OBJECTIVETo study the inhibition of berberine (BBR) against ECV-304 apoptosis induced by Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus).

METHODSECV-304 cells were pre-treated with 128 microg/mL BBR for 2 h and then S. aureus was added (1:100). The viability of cells was detected by MTT (3-4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay. The morphological changes were observed by Hoechst 33258 staining. The protection of BBR for infected cells was detected by DNA Ladder.

RESULTSECV-304 cells' viability were not obviously affected by berberine. But S. aureus induced ECV-304 cells' viability could be significantly inhibited by pre-treatment of BBR (P < 0.05). Besides S. aureus-induced ECV-304 apoptosis could be reduced, with significantly lessened apoptotic body and unobvious DNA degradation.

CONCLUSIONBBR could significantly inhibit S. aureus induced ECV-304 apoptosis.

Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Berberine ; pharmacology ; Cell Line ; Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells ; drug effects ; microbiology ; pathology ; Humans ; Staphylococcus aureus

BACKGROUND:Percutaneous vertebroplasty is a minimal y invasive treatment for spinal metastasis tumor, but the mechanism of the injected polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) bone cement in the treatment of tumor is not ful y understood. OBJECTIVE:To explore the cytotoxicity of PMMA bone cement and its monomers on tumor cel s. METHODS:PMMA extracts in the wire drawing and curing periods and different mass concentrations of monomer dilutions were co-cultured with human lung cancer cel s spc-A1. The cel morphology was observed using inverted microscope, the absorbance (A) values were detected by cel counting kit-8 assay, the relative growth rate was calculated, and the toxicity of PMAA bone cement and its monomers was evaluated at 1 and 3 days of culture, respectively. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:At 1 day of culture, the absorbance values in the 1 and 10 g/L groups were significantly lower than that in the negative control group (P<0.01). The absorbance values in the 1 g/L, 10 g/L, 100 mg/L and wire drawing extract groups were significantly lower than those in the negative control group at 3 days of culture (P<0.05). The relative growth rate in the 1 and 10 g/L groups was 26%-29%, and the level of toxicity was grade 4 after 1-day culture;at 3 days, the relative growth rate was decreased to 12%-16%, and the level of toxicity was grades 4-5. After 3-day culture, the level of toxicity reached to grade 2 in the 100 mg/L and wire drawing extract groups. These results indicate that PMMA bone cement in wiredrawing period and its monomers exert toxic effects on tumor cels.

Objective:There are limited data describing the clinical characteristics and prognosis of culture negative pyogenic spondylitis.The aim of this study was to investigate the treatment,prognosis and clinical characteristics of culture negative pyogenic spondylitis.Methods: A retrospective study reviewed 74 patients who were diagnosed with spondylitis in Peking University First Hospital from January 2010 to December 2015.A total of 27 patients suffered from pyogenic spondylitis.According to the pa-thogenic culture results,the patients were divided into two groups: culture negative group and culture positive group.The clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes between the two groups were compared.Results: The elder were more vulnerable to pyogenic spondylitis,and of the 27 patients,12 patients were female and 15 male.All patients had no history of administration of antibiotics prior to obtaining culture samples.A causative germ was identified in 14/27 patients (51.9％) with Staphylococcus aureus being the most common pathogen.There was no significant difference between the two groups in the patient's age,gender,visual analogue score (VAS),predisposing factor,clinical symptom,sign and spinal segment (P>0.05).Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) (P=0.056) and C-reactive protein (CRP) (P=0.040) of culture negative group were lower in contrast to culture positive group.The incidence of vertebral abscess in culture negative group was higher than in culture positive group (P=0.046).After treatment,ESR dropped almost equally in both groups,and CRP dropped faster in the culture positive group (P=0.192).At last,there was no significant difference between the two groups in hospital stay,pain relief,open debridement operation rate,and recurrence rate of infection.Conclusion: ESR and CRP of the culture negative patient were lower than those of the culture positive patient,and the incidence rate of paravertebral abscess was higher than that of the culture positive patient.After administration of antibiotics,there was no significant difference between the two groups in duration of antibiotics,open debridement operation rate and recurrence rate of infection.So,culture negative may not necessarily be a negative prognostic factor for pyogenic spondylitis.However,we should watch out for the drug resistant bacteria or double infection,due to the long term use of wide-spectrum antibiotic in culture negative patients.

