Flavonoids baicalin is the main bioactive component extracted from Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi. Baicalin has high medicinal value and shows extensive pharmacological effects including antitumor, antibiosis, anti-inflammatory, antioxidation, neuro-protection, and significant potential in tumor treatment. Recent studies have shown that baicalin suppresses the growth of many kinds of human cancer. The underlying mechanisms include induction of apoptosis, induction of cell cycle arrest, inhibition of tumor metastasis, suppression of angiogenesis, and so on. This article reviewed the research progress of baicalin on its antitumor pharmacology and possible mechanisms at home and abroad, and provided the basis for its further research.

Objective:To establish an experimental model for intracellular antibacteria and endotoxin neutralization in vitro to detect the antibacterial and endotoxin neutralization activity of the muBPI_(25) protein.Methods: RAW264.7 cells were transfected with pcDNA3.1(+)muBPI_(36-259), and then were infected with intracellular bacterial of either G ~+/G~-to establish the experimental model of intracellalar antibacteria.The RAW264.7 cells were co-transfected with the pSecTag2B-muBPI_(36-259) and dual-luciferase reporter gene plasmids for establishment of the experimental model of endotoxin neutralization.Results:The experimental model of intracellular antibacteria confirmed that the muBPI_(25) protein could inhibit/kill Salmonella typhi.The experimental model of endotoxin neutralization indicated that the muBPI_(25) protein could neutralize endotoxin.Conelusion: We firstly demonstrate that murine BPI N-terminal functional fragment(muBPI_(25) protein)can inhibit/kill Salmonella typhi,and can neutralize, its lysating product, endotoxin.

OBJECTIVETo explore the effect of total parenteral nutrition (TPN) supplemented with arginine on cellular immune function of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after radical tumor resection.

METHODSFifty-six HCC patients undergoing radical surgery received fat-free TPN support, routine TPN or TPN with arginine supplementation, and their clinical data were analyzed prospectively. The percentages of T lymphocyte subpopulation and national killer (NK) cells in peripheral blood are determined, and the levels of interleukin-2 (IL-2), IL-4 and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) were measured.

RESULTSNo marked changes were noted in peripheral blood CD4+, CD8+ T cells and NK cells, or in IL-2, IL-4 and IFN-gamma levels after fat-free TPN and routine TPN support. TPN supplemented with arginine resulted in significant increase in CD4+ T cells, NK cells and CD4+/CD8+ T cell ratio in the peripheral blood, as well as in IL-2 and IFN-gamma levels. Peripheral blood IL-4 level was decreased significantly.

CONCLUSIONTPN with arginine supplementation can augment the percentages of CD4+ T lymphocytes and NK cells, and increase IL-2 and IFN-gamma levels, suggesting that arginine can enhance cell-mediated immunity in postoperative patients with HCC.

Adult ; Aged ; Arginine ; pharmacology ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; immunology ; metabolism ; surgery ; therapy ; Cytokines ; metabolism ; Dietary Supplements ; Female ; Humans ; Immunity, Cellular ; drug effects ; Liver Neoplasms ; immunology ; metabolism ; surgery ; therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Parenteral Nutrition ; methods ; Postoperative Period ; T-Lymphocyte Subsets ; drug effects ; immunology

OBJECTIVETo prevent and manage frequent complications after endovascular repair of infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA).

METHODSThe data of 71 cases of infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) treated by endovascular repair were analysed retrospectively. The reasons, managements, results and prognosis of frequent complications were investigated.

RESULTSSeventy-one cases of infrarenal AAA were treated by endovascular repair with 100% success rate. There was no surgical conversion to open aneurysm repair. There were 8 cases of primary endoleak, 1 case of nervous complication and acute thrombosis. An average follow-up period was 26 +/- 5 months. Three persistent endoleaks and 4 secondary endoleaks were found during the follow-up period. The endoleak rate was 9.8% (7/71) within 1 month postoperatively and mortality rate was 1.3% (1/71). Total mortality rate was 4.2% (3/71). Two patients died from acute myocardial infarction and one from acute heart failure.

