Objective To investigate the therapeutic effect of fluvastatin in bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis in rats. Methods Pulmonary fibrosis was induced in SD rats by intratracheal instillation of bleomycin A_ 5 . The rats were than divided randomly into three groups: the rats in the first group received daily fluvastatin 20mg/kg (group Flu),those of the second group received normal saline (group BLM) orally only,and those of controls (group N) received normal saline both intratracheally and orally. Five rats in each group were sacrificed 1,3,7,14 and 28 days after intratracheal instillation of bleomycin. Pathological changes in the lungs were evaluated by HE stain and Masson′s trichrome stain. Collagen content of the lung tissue was assessed by hydroxyproline concentration. Alveolar macrophages,polymorphonuclear leukocytes and lymphocytes in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were counted. Hyaluronic acid (HA) and laminin (LN) in BALF were determined by radioimmunoassay. Results The degree of alveolitis and pulmonary fibrosis in group Flu was improved as compared with that of group BLM. Hydroxyproline concentrations of group Flu were significantly lower than that of group BLM 7 days after bleomycin A_ 5 instillation. Total cell counts and percentage of polymorphonuclear leukocytes and lymphocytes in BALF were significantly reduced in group Flu. HA and LN levels in BALF were also lower in group Flu compared with group BLM. Conclusion Fluvastatin could alleviate bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis in rats.

Objective To investigate the effect of radiation-induced heart injury on cardiac troponin I (cTnI)and endothelin-1(ET-1) and observe the preventive and therapeutic effect of fluvastatin. Methods Healthy female SD rats were randomly divided into three groups: control group(c), irradiation alone group(R) and fluvastatin therapeutic group (F). Rats of F group had been gastrogavaged with fluvastatin at dose of 20mg?kg -1?d -1 from 1week before irradiation to the end of the experiment. In C group and R group, rats were gastrogavaged with the same volume isotonic sodium chloride. The rats of R and F group were irradiated with accelerator linear at a dose of 20Gy thoracically. Rats were executed at 5,15,30d and 60d after irradiation, then cTnI in serum and ET-1 in blood plasma were detected. Results On 5d, the content of cTnI in R group increased significantly than that in C group(P

Objective:To observe the inhibitory effect of fluvastatin (Flu) on the proliferation of the rat lung fibroblasts cultured in vitro . Methods: Normal rat lung derived fibroblasts were cultured in media containing Flu. The influences of Flu on the growth curve of the fibroblasts were observed by cell count and MTT colorimetry. The inhibition effect of Flu serial dilutions on the fibroblasts proliferation was investigated. Influence of Flu on division index of the fibroblasts was analyzed by direct cell count. Chemical colorimetry was used to detect the hydroxyproline in the media. Results: Flu inhibited the proliferation of the normal rat lung fibroblasts in the manner of dose dependence( P

Objective To investigate autoantibody against endothelin receptor type A (ENRA-Ab) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus associated pulmonary arterial hypertension (SLE-PAH).The possibility of autoantibody-mediated pathogenesis in the development of SLE-PAH has also been explored.Methods ENRA-Ab in the serum of SLE-PAH and controls were detected by using a human ETRA epitope peptide-based ELISA.The clinical relevance of ENRA-Ab in SLE-PAH was analyzed.Proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) and permeability of endothelial cells in vitro under the stimulation of polyclonal ENRA-Ab IgG were assessed.The expressions of PAH-related markers, i.e., 5-HTT, PDGFR-b, VEGF-A and PDGF-B were measured by qPCR.The effect of ENRA-Ab in vivo was also determined in a suboptimaldose monocrotaline-induced model with the assessment of right ventricle hypertrophy index and pathology parameters.Independent t-test, Tukey-Kramer test of variance analysis and Pearson' s correlation analysis were used for statistical analysis.Results ENRA-Abs was presented in a higher occurrence in SLE-PAH (35/85,41％) compared with controls (0/60;0, 13/80, 16％).There was a significant correlation between ENRA-Ab and echocardiograph estimated pulmonary arterial systolic pressure (r=0.392, P=0.002) in SLE-PAH.ENRA-Ab could promote SMCs proliferation, disrupt endothelial barrier and up-regulate PAH-related markers expression,which could be blocked in the presence of ETR antagonist.ENRA-Ab aggravated right ventricle hypertrophy and vascular remodeling in vivo.Conclusion ENRA-Ab is a new biomarker, in SLE-PAH, which may mediate PAH development in SLE.