Atrial Fibrillation ; therapy ; Catheter Ablation ; adverse effects ; Female ; Humans ; Pulmonary Veins ; Venous Thrombosis ; etiology

Objective To determine the therapeutic effect of recombined rat insulin-like growth factory 1 gene and transforming growth factor beta-1(TGF-?_1)gene on anterior cruciate ligament transection(ACLT)- induced osteoarthritis-like changes in NZW rabbit knee joints.Methods Eighteen NZW rabbits were divided into 3 groups randomly after osteoanhritis was established by ACLT and another six rabbits were used as normal control group(group 1).Chondrocytes which had been transfected with IGF-1 gene,co-transfected with TGF-?_1 and IGF-1 gene(group 3,4)were injected into the rabbits knee joints.Experimental control group(group 2)only had ACLT bul was not transfected.After 4,8 weeks,rabbits were sacrificed and their joints were evaluated by morphological grades,histological examination,in situ hybridization examination,immunohistochemistry exami- nation,and transmission electron microscopy examination(TEM).Results The morphological grades showed that the normal control group had a very significant difference with the experimental control group(P

An actinomycetes which produced soluble blue pigment was isolated from the soil sample in Nanjing,China.Based on its cell chemical characteristics and 16S rDNA sequence we found that its cell wall contained L-diaminopimelic acid and glycine,the whole cell hydrolysates contained glucose and ribose,whole cell contained fatty acid from C14 to C17 with 12-methyltetradecanoic(anteiso-15) and 14-methylpentadentadecanoic acid(iso-16) as the major components.The results shown that,it belongs to the genus Streptomyces.Phylogenetic tree of 16S rDNA sequences indicated that all strains were clustered into 9 branches.All strains that could produce blue pigment were clustered into 2 branches,they were S.coelicolor、S.cyaneus.The isolate closely related to Streptomyces indigocolor with a similarity of 99.4% fell into S.cyaneus branch.

Objective To analyze the status and trends for the prevalence，morbidity，mortality， and DALY of tuberculosis ( TB) in China from 1990 to 2017，so as to provide scientific basis for TB pre- vention and control． Methods From 1990 to 2017 in China，the United States，India，Japan，and the global，the TB ( standardized) prevalence，( standardized) morbidity，( standardized) mortality，and ( standardized) DALY rates were obtained from Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation ( IHME) web- site，and comparative analysis of changes in these indicators with years were carried out． Ｒesults In 2017， the prevalence，morbidity，mortality，and DALY rate of TB in China were higher in the high-age group than in the low-age group． The prevalence，morbidity，mortality，and DALY rates were all higher for males than females． The prevalence was 29 641. 59/100 000 and 28 803. 26/100 000 for male and female，respectively． The male and female mortality rates were 72. 23/100 000 and 44. 85/100 000． The male and female mortali- ty rates were 3. 85/100 000 and 1. 67/100 000，and the DALY rate of male and female were 156. 95/100 000 and 84. 73/100 000． From 1990 to 2017，the prevalence of TB decreased from 32 178. 39/100 000 in 1990 to 29 231. 80/100 000 in 2017，the morbidity rate of TB decreased from 141. 83/100 000 in 1990 to 58. 83/100 000 in 2017，the mortality rate of TB decreased from 13. 82/100 000 in1990 to 2. 78/100 000 in 2017，and the DALY rate of TB decreased from 582. 87/100 000 in 1990 to 121. 60/100 000 in 2017． Conclusions The burden of TB in China declined markedly from 1990 to 2017． Although some progress has been made in the prevention and treatment of TB in China，but there is still a certain gap compared with de- veloped countries． It is still necessary to further reduce the morbidity rate and mortality rate of TB．

