Objective To study helper T lymphocyte cell(Th)1/Th2 imbalance in rats′ model of asthma and the modulation of lentinan(LNT) on the airway inflammation and Th1/Th2 imbalance.Methods Thirty male SD rats were randomly divided into control,asthma and LNT groups.In the experiment,the rat model of asthma was established by the ovalbumin(OVA) challenge methods.Eosinophils(Eos) number and differentiated cell number in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid(BALF) were counted by different count fluids.The levels of IL-4 and IFN-? in BALF were measured by sandwich enzyme linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).Results 1.The Eos count in BALF and the ratio of eosinophils to the total cell number(Eos%) of asthma group were significantly higher than those of the control group(t=21.94,12.81 Pa

Humans ; Child ; Lung Diseases, Interstitial/diagnosis* ; Lung/pathology* ; Biopsy/methods* ; Bronchoscopy/methods*

OBJECTIVETo investigate the association between attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in Han Chinese children and Val158Met polymorphism of catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene caused by the missense mutation of G158A in exon 4.

METHODSBy using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphisms the Val158Met polymorphism of COMT gene was tested in 117 children with the diagnosis of ADHD as defined by DSM-IV and in 105 healthy controls living in Shanghai.

RESULTSThe frequencies of A allele were 25.21% and 23.81% in the ADHD group and the health controls respectively, which showed no significant difference between the two groups (Chi2=0.5197, P>0.05). There was also no significant difference in the distribution of all genotypes of COMT gene between the ADHD patients and the controls (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONIt was suggested that for the Han Chinese children with ADHD in this study, there was no association between ADHD and Val158Met polymorphism of COMT gene.

Adolescent ; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity ; enzymology ; genetics ; Catechol O-Methyltransferase ; genetics ; Child ; Exons ; genetics ; Female ; Gene Frequency ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; genetics ; Humans ; Male ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide

OBJECTIVETo identify a rare subtype of the ABO blood group system and explore its molecular basis.

METHODSBased on a standard serological assay, ABO subtype and haplotype were analyzed through PCR amplification of the 7 exons and adjacent introns of the ABO gene and TA clone sequencing.

RESULTSForward typing showed a B type, while reverse typing demonstrated an extremely weak anti-B on routine gel analysis, which indicated a forward and reverse typing discrepancy. Absorption-elution testing confirmed that there was no A antigen on the surface of patient's red blood cells. Sequencing of the ABO gene showed a G>A exchange at position 523 in exon 7, which resulted in a Val to Met substitution at codon 175. Clone sequencing of the amplificons of the ABO gene showed an ABO* Bw14/O01 heterozygote genotype.

CONCLUSIONMolecular method is useful for the identification of ambiguous blood groups. A 523G>A substitution of the ABO gene resulting in a Bw14 subtype probably underlies the weak B phenotype noted in the patient.

ABO Blood-Group System ; genetics ; Exons ; Genotype ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Phenotype ; Polymerase Chain Reaction

Objective To analyze the clinical value of minimal residual disease(MRD) of acute myeloblastic leukemia(AML) with AML 1-ETO by using the real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction(RQ-RT-PCR).Methods From Jan.2001 to Jan.2007,the MRD of 32 AML1-ETO-positive AML patients were analyzed by using PQ-RT-PCR.The detection of the AML1-ETO was taken after the induced chemotherapy every 1.5-2.0 months during the consolidation therapy.The survival of different stages in children with AML was analyzed by SPSS 10.0 software and calculated by using Kaplan-Meier analysis.Results Thirty-two patients received the induced chemotherapy and 29 patients with complete remission morphologically,3 patients had no complete remission morphologically and then gave up.Patients with molecular remission were associated with a high probability of survival(P=0.001 8).Patients with high transcript levels at diagnosis had no difference in event free survival with patients with low transcript levels.The quality of molecular response after induction,6 months in the chemotherapy as well as consolidation period,has significant impact on the event free survival(P=0.023,0.000 1,0.004 9).Conclusion The current study demonstrate that quantitative evaluation of AML1-ETO transcript levels is important and may be helpful for therapeutic decisions in future.

