Objective To investigate the state of Th1/Th2 cytokine imbalance in patients with lupus nephritis (LN) and its role in the pathogenesis. Methods Plasma level of interleukin-18 and interleukin-13 in 18 patients with active LN and 16 normal controls were measured by enzyme-linked immunoadsordent assay (ELISA). IL-18 and IL-13 expression in the renal tissues from 18 patients and 6 normal renal tissues were also detected by immunohistochemical assay. The ratio of plasma and renal IL-18/IL-13 was then calculated. Results Plasma levels and renal expression of IL-13 and IL-18 in patients with LN were increased significantly compared to those of normal controls (P0.05). The ratio of renal IL-18/IL-13 was not significantly different among all types of LN and normal controls. The ratio of plasma IL-18/IL-13 was positively correlated with LN renal tissue activity index (AI), but no correlationship could be found in renal IL-18/IL-13 ratio. Conclusion It seems that the immune disturbance in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) can not be simply divided into Th1 predominant and Th2 predominant. It seems far complicated than this Th1/Th2 paradigm. It may be affected by the state of disease activity, the lesion location and the type of pathology.

Objective To study the association between endometrioid uterine carcinomas and metabolic syndrome (MS). Methods A retrospective study was conducted on 123 patients who were admitted in Department of Gynecology Oncology, Zhejiang Cancer Hospital (study group) and 90 healthy women (control group) with matching age from Jan. 2005 to Mar. 2009. The general conditions[including age, whether menopausal, body mass index (BMI)];the risk factors for MS [including waist circumference,fasting plasma glucose, triglycerides(TG), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and systolic and diastolic blood pressure]were analyzed. The clinical stage, histological type, and pathology differentiated degree of study group with or without MS were also analyzed by univariate analysis and Cox proportional hazards models.Results (1) The univariate survival analysis shown that there were no significant difference with age in two groups[(54.3±0.6) vs. (54.2±0.9) years;P>0.05], while the rate of menopausal, BMI(≥25 kg/m~2), the cases coupled with MS, the size of waist circumference (> 80 cm), the level of fasting plasma glucose (≥5.6 mmol/L),TG(> 1.7 mmol/L)and abnormal systolic and diastolic blood pressure in study group were higher than those in control group (67.5% vs. 48. 9%, 45.5% vs. 23.3%, 43.9% vs.18.9%, 50.4% vs. 27.8%, 53.7% vs. 21.1%, 40.7% vs. 21.1% and 40.7% vs. 25.6%,respectively, all P <0.05). The percentage of HDL(< 1.30 mmol/L) was higher in study group than that in control granp(63. 4% vs. 32. 2%, P <0.05). (2) There were not significant difference for the clinical stage, pathological type, grades between patients with or without MS in study group (P > 0.05). (3) The Logistic multivariate survival analysis shown that central obesity, higher TG, lower HDL and abnormal plasma glucose were independent risk factors for endometrioid uterine carcinomas coupled with MS (P< 0.05). Conclusion Metabolic syndrome is marginally associated with an increased risk of endometrioid uterine carcinomas, which may be the new point to screen, prevention and treatment endometrioid uterine carcinomas.

To investigate the enhancement of immunological activity of CpG ODN by chitosan gene carrier in mice, the effect of lymphocyte proliferation was detected in mice by using MTT, the levels of IgG and cytokines (IL-2 and IL-12) in serum were measured by ELISA and peripheral blood T lymphocyte subsets CD4(+), CD8(+) were analyzed by flow cytometry. Our results showed that spleen lymphocytes isolated from the CS-CpG ODN group of mice showed the strongest proliferation (SI=1.551), and the levels of IgG, IL-2 and IL-12 in serum were higher than those of other groups. Compared with the immunization with CpG ODN, the immunization with CS-CpG ODN gene carrier was more efficient in up-regulating the percentage of CD4(+)T cells and the ratio of CD4(+)/CD8(+) of mice. It was concluded that CS gene carrier of CpG ODN was much more effective in improving immunity of CpG ODN in mice.

