To study the in situ intestinal absorption of five oligosaccharides contained in Morinda officinalis How. (sucrose, kestose, nystose, 1F-Fructofuranosyinystose and Bajijiasu). The absorption of the five oligosaccharides in small intestine (duodenum, jejunum and ileum) and colon of rats and their contents were investigated by using in situ single-pass perfusion model and HPLC-ELSD. The effects of drug concentration, pH in perfusate and P-glycoprotein inhibitor on the intestinal absorption were investigated to define the intestinal absorption mechanism of the five oligosaccharides in rats. According to the results, all of the five oligosaccharides were absorbed in the whole intestine, and their absorption rates were affected by the pH of the perfusion solution, drug concentration and intestinal segments. Verapamil Hydrochloride could significantly increase the absorptive amount of sucrose and Bajijiasu, suggesting sucrose and Bajijiasu are P-gp's substrate. The five oligosaccharides are absorbed mainly through passive diffusion in the intestinal segments, without saturated absorption. They are absorbed well in all intestines and mainly in duodenum and jejunum.
Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; pharmacokinetics ; Intestinal Absorption ; Intestine, Small ; metabolism ; Male ; Morinda ; chemistry ; Oligosaccharides ; chemistry ; pharmacokinetics ; Perfusion ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of topical retinoids in the treatment of acne vulgaris compared with placebo, antibiotics, benzoyl peroxide and sulfur preparation. Methods According to the Cochrane reviewer′s handbook, randomized controlled clinical trials were selected for the systematic review. Results Up to 2002, 15 clinical trials (2,439 patients) that met the inclusion criteria were selected. There were four clinical trials which showed that topical retinoids were more effective than that of placebo (RR=1.87, and 95% CI: 1.13 ~ 3.11),especially for noninflammatory lesions (RR=12.70,and 95% CI : 4.09 ~ 39.40). There were 3 clinical trials which showed that topical retinoids had better efficacy than that of sulfur preparations (RR=1.75, and 95% CI: 1.42 ~ 2.16). For 7 clinical trials of retinoids compared with benzoyl peroxide, and 3 clinical trials of retinoids compared with antibiotics, no conclusion could be drawn. All the clinical trials showed that there were local side effects, including erythema, and scaling etc in the patients using topical retinoids, but no systematic side effects were observed, however, pregnant women had to be very cautious. Conclusions Topical retinoids are effective for acne vulgaris, and has better efficacy than sulfur preparation does, but there is not enough evidence to clarify that the efficacy of topical retinoids is better than that of benzoyl peroxide and antibiotics.

