OBJECTIVETo study the proliferation and apoptosis of tetramethylpyrazine (TMP) on leukemic U937 cells and its possible mechanism.

METHODThe inhibitory effect of TMP on the proliferation of U937 cells was detected by CCK-8 assay. The cell apoptosis and cycle distribution were examined by the flow cytometry. The mRNA expressions of bcl-2 and P27 were determined by the Real-time PCR. Western blot was carried out to detect bcl-2, caspase-3, cyclin E1, CDK2 and P27 expressions.

RESULTTMP inhibited the proliferation of U937 cells in a dose-and-time dependent manner, with IC50 value of 160 mg x L(-1) at 48 h. In addition, TMP could induce the apoptosis of U937 cells and block the cell cycle in G0/G1 phase. According to the results of Real-time PCR and Western blot, TMP could down-regulate the expression of apoptosis-related molecule bcl-2, cycle-related protein cyclin E1 and CDK2 and up-regulate caspase-3 and P27.

CONCLUSIONTMP shows the effects in inhibiting the proliferation of leukemic U937 cells and inducing the apoptosis. Its mechanism may be related to the impacts on the cell cycle distribution, down-regulation of the bcl-2 expression, which finally activates caspase-3, starts the apoptosis path and causes the cell apoptosis.

Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Cell Cycle ; drug effects ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 2 ; analysis ; Humans ; Leukemia ; drug therapy ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 ; analysis ; Pyrazines ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; U937 Cells

OBJECTIVETo establish an FTIR method for the analysis of Dendrobium.

METHODUsing fourier transform infrared spectrometer to record the characteristic spectra of eleven samples of Dendrobium, and to compare the spectra by PCA (principal component analysis).

RESULTThe FTIR spectra of the upper part of the stem displayed significant differences between fresh and dried samples of Dendrobium. On the other hand, differences were observed in the spectra of the middle and lower parts of stems of D. guangxieuse when compared to other species.

CONCLUSIONThe method of applying PCA to FTIR analysis is a rapid and dependable method for comparing samples of Dendrobium.

Dendrobium ; chemistry ; classification ; Plant Stems ; chemistry ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; classification ; Principal Component Analysis ; methods ; Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared ; methods

OBJECTIVEIdentify the significance of variants in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), the role of extracellular matrix (ECM), MMPs, cell adhesion molecular (CAM) and cytokine in lymphatic metastasis in PTC and the value of PET-CT in diagnosis of thyroid carcinoma.

METHODSFive hundred and five cases of PTC which had complete medical records and followed up surveys were selected from the files. Clinical biological characteristic of the histological variants was investigated. Sixty cases of PTC were selected. As the important parts of micro ecosystems, ECM, MMPs, CAMs and cytokine were investigated in use of tissue chip and method of immunohistochemistry. In addition, a group of cases of thyroid carcinoma including PTC was analyzed, follicular thyroid carcinoma and medulla thyroid carcinoma (MTC) and their reports of PET-CT as the initiation.

RESULTSThe variants could be divided into three groups in terms of the rate of cervical lymph node metastasis. The high-metastases group included diffuse sclerosing variant, tall cell variant, column cell variant and diffuse follicular variant. The low-metastases group included macrofollicular variant and papillary microcarcinomas. Others are included in the moderate-metastases group. The rate of cervical lymph node metastasis of each group were 83.0% , 55.5% and 34.1% (P < 0. 05), respectively. The 10-year-survival were 75.3% , 95.8% and 100.0% , respectively. The 20-year-survival were 31.2%, 80.3% and 87.5%, respectively. The positive rate of LN, FN, MMP-2, MMP-9, TIMP-2, CD, Integrinbeta-1, ICAM-1, EGFR, TGFR-beta, VEGF-C and E-Cad in metastasis ranged from 51.6% (Integrinbeta-1) to 98.3% (CD), and that in primartumor ranged from 46.7% (FN) to 98.3% (ICAM-1). The expression of E-cad in primartumor was lower than that in normal tissues (P < 0.05). The sensitivity of PET-CT was 100% and the specificity was 85.7%.

CONCLUSIONSThe characteristic has significant difference among the variants. Individual treatment should be performed in terms of different variants. Furthermore, some molecules play an important role in the lymph node metastasis of PTC and may be considered as the focus of future study. In addition, compared with CT and Bus, PET-CT is more sensitive and has its unquestionable advantage as a whole body examination, especially for staging and detecting micro metastases, though it requires a high expense.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Carcinoma, Papillary ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Positron-Emission Tomography ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Young Adult

Objective: Autologous peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) derived from bone marrow can promote liver regeneration and improve the liver function of patients, but there are few studies on its effect on the long-term outcomes in patients with decompensated cirrhosis. Based on previous work, this study observed the clinical outcomes of PBSC treatment in patients with decompensated cirrhosis for 10 years, in order to provide more data support for the safety and efficacy of stem cells in clinical applications. Methods: Data of patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis who completed PBSC treatment in the Department of Gastroenterology of the First Affiliated Hospital of Air Force Military Medical University from August 2005 to February 2012 were included. The follow-up endpoint was death or liver transplantation, and patients who did not reach the follow-up endpoint were followed-up for at least 10 years. The patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis who met the conditions for PBSC treatment but did not receive PBSC treatment in our hospital during the same period were used as controls. Results: A total of 287 cases with decompensated liver cirrhosis had completed PBSC treatment, and 90 cases were lost to follow-up within 10 years after surgery. A total of 151 cases with complete survival follow-up data were included in the control group. There were no statistically significant differences in baseline information such as gender, age, etiological composition and liver function score between the two groups. The 10-year survival rate was higher in PBSC than control group (37.56% vs. 26.49%, P<0.05). Cholinesterase, albumin, international normalized ratio, Child-Turcotte-Pugh score, model for end-stage liver disease score, and other indicators were gradually recovered within 3 months to 1 year after PBSC treatment, and stabilized at a more desirable level in the long-term after follow-up for up to 10 years. There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of liver cancer between the two groups (25.22% vs.31.85%, P=0.267). The age of onset of hepatocellular carcinoma was later in PBSC than control group [(56.66±7.21) years vs. (52.69±8.42) years, P<0.05]. Conclusions: This long-term observational follow-up study of more than ten years confirms that PBSC treatment can bring long-term benefits to patients with decompensated cirrhosis, with good long-term safety, thus providing more data support on the safety and efficacy of stem cells for clinical applications.
End Stage Liver Disease ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis/drug therapy* ; Middle Aged ; Peripheral Blood Stem Cells ; Severity of Illness Index ; Treatment Outcome