AAV-ITR single strand DNA mini vector (AAV-ITR ssDNA mini vector) is a novel gene expression vector based on AAV-ITR. We have shown efficient gene expression of AAV-ITR ssDNA mini vector in HEK 293T. Here, we studied the efficacy of gene expression of AAV-ITR ssDNA mini vector in vivo. We injected the skeletal muscle of ICR mice separately with equal molars of AAV-ITR ssDNA mini vector, ITR mutated AAV-ITR single strand DNA mini vector (AAV-ITRmm ssDNA mutant vector), AAV-ITR dsDNA and pUC57-minivector-GFP, combined with TurboFect. Florescence microscope analysis of skeletal muscle section shows that AAV-ITR ssDNA mini vector had higher expression efficiency and longer expression period. We extracted DNA from the muscle three months after injection and quantified three vectors by Real-time PCR. RT-PCR analysis shows that there were highest copy numbers of AAV-ITR ssDNA mini vector existing in muscle. Stable existing of AAV- TR ssDNA mini vector in muscle could be the molecular basis of long term gene expression of the vector. The results suggest that AAV-ITR ssDNA mini vector might be a promising vector for gene therapy.
Animals ; DNA, Single-Stranded ; genetics ; Dependovirus ; genetics ; Gene Expression ; Genetic Therapy ; Genetic Vectors ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred ICR ; Muscle, Skeletal ; metabolism ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction

OBJECTIVETo compare the clinical efficacy differences between acupoint catgut embedding and Kuntai capsule for perimenopausal syndrome, so as to provide an effective treatment method for perimenopausal syndrome.

METHODSThirty-three cases in the embedding group were treated with acupoint catgut embedding at back-shu points and front-mu points of liver, spleen and kidney combined with syndrome differentiation and disease differentiation, ten days per times; the Kuntai group was treated with oral administration of Kuntai capsule, 4 capsules each time, three times per day. The Kupperman index (KI) was observed in the two groups before treatment after 10 days, 30 days and 60 days of treatment, respectively; the efficacy was evaluated according to the ratio of KI.

RESULTSAfter the treatment, as treatment proceeded, the score of KI and ratio of KI were gradually reduced in two groups; the score of KI and ratio of KI in the embedding group after 10 days of treatment was lower than those in the Kuntai group (both P<0.05); after 10 days of treatment, the total effective rate was 36.4% (12/33) in the embedding group, which was superior to 3.0% (1/33) in the Kuntai group (P<0.05); however, after 30 days and 60 days of treatment, the differences of each index between two groups were not statistically significant (all P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONBoth the acupoint catgut embedding and Kuntai capsule could reduce the score of KI and improve clinical symptoms, and the acupoint catgut embedding has certain advantage on the early stage of treatment.

Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; instrumentation ; Adult ; Catgut ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Perimenopause ; physiology ; Treatment Outcome

Objective To investigation the pathological characteristics of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma to provide reference criteria for delineating the target area in radiotherapy.Methods Fifty-two patients from the Fourth Hospital of HeBei Medical University underwent resection whom all had been proved to have esophageal squamous cell carcinoma before operation.Chest CT was scanned and transmitted to the 3- dimensional conformal planning system for radiotherapy by VRX-16 scanner.The lesion of esophageal carcinoma was delineated in the 3-dimensional rebuild CT image and the lesion volume was computed by digital rebuild program.Every surgically resected specimen was made into pathologic giant section.The actual size of the specimen was obtained by calculating the size under the microscope with the shrinkage ratio.Multicentric carcinomatous lesion,severe dysplasia and direct intramural infiltration were observed in the giant section with a microscope and the order of such pathological characteristics were analysed statistically.Results 1.The tumor length by different method of preparation of operated specimens differed obviously.The longest was shown by CT. 2.Multicentric carcinomatous lesion was found in 15(29%)cases out of 52 patients.Proximal to the tumor,the mean distance between the multicentric carcinomatous lesion and the main lesion plus the length of the multicentric carcinomatous lesion was 3.02?1.45cm.Distal to the tumor,it was 2.60?2.44 cm.Severe dysplasia was found in 28 patients.Proximally,the mean distance between the severe dysplasia and the main lesion plus the length of the severe dysplasia was 2.45?1.30 cm.Distal to the tumor,it was 3.24?2.19 cm.Direct intramural infiltration was found in 41 patients,of which the mean length being 2.80?1.52 cm proximally and 2.02?1.51 cm distally. 3.Tumor thrombus was found in 6 patients and lymphoduct infiltration in 36 patients.Direct intramural infiltration was found at higher incidence in specimens complicated with lymphoduct infiltration(86%)and those complicated with tumor thrombus(91%).There were no apparent factors affecting severe dysplasia.The proximal distance to direct intra- mural infiltration was much longer than distally.Conclusions Multicentric carcinomatous lesion,severe dysplasia and direct intramural infiltration may be observed in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.Multicentric carcinomatous lesion and direct intramural infiltration are obviously correlated with lymphoduct infiltration.To cover 95% of the microscopic extension,a margin of 5.0 cm is needed proximal to the base of gross tumor volume,and 7.5 cm distal to it.To cover 90% of the microscopic extension,a margin of 4.5 cm is needed proximally,and 5.0 cm distally.

