Objective To observe the month age distribution of peroxisome proliferators activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) expression in rat kedney. Methods Wistar rats aged 3 months,12 months and 24 months were made as models who represented young, middle-aged and old group respectively. Western blotting, immunohistochemical (IHC) and in-situ hybridization (ISH) were used to detect the expression and location of protein and mRNA of PPARγ in rat kidney. Results Western blotting results showed that the expression of PPARγ protein was higher in 3 months group than in 24 months group (0.94±0.05 vs. 0.78±0.02, P＜0.01) and 12 months group (0.87±0.04, P＞0.05), and it reduced in 24 months group than in 12 months group (P＞0.05). By IHC,the PPARγ protein was localized predominantly in the nuclear of tubular epithelia and collecting duct cells in each group. In old age group, PPARγ protein was also detected little in the mesangial and Bowman's capsule epithelial cells. Meanwhile, the distribution of PPARγ mRNA with ISH was consistent with above findings. Additional, semi-quantitative analysis of ISH results verified that the level of PPARγ mRNA decreased with ageing. Conclusions As a nuclear transcription factor,PPARγ participates in the regulation of rat kidney aging.

AIM:To investigate the influence of matrine (MA) on the phenotype switching of mouse mono-cytes and alveolar macrophages induced by bleomycin ( BLM) .METHODS:All mice were randomly divided into normal saline (NS) group, BLM group, BLM+NS group and BLM +MA group.The mice were administered with BLM at 2.5 mg/kg via oropharyngeal instillation .The mice in BLM+MA group were treated with MA (15 mg· kg-1 · d-1 ) by oral gavage following BLM administration .The mice were sacrificed on days 3, 7, 14, and 21.The lungs were removed for pathological analysis .The circulating monocyte subsets and polarization state of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid ( BALF)-de-rived alveolar macrophages were analyzed by flow cytometry .RESULTS:The results of HE and Masson trichrome staining in BLM and BLM+NS groups exhibited classical pathological stages of lung fibrosis , including acute inflammation phase and later fibrosis phase .Compared with BLM +NS group, MA treatment alleviated the inflammatory response and the de-gree of fibrosis induced by BLM (P<0.05).There was a rapid change of circulating Ly6Chi monocytes and its magnitude was positively associated with the pulmonary inflammatory response .An expansion of M2-like alveolar macrophages was positively correlated with the magnitude of lung fibrosis .Moreover , MA treatment partially normalized the phenotype switc-hing of monocytes and alveolar macrophages .CONCLUSION:Matrine treatment attenuates BLM-induced pulmonary injury partially via modulating the phenotype switching of monocytes and alveolar mocrophages .

A national health information system that can provide timely and reliable information plays a very im-portant role in improving public health and health system .However , the system must be assessed at first if it is to be strengthened .The assessment frameworks for the main health information systems in the world were summarized by defining the connotations of national health information system.The advances in assessment of health information systems in China were described with certain suggestions put forward for the research and development of assessment framework for national health information system .

AIM: To establish a cell line of stable silencing of P2X7 receptor (P2X7R) expression through short hairpin RNA ( shRNA)-mediated interference in murine RAW264.7 macrophages, and to investigate the proliferation and apoptosis in the cell line.METHODS:Stable silencing of P2X7 R gene in the RAW264.7 cells was achieved by re-combinant shRNA plasmid targeting murine P2X7 R gene via liposome mediated transfection, followed by G418 selection. The efficacy of plasmid transfection and P2X7 R silencing in G418 resistant cells was verified by immunofluorescent micros-copy and real-time PCR, respectively.The proliferative activity was analyzed by CCK-8 assay and EdU cell proliferation as-say.The cell cycle distribution and apoptosis were evaluated by flow cytometry.RESULTS:The expression of P2X7 R at mRNA and protein levels was down-regulated by 80% in shP2X7 R group compared with negative control ( NC) plasmid transfection.In addition, P2X7 R-silencing cells exhibited higher proliferative activity compared with NC and wild-type RAW264.7 cells (P<0.05).Compared with NC cells, P2X7R silencing resulted in an increase in the phagocytosis of the cells ( P<0.05) .CONCLUSION:A cell line RAW264.7 of stable silencing of P2X7 R expression was successfully es-tablished.P2X7 R gene silencing stimulates the proliferation, and changes phagocytic function in murine RAW264.7 macro-phages.

