Objective To investigate the effect of tripterygium on the grow th ,invasion and angiogenesis of melanoma A375 and its action mechanisms .Methods MTS was used to test the effect of tripterygium on proliferation of A375 melanoma;the nude mouse subcutaneous melanoma xenograft model was used to detect the effect of tripterygium on tumor growth ;the Transwell ex‐periment was used to determine the effect of tripterygium on invasion of A 375 melanoma;the tubule formation experiment was used to determine the effect of tripterygium on tumor angiogenesis ;ELISA was used to detect the influence of tripterygium on A 375 cel‐lular secretion factors ,such as VEGF ,bFGF ,TGF‐βand IL‐8 .Results The in vitro proliferation and in vivo growth of A375 mela‐noma cells after tripterygium treatment were significant inhibited ,the invasion ability of A375 melanoma cells was significant weak‐ened compared with the control group ;tripterygium could inhibit tumor cell‐induced vessel formation by down‐regulating the ex‐pression of VEGF ,bFGF and IL‐8 proteins ,but it had no influence on expression of TGF‐βprotein .Conclusion Tripterygium has anti‐growth and anti‐invasion effects on A375 melanoma ,its potential mechanisms may associated with the inhibition of tumor an‐giogenesis of A375 melanoma .

Objective To examine the plasma β-catenin and DKK1 levels in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and to explore their relationship with bone and joint damage in RA.Methods One hundred and thirteen patients with RA and 120 healthy individuals were recruited into this research.Bone mineral density (BMD) in the femur and lumbar spine were measured with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA).Radiographs for two hands were evaluated according to the Sharp's method.Serum levels of β-catenin and DKK1 in all patients with RA and healthy controls were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).The 2-tailed independent samples t test was used for measurement data.Chi-square test was used for the enumeration data.Correlation analysis,linear regression and Logistic regression analysis were used as appropriate statistical analysis.Results ① Significantly higher serum levels of DKK1 were observed in RA patients than that in healthy controls [(8±7) vs(6±4) μg/ml,t=2.552,P=0.012],while there was no sinnificant difference with regard to the levels of β-catenin between the two groups.② Compared to control groups,patients with RA had lower BMDs at femur and lumbar spine (P＜0.01).Furthermore,incidence of osteoporosis (OP) in RA (31.9％,36/113) was remarkablely higher than that in healthy subjects (15.0％,18/120) (x2=9.290,P=0.002).③ There were obvious discrepancies in age,swollen joint count (SJC),swollen joint count index (SJI),alkaline phosphatase (AKP),joint narrowing space score,joint erosion score,Sharp score between patients with osteoporosis and without osteoporosis (P＜0.05).④ In RA group,DKK1 level was posi-tively related with plasma erythrocyte sedimentation rates (ESR),28-jonit disease activity score (DAS28),AKP,joint narrowing space score (P＜0.05).Serum β-catenin level was associated with ESR,AKP in RA (P＜0.05).⑤ Multiple linear regression analysis indicated that in the RA group,disease duration (b=0.709,t=9.560,P＜0.01,95％CI:2.154-3.286),HAQ (b=0.151,t=2.052,P=0.043,95％CI:0.234-15.243),DKK1(b=0.286,t=2.057,P=0.043,95％CI:0.034-2.028)were the contributors for joint space narrow score(R2=0.580,F=24.745,P＜0.01).⑥ Multiple Logistic regression analysis showed that the Sharp score (OR=1.018,P＜0.01,95％CI:1.008-1.028) was the risk factor for the occurrence of osteoporosis at femur in RA,while age (OR=1.087,P=0.012,95％CI 1.019-1.159) was the risk factor for osteoporosis at lumbar spine.Conclusion Serum DKK1 levels in RA increase significantly,while there is no apparent alteration in plasma β-catenin.Serum DKK1 is correlated with disease activity and joint space narrow score.

