Dipeptides ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; End Stage Liver Disease ; drug therapy ; virology ; Female ; Hepatitis B virus ; Humans ; Male

Objective To explore the role of ERK1/2 protein in development of myocardial hypertrophy.Methods Myocardial cells were isolated from ventricles of 1～3-day-old neonate rats and purifed by a culture method.Neonate rat cardiomyocyte hypertrophic responses were assayed by measuring protein content,protein synthesis rate and cell surface area.Expression of protein ERK1/2 were detected by Western blot.Results Cell protein content,~3H-leucine(~3 H-Leu)incorporation and cell surface area increased by treating of cardiomyocytes with T(10~(-10)～10~(-6) mol/L)for 24 h.The maxium effect was observed at the concentration of 10~(-8) mol/L.The increase of cell protein content induced by T was inhibited by pretreating with flutamide(10~(-5) mol/L)for 2 h,while there was no effect on cardiomyocytes pretreating with flutamide alone.The increase of ~3H-Leu incorporation induced by T was blocked by PD98059(50 μmol/L).Expression of ERK1/2 was upregulated significantly by treating with testoster one for 24 h at the level of 10~(-8) mol/L.The increased expression of ERK1/2 induced by T was reversed by pretreating with flutamide(10~(-5) mol/L)for 2 h.Conclusion T with physio-concentration may induce cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and this effect was possibly mediated through the activation of ERK1/2 signalling.During this procession,T upregulated the protein expression of ERK1/2 mediated by androgen receptor.

Objective To explore the operative main points and clinical effects of LC treatment for acute calculous cholecystitis. Methods Between August 2006 and June 2008, LC treatment for acute calculous cholecystitis in 120 cases as performed, the data of which were analyzed retrospectively. Of these patients, there were gallbladder with adherent omentum (72 cases), gallbladder with adherent hepatic flexture of the colon (9 cases), gallbladder with duodenum (5 cases), obstruction of the cystic duet by a gllstone (68 cases), and Mirizzi syndrome(2 cases). Results All the 120 cases performed LC successfully. There were no converting to open operation, and no biliary leakage. The mean operating time was (45. 0 ± 13. 1) minutes. Conclusions Acute calculous cholecystitis was not a contraindication for LC. Rich experience and skilled technique were key points for the success of operation. It shows advantages of less pain, less complications and more rapid recovery.

In recent years, non-viral gene vectors have attracted great attention for efficient gene delivery due to the advantages, including low toxicity, low immunogenicity and simple preparation. Polyethylenimine (PEI) is one of the typical non-viral gene carriers that have been widely utilized for gene delivery owing to its superior capabilities in gene compression and buffering capacity. This article discusses the processes of gene delivery and the barriers of PEI-based carrier during the gene delivery, such as low biocompatibility, cytotoxicity, lack of specific targeting and insufficient gene release, etc. Therefore, we summarize the multiple approaches for the modifications of PEI in terms of improved biocompatibility, degradability, specific targeting and buffering capacity. Furthermore, we also review on the recent impressive progresses of smart stimuli-responsive PEI carriers, including endogenous stimuli (pH, reactive oxygen species, glutathione, biomolecular, etc), exogenous stimuli (light, temperature, magnetic field, etc) and dual-responsive strategies, which might provide guidance for the development of more efficient and safer non-viral gene vectors.

G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) represent one of the most important classes of drug targets for pharmaceutical industry and play important roles in cellular signal transduction. Predicting the coupling specificity of GPCRs to G-proteins is vital for further understanding the mechanism of signal transduction and the function of the receptors within a cell, which can provide new clues for pharmaceutical research and development. In this study, the features of amino acid compositions and physiochemical properties of the full-length GPCR sequences have been analyzed and extracted. Based on these features, classifiers have been developed to predict the coupling specificity of GPCRs to G-proteins using support vector machines. The testing results show that this method could obtain better prediction accuracy.

OBJECTIVETo explore the prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and its risk factors in rural area in the southern part of Hubei province and to provide evidence for prevention and treatment.

METHODSUsing uniform scheme, procedures and questionnaire, a multistage survey for 1883 people in rural area in southern part of Hubei province was performed, and physical examinations and lung function tests were conducted for every participant.

RESULTSIn this survey, 186 COPD cases were identified with a overall prevalence of 9.88%. The prevalence for male was 13.68% while in female it was 6.46%. The prevalence was higher in males than in females (chi2 = 27.48, P< 0.001) and higher with the increase of age (chi2 = 79.22, P<0.001). Factors associated with COPD were identified in one-way variance model as follows: sex, age, smoking, time for cooking, using biomass fuels for in-door cooking, family history, frequent cough before age 14, low body index and having house remodelling in the last five years. Results from multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that sex (OR= 1.3010), age (OR = 1.8506), smoking (OR= 3.0118), cooking time (OR= 1.7651), family history (OR = 1.5278), frequent cough before age 14 (OR = 2.8965) were risk factors.

