Human colon epithelial cells secrete an array of proinflammatory cytokines that includes IL-8, MCP-1, GM-CSF, TNF alpha and IL-6. This response may serve to attract neutrophils and macrophags to the site of infection. In addition to IL-8 and MCP-1, the chemokine family contains other members, which, alone or in combination, can recruit and/or activate inflammatory and lymphoid cells. In this study, we asked whether colon epithelial cells express a broader array of chemokines than previously described. The colon epithelial cell line, Caco-2, was stimulated for 3h with IL-1 alpha, or was infected with Salmonella dublin. RNA was extracted and chemokine mRNA levels were determined by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR using internal RNA standards. Ex pression of GRO alpha, GRO beta, GRO gamma and IP-10 increased by bacterial infection or IL-l alpha stimulation. These data strongly support the notion that epithelal cells are an important and integral component of the host's natural immune system.
Bacterial Infections ; Chemokines ; Colon* ; Cytokines ; Epithelial Cells* ; Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor ; Humans* ; Immune System ; Interleukin-1alpha ; Interleukin-6 ; Interleukin-8 ; Lymphocytes ; Neutrophils ; RNA ; RNA, Messenger ; Salmonella

OBJECTIVE: To observe the correlated serum inflammatory factor and cytokine changes in patients with coronary stent implantation, and to explore the significance of these changes.METHODS: Chinese Journal Full-Text Database was retrieved with search terms of coronary artery disease, percutaneous coronary interventions, inflammation, intimal hyperplasia, apoptosis and platelet-derived growth factor from 1995 to 2008. The language was restrained Chinese. A total of 17 literatures were collected, which concerns the changes of correlated inflammatory factor and cytokine levels and its significance. The literatures were sorted according to research object, experimental grouping,sample collection, assay method, experimental result, as well as experimental conclusion. Simultaneously, the patients received coronary stent implantation was analyzed to explore the significance of inflammatory factor and cytokine changes.RESULTS: The dynamic changed serum inflammatory factor and cytokine in patients with coronary stent implantation may be associated with the following mechanisms:①Endothelial cells were easily damaged in the balloon dilatation or stent implantation,therefore, inflammatory mediators or inflammatory factors were exposed to blood circulation, which stimulating neutrophilic granulocytes and up-regulating leukocyte adhesion molecule CD11b expression. ②Many stimulus could arise nuclear factor induced inflammatory reaction, produce interleukin 6, and stimulate C-reactive protein generation. ③The level of angiotensin Ⅱ increased at several days following stent implantation, and heightened with time prolonged, the proliferation of angiotensin Ⅱ was regulated by platelet-derived growth factor. By increasing the expression of endothelin, the synthesis of endothelin was accelerated, the proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells was promoted, which ultimately resulted in atherogenesis, balloon damage also involved in this process, which may be one of the mechanisms of restenosis.CONCLUSION: The changes of correlated inflammatory factor and cytokine can be served as inflammatory reaction indexes;moreover, soluble CD40 ligand, C-reactive protein and matrix metalloproteinase 9 may be associated with in-stent restenosis.

The 8 kDa antigenic protein of Clonorchis sinensis was partially purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation and subsequently by a column chromatographic steps. The purified protein was separated into 7 and 8 kDa protein bands through SDS-tricine gel electrophoresis, while the protein was found to migrate to a 8 kDa band in 7.5-15% SDS-PAGE. The molecular weight of the antigen was estimated to be 110 kDa by Superose 6 HR 10/30 gel filtration. The purified antigen strongly reacted with the human sera of clonorchiasis. The hyperimmune sera of BALB/c mice immunized against the 8 kDa protein were reacted with both the crude extract and the excretory-secretory product of adult worms, but not with the metacercarial extract. Immunohistochemical staining demonstrated that the protein was distributed to the tegument and subtegumental cells and also to the seminal receptacle. The present findings suggest that the 8 kDa protein is a partition of the multicomplex protein originating from various organs of adult C. sinensis, and that it is composed of several 7 and 8 kDa proteins.
Animals ; Antigens, Helminth/immunology/*isolation & purification/metabolism ; Clonorchiasis/immunology ; Clonorchis sinensis/anatomy & histology/*immunology/metabolism ; Helminth Proteins/immunology/*isolation & purification/metabolism ; Human ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Molecular Weight ; Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

We experienced a case of aldosterone and cortisol secreting adrenal adenoma associated with pregnancy in a 23 year old female patient.The patient complained of severe thoraco-lumbar pain, weight gain, sweating, anxiety, and mild abdominal discomfort. On physical findings, hypertension, tachycardia, facial plethora, moon face, buffalo hump and truncal obesity were found.
Adenoma ; Aldosterone ; Anxiety ; Buffaloes ; Female ; Humans ; Hydrocortisone ; Hypertension ; Moon ; Obesity ; Pregnancy ; Sweat ; Sweating ; Tachycardia ; Weight Gain

PURPOSE: To investigate the coronary angiographic findings of left atrial thrombi associated with mitral stenosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In 98 patients who had undergone coronary angiography and in whom the presence of left atrial thrombi was confirmed by surgery or repeated transesophageal echocardiography, evaluated the pattern, origin and location of abnormal vasculature suggestive of left atrial thrombi such; abnormalities included neovascularity, staining, dye collection and fistula. RESULTS: Abnormal vasculature was observed in 70 patients (71.4%). It arose from the left circumflex artery in 66 patients (including the sinus nodal branch in four), the right coronary artery in 14 (including the sinus nodal branch in 7 and conal branch in 2), the left anterior descending artery in one, and the left main coronary artery in one. The patterns of abnormal vasculature arising from the left coronary artery were fistula in 50, dye collection in 32, staining in 29 and neovascularity in 24; those arising from the right coronary artery were fistula in four, dye collection in two, staining in four and neovascularity in nine. Abnormal vasculature located at the anterior third of the left atrium in 50 cases, the middle in 20, and the posterior region in 12. CONCLUSION: The abnormal vasculature suggested by left atrial thrombi most commonly arose from the left circumflex artery and was located at the anterior one-third of the left atrial cavity. Fistula was the most common finding of left atrial thrombi, and for that these detection of the abnormal vasculature thrombi give rise to, selective coronary angiography was the useful modality.
Arteries ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Vessels ; Echocardiography, Transesophageal ; Fistula ; Heart Atria ; Humans ; Mitral Valve Stenosis*

