Objective To characterize the alteration in peripheral blood endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).Methods Venous blood samples were obtained from 82 female patients with SLE aged (35 ± 10) years and 50 healthy female controls aged (35 ± 13) years.ACL 9000 automated coagulation analyzer was used to determine the level of Von Willebrand factor antigen (vWF Ag).Flow cytometry was performed to detect peripheral blood EPCs and circulating endothelial cells (CECs).Analysis of variance was performed to assess the differences in these parameters between patients with active and stable SLE and the controls,and Pearson correlation analysis was conducted to evaluate the relationship between these parameters.Results The number of CD34+ cells,CD133+ cells and CD34+CD133+cells per 200 000 peripheral blood mononuclear cells was 35.4 ± 16.7,86.5 ± 32.1 and 361.3 ± 176.4 in patients with active SLE,significantly higher than that in the patients with stable SLE (17.1 ± 10.9,28.7 ± 21.5,107.2 ±44.3,respectively,all P ＜ 0.01)) and the controls (13.8 ± 9.6,11.2 ± 5.5,92.3 ± 50.5,respectively,all P ＜0.01).The patients with active SLE exhibited an elevated level of vWF Ag (438.9％ ± 205.3％ vs.130.2％ ±51.5％,P ＜ 0.01),an increased number of EPCs (361.3 ± 176.4 vs.107.2 ± 44.3,P ＜ 0.01) but a similar number of CECs (127±51 vs.118 ± 39,P ＞ 0.05) per 200 000 peripheral blood mononuclear cells compared with the healthy controls.No significant differences were observed in these parameters between the patients with stable SLE and the controls (all P ＞ 0.05).The number of EPCs was positively correlated with the level of vWF Ag (r =0.67,P ＜ 0.01),but uncorrelated with the number of CECs (P ＞ 0.05) in patients with active SLE.Conclusions The quantity of EPCs in peripheral blood is closely correlated with the level of the vascular injury marker vWF Ag,hinting that the number of EPCs can serve as a useful marker of disease severity.

Objective To study the assessment value of serum protein C activity ( PC∶A) test in the patient′s condition and prognosis in bronchial asthma.Methods 202 bronchial asthma patients were selected from the Tianjin medical university general hospital from 2010 to 2012 for this retrospective cohort study, 77 males and 125 females with a mean age of 41.2 ±11.4 years.the level of PC∶A were analysed by IL ACL TOP 700 coagulation analyzer.Receiver operating characteristic curve ( ROC) was used to analyze the diagnosis performance of PC∶A, χ2 test was used to analyze the relevance between PC∶A and clinical pathological factors , Cox regression analysis model was used to evaluate the effect on prognosis , Kaplan-Meier curve to implement survival analysis.Results The elevels of PC∶A were:control group ( 102.2 ± 13.6)%, intermittent attack group (104.8 ±11.9)%, mild persistent group (136.3 ±15.8)%, moderate persistent group ( 129.0 ±13.5 )% and severe persistent ( 126.8 ±14.7 )% respectively , and there was significantly difference among the all groups ( F =7.15, P <0.01 ).Compared the control group and intermittent attack group with other groups , the PC∶A level was higher in mild persistent group ( q=16.83, q=15.54, P<0.05), moderate persistent group (q=19.94,q=12.15, P<0.05), and severe persistent group(q=11.37,q=10.66, P<0.05).The PC∶A level was lower in moderate and severe persistent group than mild persistent group ( q =3.82, q =4.30, P <0.05 ).After undergoing regular treatment for six months, the PC∶A level was higher in partly controlled group and uncontrolled group than complete controlled group (q=12.45, q=9.91,P<0.05).The optimum cut-off point of PC∶A (after undergoing regular treatment for six months ) for asthma condition with uncontrolled was 118.0%, the area under ROC curve was 0.892 ( 95% confidence interval:0.851-0.936 ).The χ2 test results showed that there was the relevance between the serum PC∶A level and the eosinocyte , total serum IgE , complicated allergic rhinitis and lung function ( FEV1%) ( P<0.01 ).The Cox analysis and survival analysis showed that the serum PC∶A level ( after undergoing regular treatment for six months ) was the independent assessment parameter for asthma acute attack in 7th-12th month, the cumulative probability of acute attack was increased obviously in the patients who with PC∶A level over the cut-off value.Conclusions The serum PC∶A level was increased obviously in asthma patients , and was related to patient′s condition, level of asthma control and severe attacks risk , which could be used as an effective indicator for assessment of disease progression and asthma control in asthma patients.

