AIM: To study the effects of apolipoprotein (apo) A-Ⅰon ATP binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) degradation and cholesterol efflux in THP-1 macrophage-derived foam cells. METHODS: After exposure of the cultured THP-1 macrophage-derived foam cells to apolipoprotein A-Ⅰ for different time, cholesterol efflux, ABCA1 mRNA and protein level were determined by liquid scintillation counting, reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting, respectively. The mean ABCA1 fluorescence intensity on THP-1 macrophage-derived foam cells was detected by flow cytometry. RESULTS: ApoA-Ⅰ markedly increased ABCA1-mediated cholesterol efflux from THP-1 macrophage-derived foam cells. This was accompanied by an increase in the content of ABCA1. ApoA-Ⅰ did not alter ABCA1 mRNA abundance. Thiol protease inhibitors increased the level of ABCA1 protein and slowed its decay in THP-1 macrophage-derived foam cells, whereas none of the proteosome-specific inhibitor lactacystin, other protease inhibitors, or the lysosomal inhibitor NH_4Cl showed such effects. The apoA-Ⅰ mediated cellular cholesterol efflux was enhanced by thiol protease inhibitors. CONCLUSION: Thiol protease inhibitors might provide an alternative way to upregulate ABCA1 protein. This strategy is especially appealing since it may mimic the stabilizing effect of the natural ligands apoA-Ⅰ.

Objective To investigate smoking status,knowledge of smoking hazards,attitude of tobacco control and skill of assisting smoking cessation of the staff in a teaching hospital in Chongqing and to provide references for the further construction of‘smoking-free hospital’. Methods General investi-gation was taken on the staff in a teaching hospital in Chongqing with a self-designed questionnaire. Main contents of questionnaire include:social demographic information,smoking status,awareness of tobacco hazard,willingness and methods of tobacco control,etc. All the data were inputted with software Epidata 3.1 and were analyzed with SPSS 13.0. Results The total smoking rate was 9.65%,with 30.49%for male, 2.75%for female and 12.50%for clinician. The age distribution of smoking staff was described as follow-ing:91.97% being under 50 year-old and more than 50.00% being 20-35 year-old. 52.43% of the surveyed did not know Framework Convention of Tobacco Control of WHO . Relatively ,most of the surveyed only knew well the relationship between respiratory diseases and tobacco use and the relation-ship between fetal abnormalities and tobacco use. 84.99%of the surveyed agreed with outdoor-smoking policy;83.56%of the surveyed claimed that they had discouraged smoking behaviors in public at various extents,14.20%of the surveyed agreed that assisting the public in smoking cessation was one of the aims of constructing‘smoking-free hospital’;70.00%clinicians claimed routinely inquiring and noting smok-ing status of patients, which was better than nurses and medical technicians;almost 30.00%clinic staff did not know quitting smoking drugs at all,approximately 70.00%clinic staff claimed a lack of confidence in smoking control and approximately 70.00% clinicians and nurses did not recommend pro-fessional methods of smoking cessation in practice. Conclusions Smoking staff in the teaching hospital are almost younger people,which is an alarm of the urgent need for tobacco control education. Most staff reach a consensus on keeping smoking-free environment in hospital,but they do not sufficiently acknowledge their social responsibility for tobacco control,and also there is a distance before they can serve as a smok-ing cessation assistant. Tobacco control must be incorporated in long-term mechanism of hospital con-struction. There are three steps in the construction of smoking-free hospital:①creating a smoking-free en-vironment in hospital;②encouraging patients to quit smoking and providing professional service of smoking cessation;③making a positive effort on social tobacco control and advocating smoking cessation in public.

