Objective To explore the clinical significance of changes of plasma Endothelim-1(ET-1)and serum Transforming Growth Factor-α(TGF-α),Transforming Growth Factorβ1(TGF-β1)levels in patients with liver cirrhosis. Methods The plasma ET-1 and serum TGF-α,TGF-β1 levels were determined in 66 patients with liver cirrhosis by RIA or ELISA,among which 30 cases had abdominal fluid while the other 36 cases had not In addition,35 healthy individuals were enrolled into the study as control. Results The plasma ET-1 levels were significantly lower in the patients group than control(P ＜0.01),while the serum TGF-α and TGF-β1 levels were significantly higher in the patients than those in control(P ＜ 0.01). In cases with abdominal fluid the plasma ET-1 levels were particularly high and had significantly negative correlation with serum TGF-α and TGF-β1 levels(r = -0. 4782,-0. 5014 respectively,P ＜ 0. 01). Conclusions The plasma ET-1,serum TGF-α and TGF-β1 levels were closely related to the diseases process of liver cirrhosis and had good clinical application values in diagnosis and prognosis.

The abnormal glycans expressing on the surface of tumor cells are good targets to develop carbohydrate-based anti-cancer vaccines. However, one of the major problems is that carbohydrate antigens possess weak immunogenicity. This review summarizes the recent efforts to overcome this problem: glycoconjugates produced by coupling the carbohydrate antigens and proper carrier proteins improve their immunogenicity, many glycoconjugates have entered clinical trials; the vaccines become chemically well-defined when coupling the carbohydrate antigens with a T-cell peptide epitope and an immunostimulant to form fully synthetic multi-component glycoconjugate vaccines; the modification of carbohydrate antigens in combination with the technology of metabolic oligosaccharide engineering of tumor cells induces a strong immune response; and the fact that the antibodies elicited against the unnatural carbohydrate antigens can recognize the native carbohydrate antigens on tumor cells provides a new promising strategy for the development of anti-cancer vaccines.

A morphologic study was performed on the thyroid tissues of Hashimoto thy-roiditis (HT) and subacute thyroiditis (SAT) with histochemical and immunohistochemical methods. The results showed that the number and proportion of Ig and T positive cells were quite similar between these two diseases, suggesting that autoimmunoaction may play an important role in the generation and development of SAT.

MicroRNAs are a class of small (-22nt) non-coding RNAs that bind to the 3' untranslated regions (3'-UTRs) of their target mRNAs in a complementary or partially complementary manner via the seed sequence in their 5'-region to regulate biological effect. MicroRNAs also expressin malignant tumors and have close relations with occurrence, development and other biological characteristics of tumor. The effect of radiotherapy and the prognosis of cancer patients are limited and influenced by radioresistant all the time. In recent years, the application of microRNAs to improve the radiation sensitivity of tumor cells is a new field in tumor biotherapy. This paper mainly reviews the identification of related microRNAs participating in and regulating the formation of radiosensitivity/radioresistent, and the research progress of their possible mechanisms.
Humans ; MicroRNAs ; metabolism ; therapeutic use ; Neoplasms ; metabolism ; radiotherapy ; Prognosis ; RNA, Messenger ; metabolism ; Radiation Tolerance

Objective To detect the value of qualitative and orientating diagnosis in the degeneration stage of cerebral cysticercosis with Gd-DTPA enhanced MR. Methods Sixty-nine cases of cerebral cysticercosis were diagnosed by enhanced MR as degeneration stage, and confirmed by immunological examination and/or by surgery. MR plain scanning was conducted for the same cases. Results The plain scanning showed single or multiple lesions with long T1 and long T2 signals, and the enhanced scanning showed nodular or annular lesions. The diameter of the lesion after enhanced scan was not more than 22mm with an average value of 8.1mm. Some cases showed single lesion on plain scanning but showed multiple lesions after enhanced scan. Conclusion The enhanced MR shows more typical features of the degeneration stage cerebral cysticercosis. It can define the number, position and range of the lesions, and can improve the accuracy of differential diagnosis, and therefore be of importance in formulating treatment scheme and prognosis.

Objective To investigate the expressions of FSH receptor mRNA and protein in ovary tissue in rats with letrozole-induced polycystic ovary syndrome(PCOS),and to provide experimental data for the model application. Methods Forty rats were randomly divided into two groups(n=20),in PCOS model group letrozole was administered once daily during 21 d,and in control group without any treatment.The gonadal hormone concentrations in serum were determined by radioimmunoassay,the histologic changes in ovaries were observed by HE staining,the expression of FSH receptor gene in ovary tissue was detected by realtime -PCR,Western blotting and immunohistochemistry.Results Compared with control group,estradiol(E2) and progesterone in model group showed a considerable reduction(P0.05).Compared with control group,the ovaries from model group showed high incidence of subcapsular ovarian cyst and capsular thickening and decreased number of corpora lutea.The expressions of FSH receptor mRNA and protein were significantly higher in model group than those in control group(P

Ischemic stroke is often triggered under the effect of the basic lesions combined with a variety of incentives in daily life. Its generative mechanism is complicated, and there are more risk factors. Only according to the long-term existence of chronic risk factors, it cannot make appropriate explanation for the acute onset of this disease. At present, there are a few studies on the predisposing factors of stroke, and its related mechanism needs to be further discussed. This article aims to introduce the relationship between the common predisposing factors and ischemic stroke, discusses its possible mechanism, and provides reference for the clinical prevention work of ischemic stroke.

