The quality of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) has been mainly evaluated based on chemical ingredients, yet recently more attentions have been paid on biological ingredients, especially for pill-based preparations. It is a key approach to establish a fast, accurate and systematic method of biological ingredient analysis for realization of modernization, industrialization and internationalization of TCMs. The biological ingredient analysis of TCM preparations could be abstracted as the identification of multiple species from a biological mixture. The metagenomic approach based on high-throughput-sequencing (HTS) and big-data-mining has been considered as one of the most effective methods for multiple species analysis of a biological mixture, which would also be helpful for the analysis of biological ingredients in TCMs. Simultaneous identification of diverse species, including the prescribed species, adulterants, toxic species, protected species and even the biological impurities introduced through production process, could be achieved by selecting appropriate DNA biomarkers, as well as applying large-scale sequence comparison and data mining. By this approach, it is prospective to offer an evaluation basis for the effectiveness, safety and legality of TCM preparations.
Biological Products ; chemistry ; Data Mining ; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Metagenomics ; methods

The quality of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) has been mainly evaluated based on chemical ingredients, yet recently more attentions have been paid on biological ingredients, especially for pill-based preparations. It is a key approach to establish a fast, accurate and systematic method of biological ingredient analysis for realization of modernization, industrialization and internationalization of TCMs. The biological ingredient analysis of TCM preparations could be abstracted as the identification of multiple species from a biological mixture. The metagenomic approach based on high-throughput-sequencing (HTS) and big-data-mining has been considered as one of the most effective methods for multiple species analysis of a biological mixture, which would also be helpful for the analysis of biological ingredients in TCMs. Simultaneous identification of diverse species, including the prescribed species, adulterants, toxic species, protected species and even the biological impurities introduced through production process, could be achieved by selecting appropriate DNA biomarkers, as well as applying large-scale sequence comparison and data mining. By this approach, it is prospective to offer an evaluation basis for the effectiveness, safety and legality of TCM preparations.

OBJECTIVE:To investigate the effects of fluvastatin combined with aspirin on the related indicators of patients with diabetic lower extremity arteriosclerosis occlusive desease(LEAOD). METHODS:80 patients with diabetic LEAOD were ran-domly divided into control group(40 cases)and observation group(40 cases). Based on convertional treatment,control group was given Rosuvastatin calcium tablet 5 mg+Aspirin enteric-coated tablet 100 mg every evening;observation group was given Fluvas-tatin sodium capsule 40 mg+Aspirin enteric-coated tablet 100 mg. They were treated for 3 months. Fibrinogen,plasma D-dimer, blood viscosity, cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), glycosylated hemoglobin (HbAlc), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), carotid intima-media thickness, compliance situation of TC, TG, HbAlc,LDL-C and HDL-C,cases of carotid intima thickening,plaque formation,stenosis and occlusion before and after treat-ment were observed,and the incidence of adverse reactions was recorded. RESULTS:After treatment,fibrinogen,plasma D-di-mer,blood viscosity,TC,TG,HbAlc,LDL-C and carotid intima-media thickness in 2 groups were significantly lower than before treatment,and observation group was significantly lower than control group;HDL-C in 2 groups was significantly higher than be-fore,and observation group was significantly higher than control group,with statistical significance (P<0.05). Compliance rates of TC,TG,LDL-C and HDL-C in observation group were significantly higher than control group,proportion of carotid intima thickening and carotid plaque formation were significantly less than control group,with statistical significance (P<0.05),there were no significant differences in the compliance rate of HbA1c,proportion of carotid stenosis and occlusion and the incidence of adverse reactions in 2 groups(P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS:Fluvastatin combined with aspirin can significantly improve the pa-tients 'blood viscosity,blood lipid,vascular endothelial function in the treatment of diabetic LEAOD,it can reduce the thrombotic disease risk,and does not increase the incidence of adverse reactions.

Objective To analyze the relationships between body mass index (BMI), blood pressure and the cerebral vascular function in middle-aged population that underwent health checkup. Methods Participants from health management centers of Renmin Hospital of Hubei province, the Second Hospital Affiliated to Nanhua University, Hospital of Shandong Electric Power and Chinese People's Liberation Army No. 180 Hospital aged 45 to 64 years were selected from health checkup population by cluster sampling. Levels of height, weight and blood pressure as well as the cerebral hemodynamics were checked. Subjects were grouped according to age, BMI, systolic and diastolic blood pressure. The differences and distribution of cerebrovascular function scores (CVFS) between groups were compared and described. Moreover, the risk of stroke in the population was evaluated. Results Of the 17 258 individuals who met inclusion criteria, the abnormal rate (the score below 75 points) of CVFS was 20.9 percent. The CVFS in normal, overweight and obese groups were 91.0±15.4, 83.3±21.3, 70.3±26.5 and differences in all age groups were statistically significant (P<0.01). The CVFS in systolic blood pressure<120,120-139, 140-159,≥160 mmHg (1 mmHg=0.133 kPa) groups were 93.9±12.9, 86.5±18.9, 72.1±23.5, 56.2±25.7 and differences in all age groups were statistically significant (P<0.01). CVFS in normal diastolic pressure<80, 80-89, 90-99,≥100 mmHg groups were 91.0±16.1, 85.5±20.2, 75.4±23.6, 62.7±25.0 and the differences among all age groups were statistically significant (P<0.01). Conclusions The abnormal rate of cerebrovascular function integral and high risk stroke individuals in middle-aged health checkup people was approximately 21 percent. The overweight, obese and the high level of systolic and diastolic pressure may induce the injury of cerebrovascular function and the severity will increase with the level of BMI and blood pressure.

