OBJECTIVETo study the role of nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB pathway with p38MAPK in Curcuma wenyujin diterpenoid compound C (CDCC) fighting against inflammation and inducing gastric cancer cell apoptosis by stimulating gastric cell SGC7901 with tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha).

METHODSHuman umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and human gastric cancer SGC-7901 cells were in vitro acted by CDCC in different concentrations at different time points. Their growth inhibition ratios were measured by MTT assay. The apoptosis rate of gastric cancer cells was detected by Annexin V-FITC/PI double staining. Nuclear translocation of p65 was detected by cell immunofluorescence. Expression levels of p38MAPK/P-p38MAPK, p65/P-p65, and Caspase 3/P-Caspase 3 were measured by Western blot.

RESULTSCDCC had significant inhibitory effect on the proliferation of SGC-7901. It also could effectively induce the apoptosis of gastric cancer cell SGC-7901. It also could reduce nuclear translocation of p65 in gastric cancer cell SGC-7901. Results of Western blot indicated that expression levels of p38MAPK and p65 were reduced and the expression level of Caspase-3 was elevated along with increased concentrations of CDCC (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONApoptosis executive protein Caspase 3 activated by regulating p65 via p38MAPK might be one of possible mechanisms for CDCC fighting against inflammation and gastric cancer.

Apoptosis ; Caspase 3 ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Curcuma ; Diterpenes ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; NF-kappa B ; Stomach Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

OBJECTIVETo observe the interventional effect of electroacupuncture combined with catgut implantation at acupoints for treatment of simple obesity of heart and spleen deficiency type.

METHODSSixty five cases were randomly divided into an observation group (33 cases) and a control group (32 cases). The observation group was treated with electroacupuncture combined with catgut implantation at acupoint therapy, the electroacupuncture was applied at Zhongwan (CV 12), Xiawan (CV 10), Guanyuan (CV 4), Tianshu (ST 25), ect. and catgut implantation was given at Zhongwan (CV 12), Tianshu (ST 25), Qihai (CV 6), etc. The control group was treated with electroacupuncture only. The body weight, body mass index (BMI), waistline, waist hip ratio (WHR), Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI), Hamilton anxiety scale (HAMA) and Hamilton depression scale (HAMD, 17 items) were evaluated before and after treatment, and these were also compared with those of 35 nomal cases.

RESULTSThe total effective rate of 93.9% in the observation group was higher than that of 84.4% in the control group (P < 0.05); the body weight, BMI, waistline, WHR, PSQI, HAMD and HAMA of simple obesity cases were obviously higher than those of normal cases (all P < 0.05). The scores of above indexes were all obviously decreased in both groups after treatment (all P < 0.05), and the improvement was more significant in observation group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe sleep quality reduction and mental and psychology disorder exist in simple obesity patients, and electroacupuncture combined with catgut implantation at acupoints can reduce weight effectively, and at the same time improve the sleep quality and regulate psychological state.

Acupuncture Points ; Adult ; Catgut ; Electroacupuncture ; Female ; Heart ; physiopathology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Obesity ; physiopathology ; psychology ; surgery ; therapy ; Prostheses and Implants ; Prosthesis Implantation ; Spleen ; physiopathology ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo investigate cause of chronic wounds and related status of patients so as to provide strategy for study and treatment of chronic wounds and establishment of health policy.

METHODSA total of twelve thousand one hundred and sixty-one cases hospitalized in our hospital in 2008 were enrolled in the study. A chronic wound was defined as skin tissue defect which could not heal after one month of treatment. Medical records were thus screened. Then a retrospective study was performed on patients with chronic wounds with analysis of age, gender, injury cause, therapy, and average length of hospital stay. Data were processed with chi-square test and one-way analysis of variance.

RESULTSInvestigation showed: 397 out of 12 161 cases (accounting for 3.3%) were recognized as having chronic wounds. (1) The main causes for chronic wound were burn, diabetes, and pressure ulcer, accounting for 59.9% (238/397), 15.6% (62/397), 10.8% (43/397), respectively. The other causes were operative injury, infection, varicosity, etc. There was statistical difference among the numbers of patients with chronic wounds with regard to various causes of injury (χ(2) = 136.21, P = 0.001). (2) Among patients with chronic wound, the ratio of male and female was 2.0:1.0 with mean age of (44 ± 23) years, and the highest ratio occurred in patients older than 70 years. There was significant difference in the numbers of patients with chronic wound among different age groups (χ(2) = 24.12, P = 0.025). There was statistical difference among the numbers of patients with chronic wound in different age groups with each cause of injury (with χ(2) values from 7.86 to 28.31, P values all below 0.05). (3) All patients with chronic wounds received traditional dressing. In 60.5% (240/397) and 86.4% (343/397) of patients, operative treatment or antibiotics were given. (4) The average length of hospital stay in patients with chronic wound [(38 ± 27) d] was longer as compared with that of all the inpatients in the same period [(15 ± 7) d, F = 22.82, P = 0.012]. There was obvious difference in the average length of hospital stay among patients with chronic wound caused by different reasons (F = 24.06, P = 0.036), in which burn injury resulted in the longest length of hospital stay [(47 ± 27) d].