BACKGROUND: The pathological characteristics of pulmonary interstitial fibrosis are the proliferation of a large number of fibroblasts and the increasing deposition of matrix collagen that takes the place of normal lung structure. Fluvastatin can inhibit the proliferation of fibroblasts and many other cells.OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of fluvastatin in inhibiting the proliferation of rat lung fibroblasts cultured in vitro and its influence on bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis and ventilation function.DESIGN: A randomized controlled trial.SETTING: Department of Respiratory Diseases, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University of Chinese PLA; Teaching and Research Section of Pathology, Department of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University of Chinese PLA; Research Institute ofOrthopedics, Xijing Hospital,Fourth Military Medical University of Chinese PLA.PARTICIPANTS: The study was conducted in the laboratory of Department of Respiratory Diseases, Xijing Hospital of Fourth Military Medical University of Chinese PLA from January to December 2001. Thirty-one healthy adult male Sprague-Dawley(SD) rats of grade Ⅰ were selected in this study.INTERVENTIONS: The fibroblasts derived from the lung normal of one rat were cultured in vitro in media containing fluvastatin. The effect of fluvastatin on the growth curve and the effect of its different concentrations(0, 1 × 10-7,1 ×10-6, 1 ×10-5, 1 ×10-4, 1 ×10 3and 1 ×10-2 mol/L, fluvastatin of 0 mol/L was taken as the blank control group) in inhibiting the cultured cells were observed with MTT colorimetry. The effect of fluvastatin on the division index of the fibroblasts was analyzed by direct cell counting Hydroxyproline colorimetry was used to detect the influence of fluvastatin on the collagen secretion in the media. The other 30 SD rats were divided into six groups: normal control group, bleomycin-induced group and fluvastatin-treated groups(TH 1,TE1, TH15 and TL15 groups) named according to the date of giving fluvastatin,i. e. the 1st day and the 15th day, after the rats were given bleomycin A5. All the rats were killed 28 days later. The number of fibroblasts, the thickness of alveolar wall and the area of mesenchyma in lung tissue were measured by HE staining. The extracellular matrix and collagen in lung tissue were observed by Masson and sirius red staining, and hydroxyproline in lung tissue homogenates was measured.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Fibroblast growth curve and division index of rat lung, hydroxyproline in the media and lung tissue homogenates,number of fibroblasts and the thickness of alveolar wall, the area of mesenchyma, extracellular matrix and collagen contents in lung tissue.RESULTS: Fluvastatin could inhibit the proliferation of the rat lung fibroblasts cultured in vitro(t=4.20 to 17.52, P < 0.01), and its inhibitory effect was increased with the increased dose of fluvastatin, which showed a dose-dependent effect. The 1 × 10-4 mol/L fluvastatin could completely inhibit the proliferation of the cultured cells, and the A490 value from the 2nd day on the fibroblasts by MTT colorimetry was not insignificantly different from those on the 1st day( P > 0.05) . The division index of the fibroblasts and secretion of collagen were obviously decreased by fluvastatin( t = 8. 037,P <0.01; t =3.99 to 10. 84, P <0.05 or P <0.01). In vivo, the number of fibroblasts, the thickness of lung alveolar wall, the area of mesenchyma and the content of hydroxyproline in lung tissue were significantly higher in bleomycin group than in control group( t =4. 62 to 11.93, P < 0. 01), while those in the fluvastatin-treated groups were lower than those in bleomycin group in different degrees( t = 2.69 to 7.65, P < 0.05 to 0.01 ) . The distribution of extracellular matrix and types Ⅰ and Ⅲ collagen in lung tissue were obviously increased in bleomycin group as compared with that in control group, but decreased in different degrees in fluvastatin-treated groups.CONCLUSION: Fluvastatin can significantly inhibit the proliferation of rat lung fibroblasts in vitro, suggesting that it may be an effective drug for pulmonary fibrosis. Treatment at earlier stage is more effective than at advanced stage.

Objective To compare the performance of four commercial anti-dsDNA antibody assays,i.e,BioPlex 2200 (BioPlex),Farr radioimmunoassay (Farr),MESACUP DNA-Ⅱ TEST ds [MBL-enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)] and Anti-dsDNA-NcX ELISA (IgG) (EURO-ELISA),Antoantibodies Profile Assay Kit (HOB-Chemiluminescent Immunoassay) in disease activity assessment of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).Methods SLE patients (n=119) as well as healthy controls (n=200) and disease controls (n=100) were recruited and their serum anti-dsDNA antibodies were detected by BioPlex,Farr,MBL-ELISA,EURO-ELISA,and a standard Crithidia luciliae indirect immunofluorescence test (CLIFT).The consistency between above four methods to CLIFT was analyzed.The correlation of anti-dsDNA antibody level of these four methods to SLE disease activity was assessed.All data analyses were performed with Statistical product and service solutions (SPSS) 16.0 (SPSS.Inc) and GraphPad Prism 4.0.3 (GraphPad).Unless otherwise specified,all data in this study were expressed as mean±standard deviation.Cut-off values of the anti-dsDNA quantification methods were set by the manufacturers.Chi square and kappa coefficients were adopted to assess the agreement determination and correlation analysis between anti-dsDNA level and SLE disease activity (SLEDAI).Receiver-operator characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to compare the specificity and sensitivity of the anti-dsDNA assays.Student's t test was adopted for the comparison of anti-dsDNA levels by different methods between SLE and SLE+LN groups.A p value small than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results Using cut-off values set by the manufacturers,BioPlex demonstrated the highest overall agreement with CLIFT,while MBL-ELISA and EURO-ELISA showed the highest positive agreement with CLIFT.Disease activity correlation analysis showed that SLEDAI score correlated poorly with anti-dsDNA level in Farr assay,but strongly with the other three assays.Bioplex had a better performance in terms of SLE activity index corelation (r=0.297 6,P=0.001 2).Moreover,anti-dsDNA level differed in SLE patients with renal lupus nephritis in BioPlex assay (P=0.026 8),but not in the other assays.In ROC curve analysis,BioPlex showed the largest area under the curve (AUC) over other assays.Conclusion Bio Plex assay has better sensitivity and specificity than Farr,MBL-ELISA and EURO-ELISA and correlates well with SLE disease activity.

