Objective:To assess the effects of HEMA on the proliferation and migration of human dental pulp cells(hDPCs).Meth-ods:hDPCs were obtained using tissue explant culture technique in vitro,and then cells of the 3rd -5th passages were treated by differ-ent concentrations of HEMA for 24,48 and 72 h respectively.Cell proliferation was examined by MTT assay.Cell migration was ob-served by Transwell method.Results:The proliferation ability of hDPCs decreased when exposed to HEMA in both time and concentra-tion dependent manner(vs control,P <0.05).Cell proliferation at 24 h expossure was statistically higher than that at 48 h and 72 h(P<0.05).The migration of hDPCs was significantly reduced in HEMA groups at different concentrations(vs control,P <0.05).Con-clusion:HEMA inhibits the proliferation and migration of human dental pulp cells in vitro.

OBJECTIVETo explore the effects of As(2)O(3) on BCR-ABL protein level and signal transduction in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) cells.

METHODSImmunoprecipitation, protein tyrosine kinase (PTK) activity assay, real-time Taqman quantitative PCR and Western blot were used.

RESULTSAs(2)O(3) downregulated BCR-ABL protein and STAT1 protein of CML mononuclear cells in the concentrations of 1.0 approximately 2.0 micro mol/L and 0.5 approximately 2.0 micro mol/L after 48 h exposure, respectively. However, p27 protein level was not affected. The PTK activity of BCR-ABL protein was also mildly decreased in CML monouclear cells at 60 h. The bcr-abl mRNA level remained unchanged.

CONCLUSIONAs(2)O(3) downregulats BCR-ABL protein, STAT1 protein, BCR-ABL signal transduction and PTK activity in CML cells.

Fusion Proteins, bcr-abl ; genetics ; Humans ; K562 Cells ; Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive ; genetics ; Phosphorylation ; drug effects ; Protein-Tyrosine Kinases ; metabolism ; Signal Transduction

Objective　To gain a better understanding of the regulatory mechanism and kinetic behaviour of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF). Methods　An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method was used to detect serum G-CSF in 61 patients with chronic renal failure±long-term hemodialysis and 30 normal controls. Results　Serum G-CSF levels in CRF patients were significantly higher than in normal controls. Eighty percent of patients had detectable G-CSF and serum G-CSF levels were 566.40±207.98?ng/L in non-hemodialyzed (non-HD) patients. The detectable percentage in hemodialyzed patients was 93.33%, serum G-CSF levels in pre-HD and post-HD patients were 1255.36±611.25?ng/L and 1151.61±599.47?ng/L respectively. Serum G-CSF levels in HD patients were slightly higher than in non-HD patients, but no significant difference was found between the two groups. No difference was found between the G-CSF values obtained in pre-HD and post-HD patients. There was no relationship between G-CSF levels and WBC, BUN or Scr (P>0.05). Conclusion　The high value of G-CSF in patients with CRF may be caused by a decrease in G-CSF clearance and/or an increase in G-CSF release.

Objective To observe the effects of Ziyin Xifeng Fang ( ZYXFF) , a Chinese medicine com-pound formulated by the method of nourishing yin and extinguishing wind, on the blood pressure and renal JAK/STAT signal pathway in the rat model of spontaneously hypertension ( SH) . Methods 40 SH rats were randomly divided into four groups ( n=10 each):model group, low dose of ZYXFF( low-dose) group, high dose of ZYXFF ( high-dose) group and compound apocynum group. Another 10 SKY rats with the same background were included in the control group. The rats of three treatment groups were ad-ministered intragastrically ( i. g. ) proper drugs, and those of control group and model group were i. g. sa-line for consecutive 42 days. The systolic blood pressure ( BP) was measured by using small animal non-invasive blood pressure meter at Day 0, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35 and Day 42. Two hours after i. g. at the last day of medication, all the rats were sacrificed. The serum contents of creatinin ( Cr) , blood urea nitrogen ( BUN) , and uric acid ( UA) were determined. The serum contents of IL-6 and TNF-αwere detected by ELISA assay, and the protein expression of renal p-JAK1 and p-STAT1 were measured by Western blot. Results Compared with control group, BP, Cr, BUN, UA, IL-6 and TNF-α increased significantly in model group, and the all indexes of the rats of the three medication groups decreased remarkably ( P<0. 05 or P<0 . 01 ) , especially the effects of high dose of ZYXFF and compound apocynum were stronger than those of low dose ZYXFF. Compared with control group, in model group rats renal p-JAK1, p-STAT1 protein expression significantly increased ( P<0 . 01 ) . The protein expressions of p-JAK1 and p-STAT1 decreased in the three medication groups compared with the model group ( P <0 . 05 or P <0 . 01 ) . Conclusion The mechanism of ZYXFF lowering blood pressure and attenuating the renal function impairment should be by the way of inhibiting the activation of JAK/STAT signal pathway.

