The effects of D-polymannuronic sulfate (DPS) on the norepinephrine (NA) or potassium chloride (KCL)-induced contraction of rat aortic rings were studied in this paper. The results showed that DPS at the final concentration of Img ? L-1 inhibited the contraction of aortic rings e-voked by NA or KCL and shift doseresponse curves for NA or KCL to the right in a non-parallel fa-sion and depressed their maximal response, implicating that DPS afforded the noncompetitive antagonism on contraction of rat aortic rings induced by NA or KCL. This finding suggested that DPS exerted an inhibitory action of potential-dependent calcium channel and that of receptor-operated calcium channel in vascular smooth muscle.

AIM　To investigate the inhibitory effects of D-polymannuronic sulfate (DPS) on the proliferation of rat vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) induced by basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) or interleukin-1 (IL-1) and its related mechanisms. METHODS　Rat aortic smooth muscle cells pretreated with DPS in concentrations ranging from 0.001 μg*mL-1 up to 100 μg*mL-1 were incubated at 37℃ for 24 h, followed by addition of bFGF (50 ng*mL-1) or IL-1 (50 U*mL-1) for another 24 h. The effects of DPS on the proliferation of VSMC were evaluated by MTT assays. VSMC were pretreated with DPS in concentrations ranging from 0.001 μg*mL-1 up to 1 μg*mL-1, followed by addition of L-NAME (0.1 μg*mL-1) or bFGF (50 ng*mL-1) for 24 h. Supernatant nitric oxide (NO) was determined with NO assay kit, while supernatant angiotensin II (Ang II) and endothelin-1 (ET-1) were measured by radioimmunoassay. RESULTS　DPS exerted antiproliferative effects at concentrations ranging from 0.01 μg*mL-1 to 10 μg*mL-1, and its maximal effect was observed at the concentration of 1 μg*mL-1. Also, the suppressing actions of DPS on the proliferation of VSMC were diminished by increasing the concentrations of bFGF or IL-1. Furthermore, DPS increased NO synthesis and decreased Ang II and ET-1 contents released from VSMC in a concentration-dependent manner. CONCLUSION　DPS afforded the antiproliferative effects on bFGF- or IL-1-treated VSMC and its underlying mechanisms were associated with enhancement of NO synthesis and decrement of Ang II and ET-1 production/release in vitro.

OBJECTIVE:To compare the pharmacodynamics of active parts in crude Atractylodes lancea and A. lancea fired with bran. METHODS:170 rats were randomly divided into 17 groups,including blank control group,spleen and stomach damp obstruction model group,volatile oil of crude A. lancea and A. lancea fired with bran high-dose and low-dose(0.747,0.083 mg/ml by the concentration of crude medicinal materials,similarly hereinafter)groups,solvent control 2% polysorbate 80 group,dichlo-romethane extract of crude A. lancea and A. lancea fired with bran high-dose and low-dose groups,solvent control 1‰ polysorbate 80 group,n-butyl alcohol extract of crude A. lancea and A. lancea fired with bran high-dose and low-dose groups,solvent control stomach damp obstruction model distilled water control group. Except blank control group,other 16 groups were given Sennae foli-um decoction ig for 14 d to induce spleen and stomach damp obstruction model,and then received relevant medicine or solvent ig once a day for consecutive 7 d. Body weight of rats were determined before and after medication,and the serum levels of amylase, D-xylose,gastrin,vasoactive intestinal peptide and NO were determined after medication. RESULTS:Compared with spleen and stomach damp obstruction model group,the body weight and serum levels of gastrin,amylase and D-xylose increased significantly in rats of active part in A. lancea fired with bran groups(P<0.05),while vasoactive intestinal peptide and NO decreased signifi-cantly(P<0.05). Compared active part in crude A. lancea group,except the body weight,above indicators of active part in A. lan-cea fired with bran groups had greater change,with statistical significance (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS:There are pharmacody-namic differences in the active parts between crude A. lancea and A. lancea fired with bran,the latter one is stronger.

Objective To investigate the effects of high-flux hemodialysis (HFD) on fibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF-23) levels in maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients and its clinical significance.Methods Sixty uremia patients were divided into HFD group and hemodialysis (HD)group and observed for 12 months.Flow mediated dilation (FMD),cardiac ultrasonography,levels of FGF-23,serum phosphorus,serum calcium,25-(OH)D3,parathyroid hormone (PTH),homocysteine (Hcy) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were tested in all patients before and after treatment.The correlation of above indexes were analyzed.Results No statistical difference were found in primary disease,age and duration of dialysis in two groups.The levels of FGF-23 [(56.07±26.63) vs (85.53±40.54) ng/L,P ＜0.01],IL-6 [(3.37±2.48) vs (5.59±2.53) ng/L,P ＜ 0.05] and Hcy [(21.13±6.95) vs (29.40±11.66) μmol/L,P ＜ 0.05] decreased and FMD,25-(OH)D3 [(27.3± 10.26) vs (23.15± 10.73) μg/L,P ＜ 0.05] increased significantly after the treatment of HFD.There were no significant changes in the HD group.The baseline FMD was negatively correlated with FGF-23 (r =-0.413,P ＜ 0.05) and Hcy (r =-0.301,P ＜0.05).The baseline LVMI was correlated with FGF-23 (r =0.464 P ＜ 0.05).After one year's trearmeat of HFD,the changes of FMD(/△ FMD) was negatively correlated with the changes of FGF-23 (/△ FGF-23)(r =-0.347,P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions HFD can improve FMD and decrease FGF-23 levels.The improvement of FMD may be related to the decreased level of FGF-23.The effect of FGF-23 on FMD should be independent of serum phosphate.

