AIM: To investigate the effects of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF)-mobilized bone marrow stem cells on treatment of the myocardial infarction in experimental rats. METHODS: Three hours after injected with isoprenaline(ISO) interaperitoneally to develop acute ischemic model, rats' bone marrow stem cells were mobilized by G-CSF and migrated to the site of myocardial infarction. The hearts were harvested from 24 hours to 2 weeks after administration of ISO for histopathological examination. RESULTS: 24 hours after administration of ISO , myocardial infarct zones scattered in the pallium of the control group ,there were a large amoumt of inflammatory cells infiltration around the infarct zones and majority of them were neutrophils. The infarction in the G-CSF treatment group was milder, majority of the infiltrative cells were monocytoid; 48 hours after administration of ISO, infarct zones expanded greatly in control group, while that of the G-CSF treatment group increased just mildly; 2 weeks after administration of ISO, there was no significant scar in the G-CSF treatment group. We also found the regeneration of myocytes in the pallium. CONCLUSION: G-CSF treatment protected the ischemic myocardium and it may be used to treat the acute myocardial infarction.

OBJECTIVETo observe the regulatory effects of electroacupuncture with different acupoints combinations on blood lipid and atherosclerosis index (AI) in rats with hyperlipemia, so as to make a preliminary screening for the optimal acupoints combination for hyperlipemia.

METHODSOne hundred and five clean-grade SD male rats were randomly divided into 9 groups, including a normal group, a model group, a Quchi group, a Zhongwan group, a Fenglong group, a Quchi+Zhongwan group, a Quchi+Fenglong group, a Zhongwan+Fenglong group and a Quchi+Zhongwan+Fenglong group (three acupoints group), 17 rats in the normal group and 11 rats in the rest groups. The normal group was fed with normal diet, while the rest groups were fed with high-fat diet for 3 weeks to prepare the hyperlipemia model. All the rats were given unlimited water. After the establishment of model, the normal group was fed freely without any treatment; the model group was bundled and immobilized everyday; the rest groups were bundled, immobilized and treated with electroacupuncture at corresponding acupoints with disperse-dense wave, 20 min per time, once a day. After 4 weeks, the blood examples were collected from abdominal aorta to measure the total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C), and analyzed the AI in each group.

RESULTSAfter the treatment, TC, TG, HDL-C, LDL-C and AI in each acupuncture group were all lower than those in the model group (P<0.05, P<0.01). Compared with single acupoint group and the Quchi+Zhongwan group, the content of TC in the three acupoints group was lower (P<0.01). The differences of content of TG among each acupuncture group were not significant (all P>0.05). Compared with the rest 6 acupuncture groups, the content of HDL-C and AI in the three acupoints group were significantly different (all P<0.05). The content of LDL-C in the three acupoints group was decreased as compared with the Quchi group and the Zhong-wan group.

CONCLUSIONThe electroacupuncture at "Quchi" (LI 11), "Zhongwan" (CV 12) and "Fenglong" (ST 40) has more advantages on regulating the content of HDL-C and LDL-C as well as improving AI in hyperlipemia rats, and it has superior effects on blood lipid metabolism.

Acupuncture Points ; Animals ; Electroacupuncture ; Humans ; Hyperlipidemias ; blood ; therapy ; Lipids ; blood ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Benzene ; poisoning ; Hazardous Substances ; Humans ; Occupational Exposure ; prevention & control