Objective To investigate the effects of dendritic cell (DC) and HLA-DR antigen expression in the generation and development of Graves′ disease (GD), Hashimoto′s thyroiditis (HT) and subacute thyroiditis (SAT). Methods A morphologic study was performed on the thyroid tissue of 53 GD with pronounced lymphocytic infiltration, 52 HT and 31 SAT to investigate the pathologic changes of DC and HLA-DR antigen positive cell in the parenchymal cells and intestitial tissue by histochemical, immunohistochemical and electron microscopic technique and statistic analysis. Results The observation on DC and HLA-DR positive infiltrating cell in GD, HT and SAT showed a similar increase with the degree of cellular infiltation. The highest peaks of DC and HLA-DR positive thyroid follicular epithelium were in HT O-type and granulomatous area of SAT. The highest peaks of HLA-DR positive immunoactive cells was in HT P-type and fibrous area of SAT. Conclusion DC and HLA-DR positive cells may play an important role in the antigen-presenting step as well as in their direct cytotoxicity. These processes are related to the pathogenesis of AITD (GD and HT) and SAT. The thyroid follicules may be destroyed in the autoimmune reaction, and initially the patient presents hyperthyroidism and finally hypothyroidism follows because of the fibnosis of the follicules.

Objective To investigate the value of combined detection of serum CA125 ,VEGF‐C andβ2‐MG levels on early diag‐nosis of retroperitoneal lymph node metastasis in the patients with ovarian cancer .Methods Fifty‐one patients with ovarian cancer undergoing retroperitoneal lymph node cleaning operation were included as the experimental group ,including 29 cases of positive retroperitoneal lymph node metastasis .Contemporaneous 32 cases of benign ovarian tumor were selected as the control group .The serum CA125 level was detected by using electricity chemiluminescence (electrocheminescence) ,serum VEGF‐C level by using en‐zyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and serumβ2‐MG level by using the latex enhanced immune turbidimetric method .The serum CA125 ,VEGF‐C andβ2‐MG levels were compared among various groups .Results The serum CA125 ,VEGF‐C andβ2‐MG levels in the experimental group were (1 682 .5 ± 261 .5)μg/mL ,(2 125 .6 ± 96 .7)pg/mL and (2 .52 ± 0 .61)mg/L respectively , which in the control group were (30 .5 ± 6 .3)μg/mL ,(1 738 .0 ± 79 .8)pg/mL and (1 .87 ± 0 .56)mg/L respectively ,the difference between them was statistically significant (P< 0 .01) .The serum CA125、VEGF‐C、β2‐MG levels in 29 cases of retroperitoneal lymph node metastasis were more significantly higher ,which were (1 997 .3 ± 376 .8)μg/mL ,(2 895 .2 ± 126 .8)pg/mL and (4 .95 ± 0 .69)mg/L respectively ,and the difference was statistically significant compared with the control group (P<0 .01) .The sensitivity ,specificity and accuracy rate of the combined detection of serum VEGF‐C ,β2‐MG and CA125 for diagnosing ovarian cancer retroperitoneal lymph node metastasis were 95 .8% ,97 .3% and 98 .5% respectively .Conclusion The combined detection of serum VEFG‐C ,β2‐MG and CA125 has an important clinical value in early diagnosing retroperitoneal lymph node metastasis of o‐varian cancer .

Objective To investigate the correlation between 6 common triggers and ischemic stroke.Methods The demographic and clinical data of the consecutive inpatients with acute ischemic stroke were collected.A questionnaire survey of the triggers of the disease was conducted within 4 d after admission.A case cross-over study was used to compare the exposure of the 6 potential triggers (overeating,anger,negative emotion,heavy physical activity,sudden posture changes as response to a startling event,drinking coffee) at 2 h before onset (dangerous period) and at 1 d before onset during the same period (control period),and exposures to potential triggers in patients according to gender,age and etiological subtypes were further analyzed.Results A total of 369 patients were enrolled.They aged 24-93 years old (mean 61.75 ±13.57),220 patients were male (59.6％) and 149 were female (40.4％).A total of 91 patients (24.7％) exposed to at least one of the triggers at 2 h before onset (odds ratio [OR] 6.1,95％ confidence interval [CI] 3.7-9.9);OR for exposure to the sudden posture change in response to a startling event was 12.0 (95％ CI 2.4-59.3),for heavy physical activity 10.7 (95％ CI 4.2-27.6),for anger 8.0 (95％ CI 2.3-27.5),and for negative emotion 4.9 (95％ CI 2.3-10.3).There was no exposure to drinking coffee.There were no significant differences in the exposure to various triggers among the different gender,age,and etiological subtypes.Conclusions Sudden posture changes as response to a startling event,heavy physical activity,anger,and negative emotion are the triggers for ischemic stroke,attention should be paid to the influence of triggers in the prevention of ischemic stroke.