AIM: To explore the relationship between caspase activation and the evasion of Legionella from macrophage elimination through a Legionella-infected macrophage model. METHODS: After infected by Legionella, the activity of caspase 3 in macrophages was analyzed by confocal microscopy as well as fluorescence reader. Growth and replication of Legionella in macrophage was assayed. Replication of Legionella was analyzed again to see the effect of caspase 3 inhibition on the growth of Legionella after use of caspase 3 inhibitor. RESULTS: Both confocal microscopy and caspase 3 fluorescent substrate analysis showed that Legionella virulent strain had powerful capability of activating caspase 3 while the mutant non-virulent strain did not have this capability. The virulent strain highly replicated in macrophages and the replication was significantly inhibited by caspase 3 inhibitor. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that the intracellular caspase 3 is activated shortly after infection by Legionella virulent strain. The evasion of Legionella from the elimination of macrophages may be mediated by caspase 3 activation to a great degree.

AIM: To explore the effect of TNF-related apoptosis inducing ligand (TRAIL), a new apoptotic inducing molecule on the biological activity of hepatocarcinoma cell line. METHODS: The expression of membrane binding TRAIL on HepG2 cells was detected by immuno-cytochemistry. Quantity of secretory TRAIL was assayed by ELISA method. The cytotoxicity and apoptosis induced by TRAIL was detected by MTT and TUNEL method, respectively. The telomerase activity of HepG2 cells was detected by TRAP-PCR assay kit. The expression of hTERT, the catalytic subunit of telomerase, was detected by FCM. RESULTS: TRAIL was constitutively expressed on the membrane of HepG2 cell line. Soluble TRAIL was also expressed to a certain degree. Cytotoxicity assay showed that TRAIL significantly inhibited the growth of hepatocarcinoma cells. TUNEL assay indicated that TRAIL induced apoptosis in hepatocarcinoma cells. Detection of telomerase activity showed that TRAIL inhibited telomerase activity and the expression of telomerase catalytic subunit. CONCLUSION: TRAIL is an effective molecule to inhibit the growth of hepatocarcinoma through multiple pathways, such as inducing apoptosis and inhibiting the activity of telomerase.

Objective To analyze the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of 5 patients with importing yellow fever ,and to explore the preventive and control strategies of infection in hospital .Methods The epidemiological and clinical characteristics of 5 cases of importing yellow fever in Infectious Disease Hospital of Fujian Medical University from March 18th to April 6th in 2016 were retrospectively reviewed and analyzed .Results Five patients were all from Angola Luanda .One of them was vaccinated before going aboard ,and the others were vaccinated 1—10 days before disease onset in Angola .All of them were bitten by mosquitoes ,and their onset date ranged from March 11th to March 27th ,before returned to Fujian .The main clinical symptoms were fever ,chilly ,shivering ,fatigue ,arthrodynia ,headache ,and liver and kidney injury .At manifestations ,two patients had positive nuclear acid of yellow fever virus in serum samples and 3 patients were positive in urine samples .All of these patients were negative for dengue virus and Zika virus testing ,meanwhile no plasmodium was found in blood smears .All patients were cured and discharged . Conclusions There is risk of yellow fever transmission in Fujian Province . Prevention and control of the disease should be focus on improving the ability of finding and coping with the importing cases .Vaccination and hygiene knowledge propagation should be given for those who are going to epidemic country/area .Emergency monitoring and control of mosquitoes are necessary .

Objective To establish rabbit model bearing VX2 liver tumor using improved technique,and to analyze the relevant impact factors of hepatic artery and portal vein catheterization.Methods Transplanted liver tumors of 60 healthy New Zealand white rabbits were established through open abdominal puncture and hepatic artery and portal vein catheterization.The rabbits were divided into A group (survival) and B group (death) according to whether a short-term (within 7 days after surgery) death occurred or not.The univariate analysis of the factors which could lead to the death of rabbits were analyzed.The Logistic regression models were established with parameters which were significantly different between the 2 groups,and independent risk factors which could lead to the failure of the experiment were analyzed.Results VX2 tumors were successfully implanted in the liver to all 60 rabbits.Nine (9/60,15.00 ％) rabbits died within 7 days,while 51 (51/60,85.00％) rabbits survived,weight ＜ 2.5 kg,additional intraoperative anesthesia,operation time ≥60 min,length of incision ≥5 cm and blood loss of operation ≥25 ml were impact factors (all P＜0.05).Weight ＜ 2.5 kg,additional intraoperative anesthesia and the blood loss of operation ≥25 ml were independent risk factors for death (P＜0.01).Conclusion Relative high success rate of building rabbit models bearing VX2 liver tumor may achieved using hepatic artery and portal vein catheterization.Larger weight of rabbits,training of surgical skills,less intraoperative blood loss are helpful to avoid intraoperative additional anesthesia,thus reducing mortality of rabbits.

