Objective To study the role of JAK-STAT singal transduction pathway in the interstitial fibrosis of unilateral ureter obstruction (UUO)mice. Methods Mice UUO model was established and the phosphorylation of JAK-STAT was examined at day 1,4,7 and 14 after ligation of the ureter.Mice in the treatment group were treated with daily injection of selective JAK2 inhibitor AG490 starting 2 h before ureter ligation until sacrifice while vehicle alone was given to mice in the model control group.Mice were sacrificed at day 14 after the establishment of model.Renal tubular lesion and interstitial fibrosis were assessed on paraffin section.Immunohistochemistry was used to detect renal macrophage infihration and α-SMA expression.The expression of collagen Ⅲ and MCP-1 mRNA was measured by RT-PCR.Phosphorylation of JAK2and STAT1 was examined by Western blotting. Results JAK2-STAT1 signaling transduction pathway was activated in UUO model.The activation of JAK2-STAT1 was closely correlated with the progression of renal injury,tubular histological lesions and interstitial fibrosis.AG490 treatment significantly inhibited the phosphorylation of JAK2 and STAT1 (P＜0.01).AG490 treatment also significantly reduced tubular lesions[(21.7 ±1.7)% vs (49.4±1.0)%]and interstitial fibrosis(1.0±0.1 vs 2.3±0.2),α-SMA expression(0.9±0.1 vs 2.1±0.2)and maerophage accumulation[(13.3±1.6)cells/HPF vs (34.4±1.0)cells/HPF](all P＜0.01).In addition,AG490 significantly inhibited the expression of collagen Ⅲ and MCP-1 mRNA. Conclusion JAK-STAT signaling plays an important role in renal tubulointerstitial inflammation and fibrosis.

Objective To investigate the preventive effect of nano-powder of Wugong-sanqi (NW),the rhizome of Anemone flaccid,on postoperative intestinal adhesion in rats.Methods Fifty SD rats were subjected to operation with Ellis' method for establishing intestinal adhesion models,then randomly divided into 5 groups (n=10),namely model,positive (Dexamethasone,i.m.10 mg/kg),NW high,medium and low dose group (p.o.450,225 and 112 mg/kg,respectively).Another ten normal rats were selected as normal control group.After administration 3 days pre-operation and 7 days post-operation,all of rats were killed,the intestinal adhesion was graded and the tissues were observed by optical microscope.Results NW evidently reduced the severity of postoperative adhesion (P＜0.05 or P＜0.01),compared with model group.The histopathologic changes such as proliferation of fibroblast cells and capillary,interstitial granulomas and inflammatory cells infiltration in intestinal tissues were also improved significantly in NW groups.Conclusion NW could inhibit the formation of postoperative intestinal adhesion effectively.

Objective To observe the effect of Sinisan on the learning and memorial ability and the expression of synaptohydin in the hippocampus of exercise-fatigue rats. Methods Rats were made into the fatigue model by Exhaustive Swimming. Learning and memorial ability of the rats were observed by moving-back with current stimulation experiment; expression of synaptohydin protein in hippocampus of exercise-fatigue rats treated with Sinisan for 10 days were detected by immunohistochemistry technique and compared to control group and model group.Results The moving-back time and the error times of the exercise-fatigue rats as follows: model group(73.00±61.96) s/(1.67±1.15), control group(144.25±57.14) s/(0.50±0.80)，Sinisan group (166.17±47.92) s/(0.38±0.49). Comparison of mean optical density of synaptohydin protein in hippocampus of rats in different groups as follows: control group (0.2636±0.10654) and Sinisan group (0.2555±0.163380) were higher than the model group (0.0474±0.1837)(P<0.05). The synaptohydin staining Results showed that synaptohydin-positive granules around the neuron in hippocampus of rats in control group were the darkest and densest, the Sinisan group were darker than the model group rats.Conclusion Sinisan could improve the learning and memorial ability and increase the synaptohydin protein in the hippocampus of the exercise-fatigue rats.

OBJECTIVETo analyze the drift of T cell receptor (TCR) Vα and Vβ gene family CDR3 spectratype in response to ovarian carcinoma cells mediated by an anti-human ovarian carcinoma/CD3 bispecific single-chain antibody (BHL-1), and explore the mechanism of the bispecific single-chain antibody-mediated T cell immune response.

METHODSImmunoscopic spectratyping technique was used to analyze the TCR repertoire diversity (CDR3 spectratype distribution) of the T cells from 6 healthy donors before and after stimulation of the cells with human ovarian carcinoma in the presence of BHL-1. The predominant usage of TCR α and Vβ chain CDR3 was analyzed after the stimulation, and sequence analysis was performed for the CDR3 region of the monoclonal T cells.