To investigate the enhancement of immunological activity of CpG ODN by chitosan gene carrier in mice, the effect of lymphocyte proliferation was detected in mice by using MTT, the levels of IgG and cytokines (IL-2 and IL-12) in serum were measured by ELISA and peripheral blood T lymphocyte subsets CD4+, CD8+ were analyzed by flow cytometry. Our results showed that spleen lymphocytes isolated from the CS-CpG ODN group of mice showed the strongest proliferation (SI =1.551), and the levels of IgG, IL-2 and IL-12 in serum were higher than those of other groups. Compared with the immunization with CpG ODN, the immunization with CS-CpG ODN gene carrier was more efficient in up-regulating the percentage of CD4+ T cells and the ratio of CD4+/CD8+ of mice. It was concluded that CS gene carrier of CpG ODN was much more effective in improving immunity of CpG ODN in mice.

OBJECTIVETo investigate whether myocardial bridging (MB) is an independent risk factor for coronary atherosclerosis proximal to the bridge site in the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) in diabetic patients.

METHODSFrom March 2011 to December 2012, 9862 patients with suspected coronary disease underwent coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) using a dual-source CT scanner. The baseline clinical characteristics (age, gender, smoking history, presence of hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, family history of heart attack and body mass index) and the results of CCTA were reviewed. Two radiologists evaluated the MB and coronary atherosclerosis stenosis (CAS) over 50% in the LAD and made a diagnosis by consensus. Significant independent risk factors for CAS were investigated by logistic regression analysis.

RESULTSOf the 2345 patients identified to have diabetes mellitus, 1373 had MB, among whom 827 had coronary atherosclerosis proximal to the bridge site; 972 of the diabetic patients were free of MB, among whom 254 had coronary atherosclerosis at the equivalent site. None of the patients had CAS in the tunneled segment. After adjusted for clinical data, logistic regression analysis showed that MB in the LAD was significantly correlated with coronary atherosclerosis in the proximal LAD in diabetic patient (OR=3.91) and non-diabetic patients (OR=2.69) (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONIn diabetic patients, atherosclerosis occurred frequently in the segment proximal to MB in the LAD, and MB in the mid-LAD is an independent risk factor for CAS in the proximal LAD.

Angiography ; Atherosclerosis ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Coronary Stenosis ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Humans ; Myocardial Bridging ; Myocardium ; pathology ; Risk Factors

OBJECTIVE: To determine the carrier rate of deafness-related genetic variants among 53 873 newborns from Zhengzhou. METHODS: Heel blood samples of the newborns were collected with informed consent from the parents, and 15 loci of 4 genes related to congenital deafness were detected by microarray. RESULTS: In total 2770 newborns were found to carry deafness-related variants, with a carrier rate of 5.142%. 1325 newborns (2.459%) were found to carry heterozygous variants of the GJB2 gene, 1071 (1.988%) were found with SLC26A4 gene variants, 205 were found with GJB3 gene variants (0.381%), and 120 were found with 12S rRNA variants (0.223%). Five newborns have carried homozygous GJB2 variants, two have carried homozygous SLC26A4 variants, five have carried compound heterozygous GJB2 variants, and four have carried compound heterozygous SLC26A4 variants. 33 neonates have carried heterozygous variants of two genes at the same time. CONCLUSION The carrier rate of deafness-related variants in Zhengzhou, in a declining order, is for GJB2, SLC26A4, GJB3 and 12S rRNA. The common variants included GJB2 235delC and SLC26A4 IVS7-2A>G, which are similar to other regions in China. To carry out genetic screening of neonatal deafness can help to identify congenital, delayed and drug-induced deafness, and initiate treatment and follow-up as early as possible.

The cultivation and production of cucumber are seriously affected by downy mildew caused by Pseudoperonospora cubensis. Downy mildew damages leaves, stems and inflorescences, and then reduces the yield and quality of cucumber. This review summarized the research advances in cucumber downy mildew, including pathogen detection and defense pathways, regulatory factors, mining of pathogens-resistant candidate genes, proteomic and genomic analysis, and development of QTL remarks. This review may facilitate clarifying the resistance mechanisms of cucumber to downy mildew.
Cucumis sativus/genetics* ; Oomycetes/genetics* ; Peronospora ; Plant Diseases/genetics* ; Proteomics

Flowering is a critical transitional stage during plant growth and development, and is closely related to seed production and crop yield. The flowering transition is regulated by complex genetic networks, whereas many flowering-related genes generate multiple transcripts through alternative splicing to regulate flowering time. This paper summarizes the molecular mechanisms of alternative splicing in regulating plant flowering from several perspectives, future research directions are also envisioned.
Alternative Splicing/genetics* ; Arabidopsis/metabolism* ; Arabidopsis Proteins/genetics* ; Flowers/genetics*