Curcumin is a principal polyphenolic curcuminoid extracted from turmeric rhizome, which has been used for treating inflammation of joints, ulcers, jaundice and other disorders in Asian traditional medicine. In recent years, many studies have indicated that curcumin plays important roles in treatment of liver diseases. Curcumin attenuates liver injury and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease by lowering the release of inflammation cytokines, minimizing oxidative stress, enhancing the sensitivity of insulin and altering lipid metabolism. Curcumin shows potent anti-fibrosis activity, contributing to inhibit the activation of hepatic stellate cells and reduce the deposition of extracellular matrix by its regulation of PPAR-γ, NF-ΚB and TGF-β signaling pathways. Moreover, curcumin exhibits anti-cancer effect by inducing G2/M phase cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in several hepatoma cell lines. However, poor water solubility and low bioavailability of curcumin limit its clinical applications. To overcome its limited systemic bioavailability, many new approaches have been explored to deliver curcumin effectively. This article focuses on advances in the effects of curcumin and its derivatives for treatment of liver injury, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, liver fibrosis and hepatocarcinoma.

Biodegradable nano/microparticles of poly(D, L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) is a novel non-viral gene vector, which has many advantages, such as safety, non-immunogenicity, easy of large-scale preparation and well load-capability. Therefore, more and more attentions and researches have been paid on its application. Especially, PLGA has shown enormous potential application value and space in the field of plasmid DNA (pDNA) delivery system. On the basis of the current situation of PLGA nano/microparticles for pDNA delivery, this paper focused on summarizing the current preparation approaches and surface modified methods of PLGA particle, furthermore showing its application in gene therapy and genetic vaccine delivery. These showed that PLGA nano/microparticles have extensive prospect in the development of controlled gene delivery system.

Objective:To establish an HPLC method for the simultaneous determination of chloroginic acid, baicalin and luteolin in Julan Ganmao particles. Methods:A Diamosil C18 (2) column(250 mm × 4. 6 mm,5μm) was used. The mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile and 0. 2% phosphoric acid with gradient elution. The flow rate was 1. 0 ml·min-1 , the column temperature was 35℃, and the detection wavelength was at 327 nm for chloroginic acid and baicalin, and 360 nm for luteolin. Results:Chloroginic acid, ba-icalin and luteolin was in a good linear relationship within the range of 0. 50-9. 96 μg·ml-1(r=0. 999 8), 10. 10-202. 00 μg·ml-1 (r=0.999 5), and 0.10-2.04 μg·ml-1(r=0.999 6) with the recovery of 98.13%(RSD=0.65%), 98.80%(RSD=0.26%) and 99. 62%(RSD=0. 57%), respectively. Conclusion: The developed method is simple, accurate and reliable with good repeat-ability, and can be used in the quality control of chloroginic acid, baicalin and luteolin in Julan Ganmao particles.

Objective To study the specific anti-tumor immunity of dendritic cell(DC) modified by HSP70-tumor peptide complexes and sCD40L in vitro and in vivo.Methods The murine marrow cells were cultured for 7 d,and then randomized to 4 groups: control,only HSP70-H22 peptide complexes,sCD40L,and HSP70-H22 peptide complexes combined with sCD40L.After intervention for 24 h,IL-12 and IL-10 in the supernatant were detected by ELISA assay,CD40 and CD80 of DC by FACS,and the proliferation of spleen lymphocytes by MRL.The ability of spleen lymphocytes activated by DC to H22 cells in vitro was investigated by MTT.The models of murine hepatoma were established,and then randomized to 5 groups(Ⅰ,Ⅱ,Ⅲ,Ⅳ and Ⅴ),followed by interference with normal saline and DC respectively.At 21 d,mice were sacrificed and the weight of tumor was measured.The levels of IL-10 and IFN-? in blood serum were detected by ELISA assay.Results Compared with that in the groups of control,only sCD40L,and HSP70-H22 peptide complexes,the level of IL-10 in the group stimulated by HSP70-H22 peptide complexes combined with sCD40L decreased significantly,but other indexes in this group increased significantly(P

Objective To study the characteristics of liver injury induced by simvastatin combined with HRZ (Isoniazid,Rifampicin and Pyrazinamide) in SD rats.Methods Fifty-four 8-week-old SD rats were randomly divided into 3 groups:group A (control),group B (HRZ) and group C (simvastatin combined to HRZ),half of each group were male.We calculated the accurate dose respectively before those rats were given intragastrical administration of corresponding drugs.Six rats were killed in each group on 10th,20th and 40th day,respectively.Before this,blood was fastened from femoral of every rat that would be killed to test liver function,liver tissue slices were made in order to observe the pathological characteristic.Results Alanine amiotransferase of group C elevated in line with time and reached statistic difference on 40th day,furthermore,it was significantly higher than group A (P＜0.05).Total bilirubin and direct Bilirubin of group C were significantly higher than those of group A from the beginning to the end (P＜0.05),however,they declined rapidly on 10th day,this trend also had statistic difference (P＜0.05) At the end of this experiment,hepatic cords was disordered slightly,but swelling liver cells and vacuolar degeneration were observed,the nuleus of cell condensed.Soakage of monocytes,neutrophils,and lymphocytes occurred in the portal and lobule regions,or even spotty necrosis occasionally.Conclusion Cholestasis occurs at the early stage when simvastatin is combined with HRZ in SD rats,however,it has a rapidly degressive trend.In contrast,Alanine amiotransferase elevates,furthermore,pathological injury or even spotty necrosis can emerge in liver tissue slices.