RESULTSThe spectratypes of Vα and Vβ gene family TCR CDR3 region showed a Gaussian distribution before stimulation of the T cells from the 6 donors. After stimulation of the T cells, CDR3 spectratype drift occurred in the T cells, and some TCR Vα and Vβ families showed an anomalous and oligoclonal expansion. Different CDR3 sequences of the Vα and Vβ gene family TCR were found in the monoclonal T cells stimulated with BHL-1.

CONCLUSIONCDR3 spectratype drift occurs in TCR α and Vβ chains of T cells after stimulation with human ovarian carcinoma cells and BHL-1, indicating that the predominant usage of TCR Vα and Vβ families is associated with the specific T cell immune response mediated by BHL-1.

Antibodies, Bispecific ; immunology ; Cell Line ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Complementarity Determining Regions ; immunology ; Female ; Humans ; Monocytes ; immunology ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; immunology ; Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta ; immunology ; Single-Chain Antibodies ; immunology

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of gene silencing of Bmi-1 on proliferation regulation of CD44+ nasopharyngeal carcinoma cancer stem-like cells (CSC-LCs). METHOD: The sequence-specific short hairpin RNA lentivirus targeting at human Bmi-1 gene (LV-Bmi-1shRNA) was constructed and was used to infect CD44+ nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells which were sorted by flow cytometry. A lentiviral which included a random sequence was also designed to serve as a negative control. We employed fluorescence microscope and flow cytometry to detect infection efficiency; real-time PCR was used to detect Bmi-1 and its downstream gene while each protein expression level was confirmed by western blotting protocol; CCK-8 proliferation assay was applied to measure proliferation capacity; tumor spheroid assay was used to evaluate the self-renewal capacity. Colony formation assay was used to measure cell colony formation capability; flow cytometry analyzed cell cycle distribution. RESULT: The constructed LV-Bmi-1shRNA successfully infected into the CD44+ nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells. The infection efficiency could reach above 95%; LV-Bmi-lshRNA effectively inhibited Bmi-1 mRNA and protein expression, while the downstream gene p16INK4a and p14ARF mRNA as well as protein expression level were upregulated (P < 0.05). Notablely, the proliferation, colony formation, self-renewal capabilities of the experimental group decreased significantly (P < 0.05). In addition, the cell cycle arrested at the G0-G1 phase. CONCLUSION Gene silencing of Bmi-1 inhibited the proliferation, colony formation and self-renewal capabilities of the CD44+ nasopharyngeal carcinoma CSC-LCs, inhibited the cell cycle processes, which may mediate through Bmi1-p16INK4a/p14ARF-p53 pathway. Our experimental results indicated that Bmi-1 gene may play an important role in the maintenance of the stem cell-like characteristics of CD44+ nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells. Bmi-1 gene may be a potential new target for the treatment of nasopharyng al carcinoma in the future.
Carcinoma ; Cell Cycle ; Cell Division ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16 ; metabolism ; Gene Silencing ; Humans ; Hyaluronan Receptors ; metabolism ; Lentivirus ; Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma ; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms ; genetics ; pathology ; Neoplastic Stem Cells ; cytology ; Polycomb Repressive Complex 1 ; genetics ; RNA, Messenger ; RNA, Small Interfering ; Tumor Suppressor Protein p14ARF ; metabolism ; Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 ; metabolism

Objective:To analyze the diagnostic value of preoperative electromyography and spasticity assessment for patients with hemifacial spasm, and to define a relationship between intraoperative electrophysiological examination and prognosis in order to provide help for clinical diagnosis and treatment.Methods:Thirty-one patients with hemifacial spasm were selected for the clinical spasticity scoring and divided into a general spasm group ( n=27) and a severe spasm group ( n=4). All received preoperative neurophysiological examination to record their twitch discharge, facial nerve conduction velocity (MCV), lateral spread (LSR) of the spasm, brainstem auditory evoked potential (BAEP), and blink reflex. Electrophysiological monitoring then recorded intraoperative LSR. According to whether the LSR disappeared or not, the patients were divided into the LSR disappearance group (of 15) and the LSR residual group (of 16), and facial muscle activity was recorded again one, three and six months after the operation. Results:Preoperative EMG examination of both groups showed positive LSR and that facial nerve MCV was within the normal range. There were, though, significant differences between the two groups in the twitching discharge by needle electromyography, blink reflex and preoperative BAEP. One week after the operation, one member of the residual group and 3 from the disappearance patients of the former and latter group had recovered in terms of LSR, with 3 and 7 cases significantly relieved, respectively. Two months later, the corresponding figures were 5 and 7, 3 and 6, respectively. Half of a year after the surgery, 5 from the residual group and 12 from the disappearance group had fully recovered in terms of LSR, while 9 and 2 cases were significantly relieved. Altogether, there were significant differences within the two groups in terms of recovery among all the time points, with significantly better recovery in the LSR disappearance group than the LSR residual group at 1 week after operation, while there were no significant differences between the two groups in recovery 3 and 6 months after their operation.Conclusions:Preoperative electromyography can provide objective assessments of the scope, severity, and facial nerve excitability of patients with hemifacial spasm. Real-time intraoperative electrophysiology monitoring can help surgeons to objectively assess the effect of decompression and to find and avoid nerve traction injury in surrounding areas quickly.

