OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of kirenol on bovine type II collagen (CII)-specific lymphocytes in vivo and in vitro, and explore the mechanism of kirenol-induced immunosuppression in antigen-specific lymphocytes.

METHODSTwenty-four Wistar rats were randomized into control group, collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) model group, kirenol group (2 mg/kg), and prednisolone group (2 mg/kg). After CII injection, the rats in the latter two groups received intragastric administration of kirenol and prednisolone for 30 days, and the spleens and draining lymph nodes of the rats were harvested to prepare single cell suspensions for measurement of the cytokine levels using ELISA. In the in vitro experiment, the lymphocytes from the control rats, with or without 20 µg/ml CII treatment in the presence of 0-80 µg/ml kirenol, were evaluated for cell proliferation and apoptosis using [(3)H]-thymidine incorporation and flow cytometry, respectively.

RESULTSCompared with those in CIA group, IFN-γ and TNF-α production was significantly reduced in splenocyte culture supernatant of kirenol group (P<0.05 and P<0.01, respectively), and the level of IL-10 and IL-4 was up-regulated (P<0.05 and P<0.01, respectively); IFN-γ and TNF-α secretion by the cultured lymph node cells (LNCs) significantly decreased (P<0.05 and P<0.001, respectively) and IL-10 and IL-4 production increased (P<0.05, P<0.001) in kirenol group. In the in vitro experiment, kirenol treatment caused obvious suppression of CII-induced LNC proliferation and dose-dependently induced antigen-specific apoptosis of the splenocytes and LNCs.

CONCLUSIONKirenol treatment reduces pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion, increases anti-inflammatory cytokine production, inhibits cell proliferation and induces apoptosis of CII-specific lymphocytes in vitro, suggesting the potential of kirenol as an immunosuppressant.

Animals ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; chemically induced ; drug therapy ; immunology ; Cattle ; Cell Proliferation ; Cells, Cultured ; Collagen Type II ; immunology ; Cytokines ; immunology ; Diterpenes ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Immunosuppressive Agents ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Lymphocytes ; cytology ; drug effects ; immunology ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar

Objective To assess the imaging characteristics of 18F-Alfalide II in different tumorbearing mice and pharmacokinetics in Beagle dogs.Methods BALB/c nude mice(n-24)were used for subcutaneous tumor models(A549 and U87MG),orthotopic lung cancer models(A549)and orthotopic breast cancer models(MDA-MB-231)(n=6 in each group).18F-Alfatide II and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose(FDG)microPET/CT images were compared in the 4 types of tumor-bearing nude mice models.18F-Alfatide II blocking experiment,biodistribution experiment and imaging studies in tumors of different growth cycles were performed in A549 subcutaneous tumor-bearing nude mice models.Pharmacokinetic experiments were carried out in Beagle dogs(n = 6)and CD-1 mice(n = 9).Two-sample t test was used to analyze the data.Results Compared with 18F-FDG,18F-Alfatide II microPET/CT images showed better imaging quality and contrast in subcutaneous A549,U87MG tumors and orthotopic A549(tumor/heart:4.50±1.17 vs 0.95±0.31;t = 4.125,P<0.01),orthotopic MDA-MB-231(tumor/muscle:6.60±1.53 vs 0.92±0.43;t = 3.984,P<0.01)transplantation nude mice models.18F-Alfatide II could specifically target A549 tumors,and the tumor uptake of 18F-Alfatide II was reduced by about 75% after pre-injection with cyclo(Arg-Gly-Asp-D-Tyr-Lys)(c(RGDyk)).18F-Alfatide II was rapidly cleared from the blood of Beagle dogs(T1/2 was(57.34±11.69)min).It was cleared in the form of prototype drug and(69.24±6.82)% of cumulative dose was excreted through the urine within 4 h after administration.Conclusions 18F-Alfatide II shows a higher target/non-target ratio than,18F-FDG in the imaging of A549,MDA-MB-231 and U87MG tumor-bearing nude mice models,which is more conducive to the diagnosis of tumor.18F-Alfatide II has excellent pharmacokinetic properties.

OBJECTIVE To compare the efficacy and safety of Saccharomyces boulardii and Bifidobacterium triple live bacteria in the treatment of pediatric diarrhea. METHODS Retrieved from PubMed， Embase， the Cochrane Library， CBM， Wanfang data， CNKI and VIP， randomized controlled trials （RCTs） about S. boulardii （S. boulardii group） versus Bifidobacterium triple liver bacteria （Bifidobacterium group） were collected. After screening the literature， extracting data and evaluating the quality， meta-analysis was performed by using RevMan 5.3 software. RESULTS A total of 9 RCTs were included， involving 898 patients. Results of meta-analysis showed there was no statistical significance in total response rate [OR＝1.69， 95%CI （0.93， 3.09）， P＝0.09]， duration of diarrhea [MD＝－1.39， 95%CI （－3.35， 0.57）， P＝0.16]， the time of abdominal pain disappearance [MD＝0.09， 95%CI（－0.87， 1.05），P＝0.86] or the incidence of adverse reactions [OR＝0.65， 95%CI （0.05， 8.03）， P＝0.74]. The number of stools in S. boulardii group was significantly less than Bifidobacterium group [MD＝－0.91， 95%CI （－1.80， －0.02）， P＝0.04]. The results of subgroup analysis showed that the duration of diarrhea in children with antibiotic-associated diarrhea in S. boulardii group was significantly shorter than Bifidobacterium group （P＜0.05）. CONCLUSIONS The efficacy and safety of S. boulardii are similar to those of Bifidobacterium in the treatment of diarrhea， but S. boulardii is better than Bifidobacterium in terms of stool number， the duration of diarrhea in children with antibiotic-associated diarrhea.

Background The converter stations of high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission lines generate special total electric fields. At present, few investigations have been conducted on total electric fields in the workplace of converter stations from an perspective of occupational health. Objective To understand the current situation of total electric field strength in the workplace of converter stations. Methods Using purposive sampling, a calibrated HDEM-1 direct current (DC) total electric field strength measurement system was used to measure the total electric fields of 12 converter stations serving 6 DC lines in Southeast and Southwest China according to the Measurement method for total electric field strength and ion current density of the converter stations and DC transmission lines (DL/T 1089—2008). The results were evaluated according to occupational exposure limits recommended by The limits of electromagnetic environment at ±800 kV UHV DC converter station (DL/T 275—2012), the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH), and the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). Results A total of 615 check points were planned, the total electric field strength was 0.05-37.05 kV·m⁻¹, and the median was 10.45 kV·m⁻¹. The total electric field strength of 39 check points (6.3%) exceeded 25 kV·m⁻¹ (the limits of ACGIH and ICNIRP), and the total electric field strength of 12 check points (2.0%) exceeded 30 kV·m⁻¹ (the limit of DL/T 275—2012). There were statistically significant differences in the total electric field strength values and the proportions of exceeding 25 kV·m⁻¹ between the neutral regions and the positive regions and between the neutral regions and the negative regions (P < 0.01). The proportion of total electric field strength exceeding 30 kV·m⁻¹ in the negative regions was higher than that in the positive regions (P < 0.01). There were no significant differences in the total electric field strength of converter stations at different voltage levels and different altitudes (P > 0.05). There were no significant differences in the proportions of total electric field exceeding 25 kV·m⁻¹ and exceeding 30 kV·m⁻¹ in converter stations at different voltage levels and different altitudes (P > 0.05). Conclusion The total electric field in some workplace of converter stations exceeds selected limits. Converter station operators may be exposed to high-strength total electric field for a short time.