicular fluid NO and VEGF had positive correlations with the total ovarian volume and antral follicle count. However, the level of follicular fluid ET-1 had a negative correlation with the total ovarian volume and antral follicle count. Conclusions The high level of NO, VEGF and low level of ET-1 in follicular fluid are good predictors of ovarian blood flow and ovarian response in IVF-ET.

Objective:To investigate the expression of HIF-1?and its relationship with angiogenesis in osteosarcoma.Methods: Osteosarcoma MG-63 cells were cultured in vitro under hypoxia and mimic hypoxia conditions.Thirty paraffin-embedded osteosarcoma tissues and 20 fresh frozen osteosarcoma specimens were collected.The mRNA and protein expression of HIF-1?and VEGF were detected by RT-PCR,Western blotting,ELISA,and immunohistochemistry methods.The mean vessel density(MVD)were also calculated.Results:The mRNA level of HIF-1?had no change under hypoxia and minic hypoxia conditions,whereas the protein expression was increased dramaticaly.The mRNA and protein expression of VEGF was significantly increased under hypoxia and minic hypoxia conditions.The positive rate of HIF-1?mRNA(90%)and VEGF(100%)in 20 fresh frozen tissues were higher than those of the para-tumor tissues(P

OBJECTIVETo observe the anti-inflammatory effect of total saponins of Panax japonicus on LPS-induced RAW264. 7 macrophages.

METHODThe effect of total saponins of P. japonicus of different concentrations on RAW264. 7 cell viability was determined with the MTT method. The NO kit assay was adopted to detect the NO release of total saponins of P. japonicus to LPS-induced RAW264. 7 cells. The enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect the secretion of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin 1-beta (IL-1beta). The reverse transeriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to determine the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) ,TNF-alpha,IL-1beta. The protein expression of nuclear transcription factor-kappaB p65 (NF-kappaB p65) was tested by Western blot.

RESULTThe safe medication range of total saponins of P. japonicus was less than 80 mg x L(-1). Compared with the LPS model group, total saponins of P. japonicus high, middle and low dose groups (0.1, 1, 10, 40 mg x L(-1)) could significantly reduce the secretion of NO, TNF-alpha, IL-1beta of LPS-induced RAW264. 7 cells, and inhibit the expressions of iNOS, TNF-alpha and IL-1beta mRNA and the protein expression of NF-kappaB p65.

CONCLUSIONThis study preliminarily proves the protective effect of total saponins of P. japonicus on LPS-induced RAW264.7 macrophages. Its action mechanism may be related to NF-kappaB signal pathway.

Animals ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents ; pharmacology ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Inflammation ; drug therapy ; genetics ; immunology ; Interleukin-1beta ; genetics ; immunology ; Lipopolysaccharides ; adverse effects ; Macrophages ; drug effects ; immunology ; Mice ; NF-kappa B ; genetics ; immunology ; Nitric Oxide ; immunology ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II ; genetics ; immunology ; Panax ; chemistry ; Protective Agents ; pharmacology ; Saponins ; pharmacology

OBJECTIVETo study clinical effects of the over-articular external fixator combined with limited internal fixation for the treatment of Pilon fractures caused by high energy.

METHODSFrom September 2003 to April 2011, 36 patients with Pilon fractures caused by high energy were treated with the over-articular external fixator combined with limited internal fixator. There were 25 males and 11 females, ranging in age from 16 to 72 years old,with an average of 38 years old. The diagnoses of all patients were determined by conventional X-ray examination or three-dimensional spiral CT examination. The AOFAS scoring criteria was used to evaluate the therapeutic effects. The patients with comminuted fractures were treated with screw or Kirschner wire fixation without uncovering periost so as to enhance stability between fracture end and bone blocks,followed by the fixation with over-articular external fixators.

RESULTSAll the patients were followed up, and the duration ranged from 4 to 27 months, with an average of 13 months. Thirty-two patients got wound healing at the first stage. And the bone union duration ranged from 2 to 6 months, with a mean of 3 months. According to the AOFAS ankle-hindfoot subjective scoring standard, 13 patients got an excellent result, 20 good and 3 fair, with an score of 88.2 +/- 3.6. Twelve patients had infections at pinhole, 5 patients had pinhole pain. One patient had the fixator broken induced by over loading, who was cured after treatment. There were no complications such as nerve or vascular injuries, or osteomyelitis.

CONCLUSIONThe over-articular external fixation combined with limited internal fixation for the treatment of Pilon fractures caused by high energy is an ideal method, which has such advantages as reliable fixation, simple operation, coincidence with principles of biomechanical fixation, and benefit for fracture healing.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Ankle Injuries ; diagnostic imaging ; surgery ; Ankle Joint ; diagnostic imaging ; surgery ; External Fixators ; Female ; Fracture Fixation ; Fracture Fixation, Internal ; Humans ; Internal Fixators ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Radiography ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

To examine whether or not the regulatory sequence of chicken ovalbumin gene can drive transgene expression specifically in hen oviduct, the authors constructed an oviduct-specific expression vector (pOV), containing 3.0 kilobases (kb) of the 5'-flanking sequence and 3.0 kb of the 3'-flanking sequence of the chicken ovalbumin gene. Jellyfish green fluorescence protein (EGFP) reporter gene and bacterial LacZ reporter gene were respectively inserted into the downstream of the 5'-regulatory region.The recombinants were named as pOVEGFP and pOVLacZ. Two transfer systems, in vitro and in vivo, were used to verify the function of the vector. In vitro, the plasmid DNA pOVEGFP and pEGFP-N1 were transfected respectively by the polyethyleneimine procedure into the primary chicken oviduct epithelium (PCOE) and fibroblasts cells isolated from laying hens. In vivo, the recombinant vector pOVLacZ was injected into egg-laying hens via wing vein and the tissues were collected for RT-PCR analysis.The results showed that expression of pEGFP-N1 was achieved at low level in oviduct epithelial cells and at high level in fibroblasts, but that the recombinant vector was not expressed in both cells. RT-PCR analysis showed that the LacZ gene was transcribed in the oviduct, but not in the heart, liver, kidney and spleen of the injected hens. Accordingly, the ?-galactosidase activity was only detected in the oviduct magnum (116.7 mU/ml) and eggs (16.47 mU/ml). These results indicated that the cloned regulation regions of chicken ovalbumin gene could drive exogenous gene expression specifically in the oviducts of hens. In vivo gene injection via wing vein may serve as a rapid production system of recombinant proteins in chicken eggs. In addition, the cultured primary oviduct cells from laying hens were not efficient temporary expression systems for analyzing the function of regulating elements of ovalbumin gene.