Humans ; Male ; Splenectomy ; Stem Cell Transplantation ; adverse effects ; Thrombocytopenia ; etiology ; surgery ; Thrombotic Microangiopathies ; complications ; surgery ; Young Adult

Objective To explore the roles of reactive oxygen species(ROS) and TGF-?1 in aldosterone-induced PAI-1 production.Methods Quiescent rat mesangial cells (MCs) were treated by aldosterone.The level of ROS in MCs induced by aldosterone was measured by confecal laser scanning microscopy and the TGF-?1 activity in the supematant of culture was measured by mink lung epithelial cell (Mvllu) proliferation inhibition MTT assay.Then,before the addition of aldosterone,MCs were pretreated with NAC or TGF-?1 neutralizing antibody to decrease cellular ROS or inhibit activity of TGF-?1 induced by aldosterone respectively.PAI-1 mRNA was examined by semi-quantification RT-PCR and PAI-1 protein by Western blotting.Results The intracellular ROS induced by aldosterone increased by 5-fold compared to that of control group,and the activity of TGF-?1 stimulated by aldosterone increased markedly.TGF-?1 neutralizing antibody and NAC effectively decreased aldosterone-induced PAI-1 mRNA expression by 30% and 32%,and PAI-1 protein expression by 21% and 11%,respectively.However,neither TGF-?1 neutralizing antibody nor NAC alone could regulate aldosterone-induced PAI-1 mRNA and protein expression to normal level in 24 hours.Conclusions ROS and TGF-?1 play important roles in up-regulation of aldosterone- induced PAI-1 in MCs.ROS and TGF-?1 are not the exclusive pathway of PAI-1 expression induced by aldosterone in MCs.

Objective:To assess the clinical efficacy of abdominal acupuncture for subhealth insomnia.Methods:Eighty-two cases of subhealth insomnia were randomly divided into an observation group (41 cases) and a control group (41 cases).The control group was treated with conventional acupuncture.The observation group was treated with Bo's abdominal acupuncture on the basis of conventional acupuncture.Six treatments constituted one treatment course.The measuring scale of traditional Chinese medicine syndrome for subhealth state (MSSSHS) and Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) scores were compared between the two groups after two courses,to estimate the efficacy of abdominal acupuncture for subhealth insomnia.Results:One case dropped out from the observation group,while 2 cases dropped out from the control group.The MSSSHS score and PSQI score both declined after the treatment in the two groups (all P＜0.05).The MSSSHS and PSQI scores in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group (both P＜0.05).Conclusion:The abdominal acupuncture is effective for subhealth insomnia,and it can enhance the effect of conventional acupuncture.

Objective To explore the function of fluorescent probe JC-1 in detecting the changes of mitochondrial membrane potential(△?m)in early apoptotic cells.Methods After 2-ME was used to induce MUTZ-1 cell apoptosis,cells were dyed with fluorescent probe JC-1,and then the changes of △?m in the early stage of apoptotic cells were analyzed by flow cytometry or detected under fluorescent microscope. Results The control cells with high △?m are those forming JC-1 aggregates in the inner membrane of mitochondria,thus showing orange-red fluorescence.2-ME caused decrease of △?m in MUTZ-1 cells,in which JC-1 maintains monomeric form,thus showing only green fluorescence.The decreases of △?m were in a time-dependent manner,which were significantly higher than those in control group(P

