Objective:To investigate the effects of thalidomide on vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) and quality of life in patients with primary hepatocellular carcinoma after transcatheter arterial chemoembotization.Methods:A total of 60 patients with HCC,who were treated with transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) in Affiliated Hospital of Chengde Medical University from January 2014 to January 2016,were randomly divided into group A (n=30)and group B (n=30).Group A was treated with Thalidomide in combination with TACE,oral 200 mg every night for 1 month;group B was treated with TACE alone.The levels of VEGF in the two groups were detected before treatment and 3 weeks after treatment;the quality of life of patients before treatment and 1 month after treatment was evaluated by quality of life scale (QOL);the weight of two groups before and after treatment and adverse reactions during treatment were compared.Results:There was no significant difference in VEGF levels between the two groups before treatment (P＞0.05).After treatment,the levels of VEGF in the two groups were higher than those before treatment,and the VEGF levels in the group A was significantly lower than that in the group B,the difference was statistically significant (P＜0.01).There was no significant difference in QOL score and body weight between the two groups before treatment (P＞0.05).The QOL scores of the two groups after treatment were lower than those before treatment,but the QOL scores of patients in group A were significantly higher than those in group B (P＜0.05).There was no significant difference in weight between the two groups before and after treatment (P＞0.05).In group A,1 patients (3.33％) had severe somnolence,2 (6.67％) patients stopped taking thalidomide due to severe dry mouth,and the remaining 27 patients were able to tolerate.Conclusion:Thalidomide combined with TACE in the treatment of patients with HCC can reduce the levels of VEGF and improve the quality of life of cancer patients,which is worthy to be popularized in clinic.

Objective: To observe the blood perfusion volume variation pattern in the body surface microcirculation at the Yuan-Primary and the Xi-Cleft points during the menstrual cycle in female college students with moderate constitution under normal physiological state of the uterus; to explore the specific laws of the body surface microcirculation at the Yuan-Primary and Xi-Cleft points in response to the uterine qi and blood changes under normal physiological conditions, and to provide the experimental basis for the specificity of acupoints reflecting the uterine function. Methods: Forty-three healthy and moderate constitution female college students with regular menstrual cycles, without dysmenorrhea and not yet giving birth were recruited. Bilateral Yuan-Primary points [Taichong (LR 3), Taibai (SP 3) and Taixi (KI 3)] and Xi-Cleft points [Zhongdu (LR 6), Diji (SP 8) and Shuiquan (KI 5)], belonging to the three yin meridians of foot and adjacent to the spinal cord segment of the uterus, were selected as the detection acupoints; the crossing point of the three yin meridians of foot [Sanyinjiao (SP 6)], the uterus-related meridian acupoint [Xuehai (SP 10)], the uterus-non-related meridian acupoint [Xuanzhong (GB 39)], and the non-meridian non-acupoint point were selected as the control points. The laser speckle blood flow imaging technique was used to monitor the blood perfusion volume in skin microcirculation at the above points at the menstrual, follicular, ovulatory, and luteal phases of the subjects. Results: The blood perfusion volume in the body surface microcirculation at the right Zhongdu (LR 6) at the ovulatory phase was higher than that at the menstrual, follicular and luteal phases (all P<0.05); there was no significant difference in the microcirculation blood perfusion volume at the other points among different phases (all P>0.05). Conclusion: The blood perfusion volume in the body surface microcirculation at Zhongdu (LR 6), the Xi-Cleft point of the Liver Meridian, shows a specific response to qi and blood changes in the uterus of women with moderate constitution.

Hair roots induced by Agrobacterium rhizogene produce higher levels of secondary metabolites than non-induced plants, and the enhanced metabolic capacity is driven by the rol gene. We hypothesized that rol genes can be utilized to improve the biosynthesis of tropane alkaloids (TAs) in Atropa belladonna. In this study, the rolC gene from Agrobacterium rhizogene pRiA4 plasmid, driven by a CaMV35S promoter, was overexpressed in A. belladonna. The phenotypes, TAs content and transcriptional expression of key genes in TAs biosynthesis were analyzed in transgenic A. belladonna plants. Results show that transgenic A. belladonna exhibited a well-developed root system, male sterility, higher stamen column length than pistil, early flowering, internode shortening, smaller but more flowers, increased axillary buds and lateral buds, decreased apical dominance, and long and narrow leaves as compared to wild-type plants. Transgenic A. belladonna produced more TAs than wild-type plants, with the content of hyoscyamine, anisodamine and scopolamine reaching 2.58, 3.59 and 15.77-fold that of the control group, respectively. The gene expression of putrescine N-methyltransferase (PMT), tropinone reductase I (TRⅠ) and hyoscyamine 6-β-hydroxylase (H6H), key enzymes in TAs biosynthesis, were up-regulated compared with the control group. The above results indicate that the rolC gene enhances TAs biosynthesis in A. belladonna by up-regulating the expression of key enzymes in the TAs biosynthesis pathway, laying a foundation for genetic manipulation of A. belladonna to increase TAs content by increasing rolC gene expression.