Reversible posterior leukoencephalopathy syndrome(RPLS)is a clinical syndrome mainly characterized by headache,epileptic seizure,disturbance of consciousness,mental abnormality,visual impairment,and focal neuro-logical impairment.This disease is mostly caused by malignant hypertension and the use of immunosuppressants,and the cases caused by blood transfusion are rare.This article reports on two cases of reversible posterior leukoencephalopathy syndrome caused by blood transfusion,providing a reference for diagnosis and treatment.

Radiation-induced brain injury (RBI) is the most serious complication of head and neck tumor after radiotherapy. The pathogenesis of RBI is complicated, and the clinical course is irreversible, while no effective treatment available. The activation of glial cells is one of the main theories of RBI, and the prevention and treatment of RBI by targeting glial cells is the focus of current research. As a post-transcriptional regulatory factor, microRNA (miRNA) has been confirmed to be involved in regulatingglial cell radiosensitivity, inflammation type transformation, autophagy, exosomatic, long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), circular RNA (circRNA) and other related pathways, thereby mediating the occurrence and development of cascade reaction of inflammatory injury and neurological function repair of central nervous system (CNS) disease. Therefore, the establishment of miRNA - glial regulatory network may provide a new strategy for the prevention and treatment of RBI.

The function of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) represents the overall effect of the formula. The effect is the expression of numerous biological effects of chemical components of TCM in certain pathological conditions of the body function adjustment, and these chemicals are the material basis of the TCM function. Limited by many conditions, few studies have been done on the material base of TCM function, and most of them have been supplemented by the substance basis of TCM efficacy. This leads to the disconnection between the theory of traditional Chinese medicine and modern research, and it is difficult to scientifically explain the functional indications of Chinese medicine. This paper discusses and summarizes the ideas and methods of modern research and evaluation of the material base of TCM function.Under the guidance of TCM theory and clinical practice, we set up an index system for evaluating the TCM function, and further explained the material basis and action mechanism of TCM formula. Through the organic combination of multidisciplinary and multi-technology, it provides a reference for the establishment of a comprehensive research model of the functional material basis of TCM formula.

ObjectiveTo explore the typical syndromes and their characteristic of symptoms and signs with high diagnostic value in patients with metabolic syndrome （MS）. MethodsTraditional Chinese medicine （TCM） diagnostic information was collected from 135 MS patients. Syndrome element differentiation and latent class analysis （LCA） were applied to identify the major TCM syndromes in MS patients. Symptoms were analyzed based on the differentiated syndromes， and a binary logistic regression model was constructed to determine symptoms and signs with high diagnostic value. ResultsA total of 135 MS patients were included， involving 163 symptoms and signs with a total frequency of 1749； twenty-three syndrome elements were extracted， 367 times frequency in total， among which 8 syndrome elements occurred ≥10 times with 323 frequencies （88.01% of the total）. These included location-related elements such as kidney （48 times）， spleen （14 times）， and stomach （14 times）， and nature-related elements such as phlegm （71 times）， yin deficiency （64 times）， dampness （57 times）， heat （42 times）， and qi deficiency （13 times）. Based on LCA， the 135 patients were categorized into two groups distinguished by the syndrome elements of dampness and phlegm， forming the "phlegm-dampness syndrome" as the major syndrome type. Nine high-frequency symptoms and signs associated with the phlegm-dampness syndrome were identified，i.e. obesity （39 times）， greasy coating （38 times）， slippery pulse （33 times）， white coating （31 times）， preference for fatty and heavy foods （30 times）， excessive urination （30 times）， fatigue and lack of strength （29 times）， wiry pulse （25 times）， and dark red tongue （25 times）. A binary logistic regression model was constructed combining these nine symptoms and signs with the LCA classification results， ultimately identifying obesity， greasy coating， fatigue and lack of strength， and white coating as independent factors associated with the phlegm-dampness syndrome in MS patients （P＜0.05）. ConclusionThe major TCM syndrome in MS patients is phlegm-dampness syndrome， and obesity， greasy coating， fatigue and lack of strength， and white coating are the typical symptoms and signs for diagnosing phlegm-dampness syndrome in MS patients.