Objective: To investigate the changes of the intestinal mucosa-associated microbiota in the patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), and to explore their correlation with the clinical manifestations. Methods: From June to October 2016, at Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Center, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi′an Jiaotong University, 28 patients with UC and 16 healthy individuals who underwent colonoscopy examination were enrolled. The mucosa specimens of them were collected for fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH). The bacterial flora were observed and counted, the correlation between the bacterial flora and the clinical manifestations were analyzed. Kruskal-Wallis test and Spearman rank correlation analysis were performed for statistical analysis. Results: Among 28 patients with UC, 16 were at active phase and 12 at remission phase. The number of total bacteria flora, Escherichia coli, Clostridium and Bacteroides of the active UC group and remission UC group were all more than those of healthy control group; however the number of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria were less than those of healthy control group, and the differences were statistically significant (χ²=23.34, 19.94; 23.40, 12.96; 23.39, 19.16; 23.32, 10.46; 23.19, 4.25; 18.94, 12.33; all P<0.05). The number of total bacteria flora, Escherichia coli and Bacteroides of the active UC group were more than those of the remission UC group, however the number of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria were less than those of the remission UC group, and the differences were statistically significant (χ²=7.32, 5.63, 5.62, 20.38 and 4.82; all P<0.05). In the patients with UC, the defecation frequency was positively correlated with the count of Bacteroides (r=0.459, P=0.014) and was negatively correlated with the count of Lactobacillus (r=-0.634, P<0.01). In UC patients, bloody stool, endoscopic appearance and total Mayo score were positively correlated with the counts of universal bacteria, Escherichia coli and Bacteroides (r=0.469, 0.403, 0.376; 0.604, 0.562, 0.475; 0.551, 0.463, 0.461; all P <0.05); and which were negatively correlated with Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria (r=-0.570, -0.413; -0.899, -0.458; -0.862, -0.480; all P<0.05). The evaluation by the doctors was positively correlated with the counts of Escherichia coli (r=0.415, P=0.028), however was negatively correlated with Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteri (r=-0.841, -0.529; both P<0.01). Conclusion The intestinal microbiota have sigificantly changed in patients with UC which are correlated with some clinical manifestations of UC.

OBJECTIVETo explore the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in psoriasis inpatients in Peking Union Medical Hospital.

METHODSWe retrospectively reviewed the records of the psoriasis patients admitted in the dermatological ward of Peking Union Medical College Hospital from January 1st, 2003, to December 31st, 2008, and the height, weight, blood pressure, fasting glucose, triglyceride, and high-density lipoprotein levels were recorded.

RESULTSThe prevalence of metabolic syndrome of the psoriasis inpatients of Peking Union Medical College Hospital was 38.1%, with that of the male patients (43.1%) significantly higher than the female (25.0%, P0.05).

CONCLUSIONSPrevalence of metabolic syndrome in psoriasis patients is higher than healthy adults. Screening and patient education are important for these patients in clinical practice.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Humans ; Inpatients ; Male ; Metabolic Syndrome ; complications ; epidemiology ; Middle Aged ; Prevalence ; Psoriasis ; complications ; Retrospective Studies ; Young Adult

Objective To establish a network laboratory for blood cell analysis and better calibrate haematology analyzers in local lab.Methods According to GB/T 15481《General requirements for the competence testing and calibration laboratories》(idt ISO/IEC 17025),we established a network laboratory providing traceability for blood cell analysis.Complete blood count was traced to Calibration Laboratory in NCCL;The secondary standard haematology analyzer with the same model and calibrator with same lot number were used for verification for a long period.Fresh blood from healthy people was used to calibrate haematology analyzers.Results Gradually we have improved our laboratory quality management system, precision as well as accuracy,which was satisfactory.The unified blood sample was adopted to calibrate different equipments in our hospital and showed consistence when compared with calibration analyzer.The correlation coefficient of all tests is more than 0.99.The relative deviation of WBC,RBC,HCT,HGB and PLT are within?7%,?3.5%,?4%,?3% and?15%,respectively.Conclusions Secondary standard systems provides good comparable results with calibration laboratory.Its tracing mode and quality control scheme could ensure the traceability and accuracy of completed blood count.Furthermore,using elective fresh blood from healthy people,the comparable results from different analyzers were achievable.

