Objective To explore the correlation between the serum levels of fibrinogen (FIB), C-reactive protein (CRP) and homocysteine (Hcy) with the carotid vulnerable plaque in patients with large artery atherosclerosis (LAA) stroke.Methods The patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) admitted to the Department of Neurology in The Second Hospital of Lanzhou University from Mar. 2014 to Feb. 2015 were collected continuously, and 273 patients with anterior circulation of LAA stroke were selected based on the TOAST classification. These patients were classified as non-plaque group (n=84), stable plaque group (n=42) and vulnerable plaque group (n=147) according to the carotid ultrasonography examination. Another 182 patients without carotid disease of non-stroke selected simultaneously from our department were regarded as controls. The 19 demographic parameters and hematological indices were compared among the four groups. The logistic regression was used to screen the independent risk factors for carotid vulnerable plaque in LAA stroke patients. The Spearman rank correlation was performed to analyze the correlation between the carotid plaque vulnerability in LAA stroke patients with all the indicators.Results The levels of FIB, CRP and Hcy in the four groups showed statistically signicantcant differences (P<0.05). The multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that FIB (OR=1.408, 95% CI 1.028-1.927,P=0.033) was the independent risk factor for carotid vulnerable plaque in patients with LAA stroke. The Spearman correlation analysis presented a positive correlation between carotid plaque vulnerability in LAA stroke patients with FIB (r=0.292;P=0.000) and Hcy (r=0.172;P=0.000). Conclusions The serum FIB and Hcy levels may be the meaningful biomarkers to predict the vulnerable carotid plaque in patients with LAA stroke. The serum level of CRP has no obvious correlation with carotid plaque vulnerability in LAA stroke patients.

BACKGROUNDWith features of high tissue contrast, MRI can be used for the qualitative and quantitative evaluation of atherosclerosis plaques. In this study we investigated the development of atherosclerosis plaque with high resolution 3T MRI in a rabbit model and compared the findings with the histopathological results.

METHODTwenty male New Zealand white rabbits were randomly allocated into an experimental group (n = 16) and a control group (n = 4). Atherosclerotic lesions were induced in the abdominal aorta by balloon injury and cholesterol feeding. Multiple sequences MRI examination (ToF, T1WI, T2WI, and CE T1WI) were performed at the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th months after aortic denudation. Vessel wall thickness, total vessel area, lumen area, and vessel wall area were recorded. Plaque components were analyzed using histological results as a standard reference.

RESULTSSeventeen rabbits (14 in the experimental group and 3 in the control group) received all three MR examinations. Gradually, from 2 months to 4 months, vessel wall thickness and area in the experimental group increased significantly compared with the control group (P < 0.01). In the lumen area progressive stenosis was not found, even a slight dilation had developed in the experimental group. Lipid, fibrotic and calcified plaques can be differentiated by MR image. According to histological results, MRI had good performance in detection of lipid plaque.

CONCLUSIONMRI can be used to monitor progression of atherosclerosis and differentiate plaque components.

Animals ; Aorta, Abdominal ; pathology ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; methods ; Male ; Plaque, Atherosclerotic ; pathology ; Rabbits ; Random Allocation

