Objective To establish a HPLC method for determination of naringenin and apigenin in Premna fulva. Methods The SHISEIDO￣SPOLAR C18(250 mm×4.6 mm,5μm) was used as analytical column.The mobile phase consisted of methanol￣0.2% phosphoric acid (42:58) with isocratic elution at a flow rate of 1.0 mL.min-1 .The detection wavelength of naringenin and apigenin was 288 nm and 340 nm, respectively.Column temperature was set at 35 ℃ , the injection Volume was 10 μL. Results Naringenin and apigenin had a good linear relationship in the concentration range of 0.180 ~ 3.60 μg (r =0.999 9) and 0. 0052 ~ 0. 1040 μg ( r = 0. 999 9), respectively. Conclusion The method is accurate and reliable. It is appropriate for the quantitative determination of naringenin and apigenin in Premna fulva and its preparations.

AIM:To investigate the role of caveolin-1 on epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in human bronchial epithelial (HBE) cells induced by transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1).METHODS:Immunofluorescence, real-time PCR and Western blot were applied to detect the mRNA and the protein expression of caveolin-1 in the 16HBE cells during EMT.The influence of siRNA-mediated silencing of caveolin-1 on EMT in the 16HBE cells was detected by Western blot.RESULTS:Caveolin-1 was widely present on the cell membrane of the 16HBE cells.The expression of caveolin-1 at mRNA and protein levels was significantly decreased in a time-dependent manner in the 16HBE cells compared with control group (P<0.05) after stimulation with TGF-β1.The morphologic changes of the 16HBE cells induced by TGF-β1 were promoted by caveolin-1 silencing compared with TGF-β1 group.The protein expression of E-cadherin and α-SMA induced by TGF-β1 was promoted by caveolin-1 silencing compared with TGF-β1 group (P<0.05).The phosphorylation levels of AKT and Smad3 were the highest at 30 min and increased significantly compared with control group (P<0.05) after stimulated with TGF-β1.Treatment of the 16HBE cells with TGF-β1 for 30 min after silencing caveolin-1 gene for 24 h significantly increased the phosphorylation levels of AKT and Smad3 compared with TGF-β1 group (P<0.05).CONCLUSION:TGF-β1 down-regulates the expression of caveolin-1 in the 16HBE cells.Caveolin-1 may participate in TGF-β1/Smad pathway and PI3K-AKT pathway, which are the signal transduction pathways for TGF-β1 inducing EMT.

Soluble growth stimulating express gene 2(sST2)is a member of Toll/IL-1 receptor superfamily.sST2 plays an important role in the occurrence and development of respiratory diseases in children.Under normal circumstances, the concentration of sST2 in serum is very low, but the level of sST2 in serum of children with respiratory diseases such as bronchial asthma and community-acquired pneumonia increased significantly.sST2 blocks the IL-33 signaling pathway in airway inflammation, so serum sST2 levels can predict the severity of childhood asthma.sST2 can also be used as a prognostic marker of community-acquired pneumonia.This paper reviews the mechanism, clinical characteristics and prognosis of sST2 in children with asthma and community-acquired pneumonia, so as to lay a foundation for guiding clinical identification and treatment of respiratory diseases in children.

Objective To analyze the distribution characteristics of the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) site rs76206423 in the promoter region of the interleukin-2 receptor (IL-2R) β gene among Han males in a high radiation background area (HBRA) in Yangjiang City. Methods A total of 48 male participants from Tangkou Town, Yangxi County, Yangjiang City (HBRA group), and 51 male participants from Hengpo Town, Enping City (control group) were selected as the research subjects using the random number table method. Peripheral venous blood samples of participants from both groups were collected, and genomic DNA was extracted. The genotyping and allele frequency distribution of the rs76206423 (A/G) site in the IL-2R β promoter region was detected among the participants in both groups using the SNP detection method. The difference of allele frequencies between population in HBRA group and five area of East Asia, South Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas published in the Human Genome Project database from National Center for Biotechnology Information were analyzed. Results The allele frequencies of rs76206423 of population in both groups conformed to Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (P>0.05). In the HBRA group, the AA genotype was predominant (64.6%), while the AG genotype was the most common in the control group (51.0%), with a significant difference (P<0.05). Population in both groups showed a predominance of the variant allele A (78.1% and 72.5%, respectively), with no significant difference (P>0.05). The frequency of the G allele of rs76206423 in the population in HBRA group was higher than those in South Asian, African, European, and American populations (all P<0.01), but showed no significant difference compared with East Asian populations (P>0.05). Conclusion In the Han male population from the HBRA in Yangjiang City, the rs76206423 site in the IL-2R β gene promoter region is predominantly composed of the wild-type A allele and AA genotype, indicating genetic stability and a relatively high degree of variation at this locus.

