Objective To explore the clinical significance of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1(MCP-1)in children with Henoch-Schonlein purpura nephritis(HSPN).At the same time compare the association between serum and urine MCP-1,to investigate the impact of the both on them in children with HSPN.Methods Serum and urine MCP-1 were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay in 50 children with Henoch-Schonlein purpura(HSP)(25 cases of them patients with renal injures),and 25 healthy children,the changes of serum and urine MCP-1 were compared;at the same time serum urea nitrogen,creatinine,urinary albumin,urine N-acetyl-D-glucosaminidase(NAG),urine ?2-MG,24 hours urinary levels of protein were investigated in children with HSPN by analyzing the correlation between these indicators and serum and urine MCP-1;urine MCP-1 in HSPN group were measured in recovery period,and were compared with urine MCP-1 in HSP group and HSPN group in acute period.Results 1.The expressions of urine MCP-1 was significantly higher in HSPN group than those in HSP group and healthy controls(P0.05).2.Urine MCP-1 levels were associated with proteinuria in children with HSPN,but serum MCP-1 levels had nothing to do with HSPN.3.There was a close correlation between urine MCP-1 expression and urinary albumin,urine NAG,urine ?2-MG and 24 hours urinary levels of protein,but the expression of urine MCP-1 levels were not correlated with the serum urea nitrogen and creatinine.4.There was statistical significance in urine MCP-1 in acute and recovery periods with HSPN group(P

Aim To investigate the protective effect of curcumin nanoparticles ( Cur-NPs) against high-fat-in-duced cardiomyocyte injury. Methods H9c2 cardio-myocytes were stimulated with palmitic acid ( PA) to establish a rat model of lipotoxicity injury. The Cur-NPs were pretreated. MTT assay was used to detect cell proliferation. The reactive oxygen species ( ROS) kit was used to detect intracellular reactive oxygen spe-cies and the cells were detected with the TUNEL kit. Apoptosis was detected by Western blot, and the ex-pression levesl of endoplasmic reticulum stress and ap-optotic signaling pathway related proteins were deter-mined. Results High fat might cause the decrease of cell proliferation rate. The level of ROS obviously in-creased, and the pathological changes of cell morphol-ogy were evident. Apoptosis was obviously aggravated. The expression of GRP78, CHOP and caspase-3 appar-ently increased, and the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio elevated, which could all be reversed by Cur-NPs. Conclusions Cur-NPs significantly reduces the production of ROS induced by hyperlipidemia and reduces the expression of endoplasmic reticulum stress and apoptosis-related proteins in cardiomyocytes, thereby inhibiting the dam-age of H9c2 cardiomyocytes induced by high fat.

To investigate the effect and possible mechanism of echinacoside-containing serum on the osteogenic differentiation in rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells. Rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells were cultivated by the whole bone marrow adherence method. The 3rd generation of cells were divided into 3 groups: the blank control group, the classic osteogenic-induced group and the 10% echinacoside-containing serum group. The expression of alkaline phosphatase and osteocalcin were detected by ELISA. The ex- pression of ZHX, protein was detected by Western blot technique. RT-PCR technique was used to detect the expression of ZHX₃mRNA. According to the result, the expressions of the alkaline phosphatase and osteocalcin in the classic osteogenic-induced group and the 10% echinacoside-containing serum group were significantly higher than that of the blank control group (P <0. 01). And expressions of the alkaline phosphatase activity and osteocalcin in the 10% echinacoside-containing serum group were significantly higher than that in the classic osteogenic-induced group (P < 0.01). Meanwhile, the classic osteogenic-induced group and the 10% echinacoside-containing serum group showed obviously higher ZHX₃ protain and mRNA expression than that of the black control group, with significant differences (P < 0.01); the 10% echinacoside-containing serum group showed obviously higher ZHX₃ protain and mRNA expression than that of the classic osteogenic-induced group, with a significant difference (P < 0.01). In conclusion, 10% echinacoside-containing serum can promote the differentiation of the bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells cultured in vitro. Its mechanism may be correlated with the increase in the ZHX₃expression.
Animals ; Cell Differentiation ; drug effects ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Female ; Glycosides ; blood ; pharmacology ; Homeodomain Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Male ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; cytology ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Osteogenesis ; drug effects ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Serum ; chemistry ; Transcription Factors ; genetics ; metabolism

