Objective:Immune cells and inflammatory mediators play important roles in the development of atherosclerotic vascular inflammation.This study focuses on the direct effect ofIL-27 on human coronary artery endothelial cells.Methods:In this study,the effects of IL-27 and TNF-α on inflammatory cytokines and chemokines were investigated.Results:IL-27 could significantly enhance the TNF-α-mediated upregulation of inflammatory cytokine IL-6 and chemokines CCL5 from human coronary artery endothelial cells.The release of IL-6 and CCL5 was significantly suppressed by specific signaling molecule inhibitors.Conclusion:The induction of these mediators from the human coronary artery endothelial cells could be differentially regulated by the c-Jun N-terminal kinase,p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase,and nuclear factor-κB pathways.These results provided new insights into the effect of IL-27 on the TNF-α mediated activation of human coronary artery endothelial cells in atherosclerotic vascular inflammation.

Visceral myopathy is a rare disorder characterized by atrophy,losing and fibrosis of visceral smooth muscle.Digestive tract is often invaded by the lesions,and the symptoms are various according to different lesions and degrees.Small intestinal involvement is characterized by abdominal distension,diarrhea and vomiting.Colon involvement is characterized by chronic intestinal pseudoobstruction.Malnutrition and hypoproteinemia may be secondary to this disease.The diagnosis of visceral myopathy is difficult,paralytic ileus,chronic constipation and systemic sclerosis must be considered in the differential diagnosis.The progression of the disease is slow,and the longterm prognosis is poor.In this article,the diagnosis and treatment of visceral myopathy causing acute intestinal pseudoobstruction were introduced based on the clinical data of 1 patient.

Objective To measure the total β radioactive background level in the urine of normal adults,and to establish the method which can be universally used and satisfy the needs of rapid screening of samples in large batch.Methods A total of 83 urine samples from healthy adults were prepared by evaporation.And the gross β activity in urine was detected by using low background measuring instrument.Results The optimal experimental conditions were in place.The sampled volume was 200 ml,and the samples were turned to nitric acid salinization,ashed at 300℃ for 2 h,and the measured time was 1000 min.To get a more stable result,the urine residues were put aside for 24 h before measurement.The radioactivity in urine of healthy adults was between 9.40-55.92 Bq/L,and showed no correlation with age and sex.Conclusions When the radioactivity in urine is detected under the conditions mentioned above,the sample preparation process is simple and quickly,which can satisfy the needs of large batch sample screening.

AIM: To investigate the relationship among MCP-1 and monocyte chemoattract protein activity (MCA) and pathogenesis of lung cancer. METHODS: 173 patients were involved in the study and divided into three groups: group A: lung cancer group (60 patients); group B: benign lung disease group (55 patients) and group C: healthy control group (58 patients). MCP-1 level and MCA in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were measured. RESULTS: The concentration of MCP-1 and MCA in BALF in group A were much higher than those in group B and group C (P

Animals ; Biofilms ; Caenorhabditis elegans ; metabolism ; Genes, Bacterial ; Yersinia pestis ; genetics ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo study the effect of Hepatitis B virus X (HBx) gene transfection on expression of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) mRNA in human bile duct carcinoma cell lines QBC939 and to elucidate the significance of cis-activation of hTERT mRNA by HBx gene on the carcinogenesis of bile duct.

METHODSQBC939 were cultured in vitro and co-transfected with eukaryotic expression vector containing the HBx coding region and cloning vector containing enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) coding sequence using liposome-mediated gene transduction technique. Thirty six hours after transfection, EGFP expression, the indicator of successful transfection in cells, was determined. Flow cytometry was applied to determine the transfection efficiency. Cells were harvested and total RNA was extracted with TRI(ZOL) Reagent. The expression of hTERT mRNA in QBC939 was assayed by Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction. The expression of HBx protein in QBC939 was detected by immunocytochemistry staining and western blotting.

RESULTSThe transfection efficiency was 29.6% for both HBx expression vector and vector control group. The expression of hTERT mRNA was significantly increased when transfected with HBx expression vector than that transfected with OPTI-MEM medium and vector only. The expression of HBx protein could only be found in the cells when transfected with HBx expression vector by immunocytochemistry staining and western blotting.

CONCLUSIONHBx gene transfection may up-regulate the transcriptional expression of hTERT mRNA in bile duct carcinoma cells. The cis-activation of hTERT gene by HBx gene is primary mechanism for carcinogenesis of biliary epithelia after HBV infection.