Objective:To observe the neuroprotective effect of wind medicine (Puerariae Lobatue Radix and Acori Tatarinowii Rhizoma) in combination with Panax ginseng total saponin (PNS) on cerebral ischemia-reperfusion rats; To elucidate the mechanism of "wind medicine increasing effect".Methods:Totally 140 male SD rats were divided into sham-operation group, model group, PNS group, Puerariae Lobatue Radix group, Acori Tatarinowii Rhizoma group, Puerariae Lobatue Radix + PNS group, Acori Tatarinowii Rhizoma + PNS group according to the random number table method, with 20 rats in each group. Except for the sham-operation group, the cerebral ischemia/reperfusion rat model was established using the modified Longa line bolus method in the remaining groups. After 7 d of administration of the appropriate pharmacologic intervention in each group, neurological dysfunction was evaluated by Zea-longa score after final administration, cerebral infarct volume was determined by TTC staining; blood brain barrier (BBB) permeability of brain tissue on the ischemic side was detected by Evans blue content; BBB ultrastructure of each group of rats was observed by transmission electron microscopy; Claudin 5 protein expression level was detected by immunohistochemistry; Zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1), major facilitator supeffamily domain-containing protein 2a (Mfsd2a), Occludin, P-glycoprotein (P-gp), Monocarboxylate Transporters-1 (MCT1) and breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP) protein expression levels were detected by Western-blot.Results:Compared with the model group, the rat neurological function scores were reduced in each administration group ( P<0.05), infarct volume was reduced ( P<0.05), EB content of brain tissue decreased ( P<0.05), protein expressions of Claudin 5, ZO-1, Mfsd2a and Occludin in brain tissue were elevated ( P<0.05), the protein expressions of P-gp, BCRP and MCT1 were reduced ( P<0.05), and the protein expressions of Claudin 5, Mfsd2a, and Occludin was higher in the Puerariae Lobatue Radix + PNS group and Acori Tatarinowii Rhizoma + PNS group than that of each group of medication alone ( P<0.05), and the protein expression of MCT1 was lower than that of each group of medication alone ( P<0.05); the protein expression level of ZO-1 in the Puerariae Lobatue Radix + PNS group was higher than that of the group of medication alone ( P<0.05); P-gp protein expression was lower in Acori Tatarinowii Rhizoma + PNS group than in the PNS group and Acori Tatarinowii Rhizoma group ( P<0.05). Conclusion:Wind medicine (Puerariae Lobatue Radix and Acori Tatarinowii Rhizoma) may potentiate the neuroprotective effect of PNS on cerebral ischemia-reperfusion rats, and the mechanism may be related to the protection of BBB structural integrity and maintenance of central barrier properties, while regulating substance transport proteins and increasing the intracerebral content of the drug.

Objective:To discuss the strategies of distal embolic filter protection(DEFP) during excimer laser ablation (ELA) or percutaneous mechanical thrombectomy (PMT) in treatment of peripheral artery disease.Methods:Clinical data of 29 patients undergoing ELA or PMT under the DEFP from Oct 2019 to Aug 2021 were retrospectively collected to analyze the strategies of DEFP and high-risk factors of capturing clinically significant macrodebris.Results:There were 21 males and 8 females, aged (70.3±11.0) years with 32 lesions (29 limbs) including 5 in-stent restenosis (ISR), 10 thrombosis and 17 chronic total occlusion (CTO). The technical success rate of DEFP device release and recovery was 100%. The overall debris capture rate was 77.3% and the macrodebris capture rate was 36.4%. Even with DEFP the distal embolization (DE) incidence was 3.4%. When ELA for CTO with severe calcification or long-segment ISR lesions, the capture rate of macrodebris was as high as 60.0%, and the former was significantly higher than ELA for CTO without high calcification lesions ( P<0.05). Conclusion:ELA or PMT under the DEFP in treatment of peripheral artery disease appears to be of great significance in preventing DE.

There is currently a huge worldwide demand for donor kidneys for organ transplantation. Consequently, numerous marginal donor kidneys, such as kidneys with microthrombi, are used to save patients' lives. While some studies have shown an association between the presence of microthrombi in donor kidneys and an increased risk for delayed graft function (DGF) (McCall et al., 2003; Gao et al., 2019), other studies have demonstrated that microthrombi negatively impact the rate of DGF (Batra et al., 2016; Hansen et al., 2018), but not graft survival rate (McCall et al., 2003; Batra et al., 2016; Gao et al., 2019). In contrast, Hansen et al. (2018) concluded that fibrin thrombi were not only associated with reduced graft function six months post-transplantation but also with increased graft loss within the first year of transplantation. On the other hand, Batra et al. (2016) found no significant differences in the DGF rate or one-year graft function between recipients in diffuse and focal microthrombi groups. To date, however, the overall influence of donor kidney microthrombi and the degree of influence on prognosis remain controversial, necessitating further research.
Humans ; Thrombotic Microangiopathies ; Transplantation, Homologous ; Tissue Donors ; Kidney ; Allografts