Objective To investigate expression of polysaccharides biosynthetic genes in biofilm formation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1. Methods Real-time RT-PCR was used to quantify mRNA to analyze their mRNA level during planktonic growth and biofilm cells. Results Analysis of the relative ex-pression levels indicated that the level of transcripts of planktonic pslA, algD, pelA was significantly lower than that of biofilms sessile growth in all other form bacteria. The levels of transcripts of pslA, algD, pelA were the highest at the first day of biofilms development. Conclusion From the observations in the present study, transcripts of the pslA, algD, pelA involved biofilm development.

In recent years, the incidences of male infertility and recurrent abortion are increasing. The causes of the conditions are varied and complex, but the affected stability of the genetic material in the sperm is an important etiological factor. Environmental pollutants may invade the body through respiration, diet and other channels, resulting in infertility and abortion or even affecting the reproductive system development of the offspring by changing the epigenetics of sperm DNA. In this paper, we propose the idea of using traditional Chinese medicine to prevent environmental pollutant-induced epigenetic changes of sperm DNA, hoping to provide a new insight into the protection against genetic material damage, male infertility, and recurrent abortion caused by environmental pollutants.
DNA Damage ; drug effects ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Environmental Pollutants ; toxicity ; Epigenesis, Genetic ; Humans ; Infertility, Male ; chemically induced ; prevention & control ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Spermatozoa ; drug effects

Objective To study the mechanism of effects of estrogen receptor (ER) on T and B lymphocytes in patients with SLE and synergistic effect of T and B lymphocytes in the pathogenesis of SLE.Methods Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR was performed to detect the mRNA expressions of ER-α,interleukin 10 (IL-10) and B lymphocyte stimulator (BLyS) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs)from 40 SLE patients and 40 normal human controls. The clinical and laboratory correlation with the levels of these parameters was analyzed. Results A significant increase was observed in the relative expression levels of ER-α, IL-10 and BLyS mRNA in SLE patients compared with the normal human controls (P ＜ 0.05 or 0.01 ), in active SLE patients compared with inactive SLE patients (P ＜ 0.05 or 0.01 ). Additionally, the mRNA expression levels of the 3 parameters were significantly correlated with the presence of renal damage, proteinuria, arthritis, etc. No statistical difference was observed in the mRNA expression levels of these parameters between female and male patients or between female and male normal controls. Conclusions IL-10 and BLyS appear to be correlated with the disease activity and severity of SLE, and ER-α may play an important role in the action mechanism of T and B lymphocytes in SLE.

Objective To study the effect of chitosan-pCrmA nanoparticles on the apoptosis of chondrocytes induced by interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β).Methods Chitosan-pDNA nanoparticles were prepared and characterized.The transfection efficiency of chitosan-mediated pIRES2-EGFP was evaluated using fluorescence microscope.The cytotoxicity of chitosan-pIRES2-EGFP nanoparticles in primary rabbit chondrocytes was analyzed by MTT assay.The expression of chitosan-mediated pCrmA in primary rabbit chondrocytes was verified by Western blotting.The effect of chitosan-mediated CrmA on chondrocytes apoptosis induced by IL-1β were analyzed by TUNEL assay.One-way ANOVA was used to analysis.Results The size of chitosan-pDNA nanoparticles was 50 nm.The pDNA release of chitosan-pDNA nanoparticles appeared as biphasic release at pH 2.0 and pH 7.4 buffer.The expression of CrmA in rabbit primary chondrocytes mediated by chitosan could be detected.The chitosan-pIRES2-EGFP nanoparticles had no cytotoxicity.The apoptosis rate of chondrocytes in the chitosan-pCrmA nanoparticles treated group was significantly lower than that of the chitosan treated group (P＜0.05) and PBS group (P＜0.01).Conclsion Chitosan is an effective non-viral gene transfer vector.The CrmA mediated by chitosan can significantly inhibit chondrocytes apoptosis induced by IL-1β,suggesting that chitosan-pCrmA nanoparticles may be the treatment of osteoarthrifis.

