OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of standardized medication for patients with chronic rhinosinusitis. METHOD: According to the diagnosis and treatment guidelines on chronic rhinosinusitis formulated in 2008, by means of prospective study, we studied 54 patients suffering from chronic rhinosinusitis treated with standardized medication including, a combination of local intranasaI corticosteroids, macrolides, mucus discharging agent and nasal irrigation treatment and followed up for 3 months. Visual analogue scale (VAS), sino nasal outcome test-20 Chinese version scales (SNOT-20 CV), Lund-Mackay CT and Lund-Kennedy endoscopy methods were employed to conduct the subjective and objective assessment and comprehensively evaluate the clinical efficacy before and after treatment. RESULT: (1) After three months of standardized medication, the patients' total scores of VAS, SNOT-20 CV, CT and endoscopy were improved significantly compared with those before-treatment (P < 0.01 for all these scoring systems). (2) There was statistically significant difference between the clinical efficacies of chronic rhinosinusitis patients with and without nasal polyps groups (P < 0.01). After 3 months of standardized medication, the effective rates of the CRSwNP group evaluated by subjective assessment and CT evaluation were 66.7% and 94.4% respectively, while those of the CRSsNP groups were 91.7% and 97.2% respectively. (3) Betwecn CRSwNP and CRSsNP groups, there was no significant difference in the improvement rate or inefficiency rate in subjective assessment except for the cure rate, while there were significant differences in both cure rate and improvement rate in CT evaluation. (4) The CRS patients' self-testing-based questionnaires results showed positive correlation with objective assessments. CONCLUSION The standardized medication with combination of intranasal local glucocorticoid, macrolides (14-membered ring), the mucus discharging agent and nasal irrigation on CRS was effective.
Administration, Intranasal ; Adult ; Aged ; Chronic Disease ; Female ; Glucocorticoids ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Macrolides ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prospective Studies ; Quality of Life ; Rhinitis ; drug therapy ; Sinusitis ; drug therapy ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MMIF),hypoxia-inducible factor-1 α (HIF-1 αt) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the serum and endometrial tissues of patients with endometriosis (EM) and the clinical significance.Eighty EM patients [American Reproductive Association stage I (n=20),stage Ⅱ (n=22),stage Ⅲ (n=21) and stage Ⅳ (n=17)] were enrolled and divided into mild (10-14 points,n=28),moderate (16-24 points,n=27) and severe (26-30 points,n=25) dysmenorrhea groups.The control group included 40 healthy women of childbearing age who underwent routine healthcare examinations in the enrolment period.The expression of MMIF,HIF-1α and VEGF in the serum and endometrial tissues was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Western blotting,respectively.Meanwhile,the sensitivity and specificity of serum MMIF,HIF-1α,and VEGF when separately used as single indexes or jointly used as one index were examined as well.The results showed that serum concentrations of MMIF,HIF-1α,and VEGF were significantly higher in EM patients than in controls (P＜0.05).The expression of all three proteins in both serum and endometrial tissues increased significantly with the R-AFS stage (P＜0.05) and with dysmenorrheal severity (P＜0.05).The sensitivity and specificity of the combined detection of serum MMIF,HIF-1α,and VEGF levels were significantly higher than those of single index detection (P＜0.05).In conclusion,the expression of MMIF,HIF-1α,and VEGF in the serum and endometrial tissues may be used to assess the stage of EM and the severity of dysmenorrhea.Combined evaluation of MMIF,HIF-1α,and VEGF significantly improves the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the quantity and function of circulating dendritic cells (DC) in patients with chronic idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP).

METHODSHigh dose dexamethasone (HD-DXM) at a dose of 40 mg orally per day for four consecutive days was the initial treatment for chronic ITP patients. Flow cytometry was used to analyze the number of myeloid DC (mDC), plasma cytoid DC (pDC) and CD4+FOXP3+ T cells in patients before and after the treatment, meanwhile the co-stimulatory molecules on circulating DCs were assayed as well. Monocyte-derived DCs and CD4+ T cells were co-cultured with autologous or allogeneic normal fresh platelets and after 6 days of incubation H-TdR was used to assay the proliferation of CD4+ T cells.