Background and purpose:Ionizing radiation(IR) activates the early growth response- I(Egr1) promoter through specific cis-acting sequences termed CArG elements by production of radical oxygen intermediates(ROls).Egr-EG,an expression vector pCIneo containing CArG elements cloned upstream of the cDNA for human recombinant GM-CSF,was used to treat hematopoietic damage due to chemotherapy.Commonly used chemotherapeutic agents can cause tumor cell death by producing DNA damage and generating ROIs.We therefore hypothesized that clinically employed chemotherapeutic agents that increase ROIs could also be employed to activate Egr-EG in a chemoinducible gene therapy strategy.This study was done to explore the chemo-protective effect of the expression of hematopoietic growth factors regulated by Egr-1 promoter on chemotherapy induced damage. Methods:The human GM-CSF cDNA and EGFP cDNA were linked together with internal ribosome entry site(IRES) and then inserted into the eukaryotic expression vector pCI-neo with the Egr-1 promoter(Egr-EG),and was further transduced into human bone marrow stromai cell lines HFCL(HFCL/EG).The HFCL/EG cells were transplanted i.v.into BI6 melanoma in C.B-17 combined immunodeficient(SCID) mice.5-FU was given i.p.on day 3 and 4.The white blood cell amount in peripheral blood,the expression of EGFP and GM-CSF in human stromal cell engrafted in recipient mice were detected by flow cytometry,RT-PCR,Western blot and colony-forming units for granulocytes and macrophages(CFU-GM),respectively.Results:In contrast to the two control groups,HFCL/EG(the Egr-regulatory element-derived expression of GM-CSF gene therapy) resulted in a proportional increase in the number of the white blood cell after chemotherapy,no significant diifferences were found for CFU-GM in bone marrow cells and the inhibition ratio on tumor in recipient mice.Chemotherapy could markedly increase the expression of EGFP and GM- CSF mRNA/protein as compared with that of non-chemotherapy control groups and HFCL group.Conclusion: Chemoinducible GM-CSF gene therapy regulated by Egr-1 promoter can ameliorate the toxic effect on 5-FU chemotherapy-inducible hematopoietic damage.

Background: Laparoscopic hepatectomy is increasingly being used to treat hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). How?ever, few studies have examined the treatment of recurrent HCC in patients who received a prior hepatectomy. The present prospective study compared the clinical efcacy of laparoscopic surgery with conventional open surgery in HCC patients with postoperative tumor recurrence. Methods: We conducted a prospective study of 64 patients, all of whom had undergone open surgery once before, who were diagnosed with recurrent HCC between June 2014 and November 2014. The laparoscopic group (n = 31)underwent laparoscopic hepatectomy, and the control group (n tion time, intraoperative blood loss, surgical margins, postoperative pain scores, postoperative time until the patient= 33) underwent conventional open surgery. Opera?could walk, anal exsufation time, length of hospital stay, and inpatient costs were compared between the two groups. The patients were followed up for 1 year after surgery, and relapse?free survival was compared between the two groups. Results: All surgeries were successfully completed. No conversion to open surgery occurred in the laparoscopic group, and no serious postoperative complications occurred in either group. No significant difference in inpatient costs was found between the laparoscopic group and the control group (P = 0.079), but significant differencesbetween the two groups were observed for operation time (116.7 ± 37.5 vs. 148.2 ± 46.7 min, P = 0.031), intraopera?tive blood loss (117.5 ± 35.5 vs. 265.9 ± 70.3 mL, P = 0.012), postoperative time until the patient could walk (1.6 ± 0.6vs. 2.2 ± 0.8 days, P < 0.05), anal exsufation time (2.1 ± 0.3 vs. 2.8 ± 0.7 days, P = 0.041), visual analogue scale pain score (P < 0.05), postoperative hepatic function (P < 0.05), and length of hospital stay (4.5 ± 1.3 vs. 6.0 ± 1.2 days,P= 0.014). During the 1?year postoperative follow?up period, 6 patients in each group had recurrent HCC on the side of the initial operation, but no significant difference between groups was observed in the recurrence rate or relapse?free survival. In the laparoscopic group, operation time, postoperative time until the patient could walk, anal exsufation time, and inpatient costs were not different (P > 0.05) between the patients with contralateral HCC recur?rence (n = 18) and those with ipsilateral HCC recurrence (n = 13). However, intraoperative blood loss was signifi?cantly less (97.7 ± 14.0 vs. 186.3 ± 125.6 mL, P = 0.012) and the hospital stay was significantly shorter (4.2 ± 0.7 vs. 6.1 ± 1.7 days, P = 0.021) for the patients with contralateral recurrence than for those with ipsilateral recurrence. Conclusions: For the patients who previously underwent conventional open surgical resection of HCC, complete laparoscopic resection was safe and effective for recurrent HCC and resulted in a shorter operation time, less intraop?erative blood loss, and a faster postoperative recovery than conventional open surgery. Laparoscopic resection was especially advantageous for the patients with contralateral HCC recurrence.

