Objective To investigate the relationship of antithrombin‐Ⅲ activity and thrombosis risk in liver cirrhosis with Child‐Pugh classification .Methods In our hospital from June to December 2014 ,60 liver cirrhosis patients were selected randomly included into this experiment group ,The 60 cases of control group were from medical examination of health in our hospital .The plasma AT‐Ⅲ activity and D‐D concentration in all these cases were detected and analyzed .Results The AT‐Ⅲ in cirrhosis patients were significantly lower than which in healthy persons(P<0 .05) .The lower level of AT‐Ⅲ is in these patients which were in seri‐ous condition(P<0 .05) ,the abnormal rate of D‐D concentration is also higher at the same time(P<0 .05) .Conclusion The detec‐tion of AT‐Ⅲ level in patients with liver cirrhosis is directly related to the severity of clinical and thrombosis risk .The AT‐Ⅲ de‐tection level can be used to judge the patient′s condition and develop appropriate treatment strategies .

Objective:To evaluate the value of blood urea nitrogen (BUN)/creatinine (Cr) ratio for guiding the access route of double balloon enteroscopy (DBE) for small intestinal bleeding.Methods:The clinical information was collected from 105 patients who underwent DBE for suspected small intestinal bleeding at Air Force Medical Center from January 2015 to October 2019. Patients were divided into the elevated BUN/Cr group ( n=52) and the normal BUN/Cr group ( n=53), with a cut-off value of 81. Comparison was made for the detection rate of lesions between the oral route and anal route separately in the two groups using Chi-square test. Results:Among the 105 patients with suspected small intestinal bleeding, definite causes of bleeding were identified in 79 patients by DBE, and the overall lesion detection rate was 75.24% (79/105). In the elevated BUN/Cr group, the overall lesion detection rate was 76.92% (40/52), among which 79.49% (31/39) was through oral and 47.37% (9/19) through anal enteroscopy. In the normal BUN/Cr group, the overall lesion detection rate was 73.58% (39/53), and 63.64% (21/33) was transoral and 51.43% (18/35) transanal. The lesion detection rate of transoral enteroscopy in the elevated group was significantly higher than that in the normal group ( χ2=6.576, P=0.010). There was no significant difference in the lesion detection rate of transanal enteroscopy between the two groups ( χ2=2.230, P=0.135). Conclusion:For patients with active small intestinal bleeding (active bleeding within 48 hours), the BUN/Cr ratio higher than 81 may indicate that DBE should be performed firstly via oral route.

Penaeidin-2 (Pen-2) is an important antimicrobial peptide derived from the Pacific white shrimp, Penaeus vannamei, and possesses both antibacterial and antifungal activities. Recent studies suggest that recombinant penaeidins show similar activities to the native Pen-2 protein. Previous researches have shown that some antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) exhibit cytotoxic activity against cancer cells. To date, there have been no studies on the antitumor effects of Pen-2. This study evaluated the potential of recombinant pen-2 (rPen-2) in the selective killing of kidney cancer cell lines ACHN and A498, and its action mechanism. MTT assays found the maximal growth inhibition of HK-2, ACHN and A498 cells treated with 100 μg/mL rPen-2 at 48 h was 13.2%, 62.4%, and 70.4%, respectively. DNA-specific fluorescent dye staining showed a high percentage of apoptosis on cancer cells. Flow cytometry revealed that the apoptosis rate of HK-2, ACHN and A498 cells was 15.2%, 55.2%, and 61.5% at 48 h respectively, suggesting that rPen-2 induced higher apoptosis rate in cancer cells than in HK-2 cells. Laser confocal scanning microscopy demonstrated that the plasma membrane was the key site where rPen-2 interacted with and destroyed tumor cells. Scanning electron microscopy showed the morphologic changes of the cell membranes of kidney cancer cells treated with rPen-2. These results suggest that rPen-2 is a novel potential therapeutic agent that may be useful in treating kidney cancers.