Inflammation is the key driver of liver fibrosis progression in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Unfortunately, it is often challenging to assess inflammation in NAFLD due to its dynamic nature and poor correlation with liver biochemical markers. Liver histology keeps its role as the standard tool, yet it is well-known for substantial sampling, intraobserver, and interobserver variability. Serum proinflammatory cytokines and apoptotic markers, namely cytokeratin-18, are well-studied with reasonable accuracy, whereas serum metabolomics and lipidomics have been adopted in some commercially available diagnostic models. Ultrasound and computed tomography imaging techniques are attractive due to their wide availability; yet their accuracies may not be comparable with magnetic resonance imaging-based tools. Machine learning and deep learning models, be they supervised or unsupervised learning, are promising tools to identify various subtypes of NAFLD, including those with dominating liver inflammation, contributing to sustainable care pathways for NAFLD.

In this research, the effects of two new retinoids, SX-115 and CHU-012, on promyelocytic leukemia cell line NB4 were studied in vitro. Cell proliferation, cell morphologic characters, cell cycle kinetics, reduction ability of NBT, differentiation antigens, immunofluorescence staining and RT-PCR were adopted as the observational parameters. The results showed that SX-115 and CHU-012 induced differentiation of NB4 cells at concentration of 10(-6) mol/L. Comparing the effects of the two retinoids with all trans-retinoic acid (ATRA) at same concentration, there was no significant difference among the three agents. The mechanism of the 2 new retinoids remains possibly the same as ATRA.

For the detection of steatosis, quantitative ultrasound imaging techniques have achieved great progress in past years. Magnetic resonance imaging proton density fat fraction is currently the most accurate test to detect hepatic steatosis. Some blood biomarkers correlate with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, but the accuracy is modest. Regarding liver fibrosis, liver stiffness measurement by transient elastography (TE) has high accuracy and is widely used across the world. Magnetic resonance elastography is marginally better than TE but is limited by its cost and availability. Several blood biomarkers of fibrosis have been used in clinical trials and hold promise for selecting patients for treatment and monitoring treatment response. This article reviews new developments in the non-invasive assessment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Accumulating evidence suggests that various non-invasive tests can be used to diagnose NAFLD, assess its severity, and predict the prognosis. Further studies are needed to determine the role of the tests as monitoring tools. We cannot overemphasize the importance of context in selecting appropriate tests.
Elasticity Imaging Techniques/methods* ; Humans ; Liver/pathology* ; Liver Cirrhosis/pathology* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods* ; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