RESULTSThe absolute numbers of circulating mDC and pDC were not significantly different between pre-treatment patients and healthy controls (P > 0.05 and P >0.05). However, percentage of CD4+ FOXP3+ T cells was decreased (P < 0.01), and their percentage was inversely correlated with the number of pDC and mDC (r = -0.396, P =0.045 and r = -0.410, P =0.037). The initial response rate to HD-DXM was 92.3%. After 4-days treatment, CD4 FOXP3+ Treg cells increased (P <0.01) while pDCs decreased (P <0.01). Although mDCs increased after HD-DXM (P <0.05), their CD11c expression level was decreased (P < 0.01), the mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) decreased from 340 +/- 30 before treatment to 199 +/- 21 after treatment. The inverse correlation between pDCs and CD4+ FOXP3+ Treg cells remained (r= -0.524, P =0.006) while that between mDCs and Treg cells disappeared (r = - 0.360, P =0.071). The MFI of CD86 on DCs was higher in ITP patients than in healthy controls (P <0.05), while the proportions of CD86, CD40, CD80 and the MFI of CD40, CD80 in ITP patients were normal (P > 0.05). DCs from chronic ITP patients co-cultured with autologous or allogeneic platelets were highly efficient in stimulating autologous CD4+ T cells proliferaton as compared to those derived from healthy donors (P < 0.05 and P <0.05).

CONCLUSIONDCs may play a role in the pathogenesis of chronic ITP in relation with CD4+CD25+ Treg cells.

Adult ; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes ; immunology ; Dendritic Cells ; immunology ; metabolism ; pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Purpura, Thrombocytopenic, Idiopathic ; blood ; immunology

Tetramethylpyrazine (TMP), an effective component of traditional Chinese medicine Chuanxiong, is commonly used to resolve embolism. Its possible therapeutic effect against atherosclerosis has received considerable attention recently. Angiotensin II (Ang II) is highly implicated in the proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), resulting in atherosclerosis. The mechanisms of TMP in the proliferation of VSMCs induced by Ang II remain to be defined. The present study was aimed to study the effect of TMP on Ang II-induced VSMC proliferation through detection of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) activity and bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) expression. Primary cultured rat aortic smooth muscle cells were divided into the control group, Ang II group, Ang II + TMP group and TMP group. Cells in each group were harvested at different time points (15, 30 and 60 min for detection of NF-kappaB activity; 6, 12 and 24 h for measurement of BMP-2 expression). NF-kappaB activation was identified as nuclear staining by immunohistochemistry. BMP-2 expression was observed through Western blot, immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization. The results showed that: (1) Ang II stimulated the activation of NF-kappaB. Translocation of NF-kappaB p65 subunit from cytoplasm to nucleus appeared as early as 15 min, peaked at 30 min (P<0.01) and declined after 1 h. (2) TMP inhibited Ang II-induced NF-kappaB activation (P<0.01). (3) Ang II increased BMP-2 expression at 6 h but declined it significantly at 12 and 24 h (P<0.01). (4) BMP-2 expression was also kept at high level at 6 h in Ang II + TMP group but maintained at the normal level at 12 and 24 h. (5) There was no significant difference in NF-kappaB activation and BMP-2 expression between the control group and TMP group. These results indicate that TMP inhibits Ang II-induced VSMC proliferation through repression of NF-kappaB activation and BMP-2 reduction, and BMP-2 expression is independent of the NF-kappaB pathway. In conclusion, TMP has therapeutic potential for the treatment of atherosclerosis.
Angiotensin II ; antagonists & inhibitors ; Animals ; Atherosclerosis ; drug therapy ; Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2 ; Bone Morphogenetic Proteins ; analysis ; antagonists & inhibitors ; Immunohistochemistry ; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular ; cytology ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle ; metabolism ; NF-kappa B ; analysis ; antagonists & inhibitors ; Pyrazines ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Transforming Growth Factor beta ; analysis ; antagonists & inhibitors

OBJECTIVETo investigate the expression profiles of myocardin gene during the differentiation of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell to smooth muscle cells in the conditional medium combined with a high concentration of fetal bovine serum (FBS).

METHODSMarrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells were isolated and purified from mouse femoral bone and shinbones using differential adherent methods. Cells at the third passage were induced by 20% FBS in conditioned medium, conditioned medium alone, 20% FBS or 10% FBS alone respectively. Mouse aortic smooth muscle cells were cultured as the positive control. Levels of mRNA and protein expression of myocardin and several smooth muscle cells marker genes were determined by immunofluorescence, RT-PCR and Western blot before and 3, 7, 10, 14 d after the induction. The presence of smooth muscle myofilaments was detected by using transmission electron microscope.

