Hyperhomocysteinemia is an independent risk factor for arterial and venous obstructive vascular di-seases. Raised plasma homocysteine concentrations are caused by genetic and non-genetic factors. The pathogenic mechanism is not clear. It may be associated with endothelium dysfunction, abnormal lipid metabolism, hypertrophy of intima media, increased platelet aggregation and several clotting factors interfered, etc. The metabolism and pathogenic mechanism of homocysteine are reviewed in this article, which provides theoretical foundation for the treatement of hyperhomocysteinemia.

Objective To evaluate the value of intraduetal ultrasonography (IDUS) in diagnosing biliary and pancreatic disorders. Methods The findings by endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) and IDUS from 19 patients with suspected biliary and pancreatic disorders from July 2006 to August 2007 in our hospital were analyzed retrospectively. Results Of the 19 patients, 17 had obstructive jaundice (including 6 eases of cholangiocarcinoma, 2 pancreatic adenocareinoma, 2 gallbladder carcinoma, 2 chole-docholithiasis with bile duct stricture, 2 autoimmune pancreatitis, 1 papillary adenocarcinoma, 1 papillary adenoma, and 1 sclerosing cholangitis) and 2 intraduetal papillary mueinous tumor (IPMT). The diagnosis was confirmed by surgery and pathological findings in 11 patients. The diagnostic accuracy of ERCP and IDUS was 73. 7% (14/19) and 84. 2% (16/19), respectively, and that of ERCP combined with IDUS was 89. 5% (17/19). The sensitivity and specificity of ERCP to differentiate benign bile duct strictures from ma-lignant ones were 100. 0% (11/11) and 83.3% (5/6), respectively; and those of IDUS were 100. 0%(11/11) and 100. 0% (6/6), respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of ERCP in diagnosing cholan-gioeareinoma were 83.3% (5/6) and 60% (3/5), respectively; and those of IDUS were 100. 0% (6/6) and 40. 0% (2/5), respectively. Conclusion Combination of ERCP with IDUS can improve the diagnostic accuracy of pancreaticobiliary disorders. Additionally, IDUS shows higher sensitivity and specificity in differ-entiation between benign and malignant bile duct strictures, but it is still difficult to identify the etiologic factors of malignant bile duet strictures by IDUS.

Objective To explore the influence of homocysteine(Hcy)on liver cystathionine-?-synthase(CBS)and methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase(MTHFR)system in apoE-/- mice,and determine the effects of atorvastatin and/or folate/vitamin B12 on liver CBS and MTHFR system.Methods Eighty male 6-week-old apoE-/- mice were randomly divided into two groups:65 mice were fed with a chow diet containing 2%(wt/vol)L-methionine(homomethionine group)and 15 mice were fed with normal saline(control group).Two months later,the 60 mice survived in homomethionine group were subdivided into four groups:group Ⅰ(untreated),Ⅱ(3 mg/kg atorvastatin),Ⅲ(3 mg/kg atorvastatin+2 mg/kg folate+30 ?g/kg vitamin B12)and Ⅳ(2 mg/kg folate+30 ?g/kg vitamin B12).After one month,Western blotting was performed to detect the liver CBS and MTHFR system protein expression in each group.Results The relative expression of liver CBS and MTHFR was significantly lower in group Ⅰ than in control group(P

Overweight and obesity are main risk factors for chronic metabolic diseases, and are strongly associated with the increased risk of premature death. Low carbohydrate diet (LCD) has been proven to effectively control body weight and fat mass in overweight and obese patients by short-term (≤6 months) dietary intervention studies. The mechanisms include regulation of energy metabolism, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, alteration in expression of lipid metabolic-related genes and modulation of intestinal flora. However, the conclusions are inconsistent on whether LCD can cause durable weight loss and reduce the risk of overweight and obesity. This review summarizes the current research progress on the mechanisms, epidemiological studies, intervention studies and potential risks of LCD in controlling overweight and obesity, providing a reference for the future research and clinical application.

