Hormones are the main materials which regulate the plant growth and the secondary metabolites formation of plant. The effects of hormones on cell biomass and metabolites content and the application progress of honrmones in plant cell suspension culture is reviewed. It covers the influence of exogenous hormones’ categories, concentration and proportion on cell biomass and metabolites content in plant cell suspension culture, the developmental course of the endogenous hormones determination, the changes of endogenous hormones content and its effects on the cell biomass and metabolites content, the relation of interaction between exogenous hormones and endogenous hormones, the study on the effect of new hormone varieties on the culture.

Objective To investigate the effect of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α and vascular en-dothelial growth factor (VEGF) on the angioge-nesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods The collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) model was set up in male Wistar rats. The pathological angiogenesis and expression of HIF-1α and VEGF in the synovia different time points were observed by H&E and immunohistochemistry staining. Results The expressions of HIF-1α and VEGF on CIA synovium were significantly elevated and their expression increased gradually with the prolonged disease course. Both synovial HIF-1α expression and VEGF expression were correlated significantly with the pathological angiogenesis score. Synovial lining and sublining HIF-1α expression were correlated significantly with VEGF expression respectively. Conclusion H1F-1α may play an important role in the pathogenesis of RA by upregulating the expression of VEGF and then promoting angiogenesis.

Objective:To improve the knowledge on propythiouracil(PTU)-induced antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody(ANCA)-associated vasculitis.Methods:6 cases of PTU-induced ANCA-associated vasculitis were analyzed on clinical manifestation,laboratory and biopsy findings,therapy and prognosis.Results:All patients with Grave's disease had been treated with PTU from 2 months to 7 years suffered from ANCA-associated vasculitis, which can also appear after withdrawal of PTU. Clinical manifestations are different with only skin, joint, muscle involvements on mild cases or lung, renal and hematological involvement on severe cases. Sera from all patients were anti MPO-ANCA positive. All patients responded to withdrawal of PTU and administration of prednisone and immuno-suppressants well with ANCA declined or turned to negative.Conclusion:PTU can induce ANCA-associated vasculitis in the part of which lung and kidney can be seriously involved. Early withdrawal of PTU and administration of immunosuppressive agents might improve the prognosis.

Objective To investigate the optimal technology of blind needle synovial biopsy.Methotis Blind needle synovial biopsy was performed on 81 knees with pain and swelling.Twenty patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) received uhrasonographic (US) examination before biopsies.Results Synovium were obtained in all patients and the successful rate was (71±21)%,while the area of synovium was (1.8±0.8)mm2.The time for accomplishing the procedure was (26±6) min and the depth of trocar insertion Was (3.1±0.7) cm.The successful rate in patients with RA (80±6)% was much higher than that in non-RA patients (54±10)%.The successful rate with US guidance (85±5)% was much higher than that without US guidance (78±6)%.The positive predictive value of synovium evaluation by naked eye Was 95.0%,while the negative predictive value was 81.1%.Conclusion Blind needle synovial biopsy should be spread because it is simple and safe to perfonn and it can obtain sufficient synovium for all purposes.

AIM: To explore the role of synovium macrophage of adjuvant arthritis (AA) rats in articular damage. METHODS: AA was induced in female Wistar rats by means of intradermal injection with complete Freud's adjuvant. X-ray on hind paws of AA rats was took at different time points and radiograph index (RI) was then evaluated. Synovium macrophages were detected through immunohistochemistry with ED 1 monoclonal antibody. The correlations between RI and synovial lining layer count/synovium macrophage count were also analysed. RESULTS: Synovial lining layer count, both macrophage count in synovial lining layer and sublining layer were positively correlated with RI. CONCLUSION: Synovium macrophages of AA rats may play an important role in articular damage.

AIM: To investigate the effects of rosiglitazone on fibroblast-like synoviocyte ( FLS )-induced osteoclastogenesis in rheumatoid arthritis ( RA) and the related mechanism.METHODS: RA-FLS were cocultured with peripheral blood monocytes from healthy volunteers in the presence of macrophage colony-stimulating factor ( M-CSF) and rosiglitazone.Osteoclasts were assayed by tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase ( TRAP) staining.Resorption lacunae area was identified by toluidine blue staining and quantified by image analysis software.The mRNA expression of RANKL and OPG was evaluated by real-time PCR, and the protein levels of RANKL, OPG, p-ERK, p-p38 and p-JNK were measured by Western blot.RESULTS:Compared with control group ( without rosiglitazone treatment) , rosiglitazone at concentration of 15 μmol/L significantly decreased the number of osteoclasts (P<0.01) and resorption lacunae area (P<0.05).The expression of RANKL at mRNA and protein levels was significantly down-regulated by rosiglitazone at concentration of 15μmol/L, while the mRNA and protein expression of OPG was up-regulated (P<0.01).Rosiglitazone (15 μmol/L) sig-nificantly decreased the protein level of p-ERK ( P<0.05 ) , but not the protein level of p-p38 or p-JNK ( P>0.05 ) . CONCLUSION:Rosiglitazone inhibits RA-FLS-induced osteoclast formation and its resorption activity by down-regulating RANKL expression and ERK phosphorylation, suggesting that rosiglitazone may inhibit RA osteoclastogenesis and bone re-sorption.

