Objective To assess the relationship between Gottron papules and interstitial lung disease (ILD) in patients with dermatomyositis. Methods Clinical data were retrospectively collected from 83 patients with dermatomyositis (DM), who were classified into two groups based on the presence of Gottron papules. Results The prevalence of Gottron papules and ILD was 59.0% and 42.2%, respectively in these patients. A significant difference was observed in the incidence of ILD between patients with and without Gottron papules (24.5% vs 67.6%, P<0.01). In the patients with ILD, the average value of diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (DLCO) in those without Gottron papules was significantly lower than that in those with Gottron papules (60.9±13.5 vs 72.3±12.7, t=2.427, P<0.05). No significant difference was observed between the patients with Gottron papules and those without in muscle strength (4.0±0.9 vs 3.8±1.2), the level of serum creatine phosphokinase (1047.9±1402.7 IU/L vs 1359.7±1752.4 IU/L), lactic acid dehydrogenase (397.2±226.5 IU/L vs 402.4±197.0 IU/L), aspartate aminotransferase (97.6±98.0 IU/L vs 120.1±82.3 IU/L),C reactive protein (11.9±8.3 mg/L vs 15.5±9.8 mg/L), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (26.5±16.4 mm/l h vs 33.3±25.3 mm/l h), the incidence of muscle tendemess (63.3% vs 70.6%) or malignant melanoma (21.4% vs 6.5%). Conclusions Patients presenting Gottron papules tend to show a decreased incidence and severity of ILD. No significant association was observed between the presence of Gottron papules and the degree of muscle changes or dermatomyositis activity, and the presence of Gottron papules seems to have no obvious relationship to the development of malignant melanoma.

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase ( NOXs) contributes to the production of reactive oxygen species ( ROS) in liver fibrosis, resulting in the activation of endoplas-mic reticulum stress ( ERS ) and IRE1α-XBP1 signaling path-way. ROS is a series of oxygen metabolites and its derivatives, produced by the single electron reduction of molecular oxygen ( O2 ) , including superoxide anion ( O2- ) , hydroxyl radical (-OH) , hydrogen peroxide ( H2 O2 ) , hypochlorite ion ( OCl-) and so on. They can interact with a large number of molecules, including small inorganic molecules, proteins, lipids, carbohy-drates and nucleic acids, resulting in lipid peroxidation of cell damaging molecules. And as a second messenger, ROS can also affect the proliferation and activation of HSC in liver fibrosis, and induce the hepatocyte apoptosis through a variety of cellular signal transduction. Here we review the current status of the study on the mechanism of NOXs in liver fibrosis.

Objective To label the modified human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) affibody with 68Ga at cysteine position of carboxyl-terminal Gly-Gly-Gly-Cys (GGGC) sequence,and to image the mice model bearing HER2-expressed breast cancer with microPET.Methods The HER2 affibody with carboxyl-terminal cysteine was produced by gene engineering.The 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7-tris-aceticacid (DOTA) was conjugated to the thiol (SH)-group of cysteine by DOTA-10-maleimidoethylacetamide (MMA-DOTA).The newly eluted 68Ga was labeled to DOTA-HER2 affibody at 90 ℃.The labeled mixture was purified by C18 cartridge and eluted with anhydrous alcohol.The purified 68Ga-labeled affibody was prepared for cell binding analysis and microPET imaging.The HER2-expressed breast cancer cells MBA-MD-361 were used to analyze cell binding and establish cancer model with BALB/c nude mice.68Ga-labeled affibody (3.7 MBq) was administered to 4 nude mice with breast cancer via tail vein for microPET imaging at 20 and 60 min post injection.The mice were sacrificed immediately after imaging in unconscious state and their tissue/organs (tumor,muscle,bone and heart) were removed for weighing and radioactivity counting by γ counter.The tumor to normal organ ratios of radioactivity (tumor to liver,muscle,bone and heart)were calculated.Results The purity of HER2 affibody was more than 95％.The radiochemical purity of 68Ga-labeled HER2 affibody was 97％.The KD value (affinity) of 68Ga-labeled HER2 affibody was 1.5 nmol/L in HER2positive cells.MicroPET imaging showed that 68Ga-labeled HER2 affibody could bind HER2-positive cancer rapidly and excreted mainly through urinary system.The radioactivity ratios of tumor to liver,muscle,bone and heart were 17.4±1.0,35.1±10.9,20.7±6.2 and 20.9±4.0,respectively.Conclusions 68Ga could be labeled to HER2 affibody.The 68Ga-labeled HER2 affibody may be useful for PET imaging of HER2-positive tumor.