Objective To investigate the clinical significance of myasthenia gravis (MG) associated autoantibodies.Methods Titin,ryanodine receptor (RyR)and acetylcholine receptor (AChR) antibodies were examined in the sera of 74 myasthenia gravies patients by ELISA.Results AChR,Titin, RyR antibodies were detected in 77.0% (57/74),39.2% (29/74) and 32.4% (24/74) of the MG patients,respectively.For thymoma MG,AChR,Titin and RyR antibodies were detected in 76.2% (16/21),71.4% (15/21) and 52.4% (11/21) respectively.For late onset MG,Titin and RyR antibodies were detected in 77.3% (17/22) and 50.0% (11/22) respectively.With respect to the modified Osserman classification,the positve rate for Titin and RyR antibodies is much higher in more severe patients (X~2= 16.094,P=0.001;X~2=11.226,P=0.011).Titin antibodies was significantly related with RyR antibodies (r=0.380,P=0.001).Conclusions Titin and RyR antibodies show high sensitivity for thymoma MG,and the combination of serological and radiological testing can increase both sensitivity and specificity in diagnosis of thymoma MG.The levels of the two antibodies may serve as important prognosis markers in MG.The induction of the immune response against Titin and RyR and the possible pathogenic effects of the two antibodies will be further studied.

Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) is one of the major cardiovascular complications of diabetes mellitus. Currently, there is a lack of effective treatment for DCM,and its pathophys-iology is quite complex. Mitochondria are the main source of car-diomyocyte energy and play an important role in regulating ener-gy metabolism. Mitochondria are swollen and fragmented in dia-betic patients, leading to impaired mitochondrial function, sug-gesting that mitochondrial damage and dysfunction may play an important role in the pathogenesis of DCM. In this paper, the relationship between mitochondrial damage and the pathogenesis of DCM was reviewed from the aspects of abnormal mitochondrial energy metabolism,mitochondrial oxidative stress enhancement, mitochondrial kinetics,mitochondrial heart lecithin change,and mitochondrial calcium disorder.

The research aimed to investigate the therapeutic effects and mechanisms of Opuntia dillenii Haw polysaccharide (OPS) on atherosclerosis of rats. First atherosclerotic rat models were established by high-fat and high-calcium diet. Thirty days later, the rats were treated with low dosage of OPS (0.2 g x kg(-1) x d(-1)) or high dosage of OPS (0.4 g x kg(-1) x d(-1)) by intraperitoneal injection for 60 days continuously. At the end of treatment, thoracic aorta rings were prepared and vasorelaxation of rat thoracic aorta in different experiment groups were determined by using 620M multi wire myograph system in vitro. Blood and livers of rats were collected. Then plasma levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG) and low density lipoprotein (LDL) of rats were separately determined using whole automatic biochemical analyzer; protein level of hepatic apolipoprotein B (ApoB) and that of hepatic diglyceride acyltransferase (Dgat1) were measured by Western Blot technique. Results showed that the ability of rat thoracic aorta to relax decreased markedly in the model group compared with that in the normal group, and significant differences existed in vasorelaxation ratios induced by different concentrations of carbamylcholine chloride (Carb) between these two groups (P < 0.01). After OPS treatment, the ability of rat thoracic aorta to relax improved markedly, the vasorelaxation ratios induced by Carb at 5 and 10 μmol x L(-1) were respectively 0.34 ± 0.08 and 0.62 ± 0.15 in the group treated with low dosage of OPS, while the ratios induced by Carb at 1 and 5 μmol x L(-1) were respectively 0.54 ± 0.08 and 0.98 ± 0.02 in the group treated with high dosage of OPS, which were all significantly different with those in the model group (P < 0.01). Plasma contents of TC, TG and LDL reduced significantly by the treatments both with low and high dosages of OPS compared with those in the model group (P < 0.01). Protein level of hepatic ApoB and that of hepatic Dgat1 decreased significantly after the treatment with high dosage of OPS compared with those in the model group (P < 0.01). These results indicate that OPS can markedly improve the vasorelaxation of thoracic aorta of atherosclerotic rats and has significant anti-atherosclerotic effect; inhibiting the expression of ApoB and Dgat1 and thus decreasing the amounts of TC, LDL and TG serving as one of the molecular mechanisms of its antiatherosclerosis effect.
Animals ; Aorta, Thoracic ; drug effects ; Atherosclerosis ; drug therapy ; Cholesterol ; blood ; Lipoproteins, LDL ; blood ; Opuntia ; chemistry ; Phytotherapy ; Rats ; Triglycerides ; blood

The choice of specific promoters used within a transgene construct is a vital strategy to achieve the transgene regulation in the temporal, spatial and measurable manner. The strategy has been widely used in diverse aspects of plant gene engineering, such as quality improvement, resistance breeding and bioreactor. In this paper, we describe the structure feature, classification and research method of the specific promoter and its application progresses in plant gene engineering.
Animals ; Bioreactors ; Breeding ; Genetic Engineering ; methods ; Humans ; Immunity, Innate ; Plants ; genetics ; immunology ; Promoter Regions, Genetic ; genetics