An explicit illustration of pulmonary delivery processes (PDPs) was a prerequisite for the formulation design and optimization of carrier-based DPIs. However, the current evaluation approaches for DPIs could not provide precise investigation of each PDP separately, or the approaches merely used a simplified and idealized model. In the present study, a novel modular modified Sympatec HELOS (MMSH) was developed to fully investigate the mechanism of each PDP separately in real-time. An inhaler device, artificial throat and pre-separator were separately integrated with a Sympatec HELOS. The dispersion and fluidization, transportation, detachment and deposition processes of pulmonary delivery for model DPIs were explored under different flow rates. Moreover, time-sliced measurements were used to monitor the PDPs in real-time. The Next Generation Impactor (NGI) was applied to determine the aerosolization performance of the model DPIs. The release profiles of the drug particles, drug aggregations and carriers were obtained by MMSH in real-time. Each PDP of the DPIs was analyzed in detail. Moreover, a positive correlation was established between the total release amount of drug particles and the fine particle fraction (FPF) values ( = 0.9898). The innovative MMSH was successfully developed and was capable of illustrating the PDPs and the mechanism of carrier-based DPIs, providing a theoretical basis for the design and optimization of carrier-based DPIs.

Objective: To determine the effects of ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids from different sources on glucolipid metabolism in type 2 diabetic patients with dyslipidemia. Methods: We recruited participants from the diabetes specialist clinic at the Guanlin hospital in Yixing city, Jiangsu Province from February 2017 to March 2017. A total of 180 subjects were randomly assigned to 3 g/day fish oil (FO), perilla oil (PO), or fish oil mixed with linseed oil (FLO) for 6 months. The basic conditions and fasting venous blood sample were obtained from each study subject at baseline, after 6 months of intervention. Serum glucose and lipid metabolism were investigated. Results: A total of 156 subjects aged (62.6±8.6) years completed the final follow-up after 6 months (FO,54 subjects; PO,52 subjects; FLO,50 subjects). Among them,59 patients (37.8%) were male. Serum glucose, glycated hemoglobin, C peptide, insulin and homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance were not significantly different among the three groups after 6 months. Serum triglyceride decreased, whereas high-density lipoprotein cholesterol increased in FO [1.33 (1.05,1.93) mmol/L, (1.36±0.29) mmol/L, respectively] compared with PO [1.71 (1.23, 2.17) mmol/L, (1.23±0.22) mmol/L, respectively] and FLO [1.51 (1.12, 2.22) mmol/L, (1.29±0.30) mmol/L, respectively] (P<0.05). Serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and apolipoprotein B decreased in PO [(2.60±0.57) mmol/L,(0.96±0.23) g/L, respectively] compared with FO [(2.89±0.76) mmol/L, (1.07±0.30) g/L, respectively] (P<0.05). Serum lipoprotein(a) decreased in FLO [130.7 (63.3,270.6) mg/L] compared with FO [137.4 (58.7,333.2) mg/L] (P<0.05). Serum free fatty acid decreased in FLO [(0.43±0.15) mmol/L] compared with PO [(0.53±0.22) mmol/L] (P<0.05). Conclusion The effects of ω-3 PUFA from different sources on glucose metabolism in type 2 diabetic patients with dyslipidemia are similar. Each of them has a good application prospect in improving lipid metabolism.

Dry powder inhalers (DPIs) had been widely used in lung diseases on account of direct pulmonary delivery, good drug stability and satisfactory patient compliance. However, an indistinct understanding of pulmonary delivery processes (PDPs) hindered the development of DPIs. Most current evaluation methods explored the PDPs with over-simplified models, leading to uncompleted investigations of the whole or partial PDPs. In the present research, an innovative modular process analysis platform (MPAP) was applied to investigate the detailed mechanisms of each PDP of DPIs with different carrier particle sizes (CPS). The MPAP was composed of a laser particle size analyzer, an inhaler device, an artificial throat and a pre-separator, to investigate the fluidization and dispersion, transportation, detachment and deposition process of DPIs. The release profiles of drug, drug aggregation and carrier were monitored in real-time. The influence of CPS on PDPs and corresponding mechanisms were explored. The powder properties of the carriers were investigated by the optical profiler and Freeman Technology four powder rheometer. The next generation impactor was employed to explore the aerosolization performance of DPIs. The novel MPAP was successfully applied in exploring the comprehensive mechanism of PDPs, which had enormous potential to be used to investigate and develop DPIs.