To establish a new method for simultaneously determining the content of five gingerol compounds in different processing degrees of ginger charcoal and PCA principal component analysis was conducted for analysis. Samples were analyzed on Ultimate TM XB-C18 column (4.6 mm x 250 mm, 5 μm) , with acetonitrile (A) -0.1% phosphoric acid solution (B) as mobile phase for gradient elution. Detection wavelength was set at 280 nm. The flow rate was 0.6 mL x min(-1) and the column temperature was 30 degrees C. The five compounds were separated well and showed good linearity (r ≥ 0.999 7) within the concentration ranges tested. The average value for recoveries was between 98.86% - 101.5% (RSD 1.4% - 2.9%). The contents of five compounds showed difference among different processing degrees of ginger charcoal. Zingiberone had the highest content in the standard carbon, and the content of gingerol was decreased as the deepening of processing degree. Different processing degrees of ginger charcoal were classified into three groups with PCA, and provided scientific basis for establishing the quality standards of ginger charcoal.
Catechols ; chemistry ; Charcoal ; chemistry ; Chemistry, Pharmaceutical ; methods ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; methods ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; Fatty Alcohols ; chemistry ; Ginger ; chemistry ; Principal Component Analysis ; methods

Objective To investigate the relationships among cerebellar mutism (CM), relapsed medulloblastoma (MB) and the primary tumor location.MethodsA retrospective analysis was conducted in 114 children over 3 years old with MB from November 2011 to April 2015.ResultsThe median onset age was 84.7 months (36.4 to 184.7 months) in 114 children with MB (77 boys and 37 girls), of whom there were 48 cases of recurrence. There were twenty two cases of CM and the overall incidence of CM was 19.3% (22/114). The incidence of CM was 19.7% (13/66) in non-recurrent cases and 18.8% (9/48) in recur-rent cases, and there was no signiifcant difference between two groups (P=0.899). The incidence of CM was 17.6% (9/51) in cas-es with primary tumor in the fourth ventricle, 7.1% (1/14) in cases with primary tumor in the cerebellar vermis, 21.4% (3/14) in cases with primary tumor in both fourth ventricle and cerebellar vermis, 45.5% (5/11) in cases with primary tumor in fourth ven-tricle and other parts of the brain, and 50.0% (4/8) in cases with primary tumor in cerebellar vermis and other parts of the brain. No CM incidence was observed in cases with primary tumor in central nerve system except for the fourth ventricle and cerebellar vermis. The incidence of CM between the cases with fourth ventricle/cerebellar vermis involvement and those without fourth ventricle/ cerebellar vermis involvement had signiifcant difference (P=0.039). ConclusionsThere is no relationship between CM and relapsed MB. Children with MB whose primary tumor is located in the fourth ventricle and/or the cerebellar vermis is susceptible to CM.

Apoptosis of neutrophils controls the duration and the intensity of an inflammatory response and therefore the extent of neutrophil- mediated tissue damage, disturbance of neutrophil apoptosis has been associated with many diseases, underlying mechanism is not elucidated. C5a is a complement fragment that has multifunctional properties, which induces neutrophil chemoattraction, an oxidative burst, enhancement of phagocytosis, release of granule enzymes, and suppress neutrophil apoptosis. Several studies have reported calpain is involved in both neutrophil functions and apoptosis and it might play a more specific role in the regulation of neutrophil apoptosis. Diffenrent isoform of calpains is activted by diffenrent stimuli through different transduction pathway. It was reported previously that calpain is required for neutrophil migration and chemotaxis induced by C5a. In addition, autophagy is a ubiquitous physiological process that occurs in all eukaryotic cells and is considered to be a survival mechanism. Atg5 promotes autophagy and is indispensable to autophagosome formation. Upon calpain activation, Atg5 is cleaved and the resulting 24 ku Atg5 mediates apoptosis while losting the property of autophagy. Therefore, Atg5 represents a molecular switch between autophagy and apoptosis. The interaction among the C5a, calpain and Atg5 was introduced and new direction for further research was provided.