Objective To investigate the frequency of CD4~+CD25~+FoxP3~+regulatory T cells (Treg)and the expression of the functional protein,FoxP3,in patients with active tuberculosis and the relationship between Treg and the pathogenesis of tuberculosis.Methods Forty-five patients with active tuberculosis(including 25 cases of pulmonary tuberculosis and 20 tuberculous lymphadenitis), 20 healthy controls,20 recovered tuberculosis patients and 6 patients with reactive hyperplasia in cer- vical lymph node were enrolled.The frequency of CD4~+ CD25~+ FoxP3~+ Treg in the peripheral blood was measured by flow cytometry.FoxP3 mRNA expression was determined by real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR)and the expression of FoxP3 protein in lymphoid tissues was measured by immunohistochemistry.Results The frequency of natural Treg in the peripheral blood from the patients with active tuberculosis was 2.91%?0.23%,which was signifi- cantly higher than that of healthy control group(1.22%?0.18%)and recovered tuberculosis patients(1.50%?0.17%,P

To optimize the ethanol extraction technology parameters of Fengyin Decoction by orthogonal experiment combined with beetle antennae search(BAS)-genetic algorithm(GA)-back propagation neural network(BPNN). Based on single factor investigation, the extraction temperature, ethanol volume, extraction time, and ethanol concentration were used as orthogonal experiment factors, and entropy weight method was used to calculate the comprehensive scores of aloe-emodin, glycyrrhizic acid ammonium salt, rhein, emodin, chrysophanol, physcion, cinnamaldehyde, 6-gingerol, extraction ratio and fingerprint similarity. BAS-BPNN model was established, and then, GA was used to predict the optimal extraction process. The results showed that BAS-BPNN was optimized to obtain the optimal ethanol extraction process of Fengyin Decoction as follows: extraction temperature of 87 ℃, adding 9 times of 75 % ethanol, and extracting for 47 minutes, with a comprehensive score of 1.052 9. Meanwhile, the optimal process parameters obtained by orthogonal design were as follows: the extraction temperature of 80 ℃, adding 10 times of 75% ethanol, extracting for 30 minutes, with a comprehensive score of 1.003 7. The comprehensive score of the process obtained from the BAS-BPNN model was slightly better than that from the orthogonal test, indicating that the optimized process from BAS-BPNN model was more ideal, so it was finally determined as the best extraction process for Fengyin Decoction. The process of Fengyin Decoction obtained from BAS-GA-BPNN has high extraction efficiency and good stability, which provides reference for the subsequent development and quality control.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; Entropy ; Ethanol ; Neural Networks, Computer ; Quality Control

To study the clinical effect of oral sirolimus in the treatment of children with blue rubber bleb nevus syndrome (BRBNS) in the gastrointestinal tract, a retrospective analysis was performed on the clinical data and follow-up results of two children with BRBNS treated by sirolimus. The two children with BRBNS had gastrointestinal bleeding and anemia and were treated with sirolimus at a dose of 1 mg/day as part of treatment. The plasma concentration of the drug was maintained between 2.5-12.0 ng/mL. The children showed disappearance of gastrointestinal bleeding and improvements in anemia and coagulation function, and blood transfusion could be stopped during treatment, with no obvious adverse drug reactions. PubMed, Wanfang Data, and CNKI were searched for related articles on sirolimus in the treatment of BRBNS. A total of 26 cases of children with BRBNS, aged 0-18 years, were obtained. With the addition of the 2 cases in this study, sirolimus treatment achieved a satisfactory clinical effect in all 28 cases. Sirolimus may be effective and safe in the treatment of children with BRBNS, and further prospective studies are needed to evaluate the long-term efficacy of this drug.
Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Gastrointestinal Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Nevus, Blue ; drug therapy ; Prospective Studies ; Retrospective Studies ; Sirolimus ; therapeutic use ; Skin Neoplasms ; drug therapy

AIMTo study the effect of achyranthes bidentata polysaccharides(ABPS) on the expression of signal transducer and activator of transcription 6 and its mRNA in bronchus of a rat model of asthma.

