OBJECTIVETo observe the effect of Zhenqing Recipe (ZQR) on non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFL), and the expression of hepatic salt-inducible kinase 1 (SIK1) and sterol-regulatory element binding protein-ic (SREBP-lc) in type 2 diabetes rats.

METHODSA rat model of type 2 diabetes was established by high fat/sucrose diet combined with intraperitoneal injection of small dose streptozotocin (STZ) . Modeled rats were randomly divided into the model group, the ZQR group, and the metformin group, 8 in each group. Eight rats were recruited as a normal control group. ZQR at the daily dose of 12 g crude drugs/kg was administered to rats in the ZQR group by gastrogavage. Metformin suspension at the daily dose of 150 mg/kg was administered to rats in the metformin group by gastrogavage. Equal volume of distilled water was administered to rats in the normal control group and the model group. All medication lasted for 12 weeks. The levels of fasting blood glucose (FBG), free fatty acid (FFA), serum triglyceride (TG), serum total cholesterol (TC), serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were detected. The body weight and wet liver weight were weighed, and the liver weight index calculated. The liver TG content was measured. The pathological changes of liver and the expression of SIK1 were observed by HE staining and immunohistochemistry. The mRNA and protein expression of SIK1 and SREBP-1c were detected using RT-PCR and Western blot.

RESULTSCompared with the normal control group, FBG, FFA, TG, TC, ALT, AST, liver weight index, and liver TG contents significantly increased (P < 0.01); liver steatosis was severe, the mRNA and protein expression of SIK1 obviously decreased (P < 0.01); mRNA and protein expression of SREBP-1c increased (P < 0.01). After drug therapy, compared with the model group, FBG, FFA, TG, TC, ALT, AST, and liver weight index significantly decreased, liver TG contents significantly decreased, the mRNA and protein expression of SIK1 obviously increased, while mRNA and protein expression of SREBP-1c obviously decreased (P < 0.05, P < 0.01) in the ZQR group and the metformin group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01); and the pathological changes were also improved. All the indices were improved more in the ZQR group (all P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONIn this experiment, we found that the expression of SIK1 decreased in NAFL rats with type 2 diabetes. ZQR could alleviate lesion of NAFL type 2 diabetes rats possibly by up-regulating hepatic SIK1 expression at mRNA and protein levels.

Animals ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; complications ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; Disease Models, Animal ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Fatty Liver ; complications ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; Liver ; metabolism ; Male ; Protein-Serine-Threonine Kinases ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Sterol Regulatory Element Binding Protein 1 ; metabolism

Objective To investigate the clinical characteristics and treatment of acute postrenal acute renal dysfunction associated with ceftriaxone.Methods Twenty-five cases of the ceftriaxione-associated acute postrenal renal insufficiency were reviewed.There were 16 males and 9 females,mean age 28years.The serum contents of BUN and Cr were ( 18.6 ± 7.0) mmol/L and (635.5 ± 248.7 ) μmol/L,respectively.All patients were divided into two groups depending on the therapy:11 patients accepted the drug therapy (alkalinization of the urine,antispasmodic,etc) and 14 patients accepted the intraureteral cannula.The clinical characteristics and the treatment effect were compared between the 2 groups.Results The patients of the intraureteral cannula group ( 1.4 ± O.7 d) went to hospital earlier than the drug therapy group (3.0 ± 1.4 d) ( P =0.045 ) after the symptom of oliguria or anuria appeared.There were no significant differences in serum creatinine,urea nitrogen,and the age between the 2 groups ( P ＞ 0.05 ).All the patients were cured after treatment.There were no significant differences in recovery time (2.9 ± 1.1 d and 3.2 ± 1.2 d,P =0.963) and hospitalization time (7.0 ±2.3 d and 5.9 +3.9 d,P =0.568) between the 2 groups.Conclusions The acute renal failure associated with ceftriaxone should have high attention.The prompt medical attention,including the intraureteral eannula and the drug therapy,can both achieve the satisfying curative effect.

Objective To construct the eukaryotic expression vector of pprI gene from Deinococcus radiodurans R1 and investigate its radioresistant effects in eukaryotic cells.Methods A recombinant vector pEGFP-c1-pprI was constructed by DNA recombinant technique.The empty vector pEGFP-c1 and the pEGFP-c1-pprI were transferred into human lung epithelial cells Beas-2B by LipofectamineTM 2000,respectively.Then the infected cells were screened in order to develop a cell line with stable expression of pprI gene.Cell survival rate was tested by clone-forming assay.Cell cycle distribution and apoptosis were detected by a flow cytometry.The fluorescence intensity of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was observed by a fluorescent microscope.γ-H2AX foci in the irradiated cell was detected by immunofluorescence.Results The eukaryotic expression plasmid of pprI prokaryotic gene was constructed and PprI fusion protein was expressed in human lung epithelial cells successfully,and the cell line (2BG) with a stable pprI gene expression was established.After irradiation,the cell survival fraction of 2BG cells was significantly higher than Beas-2B cells so that the value of D0 、Dq and N of the survival curve were increased.Moreover,the fluorescence intensity of ROS and the number of γ-H2AX foci in 2BG cells were also lower than those of B eas-2B cells(F =16.73,19.47,6.94,P ＜ 0.05).Between these two cell lines,the apoptosis rate and cell cycle G2 arrest also had significant difference (F =139.73,237.92,P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions The pprI gene from Deinococcus radiodurans RI can be stably expressed in the eukaryotic cells and it allows the transferred cells to have a radioresistant function.