RESULTSNaive bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells displayed multiple morphological forms including fusiform, polygon, oval, and micro-spherical, as compared to the single macro-spindle form after the induction. Typical appearance of peak valley was displayed on the 21st day after induction. At the same time, the expression of smooth muscle marker genes was reinforced along with an up-regulation of myocardin expression. Immunofluorescence study showed that the cells expressing myocardin and smooth muscle marker genes such as alpha-SMA and SM-MHC increased. Fluorescence domain of myocardin translocated from cytoplasm to nucleus and the amounts of double positive cells for myocardin with alpha-SMA or SM-MHC also increased. RT-PCR confirmed that the mRNA expression of myocardin increased gradually and remained stabilized after achieving its peak on the 7th day after induction. The expression of smooth muscle marker genes, alpha-SMA and SM22alpha, remained stable on the 10th day of induction. It was also confirmed by Western blot that the protein expression of both myocardin and alpha-SMA were markedly increased during the induction. Finally, transmission electron microscopy revealed the presence of myofilament on the 21st day after induction.

CONCLUSIONSBone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells can be effectively induced into smooth muscle-like cells by conditioned medium combined with 20% FBS. Myocardin plays an important role in the differentiation process of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells to the peripheral smooth muscle cells.

Animals ; Bone Marrow Cells ; cytology ; physiology ; Cattle ; Cell Differentiation ; physiology ; Male ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; cytology ; metabolism ; Mice ; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular ; cytology ; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle ; physiology ; Nuclear Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; physiology ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Trans-Activators ; genetics ; metabolism ; physiology ; Up-Regulation

Objective To construct the small interfering RNA (siRNA) targeting heparanase gene and its expressing vector,and to observe its interference effect on the expression of heparanase gene and inhibitory effect on the invasive potential of human malignant melanoma A375 cells.Methods Three siRNAs were designed.The recombinant plasmid pRNATU6.1/heparanase-siRNA was designed and constructed. A375 cells were cultured,and transfected with pRNATU6.1/heparanase-siRNA.The cells treated with lipo- fectamine or Opti-MEM served as the controls.Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR and Western blot were performed to evaluate the expression of heparanase RNA and protein in these treated A375 cells.The in vitro invasive potential of treated A375 cells was assessed by Matrigel gel assay.Results The siRNA targeting heparanase gene was successfully cloned to the eukaryotic expressing vector pRNATU6.1.The expression levels of both heparanase RNA and protein decreased significantly in siRNA-transfected A375 cells than those in the control cells.The in vitro invasive potential of siRNA-transfected cells was also signifi- cantly inhibited as compared with that of the control cells (P

Host genetic factors, such as human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles, are important in Human immunod-eficiency virus (HIV) infection and its progression to AIDS. HLA class I genes, especially highly polymorphicHLA-B genes, are involved in the activation of HLA-restricted cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) against HIV, andthus control susceptibility to or protect against this virus. The present study was aimed to determine the distributionof HLA-B alleles in the Chinese Uygur ethnic group and its association with HIV infection. One hundred ten healthycontrol (HIV negative) and 128 HIV positive Chinese Xinjiang Uygur ethnic individuals were used in this study.HLA typing for B allele was performed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with sequence-specific primers (SSP).Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium was calculated using POPGENE software for the healthy control group. The HLA-Bfrequency of each allele was compared between the patients and the controls using the chi-square test. In HIV-1-pos-itive group, gene frequency of allele B * 4901 was significantly higher compared to the healthy control subjects (P=0.02, OR=3.06, 95%CI=1.16～8.10 forB*4901). In contrast, the gene frequency of B * 40 in healthy controlswas significantly higher than in the HIV-positive patients (P=0.02, OR=0.39, 95%CI=0.07～0. 92 for B* 40).In this study, HLA allele B * 4901 may be associated with increased susceptibility to HIV-1 infection, whereas the B* 40 allele may be associated with resistance to H HIV-1 infection.

