Objective To investigate the expression and cellular localization of metallothionein-1 (MT-1) in mouse kidney. Methods The adult male CD-1 mice were selected as experimental animals. The protein of MT-1 in mouse renal cortex and medulla was detected by Western blot assay. Immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence methods were ap-plied to observe the location of MT-1 in renal tubules and collecting ducts of mouse kidney. Double-immunofluorescence and confocal laser scanning microscopy were used to observe the subcellular localization of MT-1 in the epithelial cells of re-nal tubules and collecting ducts of mouse kidney. Results The expression of MT-1 was detected in cortex and medulla of mouse kidney. The expression of MT-1was mainly found in proximal convoluted tubules and distal convoluted tubules of cor-tical labyrinth, and proximal straight tubules, distal straight tubules and collecting ducts of ray medullary and medulla of kid-ney. The strongest expression of MT-1 was found in proximal tubules, secondary in distal tubules and last in collecting ducts. The intracellular location of MT-1 was in brush border of proximal tubules and intracytoplasm, in the distal tubule epi-thelial cell cytoplasm and in the basolateral membranes of collecting duct epithelial cells. The subcellular localization was found in the lysosome. Conclusion The different locations of MT-1 expressed in proximal tubules, distal tubules and col-lecting ducts may determine different roles of them in kidney.

Adult ; Aged ; Cone-Beam Computed Tomography ; Dental Implantation, Endosseous ; methods ; Female ; Humans ; Hydrostatic Pressure ; Male ; Maxillary Sinus ; diagnostic imaging ; surgery ; Middle Aged ; Piezosurgery ; methods ; Sinus Floor Augmentation ; methods ; Tooth Loss ; surgery

ObjectiveTo compare the content difference of total flavonoid, total polyphenol and scavenging activity to DPPH free radical ofDracocephalum tanguticum Maxim (DtM) before and after roasted;To explore the relationship between the contents of active components and antioxidant activity in the DtM before and after roasted.MethodsThe crude and roasted DtM were extracted with 75% ethanol as the solvent. The contents of total flavonoid and total polyphenol were detected by NaNO2-Al (NO3)3-NaOH and Folin-ciocalteu methods, respectively. The antioxidant abilities were evaluated by 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging activity. ResultsThe content of total flavonoids in the crude DtM (6.442%)the roasted DtM (0.628), and free radical scavenging efficiency of the crude DtM (1181.335)

Objective: To observe the in vivo tissue distribution of 6-gingerols, 6-shogaol, and 8-gingerols from dried ginger (the rhizome of Zingiber officinale) in rats and to discuss the channel tropism of them. Methods: The method of "symptoms-efficacy-pharmacokinetics" was used and the ginger solution was ig given to the rats which were deficiency-cold in spleen and stomach; Then the blood, heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney, brain, stomach, large intestine, and small intestine were immediately taken out after the rats were ig given the medince in 10, 20, 40, 60, 80, 120, and 360 min, respectively; Finally, HPLC was used to detect the concentration of 6-gingerols, 6-shogaol, and 8-gingerols from dried ginger in different tissues of rats in each group of deficiency-cold in spleen and stomach and normal by calculating the pharmacokinetic parameters. Results: We found that in the group of deficiency-cold in spleen and stomach, the concentration of the three active components was the highest in stomach, small intestine, liver, and lung, and in the group of normal, the three components were mostly distributed in the stomach, kidney, small intestine, large intestine, and lung. What's more, in the digestive organs, such as stomach and small intestine, the concentration was obviously higher in the group of deficiency-cold in spleen and stomach than that in the group of normal. Conclusion: The main ingredients of dried ginger mostly distribute in spleen, stomach, lung, and liver. This view conform to the traditional channel trpism of dried ginger in traditional Chinese medicine theory.

OBJECTIVETo observe the effect of detoxifying and blood circulation activating Chinese herb extraction of polygonum cuspidatum and hawthorn on carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), plaque integral and plaque stability related serum indexes of patients with carotid atherosclerosis.

METHODSixty and four cases of carotid artery atherosclerosis patients were assigned randomly to 2 groups: detoxifying and blood circulation activating treatment group (treatment group, 32 cases) and control group (32 cases). Patients in treatment group were treated with capsules of extraction of polygonum cuspidatum and hawthorn, 1 pill po, bid (dosage of administration: polygonum cuspidatum extraction 5.33 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1), hawthorn extraction 5.0 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1)); patients in control group were treated with lovastatin 20 mg po, qd (dosage of administration: 0.33 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1)). The course of treatment was six months. To observe changes of IMT, plaque integral, and detect the level of plaque stability related serum indexes such as Hs-CRP, MMP-1 and TIMP-1.

