Background Research showed that transforming growth factor-β2 (TGF-β2) promotes scar formation.But its mechanism in scarring after glaucoma filtration surgery is worthy of studying.Objective This study was to investigate the effect of TGF-β2 on myofibroblast transition of human Tenon fibroblasts (HTFs) and scarring after glaucoma filtration surgery.Methods Tenon capsular tissue was obtained from 3 patients with strabismus during the surgery and was incubated in DMEM with 10％ fetal bovine serum (FBS).The cells were collected and passaged in the free-serum medium for 24 hours,and then 1,2,5,10,20 μg/L TGF-β2 was added into the medium respectively,to induce the transformation of HTFs,and 2 μg/L or 5 μg/L TGF-β2 was used to treat the HTFs for 6,24,48 and 72 hours.The control group was not treated with TGF-β2.The expressions of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and phosphorylation of the signaling proteins (pSmad2) in HTFs were detected by Western blot assay.The expressions of α-SMA and F-actin were located by cell immunofluorescine technique under the confocal immunofluorescence microscopy.Cell contractility was determined by collagen gel contraction assays.This study was approved by Ethic Committee of Institute of Surgery Research of Daping Hospital,and informed consent was obtained from each patient or custodian initial of the study.Results The expression of α-SMA protein in the HTFs was increased significantly after the treatment of TGF-β2 in comparison with the control group and reached a peak at 24-48 hours.The α-SMA expression was gradually weakened in the 10 μg/L TGF-β2 groups.Little of α-SMA and F-actin were expressed in the control group.However,strong staining for α-SMA and F-actin were observed in the 1,2 and 5 μg/L TGF-β2 groups and then the staining weakened at the concentration of 10 μg/L.In addition,pSmad2 showed a stronger expression in the 2 μg/L TGF-β2 group than that in the PBS group and FBS group,with the strongest expression in 30 minutes through 2 hours.The untreated gel contracted (78.00±3.13)％ from its initial size,and contraction in the 1,2,5,10 μg/L TGF-β2 group were (63.88±1.78)％,(20.69±0.65)％,(19.49-±0.54)％,(16.24±0.84) ％,respectively,TGF-β2 increased HTFs contraction significantly (Fgroup =859.400,P =0.000).Conclusions TGF-β2 can induce transdifferentiation of Tenon fibroblast into myofibroblast and increase cell contractility,with a concentration-dependent and time-dependent pattern to an extent.It may be the mechanism of scar formation after glaucoma filter surgery.

Advocating green, nature, environmental protection, safety and the pursuit of efficacy are the trends of cosmetics in the world. In recent years, more and more Chinese herbal extracts with mild, high safety and small irritation are applied to cosmetics as the natural additives. This has become a new hot spot. The recent application advances of Chinese medicine raw materials in cosmetics are overviewed according to their main functions. This review will provide useful references for the future development and application of Chinese medicinal herbs cosmetics.
Animals ; Biomedical Research ; trends ; Consumer Product Safety ; Cosmetics ; analysis ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; analysis ; Humans

OBJECTIVETo investigate the clinical application of free superficial iliac circumflex artery skin flaps, as well as the management of donor site defects.

METHODS17 free superficial iliac circumflex artery skin flaps were applied for the traumatic defects or deformities on face, neck, foot, hand, ankle and lower leg, respectively. The donor site defects were closed directly or covered by paraumbilical island flaps.

RESULTSThe 17 flap size ranged from 5 cm x 3 cm to 19 cm x 14 cm. 16 flaps survived completely except 1 flap with partial necrosis, which was closed by free skin graft. The donor site defects were closed directly in 10 cases, and covered by paraumbilical island flaps in 7 flaps without no flap necrosis. The abdomen had a good appearance.

CONCLUSIONSGood appearance can be achieved with free superficial iliac circumflex artery skin flaps for the defects on face, neck, foot, hand, ankle and lower leg. Paraumbilical island flap can be used for the donor site defects.

Arteries ; Foot ; Free Tissue Flaps ; blood supply ; transplantation ; Humans ; Reconstructive Surgical Procedures ; Skin ; Skin Transplantation ; Transplant Donor Site ; surgery ; Wounds and Injuries ; surgery

OBJECTIVETo assess the effectiveness and safety on post-stroke dysphagia in chronic stage treated with magnetic-ball sticking therapy at the auricular points.