Objective To construct the eukaryotic expression plasmid containing glyceraldehydes-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) and cysteine protease inhibitor ( CPI ) gene from periodic Brugia malayi (Bm) and to lay foundation for studying multivalent vaccines. Methods Total RNA was extracted from periodic Bin. The BmGAPDH and BmCPI genes were amplified by RT-PCR. The PCR product was cloned and then subeloned into eukaryotic recombinant plasmid vector pcDNA3.1 (+). pcDNA3.1 (+)/BmGAPDH/BmCPI was constructed. The recombinant plasmids were screened and identified by digestion with restriction enzyme and PCR amplification, and were transformed into HeLa cell subsequently. The transient expression of BmGAPDH and BmCPI were examined by RT-PCR. The expressed protein was identified by sodium dodeeylsulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis(SDS-PAGE). Results Two specific bands of around 877 bp of BmGAPDH and 621 bp of BmCPI were amplified, consistent with the expected value. The same bands were obtained by double restriction enzyme digestion of recombinant plasmids or PCR using recombinant plasmid as template. BmGAPDH and BmCPI mRNA were highly expressed in transfeeted HeLa cell. The relative molecular mass (Mr) of the recombinant protein was about 54 × 103. Conclusion The recombinant eukaryotic expression plasmid pcDNA3.1 (+)/BmGAPDH/BmCPI has been constructed successfully and the protein is expressed correctly in mammalian cell.

OBJECTIVETo explore the effect of Qiling Decoction (QD) combined highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART) on expression levels of peripheral blood Th17 and Treg cells in HIV/AIDS patients.

METHODSTotally 55 HIV/AIDS patients were randomly assigned to the treatment group (28 cases) and the combination group (27 cases). Besides, 21 HIV negative patients were recruited as the healthy control group. Those in the treatment group received HARRT alone, while those in the combination group received HAART combined QD. The observation lasted for 24 weeks. Meanwhile, according to peripheral blood CD4+ T cell counts before treatment, HIV/AIDS patients were assigned to three subgroups. For patients in subgroup 1, 1 cells/microL < CD4+ T cell counts < or = 100 cells/microL; For patients in subgroup 2, 101 cells/microL < CD4+ T cell counts < or = 200 cells/lL; For patients in subgroup 3, 201 cells/microL < CD4+ T cell counts < or = 350 cells/microL. Expression of peripheral blood Th17 and Treg cells, and number of CD4+ T cell counts were detected using flow cytometry (FCM)in HIV/AIDS patients at the pre-treatment baseline, week 4, 12, and 24, as well as those in the healthy control group.

RESULTSCompared with the healthy control group, CD4+ T cell counts and the baseline expression level of Th17 cells in the peripheral blood of HIV/AIDS patients significantly decreased, the expression level of Treg cells significantly increased P < 0.01). Compared with before treatment in the same group, CD4+ T cell counts all increased at week 4, 12, and 24 in the two treatment groups, showing statistical difference (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). There was no statistical difference in the effective rate at various CD4+ T cell levels between the two groups (P > 0.05). There was no statistical difference in expression levels of Th17 and Treg cells between the combination group and the treatment group at any time point (all P >0.05). The Th17/Treg ration significantly increased in the combination group after 24 weeks of treatment, showing statistical difference when compared with the treatment group (U = 2.135, P = 0.038).

CONCLUSIONQD could improve the immune balance of Th17/Treg cells, which might be one of its mechanisms for improving HIV/AIDS patients' immunity.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome ; drug therapy ; immunology ; Adult ; Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active ; CD4 Lymphocyte Count ; Case-Control Studies ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; HIV Infections ; drug therapy ; immunology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Phytotherapy ; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory ; cytology ; Th17 Cells ; cytology