PURPOSE: An older female predominance has been reported among chronic cough patients in Western countries, which is considered to be associated with a higher cough sensitivity in females. However, the characteristics of Chinese chronic cough patients remain unclear. This study aimed to explore the age and sex distribution as well as their relationship with cough reflex sensitivity to capsaicin in Chinese chronic cough patients. METHODS: We analyzed the demographic features of 1,882 consecutive chronic cough patients who attended our cough clinic in Guangzhou, China. Cough sensitivity to capsaicin, which was defined as the lowest concentration of capsaicin causing 5 coughs or more (C5), was measured in 539 of the 1,882 patients and 68 healthy volunteers. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 43.0 ± 13.7 years and patients aged <50 years accounted for more than two-thirds of the study population. Around 87% of the patients were never-smokers. The proportion of females (51.5%) was almost equal to that of males (48.5%). The pattern of the age and sex distribution was consistently reflected within most common causes of chronic cough, while a female predominance was shown in patients with cough-variant asthma and patients aged ≥50 years. Female patients had higher cough sensitivity to capsaicin than male patients (log C5: 1.58 ± 0.84 vs. 2.04 ± 0.84 μmol/L, P = 0.001), and patients aged ≥50 years had higher cough sensitivity to capsaicin than patients aged <50 years. CONCLUSIONS: In China, patients with chronic cough have a roughly equal sex distribution and a middle-aged predominance, irrespective of a higher cough sensitivity to capsaicin in females and older patients. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02591550
Age Distribution ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Asthma ; Capsaicin ; China ; Cough ; Female ; Healthy Volunteers ; Humans ; Male ; Reflex ; Sex Distribution

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Objective To observe the value of pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling(PCASL)MRI for evaluating renal function in patients with renal occupying lesions.Methods Totally 56 patients with single renal occupying lesion were retrospectively enrolled.The left and right side kidneys were divided into normal renal function group(normal group,30 ml/min)and damaged renal function group(damaged group,＜30 ml/min)according to glomerular filtration rate(GFR)measured with 99Tcm-DTPA dynamic renal imaging,respectively.The total renal blood flow(tRBF)and cortical renal blood flow(cRBF)were calculated using total nephrometry and cortical nephrometry based on PCASL MRI,respectively,then GFR,tRBF and cRBF were compared between groups on the same side.Receiver operating characteristic curve was drawn,and the area under the curve(AUC)was calculated to evaluate the efficacy of tRBF and cRBF for assessing unilateral renal injury.Pearson correlation analysis was performed to observe the correlations of tRBF and cRBF with GFR.Results GFR,tRBF and cRBF in left/right damaged group were all significantly lower than those in ipsilateral normal group(all P＜0.05).AUC of tRBF and cRBF for assessing left renal injury was 0.823 and 0.813,respectively,being not significantly different(P＞0.05).AUC of tRBF and cRBF for assessing right renal injury was 0.940 and 0.922,respectively,being not significantly different(P＞0.05).No obvious correlation of bilateral tRBF nor cRBF with GFR was found(all P＞0.05).Conclusion PCASL MRI could effectively evaluate renal function in patients with renal occupying lesion,and the efficacy of total nephrometry was comparable to that of cortical nephrometry.