Objective To investigate the effect of mycobacterium tuberculosis heat shock protein 70(TB .HSP70) as an adjuvant carrier on stimulating hepatitis B virus (HBV) core antigen(HBcAg)specific immune response to an accompanying cytotoxic T lym-phocytes epitope peptide from HBV core antigen in vitro .Methods Recombinant proteins HSP70(P1)、HSP70-HBcAg(18-27) (P2)、HSP70-PreS2B (18-24)-PreS2Th(37-53)-HBcAg(18-27)(P3) were expressed in methylotropic yeast Pichia pastoris GS115 . The expression of recombinant proteins was identified by SDS-PAGE and Western blot .The effect of recombinant proteins on den-dritic cell and lymphocytes of chronic HBV infection volunteers was investigated in vitro .The maturation of dendritic cell was meas-ured by flow cytometry ;the secretion of Th1 cytokines such as IL-12p70 ,IL-1β,TNF-αand IFN-γ was measured by ELISA ;the proliferation of lymphocytes was measured by TdR-3H ;the HBV-spesific cytotoxic activity was measured by the classic 51 Cr .Re-sults The recombinant proteins (P1 ,P2 ,P3) were constructed successfully .P1 ,P2 ,P3 could activate dendritic cell from chronic HBV infection volunteers by upregulation CD1a ,CD40 ,CD86 and production Th1 cytokines such as IL-12p70 ,IL-1β and TNF-α. Especially P3 could better induce autologous T cells to generate HBV specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes response ,activate the prolif-eration of lymphocytes and release IFN-γeffectively .However ,the recombinant HSP70 showed no target cell killing and could not induce immune response effectively .Conclusion TB .HSP70 can be used as an adjuvant carrier to stimulate HBV specific immune response to an accompanying cytotoxic T lymphocytes epitope peptide from HBV core antigen ,and enhance immunogenicity of the cytotoxic T lymphocytes epitope peptide .The P3 with B-and T-epitope can activate the HBV specific immune response effectively .

Objective To explore the curative effect of insulin combined with An Er Shu in treatment ofⅡtoⅢ degree pressure sores of elderly patients with diabetes mellitus. Methods A total of 120 cases of elderly diabetes mellitus patients with Ⅱ to Ⅲ degree pressure sores were randomly divided into the control group (30 cases, conventional nursing treatment), the experimental group 1 (30 cases, insulin spray coating), the experimental group 2 (30 cases, An Er Shu brushing besmear), and the experimental group 3(30 cases, insulin combined An Er Shu). The curative effect and the healing time were observed. Results After four weeks treatment total effective rate was 60.0%(18/30) in the control group, 66.7%(20/30) in the experimental group 1, 76.7%(23/30) in the experimental group 2, 100.0%(30/30) in the experimental group 3, and there was significant difference in the 3 experimental groups comparing with the control group, the experimental group 1 and the experimental group 2, respectively (χ2=15.000, 12.000, 5.822, P<0.05 or 0.01). The healing time ofⅡdegree pressure sores was (19.03 ± 0.85) d in the control group, (18.90 ± 0.92) d in the experimental group 1, (18.43 ± 0.82) d in the experimental group 2, and (16.97 ± 1.25) d in the experimental group 3, and there was significant difference in the experimental group 3 comparing with the control group, experimental group 1 and experimental group 2, respectively (t=8.013, 7.918, 8.930, P<0.01), and in the experimental group 2 comparing with the control group (t=3.525, P<0.01). The healing time ofⅢdegree pressure sores was (24.17 ± 1.51) d in the control group, (23.63 ± 1.33) d in the experimental group 1, (23.47 ± 1.25) d in the experimental group 2, and (21.07 ± 1.46) d in the experimental group 3, and there was significant difference in the experimental group 3 comparing with the control group, experimental group 1 and experimental group 2, respectively (t=6.918, 7.048, 9.200, P<0.01). Pressure sores area reduction was (44.47 ± 37.63)%in the control group, (56.50 ± 39.64)%in the experimental group 1, (66.23 ± 37.54)%in the experimental group 2, and (96.52 ± 7.71) % in the experimental group 3, and there was significant difference in the experimental group 3 comparing with the control group, the experimental group 1 and the experimental group 2, respectively (Z=-4.274,-4.274,-3.400, P<0.01). Conclusions Insulin combined An Er Shu in treatment of pressure sores in elderly patients with diabetes mellitus can improve curative effect and shorten the healing time.