The general characteristics, outcomes and risk factors of the patients with aortic dissection (AD) were evaluated in a single medical center. From January 2002 to December 2008, 284 patients with AD were treated and followed-up at our institution, including 105 cases of type A AD and 179 cases of type B AD. The patients in each type were divided into three groups according to management: medical treatment group (A or B), open surgery group (A or B), and stent-graft group (A or B). The characteristics and follow-up outcomes were compared between the groups or subgroups. The results showed that there was significant difference in the prognosis for type A AD between medical treatment group and open surgery group, but there was no significant difference in the prognosis for type B AD between medical treatment group and stent-graft group. Independent risk factors of follow-up mortality for patients with type A AD included a history of atherosclerosis (HR, 3.807; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.489 to 7.611; P=0.003), in-hospital hypotension/shock (HR, 4.687; 95% CI, 1.846 to 11.900; P=0.001), in-hospital myocardial ischemia or infarction (HR, 3.734; 95% CI, 1.613 to 8.643; P=0.002), pleural effusion (HR, 2.210; 95% CI, 1.080 to 4.521; P=0.030), branch vessel involvement (HR, 2.747; 95% CI, 1.202 to 6.278; P=0.016) and surgical treatment (HR, 0.177; 95% CI, 0.063 to 0.502; P=0.001). And there were insignificant independent predictors for mortality of the patients with type B AD. It was concluded that there were significant differences in characteristics and one year mortality between type A AD and type B AD, but after one year, there was no significant difference in the mortality and complications of them. There were several discordant risk factors of AD, such as female gender, age, thrombus, abrupt onset of pain that were considered as the risk factors in some papers. And there was no definite risk factor of mortality in this study in the patients with type B AD.

Liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs) are the highest proportion of liver non-parenchymal cells with fenestrae structure and high endocytic ability maintaining liver homeostasis and playing an indispensable role in the physiology and patholo-gy of the liver.LSECs are involved in the regulation of patholog-ical process in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD),alco-holic fatty liver(AFL),hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC),liverregeneration and liver fibrosis mainly via antiinflammation,endocytosis,secretion of angiocrine signals and maintaining thequiescence phenotype of HSCs.This review highlights the physiological function of LSECs and the different roles in different pathological conditions,which aims to provide a new perspectivefor the treatment of liver diseases through targeting LSECs.

A temporary demand pacemaker with electrocardiosignal display is introduced in this paper. Double way low-noise electrocardiosignal preamplifier, amplitude limiter, high and low pass filter, 50 Hz notch filter, TTL level generator and stimulating pulse formation circuit are components of the hardware electrocircuit. The demand pacing and the electrocardiosignal display are separately controlled by the software in which the double microcontrollers communications technique is used. In this study, liquid crystal display is firstly used in body surface electrocardiosignal display or intracardial electrophysiologic signal display when the temporary demand pacemaker is installed and put into use. The machine has proven clinically useful and can be of wide appliation.
Electrocardiography ; Humans ; Pacemaker, Artificial

Refractoriness of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells to chemotherapeutics represents a major clinical barrier. Suicide gene therapy for cancer has been attractive but with limited clinical efficacy. In this study, we investigated the potential application of herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase/ganciclovir (HSV-TK/GCV) based system to inhibit chemoresistant AML cells. We first generated Ara-C resistant K562 cells and doxorubicin-resistant THP-1 cells. We found that the HSV-TK/GCV anticancer system suppressed drug resistant leukemic cells in culture. Chemoresistant AML cell lines displayed similar sensitivity to HSV-TK/GCV. Moreover, HSV-TK/GCV killing of leukemic cells was augmented to a mild but significant extent by all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) with concomitant upregulation of Connexin 43, a major component of gap junctions. Interestingly, HSV-TK/GCV killing was enhanced by expression of vesicular stomatitis virus G glycoprotein (VSV-G), a fusogenic membrane protein, which also increased leukemic cell fusion. Co-culture resistant cells expressing HSV-TK and cells stably transduced with VSV-G showed that expression of VSV-G could promote the bystander killing effect of HSV-TK/GCV. Furthermore, combination of HSV-TK/GCV with VSV-G plus ATRA produced more pronounced antileukemia effect. These results suggest that the HSV-TK/GCV system in combination with fusogenic membrane proteins and/or ATRA could provide a strategy to mitigate the chemoresistance of AML.
Cell Fusion ; Cell Line ; Coculture Techniques ; Connexin 43 ; Cytarabine ; Gap Junctions ; Genetic Therapy ; Glycoproteins* ; Homicide* ; K562 Cells ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute ; Membrane Proteins ; Simplexvirus* ; Suicide ; Thymidine* ; Tretinoin ; Up-Regulation ; Vesicular Stomatitis*

