Objective To investigate the effects of hypoxia on the expression of Stat3 and p-Stat3 ,and assessed the apoptosis ability of JAR cells in vitro .Methods JAR cells were cultured under hypoxic conditions .Western blot were used to determine the protein expression of Stat3 and p-Stat3 .Cellular apoptosis was monitored by flow cytometry analysis .Results Abnormal morpholo-gy changes in trophoblast cells under low oxygen conditions .After 48 h hypoxic treatment ,the protein of Stat3 and p-Stat3 were significantly decreased(P< 0 .05) ;however ,the level of apoptosis was significantly increased (P < 0 .05) .Conclusion Stat3 and p-Stat3 protein levels were decreased under hypoxia circumstance ,while the cell apoptosis ability was increased in JAR cells .

Objective To study whether the human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (HBMSCs) can repair damaged neural cells induced by okadaic acid (OA).Methods Neuroblastoma cell line SH-SY5Y cells were used to incubate with 20nmol/L okadaic acid for 24h,establishing Alzheimer's Disease cell model;Three groups were set up:normal group,okadaic acid-damaged (OA-damaged) group,hBMSCs-treatment group.The cells were injured for 24h with 20nmol/L OA in OA-damaged group,and treated with conditioned medium obtaining hBMSCs for 24h after 24h OA injury in the treatment group.Then CCK-8 was used for detecting cell vitality,immune fluorescence dyed microtubules and micro filaments for determining the dendritic cell length and fluorescence intensity,in addition,Western blotting for analyzing the protein level of phosphorylated tau and total tau proteins.Results Okadaic acid damaged SH-SY5Y cells,contributed to shrinkage,collapse,cavitation of the SH-SY5Y cell body,dendritic shortening and fracture,and irregular arrangement of microtubule microfilaments;while BMSCs conditioned medium made SHSYSY cell body become round and longer,dendrites restored,and microtubules and microfilaments arranged regularly,fluorescence intensity enhanced.Meanwhile,it also down-regulated the level of OA-induced tau phosphorylation.Conclusion hBMSCs have repair effects on the neural cell damage induced by okadaic acid.

Objective To investigate the clinical features and management of pancreatic disease- associated portal hypertension.Methods A retrospective analysis was carried out in patients with portal hypertension complicating with pancreatic diseases in our hospital from January 1986 to April 2005. Medical records of these patients were reviewed,including data of demographics,etiologies,venous involvement,clinical presentation,laboratory tests,imaging studies,therapeutic modalities and out- comes.Results There were 59 cases of portal hypertension resulted from pancreatic diseases in our hos- pital,accounting for 4% of all portal hypertension in 19 years.The underlying pancreatic diseases were chronic pancreatitis(21 cases,35.6%),pancreatic carcinoma(20 cases,33.9%),acute pancreatitis (8 cases,13.6%),pancreatic pseudocyst(3 cases,5.1%).Of the 40 patients whose venous involve ment was identified,splenic vein obstruction occurred in 27 cases(67.5%),followed by portal vein obstruction(16 cases,40.0%).Mild or moderate splenomegaly was present in 48 cases(81.4%),with leukocytopenia as the most common manifestation of the 31 cases(52.5%)of concomitant hyper- splenism.Forty-five patients(76.3%)developed gastroesophageal varices(including 35 isolated gastric varices),among them,19 had bled(32.2%).Conservative treatment was effective in controlling acute bleeding,but could not prevent re-bleeding.Splenectomy was performed in 18 patients,mainly because of gastrointestinal hemorrhage.No postoperative bleeding occurred in the period of follow-up from 8 months to 9 years.Conclusions Pancreatic diseases may compromise portal vein and its tributaries, leading to generalized or regional portal hypertension.Pharmacological therapy can effectively control acute variceal bleeding,while surgical treatment is the appropriate procedure of choice in case of hemor- rhage recurrence.

