Objective:To investigate the possibility of miR-125b in serum as a novel tumor marker for primary hepatocellular car-cinoma (HCC) and the diagnosis value of combined detection of miR-125b and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) for HCC. Methods:We detected serum miR-125b expression of 65 cases of HCC patients and 30 cases of healthy controls by real-time quantitative PCR. Moreover, we analyzed the significance of miR-125b and explored the relationship between miR-125b and clinical pathological factors. Results:The level of miRNA-125b was down regulated in serum of HCC patients compared with healthy controls which showed significant differences (P<0.05). Furthermore, the expression of miRNA-125b has no distinct correlation with sex, age, HbsAg, AFP, ALT andα-GGT, which had no significant differences (P>0.05). The expression level of miRNA-125b correlated the difference with liver Cirrhosis, tumor size and tumor node metastasis (TNM) stages, which were considered significant differences (P<0.05). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis of serum miR-125b for the diagnosis of HCC yielded AUC of 0.917(95%CI:0.851~0.960, P<0.001)with 85.9%sensitivity and 93.5%specificity. The ROC curve analysis of combined miR-125b and AFP for HCC detection yielded AUC of 0.951(95%CI:0.894~0.982, P<0.001)with 92.9%sensitivity and 93.5%specificity. The ROC curve analysis of serum miR-125b as biomarkers for the group (AFP<20μg/L) of HCC yielded AUC of 0.889(95%CI:0.776~0.957, P<0.001)with 84.0%sensitivity and 87.1%specificity. Conclusion:Serum miRNA-125b combined with AFP has considerable clinical value for the early diagnosis of primary HCC.

Objective To evaluate the feasibility of an intelligent three-dimensional ultrasound technique (Smart mid-sagittal planes,Smart MSP) in automatically detecting the fetal cranial mid-sagittal view.Methods Two hundred and forty pregnant women with singleton pregnancies were imaged to display the mid-sagittal view of fetal head using the Smart MSP by six doctors divided into three groups according the different experiences.Another two doctors were then invited to score the images acquired and to compare the successful rates of 6 doctors for acquiring fetal cranial mild-sagittal view according to the doctors' experience.Results The overall successful rate of acquiring the mid-sagittal view was 97.08％ (233/240) with the bipartial diameter plane (BPD plane) as the starting plane and 98.33(237/240) with the trans-cerebellum plane as the starting plane by using Smart MSP program.The successful rates in three groups were similar but the consumed times were different(P ＜0.05).The experienced doctors consumed less time than non-experienced doctors.The scores were also different in three groups.The scores of experienced doctors (group B and C) were significantly higher than that of non-experienced doctors (Group A) (P ＜0.05).There was no significant difference in the scores between experienced doctors (group B and C) (P＞0.05).Conclusions Smart MSP is a novel and feasible method for the automatic visualization of fetal cranial mid-sagittal plane,which may become an effective tool to screen the fetal midline anomalies in future.

Objective To predict the binding sites of transforming growth factor-βreceptor Ⅱ (TβRⅡ ) ectodomain and the aptamer S58 specifically targeted TβRⅡ ,and to confirm the structure stability of the aptamer S 58 in vitro .Methods We created three-dimensional structure by utilizing ssDNA aptamer sequences ,the crystal structure of the TβRⅡ was searched by protein data bank database .According to the results of the molecular docking experiments on aptamer S 58 and TβRⅡ ectodomain ,we sheared the aptamer sequences ,then verified its affinity respectively by biosensor technology and Western blot .Results Binding sites of aptamers S58 and TRβⅡ ectodomain included site Ⅰ(T4 ,T5 ,G6 ,C7) ,site Ⅱ(G13 ,A14 ,T15 ,C16 ,G17 ,C18 ) ,site Ⅲ (T31 ,G32 , T33 ,C34) and site Ⅳ(G40 ,A41 ,T42 ,T43 ,T44 ,G45 ,G46) .We validated the high affinity between aptamer S58 and TRβⅡ ectodo-main .The expression of α-smooth muscle actin(α-SMA) protein in the human tenon′s capsule fibroblasts was descended obviously after the experiment of the aptamer S58 in comparing with the control of DMEM (P< 0 .05) .But the new ssDNA by shear the aptamer ssDNA S58 according to the results were poor than aptamers S58 .Conclusion The aptamer S58 targeted TβRⅡ was high-ly specific with a certain stability ,any changing of structure will reduce the affinity of TβRⅡ .Computer-aided molecular docking technology has become an important means of an exploratory intermolecular interaction ,and can provides a good theoretical basis on medical research .