Objective To investigate the characteristics of F-waves in patients with Kennedy's disease.Methods Thirty two patients with Kennedy's disease and 30 male healthy volunteers,who visited the Department of Neurology,Peking Union Medical College Hospital between August 2013 and July 2014,were recruited consecutively for this study.Motor nerve conduction study and F-wave examination were performed on the median,ulnar,tibial and peroneal nerves of all participants.A series of 100 electrical stimuli were employed to obtain F-waves.The F-wave parameters in all tested nerves were compared between patients with Kennedy's disease and normal controls including F-wave minimum latency,F-wave persistence,mean and maximum F-wave amplitude,the frequency of giant F-waves.Results The mean Fwave amplitude (median nerve:patients with Kennedy's disease 375.0 (298.3) μV,healthy volunteers 297.0(145.0) μV,Z =-3.378,P ＜0.01;ulnar nerve:patients with Kennedy's disease 397.5(295.0) μV,healthy volunteers 293.0 (101.8) μV,Z =-3.968,P ＜ 0.01;tibial nerve:patients with Kennedy's disease 374.5 (227.3) μV,healthy volunteers 294.0 (160.5) μV,Z =-3.144,P =0.002;peroneal nerve:patients with Kennedy's disease 346.5 (292.8) μV,healthy volunteers 146.5 (69.3) μV,Z =-6.864,P ＜ 0.01),maximum F-wave amplitudes (median nerve:patients with Kennedy's disease 1 291.0 (952.0) μV,healthy volunteers 846.5 (523.0) μV,Z =-4.823,P ＜ 0.01;ulnar nerve:patients with Kennedy's disease 1 663.5 (1 374.0) μV,healthy volunteers 760.5 (341.8) μV,Z =-6.813,P ＜ 0.01;tibial nerve:patients with Kennedy's disease (1 054.1 ± 451.6) μV,healthy volunteers (652.5-± 172.5) μV,t =5.380,P ＜ 0.01;peroneal nerve:patients with Kennedy's disease (840.4 ± 494.1) μV,healthy volunteers (370.2 ± 202.0) μV,t =6.475,P ＜ 0.01),frequency of giant F-waves (median nerve:patients with Kennedy's disease 0.0％ (7.2％),healthy volunteers 0.0％ (0.0％),Z =-5.149,P ＜ 0.01;ulnar nerve:patients with Kennedy's disease 3.1％ (10.5％),healthy volunteers 0.0％ (0.0％),Z =-7.026,P ＜0.01;tibial nerve:patients with Kennedy's disease 0.0％ (3.3％),healthy volunteers 0.0％ (0.0％),Z =-4.651,P ＜0.01;peroneal nerve:patients with Kennedy's disease 3.3％ (28.2％),healthy volunteers 0.0％ (0.0％),Z =-5.532,P ＜0.01),and frequencies of patients with giant F-waves (median nerve:patients with Kennedy's disease 78.1％ (25/32),healthy volunteers 10.0％ (3/30),x2 =29.016,P ＜ 0.01;ulnar nerve:patients with Kennedy's disease 87.5％ (28/32),healthy volunteers 10.0％ (3/30),x2 =37.200,P ＜ 0.01;tibial nerve:patients with Kennedy's disease 62.5％ (20/32),healthy volunteers 6.7％ (2/30),x2 =21.085,P ＜ 0.01;peroneal nerve:patients with Kennedy's disease 68.8 ％ (22/32),healthy volunteers 10.0％ (3/30),x2 =22.209,P ＜ 0.01) in all nerves examined were significantly higher in patients with Kennedy's disease than in the normal controls.The F-wave persistence in all nerves examined was significantly lower than in the normal controls (median nerve:patients with Kennedy's disease 52.5％ (36.3％),healthy volunteers 98.0％ (7.0％),Z =9.010,P ＜ 0.01;ulnar nerve:patients with Kennedy's disease 71.0％ (28.3％),healthy volunteers 100.0％ (1.0％),Z =9.455,P ＜ 0.01;tibial nerve:patients with Kennedy's disease 100.0％ (2.0％),healthy volunteers 100.0％ (0.0％),Z =4.255,P ＜ 0.01;peroneal nerve:patients with Kennedy's disease 33.1％ ± 23.9％,healthy volunteers 46.9％ ± 27.2％,t =-2.848,P =0.007).Giant F-waves were detected in multiple nerves and often appeared symmetrically on the same nerves between the left and right sides in patients with Kennedy's disease.No significant correlations were found between the pooled frequency of giant F-waves and disease duration in patients with Kennedy's disease(r =0.162,P =0.418).Conclusions The results showed increased F-wave amplitudes,increased number of giant F-waves,especially giant F-waves detected in multiple nerves or appearing symmetrically combined with low persistence,consistent with the pathologic features of chronic and unselected loss of anterior horn cells in patients with Kennedy's disease.