Objective To compare the mRNA expressions of interleukin (IL)-17 and IL-23 in peripheral blood of patients with psoriasis vulgaris versus healthy individuals,assess the relationship of these parameters with psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) score,and to investigate the therapeutic mechanisms of total glucosides of peony (TGP) for psoriasis vulgaris.Methods Fifty patients with psoriasis vulgaris and 40 healthy individuals were enrolled in this study.Of these patients,42 were treated with TGP of 600-900 mg twice a day for 8 weeks.Blood samples were obtained from all the healthy individuals,50 patients before treatment,42 patients after 4-week treatment,and 23 patients after 8-week treatment.Real-time fluorescence-based quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) was used to determine the mRNA expression levels of IL-17 and IL-23 in the blood samples.The severity of psoriasis was evaluated using PASI score before and after the treatment.Statistical analysis was done by t test,rank sum test,and Pearson correlation analysis using the SPSS16.0 software.Results The IL-17 and IL-23 mRNA expression levels (given in △Ct value) in the patients before treatment were significantly higher than those in the healthy controls (IL-17,-5.32 ± 0.80 vs.2.79 ± 0.76,t =47.71,P ＜ 0.05; IL-23,-5.43 ± 0.68 vs.-3.77 ± 0.86,t =10.38,P ＜ 0.05),and positively correlated with the PASI score (r =0.61,0.52 respectively,both P ＜ 0.05).A significant decrease was observed in the mRNA expression levels of IL-17 and IL-23 as well as PASI score in the 42 patients after 4-week treatment with TGP compared with those before treatment(IL-17,-2.24 ± 0.61 vs.-5.30 ± 0.78,t =20.40,P ＜ 0.05; IL-23,-1.97 ± 0.74 vs.-5.44 ± 0.68,t =21.69,P ＜ 0.05; PASI,5.8 ± 2.7 vs.9.4 ± 4.2,t =4.68,P ＜ 0.05),and in the 23 patients after 8-week treatment compared with those after 4-wek treatment(IL-17,-1.51 ± 0.78 vs.-2.21 ± 0.59,t =3.50,P ＜ 0.05; IL-23,-1.27 ± 0.81 vs.-1.89 ± 0.72,t =2.70,P＜ 0.05; PASI,3.8 ± 1.8 vs.7.3 ± 2.5,t =5.47,P＜ 0.05).Conclusions It seems that both IL-17 and IL-23 are involved in the pathogenesis of psoriasis vulgaris,and TGP treatment can reduce the mRNA expression levels of IL-17 and IL-23 as well as PASI score in patients with psoriasis vulgaris.