Objective To investigate the effect of RNA interference(RNAi) on inhibiting respiratory syncytial virus(RSV) replication through comparing the anti-RSV activities between pshRNA7816 and ribavirin in cell culture system.Methods The recombinated plasmid pshRNA7816 and ribavirin was added to HEp-2 cells.Methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium(MTT) assay was used to detect cytotoxicity of pshRNA7816 and ribavirin on normal HEp-2 cells and protective effects of them on RSV infected HEp-2 cells.The effects of pshRNA7816 and ribavirin on change of cytopathogenic effect(CPE) of HEp-2 cells induced by RSV infection were observed through microscopically.Results pshRNA7816 had not significant toxicity on the growth of HEp-2 cells,but the ribavirin had significant toxicity when the concentration above 1.0 mmol/L.The pshRNA7816 and ribavirin could alleviate the CPE of HEp-2 cells induced by RSV infection,but the pshRNA7816 showed a more potent inhibition than ribavirin.The inhibition rates of pshRNA7816 were significantly higher than the maximum inhibition rate of ribavirin on RSV infection(P

Objective To study the role of inflammation in white matter damage of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) through observing the pathology changes of tissues after white matter damage and detecting the levels of inflammation-related indicators.Methods Eighteen 40-week-old male SHRs were chosen as experimental group,and seven male Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats were used as control group.The animal brain tissues were taken for hematoxylin-eosin staining (HE staining) and immunohistochemical staining to observe the pathological changes,and the levels of myelin basic protein (MBP),neurofilament (NF) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP).Real-time PCR was employed to detect toll-like receptor 4 (TLR-4),monocyte chemotactic protein 1 (MCP-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) expression levels in the white matter tissues.Results The white matter of 40-week-old SHRs was apparently injured.HE staining displayed sponge-like changes in the white matter and immunohistochemical staining showed astrocyte activation,reduced number of axonal and demyelination in the white matter.As compared with those in the WKY rats,TLR-4,MCP-1 and VCAM-1 mRNA expressions in SHR white matter were significantly increased (P＜0.05); and TLR-4,MCP-1 and VCAM-1 expression levels in SHRs were positively related to the degree of white matter damage.Conclusion The white matter damage in 40-week-old SHRs is similar to that of LA;inflammation is involved in the pathophysiological process of white matter damage,being one of induced factors of white matter injury.

Objective To investigate and compare the different effects of soluble adult wornl antigen(SWA)and soluble egg antigen(SEA)of Schistosoma japonicum on the apoptosis and cell-cycle of routine CD4~+T cells.Methods Purified CD4~+T ceUs from normal C57BL/6 mice were cultured with CFSE labeled antigen presenting clls in the presence of different stimuli for 36 h.Flow cytometry(FCM)was used to detect the apoptosis of CD4~+T cells by fluorescence conjugated caspase-3 antibodie staining.The flow cytometry was used to analyze the cell-cycle of CD4~+T cells cultured as described above for 96 h by propidium iodide staining.Results Compared with the apoptosis percentage of CD4~+T cells[(1.24±0.29)%]in the SEA stimulated group,that in the SWA stimulated group[(1.52±0.38)%]did not show statistically significant difference(P>0.05).Compared with the cell percentages in G1 phase[(78.91±2.98)%],S phase[(7.39±0.85)%]and G2/M phase[(10.69±1.05)%] in the SWA stimulated group,that of the G1 phase[(59.42±1.32)%]was significantly lower,but those in the S phase[(21.07±O.88)%] and G2/M phase[(18.88±1.21)%]were significantly increased in the SEA stimulated group(P<0.01).Conclusions There is no statistically significant difference between the apoptosis levels of CD4~+T ceHs stimulated by SWA and SEA.However,SEA significantly promotes the progression of the cell-cycle of CD4~+T cells compared with SWA.