BACKGROUND:Pericytes, which are widely distributed in the microvasculature except lymphatic vessels, are not only a constituent of microvessels, but also play an important role in microvascular occurrence, development, stability, maturity and remodeling. Its signal transduction is currently a hot spot. OBJECTIVE:To review recent advances in the signal pathways related to pericytes and angiogenesis. METHODS:We retrieved PubMed database, Wanfang database, CNKI database and China Biology Medicine disc for articles addressing pericytes and angiogenesis published from 1994 to 2014. The keywords were “pricytes; endothelial cels; microvessels; signal transduction” in English and Chinese, respectively.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:In the early stage of capilary formation, recruitment of pericytes contributes to the occurrence and development of new blood capilaries. However, in the late stage of angiogenesis, pericytes inhibit endothelial cel proliferation and promote endothelial cel differentiation, thereby promoting vascular maturation, maintaining normal structure and regulating their permeability. In this process, signaling pathways of platelet-derived growth factor B/platelet-derived growth factor receptor β, transforming growth factor β, angiopoietin-1/Tie-2, human heparin binding epidermal growth factor/ErbBs, and stromal cel derived factor 1α/CXCR4 play an important regulatory role in pericytes and angiogenesis.

Objective To study the changes of clonality of T cell receptor (TCR) and complementarity determinative region 3(CDR3) before and after autologous peripheral blood CD34+ stem cell transplantation(auto-PBSCT) for severe/refractory connective tissue disease(CTD). Methods Thirteen patients with severe/refractory CTD were enrolled for auto-PBSCT in Peking Union Medical College Hospital, including systemic lupus erythematosus (8 cases), rheumatoid arthritis(4 cases), and primary Sjogren’s Syndrome(1 case). Blood samples were collected before/after mobilization, 2 weeks, 1, 3, 6, 12 and 18 months post-transplantation. Diversity of TCRBV and CDR3 were showed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) and genescan. Results The TCR BV usage and CDR3 spectral pattern of pre-auto-PBSCT CTD patients were revealed skewed pattern and oligoclonality, Which developed severe oligoclonality within 1 months after auto-PBSCT. However, they showed diversity andpoly-clonality 3～6 months after auto-PBSCT. Conclusion Skewed pattern and oligoclonality of TCRBV and CDR3 which implied auto-reactive were depressed after auto-PBSCT, and inclined to change to normal pattern.

Objective To determine the expression level of CD154 in systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE) and its role in the pathogenesis. Methods CD154 were detected by flow cytometry in CD19+ peripheral blood lymphocytes from 16 active lupus patients and 14 healthy controls. Effects of anti-CD154, on the proliferation and IgG secretion by peripheral B lymphocytes were also observed. Results ① The positive rates and mean fluroscence intensity of CD154 in peripheral blood B lymphocytes from active lupus [(36?17)%,364?238] were significantly higher than from normal controls[(10?8)%, 124?97], (P

Objective To study the effect of endoscopic treatment for acute appendicitis (AA)without perforation or gangrene.Methods A total of 94 patients with AA were randomly divided into operation group (n =45 ) to receive appendectomy,control group (n =15 ) to accept conventional medicine of metronidazole and Cefoxitin and colonoscopy group (n =34) to undergo conventional medicine plus endoscopic treatment.The time for alleviation of abdominal pain,duration and mean cost of the hospitalization,and the recurrence rate in one year were compared.Results Compared to operation group,colonoscopy group was superior in the duration [ (2.77 ± 0.27) d vs.(6.65 ± 1.68) d ] and mean cost of hospitalization [ ( 1011.35 ± 22.12) yuan vs.(4023.37 ± 32.02 ) yuan ] ( P ＜ 0.05 and P ＜ 0.01,respectively).There were no significant differences in the time for alleviation of abdominal pain or the recurrence rate in one year between 2 groups.Colonoscopy group was superior to control group in all the indices (P ＜ 0.05 ).Conclusion Endoscopic treatment for AA without perforation and gangrene is effective and safe,which can be considered as the first-line treatment.

Seventy two diabetic subjects type Ⅱ were given konjac food for 65 days.The data analysed by multiple F-test indicated that the fasting blood glucosc(FBG), 2-h postprandial blood glucose (PBG) at the 30th and 65th day after consuming the food were significantly reduced (P = 0.001, P200mg%) decreased on the average by 51.8 and 84.6 mg% respectively, those with FBG-O 150-200 mg% by 24.1 and 68.7mg%, and those with FBG-0200 mg%).It could be concluded that konjac food was very useful in both prevention and treatment of hyperglycemia.