Background The integration of segregated pathways from the two eyes first appears in V1 neurons,where it not only plays a critical role in the generation of a three-dimensional visual representation.Abnormal visual experiences in critical period usually lead to amblyopia and binocular integration defects.Objective Present study was to investigate how neurons of kitten coordinate their activity patterns in response to synchronous dichoptic stimulus inputs in striate cortex.Methods Spike rate and local field potential(LFP) gamma band(20-90Hz) power of three kitten(1-1.2Kg,8-10 weeks old) to monocular and synchronous dichoptic presented gratings were assessed for 28 binocular neurons in V1 of kitten by in vivo extracellular record method under anaesthesia and paralysis.Ocular dominance index(ODI) and binocular integration index(BII) were assessed and the correlation between these two indexes were analyzed.Results In 28 cells with binocular characteristic,the absolute value of spike-ODI was significant larger than that of LFP-ODI(t=2.606,P=0.021).A positive linear correlation between the ocular preferences of spike and LFP was found(R2=0.513,F=27.423,P=0.003).In dichotic trails,binocular facilitation with BII for spike was 2.348±0.996,showing a significant reduce in comparison with BII for LFP(3.678±1.974)(t=2.671,P=0.019).Binocular integration index for two signals were greater when monocular responses of both eyes were similar(P=0.035 and P=0.124,respectively).Conclusion Both spike rate and gamma band power of LFP exhibited binocular facilitation to synchronous presented dichotic stimuli with significant facilitation induced by balanced monocular responses.Spiking activity and LFP reflect neural activities of different spatial scales and source components.

Objective: To explore the prevalence and risk factors of orthostatic hypotension (OH) in elderly hypertension patients. Methods: A total of 532 retired hypertension patients elder than 65 years in Guangzhou military region were enrolled. The patients were divided into 2 groups: Hypertension group, n=414 and Hypertension combining OH (H+OH) group, n=118. The patient's age (65-79、≥ 80), hypertension grade (Grade 1-3) and complication status were studied. The risk factors for H+OH prevalence were analyzed by multivariate Logistic regression analysis. Results: The incidence rate of H+OH was 22.2％ (118/532). In H+OH group, the ratios of elderly and very elderly patients were 6.7％ and 23.1％, P<0.05 and the ratios of OH occurrence for hypertension grade 1, 2 and 3 were 12.6％, 23.3％ and 25.2％ respectively, P<0.05. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis presented that systolic blood pressure (BP) in supine position, BP at immediate standing, heart rate in supine position, heart rate after 2 minutes standing and chronic cardiac insufficiency were the impact factors for H+OH occurrence, P<0.05. Conclusion: In elderly hypertension patients, incidence of OH was increasing with age elevating; H+OH has been related to age, severity of hypertension and chronic cardiac insufficiency.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the efficacy and safety of irinotecan combined with xeloda (CAPIRI regimen) in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer after failure of chemotherapy with oxaliplatin.

METHODSTotally 38 patients with metastatic colorectal cancer after failure of chemotherapy with oxaliplatin were enrolled. Patients received xeloda 1 000 mg/m2 orally twice daily on day 1 to 14 and intravenous irinotecan 100 mg/m2 on day 1 and 8 every 3 weeks.

RESULTSThe median age of 38 patients was 58.5 (27-77) years. CAPIRI regimen was used 11.0 (3.0-24.0) months after the diagnosis of metastatic colorectal cancer (CAPIRI regimen as second-line chemotherapy in 33 patients, third-line in 4 patients, and fourth-line in 1 patient). A total of 121 cycles of chemotherapy (median 3.0) were administered. Thirty-four patients were evaluable for response. The overall response rate and disease control rate were 5.9% and 61.8%, respectively. The median time to progression and overall survival were 4.5 months (95% CI, 3.4-5.6 months) and 11.0 months (95% CI, 10.2-11.8 months), respectively. All 38 patients were evaluable for safety. The most common adverse events were leukopenia (73.7%), neutropenia (65.8%), nausea and vomiting (60.5%), and diarrhea (28.9%). The occurrence rates of these grade 3-4 events were 10.5%, 13.2%, 10.5%, and 7.9%, respectively. All adverse events were tolerable.

CONCLUSIONCAPIRI regimen is effective and well-tolerated in Chinese patients with metastatic colorectal cancer after failure of chemotherapy with oxaliplatin.

Adult ; Aged ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Camptothecin ; administration & dosage ; analogs & derivatives ; Capecitabine ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; Deoxycytidine ; administration & dosage ; analogs & derivatives ; Female ; Fluorouracil ; administration & dosage ; analogs & derivatives ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Organoplatinum Compounds ; therapeutic use ; Treatment Outcome

AIMTo determine insulin and its related substances in insulin powder for inhalation by reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography method.

METHODSThe initial mobile phase was solution A (0.1% trifluoroacetic acid-acetonitril 70:30) and changed to solution B (0.1% trifluoroacetic acid-acetonitril 60:40) in 30 minutes. The flow rate was 2.0 mL.min-1, the column temperature was 30 degrees C, the wave length was 280 nm, the injected volume was 20 microL.

RESULTSInsulin was well separated from other peaks induced in different conditions. There was good linear relationship between the amount of insulin and its peak area, the RSD was 1.1%, the insulin solution for determination was stable in 12 hours, and the quantity detected was near the added.