Background: Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting adversely affects the quality of life of patients who receive chemotherapy via intravenous infusion or transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE). This study aimed to investigate the clinical effects of transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) on nausea and vomiting Methods: A total of 142 patients who received TACE with cisplatin for primary or metastatic liver cancer were assigned to the active-acupuncture (n= 72) or placebo-acupuncture (n= 70) groups using a covariate-adaptive randomization at a ratio of 1:1. The acupoints Hegu (LI4), Neiguan (P6), and Zusanli (ST36) were stimulated twice daily for 6 days. The effects of TEAS on nausea and vomiting were assessed by using occurrence rate and severity of these symptoms. Anorexia scale and M. D. Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI) scores were secondary endpoints and were used to assess the effect of TEAS on patient appetite and quality of life. The safety of the treatments was also monitored. Results: Between the two groups, the differences in occurrence rates and severities of nausea and vomiting after TACE were not signiffcant (allP > 0.05). From the second day after TACE, anorexia scores were signiffcantly lower in the active-acupuncture group than in the placebo-acupuncture group and continued to decrease over time with treat-ment (allP values less than 0.01). On days 0, 1, and 2, the mean MDASI scores for the active-acupuncture group were slightly lower than those for the placebo-acupuncture group, but the differences were not statistically signiffcant (all P > 0.05). No signiffcant differences were found between the two groups in the occurrence rate of any adverse event (P > 0.05). Conclusion: TEAS appears to be a safe and effective therapy to relieve patients' gastrointestinal discomfort after chemotherapy.

Objective To explore the factors that affect the excretion rate of methotrexate and the occurrence of adverse reactions in high-dose methotrexate chemotherapy for osteosarcoma patients.Methods Retrospectively analyzed methotrexate excretion,liver injury,kidney injury,bone marrow suppression and other adverse drug reactions in 97 high-dose methotrexate chemotherapy cycles of 28 patients with osteosarcoma.The concentration of methotrexate in the blood at 0,24,48,72 h and the level of white protein in the blood were also analyzed.Results When the peak concentration of methotrexate(0h,Cmax)≥700 μmol·L-1 the risk of excretion delay increases:the incidence was 23.21％in group with Cmax ≥ 700 μmol·L-1,and it was 5.00％in group with Cmax＜700 μmol·L-1,(P＜0.05),but when the peak concentration was≥1 000 μmol·L-1,the risk of delayed excretion did not increase further:the incidence was 16.00％in group with Cmax 1 000 μmol·L-1,and it was 15.49％in group with Cmax＜1 000 μmol·L-1,(P＞0.05).Methotrexate blood Cmax has no significant correlation with the occurrence of important adverse reactions such as liver injury and bone marrow suppression.There was significant correlation between low serum albumin level and bone marrow suppression in patients.The average albumin level in group with bone marrow suppression was(39.1±3.4)g·L-1,which in without bone marrow suppression group was(41.2±4.0)g·L-1(P＜0.05).Conclusion During high-dose methotrexate chemotherapy in patients with osteosarcoma,delayed excretion and adverse reactions should not be prevented by lowering the peak concentration.The albumin level of patients is an important factor affecting the occurrence of bone marrow suppression.

The fusion protein (F) gene of Newcastle disease virus was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from the recombinant plasmid pVAX1-F, and subcloned into eukaryotic expression vector pmcDNA3. 1+. The F gene was identified by sequencing. The recombinant plasmid was transformed into attenuated Salmonella typhimurium SL7207, and the recombinant was designated as SL7207 (pmcDNA3. 1-F). In vitro and in vivo experiments showed that the plasmid stability of pmcDNA3. 1-F was apparently higher than that of pcDNA3. 1-F in SL7207. In order to compare the immune response induced by these two re combinant bacteria, BALB/c mice were immunized orally with them at the dosage of 2 x 10(9) CFU respectively. Both SL7207(pcDNA3. 1-F) and SL7207(pmcDNA3. 1-F) initiated F-specific serum and mucosal antibodies in immunized mice. Furthermore, 4-day-old SPF chickens were immunized with SL7207(pcDNA3. 1-F) and SL7207(pmcDNA3. 1-F) at the dosage of 5 x 10(9) CFU and boosted two weeks later with the same dosage. Humoral and intestinal mucosal immune responses were observed and their levels were significantly higher than that of negative and positive controls. The result of protective efficacy showed that the chickens immunized with SL7207(pmcDNA3. 1-F) had the protective rate of 70.0%, higher than that of the SL7207 (pcDNA3. 1-F) with 50.0%. In summary, the DNA vaccine delivered by attenuated Salmonella typhimurium has good immunogenicity. A novel mucosal DNA vaccine has been developed and could be useful for controlling the infection and epidemic of Newcastle disease in the poultry.
Animals ; Chickens ; Female ; Immunization ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Newcastle disease virus ; immunology ; Plasmids ; Salmonella typhimurium ; genetics ; Vaccines, Attenuated ; immunology ; Vaccines, DNA ; immunology ; Viral Vaccines ; immunology