This study was aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of free-frying granules of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) on treatment of chronic prostatitis. A total of 120 chronic prostatitis patients that were diagnosed with the dampness-heat and blood-stasis syndrome and kidney-deficiency syndrome were divided into the TCM group and western medicine group by random digit table. Category II and ⅢA chronic prostatitis were treated with oral administration of Levofloxacin Mesylate Tablets (0.2 g, bid) and the category ⅢB chronic prostatitis was treated with oral administration of Terazosin Hydrochloride Tablets (2 mg, qd). In the TCM group, the dampness-heat and blood-stasis syndrome was treated with Tongluo Qingjie formula ( which was self-made formula containing Rhizoma Dioscoreae Hypoglaucae, Herba Patriniae, Semen Plantaginis, and etc.) and the kidney-deficiency syndrome was treated with Jiawei Wuzhi Yanzong pills (which containing Semen Cuscutae, Chinese Wolfberry, Radix Rehmanniae Preparata, Fructus Rubi and Schisandra chinensis, and etc.). Four weeks was one course of treatment. The results showed that the total effective rate of TCM group was better than that of western medicine group (P< 0.05). Effect of TCM group was obviously better than that of western medicine group in the improvement of prostatitis NIH-CPSI score, the quality of life and symptoms of the patients. TCM may increase lecithin corpuscle in prostatic fluid of ⅢA chronic prostatitis (P< 0.05). Meanwhile, no obvious toxiferous and side reactions were found. It was concluded that the free-frying granules of TCM have good efficacy and safety in the treatment of chronic prostatitis.

Objective To detect the expressions of osteopontin (OPN) and inerleukin-18 in patients with bullous pemphigoid (BP),and to analyze their relationship with clinical and laboratory indices.Methods Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was performed to quantify the serum levels of osteopontin (OPN) and inerleukin (IL)-18 in 30 patients with BP and 30 health controls.Results The serum level of OPN was statistically higher in the patients than in the healthy controls ((8.29 ± 2.76) vs.(3.88 ± 1.41 ) ng/ml,P ＜ 0.01 ),and was positively correlated with the severity of BP (r =0.658,P ＜ 0.01 ) and with some laboratory indices in the patients.Increased serum IL-18 level was observed in patients complicated by cardiovascular diseases compared with those without cardiovascular diseases ((37.49 ± 6.43) vs.(31.10 ± 5.40) pg/ml,P ＜ 0.01).Moreover,the BP patients with diabetes,tumor,hepatic and renal impairment displayed an enhanced level of serum OPN and IL-18 than those without (all P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions OPN may be positively correlated with the severity of BP,while IL-18 may be involved in the development of complications of BP.

Objective To evaluate the operative techniques and the methods of the renal function protection in laparoscopic nephron sparing surgery for the treatment of renal tumors.Methods Thirty-six renal tumor patients accepted transperitoneal laparoscopic partial nephrectomy at the 70 degree lateral decubitus position.There were 17 tumors in the upper pole,13 in the lower pole and 6 in the center of kindey.The mean tumor diameter was 2.6 cm(from 0.8 to 4.0 cm).Peke forceps were used to clamp the renal artery and achieve warm ischemia.Cold scissors was used to resect tumors and Hem-o-lok was used to clamp and control the artery bleeding in surgical bed instead of ligature when suturing the kidney parenchyma.Ulinastatin was used to prevent and relieve the ischemical reperfusion injury.The operative time,estimated blood loss,warm ischemia time,intraoperative and postoperative complications and the operative efficacy were recorded.Results All operations were completed successfully,no case was converted to open surgery.The mean operative time was 128 min(95 to 186 min),mean estimated blood loss was 130 ml (40 to 600 ml),mean warm ischemia time was 21 min(16to 28 min).There was no hemorrhage and urinary leakage after surgery.The post-operative renal function was normal in all the cases.The histopathological examination showed that 36 cases were renal cell carcinoma including 31 pT1a,cases and 5 pT1b cases.There was no positive surgical margin.The mean follow-up time was 16 months (from 6 to 30 months).There was no recurrence and metastasis found and renal function was normal in all cases during the follow-up.Conclusions Laparoscopic nephron sparing surgery for renal tumors is a safe and feasible treatment option.This procedure can resect tumor safely and preserve renal function efficiently.The use of Hem-o-lok instead of ligature can significantly reduce the operative time.Ulinastatin can help reducing the ischemical reperfusion injury and thus preserve renal function.