Traditional Chinese medicine is a treasure of Chinese culture, absorbing the wisdom of the Chinese people. Continuous application of new technologies makes traditional Chinese medicine research advance with the times. After several years of development, high-throughput transcriptome study has become a mature research tool in biology. This paper reviewed the advances in medicine transcriptome study, and compared two sequencing platforms, Roche's GS FLX platform and Illumina's HiSeq 2000 platform. Moreover, this paper introduced medicine transcriptome analysis process, with Panax quinquefolius and Lonicera japonica for examples, showing the characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine transcriptome studies. High-throughput transcriptome studies facilitate traditional Chinese medicine research with overall understand of functional genes, give clear elucidation of metabolic pathways, lay molecular foundation for the traditional Chinese medicine research and offer modern interpretation for traditional Chinese medicine theory. However, the current study faces several difficulties, including weak molecular basis, high sequencing cost and staff shortages in data anaysis. In the future, with the development in sequencing technology, the combination of transcriptome and other genomics, such as proteome and metabolome, will lay a solid foundation for the new high-throughput screening and developing model for the traditional Chinese medicine industry.
Biomedical Research ; methods ; trends ; Forecasting ; Gene Expression Profiling ; methods ; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ; Humans ; Lonicera ; genetics ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods ; trends ; Panax ; genetics ; Phytotherapy ; methods ; trends ; Transcriptome ; genetics

OBJECTIVETo study the genotype distribution of extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) in ESBLs-producing Escherichia coli (E. coli) isolates from posthepatitic cirrhosis' patients with bloodstream infection.

METHODSE. coli were isolated in bloodstream from patients with posthepatitic cirrhosis between January and December in 2011. The strains were identified by VITEK-II. The antibiol susceptibility tests were performed with K-B method. beta-lactamases genes were detected multi-PCR, PCR, sequence and blast.

RESULTSA total of 79 non-duplicate clinical isolates of E coli were consecutively collected from liver cirrhosis' patients with bloodstream infection. There were 20 isolates produced TEM-1 type beta-lactamases and 1 isolate produced SHV-1 typebeta-lactamases. 40 clinical isolates were detected to produce CTX-M type ESBLs, there were 20 CTX-M-1 group and 26 CTX-M-9 group, including 6 stains habouring both CTX-M-1 and CTX-M-9 group. Eight CTX-M genotypes were confirmed by sequencing of the PCR products, including CTX-M-3, CTX-M-14, CTX-M-15, CTX-M-24, CTX-M-28, CTX-M-31, CTX-M-65 and CTX-M-79.

CONCLUSIONCTX-M genotype ESBLs was the most popular extended-spectrum beta-lactamases in E. coli isolated from liver cirrhosis' patients with bloodstream infection. The CTX-M-14 is the dominant epidemic type.

Bacteremia ; microbiology ; Cross Infection ; microbiology ; Drug Resistance, Bacterial ; Escherichia coli ; drug effects ; enzymology ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Escherichia coli Infections ; microbiology ; Escherichia coli Proteins ; genetics ; Genotype ; Hospitalization ; statistics & numerical data ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis ; therapy ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; beta-Lactamases ; genetics ; metabolism

AIMTo investigate the effects of a nutritional supplement on nutritional status and hypoxia endurance in young adults living at high altitude.

METHODSForty healthy male young adults were recruited and randomly assigned to control and intervention groups. The nutrition survey was carried out using weighing method. The intervention group was given a nutritional supplement specifically designed for use at high altitude, while the control group was treated with a supplement made of stir-fried flour. After 20 days of supplementation, they marched from the altitude of 3700 m to 5100 m. The changes in HR, SaO2, serum concentrations of VA and VB2 and some minerals were measured.

RESULTSThe results of nutrition survey showed that the ratio of three macronutrients was not adequate and the intakes of calcium, VA and VB2 were below Chinese RNI. The serum concentrations of calcium, magnesium and VA were below normal references. The serum VB2 concentration was at the low level o f normal reference. The nutritional supplement could increase the serum concentrations of calcium, magnesium, VA and VB2, indicating an improved nutritional status. The changes in HR and SaO2 were diminished in intervention group compared with control group.

CONCLUSIONThe nutritional supplement can improve nutritional status and increase the hypoxia endurance in young adults living at high altitude.

Adult ; Altitude ; Dietary Supplements ; Humans ; Hypoxia ; prevention & control ; Male ; Nutritional Status ; Vitamins ; therapeutic use