ObjectiveTo investigate the application of rapid immunohistochemical staining technique in intraoperative frozen section diagnosis of thyroid neoplasm.Methods MaxVision one-step rapid immunohistochemical staining technique was used to detect the expression of CK19,HBME-1,and Gal-3 in frozen section of papillary thyroid carcinoma(PTC)andthyroid benign lesions.MaxVision conventional immunohistochemistry of frozen remaining tissue was served as control.ResultsMaxVision one-step rapid immunohistochemical staining technique could be completed in 20 minutes.The positive localizations of three markers detected by rapid immunohistochemistry were similar to conventional immunohistochemistry, in general.The expression of CK19 was located in cytoplasm and cellular membrane.Gal-3 and HBME-1 were mainly detected in follicular luminal border and/or surface of papilla. The staining intensity in rapid immunohistochemistry was stronger than that in conventional immunohistochemistry. The positive rates of CK19,HBME-1,and Gal-3 by rapid immunohistochemistry in frozen sections were: 0 (0/28),10.7 ％ (3/28),0 (0/28),respectively,for benign lesions (nodular goiter,Hashimoto thyroiditis,thyroid adenoma); and 94.9 ％(37/39),92.3 ％ (36/39),92.3 ％ (36/39),respectively,for PTC.The expression of three markers between thyroid benign lesions and PTC had a significant difference (x2 =59.326,55.861,44.605,all P ＜ 0.001).In benign lesions,the rate of same case with two and more positive markers was 0,while in PTC it was 100 ％ and significantly different (x2 =67.000,P ＜ 0.05).ConclusionMaxVision one-step rapid immunohistochemical staining technique could be applied in intraoperative frozen section diagnosis.Detecting CK19,HBME-1,and Gal-3 expression in intraoperative frozen section has an auxiliary value for diagnosis of PTC.

OBJECTIVETo study the therapeutic mechanism of Zhizhu Pill (ZP) for treating functional dyspepsia (FD) rats.

METHODSTotally 30 ten-day-old male rats were randomly divided into the normal control group (n =10) and the model group (n = 20). The FD rat model was induced using gastric administration of 0.1% iodoacetamide (IA) combined tail clamping. The model was evaluated when rats were 8-week old. Successfully modeled rats were randomly divided into the model group (n = 10) and the ZP group (n = 10). Rats in the normal group and the model group were administered with normal saline by gastrogavage, while those in the ZP group were administered with ZP Decoction (2 mL/100 g) by gastrogavage. All medication lasted for 7 successive days. The contractile activity in in vitro longitudinal gastric muscle was recorded using Power Lab biological signal collecting system. The expression of growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHSR) in stomach of FD rats was detected using Western blot and immunohistochemistry (IHC).

RESULTSCompared with the normal group, average frequencies of gastric contraction and changing rates of amplitude obviously decreased in the model group (P < 0.05). Results of Western blot and IHC showed that the expression of GHSR decreased in the model group (P < 0.01). Compared with the model group, average frequencies of gastric contraction and changing rates of amplitude obviously increased in the ZP group (P < 0.05). Results of Western blot and IHC showed that the expression of GHSR increased in the ZP group (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONZP could promote the gastric motility in FD rats induced by gastric administration of IA combined tail clamping, and its mechanism might be related to up-regulating GHSR protein level.

Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Dyspepsia ; drug therapy ; Gastrointestinal Motility ; Male ; Muscle Contraction ; drug effects ; Muscle, Smooth ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Receptors, Ghrelin ; metabolism

Realgar-containing Niuhuang Jiedu tablet (NHJD) has been applied in clinic for more than 800 years. However, because realgar contains arsenic (As), it has aroused wide concerns and controversies both at home and abroad. Currently, there are two misunderstandings about realgar-containing Chinese patent medicines. First, some people exaggerated realgar's toxicity as that of arsenic. Second, they recommended to remove realgar from traditional Chinese medicine compounds. In this paper, the authors summarized the advance in studies on NHJD, and proposed different opinions: (1) It is inappropriate to take total As as the index in safety evaluation of NHJD. (2) The toxicity of NHJD is dependent on the dose and duration of administration. (3) Realgar is an active ingredient of NHJD, and shall be deeply studied. Classic realgar-containing traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions, such as Niuhuang Jiedu tablet, shall be evaluated with rigorous modern scientific basis, with the aim to guide rational and safe application.
Animals ; Arsenicals ; adverse effects ; chemistry ; therapeutic use ; Chemistry, Pharmaceutical ; methods ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; adverse effects ; chemistry ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; adverse effects ; methods ; Sulfides ; adverse effects ; chemistry ; therapeutic use ; Tablets ; Time Factors ; Treatment Outcome