Objective Using Intelligence Scale of Mini Mental State Estimated (MMSE) as the gold standard to determine the relevance of International HIV-associated Dementia Scale (IHDS)in minority ethnic areas in Guangxi populations with different cultural values.Corresponding boundary value related to the authenticity and reliability on IHDS were also evaluated.Methods 200 patients with HIV infection were randomly selected from the minority ethnic groups in Guangxi.For each infected person,MMSE and IHDS blind scale were tested at the same period.Using the results from MMSE scale test as the gold standard,ROC curve and IHDS scale in Guangxi minority populations with different education levels which related to the diagnosis of dementia-HIV values were determined.The value of a specific sector under the IHDS sensitivity,specificity,and internal consistency coefficients was also evaluated.Results When considering the infected person did not differ on their educational level,the IHDS scale diagnostic cutoff appeared as 8.25,while 1HDS sensitivity as 0.925,specificity as 0.731 and Kappa as 0.477 (P＜0.001).When considering the extent of cultural differences did influence the prevalence of infection,the different education groups showed different IHDS diagnostic cutoff values.People with high school,secondary school or higher education levels,the IHDS diagnosis appeared to be 8.25,when sensitivity was 0.917,specificity was 0.895 and Kappa was 0.722 (P＜0.001).People with only primary education level,the IHDS appeared to be 7.25.When sensitivity was 0.875,specificity was 0.661 and Kappa was 0.372 (P＜0.001).Conclusion The IHDS diagnostic sector in Guangxi minority groups was lower than the internationally recommended level of diagnostic cutoff value (IHDS≤ 10 points).When using IHDS to perform the HIV related dementia screening program,in the minority areas of Guangxi,culture context,the degree and difference of HIV infection should be considered,especially in using IHDS diagnostic cutoff values.

italic>Alangium chinense is a commonly used medicinal plant of Alangiaceae Alangium, one of the characteristic Miao medicines in Guizhou. The genus is strongly differentiated and has complex morphological variation, with significant differences in active ingredients and potency among herbs. In this paper, we sequenced the chloroplast genomes of Alangium chinense subsp. Pauciflorum, Alangium chinense subsp. Strigosum and Alangium kurzii Craib using Illumina high-throughput sequencing technology. The genomes of Alangium chinense subsp. Pauciflorum, Alangium chinense subsp. Strigosum and Alangium kurzii Craib chloroplasts were sequenced, their assembly annotation and structural characterization were completed, and the genomes of the congeners Alangium chinense and Alangium alpinum were downloaded from NCBI for comparative analysis. Finally, the phylogenetic tree was constructed by selecting published species with close affinity to Alangium chinense family from NCBI. The results were as follows: Alangium chinense subsp. Pauciflorum, Alangium chinense subsp. Strigosum and Alangium kurzii Craib chloroplast genomes were 156 670, 156 672 and 156 871 bp in length, with a typical four-segment structure, all containing one long single copy region (LSC), one short single copy region (SSC) and two inverted repeat regions (IRa and IRb). All of them were annotated to 133 genes, including 88 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes and 8 rRNA genes. Three types of long repeat sequences and SSR loci, forward repeats, palindrome repeats and reverse repeats, were found in all chloroplast genomes. Comparative genomic analysis showed that there was diversity in the boundary transition regions of the five species, no rearrangements or inversions were found in the chloroplast genome, and there were significant differences in the coding regions of ndhA, ycf1, rpl16, ycf2, and petD genes, which provided new loci for molecular identification of Patagonia. In the phylogenetic analysis, Alangium kurzii var. kurzii clustered as a single species, and Alangium chinense subsp. Pauciflorum and Alangium chinense subsp. Strigosum clustered as a single species, with a support rate of 93 and close affinity, indicating that the phylogenetic tree can be used for the species identification. This paper can provide a basis for the taxonomic identification of Alangium, ensure the safety of clinical use of anise herbs and regulate the market of Alangium chinense herbs.