CONCLUSIONSChronic wounds are mainly caused by diabetes and burn, and characterized by old age and longer length of hospital stay. It is necessary to strengthen translational research and related policy making, so that more rational treatment can be applied for patients with chronic wounds.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Burns ; complications ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Chronic Disease ; Diabetes Complications ; therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Inpatients ; Length of Stay ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Wound Healing ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo establish a novel method for the multiplex analysis of the methylation and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP).

METHODSThe imprinted SNP rs220028 was chosen as a model. Genomic DNA, after being digested with methylation sensitive restriction enzyme, were typed by mutagenically separated PCR (MS-PCR). The polymorphism of restriction site was excluded by PCR-RFLP.

RESULTSBy post-digestion MS-PCR, the methylated allele was detected selectively, the maternal origin of which was confirmed by pedigree analysis; A=0.5085, G=0.4915,PIC=0.3749.

CONCLUSIONThe multiplex analysis of methylation markers and SNP can be achieved by post-digestion MS-PCR. The imprinted SNP locus rs220028 is a potentially useful marker in screening Prader-Willi/Angelman syndrome.

DNA Methylation ; DNA Restriction Enzymes ; metabolism ; Genetic Markers ; genetics ; Humans ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; methods ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide

To improve the reliability and credibility of genotyping hepatitis E virus (HEV) and to explore the possibility of unifying standards of HEV genotyping by designing HEV universal primers for amplification of a long genomic fragment of different HEV genotypes. A set of universal primers (HEVuPrimer) was designed based on conserved regions determined by alignment analysis of 82 HEV strains with complete genome in GenBank. HEVuPrimer was compared with a set of previously used primers (MXJ primers) for their sequence-matching to different HEV strains and applied to amplify HEV genomic fragments from HEV reference strains with known different genotypes and clinical serum samples with anti-HEV-IgM by RT-nPCR. HEV genotyping based on the fragments amplified with HEVuPrimer was compared and validated with that based on HEV full genome and fragments obtained with MXJ primers. HEV genotyping by the phylogenetic analysis supplemented with the percent of nucleotide identity of the HEVuPrimer-determined fragments showed good correspondence with that based on HEV full-length genome. In addition, HEVuPrimer was much better than MXJ primers in matching sequences of HEV strains available from GenBank, and was able to amplify all the reference HEV strains with different genotypes. Among 124 samples with anti-HEV-IgM, 60 were positive for HEV RNA determined by a 644bp amplicon of RT-nPCR with the HEVuPrimenr. All the positive isolates belonged to HEV genotype 4 with nucleotide homology of 80.0%-99.9%, and could be further divided into 4 subgenotypes. Moreover, a novel subtype was identified with 6 HEV strains isolated very recently. The RT-nPCR using the HEVuPrimer and phylogenetic analysis of the amplified region provided strong evidences for its feasibility in HEV genetic classification. Our data have new implication for the consensus of genotype classification of HEV.
DNA Primers ; genetics ; Genome, Viral ; genetics ; Genotype ; Hepatitis E virus ; genetics ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; methods

Naringenin (1) was transformed to three metabolites (2-4) by Mucor sp. Based on LCMS(n)-IT-TOF and NMR spectroscopic data, 2-4 were identified as naringenin-7-O-sulphate, naringenin-4'-O-sulphate, and naringenin-5-O-sulphate, respectively. These results might provide hints to the mammalian/human metabolism of naringenin.
Biotransformation ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Flavanones ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Molecular Structure ; Mucor ; metabolism ; Sulfates ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo observe the clinical effect of dog-day acupuncture and tortoise-shell moxibustion combined with pelvic floor muscle exercises for treatment of female stress urinary incontinence.

METHODSSeventy one cases were randomly divided into two groups. Thirty six cases in the observation group were treated with acupuncture on Zhongji (CV 3), Zigong (EX-CA 1), Chize (LU 5) etc. and tortoise-shell moxibustion on Shenque (CV 8) combined with pelvic floor muscle exercises; while thirty five cases in the control group were treated with only pelvic floor muscle exercises. The scores of the International Consultation Committee on Incontinence Questionnaire Short Form (ICI-Q-SF) and the Medical Outcomes Survey Short Form-36 (SF-36) were evaluated before and after treatment, and the scores of SF-36 were also compared with 35 cases in normal group.