Objective To investigate the CT spectral imaging features of pancreatic serous oligocystic adenoma and mucinous cystic neoplasms and to assess the value of spectral CT in differentiating between pancreatic serous oligocystic adenoma and mucinous cystic neoplasms. Methods From Feb.2010 to Dec. 2010, 27 patients with cystic neoplasms of the pancreas (group one with 15 serous oligocystic adenomas and group two with 12 mucinous cystic neoplasms) underwent dual-phase CT spectral imaging followed by surgery. Quantitative values (age, tumor size, CT value change as function of photon energy,effective-Z, iodine-water concentration, and calcium-water concentration) were compared with independent samples t test and Mann-Whitney test and non-quantitative parameters (gender, symptom, and tumor location) were compared with Chi-square test (Fisher exact). The parameters with significant differences between two groups were analyzed further and the performance of multiple parameters for joint differential diagnosis was evaluated with discriminant analysis. Results Compared to patients with mucinous cystic neoplasms, patients with serous oligocystic adenoma had younger age, lower frequency of being symptomatic and smaller tumor size. The CT values on 40 keV to 60 keV( with 10 keV increment) in late arterial phase [(36±13)HU vs. (62±23)HU, (26 ±8)HU vs. (40±15)HU, and (19±6)HU vs. (27±10)HU respectively] and 40 keV to 50 keV (with 10 keV increment) in portal venous phase [ (43 ± 14 )HU vs.(61 ±25)HU and (30 -10)HU vs. (40 ± 16)HU respectively], effective-Z (late arterial phase 7.80 ± 0. 16 vs. 8.05 ± 0. 21, and portal venous phase 7. 87 ± 0. 15 vs 8.02 ± 0. 22 ), concentration of calcium (water) [late arterial phase (5 ±3) g/L vs. (11 ±4) g/L, t= -3.836, P=0.001 and portal venous phase (7 ± 3 ) g/L vs. ( 10 ± 5 ) g/L, t = - 2.071, P = 0. 049 ] and iodine (water) [ late arterial phase (0.38 ±0.24) g/L vs. (0.78 ±0.32) g/L, t = -3.755, P=0.001 and portal venous phase (0.48 ± 0. 24) g/L vs. (0. 72 ± 0. 34 ) g/L, t = - 2. 161, P = 0. 041 ] were lower in serous oligocystic adenoma than those in mucinous cystic neoplasms. In discriminant analysis, multiple parameters [ age, symptom,tumor size, CT values on 40 keV to 50 keV, effective-Z, concentration of iodine (water) in late arterial phase and concentration of calcium (water) in portal venous phase] showed high accuracy (100%, 27/27 )of joint diagnosis between serous oligocystic adenoma (100%, 15/15 ) and mucinous cystic neoplasms (100%, 12/12). Conclusions The serous oligocystic adenoma and mucinous cystic neoplasms had distinct characteristic findings on CT spectral imaging. CT spectral imaging is highly accurate in the differential diagnosis between serous oligocystic adenoma and mucinous cystic neoplasms.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effect of early application of recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) on white matter development in preterm infants using fractional anisotropy (FA) of magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging (DTI).

METHODSA total of 81 preterm infants with gestational age ≤32 weeks, birth weight <1 500 g, and hospitalization within 24 hours after birth were randomly divided into rhEPO group (42 infants) and control group (39 infants). The infants in the rhEPO group were administered rhEPO, while those in the control group were given the same volume of normal saline. The preterm infants of both groups took examinations of head magnetic resonance imaging, diffusion-weighted imaging, and DTI at the corrected gestational age of 35-37 weeks. FA was calculated for the regions of interest in both groups.

RESULTSThere was no significant difference in the incidence of intracranial hemorrhage, periventricular leukomalacia, focal cerebral white matter damage (CWMD), and extensive CWMD between rhEPO and control groups (P>0.05). Compared with the control group, the rhEPO group showed higher FA values at the posterior limb of the internal capsule, the splenium of the corpus callosum, frontal white matter, and occipital white matter (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in FA values at the parietal white matter, thalamus, lenticular nucleus, and caudate nucleus between the two groups (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONSEarly application of rhEPO has a neuroprotective effect on white matter development in preterm infants.

Diffusion Tensor Imaging ; Erythropoietin ; pharmacology ; Female ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature ; Male ; Neuroprotective Agents ; pharmacology ; Recombinant Proteins ; pharmacology ; White Matter ; drug effects ; growth & development

OBJECTIVETo investigate the specific antitumor immune response induced by idiotype protein (Id)-pulsed dendritic cells (DC) in vitro.

METHODSDC was generated from peripheral blood monocytes of the multiple myeloma (MM) patients using GM-CSF, IL-4, and TNF-alpha. The DCs were pulsed with idiotypic fragment, the F(ab')2 fragment of M protein from MM patient at the immature stage. The morphologic characteristics of the cells were observed with light and electron microscopes. The phenotypic features were analyzed with FACS, MTT assay was employed to evaluate the proliferation of autologous T cells and the inhibition rate of MM cells.

RESULTSDC precursors in peripheral blood could be induced to typical mature DC in medium containing GM-CSF, IL-4 and TNF-alpha. Mature DC with Id could increase the proliferation of the autologous T cells and activate naive T cells to become tumor specialized cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL). The CTL at different doses showed significant inhibition on or killing ability to autologous MM cells in vitro.

