AIM: To explore the mechanism underlying the therapeutic effects of hypoxia inhalation on asthma. METHODS: Guinea pigs were randomized into the normal group(NG), asthmatic group(AG) and the hypoxia inhalation-treated group(HITG). The model of asthma was established in the latter two groups through sensitization and induction with 10% ovalbumin(OA) and 1% OA, respectively. The animals in HITG were treated with hypoxia inhalation (13.0%?0.5% O 2/N 2 mixed gas). The content of serum cortisol, the number of eosinophils(EOS) and percentage of hypodense eosinophils(HEOS) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid(BALF),the number of CD 4 +T-lymphocyte in peripheral blood(PB) and the tension of airway muscle were determined. RESULTS: (1)The content of serum cortisol was significantly higher in NG and HITG than in AG( P

[Objective]To investigate the technical advantages of micro-CT in the research of three dimensional structure of bone tissues over histological section technology. [Method]Different kinds of bone tissue related specimen were observed by micro-CT and histological section,respectively.The diversity of the sample treatments,result expressions and test data were compared.[Result]Micro-CT showed great advantages in displaying three dimensional structure characteristics of bone tissues.Both quantity and quality changes of bone tissues could be precisely determined by micro-CT which was much better than histological section technology.However,histology showed great advantages in displaying the cell figures,growth and differentiation.[Conclusion]Micro-CT provides a novel test method for both sample treatments and result expressions.Compound with histological technology,micro-CT can display the appearance and structure of bone tissues more sufficiently.

Objective To investigate the changes of serum levels of IL-24, IFN-γand IL-4 in patients with condyloma acuminatum (CA) after treatment. Methods Forty-two patients with CA who experienced no recurrence within 3 months after successful treatment were enrolled in this study. Double-antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay (DAS ELISA) was performed to determine the serum levels of IL-24,IFN-γand IL-4 in these patients before and 3 months after successful treatment as well as in 35 normal human controls. Results The untreated patients showed a lower level of serum IFN-γ (9.65 ± 3.70 vs. 15.49 ± 3.85ng/L, P ＜ 0.01) and a higher level of serum IL-4 and IL-24 (15.91 ± 6.14 vs. 10.48 ± 5.08 ng/L, 141.84 ±44.01 vs. 103.20 ± 41.37 ng/L, both P ＜ 0.01 ) compared with the controls. No significant difference was observed for the above parameters between the serum samples from the controls and patients 3 months after successful treatment. Conclusions Cellular immunity is impaired in patients with CA, which may be involved in the immunopathogenesis of CA.

Background and purpose:Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) was one of the best combined treatments for hepatocarcinoma. CT was commonly used to evaluate treatment response and recurrent disease. However it was diffi cult to evaluate treatment effectiveness of RFA and to detect recurrent nodule especially the size below 1cm. Digital subtraction arteriography(DSA) may provide fi nal diagnosis of recurrent nodule after RFA for hepatocarcinoma. Our purpose was to analyze the signs of DSA after RFA for hepatocarcinoma in order to provide possible reference for treatment effectiveness and the imaging follow-up methods. Methods:17 patients with primary liver cancer (n=15) or hepatic metastasis(n=2) were enrolled in this study. Common hepatic arteriography or super-selective angiography of suspicious tumor area were performed on all patients. Results:On DSA, most ablated regions presented as round or ovoid low density areas with no stain. At the peripheral zone of the lesion, fi ve signs after RFA could be found: Stain of localized granulation tissue, arterio-portal fi stula, hemorrhage, recurrence and no abnormal fi ndings. Local or intrahepatic recurrence occurred in 9 cases. Conclusion:Hepatic DSA has great value in detecting local recurrence of hepatic tumor after RFA treatment. DSA is superior to CT in detecting marginal or intrahepatic recurrent nodule below 1 cm.

ObjectiveTo study the effect of topiramate on the expression of Heat Shock Protein 70 (HSP70) after brain ischemia and reperfusion injury.MethodsWistar rats were performed operation of double renal artery stenosis to make hypertension. 2 months after, the rats were separated into 3 groups randomly: topiramate group,ischemic reperfusion group and fake operation control group. The rats were performed operation of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) and made them in ischemia for 2 h. One day later, their brains were obtained, and the number of positive and negtive cells were counted by computerized pathological image analyzer.ResultsThe HSP70 expression of topiramate group was higher than that of ischemic reperfusion group(P<0.05).No positive cell had been found in the samples of the control group.ConclusionTopiramate can enhance the expression of HSP70 and may therefore protect the ischemic brain tissue from reperfusion injury.

OBJECTIVETo study the existence of natural foci of Spotted Fever in Ninghua, Fujian province.

METHODSUsing DNA polymerase chain reaction and restriction endonuclease fragment length polymorphism analysis (PCR/RFLP) to detect spotted fever group rickettsiae (SFGR) in ticks and rodents.

RESULTSIt was found that H. wellingtoni, H. yeni, and Dermacentor auratus were infected with Rickettsia sibirica; the DNA fragments were cloned, the PCR products from isolated strain NH-97 were antigenically and genotypically identical to Rickettsia sibirica. Rattus flavipectus were found infected with R. conorii. One of the sequeuce analysis showed that the DNA sequence was different from other SFGR and close to R. japanic.

CONCLUSIONNatural foci of R. sibirica, R. sibrica, R. japanic and R.conorii are found in Ninghua, Fujian province of China.

