Objective To observe the protective effects of le g negative pressure (NP) treatment on free radical injury from chronic ischemia of lower legs in canines. Methods By cutting off the branches of the femoral artery a nd inserting two pieces of spiral wires into the artery of canine posterior limb , we succeeded in duplicating the animal model of arterial occlusive disease in the lower extremity within two weeks. After treatment with LNP for 8 to 10 days, the blood samples of the ischemic legs were collected and the lipid peroxide (L PO) content as well as superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity were measured and ana lyzed, respectively. Results When the ischemic model was set up, PLO content inc reased while SOD activity decreased apparently, compared with those of normal [(35.594?10.753)vs. (24.800?9.011)?mol?L -1, P

Objective By studying the prescriptions and medicines for treating rheumatoid arthritis (RA) prescribed by modem doctors, we tried to provide new ideas for developing the new medicines for treating rheumatoid arthritis. Methods 340 prescriptions on treating rheumatoid arthritis were collected from core medical periodicals and books published in the recent 20 years. Make a statistical analysis to the medicines in these prescriptions according to TCM etiological and pharmaceutical theories and modern researching foundlings. Results Among all 254 Chinese medicines used for treating RA, 32 medicines belong to worm and vine medicines, being used for 806 times. Conclusion The worm and vine medicines are frequently used in treating RA with good therapeutic effects combined with other kinds of medicines.

Objective To analyze the histological changes of bone diseases and to investigate the noninvasive measurements for diagnosing renal osteodystrophy (ROD) in maintenance dialysis patients . Methods Ninety-one patients were selected to receive bone biopsy . The bone samples were stained with HE, toluidine blue and Masson, and were examined with light microscopy . The levels of immunoreactive parathyroid hormone (iPTH), osteoprotegerin (OPG),sRANKL and osteocalcin (OCN) were determined in the patients enrolled from 2004 to 2006 . The level of iPTH was measured by radioimmunoassay . OPG and sRANKL were measured by ELISA,and OCN was measured by chemiluminescence . Results The incidence of ROD in the maintenance patients was 100% . According to the histological appearance, 50 cases (54 .9%) were high turnover bone disease (secondary hyperparathyroid bone disease), 9 cases (9 .9%) were low turnover bone diseases(osteomalacia and adynamic bone disease), and 32 cases(35 .2% ) were mixed bone disease . The level of iPTH in patients with ROD was significantly increased compared with healthy controls . It was the lowest in low turnover bone diseases . There was no difference among three types of ROD . OPG level was significantly increased compared with healthy controls [(2176 .58±1576 .08) pmol/L vs (1310 .46±1254 .00) pmol/L, P＜0 .05] . The level in high turnover bone diseases was higher than that of the healthy controls [(2261 .85±1712 .22) pmol/L vs (1310 .46±1254 .00) pmol/L, P＜0 .05] . There was no difference among three types of ROD .sRANKL level in high turnover bone disease was significantly increased compared with healthy controls [(0 .328±0 .524)pmol/L vs (0 .084±0 .190) pmol/L, P＜0 .05] . OCN level was also higher than that of the healthy controls (P＜0 .05), and the OCN level in low turnover ROD was the lowest among three types of ROD . OCN level in mixed ROD was dramatically increased as compared to low turnover ROD [(226 .633±66 .455) pmol/L vs (193 .03±104 .269) pmol/L, P ＜0 .05] .Conclusions The histological changes of bone disease can be indicated by iPTH level, but the types of ROD can not be distinguished according to iPTH level neither be differentiated by the levels of OPG, sRANKL and OCN . Bone histomorphometry is still the golden standard for diagnosing renal osteodystrophy .

PD-1 and CTLA-4 antibodies offer great hope for cancer immunotherapy. However, many patients are incapable of responding to PD-1 and CTLA-4 blockade and show low response rates due to insufficient immune activation. The combination of checkpoint blockers has been proposed to increase the response rates. Besides, antibody drugs have disadvantages such as inclined to cause immune-related adverse events and infiltration problems. In this study, we developed a cyclic peptide C25 by using Ph.D.-C7C phage display technology targeting LAG-3. As a result, C25 showed a relative high affinity with human LAG-3 protein and could effectively interfere the binding between LAG-3 and HLA-DR (MHC-II). Additionally, C25 could significantly stimulate CD8 T cell activation in human PBMCs. The results also demonstrated that C25 could inhibit tumor growth of CT26, B16 and B16-OVA bearing mice, and the infiltration of CD8 T cells was significantly increased while FOXP3 Tregs significantly decreased in the tumor site. Furthermore, the secretion of IFN- by CD8 T cells in spleen, draining lymph nodes and especially in the tumors was promoted. Simultaneously, we exploited T cells depletion models to study the anti-tumor mechanisms for C25 peptide, and the results combined with MTT assay confirmed that C25 exerted anti-tumor effects CD8 T cells but not direct killing. In conclusion, cyclic peptide C25 provides a rationale for targeting the immune checkpoint, by blockade of LAG-3/HLA-DR interaction in order to enhance anti-tumor immunity, and C25 may provide an alternative for cancer immunotherapy besides antibody drugs.

Tryptophan 2,3-dioxygnease 2 (TDO2) is specific for metabolizing tryptophan to kynurenine (KYN), which plays a critical role in mediating immune escape of cancer. Although accumulating evidence demonstrates that TDO2 overexpression is implicated in the development and progression of multiple cancers, its tumor-promoting role in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remains unclear. Here, we observed that TDO2 was overexpressed in ESCC tissues and correlated significantly with lymph node metastasis, advanced clinical stage, and unfavorable prognosis. Functional experiments showed that TDO2 promoted tumor cell proliferation, migration, and colony formation, which could be prevented by inhibition of TDO2 and aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR). Further experimentation demonstrated that TDO2 could promote the tumor growth of KYSE150 tumor-bearing model, tumor burden of C57BL/6 mice with ESCC induced by 4-NQO, enhance the expression of phosphorylated AKT, with subsequent phosphorylation of GSK3