OBJECTIVETo gain insights into the role of forkhead box protein 3 (Foxp3) in the pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by performing a comparative analysis of Foxp3 mRNA expression and promoter methylation status in HCC and normal liver tissues.

METHODSThirty-nine HCC and 13 normal liver tissue specimens were evaluated by real-time quantitative PCR and pyrosequencing to measure the expression of Foxp3 mRNA and determine the methylation status of its promoter, respectively. Statistical analyses of the data were conducted by rank-sum test and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient test.

RESULTSThe HCC specimens showed significantly higher mRNA expression of Foxp3 (vs. normal liver tissues, Z =-2.770, P =0.0056). Moreover, the HCC specimens showed significant hypomethylation of the Foxp3 promoter site A (vs. normal liver tissues, Z =2.118, P =0.0339), and the Foxp3 mRNA level was negatively correlated with the methylation of site A (rs =-0.344, P =0.046). None of the other four sites in the Foxp3 promoter showed a significant difference in methylation, and the overall methylation was not significantly different between the HCC and normal liver tissues.

CONCLUSIONOverexpression and low methylation of Foxp3 may be involved in the oncogenic and progression processes of HCC.

Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; metabolism ; pathology ; CpG Islands ; DNA Methylation ; Female ; Forkhead Transcription Factors ; genetics ; metabolism ; Humans ; Liver ; metabolism ; pathology ; Liver Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Promoter Regions, Genetic ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics

OBJECTIVETo find sensitive and specific micro-metastic markers for prostate cancer.

METHODSUsing nested reverse transcription-PCR, we examined the expression of PSA, hK2 and PSMA mRNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of 51 patients with prostate cancer, 33 patients with benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) and 32 normal young people.

RESULTSThe expression rates of PSA, hK2 and PSMA mRNA were 52.9%, 43.1% and 64.7%, respectively in prostate cancer group, and 6.2%, 7.7% and 4.6%, respectively in control group (BPH patients and normal young people) with statistical significance (P < 0.01). Although the expression rate of PSA and hK2 mRNA increased with cancer progression, there was no statistical significance among patients in different stages. The expression rate of PSMA mRNA was higher than that of PSA and hK2 mRNA in each clinical stage.

CONCLUSIONPSMA mRNA expression detected by nested RT-PCR is of greater value for the diagnosis, therapy choice and prognostic evaluation of prostate cancer patients.

Aged ; Antigens, Surface ; blood ; Biomarkers, Tumor ; blood ; Glutamate Carboxypeptidase II ; blood ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Invasiveness ; Neoplasm Staging ; Prostate-Specific Antigen ; blood ; Prostatic Hyperplasia ; blood ; pathology ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; blood ; pathology ; Tissue Kallikreins ; blood

OBJECTIVETo analyze the relationship between high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) fingerprints of the chloroform extract fractions of Peucedanum harrysmithii var. subglabrum (PHS) and its phlegm-reducing effect, in order to establish "active component group for reducing phlegm".

METHODHPLC was adopted to determine and analyze HPLC fingerprints of chloroform extract fractions of PHS. Phenol red expectorant experiment was used to observe the phlegm-reducing effect in mice. Mice were administered intragastrically with chloroform extract fractions for 6 days (1.4 g x kg(-1)), with acute bronchitis syrup as the positive control drug (12 mL x kg(-1)). The phenol red secretion in mice was determined by spectrophotometer. Then the grey relational analysis was used to study the spectrum-effect relationship.

RESULTThe phlegm-reducing effect of the chloroform extract fractions of PHS were resulted from the combined effect of all of its chemical components. Its various characteristic peaks represented different chemical components, and the order of their contributions to the phlegm-reducing effect was (number of peaks) 13 > 12 > 16 > 18 > 19 > 6 > 20 > 14 > 1 > 11 > 15 > 10 > 17 > 2 > 5 > 4 > 7 > 3 > 8 > 9, in No. 1, 3, 4, 10, 13 and 16 characteristic peaks were identified as marmesin, psoralen, xanthotoxin, Pd-Ib, pteryxin and peuformosin.

