Objective To observe the effects of long-term hemodialysis(HD) combined with hemoperfusion(HP) on the levels of protein-bound uremic toxins (PBUTs) in maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients.Methods Forty-six patients with MHD were selected and divided into HD +HP group and HD group .HD+HP group ( n=22 ) was treated with low-flux HD twice a week and HD combined with HP once a week ,while HD group(n=24) was treated with low-flux HD three times a week.The follow-up lasted 36 weeks.The pre-dialysis concentration of PBUTs was measured at week 12, 24, 36 and baseline.PBUTs included hippuric acid (HA), indoxyl sulphate (IS)and p-cresyl sulphate (PCS).High performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry ( HPLC-MS/MS) was used for determination .Results After 36 weeks of follow-up, the concentration of the three toxins in the HD +HP group was lower than that in the HD group during the study.At the end of the study, the reduction rates of HA, IS and PCS were 33.5%,12.8% and 24.2%, respectively, in HD+HP group.The three toxins in HD group increased by 2.3%,21.8%and 2.8%.The clearance rate of HA, PCS and IS in the HP+HD group was higher than in HD group (P<0.05).Conclusion Long-term HD combined with HP can more effectively remove PBUTs , and keep them at a lower level .

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nose Neoplasms ; Sarcoma, Kaposi

DNA ; DNA Fingerprinting ; Homicide ; Humans

OBJECTIVETo explore the correlation between syndrome types of late-onset acne female patients and constitutions of Chinese medicine (CM).

METHODSA questionnaire was performed in 365 late-onset acne female patients and 135 healthy subjects (as the control) using Professor WANG Qi's. methods and Standards for Chinese Medical Constitutions Classification.

RESULTSTheir CM constitutions were sequenced as damp-heat constitution, yin-deficiency constitution, balanced constitution, yang-deficiency constitution, blood-stasis constitution, qi-stagnation constitution, qi-deficiency constitution, phlegm-damp constitution, inherited special constitution, with statistical difference when compared with those of the control group ( χ2 = 85.206, P < 0.01). In the 365 female late-onset acne patients, 114 (31.23%) were with Chongren imbalance syndrome, 108 (29.59%) were with blood stasis or coagulated phlegm syndrome, 83 (22.74%) were with dampness heat syndrome, and 60 (16.44%) were with wind heat syndrome. There was statistical difference in CM constitution distributions among different CM syndrome types (χ2 = 105.671, P < 0.01). The distribution of CM medical constitutions was different between the two groups. Biased constitutions were often seen in the patient group, while balanced constitution was often seen in the control group. Binary Logistic regression analysis indicated that influencing factors covered sweet food, light diet, roasted food, coffee, stress, work pressure, and family pressure. Of them light diet was one protective factor, while the rest were adverse factors.

CONCLUSIONThe etiology and syndrome types of female late-onset acne female patients were associated with CM constitution.

Acne Vulgaris ; epidemiology ; Body Constitution ; Female ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Syndrome ; Yang Deficiency ; Yin Deficiency

Adult ; Aged ; Angina Pectoris ; blood ; drug therapy ; Angiotensin II ; blood ; Capsules ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Double-Blind Method ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Endothelins ; blood ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Middle Aged ; Phytotherapy

Objective To investigate the plasma level change of myeloperoxidase(MPO)in patients suffering from stable angina pectoris.Methods Five hundred and seventy three patients underwent elective coronary angiography in a bi-racial cohort study,which included 295 patients with stable angina peetoris(SAP)and 278 subjects served as control.Plasma level of MPO and traditional risk factors of coronary artery disease(CAD)were measured.Results MPO levels did not differ significantly between control group and SAP group[126.3(95.8-160.2)mg/L vs 123.6(97.4-150.0) mg/L P＞0.05].MPO levels were similar across ethnicity and gender[black male 119.6(94.8-146.9) mg/L,white male 124.6(99.9～154.6)mg/L,black female 124.0(93.3～152.3)mg/L and white female 127.5(95.3～159.8)mg/L],and were correlated positively with the levels ofⅦfactor(r= 0.251,P＜0.01),fasting plasma glucose(r=0.095,P＜0.05),triglyceride(r=0.186,P＜0.01), total cholesterol(r=0.081,P＜0.05),high-sensitivity C-reactive protein(r=0.123,P＜0.01) and fibrinogen levels(r=0.077,P＜0.01),negatively correlated with adiponectin level(r=-0.115, P＜0.01).Conclusions Plasma MPO level is not elevated in patients with SAP.This suggests that MPO is not a characteristic feature of SAP.There are also no significant relationships between different genders and between different ethnicities.

OBJECTIVETo compare two methods for primary culture of the epithelial cells from human bioptic specimens of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), and preliminarily study the biological characteristics of the primarily cultured cells.

METHODSThirty-three bioptic specimens were collected from patients with pathologically confirmed NPC who received no previous radiotherapy or chemotherapy. Seventeen samples were cultured using tissue culture method, and tissue predigestion culture was used for the other 16 samples. The cells were cultured in Keratinocyte-SFM medium containing 2% fetal bovine serum. The two culture methods were compared for successful rate, attachment time and average time of cell growth. The biological features of the cultured cells were observed by reverse microscope, cytokeratin immunocytochemistry, growth curve and survival analysis.