Objective To explore the prevalence of osteoporosis (OP) and vertebral osteoporotic fracture (OPF) and related risk factors in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).Method A total of 644 patients with RA from Jan.2010 to Oct.2013 were recruited,anteroposterior and lateral X-rays examination of vertebral column (T5-L5) were conducted,and semi-quantity method were used as the standard for judging vertebral OPF.Meanwhile,patients' clinical and laboratory data including daily dosage of glucocorticoid,duration of glucocorticoid usage,cumulative amount dosage of glucocorticoid were recorded in details.158 normal subjects were selected as control group.Results (1)The prevalence of vertebral OPF in patients with RA was 16.6％.Bone mineral density (BMD) of all measured lumbar vertebra in RA group were markedly decreased[(0.97 ±0.22) g/cm2].The total prevalence of OP at lumbar vertebra in RA was 17.9％ (81/452),which was significantly higher than that of control group (4.4％,7/158) (P ＜ 0.001).(2) The percentage of OP in RA patients with vertebral OPF was significantly higher than that in patientswithout OPF [40.6％ (41/101) vs 11.4％ (40/351) ;P ＜ O.001].Patients with OPF were of older age,longer use of glucocorticoid,more cumulative amount dosage of glucocorticoid,longer disease duration,higher scores of health assessment questionnaires (HAQ) and increased ESR (P ＜ 0.05).(3) Logistic regression analysis revealed that age (OR =1.094,95％ CI 1.065-1.125,P ＜0.001) and gender(1 =male,2 =female) (OR=5.600,95％ CI 2.097-15.087,P =0.001) were the risk factors for the development of OP in RA,while body mass index (BMI) was the protective factor (OR =0.770,95％ CI 0.696-0.853,P ＜ 0.001).Age (OR =1.031,95％ CI 1.009-1.053,P =0.005) and occurrence of OP at lumbar vertebra (OR =3.765,95％ CI 2.092-6.776,P ＜ 0.001) were risk factors of the development of OPF in RA patients.Logistic regression analysis also showed that RA was the risk factor of OPF (OR =4.716,95％ CI 1.987-11.192,P ＜ 0.001),even after the adjustment of age,gender and BMI.(4) Receiver operator characteristic(ROC) curve in RA patients with OPF has found that age-OPF and daily dosage of glucocorticoid-OPF AUCRoC were 0.689 and 0.636 respectively.The cut-off value in ROC curve of age and daily dose or treatment course of glucocorticoid-OPF were 54.5 years and 6.25 mg(P ＜0.001),while duration of glucocorticoid usage-OPF AUCROC was 0.685,with cut-off value in ROC of age-OPF 135 days(P ＜ 0.001).Conclusion Prevalence of OPF in patients with RA increases remarkably.Old age and OP at spine are risk factors related to the development of OPF in patients with RA.

Objective To investigate the value of serum receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa B ligand (RANKL)/osteoprotegrin (OPG) ratio in osteoporotic fracture (OPF) of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).Methods Three hundred and eighty four RA patients with mean age of (49 ± 14) y (16-82) admitted in the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University from 2010 to 2013 and 158 sex-and age-matched healthy subjects were enrolled in the study.OPF was diagnosed by X-ray examination and BMDs of femur and lumbar spine 2-4 (L2-4) were measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry.Levels of RANKL and OPG in the peripheral blood of 220 RA patients and 100 normal subjects were detected by ELISA method.Results Eighty-two cases of OPF was diagnosed in 384 RA patients (21.35％),the rate was higher than that in controls (3.80％,6/158,x2 =25.371,P ＜0.01).The peripheral blood levels of RANKL (0.150 ± 0.143 vs.0.101 ± 0.066,t =4.178,P ＜ 0.01),OPG (0.457 ± 0.293 vs.0.359 ±0.216,t=3.347,P=0.001) and ratio of RANKL/OPG (0.41 ±0.35 vs.0.34±0.20,t =2.111,P=0.036) in RA patients were significantly higher than those in control group.In comparison with normal controls,BMDs of all detected regions in RA were decreased significantly (P ＜0.01).The incidence of osteoporosis in RA (121/327,37％) was higher than that in normal controls (22/158,13.92％) (x2 =27.291,P ＜ 0.01).RA patients with OPF had higher age (t =4.377,P ＜ 0.01),longer duration of disease (t =2.612,P =0.009),higher RANKL level (t =3.554,P =0.001),higher RANKL/OPG ratio (t =2.651,P =0.010),higher health assessment questionnaires (HAQ) score (t =2.418,P =0.016),lower serum calcium level (t =2.183,P =0.030),lower hemoglobin level (t =2.125,P =0.036),higher Sharp score in hands X-ray examination (t =2.747,P =0.007),worse X-ray stage (x2 =7.856,P =0.049),higher glucocorticoid utilization rate (x2 =9.066,P =0.003) and higher incidence of osteoporosis (x2 =38.186,P ＜ 0.01),compared with patients without OPF.RA patients taking corticosteroids had higher incidence of osteoporosis (x2 =7.489,P =0.006) and higher incidence of OPF (x2 =9.066,P =0.003).Logistic regression analysis showed that age (OR =1.029,P =0.039,95％ CI:1.001-1.057)and the occurrence of osteoporosis (OR =3.159,P =0.001,95％ CI:1.562-6.385),RANKL/OPG ratio (OR =3.516,P =0.013,95 ％ CI:1.305-9.647) were risk factors for RA patients with OPF.Conclusion A higher incidence of OPF is prevalent in RA patients,and age,osteoporosis,taking glucocorticoids and RANKL/OPG ratio are risk factors for OPF in RA patients.

