OBJECTIVERecently studies showed infections of Chlamydia pneumoniae (Cp), Helicobacter pylori (Hp) and cytomegalovirus (CMV) played roles in the development of atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to study relationship between infection of Cp, Hp and CMV, systemic inflammation and coronary artery disease (CAD).

METHODSFourty-five patients with at least one coronary artery stenosis > 50% and 33 control subjects with negative coronary angiography were recruited for this case-control study from May 2000 to October 2001. Antibodies against Cp, Hp and CMV were measured and serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels determined for each case. CRP level > 0.8 mg/dl was defined at elevated CRP level.

RESULTSThe prevalence of Cp IgG, Hp IgG or Hp IgA antibody was associated with CAD (P = 0.017, P < 0.001, P = 0.009). After adjustment for age, gender, smoking, hypertension, hyperlipidemia and diabetes, the association was still seen. Mean CRP value was significantly higher in patients with CAD, compared to those without CAD (P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed statistical significance (P = 0.03). Elevated levels of CRP were found to be an important parameter for CAD (P = 0.032). The prevalence of Cp IgG antibody, Hp IgG and CMV IgG antibody all showed no association with elevated levels of CRP (P = 0.391, P = 0.253, P = 0.724). The ratio of elevated levels of serum basic CRP in the group with IgG antibodies to 3 pathogens was 32.1% while in the group with IgG antibodies to

CONCLUSIONSTwo chronic infections, Cp and Hp, might increase the risk of CAD. There was no association of CMV infection with CAD. C-reactive protein was an independent parameter of CAD, but the increased systemic inflammation in CAD did not seem to be related to aforesaid infection.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; C-Reactive Protein ; analysis ; Chlamydophila Infections ; complications ; Chlamydophila pneumoniae ; Coronary Disease ; etiology ; Cytomegalovirus Infections ; complications ; Female ; Helicobacter Infections ; complications ; Helicobacter pylori ; Humans ; Inflammation ; complications ; Male ; Middle Aged

Objective To establish an acute yunaconitine poisoning rat model with a single oral administration and to determine the contents of yunaconitine in rat tissues by UPLC-MS/MS method, then investigate the distribution of yunaconitine in rats. Method The rats were randomly divided into three groups and were intragastrically administered a single dose of 2.2mg/kg,1.1mg/kg,0.7mg/kg yunaconitine, respectively.. The rats were killed 2h later, the stomach tissue, intestine tissue, liver tissue, pancreas tissue, kidney tissue, lung tissue, spleen tissue, heart tissue, bladder tissue, testis tissue, brain tissue and heart blood samples were collected. The contents of yunaconitine in the biological materials were determined by UPLC-MS/MS method after the biological samples extracted by liquid-liquid extraction. Result A rat model of the yunaconitine poisoning was made with a single dose of 1.1mg/kg, the concentrations of yunaconitine displayed in the organs with the following order:stomach, small intestine, liver, pancreas, kidney, lung, spleen, heart, bladder, testis, heart blood and brain. Conclusion Yunaconitine was widely distributed in rats, especially the levels in the stomach, small intestine and liver were the highest. The conclusion provides a basis for the selection of test materials for the poisoning of Aconitum vilmorinianum Kom.

Aged ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units ; Male ; Muscle Rigidity ; chemically induced ; diagnosis ; Sufentanil ; adverse effects

AIMTo clarify the ultrastructural changes of penile tunica albuginea (TA) in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats.

METHODSIntraperitoneal injection of STZ was used to induce diabetes mellitus (DM) in 12 Sprague Dawley rats. Ten rats (age and weight-matched) were used as control. Blood samples from the tail snips of the rats were used for the determination of serum glucose levels with SureStep Plus Blood Meter. At week 4 and 10 after the injection, half of the rats in each group were sacrificed and penile samples were obtained from the middle third of the penile shaft for the examination of TA under scanning electron microscopy.

RESULTSIn the diabetic group, the serum glucose levels were higher (P<0.01 at both time points) and the TA were thinner (P<0.05) than those of the controls. In the control group, the fibers of TA were rich and arranged regularly and undulated, while in the diabetic group, the fibers were diminished, lost the undulations and were arranged irregularly.