Objective Pneumosilicosis is characterized by pulmonary fibrosis and cannot be effectively treated at present. This study was to explore the changes of monocyte subsets in the mouse model of silicon dioxide-induced experimental pneumosilicosis and the correlation of the changes with lung inflammatory injury and pulmonary fibrosis. Methods A total of 100 male C57BL/6J mice weighing 18-22 g were equally randomized into a normal saline (NS) group and a silicon dioxide (quartz) group.The model of experimental pneumosilicosis was established by oropharyngeal aspiration of quartz suspension.At 1, 3, 7, 14, and 28 days after treat-ment, the mice were sacrificed and the proportions of different circulating monocyte subpopulations determined by flow cytometry.Dif-ferent types of inflammatory cells in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid ( BALF) were routinely counted.The inflammation score and col-lagen volume fraction ( CVF) of the lung tissue were obtained by HE and picrosirius red staining. Results At 7 days after quartz treatment, silicotic nodules were observed in the lung tissue.Compared with the NS controls, the model mice showed significantly in-creased inflammation score and CVF at 7 days (0.920 ±0.049 vs 1.400 ±0.089, P<0.01;0.525 ±0.048 vs 1.950 ±0.065, P<0.01) and 28 days (0.800 ±0.089 vs 1.520 ±0.136, P<0.01;0.850 ±0.050 sv 5.300 ±0.776, P<0.01).In comparison with the NS group, the quartz group also exhibited significant increases in the number of total cells at days 1-28 (P<0.01) and the count of neutrophils at days 1-14 (P<0.01) in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of the model mice, as well as in the number of macrophages in the BALF at 3 days (0.980 ±0.663 vs 6.821 ±2.627, P<0.01), 7 days (1.225 ±0.601 vs 6.697 ±1.864, P<0.01), 14 days (1.492 ±0.438 vs 2.574 ±0.396, P<0.01), and 28 days (2.035 ±0.456 vs 3.249 ±0.492, P<0.01).The count of neutrophilic granulocytes in the BALF was remarkably higher in the quartz than in the NS group at 1, 3, 7, and 14 days (P<0.01) but not at 28 days (P>0.05).Compared with the NS controls, the quartz-treated mice showed markedly increased proportion of Ly6Chimonocytes at all time points, which peaked at 7 days (58.750 ±2.386 vs 78.300 ±2.517, P<0.01), with a positive corre-lation with the inflammation score (P<0.01) and CVF of the lung tissue (P<0.01) at 7 and 28 day. Conclusion The propor-tions of circulating Ly6Chi and Ly6Clo monocytes changed dynamically in the murine model of quartz-induced experimental pneumosilico-sis.The increased proportion of the Ly6Chi monocyte subpopulation might be closely related with lung inflammatory injury and pulmona-ry fibrosis in pneumosilicosis.

