Abstract: Objective　To detect the antibody levels of hantavirus in serum samples from patients suspected with hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) in Heilongjiang Province from 2019 to 2021, and to provide scientific basis for the prevention and control of disease. Methods　Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) were used to detect the IgM antibodies to hantavirus in serum samples collected from suspected patients with HFRS in the acute-phase, and IgM and IgG antibody in convalescent-phase serum samples. The positive rate of IgM antibody in acute-phase serum samples of patients in different years was analyzed with χ2 test by SPSS 19.0, and the data were sorted out and analyzed about patients' gender, occupation, age, date of onset and interval from onset to initial diagnosis by EpiData 3.1, Excel 2003 software. Results　A total of 351 acute-phase serum samples and 208 convalescent-phase serum samples were detected in patients suspected with HFRS, respectively. There were 317 positive IgM antibodies of serum samples in the acute stage, with the positive rate of 90.31%. There was no significant difference in the positive rate of IgM antibodies in the acute stage between different years (χ2=0.895, P=0.639). T The IgM antibodies and IgG antibodies were positive in 32 (15.39%) and 28 (13.46%) of the convalescent-phase serum samples, respectively. Moreover, 148 patients (71.15%) were double-positive for IgM and IgG antibodies at the convalescent stage. The ratio of male to female patients was 4.56∶1, for which male patients were much more than female patients. Occupation was dominated by farmers (253 cases, 79.81%), followed by workers (19 cases, 5.99%) and the unemployed (17 cases, 5.36%), respectively. The age of patients ranged from 10 to 88 years old, with a median age of 49 years old. Most of the patients were in the age group from 30 years old to 60 years old (209 cases, 65.93%), among which the age group from 40 years old to 50 years old (86 cases, 27.13%) had the highest proportion, and the age group from 60 years old to 90 years old had a proportion of 20.18% (19 cases). May and November were the peak periods of HFRS in Heilongjiang Province. The median interval between onset and initial diagnosis was 4 days. Conclusions　There is a gap of about 10% between the clinical diagnosis of HFRS cases and the confirmed cases detected by laboratory in Heilongjiang Province from 2019 to 2021. The virus-specific detection results are important for confirming the diagnosis of local patients with HFRS.

OBJECTIVETo study the influence of soybean phytochemical extract containing isoflavones and soyasaponins (SPE) on blood glucose, blood lipids, plasma lipid peroxide and platelet aggregation activity in diabetic rats.

METHODSDiabetic rats were fed with fodder containing 20 g/kg of SPE for 20 weeks. Their plasma very low density lipoprotein (VLDL), low density lipoprotein (LDL) and high density lipoprotein (HDL) were separated by sequential ultracentrifugation.

RESULTSTwenty weeks after experiment, level of blood glucose, atherosclerotic index and plasma level of lipid peroxide were (11.9 +/- 0.9) mmol/L, 0.40 +/- 0.14 and (15.7 +/- 0.5) mmol/L, respectively in diabetic rats fed with SPE, significantly lower than those in control rats not fed with it, (14.2 +/- 2.0) mmol/L, 0.58 +/- 0.22 and (20.7 +/- 3.0) mmol/L, respectively. Accordingly, platelet aggregation rates induced by ADP and collagen in the two groups were (54.1 +/- 8.8)% vs (66.6 +/- 12.4)% and (58.0 +/- 7.9)% vs (69.6 +/- 9.4)%, respectively. Changes in all these indices were significantly different between the two groups.

CONCLUSIONSPE could significantly decrease blood glucose, improve atherosclerotic index, and inhibit lipid peroxidation and platelet aggregation in diabetic rats, which might be useful in prevention and control of diabetes mellitus and diabetes-associated atherosclerosis.

Animals ; Arteriosclerosis ; blood ; prevention & control ; Cholesterol, HDL ; blood ; Cholesterol, LDL ; blood ; Cholesterol, VLDL ; blood ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; blood ; prevention & control ; Flavonoids ; pharmacology ; Male ; Phytotherapy ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Saponins ; pharmacology ; Soybeans ; Triglycerides ; blood

OBJECTIVETo investigate the protective effect of soyasaponins on acute liver injury induced by D-galactosamine (GalN) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in mice.

METHODThe mice were randomly divided into five groups: the normal control, the model group, the silymarin (positive control) group, and soyasaponins high and low-dose groups. They were administered with drugs once every day for 7 days. At the end of the experiment, GalN and LPS were injected intraperitoneally to all of the groups except for the normal group to establish the acute liver injury model. The pathological changes were detected with hematoxylin & eosin (HE) staining, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) was detected by ELISA method, and the alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione S-transferase (GST), reduced glutathione (GSH), malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NO), and the activation of Caspase-3 and Caspase-8 were detected by the colorimetric method.

RESULTSoyasaponins could reduce the activities of serum ALT and AST, the acute hepatic injury induced by GalN/LPS, serum TNF-alpha level, hepatic NO and MDA contents, and the Caspase-3 and Caspase-8 activations of liver tissues, and increase the hepatic CAT, GPx, GST and GSH levels.

