Objective To explore the mechanism of tripterygium wilfordii hook f(TWHF)for Henoch-Schonlein purpura nephritis(HSPN,nephrotic type)in children.Methods All the children with HSPN(nephrotic type)were divided into 3 groups casually.Method of radioactive pairs conjugating analysis was used to determine the numbers of glucocorticoid(GC)receptors(GCRs).Results were statistically analysed respectively.Results GCRs tested in all the patients with HSPN(nephrotic type)before treatment were statistically lower than those in control group of normal children;GCRs in all the patients tested after 1 week treatment with GC were lower than before treatment.Three weeks later,GCRs in patients treated with TWHF increased much higher than them without TWHF.Following up the recurring times of all the patients 3 months to 5 years,they were much more in patients treated without TWHF treatment than in patients treated with it.Conclusions TWHF treatment on HSPN(nephrotic type)is obviously effective.It can not only decrease the dosage of GC,but decrease the recurring times.One of the mechanism may be TWHF can resist the down-regulation GC to GCR,and enhance the effect of GC.

One new dicyclopeptide cyclo-(L-N-methyl Glu-L-N-methyl Glu) (1), together with one new natural dicyclopeptide cyclo-(L-methyl Glu ester-L-methyl Glu ester) (2), and two known dicyclopeptides cyclo-(L-methyl Glu ester-L-Glu) (3), and cyclo-(L-Glu-L-Glu) (4), were isolated from the aerial parts of Dianthus chinensis L. Their structures were determined by spectroscopic analyses and chemical methods.
Dianthus ; chemistry ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Molecular Structure ; Plant Components, Aerial ; chemistry ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry

Up to date, eight types of human herpes viruses have been identified, all of which are ubiquitous, and usually establish latent infection in the host after primary infection. Since most of the herpes viruses are maintained in an asymptomatic form, they are often neglected. However, under some circumstances, these herpes viruses can cause fatal or severe diseases. Furthermore, the association of herpes viruses with hematopoietic malignancies is attracting researchers' attention. With the extensive development of hematopoietic stem cell and organ transplantation, reports regarding transplantation failure and complication caused by infection of human herpes virus has been increasing. Cytokine storm was firstly suggested as the mechanism of graft-versus-host diseases. In recent years, which has also been applied in the pathogenesis research of inflammation, and is supposed to play an important role in severe virus infection. In this paper, through discussing the possible role of latent infection of human herpes virus in the failure or complication of bone marrow or hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, and in refractory leukemia, the function and significance of latent infection of human herpes virus and the cytokine storm it caused were investigated.
Cytokines ; immunology ; Hematopoietic System ; immunology ; virology ; Herpesviridae Infections ; Humans ; Virus Latency

As pioneer of tumor stem cell research, leukemia stem cell research has not only important theoretical significance, but also clinical application potential. The survival and development of stem cells are directly impacted by their microenvironment. The research on leukemia stem cells and their microenvironment are now becoming a hot topic. The author presumes that stem cells are a population with heterogenecity and hierarchy; any single cell from the population is difficult to form a clone; the interaction between the leukemia stem cell and its microenvironment can be described by the concept of leukemia stem cell niche. In this article, the leukemia cell population with heterogenecity and hierarchy as well as leukemia stem cell niche were summarized and discussed.
Cell Line, Tumor ; Humans ; Leukemia ; genetics ; pathology ; Neoplastic Stem Cells ; metabolism ; pathology ; Stem Cell Niche ; cytology ; Stromal Cells ; cytology ; immunology

Relapse, which puzzled several generations of hematologists, is the bottle-neck of radical treatment for leukemias. The progress of Human Microbiome Project at the beginning of 21st century suggested that human body was a super-organism constituted by the core of human cells and symbiotic microorganisms. The elucidation and characterization of endogenous retrovirus and prion protein suggested the possible effects of co-evolutional microorganisms on human health. Recently, the elucidation of the roles of tunneling nanotubes in intercellular communication and transportation suggested a novel way for cellular communication and transport of oncogenic materials. The role and significance of in vivo cell fusion have been studied in more detail. On the other hand, donor cell leukemia was reported. All of these approaches provide novel insights for studying the mechanism of leukemia relapse. Based on previous work, the authors suggest the hypothesis: there are two possible mechanisms for the relapse of leukemias: the minimal residual disease (MRD) and intercellular transportation of oncogenic materials.
Cell Fusion ; Humans ; Leukemia ; pathology ; Neoplasm, Residual ; pathology ; Recurrence