0.05). After dividing the patients into early-onset and late-onset subgroups, there were significant differences of DRD4 genotype and allele frequency between early-onset patients and controls (P0.05). Conclusion The results suggested that the polymorphism of DRD4 receptor gene may be associated with early-onset OCD. The 3/4 genetype may be the risk factor of early-onset OCD. Early-onset and late-onset OCD may have different etiology.

Background In China,esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and gastric cardia adenocarcinoma (GCA) share susceptibility loci,but different rates of multiple primary cancer and male/female ratio suggest the proportion of familial cancer is not equal.Methods The percent of cases with a positive family history,median onset age,rate of multiple primary cancer,and male/female ratio associated with upper,middle,lower third ESCC and GCA were compared to reveal the proportion of familial cancer.The 7267 subjects analyzed constituted all ESCC and GCA cases in whom the cancer was resected with cure intention between 1970 and 1994 at the 4th Hospital of Hebei Medical University.Results A positive family history for cancer was most often associated with the multiple primary ESCC and/or GCA cases,e.g.with 42％ of the males and 59％ of the females.For upper,middle,lower third ESCC and GCA,the percent of cases with a positive family history decreased by 38.5％,26.3％,26.5％,and 11.2％ in males (P ＜0.000) and 25.0％,22.3％,23.9％,and 9.8％ in females (P ＜0.0001).Median onset age increased from 49,52,55,to 56 years old in males and from 50,53,55,to 56 years old in females (both P ＜0.0001) for upper,middle,lower third ESCC and GCA.Male/female ratio increased from 2.2,2.1,2.2,to 6.2:1 for upper,middle,lower third ESCC and GCA (P＜0.0001).For upper,middle,lower third ESCC and GCA,the percent of multiple primary cancers decreased from 21.2％,2.3％,2.2％,to 1.5％ in males and from 14.3％,2.4％,3.4％,to 3.1％ in females.The preponderance of males,smoking,drinking,or onset-age ≥50 years was significantly higher in GCA than in ESCC,and the difference in the rates of multiple primary cancers between the preponderant and the non-preponderant cases was significant in GCA,but not in ESCC,suggesting non-equal requirement for genetic susceptibility when environmental hazards did not exist.Conclusions The proportion of familial cancer in upper gastrointestinal carcinomas decreases by the priamry site of upper,middle,lower third esophagus and gastric cardia.Considering familial and sporadic cancers differ in preventability,screening strategy and recurrence,our findings have basic and clinical implications.

OBJECTIVETo observe the impact of tonifying Qi traditional Chinese medicines contained in Yiqi Qingwen Jiedu mixture on mRNA expression of lung inflammatory cytokines and pulmonary pathological injury of mice infected by influenza virus, in order to discuss the mechanism of tonifying Qi traditional Chinese medicines against pulmonary immune inflammatory injury of infected mice.

METHODIn different time phases after mice were infected with influenza virus FM1, the RT-PCR method was adopted to observe the impact of tonifying Qi traditional Chinese medicines contained in Yiqi Qingwen Jiedu mixture on five inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-1, IL-6, IL-10 and IFN-γ, and the changes in pulmonary pathological injury of mice with viral pneumonia after intervention with tonifying qi traditional Chinese medicines.

RESULT(1) Tonifying Qi traditional Chinese medicines significantly reduced the mRNA expression of TNF-α at 1-5 d and IL-1 mRNA expression at 7 d, may increase IL-1 mRNA expression in mouse lung at 3 d, significantly reduced IL-6 mRNA expression in mouse lung and increased IL-10 mRNA expression at 3-7 d, and significantly increased IFN-γ mRNA expression at 1 d. (2) Tonifying Qi traditional Chinese medicines could significantly inhibited and repaired pulmonary immune inflammatory injury of mice infected by FM1, which was most remarkable at 3-7 d after the infection with influenza virus FM1.