BACKGROUNDPostsystolic shortening (PSS) has been proposed as a marker of myocardial dysfunction. Strain rate imaging (SRI) is a novel ultrasonic technique, allowing reliable and noninvasive measurement of myocardial deformation. The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics of myocardial longitudinal PSS by SRI in ischemic and infarct myocardium in patients with coronary artery disease, and to explore its clinical applicability.

METHODSEleven patients with angina pectoris, 21 patients with myocardial infarction and 20 healthy subjects were included in the study. Apical four-, three- and two-chamber views were displayed; and septal, lateral, anteroseptal, posterior, anterior and inferior walls of the left ventricle were scanned, respectively. PSS strain (epsilon(pss)), the ratio of epsilon(pss) and systolic strain (epsilon(pss)/epsilon(sys)), the ratio of epsilon(pss) and maximum strain (epsilon(pss)/epsilon(max)) and the duration of PSS (T(pss)) in ischemic, infarct and normal myocardium were analyzed.

RESULTSPSS was found more frequent in the ischemic and infarct segments compared with the normal segments (39% vs 22% and 56% vs 22%, respectively; both P < 0.01). It was even more frequent in the infarct segments than in the ischemic segments (56% vs 39%, P < 0.01). The absolute magnitude of epsilon(pss), epsilon(pss)/epsilon(sys), epsilon(pss)/epsilon(max) were significantly larger and T(pss) significantly longer in the ischemic and infarct segments compared with that in the normal myocardium (P < 0.01). epsilon(pss)/epsilon(sys), epsilon(pss)/epsilon(max) were even larger and T(pss) even longer in the infarct than in the ischemic segments (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONSPSS is a common and important feature of the ischemic and infarct myocardium. epsilon(pss), epsilon(pss)/epsilon(sys), epsilon(pss)/epsilon(max) and T(pss) as measured by SRI may be promising markers for the quantitative assessment of regional myocardial dysfunction in patients with coronary artery disease. epsilon(pss)/epsilon(sys), epsilon(pss)/epsilon(max) and T(pss) may be helpful in differentiating infarct from ischemic myocardium.

Aged ; Coronary Artery Disease ; diagnostic imaging ; physiopathology ; Echocardiography ; methods ; Heart ; physiopathology ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Myocardial Ischemia ; diagnostic imaging ; physiopathology ; Myocardium ; pathology ; Systole

BACKGROUNDOverexpression of G-protein coupled receptor 34 (GPR34) affects the progression and prognosis of human gastric adenocarcinoma, however, the role of GPR34 in gastric cancer development and progression has not been well-determined. The current study aimed to investigate the effect of GPR34 knockdown on the proliferation, migration, and apoptosis of HGC-27 gastric cancer cells and the underlying mechanisms.

METHODSThe expression of GPR34 in gastric cancer cell line HGC-27 was detected by quantitative real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blotting. HGC-27 cells were employed to construct the stable GPR34 knockdown cell model in this study. Real-time RT-PCR and Western blotting were applied to validate the effect of short hairpin RNA (ShRNA) on the expression of GPR34 in HGC-27 gastric cells. The proliferation, migration of these cells were examined by Cell Counting Kit-8 and transwell. We also measured expression profile of PI3K/PDK1/AKT and ERK using Western blotting.

RESULTSThe ShRNA directed against GPR34 effectively inhibited both endogenous mRNA and protein expression levels of GPR34, and significantly down-regulated the expression of PIK3CB (P < 0.01), PIK3CD (P < 0.01), PDK1 (P < 0.01), phosphorylation of PDK1 (P < 0.01), Akt (P < 0.01), and ERK (P < 0.01). Furthermore, GPR34 knockdown resulted in an obvious reduction in HGC-27 cancer cell proliferation and migration activity (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONSGPR34 knockdown impairs the proliferation and migration of HGC-27 gastric cancer cells in vitro and provides a potential implication for therapy of gastric cancer.

Apoptosis ; genetics ; physiology ; Blotting, Western ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; genetics ; physiology ; Humans ; RNA, Small Interfering ; genetics ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Receptors, Lysophospholipid ; genetics ; metabolism ; Stomach Neoplasms ; genetics ; metabolism