Penaeidin-2 (Pen-2) is an important antimicrobial peptide derived from the Pacific white shrimp, Penaeus vannamei, and possesses both antibacterial and antifungal activities. Recent studies suggest that recombinant penaeidins show similar activities to the native Pen-2 protein. Previous researches have shown that some antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) exhibit cytotoxic activity against cancer cells. To date, there have been no studies on the antitumor effects of Pen-2. This study evaluated the potential of recombinant pen-2 (rPen-2) in the selective killing of kidney cancer cell lines ACHN and A498, and its action mechanism. MTT assays found the maximal growth inhibition of HK-2, ACHN and A498 cells treated with 100 μg/mL rPen-2 at 48 h was 13.2%, 62.4%, and 70.4%, respectively. DNA-specific fluorescent dye staining showed a high percentage of apoptosis on cancer cells. Flow cytometry revealed that the apoptosis rate of HK-2, ACHN and A498 cells was 15.2%, 55.2%, and 61.5% at 48 h respectively, suggesting that rPen-2 induced higher apoptosis rate in cancer cells than in HK-2 cells. Laser confocal scanning microscopy demonstrated that the plasma membrane was the key site where rPen-2 interacted with and destroyed tumor cells. Scanning electron microscopy showed the morphologic changes of the cell membranes of kidney cancer cells treated with rPen-2. These results suggest that rPen-2 is a novel potential therapeutic agent that may be useful in treating kidney cancers.
Animals ; Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides ; genetics ; pharmacology ; Antineoplastic Agents ; pharmacology ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Arthropod Proteins ; genetics ; pharmacology ; Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor ; Humans ; Kidney Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; pathology ; Penaeidae ; genetics ; Recombinant Proteins ; genetics ; pharmacology

BACKGROUNDThe genome of the severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) includes sequences encoding the putative protein X4 (ORF8, ORF7a), consisting of 122 amino acids. The deduced sequence contains a probable cleaved signal peptide sequence and a C-terminal transmembrane helix, indicating that protein X4 is likely to be a type I membrane protein. This study was conducted to demonstrate whether the protein X4 was expressed and its essential function in the process of SARS-CoV infection.

METHODSThe prokaryotic and eukaryotic protein X4-expressing plasmids were constructed. Recombinant soluble protein X4 was purified from E. coli using ion exchange chromatography, and the preparation was injected into chicken for rising specific polyclonal antibodies. The expression of protein X4 in SARS-CoV-infected Vero E6 cells and lung tissues from patients with SARS was performed using immunofluorescence assay and immunohistochemistry technique. The preliminary function of protein X4 was evaluated by treatment with and over-expression of protein X4 in cell lines. Western blot was employed to evaluate the expression of protein X4 in SARS-CoV particles.

RESULTSWe expressed and purified soluble recombinant protein X4 from E.coli, and generated specific antibodies against protein X4. Western blot proved that the protein X4 was not assembled in the SARS-CoV particles. Indirect immunofluorescence assays revealed that the expression of protein X4 was detected at 8 hours after infection in SARS-CoV-infected Vero E6 cells. It was also detected in the lung tissues from patients with SARS. Treatment with and overexpression of protein X4 inhibited the growth of Balb/c 3T3 cells as determined by cell counting and MTT assays.

CONCLUSIONThe results provide the evidence of protein X4 expression following SARS-CoV infection, and may facilitate further investigation of the immunopathological mechanism of SARS.

Amino Acid Sequence ; Animals ; BALB 3T3 Cells ; Cercopithecus aethiops ; Growth Inhibitors ; analysis ; physiology ; HeLa Cells ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Lung ; chemistry ; Mice ; Molecular Sequence Data ; SARS Virus ; chemistry ; Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ; metabolism ; Vero Cells ; Viral Structural Proteins ; analysis ; physiology

Adolescent ; Humans ; Male ; Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Type 2b ; genetics ; Oncogene Proteins ; genetics ; Point Mutation ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-ret ; Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases ; genetics

OBJECTIVETo find out association mapping of loci related to schizophrenia on chromosome 1 with microsatellite markers in DNA pooling samples from schizophrenic cases and normal controls in Shandong peninsula.

METHODSA total of 31 microsatellite markers on chromosome 1 spaced at approximately 10 cM were scanned to two separated DNA pooling samples consisting of 119 schizophrenic cases and 119 normal controls respectively. Statistic analysis was performed by Chi-square test method to compare the difference between the ratio of each allele between the two pooling samples.

RESULTSSignificant statistic difference was found at D1S2878 between cases and controls, and P< 0.01 at this loci.

CONCLUSIOND1S2878 locus on chromosome 1 associates with schizophrenia in Shandong peninsula. Fine mapping and searching for candidate genes are warranted in this region.

Adult ; Case-Control Studies ; China ; Chromosome Mapping ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 1 ; genetics ; DNA ; genetics ; Female ; Genomics ; Humans ; Male ; Microsatellite Repeats ; genetics ; Schizophrenia ; genetics ; pathology