CONCLUSIONTonifying Qi traditional Chinese medicines contained in Yiqi Qingwen Jiedu mixture could resist pulmonary immune inflammatory injury and repair inflammatory injury by regulating the mRNA expression of imbalance inflammatory cytokines of organisms infected with influenza virus.

Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; Humans ; Influenza A virus ; drug effects ; immunology ; Influenza, Human ; drug therapy ; genetics ; immunology ; Interferon-gamma ; genetics ; immunology ; Interleukin-1 ; genetics ; immunology ; Interleukin-10 ; genetics ; immunology ; Interleukin-6 ; genetics ; immunology ; Lung ; immunology ; virology ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; genetics ; immunology

BACKGROUNDIn China, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and gastric cardia adenocarcinoma (GCA) share susceptibility loci, but different rates of multiple primary cancer and male/female ratio suggest the proportion of familial cancer is not equal.

METHODSThe percent of cases with a positive family history, median onset age, rate of multiple primary cancer, and male/female ratio associated with upper, middle, lower third ESCC and GCA were compared to reveal the proportion of familial cancer. The 7267 subjects analyzed constituted all ESCC and GCA cases in whom the cancer was resected with cure intention between 1970 and 1994 at the 4th Hospital of Hebei Medical University.

RESULTSA positive family history for cancer was most often associated with the multiple primary ESCC and/or GCA cases, e.g. with 42% of the males and 59% of the females. For upper, middle, lower third ESCC and GCA, the percent of cases with a positive family history decreased by 38.5%, 26.3%, 26.5%, and 11.2% in males (P < 0.000) and 25.0%, 22.3%, 23.9%, and 9.8% in females (P < 0.0001). Median onset age increased from 49, 52, 55, to 56 years old in males and from 50, 53, 55, to 56 years old in females ( both P < 0.0001) for upper, middle, lower third ESCC and GCA. Male/female ratio increased from 2.2, 2.1, 2.2, to 6.2:1 for upper, middle, lower third ESCC and GCA (P < 0.0001). For upper, middle, lower third ESCC and GCA, the percent of multiple primary cancers decreased from 21.2%, 2.3%, 2.2%, to 1.5% in males and from 14.3%, 2.4%, 3.4%, to 3.1% in females. The preponderance of males, smoking, drinking, or onset-age ≥ 50 years was significantly higher in GCA than in ESCC, and the difference in the rates of multiple primary cancers between the preponderant and the non-preponderant cases was significant in GCA, but not in ESCC, suggesting non-equal requirement for genetic susceptibility when environmental hazards did not exist.

CONCLUSIONSThe proportion of familial cancer in upper gastrointestinal carcinomas decreases by the primary site of upper, middle, lower third esophagus and gastric cardia. Considering familial and sporadic cancers differ in preventability, screening strategy and recurrence, our findings have basic and clinical implications.

Adenocarcinoma ; genetics ; Age of Onset ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; genetics ; Cardia ; China ; Esophageal Neoplasms ; genetics ; Female ; Genetic Loci ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasms, Multiple Primary ; epidemiology ; Risk Factors ; Stomach Neoplasms ; genetics

OBJECTIVETo investigate the time course of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) activation in the process of stress ulcer formation.

METHODSModel of stress ulcer was reproduced by subjecting male Sprague-Dawley rats to water-immersion restraint (WIR) stress. At indicated time after the beginning of WIR stress, animals were sacrificed and cytoplasmic and nuclear protein and total RNA were prepared from gastric corpus mucosal tissues. DNA-binding activity of NF-KB was assessed as an index of NF-kappaB activation with electrophoretic mobility shift assay. Degradation of IkappaBalpha and IkappaBbeta, the inhibitory proteins of NF-kappaB, was analyzed by Western blot analysis. Expression of NF-kappaB dependent genes including tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) , interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), cytokine-inducible neutrophil chemoattractant-1 ( CINC-1), intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) was detected with Northern blot analysis.

