Objective Pemetrexed and β-elemene can inhibit the growth of tumor cells .This study was to investigate the effect of pemetrexed combined with β-elemene on the proliferation and apoptosis of cervical cancer HeLa cells. Methods Cervical cancer HeLa cells were treated with pemetrexed at the concentrations of 38, 76, 152, 228, and 304μg/mL, and at 24 and 48 hours of treatment subjected to MTT for detection of their proliferation .The experiment included four groups , with the cells treated with β-elemene ( 125μg/mL) , pemetrexed ( 76 μg/mL ) , β-elemene ( 125 μg/mL ) +pemetrexed (76μg/mL), and nothing (blank control) for 24 hours, followed by determination of their proliferation and apoptosis by MTT and flow cytometry, respectively. Results Pemetrexed at 38, 76, 152 and 228μg/mL inhibited the proliferation of the HeLa cells in a concentration-dependent manner, with the inhibition rates of (7.24 ±3.78), (7.94 ±4.37), (11.10 ±2.86) and (15.88 ± 3.38)%at 24 hours, and (16.69 ±0.95), (22.54 ±1.53), (24.48 ±0.92) and (25.54 ±3.61)%at 48 hours, both with statis-tically significant differences between any two groups (P<0.05).Significant differences were also found in the proliferation rate of the same concentration of pemetrexed at the two time points (P<0.05).The combination of pemetrexed and β-elemene showed an inhibi-tion rate of (49.95 ±5.76)%at 24 hours, remarkably higher than (24.36 ±5.59)%in theβ-elemene group and (10.69 ±1.37)%in the pemetrexed group (P<0.01). Conclusion Pemetrexed combined with β-elemene can significantly inhibit the proliferation and synergistically accelerate the apoptosis of HeLa cells .

OBJECTIVETo investigate the expression profiles of serum Golgi protein-73 (GP73) in liver cirrhosis and primary hepatic carcinoma (PHC) and determine its clinical value for differential diagnosis.

METHODSSerum protein expressions of GP73 and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and chemiluminescence assay, respectively, in patients with PHC (n=80), liver cirrhosis (n=65), and healthy controls (n=50). Inter-group changes were assessed by Kruskal-Wallis test, and significance of these differences was assessed by Mann-Whitney test. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was plotted to evaluate the diagnostic efficiency and determine the cut-off values for GP73 and AFP. Sensitivity and specificity were compared by the Chi-squared test. Correlation between serum GP73 expression and clinical parameters was determined by Spearman's rank correlation analysis.

RESULTSThe PHC group showed significantly higher serum GP73 (282.0 mug/L) than the liver cirrhosis group (211.8 mug/L) and control group (58.3 mug/L) (H = 93.30, P less than 0.01). For differential diagnosis of PHC and liver cirrhosis, the cut-off value was 318.1 mug/L for GP73 and 13.4 mug/L for AFP. Sensitivity of GP73 was lower than AFP (45% (36/80) vs. 65% (52/80); X2 = 8.02, P less than 0.05). Specificity of GP73 was lower than AFP but no significance was found (83.1% (54/65) vs. 87.7% (57/65); X2=0.27, P more than 0.05). The areas under the ROC curves were not significantly different between GP73 and AFP (0.65 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.54~0.72) vs. 0.75 (95% CI: 0.67~0.83); Z = 1.88, P more than 0.05). The area under the ROC curves increased but not significantly (0.80 (95% CI: 0.73~0.88) vs. 0.75 (95% CI: 0.67~0.83); Z=2.61, P more than 0.05). Serum GP73 was correlated with liver cirrhosis (r=0.27), vascular invasion (r=0.29), and TNM staging (r=0.27) (all P less than 0.05), but not with sex (r=0.13), age (r=0.10), enhanced AFP (> 13.4 mug/L; r=0.03), tumor size (r=0.18), or distant metastasis (r=0.04), all P less than 0.05.

CONCLUSIONSerum GP73 and AFP have comparable diagnostic efficiency, but the sensitivity of AFP is superior for differential diagnosis of liver cirrhosis and primary hepatic carcinoma. Elevated serum GP73 may be correlated with liver tumor load and aggressiveness.

Adult ; Aged ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; diagnosis ; Case-Control Studies ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis ; diagnosis ; Liver Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; Male ; Membrane Proteins ; blood ; Middle Aged ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Transcriptome ; alpha-Fetoproteins ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LH-RH) analog in premenopausal patients with advanced or recurrent breast cancer.