Objective:To analyze the clinical characteristics of patients with eosinophilic granulo-matosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) and improve the understanding of the disease.Methods:EGPA patients who fulfilled the 1990 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) classification criteria were recruited from Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital Sun Yat-sen University between December 2003 and April 2020. Their demographic characteristics, clinical manifestations, laboratory and auxiliary examinations were analyzed retrospectively. Mann-whitney U test and χ2 test were used for statistical analysis. Results:Among 52 EGPA patients, 34 (65.4%) were males and the median age at disease onset was 47(38-55) years. The median time from disease onset to diagnosis was 30(4-96) months. The most common initial symptoms were respiratory (61.5%) and nose/paranasal sinus (21.2%) involvement. The most common department for the first visit was respiratory medicine (53.8%), followed by rheumatology (11.5%). 44.2% EGPA patients were diagnosed by rheumatologists. The most common clinical manifestations were asthma (88.5%), nose/paranasal sinusitis (84.6%), pulmonary (76.9%) and nervous system (61.5%) in volvement. Eight(15.4%) patients were positive for antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA). Patients with positive ANCA had lower incidence of asthma, but higher incidence of general symptoms especially arthralgia and renal involvement, elevated eosinophil count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), Birmingham vasculitis activity score and vasculitis damage index than patients with negative ANCA (all P<0.05). 21.2%-34.6% EGPA patients had poor prognostic factors. Conclusion:Early diagnosis of EGPA is important. EGPA patients with positive ANCA may be more severe than patients with negative ANCA. The management should be a multi-disciplinary collaboration between rheumatologists and pulmonologists.

To improve the teaching of internal medicine,we analysed the results of clinical skill competition of interns on internal medicine and the current state of intern clinical skill learning including advantage and disadvantage.

OBJECTIVETo study the effect of electro-acupuncture (EA) at Neiguan (PC6) and Lieque (LU7) on the expression of protein kinases in cardiomyocytes of myocardial ischemia (MI) rats.

METHODSHealthy male SD rats were randomly divided into the control group, the model group, the Neiguan point group, the Lieque point group, and the non-meridian non-acupoint group, 10 in each group by random digit table. The MI rat model was established by injecting isoprenaline hydrochloride (85 mg/kg). EA at Neiguan (PC6), Lieque (LU7), and non-meridian non-acupoint were respectively performed. Changes of the expression of protein kinases [such as protein kinase A (PKA), protein kinase C (PKC), protein kinase G (PKG)] in rat cardiomyocytes were observed using Western blot.

RESULTSCompared with the control group, expression levels of PKA, PKC, and PKG increased obviously in the model group (P < 0.01). Compared with the model group, expression levels of PKA, PKC, and PKG decreased in the Neiguan point group and the Lieque point group (P < 0.01, P < 0.05). Expression levels of PKA decreased in the non-meridian non-acupoint group (P < 0.01). Compared with the Neiguan point group, expression levels of PKA, PKC, and PKG increased in the non-meridian non-acupoint group and the Lieque point group (P < 0.01, P < 0.05). Compared with the Lieque point group, expression levels of PKA, PKC, and PKG increased in the non-meridian non-acupoint group (P < 0.01, P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONEA at Neiguan (PC6) and Lieque (LU7) could decrease protein expression levels of PKA, PKC and PKG in rat myocardial cells, and the effect of acupuncture at Neiguan (PC6) was better than that obtained by EA at Lieque (LU7).

Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Animals ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinases ; Electroacupuncture ; Male ; Meridians ; Myocardial Ischemia ; metabolism ; therapy ; Myocytes, Cardiac ; metabolism ; Plant Extracts ; Protein Kinases ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

ObjectivesTo examine the validity of high-frequency Doppler ultrasound in identifying knees synovitis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis(RA).MethodsNinety-five consecutive patients with active RA were examined withhigh-frequency Doppler ultrasound to examine synovitis signals in knees.Synovial tissue samples of 51 patients were obtained by closed needle biopsy from knees after ultrasound examination.Serial synovial tissue sections were stained with H&E and immunohistochemical staining,and the histopathological synovitis scores were evaluated.The relationship among clinical, histopathological and ultrasound synovitis indexes was analyzed by Spearman's rank order correlation test and receiver operating characteristic curve analysis.ResultsAmong 95 RA patients,the median thickness of synovial membrane in ultrasound was 2.8 mm,the median depth of effusion was 2.7 mm; Doppler signals of synovial blood flow were detected in 82％(78/95 ) of patients and the median semiquantitive grading of synovial blood flow was 1.0.The thickness of synovial membrane and synovial blood flow at Doppler ultrasound correlated positively with histological synovitis score,hyperplasia of the lining layer,and inflammatory infiltration in sublining area (the thickness of synovial membrane:r=0.438,0.424,0.368,respectively; synovial blood flow:r=0.357,0.377,0.347,respectively; all P＜0.05).Although there was no significant difference in clinical synovitis indexes between patients with histologically low-grade and high-grade synovitis,the thickness of synovial membrane and synovial blood flow in ultrasound in patients with histologically high-grade synovitis was significantly higher than those with low-grade synovitis(P=0.001,0.036,respectively).When the thickness of synovial membrane in ultrasound was ≥ 3.9 mm,the specificity of diagnosing the high-grade synovitis was 96.7％ and the sensitivity was 61.9％.ConclusionSynovitis signals at high-frequency Doppler ultrasound correlate with histopathological synovitis,and it might be helpful in evaluating the severity of histopathological synovitis.