CONCLUSIONSoyasaponins shows the protective effect on acute liver injury induced by GalN and LPS in mice, which may be related to its antioxidative ability and anti-liver apoptosis.

Alanine Transaminase ; blood ; Animals ; Antioxidants ; metabolism ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Aspartate Aminotransferases ; blood ; Caspases ; metabolism ; Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury ; metabolism ; pathology ; prevention & control ; Galactosamine ; toxicity ; Lipopolysaccharides ; toxicity ; Liver ; pathology ; Male ; Mice ; Saponins ; pharmacology ; Soybeans ; chemistry

AIMTo study the synthesis and antitumour activities of some aryl-substituted pteridines.

METHODSA series of aryl-substituted pteridines were synthesized from 4, 6-diamino-5-nitrosopyrimidines by cyclization with 4-aminophenylacetonitriles. The antitumour activities were tested by MTT method.

RESULTSNine new compounds (I-III) were synthesized and their structures were characterized by EA, IR, 1HNMR and MS spectra. Compounds I-III showed antitumour activities in vitro.

CONCLUSIONCompounds I-III showed remarkable antitumour activities in vitro. No interaction was determined between the title compounds and calf thymus DNA. It indicated that these compounds possibly inhibit dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) or other enzymes on which folic acid depends.

Adenocarcinoma ; pathology ; Antineoplastic Agents ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; drug effects ; Humans ; KB Cells ; drug effects ; Lung Neoplasms ; pathology ; Molecular Structure ; Pteridines ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; pharmacology

Veto activity was defined as the capacity of specifically downregulating cytotoxic T-precursor cell (CTL-p) directed against antigens of the veto cells themselves but not against third-party antigens. Many studies have shown that the most potent veto cells are CD8(+) cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CD8(+)CTLs). Effectively, CD8(+)CTLs of donor origin can facilitate engraftment of donor's stem cells by eliminating host-alloreactive T lymphocytes. In this article, effect mechanisms, depletion of GVH ex vivo, application in vivo, synergistic enhancement with rapamycin and regulatory T cells, and anti-tumor effect in the hematopoietic stem cell transplantation are summarized.
Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Humans ; Immune Tolerance ; T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic

OBJECTIVETo investigate the intervention effect of aqueous fractions from Boschniakia rossica (BRAF) on hepatic oxidative stress in mice with liver injury induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4).

METHODThe experimental mice were randomly assigned into the normal control group, the model group, the silymarin (positive control) group, as well as high and low dose BRAF groups. Mice were treated intragastrically with silymarin or BRAF once every day for 7 days. At the end of the experiment, CCl4 was injected intraperitoneally into the mice to establish the acute liver injury model. The pathological changes was detected with hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining, and the activities of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), superoxide dismutase (SOD) , catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), Na+ -K+ -ATPase, Ca2+ -Mg2+ -ATPase, and the contents of reduced glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were detected by the colorimetric method.

RESULTBRAF significantly reduced ALT, AST and ALP activities in serum, alleviated hepatic injury induced by CCl4, increased SOD, CAT, GPx and GSH levels in liver, and SOD, Na + -K + -ATPase and Ca2+ -Mg2 + -ATPase activities in liver mitochondria, and decreased the MDA content in liver and liver mitochondria.

CONCLUSIONBRAF reduces hepatic oxidative stress in mice with acute liver injury induced by CCl4, thereby showing the protective effect on mice with acute liver injury induced by CCl4.

Animals ; Carbon Tetrachloride ; toxicity ; Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury ; enzymology ; metabolism ; pathology ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Liver ; drug effects ; enzymology ; metabolism ; pathology ; Male ; Mice ; Mitochondria ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Orobanchaceae ; chemistry ; Oxidative Stress ; drug effects ; Solubility ; Water ; chemistry

OBJECTIVETo investigate the association of SOX9 expression and clinicopathologic factors and prognosis of gastric cancer.

METHODSA retrospective cohort study including 112 gastric cancer patients admitted to the Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital from 2004 to 2006 was performed. Immunohistochemical analysis was used to evaluate the expression of SOX9 in the 112 specimens of gastric cancer tissues and 70 non-cancerous tissues adjacent to the tumor.

RESULTSLow expression of SOX9 was seen in 5(7.1%) tissues out of 70 non-cancerous tissues adjacent to the tumor. A total of 94(83.9%) patients had varying expression of SOX9, of whom 51(45.4%) had overexpression. Univariate analysis demonstrated that the expression of SOX9 was significantly associated with Lauren classification (P<0.05), tumor invasion(P<0.01), lymph node metastasis(P<0.05), distant metastasis(P<0.05) and tumor stage(P<0.05), however there was no significant association between SOX9 expression and sex, age, histological type, histology differentiation or tumor size. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that the 5-year survival rate of patients with SOX9 over-expression was significantly lower than that of patients with low expression(29.4% vs. 49.2%, P=0.031). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that histology differentiation(P=0.046), tumor invasion(P=0.001), and distant metastasis(P<0.01) were independent prognostic factors for gastric cancer, however the over-expression of SOX9 was not significant(P=0.948).