METHODSThirty male SD rats were randomly divided into three groups: the control group, asthma group and ABPS group. The total cell numbers, eosinophils (EOS) numbers and differentiated cell numbers in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were counted by different count fluids. The concentrations of IL-4 in serum and BALF were measured by sandwich ELISA. The protein expressions of STAT6 were detected by immunohistochemistry techniques. The mRNA expressions of STAT6 were detected by hybridization in situ.

RESULTS(1) The total cell numbers in BALF, the absolute numbers of EOS, the ratios of eosinophils to the total cell numbers (EOS%) of asthma group were all significantly higher than those of the control group (P < 0.01). The total cell numbers in BALF, the absolute numbers of EOS and EOS% of ABPS group were all significantly lower than those of asthma group (P < 0.01). (2) The concentrations of IL-4 in BALF and serum of asthma group were significantly higher than those of control group (P < 0.01), while the concentrations of IL-4 in BALF and serum of ABPS group were significantly lower than those of asthma group. (3) Immunohistochemistry showed that the protein content of STAT6 around the bronchus of asthma group was significantly higher than that of the control group (P < 0.01), while that of ABPS group was significantly lower than that of asthma group , the epithelial cells were the chief expression cells; hybridization in situ showed that the mRNA expression of STAT6 around the bronchus of asthma group was significantly higher than that of the control group (P < 0.01), while that of ABPS group was significantly lower than that of asthma group , the epithelial cells were the chief expression cells.

CONCLUSIONSTAT6 protein and STAT6 mRNA were found strongly expressed in rat asthma model, the epithelial cells were the chief expression cells. ABPS had an inhibitory effect on airway inflammation cells infiltration such as EOS, it significantly depressed STAT6 and its mRNA expression, thus reduced the synthesis of IL-4 might be key in modulating mechanism of asthma.

Achyranthes ; Animals ; Asthma ; metabolism ; Eosinophils ; metabolism ; Interleukin-4 ; metabolism ; Male ; Polysaccharides ; pharmacology ; RNA, Messenger ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; STAT6 Transcription Factor ; metabolism ; Signal Transduction

AIM:To investigate the effects of perfluorooctanoic acid(PFOA)exposure on the changes of asth-matic mouse airway inflammation,inflammatory mediators interleukin-4(IL-4)and interferon-γ(IFN-γ)in serum, and glucocorticoid receptor(GR)expression in the lung tissue.METHODS:BALB/c mice(n=30)were randomly divided into 5 groups:normal control(C)group,asthma(A)group,asthma+low-dose PFOA(AP10)group,asthma+mode-rate-dose PFOA(AP50)group and asthma+high-dose PFOA(AP100)group.Asthma model and PFOA exposure model of mice were established according to the grouping.The animals were sacrificed and their lungs were collected for HE stai-ning,transmission electron microscopy,Western blot and immunohistochemical staining.ELISA was applied to detect the levels of IL-4 and IFN-γin the serum.RESULTS: HE staining of the lungs showed that the asthmatic mice, compared with the normal control mice,had obvious mucus secretion around the airways and infiltration of inflammatory cells around airways and blood vessels,and the effects were much more marked in AP groups.Ultrastructural alteration of the lung tis-sues in the asthmatic mice were indicated by transmission electron microscopy.Compared with C group, the results of ELISA in A group and AP groups proved that IL-4 in the serum was increased and IFN-γwas decreased significantly(P<0.05).Compare with A group,IL-4 was significantly increased and IFN-γwas decreased in AP100 group(P<0.05), and no difference of those between AP 10 group and AP50 group was found.The results of Western blot indicated that GR protein expression in the asthmatic mice were decreased compare with the normal mice(P<0.05), and no difference of that among A group and AP groups was observed.Immunohistochemical staining manifested that GR protein was mainly lo-cated in the cytoplasm of bronchial columnar epithelial cells,airway smooth muscle cells and vascular smooth muscle cells. CONCLUSION:Acute airway PFOA exposure in asthmatic mice dose-dependently exacebates lung inflammation by indu-cing Th2 type immune responses, promotes infiltration of inflammatory cells and mucus secretion around the airways and blood vessels,and destroys the ultrastructure of the lung tissues.