METHODSNinety cases of post-apoplexy dysphagia in chronic stage were randomized into an auricular points group and an acupuncture group. In the auricular points group, the magnetic-ball sticking therapy was applied to subcortex (pizhixia, AT4), brainstem (naogan, AT(3,4i)), mouth (kou, CO1), cheek (mianjia, LO(5,6i)), tongue (she, LO2) and throat (yanhou, TG3) on one ear each time, and were changed on the other ear once every 3 days. In the acupucnture group, acupuncture was applied to Feng-chi (GB 20), Yifeng (TE 17), Shanglianquan (Extra), Jinjin (EX-HN 12), Yuye (EX-HN 13), Shuigou (GV 26) and Tongli (TH 5), etc. The needles were retained for 30 min in each treatment. The treatment was gi-yen once a day in the two groups and the treatment of 6 days made one session. There was 1 day at an interval among the sessions. Totally, 3 sessions of treatment were required. The video fluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS) was performed for 4 kinds of food with different properties and shapes in each patient. The main indices were Rosenbek penetration-aspiration score, oral-retaining score and throat-retaining score. The efficacy, and the incidences of aspiration pneumonia and malnutrition were compared between the two groups. The nutrition indices were compared before and after treatment between the two groups, such as the skinfold thickness of triceps brachii muscle, serum albumin and peralbumin.

RESULTSIn 21 days of treatment, in the auricular points group, the 1 mL liquid loversol Rosenbek penetration-aspiration score (1.51 +/- 0.69), oral-retaining score (1.17 +/- 0.38) and throat-retaining score (1.30 +/- 0.66) were all lower than those (2.51 +/- 0.67, 1.63 +/- 0.72, 1.67 +/- 0.7) in the acupuncture group separately. The 10 mL liquid loversol Rosenbek penetration-aspiration score (2.27 +/- 0.65), oral-retaining score (1.60 +/- 0.50) and throat-retaining score (1.49 +/- 0.51) were all lower than those (4.19 +/- 0.73, 2.30 +/- 0.51, 2.41 +/- 0.50) in the acupuncture group separately. The 10 mL paste loversol Rosenbek penetration-aspiration score (1.68 +/- 0.81), oral-retaining score (1.11 +/- 0.31) and throat-retaining score (1.10 +/- 0.31) were all lower than those (3.91 +/- 0.68, 1.63 +/- 0.76, 1.60 +/- 0.76) in the acupuncture group separately. The 1/4 cake-form loversol Rosenbek penetration-aspiration score (2.60 +/- 0.65), oral-retaining score (1.40 +/- 0.50) and throat-retaining score (1.74 +/- 0.49) were all lower than those (4.14 +/- 1.10, 2.40 +/- 0.73, 2.30 +/- 0.83) in the acupuncture group separately. The incidence of aspiration pneumonia was 14.9% (7/47) in the auricular points group, which was lower than 55.0% (22/40) in the acupuncture group (P < 0.01). The incidence of malnutrition was 8. 5% (4/47) in the auricular points group, which was lower than 50.0% (20/40) in the acupuncture group (P < 0.01). In 21 days of treatment, the results of the skinfold thickness of triceps brachii muscle and serum albumin in the auricular points group were better than those in the acupuncture group (both P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe magnetic-ball sticking therapy at auricular points achieves the definite efficacy on post-stoke dysphagia in chronic stage and decreases the incidences of aspiration pneumonia and malnutrition. The efficacy of this therapy is better than acupuncture.

Acupuncture, Ear ; instrumentation ; Aged ; Deglutition Disorders ; etiology ; therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Magnetics ; instrumentation ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Stroke ; complications ; Treatment Outcome

Objective To explore the effect of Okam on airway inflammation in asthmatic mouse.Methods Thirty-two SPF grade Kunming Strain mice were randomly divided into positive control group,glucocorticoid inhalation group,Okam group and negative control group with 8 mice in each group.The mice were sensitized and repeatedly challenged with ovalbumin(OVA) to establish the models of chronic asthma.The glucocorticoid group were given Budesonide(200 ?g) and saline everyday by inhalation,the Okam group were given 50 mg/kg Okam by gavage,and the positive group had saline at the same time,the negative control group received saline at all stages.The inflammation of the lung tissue were scored underwent HE staining.Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid(BALF) cell count and differential were studied,and interferon-?(IFN-?),interleukin-4(IL-4) in BALF were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).Results There were no inflammatory cell infiltrate of bronchiole in the negative control group.Inflammatory infiltration of lung tissue were obvious in the positive control group.Inflammatory infiltration of lung tissue lightened obviously in the Budesonide and Okam groups.The total cell number,Eosinophils(EOS) and IL-4 level in BALF,and the score of the lung tissue in Okam group were all markedly lower than those in positive control group(t=5.942,7.089,7.078 Pa0.05),IFN-? lower(t=4.275 P

As an important part of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), mineral medicine plays an irreplaceable role. However, little has been reported on its species and valence state of heavy metals and deleterious elements, and also the relevance to pharmacological effect and toxicology. The present paper, in a new perspective, summarized the determination of the species and valence state of heavy metals and deleterious elements in recent years, discussed the progress of the pharmacological effect and toxicology, and prospected for future study which might provide reference for mineral medicine.
Animals ; Drug Contamination ; statistics & numerical data ; Drug Therapy ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Metals, Heavy ; analysis ; toxicity ; Minerals ; analysis ; pharmacology

OBJECTIVETo compare the difference in clinical efficacy on lumber disc herniation (LDH) treated with Yaoyangguan (GV 3) between mild moxibustion under thermosensitive condition and that under non-thermo-sensitive condition.