CONCLUSIONSEndovascular treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysm is technically feasible and can effectively exclude aortic aneurysms from the circulation. Endoleak is a chief complication after endovascular repair of infrarenal AAA.Additional procedures and follow up are very important. Endoleak with enlarged aneurysm should be treated actively.

Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal ; surgery ; Blood Vessel Prosthesis Implantation ; adverse effects ; methods ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Postoperative Complications ; etiology ; prevention & control ; therapy ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Stents ; Treatment Outcome ; Vascular Fistula ; etiology ; prevention & control ; therapy

BACKGROUNDCatheter-directed thrombolysis (CDT) has been a mainstay in treating deep venous thrombosis (DVT). However, the optimal dosage of a thrombolytic agent is still controversial. The goal of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of low dosage urokinase with CDT for DVT.

METHODSA retrospective analysis was performed using data from a total of 427 patients with DVT treated with CDT in our single center between July 2009 and December 2012. Early efficacy of thrombolysis was assessed with a thrombus score based on daily venography. The therapeutic safety was evaluated by adverse events. A venography or duplex ultrasound was performed to assess the outcome at 6 months, 1 year and 2 years postoperatively.

RESULTSThe mean total dose of 3.34 (standard deviation [SD] 1.38) million units of urokinase was administered during a mean of 5.18 (SD 2.28) days. Prior to discharge, Grade III (complete lysis) was achieved in 154 (36%) patients; Grade II (50-99% lysis) in 222 (52%); and Grade I (50% lysis) in 51 (12%). The major complications included one intracranial hemorrhage, one hematochezia, five gross hematuria, and one pulmonary embolism. Moreover, no death occurred in the study.

CONCLUSIONSTreatment of low-dose catheter-directed thrombosis is an efficacious and safe therapeutic approach in patients with DVT offering good long-term outcomes and minimal complications.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Drug Administration Schedule ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome ; Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Venous Thrombosis ; drug therapy ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo study the immunoregulatory effect of hepatitis B virus (HBV) e antigen (HBeAg) on peripheral blood monocytes (PBMCs).

METHODSPBMCs were isolated from patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB; both HBeAg- and HBeAg+) and healthy controls, and cultured with recombinant HBeAg. The HBeAg-induced changes in expression of PD-1/PD-L1 were measured by flow cytometry of the cells and in secreted cytokines were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay of the supernatants. Comparisons between two groups were made by the independent-samples t-test; the relationship between PD-1/B7-H1 level and HBV DNA copy number was evaluated by Spearman's correlation analysis.

RESULTSExposure to HBeAg led to a significant decrease in CD3+CD4+ T lymphocyte-specific expression of IFNa for both the CHB patients' and healthy controls' samples (t = 2.382 and -4.190 respectively, P less than 0.01). For the HBeAg- CHB patients' and healthy controls' samples, the HBeAg exposure led to increased levels of secreted cytokines IL-6, IL-10 and TNFa (t = 2.504, 3.583 and 4.324, P less than 0.01 and t = 3.542, 6.246 and 5.273, P less than 0.01 respectively) and of CD14+ PBMC-specific expression of PD-L1 (t = 4.815 and 3.454, P less than 0.05 respectively). Compared to the HBeAg-negative CHB patients' and healthy controls' samples, the HBeAg+ CHB patients' samples had significantly lower CD3+CD4+ T cell-specific expression of IFNa (t = -3.177 and -4.541, P less than 0.01 respectively), but significantly higher levels of secreted IL-4 (t = 3.382 and 4.393, P less than 0.01 respectively), of CD3+ T cells-specific expression of PD-1/PD-L1 (t = 4.755, 2.942 and 4.518, 4.595, P less than 0.01 respectively), and of CD14+ T cells-specific expression of PD-L1 (t = 5.092 and 5.473, P less than 0.01 respectively). The CD3+ T cells-specific expression of PD-L1 was significantly higher in the samples from HBeAg- CHB patients than from the healthy controls (t = 3.214, P less than 0.01).