Objective: The present study was designed to evaluate the protective effects of oligomeric proanthocyanidins (OPC) in mice exposed to paraquat (PQ) , and to explore the molecular mechanism. Methods: Four experimental groups were designed. Control group: 10 BALB/c mice were intraperitoneally injected with normal saline) . PQ group: 10 BALB/c mice were intraperitoneally injected with PQ (100 mg/kg) . PQ+OPC group: 10 BALB/c mice were administered with OPC (100 mg/kg) for 1 h before PQ (100 mg/kg) expo-sure. OPC group: 10 BALB/c mice were intraperitoneally injected with OPC (100 mg/kg) . The peripheral blood samples or lung tissue samples were collected at the designed time points for measuring the levels of oxi-dative stress indicators, the related protein levels of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) pathway and nuclear fac-tor erythroid related factor-2 (Nrf2) pathway. Results: Compared with the control group, the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) , the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) in the PQ group were significantly induced, and the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in the PQ group was decreased in the peripheral blood. As com-pared with the PQ group, the level of ROS and the content of MDA in the PQ+OPC group were significantly re-duced, the activity SOD in the PQ+OPC group was increased in the peripheral blood; the level of ROS and the content of MDA were also reduced in lung tissues in the PQ+OPC group. Moreover, compared with the con-trol group, the phosphorylation of IκBα and the expression of NF-κB p65 were increased in lung tissues in the PQ group. The phosphorylation of IκBα and the expression of NF-κB p65 were decreased in lung tissues in the PQ+OPC group as compared with the PQ group. In addition, compared with the control group, the expressions of HO-1 and Nrf2 were increased in lung tissues in OPC group, and these were decreased in lung tissues in PQ groups. Furthermore, the expressions of HO-1 and Nrf2 were also increased in lung tissues in PQ+OPC as com-pared with the PQ group. Conclusion OPC could alleviate PQ-induced systemic toxicity in mice by regulating oxidative stress via NF-κB and Nrf2 pathway.

Cystatin, a cysteine protease inhibitor found in many parasites, plays important roles in immune evasion. This study analyzed the molecular characteristics of a cystatin from Fasciola hepatica (FhCystatin) and expressed recombinant FhCystatin (rFhcystatin) to investigate the immune modulatory effects on lipopolysaccharide-induced proliferation, migration, cytokine secretion, nitric oxide (NO) production, and apoptosis in mouse macrophages. The FhCystatin gene encoded 116 amino acids and contained a conserved cystatin-like domain. rFhCystatin significantly inhibited the activity of cathepsin B. rFhCystatin bound to the surface of mouse RAW264.7 cells, significantly inhibited cell proliferation and promoted apoptosis. Moreover, rFhCystatin inhibited the expression of cellular nitric oxide, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α, and promoted the expression of transforming growth factor-β and interleukin-10. These results showed that FhCystatin played an important role in regulating the activity of mouse macrophages. Our findings provide new insights into mechanisms underlying the immune evasion and contribute to the exploration of potential targets for the development of new drug to control F. hepatica infection.

Objective:To evaluate the utility of high-resolution flat detector CT (HR-FDCT) in Willis covered stent implantation.Methods:The clinical and imaging data of 23 patients with intracranial aneurysms, intracranial artery dissection or carotid-cavernous fistula treated by Willis covered stents in our hospital from June 2017 to August 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Images were acquired using conventional FDCT and HR-FDCT; the differences of image quality for stent visualization were compared. Immediately after stent deployment, dual volume 3D fusion images were obtained from 5 s-3D-digital subtraction angiography (DSA) and HR-FDCT, and the stent expansion status was also recorded.Results:A total of 25 Willis covered stents were implanted in 23 patients with a success rate of 100%. As compared with that by FDCT, visualization of fine structures of the stent by HR-FDCT was improved, and the image quality by HR-FDCT was significantly improved as compared with that by FDCT (mean scores: 0.56±0.71 vs. 1.56±0.65, P<0.05). According to the reconstruction of 3D fusion images obtained from 3D-DSA combined with HR-FDCT, one stent was found to have poor apposition (the distal of the stent with kinking) without vascular rupture and internal leakage, and the other 24 stents were found to have good apposition. Conclusions:HR-FDCT could better display Willis covered stent details and afford improved image quality, which instructs surgeons to adopt appropriate treatment strategy. This novel HR-FDCT has great application potential in Willis covered stent implantation.