The signaling pathways involved in acupuncture intervention in post-stroke depression (PSD) mainly include cAMP signaling pathway, MAPK signaling pathway, PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway, NF-κB signaling pathway, CREB signaling pathway, and CaMK signaling pathway. A variety of regulatory networks are formed between these signaling pathways, which play a key role in reducing inflammation, inhibiting apoptosis, improving neuroplasticity, promoting angiogenesis, and protecting neurons.

Acupuncture has a certain effect for the patients with post-stroke depression. In clinics, acupuncture treat this disease from the brain, liver and kidney, heart and spleen, and phlegm and blood stasis. Acupuncture plays a role in nourishing the bone of marrow, regulating the liver and kidney, nourishing the heart and mind, and invigorating the spleen and stomach. Acupuncture plays an antidepressant role by regulating neurotransmitters and receptors, promoting nerve function repair, inhibiting the secretion of inflammatory factors, reducing inflammatory response, inhibiting the hyperfunction of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, and regulating the brain-gut axis.

Objective To analyze the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of 403 local cases with dengue fever , and to provide guidance for dengue fever's prevention , diagnosis and treatment . Methods The epidemical data ,clinical characteristics ,laboratory results ,therapy and outcomes of 403 cases with dengue fever treated in Mengchao Hepatobiliary Hospital of Fujian Medical University ,Fuzhou from July to November 2016 were collected and analyzed retrospectively .Results Among the 403 cases , 56 cases (13 .89％ ) were younger than 20 years old ,160 cases (39 .71％ ) were 21 to 50 years old ,and 187 cases (46 .40％ ) were over 50 years old .The peak incidence period of dengue fever was from August to October ,accounting for 94 .29％ of the cases .The clinical classification was dominated by typical dengue fever (98 .01％ ) .Most of the cases had sudden onset .The main clinical symptoms included fever in 391 cases (97 .02％ ) , body aches in 355 cases (88 .09％ ) , and rash in 156 cases (38 .71％ ) . All patients were tested for serology and etiology of dengue virus at the early stage of disease .Among them , the positive rate of NS1 antigen was 95 .04％ ;the positive rate of IgM antibody was 13 .90％ ,and the positive rate of IgG antibody was 8 .19％ . Thrombocytopenia was founded in 332 cases (82 .38％ ) .Neutrophil count decreased in 293 cases (72 .70％ ) , w hite blood cell count decreased in 274 cases (67 .99％ ) .Aspartate aminotransferase increased in 256 cases (63 .52％ ) and alanine aminotransferase increased in 146 cases (36 .23％ ) .Creatine kinase elevated in 130 cases (32 .26％ ) and prothrombin time was prolonged in 40 cases (9 .93％ ) .A total of 289 cases (82 .75％ ) had bilateral lesions in both lungs and 25 cases (6 .20％ ) had pleural effusions . Color doppler ultrasound found 46 cases (11 .41％ ) of hepatomegaly ,84 cases (20 .84％ ) of splenomegaly ,8 cases (1 .99％ ) of a small amount of ascites . Conclusions Most of the 403 cases of dengue fever show typical clinical manifestations .Dengue fever mainly affects the blood system ,liver ,heart ,lung ,kidney ,skeletal muscle system ,and immune system . Clinicians should carefully observe the condition ,master the warning signs of severe dengue fever ,and achieve early identification and timely treatment of severe cases ,thereby reducing the mortality rate .