Strengthening the construction of hospital work style is a concrete manifestation of implementing strict govern-ance of the Party,an inevitable requirement for serving the health of the people,and an important guarantee for deepening the re-form of the medical and health system.By reviewing the current situation of the construction of hospital work style in public hospi-tals,analyzing the difficulties encountered in the practice,such as insufficient understanding of work style construction,poor ef-fectiveness of work style publicity and education,imperfect management system and working mechanism,and incomplete assess-ment indicators,this study proposes optimization strategies,including improving the hospital work style publicity and education system,optimizing the management system and working mechanism of work style construction,and establishing an assessment and evaluation system for hospital work style construction.These strategies provide reference for establishing a long-term mechanism for the construction of hospital work style in the context of the new era,and further promote the high-quality development of hospi-tals.

Dermatomyositis (DM) with positive anti-melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 (MDA5) antibodies (MDA5+DM) is a kind of occasional and rare autoimmune disease. Due to the fact that MDA5+DM patients are prone to suffer from the rapid progressive interstitial lung disease (RP-ILD), and the mortality rate is extremely high (all-cause mortality at 6 months is almost 50%). In addition to lung disease, patients with MDA5+DM also suffering from the skin and muscle symptoms. The biomarkers represented by the anti-MDA5 antibody titer, ferritin, KL-6 level and CD4 +/CXCR4 +T cell percentage are considered to relate with MDA5+DM-ILD′s severity, activity evaluation, therapeutic effect monitoring, and prognosis prediction. The current therapeutic strategies for the disease is mainly combined with immunosuppression. This work systemly summarizes the diagnosis and treatment progress of anti-mda5 antibody-related dermatomyositis, which not only contributes to the research work of related disciplines, but also provides reference for clinical diagnosis and treatment.

Objective To analyze the detection results of apolipoprotein B (ApoB) and serum uric acid (SUA) in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Methods A total of150 NAFLD patients admitted to our hospital were selected as study group, and 150 healthy people with physical examination in the same period were as the control group. Low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), triglyceride (TG), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), waist-hip ratio (WHR), body mass index (BMI), total cholesterol (TC), ApoB, creatinine (Cr), SUA levels were measured in the two groups. The correlation between SUA, ApoB and NAFLD was analyzed by multiple Logistic regression analysis. At the same time, smoking, coronary heart disease, diabetes and hypertension were compared between the two groups. Results The levels of LDL-C, TG, ALT, WHR, TC, BMI, SUA and ApoB in the study group were higher than those in the control group (P ＜ 0. 05). The levels of Cr in the study group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P ＜ 0. 05). The results of multiple Logistic regression analysis showed that the levels of SUA and ApoB were independently and positively correlated with NAFLD and were independent risk factors for NAFLD. The incidences of smoking, coronary heart disease, diabetes mellitus and hypertension were significantly higher than that of the control group (P ＜ 0. 05). Conclusion The levels of SUA and ApoB are positively correlated with NAFLD. The higher the levels of SUA and ApoB are, the higher the incidence of cardiovascular disease is. Therefore, blood lipid intervention should be carried out in time to control the development of NAFLD.

Objective To analyze the detection results of apolipoprotein B (ApoB) and serum uric acid (SUA) in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Methods A total of150 NAFLD patients admitted to our hospital were selected as study group, and 150 healthy people with physical examination in the same period were as the control group. Low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), triglyceride (TG), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), waist-hip ratio (WHR), body mass index (BMI), total cholesterol (TC), ApoB, creatinine (Cr), SUA levels were measured in the two groups. The correlation between SUA, ApoB and NAFLD was analyzed by multiple Logistic regression analysis. At the same time, smoking, coronary heart disease, diabetes and hypertension were compared between the two groups. Results The levels of LDL-C, TG, ALT, WHR, TC, BMI, SUA and ApoB in the study group were higher than those in the control group (P ＜ 0. 05). The levels of Cr in the study group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P ＜ 0. 05). The results of multiple Logistic regression analysis showed that the levels of SUA and ApoB were independently and positively correlated with NAFLD and were independent risk factors for NAFLD. The incidences of smoking, coronary heart disease, diabetes mellitus and hypertension were significantly higher than that of the control group (P ＜ 0. 05). Conclusion The levels of SUA and ApoB are positively correlated with NAFLD. The higher the levels of SUA and ApoB are, the higher the incidence of cardiovascular disease is. Therefore, blood lipid intervention should be carried out in time to control the development of NAFLD.