Objective To evaluate effects of interleukin-36α (IL-36α) on psoriasiform skin lesions and C-C motif chemokine ligand 20 (CCL20) expression in mice.Methods Totally,30 BALB/c female mice were randomly and equally divided into 3 groups:control group treated with topical vaseline cream on the shaved back and intracutaneous injection with phosphate buffer saline (PBS),model group treated with topical imiquimod cream on the shaved back and intracutaneous injection with PBS,experimental group treated with topical imiquimod cream on the shaved back and intracutaneous injection with IL-36α solution.Psoriasis area severity index (PASI) was used to evaluate changes of psoriasiform skin lesions in mice,and light microscopy to observe morphological changes of skin lesions and to measure the thickness of the epidermis.Real-time fluorescence-based quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) and Western blot analysis were performed to determine the expression of IL-36α in skin lesions in the control group and model group,and qRT-PCR,Western blot analysis and immunohistochemical study to evaluate changes of CCL20 levels in skin lesions.Results The model group showed significantly increased mRNA (△ Ct value:0.0195 ± 0.0059) and protein expression (3.922 ± 0.248) of IL-36α compared with the control group (mRNA:0.0012 ± 0.0004,P ＜ 0.05;protein:0.690 ± 0.025,P ＜ 0.05).The mRNA and protein expression of CCL20 were significantly higher in the experimental group than those in the model group (mRNA:2.152 ± 0.793 vs.0.999 ± 0.178;protein:0.397 ± 0.033 vs.0.145 ± 0.030;both P ＜ 0.05),and higher in the model group than those in the control group (mRNA:0.378 ± 0.075;protein:0.025 ± 0.009;both P ＜ 0.05).Immunohistochemical study showed that the expression intensity of CCL20 in skin lesions significantly increased in the experimental group compared with that in the model group (Z =2.294,P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion IL-36α may aggravate psoriasiform skin inflammation in mice by promoting CCL20 expression.

This study aimed at investigating the effects of the extract of Chinese herb,Nansheteng (C.orbiculatus Thunb.),on human HepG2 cells through the overexpression of mTOR.The GV238-mTOR recombinant plasmids were transfected into HepG2 cells using molecular biological technology.The expression level of mTOR was evaluated by means of relative activity of luciferase and western blot.Human hepatic carcinoma HepG2/mTOR++ cells were treated with C.orbiculatus extract in different concentrations (20,40,80,160 and 320 tg·mL-1) for 24 h.The mTOR protein expression was detected by western blot.It was found that the protein expression of mTOR in transfected HepG2 cells was significantly enhanced.C.orbiculatus extract significantly inhibited the proliferation of HepG2/mTOR++ cells.Simultaneously,C.orbiculatus extract inhibited mTOR at its protein level in a dose-dependent manner.In conclusion,we successfully constructed recombinant mTOR cloning vectors,and established the stable HepG2 cell line with the overexpression of mTOR.Besides,C.orbiculatus extract significantly inhibited mTOR protein expression in human hepatic carcinoma HepG2 cells.

Aim To investigate the antioxidant capacity of crocetin and crocin in an in vivo system.Methods Column chromatography was applied to the seperation of crocetin and crocin-1 from gardenia.Crocetin(6.25,12.5 and 25.0 mg·kg~(-1)·d~(-1)) and crocin (18.7,37.5 and 75.0 mg·kg~(-1)·d~(-1)) were orally administered to kunming mice.Then,superoxide dismutase(SOD),glutathione peroxidase(GSH-Px),total antioxidant capacity(TAOC)and malondialdehyde(MDA)in mice were determined for the comparison of antioxidant activity of crocetin and crocin-1.Results Oral administration of crocetin and crocin for six weeks could enhance SOD of liver and kidney,GSH-Px of liver and TAOC of heart and kidney.In addition,it could decrease MDA of serum in mice.Conclusions The comparison of results suggests the evidence supporting the comparable antioxidant activity of crocetin and crocin.The results of the research also indicate that liver and kidney are two organs targeted for protection concerning endogenous antioxidant among various tissues.

Objective To investigate the function of major histocompatibility complex (MHC)class Ⅰ-related gene (MIC) in ulcerative colitis (UC) pathogenesis. Methods The difference of MICA, M ICB and their ligand NKG2D genes expression in colonic mucosa tissue of 34 UC patients and 12 healthy people were determined by fluorescent real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and the expression location of M ICA in colonic mucosa tissue was obtained by laser scanning confocal microscope. Results The mRNA level of MICA, MICB and NKG2D expression in UC groups (3. 5408±2. 6658, 8. 9879±3. 2893 and 2. 4395±0. 8147 accordingly) was significantly higher than that in the healthy controls ( 1. 0477 ± 0. 7201, 4. 6293 ± 1. 2616 and 1. 1624±0. 3954 accordingly) (P = 0.0053, 0.0039 and 0. 0078 accordingly). It suggested that MICA was expressed in colonic epithelia cell membranes by laser scanning confocal microscopy.Conclusion The mRNA level of MICA, M ICB, and their ligand, NKG2D expression were all up regulated in the colonic mucosa of UC patients, which indicated MIC gene might perform important local function in UC.