UNLABELLED: OBJECTIVE To investigate the time-dependent expression of c-jun during the healing of incised wound in mice skin. METHODS: The expression of c-jun in different stages after the incised wound were detected by immunohistochemistry and Western blot. RESULTS: There was a low level expression of c-jun in normal mice skin. Expression of c-jun was mainly detected in neutrophils from 3 h to 12h after injury. The c-jun positive cells were almost mononuclear cells (MNCs) and fibroblasts between 1 d and 5 d after injury. The c-jun positive cells were mostly fibroblasts between 7 d and 14 d after injury. The ratio of the c-jun positive cells increased in the wound specimens from 3 h to 12 h, peaked at 12 h, declined partially from 1 d to 5 d, and reached the peak secondly at 7 d, then decreased from 10 d to 14 d. The expression of c-jun was observed throughout the wound healing stages by Western blot with two peaks occurring at 12 h and 7 d after injury. CONCLUSION The c-jun may play a potential role in inducing apoptosis of neutrophils, MNCs and fibroblasts during skin wound healing, and it may be used as the marker for wound age determination.
Animals ; Apoptosis ; Blotting, Western ; Disease Models, Animal ; Female ; Fibroblasts/metabolism* ; Immunohistochemistry ; Male ; Mice ; Neutrophils/metabolism* ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-jun/metabolism* ; Random Allocation ; Skin/metabolism* ; Time Factors ; Wound Healing ; Wounds and Injuries/metabolism*

It is defined as the paradoxical response when the clinical or radiologic worsening of old lesions or the development of new lesion occur in spite of appropriate antituberculous therapy. The paradoxical response can occur as an intracranial tuberculoma, pleurisy, pericarditis and contralateral new parenchymal lesions. However, poor compliance with therapy, drug resistance, non-tuberculous mycobacterium, or another underlying condition as lung cancer should be ruled out before concluding that the treatment is the cause of the exacerbation. The case reports of paradoxical response have been mainly reported in adults, but extremely rare in children. We report a case of paradoxical response in which a new parenchymal lung lesion developed during antituberculous therapy in a 14-year-old female patient with tuberculous pleurisy. She experienced clinical improvement with steroid therapy in addition to antituberculous therapy.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Child ; Compliance ; Female ; Humans ; Lung ; Lung Neoplasms ; Mycobacterium ; Pericarditis ; Pleural Effusion ; Pleurisy ; Tuberculoma, Intracranial ; Tuberculosis ; Tuberculosis, Pleural

No abstract available.
Bile Ducts* ; Bile* ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular*

PURPOSE: Type 2 diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, called metabolic syndrome (MS), occur more frequently among individuals who were born small for gestational age (SGA). SGA children with catch-up growth in height and high BMI are the most insulin resistant. We investigated the prevalence of MS and evaluated the risk factors affecting the development of MS in children and adolescents born SGA. METHODS: The study population (n=65) were born less than 10th percentile in body weight for their gestational age and the body weights of the control group (n=34) were more than 10th percentile at birth. The SGA and control subjects divided into prepubertal and pubertal groups. We measured serum lipid levels (total cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol), fasting sugar levels and insulin levels. Insulin resistance was determined by homeostasis model assessment, fasting insulin glucose ratio and quantitative insulin sensitivity check index. RESULTS: Systolic blood pressure was significantly higher in the pubertal SGA group than in the control group (113.2+/-0.3 vs. 98.7+/-6.4, P=0.001). The prevalence of high triglyceride and high fasting glucose levels were significantly increased in pubertal SGA group than prepubertal SGA group (P<0.05). Insulin resistance was correlated to systolic blood pressure, triglyceride levels, HDL-cholesterol levels, fasting glucose, insulin levels at fasting and 2 hours after oral glucose tolerance test and body fat mass in SGA group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: We suggest that the monitoring of these risk factors including systolic blood pressure, triglyceride, HDL-cholesterol levels and body fat mass is important for the prevention of MS in children and adolescents born SGA.
Adipose Tissue ; Adolescent* ; Blood Pressure ; Body Weight ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Child* ; Cholesterol ; Cholesterol, HDL ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Dyslipidemias ; Fasting ; Gestational Age* ; Glucose ; Glucose Tolerance Test ; Homeostasis ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Insulin ; Insulin Resistance ; Parturition ; Prevalence* ; Risk Factors ; Triglycerides

Candida albicans endocarditis is an uncommon manifestation of systemic candidiasis in newborn infants who require intensive care and develops mostly in patients with congenital heart disease; open heart surgery is the majority of predisposing factor. Improvement of techniques managing premature infants leads to increased survival rates, which give much more chances to develop fungal infections and its complications. We report a case of very low birth weight infant who had candidemia and Candida endocarditis, who was successfully treated with AmBisome(R) because of no response to conventional amphotericin B therapy.
Amphotericin B* ; Candida albicans* ; Candida* ; Candidemia ; Candidiasis ; Causality ; Endocarditis* ; Heart Defects, Congenital ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature ; Infant, Very Low Birth Weight* ; Critical Care ; Survival Rate ; Thoracic Surgery