Aging ; physiology ; Animals ; Female ; Male ; Mitochondria, Heart ; enzymology ; Mitochondrial Membrane Transport Proteins ; physiology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Superoxide Dismutase ; metabolism ; Ventricular Function, Left ; physiology

UNLABELLEDOBJECTIVE To assess the efficacy of concurrent chemoradiation with paclitaxel and platinum and external irradiation, and to compare the effect of extensive regional field irradiation with conventional local field irradiation for locally advanced esophageal cancer.

METHODSFrom Oct. 2000 to Jan. 2006, 89 patients with locally advanced esophageal cancer were registered in this study. All patients were inoperable or refused to undergo operation. Patients were divided into two groups: extensive regional field group (51 patients) and conventional field group (38 patients). Patients received radiotherapy at a total dose of 60 Gy in 30 fractions within 7 weeks,and concurrent paclitaxel 125 mg/m2 on D1, cisplatin 20 mg/m2 on D1-D3, or oxaliplatin 130 mg/m2 on D2 in the fist and fourth week of external radiation.

RESULTSOf these patients, 87.6% completed the treatment regimen with a response rate of 75.5% and 66.7% in the extensive regional field group and conventional field group, respectively. Grade 3 or severe toxicities of leucopenia (33.3% vs. 23.7%), thrombocytopenia (76.0% vs. 2.6%), and esophagitis (17.7% vs. 26.3%) were observed in extensive regional field group and conventional field group, respectively. Major late toxic effect was lung fibrosis. There were no statistically significant differences in the incidence of the toxicity profile between two groups. The overall 3-year survival rates was 32.8%, and the overall 3-year recurrence and metastasis-free survival rates was 34.5%. The overall 3-year locoregional control rate was 44.0%. No significant difference was found between two groups in the 3-year survival (38.2% % vs. 28.1%, P = 0.59). For the patients with stage II and stage III cancers who completed the planned treatment, large regional field radiotherapy significantly improved the 3-year survival (57.3% vs. 22.2% , P = 0.03) or 3-year recurrent and metastasis-free survival (55.5% vs. 23.0%, P = 0.03) or 3-year locoregional control (65.9% vs. 30.2%, P = 0.02) than conventional field radiotherapy.

CONCLUSIONhistorical results, the combination of paclitaxel/platinum and radiation in this study can improve the survival for locally advanced esophageal, and the side effect is well tolerated. Compared with the conventional field group, concurrent chemoradiotherapy with the large regional field can significantly improve 3-year survival and locoregional control for stage II or stage III esophageal cancer.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; drug therapy ; pathology ; radiotherapy ; Cisplatin ; administration & dosage ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Esophageal Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; pathology ; radiotherapy ; Esophagitis ; chemically induced ; etiology ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Leukopenia ; chemically induced ; etiology ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Neoplasm Staging ; Organoplatinum Compounds ; administration & dosage ; Paclitaxel ; administration & dosage ; Particle Accelerators ; Radiotherapy Dosage ; Radiotherapy, High-Energy ; adverse effects ; methods ; Remission Induction ; Survival Rate ; Thrombocytopenia ; chemically induced ; etiology

Objective To evaluate the quality of the portal images acquired by computed radiography(CR)system and conventional screen-film system,respectively.Methods imaging plates (IP)and X-ray films of a home-devised lead phantom with a leakage of 6.45% were acquired,and modulation transfer function(MTF)curves of the both images were measured using edge method.Portal images of 40 nasopharyngeal cancer patients were acquired by IP and screen-film system respectively.Two doctors with similar experience evaluated the damage degree of petrosa] bone,the receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve of CR images and general images were drawn according to two doctors evaluation results.Results The identification frequency of CR system and screen-film system were 1.159 and 0.806 Lp/mm respectively.For doctor one,the area under ROC curve of CR images and general images were 0.802 and 0.742 respectively.For doctor two,the area under ROC curve of CR images and general images were 0.751 and 0.600 respectively.The MTF curve and ROC curve of CR are both better than those of screen-film system.Conclusion The image quality of CR portal imaging is much better than that of screen-film system.The utility of CR in linear accelerator for portal imaging is promising in clinic.

OBJECTIVETo study the expression and localization of co-stimulators in the mucosa of patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), and to explore its role in the pathogenesis of UC.

METHODSExpression of co-stimulators CD86 and inducible co-stimulator (ICOS) was studied by immunohistochemistry on paraffin-embedded mucosal tissue from patients with active UC (64 cases), inactive UC (51 cases) and normal controls (20 cases). Immunostaining for CD28 was also carried out on frozen fresh mucosal tissue sampled from patients with active UC (7 cases), inactive UC (2 cases) and normal controls (5 cases). In addition, expression of CD4, CD8 and CD20 were also examined.