CONCLUSIONIn rats, DM appeared to impair the penile TA ultrastructures and this impairment could contribute to diabetic erectile dysfunction in part by impairing the veno-occlusive function.

Animals ; Blood Glucose ; metabolism ; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental ; pathology ; Male ; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning ; Penis ; pathology ; ultrastructure ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

OBJECTIVETo observe the effects of antisense RNA of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) on rat liver fibrosis.

METHODSGene recombinant techniques were used to construct a rat antisense RNA of CTGF recombinant plasmid which could be expressed in eukaryotic cells. The recombinant plasmids were encapsulated with lipofectamine and then transducted into a carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) induced rat liver fibrosis model. Expression of CTGF was assessed by RT-PCR, Western blot and immunohistochemistry. Immunohistochemistry was used to identify type I and III collagens. HE stained liver slides were used for pathological study.

RESULTSThe mRNA and protein expression of CTGF in the fibrotic liver transfected with antisense-CTGF were significantly decreased compared with those of the controls (P<0.01). The depositions of type I and type III collagens were also decreased (P<0.05). Antisense-CTGF also minimized the pathological fibrosis in the rat livers (P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONThe results demonstrate that the antisense RNA of CTGF recombinant plasmid has certain effects in preventing liver fibrosis and makes it a possible candidate for use in future gene therapy.

Animals ; Connective Tissue Growth Factor ; genetics ; Genetic Therapy ; Liver ; pathology ; Liver Cirrhosis, Experimental ; pathology ; Male ; Plasmids ; RNA, Antisense ; genetics ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Transfection

OBJECTIVETo study the water-soluble chemical constituents in root of Achyranthes bidentata.

METHODThe chemical constituents were isolated by silica gel column chromatography and the structures were elucidated by the NMR spectra and physico-chemical properties.

RESULTSeven compounds were obtained and identified as n-butyl-beta-D-fructopyranoside (I), oleanoic acid (II), 3-O-[beta-D-glucopyranosyl], oleanoic acid 28-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (III), allantoin (IV), 20-hydroxy ecdysone (V), glutamic acid (VI), 3-O-[beta-D-glucopyranosyl], oleanoic acid 28-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl ester (VII).

CONCLUSIONCompounds III-VII were obtained from this plant for the first time.

Achyranthes ; chemistry ; Allantoin ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Ecdysterone ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Glutamic Acid ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Plant Roots ; chemistry ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of phosphorylated protein kinase C epsilon (pPKC epsilon) on apoptosis of 32D cells induced by sera from patients with aplastic anemia (AA).

METHODSThe expression of pPKC epsilon and apoptosis in 32D cells were measured by Western blotting and flow cytometry after incubation with sera from healthy individuals (controls, n = 8), patients with severe AA ( SAA, n = 8)and non severe AA (NSAA, n = 6).

RESULTSAfter incubation for 0, 12, 24, 36 and 48 hours in the presence of serum and for another 4 hours in medium deprived of serum, the levels of pPKC epsilon in cells in SAA and NSAA group increased gradually, peaked at 24 hours, and then declined (P < 0.05). Compared with that in control group (0.54 +/- 0.08), pPKC epsilon was overexpressed in both SAA group (0.90 +/- 0.10) and NSAA group (0.64 +/- 0.08) (P < 0.05) after 24 hours incubation with serum and subsequent 4 hours without serum. pPKC epsilon level was higher in SAA group than in NSAA group (P < 0.05). A greater proportion of 32D cells showed apoptosis after 24 hours incubation with sera from SAA patients [(4.05 +/- 1.05)%] and subsequent 4 hours incubation without serum than that in controls [(2.45 +/- 0.51)%, P < 0.05], which was correlated with the same serum-induced expression of pPKC epsilon (r = 0.869, P < 0.05). Although the mean level of pPKC epsilon expression was higher in NSAA group than in control group, no significant difference of apoptosis was found between the two groups [(2.45 +/- 0.51)% vs (3.24 +/- 0.56)%, P > 0.05].