CONCLUSIONHBeAg was able to down-regulate the production of Th1-type cytokines (IFNgamma), and up-regulate the secretion of Th2-type cytokines (IL-6, IL-10) and the expression of PD-1/PD-L1on monocytes. These changes are conducive to the formation of immune tolerance to HBV. Therefore, HBeAg may play an important role in immune tolerance to chronic HBV infection.

Adult ; Case-Control Studies ; Cells, Cultured ; Female ; Hepatitis B e Antigens ; genetics ; immunology ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; blood ; immunology ; Humans ; Interferon-gamma ; immunology ; Interleukin-10 ; immunology ; Interleukin-6 ; immunology ; Leukocytes, Mononuclear ; immunology ; metabolism ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Recombinant Proteins ; immunology ; Th1 Cells ; immunology ; Th1-Th2 Balance ; Th2 Cells ; immunology

OBJECTIVEThis study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of multi-disciplinary treatment approaches in reducing neurological disabilities in premature infants.

METHODSA total of 117 infants who were born premature in our hospital between March 2008 and February 2010 but had no congenital malformations and no severe neonatal complications, were enrolled in this study. They were randomly allocated to a multi-disciplinary treatment group (n=63) and a control group (n=54). While patients in the control group underwent an early conventional treatment, those in the multi-disciplinary treatment group were subjected to regular development monitoring, neurological examination and screening for brain injury, neuro-nutrition and neurodevelopment therapies, and rehabilitation training.

RESULTSThe incidence rates of abnormalities in posture, reflex, sleep, muscle tone and EEG were significantly lower in the multi-disciplinary treatment group than in the control froup (P<0.05) at corrected postnatal ages of 6-12 months. At corrected postnatal ages of 6, 12, 18 and 24 months, both mental development index (MDI) and psychomotor development index (PDI) scores were significantly higher in the multi-disciplinary treatment group than in the control group (P<0.05). At corrected postnatal age of 3 years, incidence rates of cerebral palsy, language barrier, abnormal muscle tone and hearing impairment were significantly lower in the multi-disciplinary treatment group than in the control group (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONSEarly multi-disciplinary intervention approaches may significantly improve mental and motor developments and reduce the incidence of cerebral palsy-associated neurological disabilities in premature infants.

Cerebral Palsy ; prevention & control ; Child, Preschool ; Developmental Disabilities ; prevention & control ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature ; Infant, Premature, Diseases ; prevention & control ; Male

Objective To investigate the effect of emodin on the gemci-tabine-resistant pancreatic cancer cell line SW1990/Gemcitabine (GEM),and explore the potential mechanism of its action .Methods The pancreatic cancer cell line SW1990 was treated by intermittently in-creasing the concentration of gemcitabine in the culture medium for 10 months, and SW1990/GEM cells were obtained.This experiment was di-vided into control group ,emodin group,gemcitabine group and combina-tion group ( emodin +gemcitabine ) .SW1990/GEM and SW1990 cells were treated with emodin ( 10 μmol · L-1) and gemcitabine ( 20 μmol· L-1) alone or those two together in three groups for 48 h, in con-trol group cells were treated with 0.1%DMSO for 48 h.Cell proliferation was analyzed by MTT.Reverse transcription -polymerase chain reaction was performed to analyze the protein and gene expression of multidrug re-sistance gene-1 ( MDR-1) .Flow cytometric was applied to analyze the function of the P-glycoprotein(P-gp).The Rhodamine l23 efflux experiment was applied to assay P -gp function in SW1990/Gemcitabine cells.Results Compared with gemcitabine group , the combination group could significantly inhibit the proliferation of SW1990/GEM cells.Treatment of SW1990/GEM and SW1990 cells with gemcitabine alone could inhibit 13.34%and 36.52%of cell viability,there was significant difference between the two group (P＜0.05). The results showed that the SW1990 /GEM cell line had an obvious resistance to gemcitabine compared with the cell line SW 1990.While SW 1990/GEM and SW 1990 cells were treated with gemcitabine combined with emodin , cell via-bility was inhibited to 40.45%and 43.87%, there was no significant difference between the two group .The emodin could enhance the anti -proliferative effect of gemcitabine on drug -resistance cell SW1990/GEM.Compared with gemcitabine group, the combination group could significantly inhibit the expression of MDR-1 gene,and the difference was statistically significant (P＜0.05).Conclusion Effect of emodin can down -regulate the expression of MDR -1 and then improve the drug resistance of gemcitabine in pancreatic cancer .