Objective:To retrospectively analyze the routine clinical laboratory parameters for hepatocellular carcinoma,in an attempt to search for parameters for diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).Methods:The pre-operation clinical labo- ratory data,such as tumor makers,and serological biochemical indices,hepatitis B virus(HBV)infection markers,and HBV DNA titers,were collected from 828 patients who were pathologically diagnosed as having HCC;then the correlation between these data with tumor size and the pathological grades of HCC was analyzed.Results:It was found that 97.9% of the 828 pa- tients were infected with HBV and 70.9% of them were accompanied by liver fibrosis.We also found that the tumor size was correlated with albumin(ALB),globulin(GLB),A/G,aspartate aminotransferase(AST),ratio of aspartate to alanine amin- otransferase(AST/ALT),gamma-glutamyl transferase(GGT),alkaline phosphatase(ALP),alpha-L-fucosidase(AFU),al- pha-fetoprotein(AFP)and tumor grades;meanwhile,the pathological grades of tumor was correlated to prealbumin(PALB), GGT and tumor size(all P

Central urotensin II (UII) may participate in the regulation of cardiovascular functions by stimulating sympathy pathway. However, the central mechanism remained unknown. Recent studies have shown that brain reactive oxygen species (ROS) mediate the sympatho-excitatory effects. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that ROS mediate central cardiovascular effects of UII. Experiments were conducted in Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Immunocytochemistry, intracerebroventricular (icv) infusion and lucigenin-enhanced chemiluminescence assay were employed to detect UII receptor expression and ROS level, respectively. The following results were obtained: (1) Expressions of UII receptors of rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) and nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS) were increased in SHR rats compared with WKY rats (P < 0.05). (2) UII (icv) significantly increased mean arterial pressure (MAP) (P < 0.05), and the effect of UII was significantly more pronounced in SHR rats than that in WKY rats (P < 0.05); (3) Tempol (a superoxide dismutase mimic) or Urantide (an antagonist of UII receptor) pretreatments eliminated the pressor effect of UII (P < 0.05) in SHR rats; (4) Brain superoxide level was increased in UII-treated SHR rats compared with that in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-treated SHR rats (P < 0.05). These results indicate that ROS mediate central cardiovascular effects of UII in SHR rats and provide evidence for a novel relationship between UII and ROS.
Animals ; Blood Pressure ; drug effects ; Brain ; metabolism ; Hypertension ; physiopathology ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Inbred SHR ; Rats, Inbred WKY ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; metabolism ; Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled ; metabolism ; Superoxide Dismutase ; metabolism ; Urotensins ; pharmacology

Axons ; chemistry ; Myelin Sheath ; chemistry ; Staining and Labeling ; methods

A phytochemical investigation on the aerial parts of a Tibetan medicine Meconopsis horridula, by solvent extraction, repeated chromatographies on silica gel, Sephadex LH-20, and preparative TLC techniques, led to the isolation of 9 compounds. By spectroscopic analysis and comparison of its 1H and 13C-NMR data with those in literatures, their structures were identified as oleracein E(1), N-( trans-p-coumaroyl) tyramine (2), chrysoeriol (3), apigenin (4), hydnocarpin (5), p-coumaric acid glucosyl ester (6), stigmast-5-ene-3beta-ylformate (7), 3beta-hydroxy-7alpha-ethoxy-24beta-ethylcholest-5-ene (8), and beta-sitosterol (9), respectively, among which compounds 6-8 were isolated from the genus for the first time,and 1,3 were isolated from the species for the first time. A MTT method was applied to evaluate the cytotoxic activity of compounds 14 against the human hepatocellular liver carcinoma cell line (HepG2), and compound 1 showed significant cytotoxicity against HepG2,with its inhibitory rate of 52.2% at 10 micromol x L(-1).
Medicine, Tibetan Traditional ; Molecular Structure ; Papaveraceae ; chemistry ; Plant Extracts ; chemistry ; Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization

OBJECTIVETo evaluate a new technique by using rhomboid de-epithelialized subcutaneous flaps for correction of congenital nipple depression.

METHODSTwo de-epithelialized subcutaneous flaps were formed in the areola and placed into the base of the nipple after the nipple was elevated by releasing the fibrous tissue between depressed nipple and its base. The base was then tightened to reinforce the protrusion of the nipple and prevent the withdrawal of the nipple.

RESULTSNine patients with 17 nipples were successfully treated with above technique between 1993 and 2001. Six patients were followed up for a period from 6 to 18 months. The results were satisfactory regarding to the shape and projection of the nipple. There was no visible scar and decreasing sensation of the nipple. One woman had children after the operation and fed well.

CONCLUSIONThe above mentioned technique may be an effective surgical procedure for correction of nipple depression with the advantages of preserving the lactiferous ducts, no visible scar and obtaining the sufficient protrusion and size of the nipple.

Breast Feeding ; Cicatrix ; Female ; Humans ; Nipples ; abnormalities ; surgery ; Surgical Flaps ; transplantation

OBJECTIVETo investigate the shoulder function after arthroscopic reduction and internal fixation in patients with bony Bankart lesion.

METHODSBetween May 2004 and May 2008, 45 patients with bony Bankart lesion who were treated with all arthroscopic reduction and internal fixation with metal anchors were included in this study. Among them 40 patients were male and 5 patients were female. The average age at the surgery was 27.6 years (16.5 - 50.1 years). The average duration of follow-up was 29.7 months (24.8 - 49.0 months). A history of recurrent dislocation of affected shoulder was found in all patients. Metal anchors were used to fix the bony Bankart lesion during the surgery. Hill-Sachs remplissage technique was used to treat the Engaging Hill-Sachs lesion. The preoperative American Shoulder and Elbow Society (ASES) score, Constant-Murley score, Rowe score and the VAS score for instability were 84 ± 14, 95.1 ± 4.6, 39.4 ± 2.9 and 5 ± 3 respectively.

RESULTSNo significant change was found regarding active forward elevation, external rotation and internal rotation after the surgery. The ASES score, Constant-Murley score, Rowe score and the VAS score of stability were 95 ± 7, 98.3 ± 2.2, 84.5 ± 22.0 and 1 ± 2, improved significantly higher after the surgery (P < 0.01). One subluxation and 3 redislocation were happened during follow-up. The overall failure rate was 8.9% (4/45).

CONCLUSIONSAll arthroscopic reduction and fixation of bony Bankart lesion can achieve a good result.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Arthroscopy ; Female ; Humans ; Joint Instability ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Shoulder Joint ; injuries ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

Objective To explore the path and effect of family cohesion, family adaptability and health remind on health behavior improvement of chronic disease patients, so as to provide evidences for the family-centered chronic disease management. Methods Data of all 1 134 patients with chronic diseases was selected from the national sample survey database. t-test was used to compare family cohesion, family adaptability, health remind and health behavior improvement between different groups, and Pearson correlation was used to analyze the correlation between variables. In the process of path analysis, parameters were estimated by maximum likelihood. Results Among the 1 134 chronic diseases patients, male accounted for 41.4%, and female accounted for 58.6%. The average age of participants was (53.6±10.0) years old. The score of health behavior improvement was (1.89±1.20). Path analysis showed that family cohesion had indirect effects on behavior improvement (effect size=0.072); family adaptability had both direct and indirect effects on behavior improvement (effect size=0.156); Health remind had direct effect on behavior improvement (effect size=0.357). Conclusions The high-level family cohesion and adaptability can improve patients’ health behavior by improving the health remind. It is suggested that family-centered health management services for chronic disease patients should emphasize the participation of family members as well as the improvement of family function.