METHODSLH-RH analog (enantone 3.75 mg/2 ml) were administered to 28 premenopausal patients with advanced recurrent breast cancer and its efficacy and side effect were observed.

RESULTSThe response rate (complete response and partial response) was 42.9%, and after 8 weeks of treatment, the plasma estrogen in all patients decreased to the level of postmenopause. No major adverse events were observed.

CONCLUSIONSLH-RH analog is effective and safe for premenopausal breast cancer with low adverse reaction and its administration method is easy.

Adult ; Breast Neoplasms ; blood ; drug therapy ; Estrogens ; blood ; Female ; Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone ; antagonists & inhibitors ; Humans ; Leuprolide ; therapeutic use ; Luteinizing Hormone ; blood ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; prevention & control ; Premenopause

OBJECTIVETo explore the clinical significance and diagnostic value of GP73 in early-stage primary hepatocelluar carcinoma (PHC).

METHODSGP73 levels in 50 healthy controls, 65 cases of liver cirrhosis and 40 early stage PHC were detected by ELISA. The areas under ROC, sensitivities and specificities were also compared. The relationship between GP73 and liver function parameters was analyzed.

RESULTSThe median of serum GP73 in early PHC was 291.3 µg/L, significantly higher than that in the cirrhosis group 211.8 µg/L and in the control group 58.3 µg/L (all P<0.01). The sensitivity of GP73 (72.5%) was significantly higher than that of AFP (50.0%), P<0.05. The specificity of GP73 (70.4%) was lower than that of AFP (95.7%), P<0.05. The sensitivity and specificity in combination for diagnosis were 77.5% and 79.1%, and the area under ROC curve in the combining form was 0.838 (95% CI:0.760-0.917). In the early PHC patients, the median of GP73 in the Child C group was 365.2 µg/L, significantly higher than that in the Child B group 310.6 µg/L and Child A group 266.4 µg/L, P = 0.002. In patients with liver cirrhosis, the median of GP73 in the Child B group was 307.3 µg/L, significantly higher than that in the Child A group 176.6 µg/L, P = 0.031. The level of serum GP73 was positively correlated with ALT, AST, negatively with ABL, A/G, and with no significant correlation with AFP, TBLB, DBLB, IBLB, and GGT.

CONCLUSIONSGP73 has a superior sensitivity in detecting early-stage PHC in liver cirrhosis patients. The sensitivity can be further increased by combining with AFP. The changes of GP73 expression may be related with the decline of liver function.

Aged ; Biomarkers, Tumor ; blood ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; blood ; diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis ; blood ; diagnosis ; Liver Neoplasms ; blood ; diagnosis ; Male ; Membrane Proteins ; blood ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; ROC Curve ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; alpha-Fetoproteins ; metabolism

The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical value of plasma thrombomodulin (PTM) in different diseases or in different severity or complications of diseases, PTM in 979 patients and 60 healthy controls was determined by ELISA method. The results showed that the PTM level in the control group was 20.40 +/- 7.72 microg/L, there was no difference in sex and ages. In chronic primary glomerular disease, the PTM level in chronic renal failure (CRF) group was higher than that in non-CRF group (P < 0.01). PTM level > 70 microg/L was defined as its positive criterion. The sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value in PTM were 85.7%, 82.4% and 77.8% respectively. The PTM level in septemia group was higher than that in non-septemia group (P < 0.01), the sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value were 86.6%, 89.5% and 76.5% respectively (> 50 microg/L as its positive criterion). With respect of multiple trauma, the PTM level in multiple organ failare (MOF) group was higher than that in non-MOF group (P < 0.01), while the sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value were 77.8%, 77.3% and 73.7% respectively (> 40 microg/L as its positive criterion). For systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), the PTM level in the patients with albuminuria was higher than that in the patients without albuminuria (P < 0.01), and the sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value were 77.8%, 92.3% and 93.3% respectively (> 35.54 microg/L as its positive criterion). For diabetes, the PTM level in complication group was higher than that in group without complications, the sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value were 53.4%, 97.1% and 98.6% respectively (> 35.54 microg/L as its positive criterion). The PTM level in microangiopathy group was higher than that in macroangiopathy group (P < 0.01). The sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value were 71.2%, 97.1% and 97.9% respectively. Acute leukemia (AL) and multiple myeloma (MM) had higher PTM level and PTM level was extremely high when renal failure developed (P < 0.01). As compared the acute stage with the restoration stage in stroke, pre-chemotherapeutics with post-chemotherapeutics in AL and MM, and pre-operation with post-operation in cancer, the PTM level was connected with clinical development. The PTM level in the patients with microangiopathy was higher than that in the patients with macroangiopathy (P < 0.01). The defined PTM level was higher than its normal upper limit as PTM positive criterion in microangiopathy diseases, the sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value were 77.7%, 71.2% and 75.6% respectively. It is concluded that PTM level is a good criterion in evaluating the microangiopathy, and PTM is also a valuable indicator in prediction or assessment of the severity of diseases, or evaluation of therapeutic effectiveness.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Humans ; Kidney Failure, Chronic ; blood ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multiple Organ Failure ; blood ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Prognosis ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Sepsis ; blood ; Severity of Illness Index ; Thrombomodulin ; blood