METHODSFifty-seven LDH patients were selected as the study objects. Mild moxibustion at Yaoyangguan (GV 3) was applied for 45 min each time. Additionally, the conventional acupuncture was given, once a day, for 20 days. At the end of treatment, two groups were classified. A thermosensitive acupoint group (thermosensitive group) was composed of the cases with thermo-sensitization at Yaoyangguan (GV 3) and presenting for > or =4 times in the entire treatment. A non-thermosensitive acupoint group (tranquilization group) was composed of the cases without thermo-sensitization or the frequency of thermo-sensitization <4 times in the entire treatment. The modified Japanese orthopedics association scoring system (M-JOA) was adopted to observe the cases before and after treatment and 6 months after treatment in the two groups. The efficacy was compared between the two groups.

RESULTSAfter treatment and in 6 months after treatment, the score of M-JOA was apparently reduced as compared with that before treatment in the two groups (all P<0.05). The score reducing in the thermosensitization group was more obvious than that in the tranquilization group (both P<0.01). After treatment and in 6 months after treatment, the curative rate and remarkably effective rate were 89.7% (26/29) and 79.3% (23/29), which was better than 71.4% (20/28) and 60.7% (17/28, both P<0.05) in the tranquilization group separately.

CONCLUSIONMild moxibustion at acupoint under thermosensitive condition achieves the better short-term and long-term effects as compared with that under non-thermosensitive condition.

Acupuncture Points ; Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Intervertebral Disc Displacement ; therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Moxibustion ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo study the changes of urine metabolites in hypertension patients of ascendant hyperactivity of Gan yang syndrome (AHGYS), and to explore its essence in hypertension patients.

METHODSTen typical hypertension patients of AHGYS were recruited as the patient group, and the other twelve healthy volunteers were recruited as the normal group. The metabolite profiling in the urine were collected using by high performance liquid chromatography coupled with time of flight mass spectrometry (HPLC-TOFMS). The principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least-square discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) were analyzed using SIMCA-P Software. The differential metabolites in the urine were found out and identified. The possible relevant metabolic pathways were explained.

RESULTSThe data from the analysis by PCA in the urine samples of the patient group and the normal group showed, two sets of data could be obviously classified in the score plot. Compared with the normal group, significant changes happened to the body metabolism in the patient group. The metabolites relevant to hypertension patients of AHGYS were determined using the PLS-DA. Fifteen compounds of the structure and metabolic pathways had been confirmed through inquiring KEGG Database, mainly including amino acids, free fatty acids, sphingosine, and so on.

CONCLUSIONSThe hypertension patients of AHGYS were studied using HPLC-TOFMS combined with pattern recognition, thus finding out small molecular metabolic markers from the microscopic field, which was advantageous in probing the biological nature of Chinese medicine syndromes.

Adult ; Aged ; Case-Control Studies ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; methods ; Discriminant Analysis ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension ; diagnosis ; urine ; Least-Squares Analysis ; Male ; Mass Spectrometry ; methods ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods ; Metabolome ; Middle Aged ; Principal Component Analysis

Objective To construct the Neisseria surface protein A (NspA) DNA vaccine of Neisseria gonorrhoeae and evaluate the humoral and cellular immune responses induced by this vaccine in mice model.Methods The recombinant expression vector pcDNA3.1 (+)/NspA was constructed by inserting NspA gene into the eukaryotic expression vector pcDNA3.1 (+) and confirmed by poly merase chain reaction (PCR),restriction enzymes HindⅢ,XbaⅠand DNA sequencing.NspA mR- NA in transfected RAW264.7 cells and NspA protein expression in transfected COS-7 cells were de- tected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunohistochemical stai- ning,respectively.Forty-five male BALB/c mice were immunized with pcDNA3.1 (+)/NspA recom binant plasmid.The level of serum anti-Neisseria gonorrhoeae antibody of the immunized mice was detected by tube agglutination test,and the level of interieron (IFN)-?was assayed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).The proliferation of splenocytes was determined by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) colormetry.The NspA gene in BALB/c mice was identified by PCR with the total DNA extracted from quadriceps femoris in immunized sites.Results Restriction enzymes digestion a- nalysis and DNA sequencing results revealed that the pcDNA3.1 (+)/NspA had been constructed successfully.NspA gene had been transcripted and expressed in mammalian cells.The peak titer of specific antibody was 1:640 in pcDNA3.1(+)/NspA immunized group and there was no specific an- tibody detected in both pcDNA3.1 (+) immunized group and PBS group.The IFN-?level in pcD NA3.1 (+) immunized group was (23.79?11.85)pg/mL and that in pcDNA3.1 (+)/NspA immu- nized group was(169.71?30.52)pg/mL (P

The theory of fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) and methods of fluorescence detection in fluorescent-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (FQ-PCR) are introduced in this article. Applications of FRET in fluorescence detection of PCR are emphatically discussed, and FRET research progress and future trends are pointed out too.
Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer ; methods ; trends ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; methods