RESULTAfter 6 months of treatment, in control group one patient quit the clinical trial because of liver dysfunction and one patient was rejected because of having not followed the therapeutic regimen. 32 cases in treatment group and 30 cases in control group were analyzed. The results showed that IMT and plaque integral of treatment group decreased significantly after the treatment (P < 0.05, P < 0.01), and there was no significant difference compared with control grope. Serum Hs-CRP, MMP-1 and MMP-1/TIMP-1 decreased after the treatment (P < 0.05, P < 0.01), and the treatment group was superior to control group in decreasing serum Hs-CRP (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONDetoxifying and blood circulation activating Chinese herb extraction of polygonum cuspidatum and hawthorn has good effect of anti-atherosclerosis and promoting plaque stability. Its mechanism might be related with anti-inflammation and inhibiting degradation of extracellular matrix, and deserves further studies.

C-Reactive Protein ; metabolism ; Carotid Artery Diseases ; blood ; drug therapy ; Crataegus ; chemistry ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; adverse effects ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Fallopia japonica ; chemistry ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 1 ; blood ; Middle Aged ; Safety ; Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-1 ; blood

A sesquiterpene synthase (AsSS4) full-length open reading frame (ORF) cDNA was cloned from wounded stems of Aquilaria sinensis by RT-PCR method. The result showed that the ORF of AsSS4 was 1,698 bp encoding 565 amino acids. Prokaryotic expression vector pET28a-AsSS4 was constructed and transformed into E. coli BL21 (DE3) pLysS. Recombinant AsSS4 protein was obtained after induction by IPTG and SDS-PAGE analysis with a MW of 64 kD. Enzymatic reactions using farnesyl pyrophosphate showed that recombinant AsSS4 protein purified by Ni-agarose gel yielded five sesquiterpene compounds, cyclohexane, 1-ethenyl-1-methyl-2, 4-bis(1-methylethenyl)-, β-elemene, α-guaiene, α-caryophyllene and δ-guaiene. This paper reported the first cloning and functional characterization of AsSS4 gene from A. sinensis, which will establish a foundation for future studies on the molecular mechanisms of wound-induce agarwood formation in A. sinensis
Alkyl and Aryl Transferases ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Azulenes ; Cloning, Molecular ; DNA, Complementary ; Escherichia coli ; Open Reading Frames ; Polyisoprenyl Phosphates ; Recombinant Proteins ; biosynthesis ; Sesquiterpenes ; metabolism ; Sesquiterpenes, Guaiane ; Thymelaeaceae ; enzymology ; genetics

To study the identification of Gentianaceae Mongolian medicine Digeda with spectroscopy techniques, near infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry techniques were applied to study on the identification of 4 kinds of Gentianaceae Mongolian medicine Digeda, and characteristic spectrums obtained were systematically analyzed. In NIR study, the four species of Digeda exist some differences in 4 250-4 400 cm(-1) and 5 650-5 800 cm(-1) of one-dimensional spectra, and show significant differences in 4 100- 4 400 cm(-1), 4 401-4 900 cm(-1) and 5 400-5 800 cm(-1) of the second derivative spectra. DSC curves of them present distinct topological pattern, characteristic peak and peak temperature. Using near infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry analysis can realize efficient and accurate identification of four kinds of Mongolian medicine Digeda, and provide scientific basis for the efficient and accurate identification of other Gentianaceae Mongolian medicine Digeda.
Calorimetry, Differential Scanning ; methods ; China ; Gentianaceae ; chemistry ; classification ; Medicine, Mongolian Traditional ; Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared ; methods

To study the name of Wenyujin Rhizoma Concisum and Film Turmeric by literature research methods provide the basis for correct application of Cuba in modern clinical application. Wenyujin Rhizoma Concisum and Film Turmeric often called each other mutual generation and used as the same kind of medicine in the ancient prescriptions books. They were often recorded and stated as the same species of Curcumae Longae Rhizoma. Wenyujin Rhizoma Concisum and Curcumae Longae Rhizoma also often called each other mutual generation in the ancient prescriptions books and used as the same kind of medicine. Wenyujin Rhizoma Concisum was often recorded and stated under the Curcumae Longae Rhizoma articles in the ancient materia medica literatures. Ancient literatures on Wenyujin Rhizoma Concisum records were almost the same, the modern literatures on the records of the sources of Wenyujin Rhizoma Concisum were inconsistency. Inconsistency of Wenyujin Rhizoma Concisum source records in modern literatures was related to the changes of the modern records on source records about Curcumae Longae Rhizoma, Root-tuber of Aromatic Curcumae Longae Rhizoma and Zedoray. The author thinks that Wenyujin Rhizoma Concisum is the ancient Film Turmeric which referes to the same medicine as Curcumae Longae Rhizoma. The source of it just as the Curcumae Longae Rhizoma is not only one kind. Wenyujin Rhizoma Concisum and Curcumae Longae Rhizoma have been recorded as two medicines at the present, and the source of them simply referes to the original plant Curcuma wenyujin. When using ancient prescriptions, we need to understand the changes that Curcumae Longae Rhizoma and Wenyujin Rhizoma Concisum are the same in ancient but different today in order to choose medicine correctly in the clinical.
Curcuma ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Rhizome ; Terminology as Topic