OBJECTIVEThe present study is concerning qualitative and quantitative detection of Poria cocos quality based on FT-near infrared (FT-NIR) spectroscopy combined with chemometrics.

METHODThe Poria cocos polysaccharides contents were determined by UV. Transmission mode was used in the collection of NIR spectral samples. The pretreatment method was first derivation and vector normalization. Then principal component analysis (PCA) was used to build classification model and partial least square (PLS) to build the calibration model.

RESULTThe results showed that conventional criteria such as the R, root mean square error of calibration (RMSEC), and the root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) are 0.944 0, 0.072 1 and 0.076 2, respectively. The misclassified sample is 0 using the qualitative model built by PCA.

CONCLUSIONThe prediction models based on NIR have a better performance with high precision, good stability and adaptability and can be used to predict the polysaccharose content of Poria cocos rapidly, which can provide a fast approach to discriminate the different parts of Poria cocos.

Fungal Polysaccharides ; analysis ; Least-Squares Analysis ; Poria ; chemistry ; Principal Component Analysis ; Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared ; methods

Objective: To observe the efficacy of electroacupuncture (EA) plus Yi Jin Jing (Sinew-transforming Qigong Exercises) for knee osteoarthritis (KOA). Methods: A total of 60 patients with KOA were divided into an observation group and a control group according to the random number table method, with 30 cases in each group. Patients in the observation group received the treatment of EA plus Yi Jin Jing (Sinew-transforming Qigong Exercises), while patients in the control group only received EA treatment. Both groups were treated for 5 weeks. The changes of Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) and visual analog scale (VAS) scores in the two groups were observed after treatment. Results: After treatment, the total effective rate in the observation group (92.3％) was significantly higher than that in the control group (70.0％), (P<0.05); the WOMAC and VAS scores in both groups were significantly lower than those before treatment, showing statistical significance (all P<0.01); there were significant differences in the post-treatment changes in the WOMAC and VAS scores between the two groups (P<0.05, P<0.01). Conclusion: EA plus Yi Jin Jing (Sinew-transforming Qigong Exercises) is clinically effective for KOA. This combined treatment can alleviate clinical symptoms.

BACKGROUNDContrast media administration can result in severe nephrotoxicity under pathological conditions such as diabetic nephropathy, congestive heart failure, dehydration, et al. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of dietary hypercholesterolemia on contrast media-induced changes in renal function, blood flow, and histopathology.

METHODSRats were fed either on a normal rodent diet (group N) or a high-cholesterol supplemented diet (group H; 4% cholesterol and 1% cholic acid) for 8 weeks. Half of the animals (n = 6) from each diet group were then given a tail vein injection of 60% diatrizoate (6 ml/kg; group NC and group HC) and the other half were administered saline. Total serum cholesterol, triglyceride, serum creatinine, creatinine clearance rate, fractional excretion of sodium and potassium, and cortical nitric oxide production were determined one day following contrast media administration. Renal blood flow was determined by color Doppler flow imaging and pulsed-mode Doppler. Renal histopathology was observed by light microscopy.

RESULTSTotal serum cholesterol and resistance indices of renal blood vessels increased significantly, while creatinine clearance rate and production of nitric oxide in the renal cortex decreased markedly in group HC and group H when compared to group N and group NC. The creatinine clearance rate decreased significantly in group HC compared to group H. Serum creatinine levels and fractional excretion of sodium and potassium in group HC were significantly higher than those in the other three groups. Severe tubular degeneration and necrosis, protein cast accumulation, and medullary congestion were found in group HC.