CONCLUSIONSIn a suitable cytokine environment, the DC precursors from peripheral blood of MM patients could be induced to functional DC, and vaccination of Id-pulsed DC could induce active antitumor immune response.

Adult ; Aged ; Antibodies, Anti-Idiotypic ; immunology ; Cancer Vaccines ; immunology ; Cells, Cultured ; Dendritic Cells ; immunology ; Female ; Humans ; Immunotherapy, Active ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multiple Myeloma ; immunology ; therapy ; T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic ; immunology

OBJECTIVETo determine determinate five oligosaccharides, namely sucrose, 1-kestose, nystose, 1F-fructofurano-syinystose, bajijiasu contained in Morinda officinalis with an HILIC-ELSDI) method.

METHODWaters XBridge Amide (4.6 mm x 150 mm, 3.5 microm) hilic column was adopted for gradient elution, with acetonitrile (A) and 0.2% triethylamine (B) as the mobile phase. The column temperature was set at 40 degrees C, with the flow rate of 0.8 mL x min. Waters 2424 evaporative light scattering detector (ESLD) was used as detector, with the gas flow of 275.79 kPa and drift tube temperature of 90 degrees C.

RESULTThe detection range for the five oligosaccharides were 2.128-21.28 microg for sucrose (r = 0.999 3), 1.864-18.64 microg for 1-kestose (r = 0.999 6), 1.92-19.2 microg for nystose (r = 0.999 8), 1.912-19. 12 microg for 1F-fructofuranosyinystose (r = 0.999 5), 2.368-23.68 microg for bajijiasu (r = 0.999 4), respectively. The recovery of the five oligosaccharides ranged between 92.81%-102.8% (n = 6).

CONCLUSIONThe method is so simple, accurate and highly reproducible that it can be used as an analytical method for effective evaluation of the quality of M. officinalis herbs.

Chromatography, Liquid ; instrumentation ; methods ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; analysis ; Morinda ; chemistry ; Oligosaccharides ; analysis ; Scattering, Radiation

OBJECTIVETo study the relationship between Nanog-promoted metastasis of breast cancer and ezrin(T567) phosphorylation, and explore the possible mechanism by which Nanog regulates ezrin(T567) phosphorylation.

METHODSA siRNA construct targeting Nanog was transfected in breast cancer cells to knock down Nanog expression, and the changes in the cell invasion was detected using Transwell assay. The expression levels of Nanog and PKC and the phosphorylation level of ezrin(T567) were detected using Western blotting and immunofluorescent staining; the protein interaction between PKCε and ezrin was assayed by co-immunoprecipitation and Western blotting.

RESULTSNanog knockdown significantly decreased the expression of PKCε protein, phosphorylation level of ezrin(T567) and the invasion ability of breast cancer cells. PKCε knockdown obviously decreased the phosphorylation level of ezrin(T567) in the cells, and PKCε and ezrin were co-immunoprecipitated.

CONCLUDIONSNanogcan can upregulate the expression of PKCε to promote the phosphorylation of ezrin(T567), which can be a new mechanism by which Nanog promotes tumor metastasis.

Blotting, Western ; Breast Neoplasms ; metabolism ; Cytoskeletal Proteins ; metabolism ; Gene Knockdown Techniques ; Homeodomain Proteins ; metabolism ; Humans ; Nanog Homeobox Protein ; Neoplasm Invasiveness ; Phosphorylation ; Protein Kinase C-epsilon ; metabolism ; RNA, Small Interfering ; Transfection ; Tumor Cells, Cultured ; Up-Regulation

OBJECTIVETo investigate the clinical significance of 24-hour blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) for evaluating the treatment outcome of nerve-mediated syncope (NMS) in children.

METHODSTwenty-eight children with NMS confirmed by a head-up tilt table test (HUTT) (12 males and 16 females, aged 6-13 years) and with a chief complaint of unexplained syncope or pre-syncope between February 2010 and August 2012, were included in the study. These children received health education combined with therapy using oral rehydration salts solution and were then reexamined for clinical symptoms as well as HUTT and ABPM results.