Objective To investigate the radiation dose and image quality of spectral and conventional CT scan in neck.Methods Sixty patients with enhanced neck CT scan were analyzed retrospectively.The 30 patients with spectral CT scan were included in spectral CT group,and the 30 patients with conventional CT scan were included in conventional CT group.The tube voltage,tube current and rotation speed of the spectral CT group were fast switching with 80 and 140 kVp,630 mA and 0.5 s,respectively.The scanning parameters of conventional CT group were 120 kVp,auto tube current (100 to 600 mA),and 0.6 s,respectively.The objective evaluation [noise and (contrast to noise ratio) CNR] and subjective scores in the upper,middle and lower neck were evaluated.The radiation dose was also evaluated in the two groups.The independent-samples t test was used in comparison of the radiation dose.The independent-samples t test and the rank sum test were used to compare the objective and subjective image quality.Results The CT dose index of spectral and conventional scan in the neck were 17.77 mGy and (17.26±2.18) mGy,respectively without significant difference (t=-1.26,P=0.218).The noises of 65 keV images in upper,middle and lower neck were (4.5 ± 0.8),(4.5 ± 0.9),(5.2 ± 1.0) HU,and the noises of conventional CT images in above-mentioned regions were (4.5± 1.1),(4.1± 1.0),(5.0± 1.7) HU.There was no significant differences (t=0.102,-1.362,-0.621;P＞0.05).The subjective scores of 65 keV images in upper,middle and lower neck were (4.1 ± 0.3),(4.7 ± 0.5),(3.8 ± 0.7),while the subjective scores of conventional CT images in associated region were (4.1±0.4),(4.6 ±0.5),(3.5 ±0.6),wihtout significant differences (Z=-0.286,-0.531,-1.568;P＞0.05).The noises of 55 keV images in upper,middle and lower neck were (5.4±0.9),(5.6± 1.1),(6.6± 1.6) HU,which were significantly higher than noise of conventional images (t=-3.614,-5.560,-3.784;P＜0.05).The subjective scores of 55 keV images in upper and middle neck were (3.7±0.5),(4.2±0.4),which were significantly lower than those of conventional images (Z=-2.541,-3.136;P＜0.05).The subjective score of 55 keV images in lower neck was (3.3±0.8),which was no significant difference in comparison with conventional image (Z=-1.318,P＞0.05).There was no significant difference between the CNR of conventional images and CNR of spectral images with 65 keV and 55 keV in upper,middle and lower neck (P＞0.05).Conclusion The radiation dose and the image quality of spectral CT scan are same to the conventional CT scan in the neck,the 65 keV monochromatic images can be used routinely.

Objective To investigate the expression and distribution of plasmacytoid dendritic cells(pDC) in peripheral blood and renal tissues in children with Henoch-SchSnlein purpura(HSP),and explore the role of pDCs in the pathogenesis of Henoch-Schtnlein purpura nephritis(HSPN).Methods Among the 40 children with HSP,28 cases were in the active phase(renal biopsy performed in 8 cases of them) and the other 12 in remission phase.Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated,and the expression of pDC was detected by flow cytometry.The normal control group was established (n =15).Total RNA of peripheral blood was extracted and transcripted into cDNA.Sybr green dye based real-time quantitative PCR method was used to compare the expression(indicated as 2-△Ct value) of CXC motif chemokine 10 (CXCL10),CC chemokine ligand 5 (CCL5),chemokine CXC subfamily receptor 3 (CXCR3),CC chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) in children with HSP and those in the controls.Immunohistochemistry labeling technique was used to detect the distribution of pDC in renal tissues from renal biopsy,and the normal controls were established (n =3).Results The expression percentage of pDC in peripheral blood in active phase was 0.051 ± 0.039,significantly lower than those in remission phase (0.181 ± 0.082) and the normal controls (0.166 ± 0.079) (P ＜ 0.000 1).Chemokines genes CXCL10 and CCL5 were overexpressed in peripheral blood ceils of acute phase HSP children,but chemokine receptors CXCR3,CCR5 were lowly expressed compared with normal controls.There was almost no expression of pDC in the normal control renal tissues,while pDC was infiltrated in glomeruli of HSPN children.Conclusions The number of pDC and chemokines' expression in peripheral blood is abnormal,and the pathogenesis of nephritis may be involved with the pDC in peripheral blood to migrate to the renal tissues.