Objective To investigate the efficacy and toxicity of neoadjuvant regional arterial chemotherapy in the treatment of advanced gastric cancer. Methods The clinical data of 158 patients with advanced gastric cancer and with the same clinical stages who were admitted to Renji Hospital of Shanghai Jiaotong University from February 2002 to May 2005 were retrospectively analysed. Preoperative regional arterial chemotherapy was applied to 76 patients (test group) and the remaining 82 patients only received surgical treatment (control group). The chemotherapy regimen was epirubicin (50 mg/m2) + cisplatin (60 mg/m2) + 5-fluorouracil (1000 mg/m2).This regimen was modified to oxaliplatin (130 mg/m2) + 5-fluorouracil (1000 mg/m2) since 2003, and surgery was performed 6-11 days after the chemotherapy. All patients received postoperative intravenous chemotherapy.The clinical effects, radical resection rate, operative complications and long-term survival of the two treatment methods were evaluated. All data were analysed using the chi-square test and Kaplan-Meier analysis. Results The radical resection rate was significantly higher at 86% (65/76) in the test group compared with 71% (58/82)in the control group ( x2 = 5.01, P ＜ 0. 05 ). The toxicity of the chemotherapy in the test group was mild. The postoperative complication rate was 20% (15/76) in the test group and 16% (13/82) in the control group, with no significant difference between the two groups (x2 = 0.41, P＞0.05). The median survival time was 41 months in the test group and 23 months in the control group. The 5-year overall survival rate was higher in the test group (44.6%) than that in the control group (29.1%) (x2 =3.95, P＜0. 05). Conclusions Neoadjuvant regional arterial chemotherapy is well tolerated by patients with advanced gastric cancer. It is also effective for increasing the radical resection rate and improving the long-term survival.

Biotransformation of bioactive natural leading compounds is a kind of bioprocess in which the structure of the added bioactive natural leading compounds could be modified by biocatalysts(e.g.,enzyme,microbial,plant and animal cells) in order to produce high efficient and low toxicity compounds.The biotransformation purpose of the known bioactive natural leading compounds is to improve its efficiency,or reduce its toxicity,or improve its solubility and bioavailability.The trace and high-valued bioactive natural leading compounds also could be produced by the biotransformation,and the biotransformation of bioactive natural leading compounds is still helpful to study the mechanism of drug metabolism.The current focus of the biotransformation of bioactive natural leading compounds is on the compounds of steroid,quinine,flavone and terpene,and some important biotransformation process has been successfully screened out.Fundamental research should be done in the following fields,such as the biotransformation mechanism of bioactive natural leading compounds,biotransformation process engineering,and the efficiency evaluation of bioproducts produced by biotransformation.The latest biotechnology(e.g.,directed evolution of biocatalyst,combinatorial biotransformation,non-aqueous biotransformation,high throughput screening) should be introduced to the biotransformation of bioactive natural leading compounds,which will boost its fast development.

Objective To analyze the expression of dystrophin associated glycoprotein complex (DGC) in Duchnne muscular dystrophy (DMD) in different age groups. Methods The confirmed 24 DMD patients were divided into 3 groups according to their chronological age (children whose age between 1 to 3 were assigned to early childhood group; children whose age between 3 to 6 were assigned to preschool group; children whose age between 6 to 13 were assigned to school-age group). Several proteins from sarcolemmal muscle membrane were analyzed by immunohistocbemistry. Results The primary loss of dystrophin may lead to a secondary or completely deficiency of α-SG, β-SG, γ-SG,δ-SG, β-DG and dysferlin from sarcolemmal muscle membrane in different age groups. The expression of nNOS is completely deficient in the 3 groups, while the expression of caveolin-3 increased. Conclusions The expression of dystrophin related DGC proteins from DMD patients in different age groups showed diversed degrees of deficiency or complete deficiency. The deficiency of these proteins may occur during the embryonic period, while the increased expression of eaveolin-3 may have a relation with the regeneration of skeletal muscle fibers.

Objective To investigate the anti-tumor effect of ZM-66 on multidrug-resistant leukemic cell line K562/ADM.
Methods The K562/ADM cells were treated with varying concentrations (0, 1, 2, 4×10-3 mmol/L) of ZM-66 or etoposide for 24 hours. The proliferation was detected by Sulforhodamine B Sodium Salt (SRB) assay and apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry analysis and fluorescent staining. In addition, the expression levels of p53 and bax genes in K562/ADM cells were detected by RT-PCR analysis. The level of P-glycoprotein (P-gp), P53 and Bax protein in K562/ADM cells were detected by Western blot assay.
Results SRB assay demonstrated that etoposide had little inhibitory effect on K562/ADM cells, whereas ZM-66 (1, 2, 4×10-3 mmol/L) had significantly inhibitory effect on K562/ADM cells (all P<0.01). The acridine orange/propidium iodide dual staining showed that there were typical condensation of chromatin and nuclear fragmentation nuclei with red color in ZM-66 treated cells. Flow cytometric analysis showed that there was a significantly increase of apoptotic cells in K562/ADM cells after treated with ZM-66. RT-PCR showed that the p53 and bax mRNA expression levels in K562/ADM cells treated with ZM-66 at 1, 2, 4×10-3 mmol/L were higher than those in the cell without treatment. Western blot showed that the P53 and Bax protein expression levels in K562/ADM cells treated with ZM-66 at 2, 4×10-3 mmol/L were higher than those in the cell without treatment. But the P-gp protein expression level in K562/ADM cells treated with ZM-66 at 2, 4×10-3 mmol/L was gradually lower than those in the cell without treatment.
Conclusion ZM-66 is able to induce cell death by apoptosis in vitro, as a result of the reverse of the apoptosis resistance in drug-resistant K562/ADM cells by modulating expression of key factors associated with apoptosis induction.