Bile Duct Neoplasms ; genetics ; metabolism ; Cell Line, Tumor ; DNA-Binding Proteins ; metabolism ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Genetic Vectors ; Humans ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; metabolism ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Telomerase ; metabolism ; Trans-Activators ; genetics ; Transfection

Animals ; Burns ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; Interleukin-18 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Lactulose ; therapeutic use ; Lipopolysaccharides ; blood ; Liver ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; Lung ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; Male ; Multiple Organ Failure ; prevention & control ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar

Objective To assess the red blood cell (RBC) folate status among Chinese elderly population and its geographical differences between Southem and Northern regions,and to evaluate the correlation between RBC and plasma folate.Methods This study was conducted in two counties of Jiangsu and Hebei provinces of China.A total of 810 individuals aged 65-74 years were recruited.RBC folate in blood samples was measured by microbiological assay.Data on RBC folate was log-transformed before analysis.Means of RBC folate concentration were compared by t-test,and the prevalence rates of RBC folate deficiency for different characteristics were compared by x2 test.Results The geometric mean ofRBC folate concentration was 1083.3 nmol/L(95％CI:1034.11134.8) among the Southerners and 489.1 nmol/L (95％CI:466.7-512.6) among the Northerners,with the former being 2.2 times of the latter (t=23.684,P＜0.001 ).The prevalence rates of RBC folate deficiency were 1.0％ in the South and 28.9％ in the North (x2=124.06,P＜0.001).The concentrations of RBC folate were positively correlated with plasma folate (r=0.49,P＜0.001 ).After adjustment for region,sex,age,BMI,education,exposure to tobacco smoking and alcohol consumption,the correlation remained significant (r=0.38,P＜0.001 ).Conclusion In 810 Chinese elderly population aged 65-74 from the two counties,Southerners had a higher RBC folate concentration and a lower deficiency prevalence than those in the Northerners.The RBC folate concentration was positively associated with plasma folate.

Objective To investigate the recent effect of full arthroscopic dual-beam reconstruction of the posterior cruciate ligament(PCL)using tibial Inlay technique.Methods From March 2007 to September 2009,17 PCL injured patients underwent full arthroscopic dual-beam PCL reconstruction using Inlay technique,including 16 males and 1 female,with an average age of 25 years(range,19-54).Of all cases,Lysholm score was(53.4±2.1)points,International Knee Documentation Committee(IKDC)rated C in 7,D in 10,and posterior drawer test(+)in 17.We used self-designed tibia tunnel drill system to produce the deep-limited bone tunnel.Follow-up began at 12 months after operation.Evaluate Lysholm knee score,IKDC rating,and posterior drawer test to compare the knee stability with that of preoperative.Observe the location of the bone block and healing by checking knee X-ray and spiral CT scan.Results Seventeen patients were followed up between 12 to 28 months,with an average of 17.8 months.In the last follow-up study,Lysholm score(93.5±1.7)points compared with that of preoperative was statistically significant different(P=0.016).IKDC rating of A grade in 15 cases,B in 2,compared with that of preoperative was statistically significant different(P=0.021).Posterior drawer test were negative in 15 cases,slight positive in 2.The X-ray and spiral CT scan showed the location of the bone block were perfect and healed well.Conclusion We can accurately produce the deep-limited bone tunnel by the tibia tunnel drill system with minor trauma,and the recent clinical effects of PCL reconstruction were pretty good.

OBJECTIVETo study orientation remodeling without stress in bone harvest chamber.

METHODSThe bone harvest chamber (BHC) methodology is adopted in this study. Five female Japanese white rabbits were allowed unrestricted activity. The bone harvest chamber was a cylindrical Ti implant body with a transverse 1 mm wide canal for bone ingrowths. Retrieval of the contents of the canal was allowed with minimal disturbance to the surrounding bone or outer cylinder. After bone harvest chambers were implanted into the tibia of rabbits for 8 weeks, the chambers were considered to be osseointegrated with the bone. After harvested, the tissue were fixed and decalcified, then embedded in paraffin. Each rabbit was put into surgical operation 4 times for 4 stages: vacant for the first time; the tissue were cut into longitudinal sections at the second and third stages; harvesting tissues were cut into transverse sections at the fourth stage. Directional analysis: the standard deviation of the orientation of cell nucleus in each section was used as statistics, the difference between longitudinal section and transverse section were analyzed.

RESULTSOf the tissue into bone harvest chamber, directionality of cells arranged was more significantly on longitudinal section than on transverse section and there was statistical ignificecne.

CONCLUSIONUnder the no-stress circumstance of BHC bone remodeling showed directivity. Stress is not the direct leading signal about bone reconstitution. The structure of BHC might be related to orientation remodeling, which suggests that the relationship between orientation and stress is mediated by blood vessel. The effect of stress may be to affect vessel distributing in some orietation.

Animals ; Biomechanical Phenomena ; Cell Culture Techniques ; instrumentation ; methods ; Cells, Cultured ; Female ; Osteocytes ; chemistry ; cytology ; Rabbits ; Tibia ; chemistry ; cytology