Breast cancer has the highest incidence of gynecological tumors. Investigating into pathogenesis of breast cancer resulting from the change of glycoconjugate glycan has become the hotspot in disease glycomics. The diversified situation of glycoconjugate glycan and its association with breast cancer are reviewed and some issues are also discussed.

The effects of sulfated polysaccharides from brown seaweeds GS201 on neuronal survival of cultured brain neurons were investigated in this paper.Results indicated that GS201 at concentrations of 0.01 0.1 1 10 mg?L -1 significantly enhanced the neuronal survival of both hippocampus and neurocortex.The mechanisms underlying the neurotrophic effect exerted by GS201 need to be further elucidated.

Objective To report a method for preparation of saturated oligosaccharides from al- ginate. Methods The alginate was degraded by acid hydrolysis, followed by fractionation at pH 2.85 resulting in the homopolyguluronic acids (PG) and homopolymannuronic acids (PM). The alginate-derived homopolymers were further degraded by acid hydrolysis at pH 3.8, 120 ℃ for 3 h, and at pH 4, 120 ℃ for 4 h, respectively. The resulted acidic hydrolysates were separated by gel permeation chromatography to get oligosaccharide fractions, and the oligosaccharides were obtaind by repeated purification on gel chromatography. The structures of the oligosaccharides were characterized by analyses of infra-red spectroscopy (IR), nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry (NMR), and mass spectrometry (MS). Results It was showed that the derived oligosaccharides were in saturated structures with the same structure characteristics as the original alginate macromolecule. Conclusion The method des cribed in this paper is a effective and convenient approach for the preparation of low-molecular-weight oligosaccharides from alginate.

Objective To observe the efficacy of percutaneous hepatic cryoablation for the treatment of primary or meta-static hepatic malignancies (<5 cm in diameter).Methods A total of 31 patients (39 tumors <5 cm in diameter) were treated with argon-helium cryoablation system under the guidance of CT or ultrasound.Results Tumor ablation range was 90%-100% in 39 lesions,including 69.23% (27/39) complete ablation.The 1- and 2-year survival rate was 90.32% (28/31) and 61.29% (19/31),respectively.No bleeding and injury of blood vessel or bile duct was noted.Complications of cryoablation included intraoperative shivering in 4 (12.90%) patients,postoperative fever (37.12-38.25℃ in 7 (22.58%) patients and hepatic pain in 6 (19.36%) patients.One patient had severe pain relief until 2 h after cryosurgery with ice-cold skin temperature and stable life index,analgesic had little effect,and no bleeding was found on CT image.Other patients had slight or moderate pain and remained untreated.Conclusion Percutaneous targeted argon-helium cryoablation is a feasible and safe technique in the treatment of small primary or metastatic hepatic malignancies not suitable for resection.

OBJECTIVE:To study the effects of 3 extracts of Acanthopanax sessiliflorus fruits on the proliferation and apoptosis of human hepatocarcinoma cells SMMC-7721,and to provide reference for confirming the mechanism of anti-tumor effect. METHODS:MTT assay was adopted to investigate the effects of low-mass concentration,medium-mass concentration and high-mass concentration of ethanol extract(0.92,1.84,3.68 mg/mL),crude polysaccharide extract(0.06,0.12,0.24 mg/mL)and refined polysaccharide extract (0.04, 0.08, 0.16 mg/mL) from A. sessiliflorus fruits on the proliferation and apoptosis of SMMC-7721 cells after treated for 24,36,48 h,respectively. Flow cytometry was used to investigate the effects of 1.84 mg/mL ethanol extract,0.24 mg/mL crude polysaccharide extract and 0.16 mg/mL refined polysaccharide extract on cell cycle and cell apoptosis after treated for 24 h. The above tests were all negative control(only adding cells without drugs). RESULTS:Compared with negative control,3 extracts of A. sessiliflorus fruits could significantly inhibit the proliferation of SMMC-7721 cells (P<0.01),could significantly decrease the percentage of SMMC-7721 cells in G0/G1 and G2/M phase(P<0.01),could significantly increase the percentage of SMMC-7721 cells in S phase (P<0.01) and the apoptosis rate of SMMC-7721 cells (P<0.05);especially the effects of ethanol extract from A. sessiliflorus fruits were the most obvious. CONCLUSIONS:Three extracts of A.sessiliflorus fruits can inhibit the proliferation of human hepatocarcinoma SMMC-7721 cells,block SMMC-7721 cells in S phase and induce the apoptosis of SMMC-7721 cells.