RESULTSOf 28 NMS cases, 22 were vasodepressive type, 5 were mixed type, and 1 was cardioinhibitory type. The follow-up showed that 27 (96%) of all cases had improved clinical symptoms, and 18 (64%) had improved HUTT results. The ABPM follow-up revealed no significant changes in 24-hour mean systolic pressure, 24-hour mean diastolic pressure, daytime mean systolic pressure, daytime mean diastolic pressure, nighttime mean systolic pressure, nighttime mean diastolic pressure, day-night difference of systolic pressure, and day-night difference of diastolic pressure after treatment (P>0.05). The percentage of children with a dipper blood pressure pattern increased from 29% (8/28) before treatment to 50% (14/28) after treatment; the percentage of children with a non-dipper blood pressure pattern decreased from 71% (20/28) before treatment to 50% (14/28) after treatment.

CONCLUSIONSAs an effective, objective and non-invasive monitoring means, ABPM is of some clinical significance for evaluating the treatment outcome of NMS in children.

Adolescent ; Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory ; Child ; Female ; Health Education ; Humans ; Male ; Rehydration Solutions ; administration & dosage ; Syncope ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Tilt-Table Test ; Treatment Outcome

BACKGROUNDImbalance of the sympathetic nervous system was involved in the pathogenesis of idiopathic ventricular outflow-tract tachycardia (IVOT). We aimed to investigate whether the major genetic variants in β(1)- and β(2)-adrenoceptors and GNB3 C825T were associated with IVOT and verapamil sensitive idiopathic left ventricular tachycardia (ILVT).

METHODSPatients with IVOT and ILVT from December 2005 to December 2007 were consecutively enrolled into this study. Controls were randomly selected from the community-based inhabitants. Five genetic variants, Ser49Gly and Gly389Arg in the β(1)-adrenoceptor, Arg16Gly and Gln27Glu in the β(2)-adrenoceptor and GNB3 C825T, were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis.

RESULTSA total of 227 patients with IVOT and 110 patients with ILVT were included. Genotyping revealed that the 16Gly allele of Arg16Gly variant of β(2)-adrenoceptor was associated with a higher risk of IVOT (OR: 1.40, 95%CI: 1.12 - 1.75, P = 0.003 in the addictive model and OR: 1.62, 95%CI: 1.14 - 2.31, P = 0.007 in the dominant model). Patients with Gly16Gln27 haplotype also had a higher risk of IVOT (OR: 1.38, 95%CI: 1.11 - 1.73, P = 0.012). Other four variants, including Ser49Gly and Arg389Gly in β(1)-adrenoceptor, Gln27Glu in β(2)-adrenoceptor and GNB3 C825T, did not differ between patients with IVOT and controls. In patients with ILVT, no significant difference was found in these five variants compared with controls.

CONCLUSIONSArg16Gly in β(2)-adrenoceptor is significantly associated with IVOT in Chinese Han population. Major genetic variants in β(1)- and β(2)-adrenoceptor and GNB3 C825T may not be associated with ILVT. These data suggest a different arrhythmogenic mechanism in IVOT and ILVT.

Adult ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Genetic Variation ; Genotype ; Haplotypes ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Receptors, Adrenergic, beta-1 ; genetics ; Receptors, Adrenergic, beta-2 ; genetics ; Sex Characteristics ; Tachycardia, Ventricular ; genetics ; Ventricular Function

The industry of germ-free animals has been a hot spot in research along with the rapid development of studies on the relationship between microbiota and host diseases. Because it is pathogen?free, and the high degree of simi?larity in anatomy, physiology, pathogenesis to humans, germ?free pig is considered a clinical relevant model to be widely used in life science research. Based on the current state of research of germ?free pig cultivation at home and abroad and the experimental studies carried out in our laboratory as well, this article gives a simple discussion on germ?free technique of domestic pigs.