OBJECTIVETo study the biological function of fusion gene HRX-EEN and its role in leukemogenesis, and to provide an ideal animal model for anti-leukemia drug screening.

METHODSHRX-EEN fusion gene was constructed by use of three different DNA fragments, and it was inserted into hCG transgenic vector. G(0) transgenic mice were obtained by microinjection of the recombined DNA into the pronucleus of zygotes, followed by implantation of the injected zygotes into pseudopregnant mice. The integration of the transgene was tested by PCR and its expression by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).

RESULTSThe sequence of recombined HRX-EEN gene was confirmed by sequencing. PCR testing revealed a total of 7 G(0) transgenic mice, these mice were then mated with C57 wild type mice. Except mouse No. 35 that died, the others all had their F1 offsprings. From these 6 lines of transgenic mice, HRX-EEN gene was found to be stably expressed in 3 lines by RT-PCR. Up to now, all transgenic mice expressing the fusion gene have no obvious abnormal phenotypes.

CONCLUSIONA transgenic mice model in which the HRX-EEN fusion gene can be stably expressed has been established.

Animals ; DNA-Binding Proteins ; genetics ; Histone-Lysine N-Methyltransferase ; Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins ; Mice ; Mice, Transgenic ; Myeloid-Lymphoid Leukemia Protein ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Proteins ; genetics ; Proto-Oncogenes ; Recombinant Fusion Proteins ; genetics ; Transcription Factors

Objective::To observe the effect of compound Kushen injection on the expressions of transforming growth factor-β₁ (TGF-β₁), drosophila mothers against decapentaplegic protein 3 (Smad3), glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) and β-catenin mice models with radiation-induced pulmonary injury (RIPI), in order to explore its possible mechanism of action. Method::On XStrahl precision radiation research platform for small animals (SARRP), a single 20 Gy bilateral lung field irradiation was performed to establish a mice model of RIPI. Thirty-two mice were randomly divided into normal control group, model group, compound Kushen injection group and dexamethasone injection group. The normal control group and the model group were given an equal volume of 0.9%sodium chloride solution and injected intraperitoneally for 4 weeks. The pathology of lung tissue tissues was observed by using hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining. Immunohistochemical(IHC) was used to detect the expressions of E-cadheren and Vimentin proteins in mice lung tissues.Real-time polymerase chain reaction (Real-time PCR) was used to detect the mRNA expressions of TGF-β₁, Smad3, GSK-3β and β-cateninin.Western blot was used to detect the protein expressions of TGF-β₁, Smad3, GSK-3β and β-cateninin. Result::Compared with the normal group, the pulmonary coefficient of the model group was significantly decreased (P<0.01). Inflammatory cell infiltration, pulmonary interstitial edema, congestion, destruction of alveolar structure and partial alveolar atrophy were observed in the lung tissues of the model group. Compared with the model group, in the compound Kushen injection group, the levels of infiltration of lung inflammatory cells and pulmonary interstitial lesions in mice, the expression of Vimentin in lung tissues (P<0.01), and the expressions of TGF-β₁, Smad3, GSK-3β and β-cateninin were significantly decreased (P<0.01), whereas the expression of E-cadheren was significantly increased (P<0.01). However, compared with the dexamethasone injection group, in the compound Kushen injection group, the pathological changes of lung tissues were similar, and the expression levels of E-cadheren, Vimentin, TGF-β₁, Smad3, GSK-3β and β-cateninin were not significantly different. Conclusion::Compound Kushen injection can alleviate pulmonary fibrosis of lung in the treatment of RIPI, and the mechanism may be associated with inhibiting the mRNA and protein expressions of TGF-β₁, Smad3, GSK-3β and β-catenin related to epithelial-mesenchymal transition(EMT), promoting the expression of E-cadheren, and inhibiting the expression of Vimentin, so as to inhibit the occurrence of EMT.