Objective To investigate the relationship between Toxoplasma gondii (T.gondii) infection and metabolic syndrome (MS).Methods A total of 20 577 patients who received serum test of anti-T.gondii IgG antibody in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey ( NHANES) of the United States from 2009 to 2014 were collected to analyze the clinical features of anti-T.gondii IgG antibody positive patients , and to compare metabolic related indicators in the antibody IgG positive and negative groups .The independent sample t-test, chi-square test, and logistic regression analysis were used to explore the risk factors of MS . Results A total of 2 746 participants were positive for the T.gondii antibody (13.34%), with a higher prevalence of male (14.44%vs 12.27%, χ2 ＝15.99, P＜0.01).Meanwhile, the prevalence of T.gondii increased with age and body mass index (BMI) (χ2 ＝979.98 and 50.85,respectively, both P＜0.01).Among the 2 191 patients with MS, 449 (20.49%) patients were positive for T.gondii.While 2 297 (12.49%) patients were anti-T.gondii positive in 18 386 non-MS patients.The difference was statistically significant (χ2 ＝78.504, P＜0.01).Age (t＝-37.37), BMI (t＝-4.28), glycosylated hemoglobin (t＝-11.81), fasting blood glucose (t＝-9.38), triacylglycerol (t＝-6.32), cholesterol (t＝-7.16), serum uric acid (t＝-5.25) and serum creatinine (t＝-7.69) in the seropositive group were all higher than those in the seronegative group (all P＜0.01).After adjusting for age and gender , the prevalence of T.gondii was an independent risk factor for MS (odds ratio [OR]＝1.147,P＝0.023).Conclusions BMI, blood lipids, blood uric acid and blood glucose are significantly increased in patients with T.gondii infection.T.gondii infection is an independent risk factor for MS.

Objective To evaluate the effect of combination of uterine artery chemoembolization and curettage in treatment of caesarean scar pregnancy(CSP),and to analyze the possible influence factors.Methods 46 cases with caesarean scar pregnancy treated by the combination of uterine artery chemoembolization and curettage were retrospectively analyzed.Univariate analysis was made on the factors that might influence the efficacy,and the Logistic regression model was constructed for the significant variables.Results All of the patients were terminated pregnancy succesfully .According to the ultrasound recheck,there were no residual gestational sac tissue in 29 patients,and some residual gestational sac tissue in 17 patients.After the application of traditional Chinese medicine or methotrexate and other symptomatic treatment, the pregnancy was terminated.The univariate analysis showed that the number of cesarean section,the gestational sac volume,the gestational weeks,the type of CSP,and the condition of the fetal heart pulsation were related to the presence of residues in the uterus after treatment (P＜0.05).The multivariate analysis showed that gestational sac volume ＞9 cm3 ,gestational weeks ＞ 7 weeks and exogenous CSP were the independent factors leading to intrauterine residual gestational sac tissue.Conclusion Uterine artery chemoembolization combined with curettage is an effective method for treatment of caesarean scar pregnancy.It is proposed that clinical treatment should pay close attention to the factors that may affect the efficacy.

Objective: To study the effect of low concentrations of sodium fluoride on the osteogenic/odontogenic differentiation of human dental pulp cells (hDPCs) in vitro. Methods: This study was reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee. hDPCs were cultured using a modified tissue explant technique in vitro. The effects of different concentrations of sodium fluoride on the proliferation of hDPCs were measured by methylthiazol tetrazolium (MTT) assay. Appropriate concentrations were added to the osteogenic/odontogenic differentiation induction medium, and the cells were induced in vitro. Alizarin red S staining was used to detect the osteoblastic/odontogenic differentiation ability of the cells, and the mRNA expression of the key differentiation factors was detected by RT-qPCR. Moreover, the expression of key molecules of endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) was detected by RT-qPCR and Western blot. The data were analyzed with the SPSS 18.0 software package. Results: Low concentration of NaF (0.1 mmol/L) could stimulate cell proliferation in vitro, while a high concentration (5-10 mmol/L) could inhibit cell proliferation (P<0.05). According to the literature and the experimental data, 0.1 mmol/L NaF was selected as the following experimental concentration. The levels of alizarin red S staining were increased after NaF induction of mixed osteogenic/odontogenic differentiation in vitro. The mRNA expression levels of key molecules for osteogenic/odontogenic differentiation, dentin sialophosphoprotein (DSPP), bone sialoprotein (BSP) and osteocalcin (OCN), were increased (P<0.05). The mRNA levels of ERS markers (splicing x-box binding protein-1 (sXBP1), glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78) and activating transcription Factor 4 (ATF4) were increased in NaF-treated cells. The protein expression levels of key ER stress molecules (phosphorylated RNA-activated protein kinase-like ER-resident kinase (p-PERK), phosphorylated eukaryotic initiation factor-2α (p-eIF2α) and ATF4) were higher in NaF-treated cells. Conclusion A low concentration of NaF promotes the osteogenic/odontogenic differentiation of hDPCs and increases the level of ER stress.