RESULTSThe total effective rate of 91.7% in the observation group was higher than that of 77.1% in the control group (P < 0.05). The dimensions of SF-36 of stress urinary incontinence patients were remarkably lower than those of normal group (all P < 0.05). The scores of ICI-Q-SF were decreased while the scores of SF-36 were increased obviously after treatment in both the observation group and the control group, there were pronounced improvements on physiological function, pain, physical activity, social function and affection function in the observation group (all P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe quality of life for female stress urinary incontinence patients may be poor, however the dog-day acupuncture and tortoise-shell moxibustion combined with pelvic floor muscle exercises can improve the symptoms of urinary incontinence and increase the quality of life of patients.

Acupuncture Therapy ; Adult ; Aged ; Exercise Therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Moxibustion ; Muscle Contraction ; Muscles ; physiopathology ; Treatment Outcome ; Urinary Incontinence, Stress ; physiopathology ; therapy

Solid organ transplant recipients are at increased risk for Aspergillus infections. However, the cases of Aspergillus spondylodiscitis are rare and mostly resulted from the hematogenous spread of invasive pulmonary Aspergillosis. Here, we report a case of primary spondylodiscitis in a liver transplant recipient. Six months after transplantation, a chronic and progressive lumbar back pain was presented. The patient had no fever and the white blood cell count was normal. High plasma (1→3)-beta-d-glucan (BDG) level was detected at the time of back pain. The pathogen was Aspergillus flavus. Clinical and radiological healing was achieved through posterior only debridement and voriconazole therapy.
Adult ; Aspergillosis ; blood ; diagnosis ; etiology ; Discitis ; blood ; diagnosis ; etiology ; Humans ; Liver Transplantation ; adverse effects ; Male

OBJECTIVETo study the effect of terephthalic acid (TPA) on lipid metabolism in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats.

METHODSFive groups of SD rats that ingested 0%, 0.04%, 0.2%, 1%, and 5% TPA, respectively, were included in a 90-day subchronic feeding study. Effects of TPA on levels of serum protein, total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), total antioxidative capability (T-AOC), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were observed. Urine samples were collected and analyzed for concentration of ion.

RESULTSTPA decreased the level of serum T-AOC in a dose dependent manner. The contents of serum and bladder MDA significantly decreased in 1% and 5% TPA ingestion groups. Serum CuZn superoxide dismutase (CuZnSOD) lowered in groups of 0.2%, 1%, and 5% TPA. TPA subchronic feeding had no significant influences on serum TC, LDL or HDL, but increased serum TG, TP and ALB after administration of 0.04% and/or 0.2% TPA. Concentrations of urinary Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, and K+ were elevated in 1% and 5% TPA groups.

CONCLUSIONAntioxidative potential decreased after TPA exposure. MDA increase in serum and bladder tissues was one of the most important reactions in rats which could protect themselves against TPA impairment. The decrease of serum CuZnSOD was related to the excretion of Zn2+.

Animals ; Antioxidants ; analysis ; Blood Proteins ; analysis ; Cholesterol ; blood ; Female ; Ions ; urine ; Lipid Metabolism ; drug effects ; Lipoproteins ; blood ; Male ; Malondialdehyde ; blood ; Phthalic Acids ; toxicity ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Superoxides ; blood ; Triglycerides ; blood ; Weight Gain

OBJECTIVETo investgate the metabolism of terephthalic acid (TPA) in rats and its mechanism. Methods Metabolism was evaluated by incubating sodium terephthalate (NaTPA) with rat normal liver microsomes, or with microsomes pretreated by phenobarbital sodium, or with 3-methycholanthrene, or with diet control following a NADPH-generating system. The determination was performed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and the mutagenic activation was analyzed by umu tester strain Salmonella typhimurium NM2009. Expression of CYP4B1 mRNA was detected by RT-PCR. Results The amount of NaTPA (12.5-200 micromol x L(-1)) detected by HPLC did not decrease in microsomes induced by NADPH-generating system. Incubation of TPA (0.025-0.1 mmol x L(-1)) with induced or noninduced liver microsomes in an NM2009 umu response system did not show any mutagenic activation. TPA exposure increased the expression of CYP4B 1 mRNA in rat liver, kidney, and bladder.

CONCLUSIONLack of metabolism of TPA in liver and negative genotoxic data from NM2009 study are consistent with other previous short-term tests, suggesting that the carcinogenesis in TPA feeding animals is not directly interfered with TPA itself and/or its metabolites.

Animals ; Aryl Hydrocarbon Hydroxylases ; genetics ; metabolism ; Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic ; drug effects ; Genes, Bacterial ; genetics ; Kidney ; enzymology ; Liver ; enzymology ; Male ; Microsomes, Liver ; drug effects ; enzymology ; Mutagenicity Tests ; Phthalic Acids ; pharmacokinetics ; toxicity ; RNA, Messenger ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Salmonella typhimurium ; genetics ; Urinary Bladder ; enzymology ; beta-Galactosidase ; metabolism