Objective To study the difference of oxygen free radical metabolism between healthy native Tibetans and mi- grated Hans at different altitude.Methods The activity of Total-antioxidation capability(T-AOC),superoxide dis- mutase(SOD),glutathione peroxidase(GSH-PX)and the content of,reactive oxygen species(ROS),malondialdehyde (MDA)and nitric oxide(NO)in serum in healthy native Tibetans and migrated Hans at different altitude were meas- ured.Results The activity of T-AOC,SOD,GSH-PX and the content of NO were increased in serum in native Tibet- ans group than that in migrated Hans group(P

Objective To investigate the effect of transforming growth factor-?1 (TGF-?1) on the activity of connective tissue growth factor(CTGF) gene promoter in human renal proximal tubular epithelial cell line HK-2. Methods The regulation fragment of 5' flanking region of human CTGF gene was linked to pGL3-Basic vector. The recombinant plasmid pCTGF-luc was transient transfected to HK-2 cells. The activity of CTGF promoter after treatment of TGF-?1 and mitogen-activated prontein kinases (MAPK) pathway inhibitors was assayed by means of luciferase reporter gene assay system. Results TGF-?1-induced increase of CTGF promoter activity was concentration-dependent, with a plateau at 5 ng/ml by 1.82-fold vs control (P

Objective To investigate the utility of diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) and blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the assessment of renal hypoxia in an experimental model of mice with lupus nephritis (LN).Methods MRL/lpr mice (n=13) were studied and C57BL/6 mice (n=10) served as controls.Urinary albumin to creatinine ratio (ACR),serum creatinine (Scr),anti-ds-DNA antibody,and complement C3 levels were measured.The mice underwent coronal echo-planar DWI and BOLD MRI of the kidneys when they were 14-16 weeks old.Hypoxyprobe was administered intraperitoneally to the mice 1 hour before they were sacrificed.The distribution of HypoxyprobeTM-1,hypoxia-inducible factor 1 α (HIF-1 o) and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) in renal tissues was detected by immunohistochemical analysis and Western blotting.Results Urinary ACR,Scr and anti-ds-DNA antibody levels in MRL/lpr mice were significantly higher than that in C57BL/6 mice.It was found that HypoxyprobeTM-1,HIF-1o and HO-1 distributed widely in the renal tissue of MRL/lpr mice,and closely associated with the renal tubulointerstitial lesion.The mean apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value of kidneys in MRL/lpr mice was (1.52±0.27) × 10-3 mm2/s,and the mean R2* values of the renal cortex and medulla were (30.95 ±4.59)/s and (23.43± 3.06)/s respectively,all significantly lower than that in C57BL/6 mice (P=0.037,P=0.030 and P=0.043,respectively).The ADC of medulla was negatively correlated with urinary albumin to creatinine ratio (r=-0.364,P=0.032;r=-0.329,P=0.050),the ADC of cortex was negatively correlated with the level of serum creatinine (r=-0.814,P=0.014;r=-0.755,P=0.031) when b value was 500 s/mm2 and 800 s/mm2,and the mean R2* value was negatively correlated with the degree of tubulointerstitial lesions and the expression of hypoxia parameters (all P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions Renal hypoxia may play an important role in renal tubulointerstitial lesion.Functional MRI may be used to monitor renal function changes,pathological injuries and renal hypoxia in LN.

Objective To investigate the morbidity and characteristic of nosocomial infections in end stage renal disease(ESRD) patients undergoing blood purification.Methods Medical records of ESRD patients undergoing blood purification from 2004 to 2005 were enrolled in this retrospective study of hospitalized cases.The clinical data of nosocomial infections in hemodialysis (HD)and peritoneal dialysis(PD)patients were analyzed separately.Results Nosocomial infection was identified in 76 of the 400 enrolled patients.In HD patients,pulmonary infection was the most common nosocomial infection(53.3%),most due to gram-negative microorganisms,followed by bloodstream(16.7%)and urinary tract infection(15%),most of both were due to gram-positive bacteria.Pulmonary infection was usually complicated.Bloodstream infection was associated with the duration of placement of central vein catheters.Asymptomatic bacteriuria accounted for most of the urinary tract infection.In PD patients, most infections were pulmonary infection(65.5%),mainly caused by fungal pathogens,followed by peritonitis(20.7%), mainly due to gram-positive bacteria.Certain proportion of infections in both groups was caused by multiple microorganisms or identified in multiple sites.Conclusions The prevalence of nosocomial infection is high in hospitalized patients undergoing blood purification.The infection is complicated in terms of pathogen and clinical picture.Pulmonary infection is the most common in- fection.The prevalence of fungal infection is increasing.Effective prevention and therapeutic measures should be applied more vigorously in ESRD patients.

?ig-h_3 was first identified as a transforming growth factor-beta1-inducible gene in human lung adenocarcinoma cell line. It encodes for a secreted extracellular matrix (ECM) protein, which is thought to act on cell attachment and ECM composition. Previous study showed that ?ig-h_3 were highly expressed in human hepatoma cell lines and lowly expressed in human normal hepatic cells. The present study aimed to transfect ?ig-h_3 into 7721 cells to investigate its effect on secretion of MMPs in the transfected human hepatoma cells. Full-length ?ig-h_3 gene,cloned by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was inserted into the eukaryotic expression vector pEGFP-C_2. The recombinant plasmid was transfected into 7721 cells with Lipofectamine2000 and Gelatin-Zymography were adopted to detect the production of MMPs in the transfected cells. Results showed that ?ig-h_3/pEGFP-C_2 recombinant expression plasmid was successfully constructed and achieved high transfection efficiency. MMPs expression of the transfected cells was promoted significantly. These results suggest that overexpression of ?ig-h_3 promoted the production of MMPs, indicating that ?ig-h_3 may play roles in the invasive and metastatic processes of hepatoma.

Objective To study the prevalence of the mtDNA A1555G gene mutation in Chinese population with nonsyndromic hearing impairment.Methods PCR-RFLP,directional sequencing of PCR products were applied in 325 patients with nonsyndromic hearing impairment and 50 normal controls.Results The mutation rate of the mtDNA A1555G was 14.5% (47/325),28 of 47 cases were homozygosis,19 of 47 cases were heterozygosis.The same mutation was not detected in the control subjects.Conclusion The mutation rate of the mtDNA A1555G is relatively high in the Chinese NSHI patients,the mutation type includes both heterozygosis and homozygosis.

ObjectiveTo establish a prognostic score model based on preoperative neutrophillymphocyte ratio (NLR) to predict recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) following liver transplantation.MethodsThe clinical data of 76 HCC patients undergoing liver transplantation were retrospectively analyzed.An NLR≥2.5 was considered to be elevated.A preoperative recurrence score was established by using three preoperative factors which significantly increased the risk of tumour recurrence after liver transplantation on multivariate analysis,namely,vascular invasion,tumour number＞3,and NLR≥2.5.We then evaluated the scoring system in predicting tumour recurrence of HCC after liver transplantation.ResultsArea under the receiver operating characteristic curve of preoperative recurrence score was 0.758,with scores of 2 and 3 having hazard ratios of 10.038 and 59.773,respectively.All ten patients with a score of 3 developed tumour recurrence in less than 6 months.The 1-,3- and 5-year tumour-free survival rates for patients with a score of 0,1 and 2 were 95.0％,78.4％,and 78.4％ vs.76.9％,66.9％,and 63.2％ vs.51.9％,8.7％,and 8.7％,respectively.Of 55 patients who had no gross vascular invasion,5 patients with both tumour number＞3 and NLR≥2.5 developed recurrence in less than 31 months.ConclusionsPatients with both preoperative NLR≥2.5 and tumour number more than 3 were at a high risk of tumour recurrence after liver transplantation for HCC.The preoperative recurrence score model strongly correlated with tumour recurrence,and may aid in the selection of patients with HCC for liver transplantation.

ObjectiveTo study the role of micafungin in the treatment of invasive fungal infection after liver transplantation.MethodsWe retrospectively studied the clinical data of 32 patients who developed invasive fungal infection after liver transplantation treated in our center between December 2008 and June 2010.The therapeutic effect,adverse effect,and the blood concentration/dose ratio of tacrolimus (tacrolimus concentration per dose.kg-1) before and after micafungin treatment were analysed.ResultsThe curative rate was 93.7％.There were no obvious toxicity and sideeffect.The blood concentration/dose ratio in the triazoles treatment group [(1031± 634.2) ng·ml-1/mg · kg-1] was markably higher than the micafungin treatment group [(172.6±39.45) ng·ml-1/mg · kg-1] and the control group (ceasing antifungal agents) [(183.8±47.08) ng· ml-1/mg · kg-1] (P＜0.05).However,there was no significant difference in the blood concentration/dose ratio between the micafungin treatment group and the control group (P＞0.05).ConclusionsMicafungin did not significantly affect the blood concentration/dose ratio of tacrolimus,and effectively treated invasive fungal infection in patients after liver transplantation.

ObjectiveTo investigate the choice of graft,and transfusion and immunosuppressant regimen of a RhD negative recipient in liver transplantation.MethodsOne RhD negative patient with hepatocellular carcinoma who received a liver graft from a RhD positive donor was retrospectively studied,and related references were reviewed.During the operation,the patient received five units of RhD negative/O RBC,3000 ml positive/O plasma and 30 units cryoprecipitate.Tacrolimus and prednisone were used to prevent rejection,and prednisone was withdrawn 30d post transplant.Results The patient's liver function recovered smoothly,without any acute rejection or hemolytic reaction.Anti-D antibody was not detected.The patient suffered from cancer recurrence 9 months and died of brain metastasis 13 months after transplantation.ConclusionsA RhD negative recipient can receive a graft from a RhD positive donor in liver transplantation.The selection of RBC and platelet from RhD negative or positive donors should be based on the result of anti-D antibody test.Plasma and cryoprecipitate can be transfused regardless of Rh type.Enhanced immunosuppressant regimen was unnecessary for these patients.

Objective To investigate the effect of hypoxic preconditioning on the biological function of bone mar-row-derived endothelial progenitor cells (BM-EPCs). Methods Mononuclear cells were collected by density gradient cen-trifugation from the bone marrow of rats. The isolated cells were cultivated in dishes coated with the vitronectin from rat plas-ma,filled with the endothelial cell basal medium-2. Cells were then cultured under the conventional culture conditions (37℃and 5%CO2). The cultured cells were divided into control group and hypoxia training group after four-day culture. Cells of the control group were cultured in previous conditions for another three days. However, cells of the hypoxia training groups were cultured in previous conditions for 0, 1 and 2 days,and then under the hypoxic condition (1%O2+5%CO2+94%N2) for another 72 hours, 48 hours and 24 hours, respectively. After seven days,cells in all of groups were collected for the following study. The immunofluorescence labeling and cell analyzer were used to indentify BM-EPCs. The tube formation of BM-EPCs was tested by Matrigel assay. Annexin V/PI antiapoptotic assay was used to detect the apoptotic rate of BM-EPCs. Results The early apoptotic rate of BM-EPCs was increased obviously with extended hypoxia. There was no significant dif-ference in the early apoptotic rate of BM-EPCs between control group (0.89±0.20)%and hypoxic 24-h group (1.33±0.07)%(P>0.05). There was significant increase in the early apoptotic rate of BM-EPCs in hypoxic 48-h group (3.25±0.12)%and hypoxic 72-h group (7.48 ± 1.53)%(P<0.05). Compare with control group, the tube formation ability was significantly in-creased in hypoxic 24-h group (P<0.01), but the tube formation ability was significantly decreased in hypoxic 48-h group and hypoxic 72-h group (P<0.01). Conclusion After hypoxic preconditioning for 24 hours, the apoptotic rate was not obvi-ous in BM-EPCs, but the tube formation ability was markedly increased.