BackgroundRecent studies showed that diabetic retinal neuropathy is an earlier and more dangerous complication and neurotrophin has a protective effect on retina.ObjectiveThe present study was to observe the changes of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF),its receptor TrkB,signal pathway protein phosphatized extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase1/2 (p-ERK1/2) and c-fos in the retina after injection of BDNF into the vitreous in STZ induced Wistar diabetic rats.MethodsWistar rats aged 9 weeks-old were randomly divided into BDNF injection group,diabetes mellitus (DM) control group and normal control group and 20 rats for each group.STZ was intraperitoneally injected in the rats of BDNF injection group and DM control group to create the experimental DM.BDNF was intravitreously injected in the rats of BDNF group 2 weeks after administration of STZ in three-day interval for 5 times,and BSS containing O.1％ bovine serum albumin (BSA) was used at the same way in the DM control group and normal control group.The retina was isolated for hybridization in situ for BDNF,and TrkB,p-ERK1/2 and c-fos.Levels in retina were detected using sandwich method ELISA.ResultsThe number of BDNF positive cells and the gray scale were lower obviously in the rat retina of DM control group than those of BDNF injection group and normal control group,showing significant differences among the 3 groups ( F =102.36,92.55 ;P＜0.05 ).ELISA assay showed that TrkB,p-ERK1/2 and c-fos values in retina were statistically significantly different among the 3 groups ( F =92.54,95.46,94.84,P＜0.05 ).The TrkB level in retina was statistically reduced,but the p-ERK1/2 and c-fos levels in retina were increased statistically in DM control group compared with BDNF injection group and normal control group( P＜0.05 ).No statistical difference was found in TrkB,p-ERK1/2 and c-fos values between the BDNF injection group and normal control group(P＞0.05).ConclusionsThe injection of BDNF into the vitreous cavity can protect retina from downregulating BDNF and TrkB levels and up-regulating the p-ERK1/2 and c-fos protein levels in the early stage of DM.

BACKGROUND: Quinidine appeared to increase serum digoxin levels when given with quinidine. Therefore elevated serum digoxin concentrations and clinical toxicity have been reported in patient receiving quinidine. Currently, Bayesian method which estimates the most probable parameters of the drug for each patient from population parameters data is useful approach for adjusting digoxin dosage. To increase the accuracy of Bayesian method, it is desirable to use population parameters of Korean. Therefore we evaluated the effect of quinidine on digoxin clearance in Korea. METHOD: Patient's records from 19 adult cardiac disease without CHF having normal renal and liver function from Seoul National University of Hospital respectively wre evaluated. Digoxin pharmacokinetic parameters, CL and Vd, were obtained from serum concentration of digoxin of single and combined therapy at each steady-state by using bayesian method. RESULTS: This study show that quinidine reduced the total body clearance of digoxin from 2.39+/-0.17 to 1.51+/-0.08ml/min/kg(p<0.05) and reduced the digoxin volume of distribution from 8.57+/-0.29 to 4.98+/-0.19L/kg(p<0.05). This results show that digoxin dosage reduced to 40-50% in Korean, if quinidine therapy is initiated.
Adult ; Bayes Theorem ; Digoxin* ; Drug Interactions ; Heart Diseases ; Humans ; Korea ; Liver ; Pharmacokinetics ; Quinidine* ; Seoul