Effective early screening and primary prevention is one of the major initiatives to decrease the morbidity and mortality of colorectal cancer in China. As a new non-invasive screening method for colorectal cancer in recent years, fecal DNA test detects colorectal cancer by analyzing gene mutations from intestinal tumor cells in the feces. The most widely used method among fecal DNA test is multi-target stoolDNA test (MT-sDNA). Many studies abroad on this emerging technique have been carried out to verify its high sensitivity, and it is gradually used in the clinic with continuous improvement and development of technology. Meanwhile, domestic MT-sDNA is still in the prototype stage, and more researches from Chinese population are needed. Compared with traditional screening methods, MT-sDNA technology has the advantages of non-invasiveness, painlessness and convenience. But its defects exist, such as high cost and low specificity. MT-sDNAis in accordance with precision medicine, and can largely make up for the shortcomings of traditional screening methods for colorectal cancer. It also holds a great promise for promoting the screening for colorectal cancer. This paper is aimed to discuss the application value of fecal DNA test by introducing its related researches at home and abroad,and summarizing its merits and demerits.

Polygraph has become a necessary instrument in interventional cardiology and fundamental research of medicine up to the present. In this study, a LabView development system (DS) (developed by NI in U.S.) used as software platform, a DAQ data acquisition module and universal computer used as hardware platform, were creatively coupled with our self-made low noise multi-channels preamplifier to develop Multi-channels electrocardiograph. The device possessed the functions such as real time display of physiological process, digit highpass and lowpass, 50Hz filtered and gain adjustment, instant storing, random playback and printing, and process control stimulation. Besides, it was small-sized, economically practical and easy to operate. It could advance the spread of cardiac intervention treatment in hospitals.
Electrocardiography ; instrumentation ; Monitoring, Intraoperative ; Monitoring, Physiologic ; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted ; Software

OBJECTIVETo investigate whether vitamin C can promote the proliferation ability of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) derived from aging mice.

METHODSThe senescence-accelerated mouse prone 6 (SAMP6) mice and senescence-accelerated mouse resistant 1 (SAMR1) mice were used as the test group and the control group, respectively, and the SAMP6 mice were examined by micro-CT to verify the senescent phenotype. BMMSCs were harvested from the two mouse lines and cultured in vitro, and the cells from SAMP6 mice were subjected to treatment with different concentrations of vitamin C. The proliferation ability of the cells from the two mouse lines was tested using MTT assay and growth curves, and TeloTAGGG Telomerase PCR ELISA was used to measure the telomerase activity; PCR and Western blotting were performed to detect the expression level of telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) in the cells.

RESULTSThe SAMP6 mice displayed a bone senescent phenotype. The proliferation ability of BMMSCs derived from SAMP6 mice and their telomerase activity were significantly lower than those derived from SAMR1 mice (P<0.05). Vitamin C treatment significantly enhanced the proliferation ability of BMMSCs derived from SAMP6 mice in a dose-dependent manner (P<0.05) and increased telomerase activity and TERT expression in the cells (P<0.05). At the concentration of 100 µg/mL, vitamin C produced the strongest effect in promoting the proliferation of BMMSCs from SAMP6 mice, while at the concentration of 1000 µg/ml, growth suppression occurred in the cells.

CONCLUSIONVitamin C can promote the proliferation of BMMSCs from aging mice possibly by increasing the cellular telomerase activity.

Aging ; Animals ; Ascorbic Acid ; chemistry ; Bone Marrow Cells ; cytology ; Cell Proliferation ; Cells, Cultured ; Culture Media ; chemistry ; Hematopoietic Stem Cells ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; cytology ; Mice ; Telomerase ; metabolism