RESULTSThe successful rate, attachment time and days for cell growth of the tissue culture method and tissue predigestion culture method were 23.5% (4/17) vs 62.5% (10/16), 4.47±0.48 h vs 7.88±1.01 h, and 13.75±1.5 days vs 8.3±4.55 days, respectively, showing significant differences between the two methods (P<0.05). The cells resulting from tissue predigestion method, with a average survival of 62.72 days, were characterized by a fusiform morphology with large nuclei, multiple nucleoli, and cytokeratins positivity. In contrast, the cells obtained by tissue culture method showed multilayer alignment without distinct cell structures and failed to grow consistently.

CONCLUSIONCompared with tissue culture method, tissue predigestion cell culture results in high successful rate and requires shorter cell growth time with longer attachment time. Keratinocyte-SFM medium supplemented with low concentrations of FBS is suitable for the growth of primarily cultured epithelial cells from NPC biopsy samples in vitro.

Carcinoma ; Cell Culture Techniques ; methods ; Cell Line ; Epithelial Cells ; cytology ; Humans ; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms ; pathology

OBJECTIVETo establish a method suitable to determine the purgative biopotency of rhubarb and construct a new quality evaluation pattern of rhubarb.

METHODA series of factors such as observation index (mass of feces in 10 hours), animal strain (ICR mice), sex (male) and the dose of diphenoxylate complex (50 mg x kg(-1)) was investigated and fixed. The purgative biopotency as well as anthraquinone determination was used to evaluate the quality of different rhubarb samples.

RESULTThere wasn't a good linear relationship between the purgative biopotency and content of anthraquinone. The quality difference of rhubarb samples could be well characterized by combination of purgative biopotency determination and anthraquinone determination.

CONCLUSIONThe purgative biopotency determination can be used in quality control and evaluation of rhubarb.

Animals ; Anthraquinones ; analysis ; Biological Assay ; Cathartics ; pharmacology ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Female ; Linear Models ; Male ; Mice ; Quality Control ; Reproducibility of Results ; Rheum ; chemistry ; Sex Factors ; Time Factors

OBJECTIVETo explore the effect of Changji'an Capsule (CA) on mRNA expressions of neuropeptide Y (NPY) in the hypothalamus and colon and serum levels of adreno-cortico-tropic hormone (ACTH) in rats of diarrhea predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D) model rats.

METHODSTotally 48 SD rats were randomly divided into six groups, i.e., the normal control group, the model group, the Pinaverium Bromide group (PB, 0.018 g/kg), the high dose CA group (2.812 g/kg), the medium dose CA group (1.406 g/kg), and the low dose CA group (0.703 g/kg), 8 in each group. The IBS-D rat model was established by using separation of breast milk + stimulation of acetic acid + constraint of four limbs. Normal saline was given to rats in the normal control group and the model group. All medication lasted for 14 successive days by gastrogavage. The serum content of ACTH was detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The expressions of NPY mRNA in the colon and the hypothalamus were detected using real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR.

RESULTSCompared with the normal control group, the serum ACTH content significantly increased (P < 0.01), the NPY mRNA expression in the colon and the hypothalamus obviously decreased (P < 0.01) in the model control group. Compared with the model group, the serum ACTH obviously decreased in the high dose CA group, the medium dose CA group, and the PB group (P < 0.01, P < 0.05). The NPY mRNA expression in the colon and the hypothalamus were obviously up-regulated in the high dose CA group, the medium dose CA group, the low dose CA group, and the PB group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSCA could modulate the abnormity of brain-gut axis of IBS-D rats possibly by up-regulating NPY mRNA expressions in the hypothalamus and the colon and down-regulating the ACTH content in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone ; blood ; Animals ; Colon ; metabolism ; Disease Models, Animal ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Female ; Hypothalamus ; metabolism ; Irritable Bowel Syndrome ; metabolism ; Male ; Neuropeptide Y ; metabolism ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Objective To construct RNAi combinant adenoviral expressive vectors specific to p65 subunit of NF-?B and to observe their gene silencing effect on p65 subunit.Methods Three pairs of complementary. single-strand DNA oligos targeting three various sites of p65 mRNA were designed and synthesized.Annealling was used to generate double-strand oligos(ds-oligos),and then the ds-oligos were cloned into pENTR~TM/u6 to generate the entry clone named pENTR.Recombination reaction in vitro with the pENTR and pAd/BLOCK-iT~TM- DEST was used to creat the adenovirus plasmid which contains the RNAi cassette.Then,the adenovirus plasmids digested with PacI were transfected into HEK293A cells to product adenovirus,and latter infected the HEK293A cells to amplify the adenoviral stock.Plaque forming assay was used to titer the adenoviral stock.The p65 gene silencing effect induced by the RNAi adenovirus was detected by Western blot and immunocytochemistry assay in ECV304 cells.Results The RNAi adenovirus specific to p65 subunit of NF-?B were produced with titer of 3.0 x 10~9pfu/ml to 2.5?10~10pfu/ml.The expression of p65 protein in ECV304 cells could be down-regulated efficiently by the RNAi adenovirus 48-72 h after infection,which would last for more than 6 days after infection.Conclusion RNAi adenovirus is an important tool inhibiting the expression of target gene efficiently.