No abstract available.
Adenoma* ; Cervix Uteri* ; Female

No abstract available.
Adenoma* ; Cervix Uteri* ; Female

Objective To investigate the role of calreticulin (CRT) in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by analyzing its expression in the sera,synovial fluid and synovial membrane in patients with RA.Methods Levels of CRT in the sera from patients with RA,osteoarthritis (OA),systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE),other autoimmune diseases and health control (HC) were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and Western bloting.CRT levels in synovial fluid from RA and OA patients were measured by ELISA.Pathological methods were employed to analyze the expression and localization of CRT in synovial membrane.ANVOA,SNK-q test were used for statistical analysis.Results CRT was found to be significantly up-regulated in sera from RA [(4.8±2.4) ng/ml] than that from in OA [(3.6±0.9)ng/ml],SLE [(4.0±1.5) ng/ml],other autoimmune diseases [(3.9±0.8) ng/ml] and HC [(3.7±0.6) ng/ml].Only the monomer form of CRT in the serum could be detected.Pathological results showed that in RA synovium,CRT was mainly expressed in the lining and sublining layers,endothelial cells and perivascular areas； while in OA,only few CRT staining was seen in perivascular areas and the synovial lines.Conclusion In RA,increased levels of CRT are detected in the sera.In addition,high expression of CRT is observed in synovium and its distribution are different from OA.Our results suggest that CRT may be involved in RA joint inflammation and pannus formation.CRT may become a potential serological marker in the diagnosis of RA.

No abstract available.
Echocardiography* ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn*

OBJECTIVETo compare the intervention effects of four traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) with typical cold or hot property on body temperature and temperature-sensitive transient receptor potential ion channel proteins (TRPs) of rats with yeast-induced fever.

METHODThe pyrexia model was induced by injecting yeast suspension subcutaneously. Totally 108 male SD rats were randomly divided into the normal group, the model group, the Rhei Radix et Rhizoma treated group, the Coptidis Rhizoma treated group, the Euodiae Fructus treated group, and the Alpiniae Officinarum Rhizoma treated group, with 18 rats in each group. At the 4 h, 8 h and 12 h after injection of yeast, the rats were sacrificed to collect their hypothalamus and dorsal root ganglion. The expressions of TRPV1 and TRPM8 were detected by immunohistochemistry and Western blot method.

RESULTCompared with the normal group, after injection of yeast, the temperature of rats in the model group notably increased, and reached the peak at 8 h (P < 0.01). The TRPV1 level in hypothalamus and dorsal root ganglia (DRG) of the model group significantly increased, whereas the TRPM8 level significantly reduced. Compared with the model group, the Rhei Radix et Rhizoma group and the Coptidis Rhizoma group showed significant decrease in the high body temperature of rats caused by yeast, down-regulation in the expression of TRPV1, and up-regulation in the expression of TRPM8 (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). Euodiae Fructus and Alpiniae Officinarum Rhizoma had no significant effect on either temperature or TRPs of fever rats.

CONCLUSIONRhei Radix et Rhizoma and Coptidis Rhizoma, both are TCMs with cold property, can reduce the temperature of fever rats induced by yeast, which may be related to their effective regulation of TRPV1 and TRPM8 in hypothalamus and DRG, while Euodiae Fructus and Alpiniae Officinarum Rhizoma had no relevant effect.

Animals ; Antipyretics ; administration & dosage ; chemistry ; Body Temperature Regulation ; drug effects ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; chemistry ; Fever ; drug therapy ; immunology ; microbiology ; physiopathology ; Gene Expression Regulation ; drug effects ; Humans ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Saccharomyces cerevisiae ; immunology ; TRPM Cation Channels ; genetics ; immunology ; TRPV Cation Channels ; genetics ; immunology

Objective:To investigate the effect of PTEN on proliferation of cardiac fibroblasts and its mechanism. Methods:Stimulation of cardiac fibroblasts by high glucose, the levels of PTEN in cells were detected by qRT-PCR and Western blot. Cell transfection of PTEN over expression vector,the levels of PTEN in transfected cells were detected by qRT-PCR and Western blot. High glucose stimulated transfection of PTEN overexpression vector into cardiac fibroblasts,cell proliferation was detected by MTT,the levels of p-STAT3 and STAT3 in cells were detected by Western blot,STAT3 pathway blocker AG490 was added into the cell culture medium to treat the cells, cell proliferation was detected by MTT, the levels of p-STAT3 and STAT3 in cells were detected by Western blot. Results:The levels of PTEN mRNA and protein in cardiac fibroblasts after high glucose treatment were significantly lower than those in normal culture ( P＜0. 05 ) . The expression of PTEN mRNA and protein in transfected PTEN overexpressing cells was significantly higher than that in non transfected cells( P＜0. 05) . The cell proliferation activity and p-STAT3 level were significantly higher than those of normal cells after high glucose(P＜0. 05). The expression of PTEN was increased after high glucose induction,the cell proliferation activity and p-STAT3 level were decreased, the proliferation of the cells treated with AG490 decreased further. Conclusion:PTEN slows down the proliferation of cardiac fibroblasts induced by high glucose by inhibiting STAT3 signaling pathway.