CONCLUSIONThe prevalence of COPD in the southern part of Hubei province was high, suggesting that comprehensive intervention measures should be taken.

Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; China ; epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multivariate Analysis ; Population Surveillance ; Prevalence ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive ; epidemiology ; Risk Factors ; Rural Health ; statistics & numerical data ; Rural Population ; Surveys and Questionnaires

OBJECTIVETo explore ginseng fermentation process by Lactobacillus plantarum, and to make part of total saponins transformed into more reactive ginsenoside Rd.

METHODMicrobial fermentation was carried out by still dark culture. Total saponins were extracted by Soxhlet extraction, and determined by UV visible spectrophotometry with colours reaction by vanillin-sulfuric acid. Ginsenoside Rd was determined by HPLC method.

RESULTThe fermentation process was: MRS medium, 35 degrees C, pH 5.0, cultured for 2 days. The content of total saponins was inhance 32%, and the content of ginsenoside Rd was increased 4.864 mg x g(-1).

CONCLUSIONThe fermentation system's process was reasonable, and it's suitable for mass production, important significance for ginsenoside microbial transformation.

Biotransformation ; Culture Media ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Fermentation ; Ginsenosides ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Lactobacillus plantarum ; chemistry ; growth & development ; metabolism ; Molecular Structure

OBJECTIVETo assess the intervention of Biantong Huangqi Ointment (BHO) combined with Western medicine (WM) on the recurrence of bronchial asthma (BA).

METHODSEighty-four BA children patients were randomly assigned to the treatment group (43 cases) and the control group (41 cases). During the period of onset, patients in the two groups were treated by WM alone. During the remission phase, patients in the treatment group took BHO, one dose daily, while those in the control group were treated with atomized inhalation of Budesonide and Salbutamol (0.5 mL each time for those 3 -8 years old; 0.75 mL each time for >or=those 8-12 years old). The therapeutic course for them all was 1 month. The serum levels of IgG and IgE before and after treatment, 6 and 12 months after withdrawal of medication were detected in the two groups, and the recurrence rate of BA observed in the two groups.

RESULTSThe recurrence rate of the treatment group was obviously lower than that of the control group after withdrawal of medication (9.5% vs 24.4% for 6 months, 14.0% vs 34.1% for 12 months), showing statistical difference between the two groups (P<0.05). The serum IgG level of children patients in the treatment group increased continuously after medication. The high serum IgE level state obtained long-term and effective relief.

CONCLUSIONBHO showed favorable anti-recurrent effect on children's BA. Its mechanism might be associated with regulating children's immune system.

Asthma ; drug therapy ; etiology ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Integrative Medicine ; Male ; Ointments ; Recurrence ; Treatment Outcome

Fifteen tissues of 4-year-old fruit repining stage Jilin ginseng were chosen as materials, six kinds of monomer saponins (ginsenosides Rg1, Re, Rb1, Rc, Rb2 and Rd) content in 15 tissues was measured by HPLC and vanillin-sulfuric acid method. The relative expression of FPS, SQS, SQE, OSC, β-AS and P450 genes in 15 tissues was analyzed by real-time PCR. The correlations between ginseng saponin content in 15 tissues of Jilin ginseng and biosynthetic pathway -related genes were obtained. The results showed that was a synergistic increase and decrease trend of positive linear correlation among six kinds of monomer saponin content, and there was a significantly (P < 0.01) positive correlation between monomer saponin content and total saponins content. Monomer saponin content and 6 kinds of enzyme gene correlation were different. Biosynthesis of ginseng total saponins and monomer saponin were regulated by six kinds of participation ginsenoside biosynthesis enzyme genes, the expression of these six kinds of genes in different tissues of ginseng showed collaborative increase and decrease trend, and regulated biosynthesis of ginseng ginsenoside by group coordinative manner.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; analysis ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Panax ; chemistry ; genetics ; metabolism ; Plant Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Plant Structures ; chemistry ; genetics ; metabolism ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; genetics ; metabolism ; Saponins ; analysis ; metabolism

Animals ; Endoplasmic Reticulum ; metabolism ; Ischemia ; metabolism ; Male ; Molecular Chaperones ; metabolism ; Pressure Ulcer ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Subcutaneous Tissue ; blood supply