Objective To study the effect of paeoniflorin on inflammatory chemokines and their receptor in a rat model of ovalbumin-induced asthma.Methods Sixty 6-week old SPF female BALB/c mice were used in this study.To es-tablish a mouse model of asthma by sensitizing and challenging with ovalbumin.ELISA was used to analyze the serum IL-6 and TNF-α, and the specific IgE against ovalbumin ( OVA-IgE ) , CCL19 and CCL21 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF).RT-PCR was performed to determine CCR7mRNA and protein expression of chemokine receptor CCR7, and the level of NF-κB was tested by Western blot.ResultsIn In the paeoniflorin groups, the serum IL-6 and TNF-αlevels were significantly lower, and the OVA-IgE, CCL19 and CCL21 levels in BALF were significantly reduced, compared with that in the control group.CCR7mRNA and protein expression of chemokine receptor CCR7 and NF-κB in the lung were significant-ly reduced by paeoniflorin.Conclusions Paeoniflorin has a remarkably inhibitory effect on the airway inflammatory chemo-kines CCL19/CCL21 and the receptor CCR7 in the mouse model of asthma.

This study was aimed to evaluate the effect of region of interest (ROI) on measurement of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) obtained in diffusion-weighted (DW) MR sequences between spinal tuberculosis and malignancy, selecting the more reasonable and effective measurement of ADC value. We collected the conventional MR sequences and diffusion-weighted imaging data of thirty-two patients with spinal tuberculosis or malignancy confirmed clinically and pathologically from August 2009 to June 2010. Using the conventional MRI as a guide, the signal intensity (SI) and ADC value were calculated by selecting single ROI and the same area multi-ROI within whole lesion at the largest slice of lesion respectively. Using ADC value defined by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis as threshold, the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of ADC value for diagnosing spinal tuberculosis were compared. The results showed that the mean of ADC value at signal ROI was lower than that at the multi-ROI. There was no significant difference between the ADC value of single ROI and multi-ROI. The ADC values from spinal tuberculosis and spinal malignancy obtained in single ROI or multi-ROI showed significant differences. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of ADC value for differentiating tuberculosis from neoplastic infiltration at signal ROI is lower than that at the multi-ROI. In conclusion, the ADC acquired multi-ROI can describe preferablywater molecular diffusion and is more useful in differentiating spinal tuberculosis from malignant bone marrow lesions.
Adult ; Algorithms ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; methods ; Female ; Humans ; Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Spinal Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; Tuberculosis, Spinal ; diagnosis