Objective To examine the relationship between alcohol consumption and the incidence of metabolic syndrome (MS) in Chinese adults.Methods A total of 27020 Chinese adults aged 35 to 74years were enrolled in this prospective cohort study.Frequency or type of alcohol consunption was assessed in 1998 and 2000.Follow-up study on MS was conducted during 2007 and 2008.Results Over an average 8years' follow-up,2362 MS patients were identified among 14 572 individuals who did not have MS at baseline.After adjustment for age,location,education level,physical activity,cigarette smoking,body mass index and the number of MS components,compared with non-drinkers,relative risk ( RR ( 95％ confidence interval (CI))) and the Population Attributable Risk Percent (PARP) of MS of male drinkers was 1.24( 1.06 to 1.45 ) and 10.13％,respectively.RR (95 ％ CI) of MS was 1.36 ( 1.02 to 1.82 ),1.34 ( 1.03 to 1.74) and 1.41 (1.13 to 1.77) for male drinkers consuming alcohol 10.1 -20 g/d,20.1 -40 g/d,and ＞40 g/d.RR(95％ CI) of MS was 1.25 ( 1.01 to 1.55) for males drinking 2 -5 times/week and 1.26(1.04 to 1.52) for males drinking ≥6 times/week.RR (95％ CI) of MS was 1.60 ( 1.05 to 2.45),1.30(1.02 to 1.65) and 1.27 (1.06 to 1.52) for beer,liquor and the beer + liquor male consumers.The corresponding RR(95％ CI) was 2.67(1.26 to 5.65) and 3.38 (1.35 to 4.22) for female drinkers consuming alcohol 10.1 -20 g/d and ＞20 g/d.Conclusions Drinking alcohol more than 10 g/d may be associated with an increasing risk of MS,especially for women.Drinking more than twice per week,beer and/or liquor consumption can significantly increase the risk of MS in men.

OBJECTIVETo observe the relative activity of sperm mitochondria and the proportion of ROS-positive sperm before and after capacitation and progesterone (Pg)-induced hyperactivation, and investigate the functional characteristics of sperm mitochondria.

METHODSWe collected 20 samples of normal human spermatozoa that met the criteria of WHO Laboratory Manual for the Examination and Processing of Human Semen (5th ed) and cultured them with the swim-up method in a CO2 incubator at 37 degrees C for 1 hour. We divided the sperm into a pre-capacitation and a capacitated group, and further incubated the capacitated sperm in an upright tube with (Pg-induced group) or without (control group) slow-releasing Pg at 37 degrees C for another hour. Then we determined the relative activity of mitochondria and the percentage of ROS-positive cells in the sperm samples using JC-1 and DCF staining.

RESULTSThe relative activities of mitochondria were significantly increased in the capacitated, control and Pg-induced groups (6.23, 14.36 and 12.33) as compared with the pre-capacitation group (1.42) (P < 0.05), while the percentages of balanced mitochondria (mitochondria with equal amount of high and low electric potentials) remarkably reduced (4.27%, 5.03% and 8.57% vs 21.64%, P < 0.05). The percentages of ROS-positive sperm in the pre-capacitation, capacitated, control and Pg-induced groups were 2.89%, 0.70%, 4.25% and 1.90%, respectively, significantly lower in the capacitated than in the pre-capacitation group (P < 0.01), but dramatically increased in the control group after another hour of swim-up incubation and markedly higher than in the Pg-induced group (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONProgesterone induction can hyperactive human sperm motility, inhibit the relative activity of mitochondria, keep mitochondria potential at a more balanced level, and reduce the production of ROS, which may help to raise the rate of in vitro fertilization and improve the quality of embryos.

Adult ; Humans ; Male ; Mitochondria ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Progesterone ; pharmacology ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; metabolism ; Spermatozoa ; drug effects ; physiology

OBJECTIVEThis study investigated the impact of metabolic syndrome on the development of cardio-cerebral vascular (CVD) events in a pre-hypertensive population.

METHODSThe data used in this prospective study was derived from the Kailuan study cohort (n = 101 510). Prehypertension was diagnosed in 29 968 (mean age: 50 ± 9 years and 23 744 males) individuals by the JNC VII criteria and these subjects were further classified into metabolic syndrome positive (MS+, n = 3447) and MS negative (MS-, n = 26 521) groups according to the modified 2004 Chinese Diabetes Society criteria. Subjects were followed up for 38 - 53 (mean 47 ± 5) months and first-ever CVD events were recorded. Baseline anthropometric and laboratory features were obtained by physical examination from June 2006 to October 2007 and the last follow-up day was December 31, 2010. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to analyze the risk factors of first-ever CVD events.

RESULTSThere were 354 CVD events during follow up. The incidences of CVD events (1.80% vs. 1.28%) and cerebral infarction (1.10% vs. 0.57%) were significantly higher in the MS+ group than in the MS- group (all P < 0.05). After adjustment for other established CVD risk factors, the hazards ratio was 1.45 (95%CI: 1.10 - 1.92) for total CVD events and 1.84 (95%CI: 1.27 - 2.67) for cerebral infarction events in MS+ group.

CONCLUSIONSIn this cohort, metabolic syndrome is linked with increased risk for CVD events.

Adult ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; etiology ; Cerebrovascular Disorders ; etiology ; Cohort Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Metabolic Syndrome ; complications ; Middle Aged ; Prehypertension ; complications ; Prospective Studies ; Risk Factors