The change of yield and contents. of active compositions were studied while the fibrous roots were decayed naturally. HPLC method was used to detect the contents of active composition. The results show that fibrousroots could decrease the production of plant by 38.60% (20 g) and 30.99% (40 g), respectively. Treatment 1 could increase the contents of dihydrotanshinone and cryptotanshinone of Salvia miltiorrhiza f. alba by 26.08% and 22.64%, respectively. Compared with the comparison, treatment 2 decreased the contents of ihydrotanshinone, cryptotanshinone, tanshinone I and tanshinone II(A) of S. miltiorrhiza f. alba by 60.87%, 79.24%, 84.61% and 88.99%, respectively. Meanwhile, the total contents of the liposoluble constituents reduced by 86.27%. The different concentration of fibrousroots could increase the content of salvianolic acid B by 4.98% (20 g) and 23.64% (40 g), respectively. Meanwhile, the content of rosemary acid was increased by 4.98% (20 g) and 23.64% (40 g), respectively. The content of water-soluble constituents positively correlated to the mount of added fibrousroots, and the change was significantly. The result indicted that the decay of fibrousroots has a significant impact on the growth and the content of the active composition of S. miltiorrhiza f. alba under the condition of continuous cropping. Fibrousroots could decrease the content of biomass and liposoluble constituents significantly, which maybe one of the main factors to S. miltiorrhiza f. alba continuous cropping obstacle formation.
Benzofurans ; analysis ; Biomass ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Diterpenes, Abietane ; analysis ; Plant Roots ; metabolism ; Salvia miltiorrhiza ; chemistry ; growth & development

OBJECTIVETo explore an ideal program for acupuncture treatment of Tourette's syndrome (TS).

METHODSOne hundred and two cases of TS were randomly divided into a treatment group of 68 cases and a control group of 34 cases. The treatment group were treated with acupuncture at Taichong (LR 3) and Hegu (LI 4) as main, and the control group with oral administration of heloperidol. Their therapeutic effects were compared, and changes of somatosensory evoked potentials (SEP) before and after treatment were investigated in the treatment group.

RESULTSAfter treatment for 3 courses, 56 cases were cured, 10 improved and 2 ineffective with an effective rate of 97.1% in the treatment group; and 15 cases were cured, 11 improved and 8 ineffective with an effective rate of 76.5% in the control group, with a very significant difference in the effective rate between the two groups (P < 0.001); after treatment, the abnormal rate of SEP decreased by 41.1% in the treatment group (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONAcupuncture is a very effective therapy for TS and has a certain restoring action on mild abnormal change of SEP.

Acupuncture Therapy ; Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Tourette Syndrome ; physiopathology ; therapy

Objective To explore the expression of HCK gene during the cardiomyocyte differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells and analyze the role of HCK gene in maintenance of pluripotency of embryonic stem cells.Methods Mouse embryonic stem cells were cultured,then induced to differentiate into cardiomyocytes.Total RNAs were isolated from mouse embryonic stem cells in the differentiation days:0 day(D0),the second day(D2),the fourth day(D4),the sixth day(D6),the eighth day(D8),respectively.The levels of HCK mRNAs were assessed by the method of semi-quantitive reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR).In the meanwhile,Total proteins were also isolated from mouse embryonic stem cells in the differentiation D0,D2,D4,D6,D8,and the levels of HCK proteins were evaluated by Western-blot.Results HCK mRNAs could be detected in the mouse embryonic stem cells in D0 and D2,however,they were undetectable from D4 to D8.The expression of HCK mRNAs was rapidly down-regulated during cardiomyocyte differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells.Expression of HCK proteins,which coincided with HCK mRNAs,down-regulated during differentiation and couldn't be detected in D4.Conclusions With the cardiomyocyte differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells,the expression of HCK in the levels of mRNA and proteins are sharply down-regulated;HCK may play an important role in maintaining the pluripotency of embryonic stem cell.