ObjectiveTo measure the iodine content of normal thyroid and the sternocleidomastoid muscle with gemstone spectral imaging (GSI),in order to offer diagnostic reference for iodine excess or iodine deficiency disorders.MethodsA total of 226 cases of patients with suspected neck or cervical disease underwent GSI of the neck,the thyroid and the sternocleidomastoid muscle.One hundred and nineteen cases were male and 107 female,aged 18 to 77 years,average age(46 ± 17) years.Data were transmitted to AW 4.4 workstation and processed using GSI Viewer software to obtain the best contrast-to-noise ratio(CNR) of thyroid to sternocleidomastoid muscle and corresponding singe-energy images.Iodine content of left and right thyroid lobes and both sides of sternocleidomastoid muscle as well as iodine content ratio of thyroid to sternocleidomastoid muscle were calculated in the iodine-based images.ResultsTotal iodine content of the left and the right lobes of the thyroid was (1.5233 ±0.4318)mg/cm3,of the left lobe was (1.5230 ± 0.4271 )mg/cm3,of the right lobe was (1.5236 ± 0.4365 )mg/cm3,there was no significant difference statistically between the two(t =0.0084,P ＞ 0.05).The iodine content of the male was (1.6395 ± 0.4105)mg/cm3,and of the female was (1.4238 ± 0.3832)mg/cm3,there was statistically a significant difference between the two(t =3.4743,P ＜ 0.01 ).Iodine content ratio of thyroid to sternocleidomastoid muscle was 96.6271 ± 33.2442,the ratio in male was 94.6250 ± 37.3621 and in female was 98.0000 ± 29.0737,there was no statistical difference between the two(t =0.3817,P ＞ 0.05).The iodine content of thyroid decreased gradually with age,the difference between groups was statistically significant(F =9.66,P ＜ 0.01 ).The iodine content in ＜ 40 age group[(1.7256 ± 0.4631)mg/cm3] was higher than that in 40 - 60 age group[(1.4517 ±0.3643)mg/cm3] and ＞ 60 age group [(1.4368 ± 0.3465)mg/cm3; q =5.6195,5.4158,all P ＜ 0.01).Conclusions It is easy to calculate thyroid iodine content with gemstone spectral imaging,which can reflect the iodine level of our body,and is helpful for the diagnosis of iodine excess or iodine deficiency disorders.

BACKGROUNDAlveolar echinococcosis (AE) is a disease in human and animals, and the cure rate is unsatisfactory. This study aimed to investigate the curative efficacy of different doses of locally applied radiotherapy on alveolar echinococcosis in rats.

METHODSRats infected with Echinococcus multilocularis were randomly divided into 4 groups of 15 rats each: low-, middle-, and high-irradiation groups and a control group. Rats in the control group underwent no treatment, while rats in the irradiation groups received 6-MeV radiotherapy at 20 Gy/8 f, 40 Gy/8 f, and 60 Gy/8 f respectively, once every 3 days for a total of 8 times. One month after radiotherapy, wet weight and AE vesicle inhibitory rate were detected in rats of each group. Histopathologic and ultrastructural observations of tissues with AE lesions were performed.

RESULTSIn the treatment groups, an obvious inhibitory effect was found in AE rats; the inhibitory rates were 50%, 72%, and 82%, respectively. There were also statistical differences in pathological changes and average wet weight of the lesions compared with the control group (P < 0.05). In the treatment groups, injuries of various degrees were found in the ultrastructure of the laminated and germinal layers in the capsular wall of AE, and injury was most severe in the high-dose group.