Background Researches determined that the alteration of A69S locus of age-related maculopathy susceptibility 2 ( ARMS2 ) gene is closely associated with the pathogenesis and progression of age-related maculopathy ( AM D ).However,the location of ARMS2 protein in normal eye tissue is still in controversy,therefore,its function is below understanding up to now.Objective The goal of this laboratory work was to investigate the distribution,expression and location of ARMS2 protein in normal adult retina and choroid as well as in retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells and lay a basis for exploring further its function in the protein level.Methods Ten donor eyeballs of normal adult male with the age from 28-42 years were collected in eye bank of Qingdao Eye Hospital.The frozen sections of the retina and choroid were prepared for the detection and location of ARMS2 in 3 eyes by immunofluorescence under the confocal laser microscope.The retina was isolated for the primary culture of RPE cells using explant culture method.The cells were then identified by CK32 antibody by immunofluorescence.The distribution and expression of the ARMS2 protein in retina,ehoroid and RPE cells were determined by immunofluorescence technique.Results ARMS2 protein was strongly expressed in retinal vessel,RPE cell layer,Bruch membrane and choroidal vessel,but weak expression was in retinal ganglion cell layer,inner nuclear layer,outer plexiform layer,outer nuclear layer and inner plexiform layer in the normal eyes.The primarily cultured cells appeared the polygon shape with the abundant pigment in cytoplasm.The immunofluorescence of the cells showed the positive response for CK32,exhibiting the green fluorescence granules in the cytoplasm.The positive expression of ARMS2 protein also was seen in the cytoplasm of RPE cells,appearing the red fluorescence.Conclusions ARMS2 protein mainly distribute and locate retinal and choroidal vessels,RPE cells and Bruch membrane in normal eye.

Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of butylphthalide soft capsules for treatment of acute cerebral infarction and its effect on the neurological function and inflammatory reaction of patients.Methods A total of 100 patients with acute cerebral infarction in the First Hospital of Zhangjiakou City and the Third Hospital Affiliated to Hebei North University from January 2016 to October 2016 were selected and divided into control group (n =50) and treatment group (n =50) according to the treatment protocols.The patients in the control group were given anti-platelet aggregation,statins,and other routine treatment;based on this,the patients in treatment group were orally administrated with butylphthalide soft capsules.The elbow venous blood of patients in the two groups was collected and the C reactive protein(CRP),interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels,the platelet aggregation rate were detected.The change of National Institute of Health stroke scale(NIHSS) score of patients after four weeks treatment was compared between the two groups.The recovery of neurological function of patients in the two groups was evaluated by modified Rankin grading after three months treatment.Results There was no statistic difference in the CRP,IL-6 levels and platelet aggregation rate before treatment between the two groups (P ＞ 0.05).The CRP,IL-6 levels and platelet aggregation rate of patients in the two groups after one week treatment were significantly lower than those before treatment (P ＜ 0.05);and the CRP,IL-6 levels and platelet aggregation rate of patients in the treatment group were significantly lower than those in the control group after one week treatment (P ＜ 0.05).The NIHSS score of patients in the treatment group was significantly lower than that in the control group after four weeks treatment (P ＜ 0.05);the Rankin score of patients in the treatment group was significantly lower than that in the control group after three months treatment (P ＜ 0.05).The total effective rate of patients in the treatment group was significantly higher than that in the control group (x2 =13.22,P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion Butylphthalide soft capsules can significantly reduce the inflammatory reaction in patients with acute cerebral infarction,improve and recover the neurologic impairment;and its curative effect is remarkable.