CONCLUSIONThe chloroform extract fractions of PHS show strongly phlegm-reducing effect. There may be certain relationship between their HPLC fingerprint and phlegm-reducing effect.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Ferns ; chemistry ; Mucus ; drug effects

Objective To analyze the characteristics of clinical manifestations, risk factors, therapies and acute outcomes in patients with cerebral venous sinus thrombosis complicated by cerebral hemorrhage. Methods Seventy-five patients with cerebral venous sinus thrombosis were included in the study. According to the radiological findings on the brain image, patients were divided into two subgroups:cerebral hemorrhage group and non-hemorrhage group. The demo?graphic data, potential risk factors, clinical manifestations, radiological features, therapeutic strategies and acute out?comes were compared between two subgroups, and high risk factors were also analyzed. Results There were seventy-five patients with cerebral venous sinus thrombosis in the present study. Twenty-eight patients of them (37.2%) had cerebral hemorrhage whereas the remaining forty-seven patients (62.7%) did not have cerebral hemorrhage. Pregnancy/puerperi?um were significantly higher in patients with cerebral hemorrhage (with vs without;28.6%vs. 6.4%, P=0.015), while in?fection was markedly higher in patients without cerebral hemorrhage (with vs without;7.1% vs. 29.8%, P=0.021). Head?ache (92.9% vs. 70.2%, P=0.021), unconsciousness (25.0% vs. 6.4%,P=0.034), seizures (53.6% vs. 19.1%, P=0.002) and motor deficits (35.7% vs. 12.8%, P=0.019) were more common in patients with cerebral hemorrhage. Moreover, mul?tiple sinus involvement (1.4% vs. 44.7%, P=0.024) was significantly higher and the acute outcomes(mRS≥3: 46.4%vs.17.0%, P=0.006)were poorer in patients with cerebral hemorrhage. Binary Logistic analysis showed that pregnancy/pu?erperium (P=0.004) and multiple sinus involvement were positively, whereas infection was negatively correlated with cere?bral venous sinus thrombosis and hemorrhage ( P=0.007;P=0.03). Conclusions Pregnancy/puerperium, headache, uncon?sciousness, seizures, motor deficits and multiple sinus involvement are more frequently in patients with cerebral venous sinus thrombosis and hemorrhage, and the acute outcomes are poorer in patients with cerebral venous sinus thrombosis complicated by cerebral hemorrhage.

Recombineering, a new genetic engineering technology based on high efficiency in vivo homologous recombination, can be used in target DNA knock-in, knock-out and gene cloning. In the process of gene subcloning mediated by Recombineering technique, high-quality target DNA fragments were difficult to obtain using in vitro overlapping PCR,therefore the efficiency of in vivo homologous recombination was severely interrupted. To solve this problem, some technology improvements have been established based on the principle of Red recombinases. The PCR DNA fragments of egfp and kan genes with complementary sequences on the end of each fragment were co-introduced into a pcDNA3.1 vector and Red recombinases containing E. coli DY331 host cells by electroporation. A recombinant plasmid pcDNA3.1-egfp-kan was screened directly by antibiotic marker. The positive rates can reach to 45%. The EGFP gene expression of pcDNA3.1-egfp-kan can be observed by transient transfection of 293 eukaryotic cells.
Bacteriophage lambda ; enzymology ; genetics ; DNA, Recombinant ; genetics ; Electroporation ; Escherichia coli ; genetics ; Gene Fusion ; genetics ; Genetic Engineering ; methods ; Green Fluorescent Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Plasmids ; genetics ; Recombinases ; genetics ; metabolism ; Recombination, Genetic

Nanotechnology has shown obvious advantages in the field of medical treatment and diagnosis. Through the encapsulation of nano carriers, drugs not only enhance the therapeutic effect and reduce toxic and side effects, but also become intelligent responsive targeted drug systems through the modification on the surface of nano carriers. However, due to the obstacles in relevant basic research, production conditions, cost, clinical trials, and the lack of pharmacokinetic research on various drug loading systems, few nano systems have been used in therapy. In order to solve the above problems, this paper reviewed and analyzed the research progress of nano carriers in drug delivery, including their auxiliary role and characteristics, types and functions, pharmacokinetics, application prospects and challenges.