Objective:To explore the clinical effect of the application of intraoperative psoas major intramuscular block therapy on the complications related to the approach after multi-segmental crenel lumbar interbody fusion (CLIF).Methods:All of 68 degenerative lumbar scoliosis patients who had received multi-segmental crenel lumbar interbody fusion during January 2020 and June 2020 were retrospectively reviewed. Patients were divided into two groups according to whether the psoas major muscle was treated with block therapy during the operation. The psoas muscle inblock group were filled with gel sponge infiltrated with a mixture of Betamethasone and lidocaine for local block therapy before closing the incision while that in the control group were not filled with gel sponge. There were 33 patients in the control group, 7 males and 26 females with an average of 65.8±7.1 years old (range: 54-81 years old); 35 cases in the block group, 9 males and 26 females with an average of 68.0±6.5 years old (range: 54-85 years old). The complications related to the approach (mainly includes pain, numbness in the front of the thigh, as well as psoas major, quadriceps muscle strength) were recorded respectively 1 day, 1 week, 1 month and 3 months after surgery. The main indicators of outcome including visual analog scale (VAS) of pain, the visual analog scale (VAS) of numbness, muscle strength of psoas major and quadriceps femoris, and the incidence of complications related to the approach were compared between the two groups of patients at different time points after surgery. The clinical outcomes were assessed using the Oswestry disability index (ODI), VAS for low back pain. The radiological outcome was evaluated with Cobb angles and sagittal balance parameters (sagittal vertical axis, SVA).Results:There were no significant differences in age, gender, body mass index (BMI), number of fusion segments, operation time, and intraoperative blood loss between the two groups. The incidence of approach-related complications was 17.1% in the block group and 39.4% in the control group, with statistically significant difference between the two groups ( χ2=4.177, P=0.041). The incidence of postoperative pain, numbness in the front of the thighs, and muscle strength of psoas major in the block group (11.4%, 14.3%) were lower than those in the control group (33.3%, 36.4%) ( χ2=4.740, P=0.029; χ2=4.416, P=0.036). And for numbness in the front of thigh, the block group (14.3) was lower than control group (21.2%), but no significant difference was shown between two groups ( χ2=0.561, P=0.454). However, there was no quadriceps weakness in either group. The VAS scores of painof the block group were lower than those of the control group at 1 day, 1 week, and 1 month after surgery, and the difference was statistically significant ( t=2.220, P=0.031; t=2.235, P=0.031; t=2.086, P=0.044). The difference at 3 months was not statistically significant ( t=0.385, P=0.701). The muscle strength of psoas major of the block group, meanwhile, was higher than those of the control group on the 1day and 1 week after surgery, the difference was statistically significant as well ( t=2.208, P=0.032; t=2.171, P=0.034). The difference at 1 and 3 months was not statistically significant ( t=0.923, P=0.359; t=1.437, P=0.160). No statistically significant differences were found in VAS scores of numbness at 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months after surgery. Postoperative low back pain and lumbar spine function were significantly improved in both groups, and there was no statistical significance between the two groups. Coronal Cobb angle and sagittal balance were significantly improved in both groups after surgery, and there was no statistical significance between the two groups. Conclusion:Psoas major intramuscular block therapy can reduce the incidence of early postoperative complications of multi-segmental CLIF. Furthermore, it was found to be effective to alleviate anterior thigh pain within 1 month, and improve psoas major muscle weakness within 1 week.

Objective:To formulate surgical strategies and guide the implementation of laparoscopic anatomical hepatectomy with preoperative simulative resection.Methods:Twenty-two cases of hepatocellular carcinoma undergoing laparoscopic lobe, segment, subsegment and combined segment liver resection following preoperative simulative resection from Sep 2020 to Jan 2022 were enrolled in this study retrospectively.We observed and analyzed the operation time,intraoperative blood loss,postoperative hospital stay and postoperative complication.Results:All patients underwent laparoscopic hepatectomy successfully according to the preoperative simulative resection plan without conversion, some of them adjusted plan according to preoperative simulative resection. The median operation time was 170.0 min, the median intraoperative blood loss was 150.0 ml, the median times of pringle maneuver was done on 4 episodes, and the median postoperative hospital stay was 6.5 days. There were no severe postoperative complications in all cases.Conclusion:Preoperative simulative resection can plan the range of surgical resection accurately by visualizing important anatomical structures,greatly helping the actual surgical hepatectomy.

Aim To investigate the effect of Bigelovii A on HepG2 cell apoptosis and its possible mechanism. Methods MTT assay was used to determine the inhibitory effect of Bigelovii A on HepG2 cells. Flow cytometry was performed to detect apoptosis. Western blot was applied to detect the expression of proteins of STAT pathway. Results BA (20 μmol L

Objective To produce rabbit polyclonal antibody against mouse testis expressed 38 (TEX38). Methods Full-length open reading frame sequence of TEX38 was amplified and inserted into the pET-30a-(+) vector to construct pET-30a-TEX38 prokaryotic plasmid. The recombinant plasmid was transformed into E.coli BL21, and expression was induced with isopropyl β-D-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG). New Zealand white rabbits were immunized with TEX38 protein after purification and denaturation, then TEX38 polyclonal antibodies were collected from rabbit serum samples. ELISA was performed to detect the antibody titer. Western blot and immunofluorescence staining were performed to determine the specificity of TEX38 polyclonal antibodies. Results The pET-30a-TEX38 recombinant plasmid was constructed, and TEX38 prokaryotic protein was expressed and purified successfully. After immunization, the titer of TEX38 antibody reached 1:1 000 000. Western blot analysis and immunofluorescence staining showed that TEX38 was localized in the mouse spermatogenic cells and sperms with a good specificity. Conclusion The rabbit polyclonal antibody against mouse TEX38 is successfully produced, and the expression of TEX38 in mouse spermatogenic cells and sperms is validated.
Male ; Rabbits ; Animals ; Mice ; Testis ; Antibodies ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Immunization ; Spermatozoa ; Escherichia coli