Biotechnology is one of the important areas of Beijing’s high-technology industry. Steadily progress had been obtained after 1995. Beijing has predominance in this area, such as research and development, talents, clinic, and so on. The development of Beijing biotechnology industry in recent years was focused, and the main challenges and relative suggestions were proposed.

Objective To investigate insulin resistance and the effect of physical training on it in the pa- tients with chronic heart failure (CHF). Methods One hundred and twenty NYHAⅡ-ⅢCHF patients were ran- domly divided into a training group( n = 65 ) and a routine therapy group (n = 55 ). Another 35 healthy subjects were recruited as control group. All the patients were treated with routine anti-CHF drugs, and the training group patients had received physical training twice a day in addition. The HOMA-IR, insulin sensitivity index (ISI) , left ventricu- lar ejection fraction (LEVF), left ventricular fractional shortening( LVFS), 6-minute walking distance, heart rate and mean blood pressure were compared between the training and routine therapy groups before and after physical ex- ercise in both groups, and a comparison was made between the patients and the controls before the intervention with regard to HOMA-IR and ISI. Results Comparing with control group, ISI was reduced while the HOMA-IR in- creased (P

OBJECTIVETo investigate whether Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG conditioned medium(LGG-CM)has preventive effect against E. coli K1-induced neuropathogenicity in vitro by inhibiting nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) signaling pathway.

METHODSAn in vitro blood-brain barrier (BBB) model was constructed using human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMECs). The effect of LGG-CM on E. coli-actived NF-κB signaling pathway was assayed using Western blotting. Invasion assay and polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) transmigration assay were performed to explore whether LGG-CM could inhibit E. coli invasion and PMN transmigration across the BBB in vitro. The expressions of ZO-1 and CD44 were detected using Western blotting and immunofluorescence. The changes of trans-epithelial electric resistance (TEER) and bacterial translocation were determined to evaluate the BBB permeability.

RESULTSPre-treament with LGG-CM inhibited E. coli-activated NF-κB signaling pathway in HBMECs and decreased the invasion of E. coli K1 and transmigration of PMN. Western blotting showed that LGG-CM could alleviate E. coli-induced up-regulation of CD44 and down-regulation of ZO-1 expressions in HBMECs. In addition, pre-treatment with LGG-CM alleviated E. coli K1-induced reduction of TEER and suppressed bacterial translocation across the BBB in vitro.

CONCLUSIONLGG-CM can block E. coli-induced activation of NF-κB signaling pathway and thereby prevents E. coli K1-induced neuropathogenicity by decreasing E. coli K1 invasion rates and PMN transmigration.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of allergic rhinitis (AR) and its intervention on disease condition and medications in patients with juvenile-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (JSLE).

METHODSThe clinical data of 96 children diagnosed with JSLE were collected, and according to the presence or absence of AR or other allergic diseases, they were divided into AR group (n=44), non-AR group (n=20), and non-allergic group (n=32). The children in the AR group were randomly administered with or without intervention (n=22 each). All the children were given standard JSLE treatment. The systemic lupus erythematosus disease active index (SLEDAI) and application of hormones and immunosuppressants were compared between groups.

RESULTSThe AR and non-AR groups had significantly higher SLEDAI scores, daily cumulative doses of glucocorticoids, and number of types of immunosuppressants used than the non-allergic group before treatment (P<0.05), while there were no significant differences between the AR and non-AR groups (P>0.05). After one month of treatment, the AR group with intervention had significantly lower SLEDAI scores and daily cumulative doses of glucocorticoids than the AR group without intervention (P<0.05), while there was no significant difference in the application of immunosuppressants between these two groups (P>0.05). After 3 and 6 months of treatment, the AR group with intervention had significantly lower SLEDAI scores, daily cumulative doses of glucocorticoids, and number of types of immunosuppressants than the AR group without intervention (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONSJSLE combined with allergic diseases such as AR has an adverse effect on disease condition and treatment, and the intervention for AR helps with the control of JSLE.

Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Glucocorticoids ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Immunosuppressive Agents ; therapeutic use ; Interleukin-17 ; blood ; Interleukins ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic ; drug therapy ; immunology ; Male ; Rhinitis, Allergic ; complications ; Severity of Illness Index

BACKGROUNDEffects of icariin on airway inflammation in asthmatic rats and the intervention of LPS induced inflammation are interfered with the machanism of icariin. Our study aimed to observe the effect of icariin on ovalbumin-induced imbalance of Th1/Th2 cytokine expression and its mechanism.

METHODSSixty male SD rats were randomly divided into control group (PBS), asthma group (ovalbumin (OVA)-induced), dexamethasone group, and OVA+icariin low, medium and high dose groups (5, 10, 20 mg/kg, respectively). Each group had ten rats. The model of OVA sensitization was a rat asthma model. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method was used to observe the effects of icariin on interleukin-4 (IL-4) and inerferon γ (IFN-γ) in rats' lung tissue. Immunohistochemical staining was applied to detect the intervention effects of icariin on T cells (T-bet) and gatabinding protein 3 (GATA-3) in rat pulmonary tissue. Realtime RT-PCR was used to observe the intervention effects of icariin on T-bet and GATA-3 mRNA expression in rat pulmonary tissue and spleen lymphocytes. Western blotting was used to observe the icariin intervention effects on T-bet, GATA-3 and nuclear factor-Kappa B (NF-κB) p65 protein expressions in rat pulmonary tissue.

RESULTSThe ELISA results from pulmonary tissue showed that IL-4 expression was significantly reduced (P < 0.05), while the IFN-γ expression increased but not significantly when we compared OVA+icariin medium and high dose groups with the asthma group. Immunohistochemical staining of pulmonary tissue showed that the GATA-3 decreased significantly while the T-bet staining did not change in the OVA+icariin high dose group. In pulmonary tissue and spleen lymphocytes T-bet and GATA-3 mRNA expressions were significantly reduced (P < 0.05) in icariin treatment groups compared with the asthma model group. GATA-3 and T-bet mRNA in rat spleen lymphocytes in the asthma group were higher than in the control group. GATA-3 mRNA expression in pulmonary tissue significantly decreased (P < 0.05) while T-bet mRNA expression decreased but not significantly in the icariin treatment group compared with the asthma group. T-bet and GATA-3 protein expressions in pulmonary tissue increased significantly compared with the asthma group, which meant that icariin could inhibit the increase of GATA-3 protein, but not of T-bet. The bronchus, blood vessels and periphery pulmonary tissue had infiltration of inflammatory cells in the OVA+icariin high dose group while NF-κB p65 cells were reduced, and expression of NF-κB p65 in this group was less than in the asthma group. The expression of total p65 protein decreased with icariin treatment while the expression of cytoplasmic p65 protein increased.

CONCLUSIONSIcariin could regulate the imbalance of Th1/Th2 cytokines in asthmatic rat pulmonary tissue. Icariin could regulate the imbalance of Th1/Th2 associated transcription factors T-bet and GATA-3 in asthmatic rat pulmonary tissue and spleen lymphocytes. Icariin could inhibit the activation of NF-κB p65 protein in asthmatic rat pulmonary tissue.

Animals ; Asthma ; drug therapy ; immunology ; metabolism ; Blotting, Western ; Disease Models, Animal ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Flavonoids ; therapeutic use ; GATA3 Transcription Factor ; metabolism ; Immunohistochemistry ; Interferon-gamma ; metabolism ; Interleukin-4 ; metabolism ; Lung ; metabolism ; Male ; Ovalbumin ; metabolism ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; T-Box Domain Proteins ; metabolism ; Th1 Cells ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Th2 Cells ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Transcription Factor RelA ; metabolism