CONCLUSIONThe method is simple and accurate to detect insulin and its related substances in insulin and its preparations.

Administration, Inhalation ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; methods ; Insulin ; administration & dosage ; analysis ; Powders ; analysis

BACKGROUNDIn 2008, a sharp increase of the number of children diagnosed with urinary calculi was observed in China, 9433 children were diagnosed as having melamine-induced urinary calculi at outpatient clinic in Beijing Children's Hospital. This study examined the therapeutic efficacy of potassium sodium hydrogen citrate (PSHC) used to treat melamine-induced urinary stones in Chinese children who consumed melamine-containing infant formula.

METHODSSeventy-two infants and children (average age (18.2 +/- 7.7) months) who were diagnosed with urinary calculi were randomly divided into three treatment groups using the SAS Plan program. Group 1 was given a low dose (1 g/d) of PSHC, group 2 was given high dose of PSHC (2 g/d) and group 3 was given no PSHC (control group). The dose of drug was adjusted according to the baseline urinary pH. This study analyzed the influence of the dose of PSHC, the age of patients, stone size and position, and urinary pH on the level of efficacy of PSHC (cured, effectively treated or not cured).

RESULTSAfter 1 - 6 months of therapy, 19 patients from group 1, five patients from group 2 and six patients from group 3 were cured. Five patients from group 1, five patients from group 2 and four patients from group 3 were effectively treated. There were significant differences in therapeutic efficacy between the two treatment doses after 3 and 6 months as measured by the increase in the successful expulsion rate and time of melamine-induced urinary calculi. After 6 months the mean time of expulsion of urinary calculi in groups 1 and 2 was significantly shorter than in the control group.

CONCLUSIONSPSHC can significantly increase the successful expulsion rate and time of melamine-induced urinary calculi. The therapeutic efficacy is affected by PSHC dose, treatment duration, calculi position, and urinary pH. There is no relationship between the therapeutic efficacy and the stone size or patient age.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; Citrates ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Treatment Outcome ; Triazines ; toxicity ; Urinary Calculi ; chemically induced ; drug therapy ; urine ; Urine ; chemistry ; Young Adult

Objective To analyze the clinical and genetic characteristics of 10 Chinese patients with 17? hydroxylase/17,20 lyase deficiency (17OHD). Methods Clinical features and laboratory data were collected from 7 kindreds with 17OHD. PCR products and subclone sequencing were performed to screen the mutation of CYP17A1 gene. Results All patients had typical clinical presentation of sexual infantilism, hypertension and hypokalemia. The laboratory examinations indicated decreased plasma cortisol, 17-hydroxy progesterone, estradiol and testosterone, and elevated blood adrenocorticotrophic hormone(ACTH), follcie-stimulating hormone(FSH) and luteinizing hormone(LH). CT scan showed bilateral adrenal hyperplasia. 5 CYP17A1 mutations were identified, 4 of which are novel types D487_F489del, the most frequent mutation, was identified in 4 families and 45% alleles. Conclusion Our study indicates that 17OHD should be considered in the diagnosis of patients with sexual infantilism. D487_F489del is the most frequent mutation in Chinese 17OHD patients.

Objective: Hippocampal neuron apoptosis contributes to autism, while METTL3 has been documented to possess great potentials in neuron apoptosis. Our study probed into the role of METTL3 in neuron apoptosis in autism and to determine the underlying mechanism. Methods: Bioinformatics analysis was used to analyze expressed genes in autism samples. Institute of Cancer Research mice were treated with valproic acid to develop autism models. The function of METTL3 in autism-like symptoms in mice was analyzed with behavioral tests and histological examination of their hippocampal tissues. Primary mouse hippocampal neurons were extracted for in vitro studies. Downstream factors of METTL3 were explored and validated. Results: METTL3, MALAT1, and Wnt/β-catenin signaling were downregulated, while SFRP2 was upregulated in the hippocampal tissues of a mouse model of autism. METTL3 stabilized MALAT1 expression by promoting m6A modification of MALAT1. MALAT1 promoted SFRP2 methylation and led to reduced SFRP2 expression by recruiting DNMT1, DNMT3A, and DNMT3B to the promoter region of SFRP2. Furthermore, SFRP2 facilitated activation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling. By this mechanism, METTL3 suppressed autism-like symptoms and hippocampal neuron apoptosis. Conclusion This research suggests that METTL3 can reduce autism-like symptoms and hippocampal neuron apoptosis by regulating the MALAT1/SFRP2/Wnt/β-catenin axis.