CONCLUSIONSera from both SAA and NSAA patients could upregulate the expression of pPKC epsilon in 32D cells. The SAA sera induce apoptosis in 32D cells significantly, but the latter do not.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Anemia, Aplastic ; enzymology ; pathology ; Apoptosis ; Case-Control Studies ; Cells, Cultured ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Phosphorylation ; Protein Kinase C-epsilon ; blood ; Young Adult

The aim of this study was to investigate the inhibition effect of arsenic sulfide (As2S2) on the growth of in vitro cultured BMMNC from MDS patients and to explore its possible cellular and molecular mechanisms. The apoptosis of MDS cells induced by As2S2 solution of different concentrations were studied with MTT, flow cytometry, and RT-PCR. The results showed that (1) low concentration of As2S2 (0-0.6 mg/L) had no marked inhibition effect on proliferation of MDS cells; (2) after treatment with 1.5-50 mg/L of As2S2, both low risk MDS cells and high risk MDS cells presented typical features of apoptosis with a dose-dependent manner, the expression of bcl-2 mRNA and the ratio of bcl-2/bax obviously decreased after As2S2 treatment (P < 0.05); (3) BMMNC from MDS patients had higher apoptosis ratio than that of BMMNC from control. It is concluded that BMMNC excessive apoptosis exists in MDS patients; low concentration of As2S2 (0-0.6 mg/L) shows no inhibition effect on proliferation of MDS cells; high concentration of As2S2 (1.5-50 mg/L) induces apoptosis of MDS cells.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Antineoplastic Agents ; pharmacology ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Arsenicals ; pharmacology ; Bone Marrow Cells ; pathology ; Cyclin D1 ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Female ; Humans ; Leukocytes, Mononuclear ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Myelodysplastic Syndromes ; pathology ; RNA, Messenger ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Sulfides ; pharmacology ; bcl-2-Associated X Protein ; biosynthesis ; genetics

OBJECTIVETo study the expression of Galectin-3 in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues and the clinical value of serum Galectin-3 in the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma.

METHODSImmunohistochemistry method was used to detect the expression of Galectin-3 in the 46 pairs of HCC tissues and their para cancerous tissues. The relationship between expression levels of Galectin-3 and clinical parameters was analyzed. Serum Galectin-3 in different liver diseases were measured with ELISA. The sensitivity and specificity of galectin-3, alpha fetoprotein (AFP) and gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase II (GGT-II) for diagnosis of HCC were compared and the complementary diagnostic values of Galectin-3 and AFP and GGT-II for HCC were studied.

RESULTS(1) The positive rate of Galectin-3 in the tissue of HCC was 78.2%, dramatically higher than that in para cancerous tissues (15.2%) (P is less than 0.01). The expression levels were correlated with differentiation and with the high expression in poor differentiation tissues; (2) Based on ROC curve, the cut-off of serum Galectin-3 for HCC diagnosis was set as 0.62mug/L, the serum galectin-3 positive rate was 64.5% in HCC cases, which was apparently higher than that in liver cirrhosis, chronic hepatitis and healthy persons (P is less than 0.05); (3) Serum Galectin-3 was not correlated with AFP and GGT-II. Combined determination of the three markers had the complementary diagnostic value for HCC and might increase the diagnostic sensitivity to 94.7%.

CONCLUSIONGalectin-3 is overexpressed in HCC tissues and is correlated with the tumor differentiation, suggesting that Galectin-3 may be associated with the carcinogenesis and development of HCC. Serum galectin-3 increases in the HCC cases and combined determination of serum Galectin-3, AFP and GGT-II can increase the diagnostic efficiency for HCC. Galectin-3 could be a novel serum tumor marker for HCC.

Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; blood ; metabolism ; Female ; Galectin 3 ; blood ; metabolism ; Humans ; Liver ; metabolism ; Liver Neoplasms ; blood ; metabolism ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Serum ; chemistry

OBJECTIVETo study the constituents of volatile oil from Ocimum basilicum.

METHODGC-MS technique was used.

RESULTForty-five compounds was elucidated through consulting literature and searching database by computer.

CONCLUSIONThe main constituent in volatile oil from O. basilicum are 1, 7-dimethyl-1, 6-octadien-3-ol, which accounts for 29.87%.

Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry ; Ocimum basilicum ; chemistry ; Oils, Volatile ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Terpenes ; analysis