Objective To evaluate the prevalence of depression,anxiety and suicide behavior in patients suffering from tuberculosis in Hangzhou and to explore their relationship with medication adherence. Methods Demographic characteristics,self-rating anxiety scale (SAS),the center for epidemiological studies -depression (CESD),social support rating scale (SSRS),suicide behavior information and the morisky medication adherence scale (MMAS)were investigated in 973 tuberculosis patients who were selected by systematic random sampling.Results The means of SAS and CESD were 39.71 ±8.30 and 14.16 ±10.77 respectively,which were both higher than the norms(P<0.01).Totally 102 (10.48%)patients had anxiety and 333 (34.22%)were depressed.Out of 973 patients,60 (6.17%)reported suicide ideation after tuberculosis diagnosis.The prevalence of non -adherence was 20.55%,which was defined with MMAS score above one and more.The non -adherence group had higher anxiety,depression and suicide ideation prevalence than the adherence group (15.50%vs.9.18%,46.50%vs.30.66%,11.00%vs.4.92%respectively,P<0.01).The mean score of SSRS,subjective support,objective support and utilization of support in the non-adherence group were 30.71 ±5.15,4.61 ±2.07,19.74 ±4.55 and 6.34 ±1.93 respectively,which were 34.06 ±7.39,6.62 ± 2.27,20.67 ±5.27 and 6.77 ±2.23 in the adherence group respectively.SSRS and its three dimension scores were significantly lower in the non-adherence group than that in the adherence group (P<0.01).Conclusion These findings show a quite serious situation of psychological problems of tuberculosis patients in Hangzhou and suggest psychological intervention should be included in adherence intervention.

BACKGROUNDThe frequencies of regulatory T cells (Tregs) increased over the HIV infection but its counts actually decreased. We proposed that the decrease of Treg counts may cause the reduction of inhibitory effect and thereby account for the over-activation of Tregs during HIV infection. However, it remains unknown whether Tregs are also over-activated and thereafter the activation induced death may lead to the decrease of Tregs.

METHODSTregs were defined as CD4(+)CD25(+)CD127(lo/-) T cells. Eighty-one HIV-1 infected patients were enrolled in our study, and twenty-two HIV-1 seronegative donors were recruited as the control. The levels of HLA-DR on Tregs were determined by FACSAria flow cytometer.

RESULTSCompared to HIV-1 seronegative donors, the levels of HLA-DR on CD4(+)CD25(+)CD127(lo/-) Tregs were significantly increased in HIV-1 infected patients, and its increase was positively associated with viral loads (r = 0.3163, P = 0.004) and negatively with CD4 T-cell counts (r = -0.4153, P < 0.0001). In addition, significant associations between HLA-DR expression on CD4(+)CD25(+)CD127(lo/-) Tregs and the percentages of HLA-DR, CD38, Ki67 expressing CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells were also identified.

CONCLUSIONHLA-DR on Tregs is a good marker for viral replication and disease progression. The over-activation of Tregs might result in the decrease of Tregs.

ADP-ribosyl Cyclase 1 ; metabolism ; Adult ; Aged ; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes ; immunology ; metabolism ; Cells, Cultured ; Female ; Flow Cytometry ; HIV Infections ; immunology ; metabolism ; HLA-DR Antigens ; metabolism ; Humans ; Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit ; metabolism ; Interleukin-7 Receptor alpha Subunit ; metabolism ; Lymphocyte Activation ; immunology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory ; immunology ; metabolism ; Young Adult

BACKGROUNDImmune cells within a tumor microenvironment have shown modulatory effects on tumor angiogenic activity. Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is a hypervascular tumor that reportedly increases the frequency of regulatory T cells (Tregs) in tumor tissues. This study investigated the correlation between Tregs infiltration and angiogenic status in RCC.

METHODSThirty-six patients with RCC were enrolled in the present study, and twenty age-matched healthy donors were included as the control. Tregs were defined as CD4(+)CD25(high)CD127(low/-) T cells. The frequency of Tregs in peripheral blood and tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) were determined by flow cytometry. The expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in surgical resection specimens were measured with a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. Microvessel density (MVD) was calculated on slides stained with CD34 antibody. Spearman's rank correlation was performed to evaluate the correlation between the frequencies of Tregs in TILs and VEGF values, as well as between frequencies of Tregs and MVD determinations.