Objective To evaluate the safety and efficacy of intra-arterial infusion neoadiuvant chemotherapy in local advanced bladder cancer. Methods Nineteen cases with T2-T4a bladder cancer were enrolled in this study.Intra-arterial infusion chemotherapy with Gemcitabine and Cisplatin (GC)were performed for 1 to 3 cycles before radical cystectomy.Postoperative values of hematological parameters,maximum diameter of tumors,TNM(tumor,node and metastasis)stages and pathological grades were compared with preoperative parameters of the same case. Results Compared to the values before GC chemotherapy,WBC count showed no significant change post-operative,(6.63±2.58)×109/L vs(5.12±2.91)×109/L(P=0.13);RBC(4.41+0.52)×1012/L vs(3.92±0.42)×1012/L(P=0.00)and platelet count(220.50±59.86)×109/L vs(157.05±56.72)×109/L(P=0.001)showed significant decrease;ALT did not show significant decrease(20.00±8.31 vs 26.88±17.04 U/L,P=0.08);Creatltme also showed no significant change(95.82±14.57 vs 88.04±17.76μmol/L,P=0.06);Maximum diameter of tumors decreased significantly(3.72±1.23 vs 2.80±1.29 cm,P=0.02).Compared with clinical TNM stages,pathological TNM stages demonstrated significant decrease in 9 cases;While cell differentiation did not show decrease. Conclusions Intra-arterial infusion with GC regimen can reduce tumor size,decrease TNM stages,while not causing significant adverse impact to radical cystectomy.Bladder-spare treatment is an option for chemotherapy-sensitive cases.

ObjectiveTo explore the characteristics of the metabolite concentrations of the precentral gyrus in healthy Chinese adults using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS).Methods 1H-MRS was carried out in 92 healthy Chinese adult volunteers. The metabolite ratios of NAA/Cr, Cho/Cr and NAA/Cho were compared and analysed.ResultsNo significant changes of NAA/Cr, Cho/Cr and NAA/Cho ratios were observed between the left and right precentral gyrus, nor between the male and female. However, the precentral gyrus NAA/Cr and NAA/Cho ratios were decreased gradually with aging and Cho/Cr ratios were increased gradually with aging.ConclusionThe characteristics of the precentral gyrus metabolite concentrations in healthy Chinese adults have been obtained.

OBJECTIVETo study the overexpression of Sox9 gene on rabbit bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells for repairing articular cartilage injury in vivo.

METHODSRabbit bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) were transduced with lentivirus vector containing Sox9 gene and then cartilage specific molecule was detected by RT-PCR in vitro. Total 48 knee joints of 24 mature New Zealand white rabbits were randomly divided into 3 groups according to different defect treatment. After animals anesthesia,a full-thickness cylindrical cartilage defect of 4 mm diameter and 3 mm deep was created in the patellar groove using a stainlesssteel punch. Meanwhile, the transfected cells were implanted to repair the rabbit model with full-thickness cartilage defects. Cartilage defects tissue was observed with light microscope, electron microscope, HE and immunohistochemistry staining to assess the repair of defects by the complex at 6 weeks or 12 weeks after the implantation.

RESULTSAt 3 days after the transfection, Sox9 gene expression was highest and Sox9 gene expression decreased with the increase of time. At 3 days after the transfection, the expression of collagen type II began and reached the peak at 14 days. It showed that the bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells went into chondrogenic differentiation after transfected by Sox9 gene. Histological observation showed that at 6 weeks after the operation, the defects in the experimental group was filled with hyaline like cartilage tissue, 12 weeks after operation,the defects of cartilage and subchondral bone had satisfactory healing. Both at 6 and 12 weeks postoperatively, the defects were filled with fibrous tissues in control groups. Meanwhile, immunohistochemical staining of sections with type II collagen antibodies showed the proteins in the regenerated tissue stained positive for type II collagen and stronger than the control groups. The histological scoring system indicated that the cartilage repair of experiment groups were better than the two control groups with statistical significances.