Objective To explore the relationship between X - linked spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia tarda (SEDL) gene escaping X chromosome inactivation( XCI) and SEDL phenotype. Methods RT - PCR was performed on total RNA which was isolated from blood samples of patients, female carriers and controls. Patients and female carriers were selected from the pedigree with SEDL caused by the mutation (IVS2 - 2A→C) of the gene. cDNA was analyzed by polyacrylamide gelelectrophoresis(PAGE). Results PAGE data indicateed that female carriers expressed both normal and mutant SEDL mRNA,meaning the SEDL gene escaping XCI. Family investigation showed carrier females in the SEDL pedigree presented no symptoms. Conclusions The SEDL gene escaping X chromosome in-activation is firstly identified from human body. This may explain that carrier females present no symptoms.

Background The mechanism of both selenite-induced cataract and age-related cataract is oxidative damage.N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is one of the effective antioxidants,but the literature is little about the preventive and treating effects of NAC on cataract. Objective This study attempted to investigate the preventive and therapeutical effects of NAC on the selenite-induced cataract,and to discuss the possible mechanism. Methods Sixty 10-day-old clean SD rats were randomly divided into normal control group-1,normal control group-2,selenite-induced cataract group,NAC preventive group,NAC+normal saline group and NAC treatment group.Selenite cataract models were induced by subcutaneous injection of 3.46 mg/kg sodium selenite once daily for three days.The rats of NAC preventive group received the intraperitoneal injection of 2 mmol/L NAC 30 minutes before the injection of sodium selenite once daily for 6 days.In NAC treating group,2 mmol/L NAC was intraperitoneally injected 1 day after the injection of sodium selenite for 30 days,and the normal saline solution was injected at the same method in the NAC+normal saline group.Lens opacification was graded according to LOCS Ⅲ criteria.Histopathological change of lens epithelium was examined under a light microscope after hemotoxylin and eosin staining,and the ultrastructure was observed under the scanning electron microscope.The expression of caspase-3 in lens was assayed using immunochemistry.The levels of superoxide dismutase ( SOD ),malonaldehyde ( MDA ) in rat lens were detected respectively in corresponding time points.The use of the experimental animals complied with the Regulation for the Administration of Affairs Concerning Experimental Animals by State Science and Technology Committee. Results In 7 days after experiment,lenses were completely clear in the normal control group.Lens opacification of Ⅴ grade was found in 11 eyes in selenite cataract model group,but no lens opacification of Ⅴ grade was seen in NAC preventive group,showing a significant difference(x2 =40.000,P＜0.05 ).In 30 days after experiment,Ⅳ- Ⅴ grades of cataracts were found in 20 eyes both in NAC + normal saline group and NAC treating group (x2=0.153,P＞ 0.05 ).Histopathological examination showed that lens structure was normal,and the separation between LECs and anterior capsule,the rupture of cellular membrane,deformation of cellular nuclei and the feature of lens fiber were seen in selenite cataract group,but the damage of lens was mild in the NAC preventive group.Ultrastructure of lens was obviously abnormal in selenite cataract group,NAC+normal saline group and NAC treating group.Expressions of caspase-3 and SOD in lens were significantly lower,but that of MDA was significantly higher in the selenite cataract group than the normal control group (P＜0.05) ;while those of the NAC preventive group were significantly different from selenite cataract group(P＜0.05).No significant difference was found in the expressions of caspase-3 and the levels of SOD and MDA between NAC+normal saline group and NAC treating group (P＞0.05 ). Conclusions Selenite can induce the apoptosis of LECs.NAC can evidently postpone formation of selenite cataract by increasing the activity of SOD,decreasing the level of MDA and the expression of caspase-3.However,NAC could not reverse selenite-induced lens damage.