Objective To assess the efficacy of combined vitamin D with calcium and vitamin D or cal-cium alone in rickets of vitamin D deficiency by meta-analysis method. Methods Searches were made in Cochrance Library , Pubmed, Web of science, Scirus, CNKI, Chinese Biological Medical Literature Database, (CBM),Wangfang from the establishment of the data base till March 2013. All randomized controlled trials about combined with vitamin D and calcium in rickets of vitamin D deficiency were eligible. Serum 25-( OH) ritamin D,phosphate ,ALP,calcium,PTH,phosphate,albumin ,radiographic score were chosen as evaluation in-dex to evaluate the weighted mean diffreence ( WMD) and 95% confidence interval ( CI) for continuous data. RevMan 5. 0. 2 software was used to make meta-analysis. Results 437 literatures were reviewed. Three eligible trials were used for meta-analysis. Meta-analysis showed that:(1)the increase of Serum 25-(OH)vitamin D:Combined therapy group and vitamin D group (MD= -7. 88,95%CI:-12. 24~ -3. 52);Combined therapy group and calcium group (MD= -18. 32,95%CI:-22. 61~ -14. 04). (2)the increase of serum phosphate:Combined therapy group and vitamin D group ( MD= -0. 64 ( 95%CI:-0. 86 ~ -0. 42 );Combined therapy group and calcium group MD= -0. 16 ( 95%CI:-0. 84 ~0. 51 ) . ( 3 ) the decrease of Serum ALP:Combined therapy group and vitamin D group (MD= 109. 99,95%CI:20. 40 ~199. 58);Combined therapy group and calcium group (MD=59. 89,95%CI:10. 09~109. 59 ). (4)the increase of serum calcium :Combined therapy group and vitamin D group (MD= -0. 71,95%CI:-0. 91,-0. 52);the decrease of Radiographic score:Com-bined therapy group and vitamin D group( MD=0. 68,95%CI:0. 42~ 0. 95). Except that the increase of serum phosphate between combined therapy group and calcium group had no significant difference,the rest had signifi-cant difference. Conclusion The long term efficacy in combined therapy group is much effective than vitamin D group or calcium group.

Liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry(LC-ESI-MS)is a widely utilized technique for in vivo pharmaceutical analysis.Ionization interference within electrospray ion source,occurring between drugs and metabolites,can lead to signal variations,potentially compromising quantitative accuracy.Currently,method validation often overlooks this type of signal interference,which may result in systematic errors in quantitative results without matrix-matched calibration.In this study,we conducted an investigation using ten different groups of drugs and their corresponding me-tabolites across three LC-ESI-MS systems to assess the prevalence of signal interference.Such in-terferences can potentially cause or enhance nonlinearity in the calibration curves of drugs and metabolites,thereby altering the relationship between analyte response and concentration for quanti-fication.Finally,we established an evaluation scheme through a step-by-step dilution assay and employed three resolution methods:chromatographic separation,dilution,and stable labeled isotope internal standards correction.The above strategies were integrated into the method establishment process to improve quantitative accuracy.

Alcohol abuse leads to alcoholic liver disease and no effective therapy is currently available. Wuzhi Tablet (WZ), a preparation of extract fromthat is a traditional hepato-protective herb, exerted a significant protective effect against acetaminophen-induced liver injury in our recent studies, but whether WZ can alleviate alcohol-induced toxicity remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the contribution of WZ to alcohol-induced liver injury by using chronic-binge and acute models of alcohol feeding. The activities of ALT and AST in serum were assessed as well as the level of GSH and the activity of SOD in the liver. The expression of CYP2E1 and proteins in the NRF2-ARE signaling pathway including NRF2, GCLC, GCLM, HO-1 were measured, and the effect of WZ on NRF2 transcriptional activity was determined. We found that both models resulted in liver steatosis accompanied by increased transaminase activities, but that liver injury was significantly attenuated by WZ. WZ administration also inhibited CYP2E1 expression induced by alcohol, and elevated the level of GSH and the activity of SOD in the liver. Moreover, the NRF2-ARE signaling pathway was activated by WZ and the target genes were all upregulated. Furthermore, WZ significantly activated NRF2 transcriptional activity. Collectively, our study demonstrates that WZ protected against alcohol-induced liver injury by reducing oxidative stress and improving antioxidant defense, possibly by activating the NRF2-ARE pathway.