Animals ; Boutonneuse Fever ; microbiology ; China ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; methods ; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length ; Rats ; Rickettsia ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Rodentia ; microbiology ; Ticks ; microbiology

ovel GCK-E339K mutation might be linked to this MODY2 pedigree.

Objective To investigate the effect of insulin and gliclazide therapy on endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and insulin sensitivity in the liver of type 2 diabetic rats.Methods A high fat diet plus a low-dose of streptozotocin was implemented to create a type 2 diabetic rats which were randomly divided into diabetes mellitus (DM) group,insulin treatment (INS) group and gliclazide treatment (GT)group; and healthy rats were as normal control group.Diabetic rats in INS and GT groups were given neutral protamine hagedorn (NPH) insulin and gliclazide respectively for 3 weeks.Protein expression levels of immunoglobulin binding protein (Bip),spliced X-box binding protein 1 (XBP-ls),phosphorylated c-Jun on serine 73 (p-c-Jun),phosphorylated insulin receptor substrate 1 on serine 307 (p-IRS-1),and glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase) in liver homogenate were detected by Western blotting.Results Compared with the normal rats,Bip and XBP-Is in the DM group were up-regulated (0.28 ±0.07 vs 0.90 ±0.10 for Bip;0.41 ± 0.07 vs 0.95 ±0.07 for XBP-1 s; both P ＜ 0.01 ) ; p-c-Jun (0.59 ± 0.18 vs 1.94 ± 0.03 ),p-IRS-1( 1.73 ± 0.18 vs 5.32 ± 0.22) and G6Pase (0.11 ± 0.01 vs 0.45 ± 0.01 ) were increased ( all P values ＜0.01 ).In the INS group,all of aforementioned changes were reversed (0.90 ± 0.10 vs 0.25 ± 0.04 for Bip; 0.95 ±0.07 vs 0.47 ±0.01 for XBP-1s; 1.94 ± 0.03 vs 0.50 ±0.10 for p-c-Jun; 5.32 ± 0.22 vs 1.59 ±0.32 for p-IRS-1 ; 0.45 ±0.01 vs 0.15 ±0.02 for G6Pase,all P values ＜0.01 ).In the GT group,all of aforementioned changes were also attenuated ( 0.90 ± 0.10 vs 0.53 ± 00.02 for Bip ; 0.95 ± 0.07 vs 0.78±0.02 for XBP-1s; 1.94 ±0.03 vs 1.33 ±0.11 for p-c-Jun; 5.32 ±0.22 vs 3.13 ±0.02 for p-IRS-1; 0.45 ± 0.01 vs 0.25 ± 0.01 for G6Pase,all P values ＜ 0.05).Furthermore,all of aforementioned protein levels were down-regulated more obviously in the INS group comparing to the GT group ( all P values ＜ 0.01 ).Conclusions Both insulin and gliclazide therapy could relieve ER stress and e-Jun N-terminal kinase activity and improved insulin sensitivity.The effect of insulin on Bip,XBP-1s,p-c-Jun,p-IRS-1 and G6Pase protein expressions is more obvious than that of glilcazide,which indicates besides lowering glucose,insulin might have protective effects of anti-inflammation,anti-oxidative stress or stimulation of lipid redistribution.

Objective To investigate the effects of narrow-band ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) therapy on the levels of plasmin and CC chemokine ligand 20 (CCL20) in peripheral blood of patients with psoriasis vulgaris.Methods A total of 60 patients with psoriasis vulgaris in progressive stage were treated with NB-UVB radiation thrice a week for 8 weeks.Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was performed to detect the levels of plasmin and CCL20 in the peripheral blood of the patients before and after the treatment,as well as in the peripheral blood of 50 healthy controls.Results After the treatment,psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) scores in patients were significantly decreased compared with those before the treatment (2.54 ± 1.64 vs.10.26 ± 3.14,t =17.40,P ＜ 0.05),and the response rate was up to 87％ (52/60).Before the treatment,levels of plasmin and CCL20 were both significantly higher in the patient group than in the control group (plasmin:180.07 ± 40.62 μg/L vs.76.30 ± 26.92 μg/L,t =15.45,P ＜ 0.05;CCL20:422.41 ± 129.87 pg/L vs.205.33 ± 49.89 pg/L,t =11.15,P ＜ 0.05).After the treatment,levels of plasmin (148.22 ± 40.05 μg/L) and CCL20 (329.67 ± 100.73 pg/L) in patients were significantly decreased compared with those before the treatment (t =4.97,6.44,P ＜ 0.05),but still significantly higher than those in controls (t =10.82,7.95,P ＜ 0.05).Before the treatment,the level of plasmin was positively correlated with the level of CCL20 in peripheral blood of the patients (r =0.57,P ＜ 0.05),and the levels of plasmin and CCL20 were both positively correlated with the PASI score (r =0.49,0.62,respectively,both P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion NB-UVB radiation may exert a therapeutic effect on psoriasis vulgaris by reducing levels of plasmin and CCL20 in peripheral blood of patients.

The effect of insulin treatment on fatty liver was investigated in diabetic mice fed with high-fat diet.C57 BL/6J mice were fed with high fat diet for 12 weeks,and then treated with Glargine for 4 weeks.The results showed that during intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test,blood glucose,serum total cholesterol and triglyceride(TG) were significantly lower in insulin-treated high fat group than those in untreated ones(P<0.05).The hepatic histology showed minimal or barely visible fat in hepmic cells along with TG content in liver decreasing by 20.71%. The results suggest that insulin ameliorates hepatic intracellular lipid accumulation induced by high fat diet.