Objective To investigate the metabolic effects of glucose dependent insulinotropic peptide receptor antagomst pro3 (GIP) in induced diabetes mice about blood glucose,triglyceride,cholesterol,leptin and fatty issue.Methods 27 C57 mice were randomly divided into normal group and diabetes mice group,and the mice in diabetes group were fed with high fat food and intraperitoneal injected streptozocin.Then 1 mouse that random blood giucose lower than 16.9 mmol/L was deleted in diabetes group.The rest mice in diabetes group were divided into two groups,diabetes control group,pro3 (GIP) group.Pro3 (GIP) group was given drug pro3 (GIP).The bloodglucose and glucose tolerance were measured.After treatment for 6 weeks,all mice were sacrificed and fatty tissues were collected.Results After 6 weeks,the blood glucose of the pro3 (GIP) group was obviously lower than diabetes control group (t=8.43,P＜0.01),and insulin levers in 0,30,60 and 120 min were obviously lower than diabetes control group (t =3.90,2.60,6.88 and 3.33,P＜0.05).There was significant difference between pro3 (GIP) group and diabetes control group about inflammatory cells.Moreover,leptin in pro3 (GIP) group was obviously lower than in diabetes control group (t =5.04,P＜0.01),but triglyceride,cholesterol,and adiponectin had no significant difference between two groups.Conclusion Pro3 (GIP) can significantly reduce blood glucose,insulin level,leptin of diabetes mice,and attenuate the inflammatory cells infiltration in fatty issue.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of the Chinese herbal medicine of Longbixiao (LBX) Capsule on the expressions of TGF-beta1 and Smoothelin in human prostatic stromal cells cultured in vitro.

METHODSBlood serum medicated with LBX was incubated with the stromal cells isolated from men with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and cultured in vitro. The mRNA expression levels of TGF-beta1 and Smoothelin were detected by real-time RT-PCR and other relevant techniques.

RESULTSIn the high and low concentration groups, the gene relative expressions of TGF-beta1 were (0.158 +/- 0.020) and (0.169 +/- 0.020) , while those of Smoothelin were (0.035 +/- 0.007) and (0.036 +/- 0.007) respectively, both significantly decreased in comparison with the control group(P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONLBX reduces the mRNA expressions of TGF-beta1 and Smoothelin in human prostatic stromal cells and can be used in the treatment of BPH.

Animals ; Capsules ; Cells, Cultured ; Cytoskeletal Proteins ; genetics ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Gene Expression ; drug effects ; Humans ; Male ; Muscle Proteins ; genetics ; Prostatic Hyperplasia ; pathology ; Rabbits ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Serum ; chemistry ; Stromal Cells ; drug effects ; metabolism ; pathology ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1 ; genetics

We constructed a recombinant vaccine of Mycobacterium tuberculosis rBCG-Rv2029c,and then identified it.Rv2029c antigen encoding gene was amplified by PCR.The enzyme digestion products were ligated into rpMV261-2029c recombinant plasmid,after double digestion of Rv2029c and pmv261 vector,and then we introduced the plasmid into BCG to construct rBCG-Rv2029c recombinant vaccine by electroporation method.Finally,we analyzed the expression of the recombinant protein by SDS-PAGE and Western blotting.A total of 1 020 bp Rv2029c gene successfully amplified by PCR was inserted into the plasmid pmv261,then the fusion gene was successfully transduced into BCG.After identified by double enzyme digestion,confirmed by gene alignment and by thermally induced with Western blotting,the recombinant protein had a free primary.The recombinant live vaccine of M.tuberculosis rBCG-Rv2029c is successfully constructed,which lay a foundation for the study of the immune mechanism of recombinant vaccine.

Objective:To explore the value of 5G robotic remote ultrasound in the diagnosis of plateau pulmonary edema(HAPE).Methods:A total of 27 patients who quickly entered Nagqu, Tibet at an altitude of 4 600 m-5 600 m from March to December 2021 and developed one of the clinical symptoms of HAPE were collected. All patients were examined by 5G remote robotic ultrasound and lung CT respectively. Kappa test was used to analyze the consistency of the two diagnostic results, and McNemar test was used to compare the difference in diagnostic results. The ROC curve was used to analyze the sensitivity and specificity of remote lung ultrasound scores in the diagnosis of HAPE.Results:Among the 27 patients, 16 showed thickening of pleural line, increasing of B line, lung consolidation, pleural effusion, etc. Meanwhile, 11 showed no abnormality. Additionally, 8 cases had diffuse pulmonary fluid in both lungs, and 8 cases had localized pulmonary fluid. ROC curve showed that the area under the curve of lung ultrasound score for the diagnosis of HAPE was 0.947 (95% CI=0.78-0.99, P<0.001). The sensitivity and specificity were 0.933 and 0.917, respectively. Lung CT diagnosis was positive in 15 cases. Lung CT showed thickening of lung texture, ground glass, small nodular shadow, fine reticulate shadow, etc. The diagnostic results of the two techniques were in good agreement (Kappa=0.924, P<0.001), and there was no significant difference between the two methods ( P>0.05). Conclusions:5G remote robotic ultrasound has high consistency with CT in the diagnosis of HAPE and is an alternative early diagnosis method for HAPE. It may have clinical application value in scattered medical resources and remote plateau areas.