Objective:To explore the clinical significance of different endovascular interventional therapies in extracranial artery dissection and summarize their therapeutic experiences.Methods:Forty-two patients with extracranial artery dissection underwent endovascular interventional therapies in our hospital from August 2016 to January 2021 were chosen. In these 42 patients (26 with simple intravascular dissection and 16 with dissecting aneurysms), the dissection located in carotid C1 or C2 segment was noted in 37 patients and that in vertebral artery V2 segment was noted in 5 patients. According to the nature, location, and scope of lesions, different endovascular interventional therapies (such as overlapping braided vascular stent implantation, flow-diverter stents implantation, intracranial covered stent implantation and embolism of aneurysm) were adopted. DSA results immediately after surgery and DSA follow-up results 6 months after surgery were evaluated, and the occurrence of adverse events during and within 24 h after surgery was observed and recorded.Results:In the 26 patients with simple intravascular dissection, 3 patients showed vascular occlusion by DSA angiography (1 patient accepted sequential stent implantation [2 Neuroform EZ stents] and 2 patients accepted sequential stent implantation [Neuroform EZ+Wallstent stent] after recanalization; in the left 23 patients, 21 received overlapping braided stent implantation (19 patients had 2 Wallstent stents and 2 patients had 2 LVIS stents) and 2 patients had intracranial covered stent implantation (single Willis stents). Among the 16 patients with dissecting aneurysm, overlapping braided stents were implanted (11 patients had 2 Wallstent stents, 4 patients had single flow-diverter stent, and 1 patient had single Willis stent). The stents were successfully placed in all patients intraoperatively. Immediately after surgery, DSA showed that the stents were well attached, and the blood flow of the responsible vessels was unobstructed; no postoperative complications such as bleeding, vascular occlusion or acute thrombosis were noted. After 6 months of follow-up, all patients had smooth blood flow in the diseased vessels, complete aneurysm occlusion, and no obvious stenosis in the stents.Conclusion:Endovascular interventional therapy is safe and effective for extracranial artery dissection; stent placement should be selected according to the characteristics of the dissection.

Objective:To explore the degradation property of novel magnesium alloy stents in Bama mini-pig models of carotid artery stenosis, and evaluate the feasibility of observing their dynamic and continuous process by high-resolution C-arm CT.Methods:Twelve Bama mini-pigs were selected; carotid artery stenosis models were established by large balloon over-dilation and high-fat and high-salt diet in Bama pigs; 24 weeks after that, self-made braided degradable magnesium alloy stents were inserted into the carotid artery stenosis models (confirmed by DSA) by balloon dilation. Degrees of stent patency and in-stent restenosis were examined by DSA immediately after procedure and on the 30 th, 60 th and 90 th d of procedure. Four experimental pigs were sacrificed on the 30 th, 60 th and 90 th d of procedure, respectively; the degradation property of the novel magnesium alloy stents was observed according to results of high-resolution C-arm CT in the inserted-stent areas and staining results of specimens in the stenosis areas, and stent imaging features during degradation were summarized. Results:Twelve Bama mini-pig models of carotid artery stenosis were established and 12 magnesium alloy stents were successfully inserted with a technical success rate of 100%. Both immediate postoperative and follow-up angiography showed patency of the vascular lumens without obvious in-stent restenosis. High-resolution C-arm CT and pathological examination showed homogeneous stent lumens and clear delineation of the stent meshes, with slightly degraded stent on the 30 th d of procedure; the stent lumen was blurred and some magnesium alloy wires were fractured with developed degradation of the stent on the 60 th d of procedure; and the stent meshes and stent strut could not be visualized due to severe degradation of the stent on the 90 th d of procedure. Conclusion:Magnesium alloy degradable stent is almost completely degraded within 90 th d of procedure in Bama mini-pig models of carotid artery stenosis, and high-resolution C-arm CT can be used to dynamically monitor the degradation of the stent in vivo.