CONCLUSIONOverexpression of Sox9 gene on rabbit bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) promote the repair of cartilage defect.

Animals ; Bone Marrow Cells ; metabolism ; Bone Marrow Transplantation ; Cartilage, Articular ; injuries ; metabolism ; Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy ; Female ; Genetic Vectors ; genetics ; metabolism ; Humans ; Lentivirus ; genetics ; metabolism ; Male ; Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; metabolism ; Osteoarthritis ; genetics ; metabolism ; therapy ; Rabbits ; SOX9 Transcription Factor ; genetics ; metabolism ; Tissue Engineering

With the current accumulation of metagenome data, it is possible to build an integrated platform for processing of rigorously selected metagenomic samples (also referred as "metagenomic communities" here) of interests. Any metagenomic samples could then be searched against this database to find the most similar sample(s). However, on one hand, current databases with a large number of metagenomic samples mostly serve as data repositories but not well annotated database, and only offer few functions for analysis. On the other hand, the few available methods to measure the similarity of metagenomic data could only compare a few pre-defined set of metagenome. It has long been intriguing scientists to effectively calculate similarities between microbial communities in a large repository, to examine how similar these samples are and to find the correlation of the meta-information of these samples. In this work we propose a novel system, Meta-Mesh, which includes a metagenomic database and its companion analysis platform that could systematically and efficiently analyze, compare and search similar metagenomic samples. In the database part, we have collected more than 7 000 high quality and well annotated metagenomic samples from the public domain and in-house facilities. The analysis platform supplies a list of online tools which could accept metagenomic samples, build taxonomical annotations, compare sample in multiple angle, and then search for similar samples against its database by a fast indexing strategy and scoring function. We also used case studies of "database search for identification" and "samples clustering based on similarity matrix" using human-associated habitat samples to demonstrate the performance of Meta-Mesh in metagenomic analysis. Therefore, Meta-Mesh would serve as a database and data analysis system to quickly parse and identify similar
Cluster Analysis ; Computational Biology ; methods ; Databases, Genetic ; Humans ; Metagenome ; Metagenomics ; methods

BACKGROUND:The main component of cartilage, type Ⅱ col agen gene expression in chondrocyte is positively correlated with SOX9 concentration in a dose-dependent manner.
OBJECTIVE:To observe the variation of SOX9 and type Ⅱ col agen mRNA content at different periods in the differentiation process (osteogenic, chondrogenic, adipogenic induction) of mesenchymal stem cel s, and to explore the correlation of SOX9 expression and type Ⅱ col agen.
METHODS:Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cel s were isolated from 4-week-old Kunming mice, and cultured in vitro to passage 3. The cel phenotype was identified with flow cytometry. Cel s were divided into three groups and subjected to three kinds of induction conditions favorable for adipogenic, chondrogenic and osteogenic differentiation, and each group was observed at three time points. In addition, the non-induced cel s were used as a control group. The total RNA of cel s was extracted at 3, 7, 14 days after induction, and SOX9 and type Ⅱ col agen mRNA was quantified with reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. The induced cel s were stained by immunofluorescence to observe the differentiation and perform statistical analysis.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Passage 3 bone marrow mesenchymal stem cel s grew wel , and cel phenotype was confirmed as stem cel s by flow cytometry. The staining results showed that, the cel s differentiated into chondrocytes, adipocytes and osteoblasts. The SOX9 mRNA levels in the induced cel s were the highest in chondrogenic differentiation group, then in osteogenic differentiation group, and the lowest in adipogenic differentiation group. Type Ⅱ col agen mRNA levels in the induced cel s were the highest in chondrogenic differentiation group, then in adipogenic differentiation group, and the lowest in osteogenic differentiation group. SOX9 expression in chondrogenic differentiation group increased at 3 and 7 days, and then decreased at 14 days. While type Ⅱ col agen expression increased at 3, 7, 14 days. SOX9 mRNA levels increased as the osteogenic differentiation, while type Ⅱ col agen expression gradual y decreased. There was no significant difference in the SOX9 mRNA expression between adipogenic differentiation group and control group (P>0.05), while type Ⅱ col agen expression was not regularly changed. Experimental findings suggest that, critical effect of SOX9 in chondrogenic differentiation is better than that in osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation. SOX9 is associated with type Ⅱcol agen, which may alter along with the SOX9 in the early chondrogenic differentiation;SOX9 may play a fine-tuning role in the process of chondrogenic and osteogenic differentiation.

Blood stasis theory (BST) is widely used in the department of Chinese medical dermatology. Skin lesion we often see and modern medical examination results can be used as evidence for diagnosing BST and indications for using it. Better efficacy could also be obtained by using BST in treating wind evil or heat evil induced skin disease, and itching, hemorrhagic and stubborn dermatoses as well.
Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Pruritus ; Skin Diseases ; therapy