Different processed products of Coptidis Rhizoma have its unique odor, which is an important assessment index for pro- cessed products identification of Coptidis Rhizoma. Objectify odor as an entry point in this study, an electronic nose technology was used, and a suitable method for Coptidis Rhizoma measurement was built firstly. Then different processed products of Coptidis Rhizoma were detected by the method built. Finally, different processed products were identified by combining with chemometrics based on the objective odor information obtained. Electronic nose detection indicated that a significant difference in odor between different processed products was performed. Coptidis Rhizoma processed or not can be distinguished based on statistical quality control (SQC) and soft independent modeling of class analogy (SIMCA). Principle component analysis (PCA) model showed that Coptidis Rhizoma and its various processed products discriminated obviously. In addition, in order to identify the processed products of Coptidis Rhizoma, a correct recognition rate of 100% was acquired by discriminant factor analysis (DFA) , and the initial identification rate and cross-validation recognition rate of linear discriminant analysis (LDA) is 100%, 94.4% respectively. In conclusion, differentiationin odor of different processed Coptidis Rhizoma was performed by the electronic nose technology used, and different products Coptidis Rhizoma were dis- criminated by combining with chemometrics. This research can be a reference for objective identification in odor of traditional Chinese medicine, and is good for the inheritance and development of traditional experience in odor identification.
Chemistry, Pharmaceutical ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Coptis ; chemistry ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; analysis ; Electronic Nose ; Odorants ; analysis ; Principal Component Analysis ; Rhizome ; chemistry

BACKGROUND: Combination effects of various beta-lactam antibiotics with vancomycin or teicoplanin against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) that were detected as pos-sible hetero-vancomycin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (hetero-VRSA) by the Mu-3 agar method, were evaluated. METHODS: Twenty-four strains of MRSA (possible hetero-VRSA) from 22 inpatients of Dankook University Hospital from July through November 1998, were subjected to the study. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of antibiotics, alone or in combination, were tested with the agar dilution method and the fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC) indices were calculated to estimate the combination effects. RESULTS: Six strains of 24 MRSA were estimated as hetero-VRSA by population analysis. The aver-age FIC index of imipenem (I), flomoxef (F), cephalothin (C), cefpirome (E) in combination with van-comycin (V) and teicoplanin (T) were 0.584 for I-V, 0.200 for I-T, 0.747 for F-V, 0.230 for F-T, 0.633 for C-V, 0.374 for C-T, 0.773 for E-V, and 0.386 for E-T, respectively. The presence of synergy and addi-tivity in beta-Lactams were observed as 5.3% (16/304) and 90.1% (274/304) for the combination of van-comycin with I, F, C, or E, respectively, and 29.3% (164/560) and 69.8% (391/560) for the combina-tion of teicoplanin with I, F, C, or E, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that the selected beta-lactam antibiotics with vancomycin or teicoplanin showed effective against possible hetero-VRSA, as the combination effects were syner-gistic or additive with the average of the FIC index and the frequency of synergy and additivity in this study.
Agar ; Anti-Bacterial Agents* ; beta-Lactams ; Cephalothin ; Humans ; Imipenem ; Inpatients ; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Staphylococcus aureus* ; Staphylococcus* ; Teicoplanin* ; Vancomycin*