CONCLUSIONRadiotherapy has a dose-dependent inhibitory effect on the growth of AE.

Animals ; Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation ; Echinococcosis, Hepatic ; pathology ; radiotherapy ; Female ; Rats

OBJECTIVETo study the changes of serum leptin (LEP) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in children with congenital heart disease(CHD) and their roles in CHD.

METHODSForty-eight children with acyanotic CHD (ACHD group), 20 age-matched children with cyanotic CHD (CCHD group) and 20 healthy children (control group) were enrolled. The ACHD group was subdivided into two groups with (n=20) or without concurrent heart failure (n=28). Serum LEP, VEGF, total protein and albumin levels and body mass index (BMI) were measured.

RESULTSSerum total protein and albumin levels were not apparently different in all CHD children from healthy controls, but there was a significant difference in the BMI between them (p<0.01). Serum LEP and VEGF levels and the ratio of LEP/BMI in all CHD children were significantly higher than those in healthy controls (p<0.01). Compared with the ACHD group without heart failure, the serum LEP and VEGF levels and the ratio of LEP/BMI in the CCHD and the ACHD with heart failure groups increased significantly (p<0.01). In the ACHD group, serum LEP level was positively correlated with BMI (p<0.01). In the CCHD group, there were positive correlations between serum LEP level and serum VEGF level (p<0.01) and between hemoglobin concentration and serum VEGF level (p<0.01). Arterial oxygen saturation was negatively correlated with serum VEGF (p<0.01) and LEP levels (p<0.01) in the CCHD group.

CONCLUSIONSBoth VEGF and LEP play roles in the pathophisiological process of CHD. VEGF and LEP are associated with the development of heart failure in children with ACHD.

Body Mass Index ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Heart Defects, Congenital ; blood ; Hemoglobins ; analysis ; Humans ; Infant ; Leptin ; blood ; Male ; Oxygen ; blood ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; blood

Pannexin-1 (Panx1) forms nonselective large channel in cell plasma membrane and has been shown to be associated with NLRP3 inflammasome activation, ATP release and phagocytes recruitment. In the current study, by manipulation of Panx1 expression in human myeloid cells and application of Panx1 deficient mice, we failed to find a correlation between Panx1 and NLRP3 inflammasome activation, although an interaction between these two proteins was evident. However, in thioglycollate induced peritonitis, Panx1 deficient mice showed much more phagocytes infiltration. Further analyses showed that mice deficient for Panx1 exhibited enlarged F4/80(low)Gr1(-)Ly6C(-)cell population in the peritonea. Our study thus reveals an important role for Panx1 in regulation of peritoneal cell population and peritonitis development.
Animals ; Carrier Proteins ; metabolism ; Cell Line ; Connexins ; antagonists & inhibitors ; deficiency ; genetics ; metabolism ; HEK293 Cells ; Humans ; Inflammasomes ; metabolism ; Macrophages ; cytology ; metabolism ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein ; Nerve Tissue Proteins ; antagonists & inhibitors ; deficiency ; genetics ; metabolism ; Peritoneal Cavity ; cytology ; Peritonitis ; chemically induced ; metabolism ; pathology ; RNA Interference ; RNA, Small Interfering ; metabolism ; Thioglycolates ; toxicity

Objective To explore the existence of natural loci on Marmota himalayana plague in Sichuan province and to provide basis for prevention and control of the disease. Methods Both epidemiological investigation and laboratory tests were used to provide the host animal and fleas of the vectors with Yersinia pestis carriers. Results 30 species of animals were found to belong to 10 orders. Ochotona curzoniae and M.himalayana were the most common ones while 7 species of the fleas belonged to 7 genera and 3 families. M.himalayana was the main reservoirs while Callopsylla dolabris and Oropsylla silantiewi served as vectors. The 13 Y.pestis were identified from 43 Marmota samples. 8 samples were identified under IHA, with the highest titer of herding-dogs serum as 1 : 10 240. 19 samples were F1 antigen positive using RIHA and the highest titer of M.himalayana serum was 1:409 600. The major foci was 4545 km2, distributed at Dege county in Sichuan province. Conclusion We have confirmed the existence of natural foci on M. Himalayana plague in Sichuan province.