CONCLUSIONSThe expression SOX9 is associated with the growth, invasion, and metastasis of gastric cancer, as well as the prognosis. However, SOX9 expression is not an independent factor for the prognosis in patients with gastric cancer.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Humans ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; SOX9 Transcription Factor ; metabolism ; Stomach Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology

AIMTo study the effect of taurine (Tau) on rabbit cardiomyocyte apoptosis during ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury.

METHODSRabbit heart I/R injury was induced by occluding the left anterior descending coronary artery for 45 min and reperfusion for 180 min. taurine (200 mg/kg) was intravenously injected 5 min before heart ischemia. Cardiomyocyte apoptosis was measured by using terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase--mediated dUTP nick end labeling method (TUNEL), flow cytometry (FCM) and DNA agarose gel electrophoresis.

RESULTSDNA ladder pattern of DNA in myocardium was revealed by agarose gel electrophoresis in I/R group while was not found in Tau + I/R group. Apoptotic cardiomyocytes were sparse within ischemic myocardium at risk in Tau + I/ R group as compared with that in I/R group (TUNEL stain). Apoptosis rate in ischemic myocardium from I/R and Tau + I/R groups detected by flow cytometry was 17.66% +/- 1.54% and 4.86% +/- 1.23%, respectively. Fas and Bax protein expressions in ischemic myocardium of I/R group were higher than that in nonischemic myocardium group (P < 0.01), Bcl-2/Bax ratio in I/R group was lower than that in nonischemic myocardium (P < 0.01); while in Tau + I/R group, Fas and Bax protein expressions were lower than that in I/R group (P < 0.01), the Bcl-2/Bax ratio was higher than that in I/R group (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONTaurine reduced apoptosis of myocytes in I/R rabbit heart; its mechanism may involve Fas, Bax and Bcl-2 proteins expression.

Animals ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins ; metabolism ; Male ; Myocardial Ischemia ; metabolism ; pathology ; Myocytes, Cardiac ; cytology ; drug effects ; Rabbits ; Reperfusion Injury ; metabolism ; pathology ; Taurine ; pharmacology

Although chemotherapy can achieve a high rate of disease remission in patients with newly diagnosed acute leukemia, patients with recurrent or refractory leukemia generally have a poorer rate of response. This study was designed to assess the utility of high-dose mitoxantrone and intermediate-dose cytarabine in the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory acute leukemia. Thirty patients with relapsed or refractory acute leukemia were treated with mitoxantrone at a total dose of 40 mg/m(2) intravenously and cytarabine 1 - 1.5 g/m(2) over 3 hours once daily for five doses. Twenty-six of thirty patients achieved complete response (CR 87%) and one achieved partial response (PR 3.3%). No patient died during the induction course. The main toxic effect was hematopoietic suppression that was clinically acceptable. The median time needed for CR was around 30 days. The median disease-free and overall survival times were 3.5 and 6 months, respectively. The results demonstrate that short course high-dose mitoxantrone with cytarabine is associated with a trend toward a higher CR rate and therefore, it should be an effective antileukemic regimen for the treatment of refractory and relapsed acute leukemia.

To investigate the properties of haploidentical donor-derived bone marrow engraftment and hematopoietic reconstitution in patients received bone marrow transplantation, 15 patients with leukemia received bone marrow grafts without T cell depletion from their family donors of those with 2-3 mismatched loci of HLA antigens. The donors were given G-CSF 250 micro g/day for 7 days prior to marrow harvest. All patients were treated with conditioning regimens consisting of high-dose of Ara-C, cyclophosphamide, and total body irradiation. A four-agent based GVHD prophylaxis was used as cyclosporine A, MTX, ATG and mycophenolate mofetile (MMF). Donor engraftment was evaluated as identification of HLA locus, chromosome karyotype, DNA fingerprinting, blood type and other parameters such as occurrence of GVHD, recovery of peripheral blood cell counts as well as normal myelogram. The results showed that successful and stable engraftment was established in all patients. The median time of granulocyte counts > 0.5 x 10(9)/L and platelet > 20 x 10(9)/L was 18 (13-23) and 22 (16-32) days, respectively. One of the patients relapsed despite the bone marrow chimerism appearing after transplantation. The grade I acute GVHD occurred in 8 and grade II-IV in 5 of the 15 patients. Of the patients, 7 received marrow grafts from donors of opposite sex were identified for donor engraftment by chromosome analysis, 4 by blood typing, 7 with HLA locus analysis and 1 with DNA fingerprinting. In conclusion, HLA haploidentical bone marrow transplantation is feasible with a series of management including mobilization with G-CSF in donors, intensive conditioning and proper immunosuppressants, which enable the allo-transplants to stride across the immunological barrier.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Bone Marrow Transplantation ; Child ; Female ; Graft vs Host Disease ; etiology ; Haplotypes ; Hematopoiesis ; Histocompatibility Testing ; Humans ; Leukemia ; blood ; therapy ; Male