RESULTSWIR stress induced a rapid biphasic activation of gastric mucosal NF-kappaB within 15 min of the beginning of stress, peaking at 45 min and 360 min. Compared with baseline, NF-kappaB activation by stress was increased (10.6 +/- 1.3) and (8.9 +/- 1.2) fold at 45 min and 360 min, respectively (P < 0.01). Antibody supershift assays revealed that p50/p65 heterodimer was the major active component of mucosal NF-kappaB. Western blot analysis showed that degradation of IkappaBalpha and IkappaBbeta occurred at first and second wave of NF-kappaB activation. Corresponding with the rapid and persistent activation of NF-kappaB, the levels of TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, CINC-1 and ICAM-1 mRNA in gastric mucosa were markedly increased 15 to 30 min after stress, respectively. Up-regulation of iNOS mRNAs was observed 30 to 90 min after stress, and the expression of all of these genes was increased consistently until the end of stress.

CONCLUSIONNF-kappaB activation is an early event and may play an important role in proinflammatory gene over-expression in rat gastric mucosa during WIR stress.

Animals ; Chemokine CXCL1 ; metabolism ; Disease Models, Animal ; Gastric Mucosa ; metabolism ; Gene Expression ; Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 ; metabolism ; Interleukin-1beta ; metabolism ; Male ; NF-kappa B ; metabolism ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II ; metabolism ; RNA, Messenger ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Signal Transduction ; Stress Disorders, Traumatic ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; metabolism ; Ulcer ; etiology ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the therapeutic effect of imatinib on chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in different phases and analyze the factors that may affect the effects.

METHODSEighty-five patients with CML in chronic phase, 24 in accelerated phase and 19 in blastic phase patients were treated with imitinib. The hematologic response, cytogenetic response, molecular response, overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS) and adverse events were analyzed in these groups.

RESULTSThe rates of complete hematologic response (CHR), complete cytogenetic response (CCyR) and complete molecular response (CMoR) of the patients in chronic phase were 100%, 82.4% and 21.2%, respectively, and the 5-year OS and PFS of these patients were 92.1% and 84.7%. All these rates were significantly higher than those in patients in accelerated and blastic phases (P<0.0001). The CCyR, CMoR, 5-year OS and PFS in the 42 newly diagnosed patients in chronic phase were 92.9%, 26.3%, 100% and 95.2%, respectively, all significantly higher than those in patients with interferon therapy failure (P<0.001). Severe leukocytopenia and thrombocytopenia occurred at greater frequencey in AP and BP patients than in chronic phase patients (P<0.0001). Non-hematologic toxicity was rarer and milder in patients in chronic phase. Multivariate analysis showed that interferon therapy prior to imitinib treatment and prolonged drug cessation were the independent factors that affected the achievement of cytogenetic response and PFS.

CONCLUSIONEarly imitinib therapy can be effective and safe, and should be used as the first line drug for CML.

Antineoplastic Agents ; therapeutic use ; Benzamides ; Female ; Humans ; Imatinib Mesylate ; Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive ; drug therapy ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Chronic-Phase ; drug therapy ; Male ; Piperazines ; therapeutic use ; Pyrimidines ; therapeutic use ; Treatment Outcome

This paper was designed in middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model of rats, to explore the role of transient receptor potential channel 4 (TRPC4) as Ca(2+) selective channel by detecting the changes of the expression of TRPC4 in different parts of cerebral tissues under the condition of focal cerebral ischemia. The rats were sacrificed after MCAO surviving time 6 h, 12 h, 1 d, 3 d. As determined by Western blot, the expressions of TRPC4 in striatum and hippocampus of 12 h, 1 d, 3 d groups were significant higher than that in the control group (P<0.05). Immunohistochemical staining showed that the TRPC4 immunoreactive substances were present in the membrane of neurons. Compared with the control group, immunostaining positive cells increased in hippocampus and striatum of cerebral ischemia groups. The TRPC4 immunostaining positive cells increased significantly in 1d-group and 3d-group (P<0.05). It suggests that as a Ca(2+) selective channel, the variance of the expression of TRPC4 may play a role in acute and delayed neuronal injury in focal cerebral ischemia.
Animals ; Cation Transport Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Corpus Striatum ; metabolism ; Hippocampus ; metabolism ; Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery ; metabolism ; Ion Channels ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Male ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Reperfusion Injury ; metabolism ; TRPV Cation Channels