RESULTSCompared to healthy controls, the frequency of peripheral blood Tregs was significantly increased in patients with RCC (P < 0.05). The percentage of tumor-infiltrating Tregs was higher than that of peripheral blood Tregs in patients with RCC (P < 0.01). In addition, the frequency of tumor-infiltrating Tregs was shown to significantly correlate with the pathological stage (P < 0.05) and nuclear grade (P < 0.01). Importantly, a significant positive correlation was observed between the frequency of tumor-infiltrating Tregs and VEGF protein expression (r = 0.51, P < 0.05), as well as between frequencies of Tregs and MVD score (r = 0.39, P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSThese observations suggest that the high pro-angiogenic status of RCC may be associated with the accumulation of Tregs in the local microenvironment. Angiogenesis networks may be connected with immune tolerance units and cooperate with each other to facilitate tumor growth and progression.

Adult ; Aged ; Carcinoma, Renal Cell ; immunology ; metabolism ; Cells, Cultured ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Flow Cytometry ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Kidney Neoplasms ; immunology ; metabolism ; Lymphocytes, Tumor-Infiltrating ; immunology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neovascularization, Pathologic ; immunology ; metabolism ; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory ; immunology

BACKGROUNDThis retrospective study evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of 2-(F18)-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose-positron emission tomography ((18)F-FDG-PET)/computed tomography (PET/CT) in the preoperative diagnosis of metastatic mediastinal and hilar lymph node in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

METHODSA total of 39 patients received preoperative (18)F-FDG PET/CT and the postoperative biopsy. We compared preoperative PET/CT scan results with corresponding intraoperative histopathalogic findings in 39 NSCLC patients. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive and negative predictive value of (18)F-FDG PET/CT were assessed.

RESULTSHistopathologic examination confirmed metastasis in 57 out of the 208 excised lymph nodes; 23 of the 57 nodes were mediastinal and hilar lymph nodes. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of PET/CT in the preoperative diagnosis of mediastinal lymph node metastasis in NSCLC patients were 65%, 96.8%, 92%, 78.5% and 90%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONSPET/CT scan showed good accuracy in the preoperative diagnosis of mediastinal and hilar lymph node metastasis in the patients with NSCLC. We recommend that PET/CT scanning be used as a first-line evaluation tool for tumor diagnosis, therapy evaluation and follow-up.

Adult ; Aged ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; diagnosis ; Female ; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; Lymph Nodes ; pathology ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; diagnosis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; methods ; Positron-Emission Tomography ; methods ; Retrospective Studies

BACKGROUNDBronchial asthma (BA) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are both inflammatory airway diseases with different characteristics. However, there are many patients who suffer from both BA and COPD. This study was to evaluate changes of inflammatory airway features and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function in asthmatic rats combined with COPD.

METHODSBrown Norway (BN) rats were used to model the inflammatory airway diseases of BA, COPD and COPD + BA. These three models were compared and evaluated with respect to clinical symptoms, pulmonary histopathology, airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR), inflammatory cytokines and HPA axis function.

RESULTSThe inflammatory airway features and HPA axis function in rats in the COPD + BA model group were greatly influenced. Rats in this model group showed features of the inflammatory diseases BA and COPD. The expression of inflammatory cytokines in this model group might be up or downregulated when both disease processes are present. The levels of corticotrophin releasing hormone mRNA and corticosterone in this model group were both significantly decreased than those in the control group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSBN rat can be used as an animal model of COPD + BA. By evaluating this animal model we found that the features of inflammation in rats in this model group seem to be exaggerated. The HPA axis functions in rats in this model group have been disturbed or impaired, which is prominent at the hypothalamic level.

Animals ; Asthma ; immunology ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone ; genetics ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System ; pathology ; Inflammation ; physiopathology ; Male ; Pituitary-Adrenal System ; pathology ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive ; immunology ; Rats ; Rats, Inbred BN