This research aimed at studying the effects of irrigation and rhizome length on the survival of ratio, yield and quality of Glycyrrhiza uralensis in wild tending condition. Employed the split-block design to carry out the field experiment, sampled with the quadrat method to measured the relative growth indexes and to estimate the yield, used the HPLC (high performance liquid chromatog- raphy ) method to measure the glycyrrhizin in the rhizome and adventitious root of the G. uralensis in this study. The quantity of the adventitious roots and the survival ratio were increased significantly as the length of the rhizome increased (P < 0.01), but the length of the rhizome had no remarkable effect on the content of glycyrrhizin. The average content of the glycyrrhizin in the adventitious root and rhizome could reach 3.03% and 2.12% after 3-year wild tending, respectively, and this results indicated that the quality of the glycyrrhiza using this method was much better than that from cultured glycyrrhiza with the reproducing method of seeding. so using the rhizome as reproductive material to produce the glycyrrhiza under the wild tending condition could get the high quality glycyrrhiza quick- ly and steadily, this phenomenon could be explained by the Hypothesis of synthetic inertia of the medicinal components from the wild material of G. uralensis. But the maximum yield with this method was just more than 945 kg x hm(-2) in this study. So the further work of how to increase the yield in the practical application with the method found in this study need to be done in the next research.
Agricultural Irrigation ; Culture Techniques ; methods ; Glycyrrhiza uralensis ; growth & development ; metabolism ; Glycyrrhizic Acid ; metabolism ; Rhizome ; growth & development ; Survival Analysis

OBJECTIVETo systematically assess the efficacy and safety of Rhodiola in treating chronic stable angina pectoris.

METHODSOur group searched the Cochrane library, PubMed, Embase, Chinese biomedical literature database (CBM), VIP database (VIP), Chinese Journal Full-text Database (CNKI) for the literature published in English and Chinese till April 2013. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included on the therapeutic effect of Rhodiola or Rhodiola plus conventional Western medicine in comparison with the conventional Western medicine treatment on stable angina. Data were extracted according the data extraction form. The literature methodological quality was assessed by using the Cochrane handbook, and data analyzed by Rev-Man 5.2 Software for Meta-analysis. The effect indicators of outcomes was expressed by odds ratio (OR) and 95% CI.

RESULTSA total of 7 randomized controlled trials, 662 cases of stable angina pectoris patients met the inclusion criteria and all published in Chinese, without one scientific design and high quality literature. Compared with the conventional Western medicine treatment, combined with oral administration of Rhodiola could improve the efficiency of anti-angina (OR = 2.49, 95% CI: 1.02 - 6.09). Combined with intravenous infusion of Rhodiola could also improve the efficacy of angina pectoris (OR = 4.86, 95% CI: 2.4 - 9.82). Oral administration of Rhodiola couldn't improve ECG efficacy (OR = 1.25, 95% CI: 0.67 - 2.34). Intravenous infusion of Rhodiola could improve the clinical efficacy (OR = 2.94, 95% CI: 1.61 - 5.35). Combined with the conventional treatment, intravenous infusion of Rhodiola could improve the whole blood viscosity (low and high shear rates) and inverse variance (IV) (-1.36 and -0.99, 95% CI: -1.65 - 1.07 and -1.26 - 0.71), but could not reduce serum fibrinogen and D-dimer level. The incidence rate of adverse reactions was higher than that of the conventional treatment combined with Rhodiola (OR = 0.1, 95% CI: 0.02 - 0.51).

CONCLUSIONSOn the basis of routine treatment, Rhodiola could further improve patients' symptoms. Combined with intravenous medication, Rhodiola could increase the ECG improvement rate, and reduce adverse reactions. But the methodological quality of included studies was poor, the number of samples was small, and influence factors such as the intervention period was short. This conclusion needs scientific and rational design in a larger sample, multicenter clinical trial to verify.

Aged ; Antigens, CD ; metabolism ; Antigens, Differentiation, Myelomonocytic ; metabolism ; Carcinoma, Large Cell ; metabolism ; pathology ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Histiocytic Sarcoma ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Hodgkin Disease ; metabolism ; pathology ; Humans ; Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse ; metabolism ; pathology ; Lymphoma, Large-Cell, Anaplastic ; metabolism ; pathology ; Male ; Melanoma ; metabolism ; pathology ; Receptors, Cell Surface ; metabolism ; Stomach Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery