Calcineurin ; metabolism ; Cardiovascular System ; growth & development ; metabolism ; Humans ; NFATC Transcription Factors ; metabolism ; Signal Transduction

Objective To investigate the clinical significance of anticardiolipin antibodies (ACA)in patients with hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome(HFRS).Methods The serum ACA- IgM and ACA-IgG in 175 cases of renal diseases and 50 healthy cases were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA). The positive rates of ACA were calculated and compared among different groups.Results The positive rates of ACA-IgM and ACA-IgG in control group were both 0 (0/50),while they were 85.2%(46/54)and 24.1%(13/54)respectively in patients with HERS. 25.0%(13/52)and 21.2%(11/52)respectively in patients with lupus nephritis and 13.0%(9/69) and 8.7%(6/69)respectively in patients with nephrotic syndrome.The poshive rate of ACA lgM in patients with HFRS was higher than that in control group,lupus nephritis group and nephritic syn- drome group(P

Animals ; Atherosclerosis ; diet therapy ; physiopathology ; Humans ; Plaque, Atherosclerotic ; drug therapy

Objective To describe the clinical characteristics of a patient with Gitelman syndrome,and to identify the associated SLC12A3 gene mutations.Methods A suspected case of teenager-onset Gitelman syndrome was observed in our hospital.It was further confirmed by clinical manifestations and auxiliary examination.In addition,direct sequencing for the exons of SLC12A3 gene and CLCNKB gene region was conducted to identify the probable disease-associated mutations.Results The case showed characteristics of hypokalemia,hypomagnesemia,and low level of urinary calcium and onset by age of 18.By excluding the possibilities of long-term use of thiazide diuretics,laxatives,chronic vomiting and diarrhea,he was finally diagnosed as a case of Gitelman syndrome.Furthermore,by Sanger direct sequencing,2 coding variations were identified in SLC12A3 gene region,including T304M and L488P.L488P was a new heterozygous mutation.Conclusion Detection of SLC12A3 gene mutation could facilitate the diagnosis of Gitelman syndrome and improve prognosis.

Fecal occult blood test (FOBT) screening has been shown to decrease the incidence and mortality of colorectal cancer (CRC). The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of the immunochemical fecal occult blood test (i-FOBT) in diagnosing CRC were assessed among the patients in a tertiary referral hospital in Malaysia. A total sample of 814 patients aged 16 to 85 years old who performed i-FOBT and endoscopic screenings was obtained. The patients were recruited for a retrospective investigation. Sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV were derived for the CRC screenees. Out of the 814 patients screened using i-FOBT, half of them were above 59 years old (49.6%), and 36% had positive i-FOBT. Gender distribution was almost equal, where 53.4% of the patients were female, and 46.6% were male. Majority of the patients were Malays (56.6%), followed by Chinese (24.0%), Indians (16.5%), and others (2.9%). Among the 71 patients referred for colonoscopy, 57.7% and 42.3% corresponded to positive and negative i-FOBT cases, respectively. Polyps were found to be most common among the patients (25.6%), 7.0% were found positive for invasive CRC, and 35.2% had normal colonoscopic findings. There was a significant association between colonoscopic finding and positive i-FOBT (p=0.001). The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV for CRC detection were 66.7%, 43.0%, 9.8%, and 93.3%, respectively. The results indicate that i-FOBT is a useful tool in the detection of abnormalities in the lower gastrointestinal tract and therefore serves as a cornerstone for potential large-scale screening programmes.

Atrial Fibrillation ; therapy ; Catheter Ablation ; adverse effects ; Female ; Humans ; Pulmonary Veins ; Venous Thrombosis ; etiology

Objective To analyze the present situation of iodine deficiency disorders (IDD) in Henan Province,and to promote implementation of sustainable control strategies.Methods In 2011,a stratified proportion to population probability sampling (PPS) method was used to survey 1200 children aged 8 to 10 in 30 counties of the province.One primary school was selected in each chosen county.Goiter,intelligence quotient (IQ),urinary iodine and salt iodine level were studied.Meanwhile,12 families per capita salt intake was investigated.In each school,30 5th-grade students and 30 pregnant and lactating women in the school townships and adjacent neighboring townships were selected to carry out questionnaire survey on health education with unified papers.Results ①The goiter rate of children aged 8 to 10 by B ultrasound was 4.5％ (54/1201) ; the IQ of 1080 children was 107.75 ± 16.81 ; median urinary iodine level of 358 children was 201.4 μg/L.②The median of salt iodine content was 28.6 mg/kg,the coverage rate of iodized salt was 98.8％ (1186/1200),and qualified rate of iodized salt was 93.0％ (1116/1200).③The residents average daily salt intake was 10.5 g.④Average score of the questionnaire survey of 1084 5th-grade students was 4.2 points.Average score of 961 housewives was 4.4 points.Conclusions Various technical indicators show that IDD is in a sustained elimination state in Henan Province.Strengthen health education,enhance public awareness of disease prevention is still the important work ahead.

Objective To analyze the examination results of external quality assessment(EQA) at all levels of iodine deficiency disorders(IDD) laboratories in Henan province and the network operation to further standardize and improve the laboratory,and to provide reliable laboratory quality assurance for surveillance and control of IDD.Methods The examination results of EQA at all levels of IDD laboratories in Henan province were statistically analyzed in accordance with the National Reference Laboratory (NRL) of IDD (1999-201 1).Results The survey results showed that the provincial level laboratory was all qualified in testing urinary iodine and salt iodine in the past 13 years.In prefectural level,the laboratory response rates were 100.0％,and through participation in EQA,laboratory capacity had been significantly increased and stabilized.From 1999 to 2001,the passing rate of check up of urinary iodine was 22.2％ (4/18),72.2％ (13/18),94.4％ (17/18),respectively,and the rate was stable at 100.0％(18/18) from 2002 to 2011 except 94.4％ (17/18) in 2003.Since 2000,the prefectural level laboratory began to take part in the salt iodine EQA,and the laboratory response rate was 100.0％ (18/18) from 2000 to 2011.Except 88.9％(16/18) in 2003,the passing rate of check up of urinary iodine was 100.0％(18/18)from 2000 to 2011.In 2003 and 2004,6 to 7 county-level laboratories participated in the EQA of urinary iodine in Zhengzhou city,respectively,and all qualified.The number of county-level laboratories that participated in the salt iodine quality control network increased from 29 in 1999 to 148 in 2011.Response rate was 94.4％(68/72),96.7％(58/60) and 92.3％(144/156)in 2003,2006 and 2007,respectively,and the rate remained stable at 100.0％ in the remaining 10 years.In 1999,the passing rate was 69.0％ (20/29),then increased significantly,except 86.7％ (26/30) in 2001 and 84.6％(132/156) in 2007,the rates were all above 90.0％ in other years,especially in 2000 and 2009,the passing rates were both 100.0％.Conclusions The accuracy of test results of external quality controls and the normal operation of the network at all levels of laboratories is closely related to the IDD laboratory conditions and detection techniques.

Chaetomium thermophilum CT2 can produce extracellular cellulase with industrial value. We designed two degenerate primers to amplify catalytic domain sequence of cellobiohydrolase II ( CBH II). Full length of cDNA was obtained by rapid amplification of cDNA ends technologies. DNA sequencing revealed that cbh2 has an open reading frame of 1428bp, which encodes a putative polypeptide of 476 amino acids. The deduced amino acid sequence shows that the predicted molecular mass is 53 kD and the cbh2 consists of a fungal-type carbohydrate binding domain (CBD) separated from a catalytic domain by a linker region rich in proline/serine/threonine. PCR product consisting of the entire CBH II coding region without its signal sequences was cloned into the yeast secretive plasmid pPIC9K, which was then transformed into Pichia pastoris GS115. Highly efficient production of the cellobiohydrolase II was achieved in P. pastoris under the control of the AOX1 promoter, and the expressing level was 1.2 mg/mL by small-scale culturing. The recombinant cellobiohydrolase II was purified by using ammonium sulfate fraction, DEAE-Sepharose Fast flow chromatography. A molecular mass of the purified enzyme is 67 kD determined by SDS-PAGE and this is similar to the native cellobiohydrolase II purified from C. thermophilum CT2. The recombinant enzyme exhibited optimum catalytic activity at pH 4.0 and 50 degrees C respectively. It was thermostable at 50 degrees C and retained 50% of its original activity after 30 min at 70 d degrees C . The high level of fully active recombinant cellobiohydrolase II got from P. pastoris makes this expression system attractive for fermentor and industrial applications.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Base Sequence ; Cellulose 1,4-beta-Cellobiosidase ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Chaetomium ; enzymology ; genetics ; Cloning, Molecular ; DNA, Complementary ; genetics ; Fungal Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Open Reading Frames ; genetics ; Pichia ; genetics ; metabolism ; Recombinant Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics

OBJECTIVETo observe the effect of bear bile powder (BBP) on the STAT3 pathway and its downstream target genes of nude mice hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) xenograft, and to explore its mechanism for treating HCC.

METHODSThe subcutaneous xenograft model was established using HepG2 cells. When the subcutaneous transplanted tumor was formed, naked mice were randomly divided into two groups, the BBP group and the control group. Mice in the BBP group were administered with BBP by gastrogavage, once daily for 3 consecutive weeks, while mice in the control group were administered with normal saline by gastrogavage, once daily for 3 consecutive weeks. The body weight and the tumor volume were measured once per week. By the end of medication, the tumor weight was weighed and the tumor inhibition ratio calculated. The apoptosis of the tumor tissue was detected by TdT-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL). The expression of Bcl2-associated X protein (Bax), B cell lymphoma/eukemina-2 (Bcl-2), cyclin-dependent protein kinase (CDK4), cyclinD1 were detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The protein expression levels of signal transducers and transcription activators 3 (p-STAT3), proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), Bax, Bcl-2, CDK4, and cyclinD1 were determined by immunohistochemistry.

RESULTSBBP could inhibit the tumor volume and tumor weight, showing statistical difference when compared with the control group (P < 0.01). Results of TUNEL showed that BBP could significantly induce the apoptosis of hepatoma carcinoma cells. Results of RT-PCR showed that BBP could up-regulate the expression of Bax and down-regulate mRNA expression of Bcl-2, CDK4, and cyclinD1. Immunohistochemical results showed that BBP could up-regulate the expression of Bax and inhibit the protein expression of p-STAT3, PCNA, Bcl-2, CDK4, and cyclinD1.

CONCLUSIONBBP could induce the apoptosis of hepatoma carcinoma cells and inhibit their proliferation by regulating STAT3 pathway.

Animals ; Bile ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; metabolism ; pathology ; Cyclin D1 ; metabolism ; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 4 ; metabolism ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Hep G2 Cells ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Mice, Nude ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 ; metabolism ; STAT3 Transcription Factor ; metabolism ; Signal Transduction ; Ursidae ; Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays ; bcl-2-Associated X Protein ; metabolism