Objective To analyze the therapeutic effects of different meth ods in operative treatment of intertrochanteric fractures of femur. Methods 106 cases were treated with operation and their average age was 72 year old. 39 case s of them were treated with external fixation, 3 cases with steeliness, 13 cases with Metanghin nail, 45 cases with DHS, and 6 cases with proximal femoral nail( PFN). Results The therapeutic effects of the dynamic hip screw(DHS) and PFN trea tment were the best among these methods. The excellent and good rates of DHS, PF N, external fixation, steeliness, and Metanghin were 100%, 87.2%, 33.3%, 69. 2%, respectively. Conclusion For the intertrochanteric fracture of lemur,DHS or PFN is recommendable to the patients who can tolerate an operation, whereas uni lateral external fixation is preferable to those who cannot or will not receive an operation.

Objective To perform a preclinical test of a delineation software based on atlas-based auto-segmentation (ABAS),to evaluate its accuracy in the delineation of organs at risk (OARs) in radiotherapy planning for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC),and to provide a basis for its clinical application.Methods Using OARs manually contoured by physicians on planning-CT images of 22 patients with NPC as the standard,the automatic delineation using two different algorithms (general and head/neck) of the ABAS software were applied to the following tests:(1) to evaluate the restoration of the atlas by the software,automatic delineation was performed on copied images from each patient using the contours of OARs manually delineated on the original images as atlases;(2) to evaluate the accuracy of automatic delineation on images from various patients using a single atlas,the contours manually delineated on images from one patients were used as atlases for automatic delineation of OARs on images from other patients.Dice similarity coefficient (DSC),volume difference (Vdiff),correlation between the DSC and the volume of OARs,and efficiency difference between manual delineation and automatic delineation plus manual modification were used as indices for evaluation.Wilcoxon signed rank test and Spearman correlation analysis were used.Results The head/neck algorithm had superior restoration of the atlas over the general algorithm.The DSC was positively correlated with the volume of OARs and was higher than 0.8 for OARs larger than 1 cc in volume in the restoration test.For automatic delineation with the head/neck algorithm using a single atlas,the mean DSC and Vdiff were 0.81-0.90 and 2.73％-16.02％,respectively,for the brain stem,temporal lobes,parotids,and mandible,while the mean DSC was 0.45-0.49 for the temporomandibular joint and optic chiasm.Compared with manual delineation,automatic delineation plus manual modification saved 68％ of the time.Conclusions A preclinical test is able to determine the accuracy and conditions of the ABAS software in specific clinical application.The tested software can help to improve the efficiency of OAR delineation in radiotherapy planning for NPC.However,it is not suitable for delineation of OAR with a relatively small volume.

Aim To investigate the effects of anti-in-flammation and antioxidation of an amphiphilic curcu-min derivative (Curc-OEG)on CCl4-induced hepatic fibrosis in rats.Methods Rats were randomly divided into four groups:control group,model group,curcumin and Curc-OEG treatment group.All rats except those in control group were given subcuta-neous injection of CCl4 and olive oil mixture,twice a week for 8 weeks.After 4 weeks,rats of control and model group were trea-ted with normal saline intravenously,curcumin group were ad-ministered with curcumin 400 mg.kg -1 .d -1 by gavage and Curc-OEG group were treated with Curc-OEG 1 00 mg.kg -1 .d -1 intra-venously respectively.After 4 weeks treatment,the serum levels of ALT and AST were tested.HE and Sirus staining were used to evaluate the extent of liver inflammation and fibrosis.The mRNA expression levels of proinflammatory cytokines of NF-kB,IL-1 β, IL-6,TNF-α,COX-2 were observed with Real Time PCR.The level of MOD,SOD and GSH in liver of rats were quantified. Results The levels of ALT in control,model,curcumin and Curc-OEG group was (31 .7 ±8.7)U·L -1 ,(383.0 ±75.6) U·L -1 ,(406.3 ±204.7)U·L -1 ,(1 07.0 ±73.7)U·L -1 respectively;that of AST was (1 37.7 ±32.7)U·L -1 ,(585.3 ±36.7)U·L -1 ,(485.0 ±246.5)U·L -1 ,(202.7 ±56.0) U·L -1 respectively,Curc-OEG possessed more hepatoprotective effects than that of curcumin.Liver pathology showed Curc-OEG treatment could significantly alleviate steatosis,reduce inflamma-tion and apparently suppress hepatic fibrogenesis by reducing the thickness of bridging fibrotic septa.Compared with curcumin, Curc-OEG down-regulated mRNA and protein expression levels of NF-kB,IL-1 β,IL-6,TNF-α,COX-2 (P <0.05 ).Moreo-ver,Curc-OEG reduced the level of MOD and increased the lev-els of SOD and GSH.Conclusion Curc-OEG could more sig-nificantly protect the rat liver from CCl4-caused fibrogenesis by anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effect than curcumin.