RESULTSIn active UC, increased expression of CD86 was not only observed in lamina propria mononuclear cells but also in the intestinal epithelial cells, as compared with inactive UC and the normal controls (P < 0.01). Increased ICOS expression in lamina propria mononuclear cells was detected in active UC, as compared with inactive UC and the normal controls (P < 0.01). Increased ICOS expression in intestinal epithelial cells was also seen in active UC, as compared with that of inactive UC (P < 0.01). The expression of CD86 was higher in inactive UC than in the normal controls (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). However, the expression of ICOS showed no statistically significant difference between inactive UC and normal controls. Increased expression of CD28 in active UC, compared with that in inactive UC and normal controls, was also noticed (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). The number of CD4 or CD8-positive intraepithelial lymphocytes and lymphocytes infiltrating in the lamina propria and small vessel walls was much higher in active UC than in inactive UC and normal controls (P < 0.01). Moreover, the ratio of CD4/CD8 was highest in active UC (P < 0.01). The number of CD20-positive B lymphocytes in lamina propria was also higher in active UC than in inactive UC and normal controls (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONSIn active UC, CD86 and ICOS were over-expressed in the intestinal epithelial cells and lamina propria mononuclear cells. The phenomenon suggests that abnormal expression of co-stimulators may contribute to the deregulation of acquired immune responses in UC.

Adult ; Aged ; Antigens, Differentiation, T-Lymphocyte ; metabolism ; B7-2 Antigen ; metabolism ; CD28 Antigens ; metabolism ; CD4-CD8 Ratio ; Case-Control Studies ; Colitis, Ulcerative ; metabolism ; pathology ; Epithelial Cells ; metabolism ; pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Inducible T-Cell Co-Stimulator Protein ; Intestinal Mucosa ; metabolism ; pathology ; Leukocytes, Mononuclear ; metabolism ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mucous Membrane ; metabolism ; pathology ; Young Adult

BACKGROUND: Existing evidence has shown that that the effect of NGF/TrkA signaling pathway on proliferation and differentiation of tumor cells is closely related to PI3 K/AKT signaling pathway in human benign and malignant tumors. However, there is little information on the NGF/TrkA signaling pathway in pathogenesis of intraspinal schwannomas. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of nerve growth factor-beta on the proliferation of interspinal schwannoma cells and to explore on the pathogenesis of NGF/TrkA signaling pathway in interspinal schwannoma. METHODS: Tumor samples were collected and digested to obtain high purity tumor cells as experimental cells. Then the cells were given different concentrations of nerve growth factor-beta (15, 30, 60, 120 and 240 μg/L), K252 a (100, 200, 300, 400, 500 and 600 nmol/L), LY294002 (10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 μmol/L), nerve growth factor-beta (120 μg/L) plus K252 a (TrkA inhibitor, 400 nmol/L), and nerve growth factor-beta (120 μg/L) plus LY294002 (P13 K inhibitor, 50 μmol/L), respectively, for a certain time. The cell proliferation was detected by MTT assay. TrkA, AKT, p-AKT (Ther308), p-GSK-3 beta protein expression was detected by western blot assay. TrkA and AKT mRNA expression was detected by RT-PCR. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) Compared with the control group, the absorbance value of cells in the nerve growth factor-beta groups was increased in a concentration-dependent manner (P ＜ 0.05), and increased obviously at the concentration of 120 μg/L (P ＜ 0.001). The absorbance value of cells in the K252 a and LY294002 groups was decreased continuously (P ＜ 0.05), and decreased obviously at the concentration of 400 nmol/L and 50 μmol/L, respectively (P＜ 0.001). (2) The expression levels of TrkA, p-AKT (Ther308), and p-GSK-3 beta protein were upregulated in the nerve growth factor-beta group (P ＜ 0.05), and the expression level of TrkA mRNA was upregulated (P ＜ 0.05). (3) In the nerve growth factor-beta (120 μg/L) plus K252 a (400 nmol/L) group, the absorbance value of cells decreased (P ＜ 0.001). The expression levels of TrkA, p-AKT (Ther308), and p-GSK-3 beta protein downregulated (P ＜ 0.05), and the expression level of TrkA mRNA downregulated (P ＜ 0.05). (4) In the nerve growth factor-beta (120 μg/L) plus LY294002 (50 μmol/L) group, the absorbance value of cells decreased (P ＜ 0.01), and the expression levels of p-AKT (Ther308), and p-GSK-3 beta protein downregulated (P ＜ 0.05). (5) There was no significant change in AKT protein and mRNA in each group (P＞ 0.05). (6) These results suggest that nerve growth factor-beta can promote interspinal schwannoma cell proliferation, which may be related to the expression of TrkA, p-AKT (Ther308) and p-GSK-3 beta protein in NGF/TrkA signaling pathway.

0.05).Conclusions There is no obvious effect of danazol alginate microspheres used for uterine arterial embolization on ovarian function in rabblits.After UAE some animals are able to achieve pregnancies,while harmful effects are observed on short term pregnant rate.