CONCLUSIONHypercholesterolemia is a risk factor for contrast media-induced nephropathy. Hypercholesterolemia aggravates contrast media-induced nephrotoxicity through the reduced production of nitric oxide.

Animals ; Cholesterol, Dietary ; toxicity ; Contrast Media ; toxicity ; Kidney Diseases ; chemically induced ; Lipids ; blood ; Male ; Nitric Oxide ; biosynthesis ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Renal Circulation

Survivin a novel member of the inhibitor of apoptosis protein family, is overexpressed in most types of cancer but not in normal differentiated adult tissues. Its mRNA expression levels among hematogical malignancies are characteristic in each type, subtype and distinctive in different phases of disease, making it a reliable diagnostic marker for clinical stages. Recently, researches indicate that high levels of survivin expression are associated with a poor prognosis and may be involved in tumor resistance to multiple chemotherapeutic drugs. In addition, experiments demonstrate that leukemic vaccination with DC pulsed with survivin antigen in vitro inhibit the proliferation of leukemic cells. Furthermore, when transferred survivin antisense oligodeoxynucleotide or dominant-negative mutant survivin into, malignant cells can be induced apoptosis mediated by downregulation in survivin expression. These findings suggest that survivin may serve as a potential target for biological strategies against hematological neoplasms. This review focuses on expression of survivin in hematological malignancies, effects of survivin on drug-resistance and prognosis of hematological malignancies, and application of survivin in the treatment of hematological malignancies.
Apoptosis ; genetics ; Biomarkers, Tumor ; genetics ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Hematologic Neoplasms ; genetics ; pathology ; Humans ; Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins ; Leukemia ; genetics ; pathology ; Lymphoma ; genetics ; pathology ; Microtubule-Associated Proteins ; genetics ; Myelodysplastic Syndromes ; genetics ; pathology ; Neoplasm Proteins ; genetics

Objective To explore the value of susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) for the assessment of chronic renal injury. Methods Thirty-nine patients with clinical diagnosis of chronic renal injury (RI group) who underwent routine renal MRI and SWI examination were retrospectively analyzed. They were divided into mild injured group (15 cases) and moderate to severe injured group (24 cases) by estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). At the same time, 17 volunteers without chronic renal injury who had normal serum creatinine (Scr) and blood urea nitrogen were recruited as control group. All subjects underwent routine renal MRI and SWI examination. The ratios of cortex to medulla were measured and calculated in both kidneys' magnitude image and susceptibility weighted image, which were indicated as C/MMAG and C/MSWI. Independent sample t test was used to compare the differences of C/MMAG and C/MSWI between control group and RI group, and paired sample t test was used to compare the differences betweenC/MMAG and C/MSWI in each group. One-way ANOVA was used to compare the difference of C/MMAG and C/MSWI between the control group and the different RI groups. ROC was employed to assess the diagnostic efficacy of C/MMAG and C/MSWI in renal injury. Pearson linear correlation analysis was used to evaluate the correlation between C/MMAG, C/MSWI and eGFR, Scr in patients with renal injury. Results The C/MMAG and C/MSWI in the RI group were 1.101±0.039 and 1.071±0.046, respectively. C/MSWI was obviously lower than C/MMAG, and the difference was statistically significant (t=5.056, P<0.01). There was no significant difference between C/MMAG and C/MSWI in the control group (P>0.05). The C/MMAG and C/MSWI in the RI group were obviously lower than those in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (t=4.564, 6.122;P<0.01).The C/MMAG and C/MSWI in the mild injured group and the moderate to severe injured group were significantly lower than those in the control group, the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). While the differences of those between mild injured group and moderate to severe injured group showed no statistical significance (P>0.05). The area under ROC of C/MMAG and C/MSWI in diagnosis of renal injury were 0.853 and 0.952, respectively. C/MMAG was positively correlated with eGFR (r=0.460,P<0.01). Conclusions Susceptibility-weighted imaging can be used to assess chronic renal injury. Although it cannot reflect the degree of renal function damage, it has some value in the early diagnosis of mild renal injury.