Objective To investigate the expression of XIAP and survivin and its significance in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Methods The expression of XIAP and survivin were detected by immunohistochemistry in 49 patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphomas. Results The positive rate of XIAP and survivin in cases of DLBCL were 40.8%(20/49) and 44.9%(22/49) respectively, which was higher than that of benign lymph node pathological changes (P ＜0.05). The expression of XIAP in DLBCL positively correlated with the expression of surviving (r =0.382, P =0.01). Moreover, the mean survival period in DLBCL expressing XIAP was shorter than the XIAP-negative group. Conclusion The up-regulation of expression of XIAP may play an important role in the development of DLBCL, and may cooperate with the expression of survivin in apoptosis pathway. Furthermore, the expression of XIAP might be a new unfavorable prognosis factor of DLBCL.

Objective To study the difference of proteomic spectra in serum of patients with colorectal cancer(CRC) in order to build a proteomic pattern and find a method for early diagnosis of CRC.Methods We screened for potential tumor biomarkers of serum samples from 48 CRC patients and 34 healthy subjects by using CM10(Ciphergen Company,USA) and the technology of Surface enhanced laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry(SELDI-TOF-MS).Using Ciphergen Protein Chipsoftware 5.1,a proteomic pattern was constructed.The constructed pattern was then tested by an independent set of masked serum samples from 33 colorectal cancer patients and 34 healthy subjects.Results(1) The contents of 27 proteins in the CRC to healthy subjects groups were significantly different(P

Objective: To investigate the clinical and pathological factors related to metachronous liver metastases in patients with Dukes'C colorectal cancer.Methods: A total of 170 patients with Dukes'C colorectal cancer treated with radical surgery in our hospital between January 2003 and December 2006 were reviewed.Factors including sex, age, tumor size (cm), depth of invasion, histological type, and serum CEA level were analyzed.Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to evaluate the factors concerned by Binary logistic regression (SPSS 13.0 for windows).Results: Of the 170 cases, 36 cases had metachronous liver metastases and 26 of them (72.2%) were found with metachronous liver metastases with-in two years after surgery.Thirty-two cases (88.9%) were identified with metachronous liver metastases within three years after surgery.Univariate analysis showed that depth of invasion, histological type and serum CEA level were predictors that could affect metachronous liver metastases.Depth of invasion and serum CEA level were independent risk factors for meta-chronous liver metastases of colorectal cancer.Multivariate analysis revealed that histological type was independent favor-able factor for metachronous liver metastases of colorectal cancer.Conclusion: Depth of invasion, histological type and se-rum CEA level were independent factors related to metachronous liver metastases of colorectal cancer.It is necessary to closely follow up Dukes'C colorectal cancer patients for two or three years after surgery in order to detect metachronous liv-er metastases early, especially for patients with higher preoperative serum CEA level or with tumor invasion to serosa.

Objective To investigate the expression of NF-κB/p65 in nasal NK/T cell lymphomas. Methods Immunohistochemis-try and TUNEL were used to study the expression of NF-KB/p65 and cell apoptosis in 23 nasal NK/T cell lymphoma samples and 14 benign lymph node lesions. Results The NF-KB/p65 positive rates were 43.5% (10/23). The expression of NF-κB/p65 was negative correlated with apoptotic index among 23 nasal NK/T cell lymphomas(P <0. 05). The mean survival period in patients expressed NF-KB/p65 was sig-nificantly shorter than that in negative group(P <0. 05). Conclusions Apoptosis inhibited by overexpression of NF-κB/p65 might be in-volved in the development of nasal NK/T cell lymphoma. NF-κB/p65 expression may be an unfavorable prognostic factor of nasal NK/T cell lymphoma.

In this paper, the effects of the blend of nanoparticles and microneedle matrix materials on the mechanical properties of dissolving microneedles were studied mainly, so as to construct microneedles with excellent mechanical properties. Different kinds of nanoparticles (calcium carbonate, hydroxyapatite, silica), particle sizes (20, 60, 100 nm) and the proportion of prescription (2%, 6%, 10%) were blended with the matrix material [polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP), poly(1-vinylpyrrolidone-co-vinyl acetate)(PVP/VA)] to form dissolving microneedles. The effects of nanoparticles on the elastic modulus and hardness of the microneedles were investigated using a nanoindenter. The results showed that the elastic modulus and hardness of PVP microneedles were significantly improved by nano-calcium carbonate (P < 0.001), and the elastic modulus and hardness of PVP/VA microneedles were significantly improved by nano-hydroxyapatite (P < 0.001). When the particle size of hydroxyapatite was 20 nm, the elastic modulus of PVP/VA microneedles was (10.6 ± 1.0) GPa, and the hardness was (0.47 ± 0.06) GPa. As the size of the nanoparticles increases, the mechanical performance of the microneedles decreases. When the mass proportion of nano-hydroxyapatite increased from 2% to 6%, the elastic modulus and hardness of the microneedles were significantly improved (P < 0.001), but the effect of continue increasing the proportion of nanoparticles on the microneedles was not significant. The nano-enhanced PVP/VA dissolving microneedles has no irritant effect on intact skin and has a slight irritation to damaged skin, but they disappear completely after 72 h. Animal experiments have been approved by the Laboratory Animal Welfare and Ethics Committee of Zhejiang University of Technology. Therefore, the nano-enhanced dissolving microneedles has good biological safety. To sum up, it is necessary to select the appropriate kind of nanoparticle, particle size, and prescription ratio when microneedles constructing with a given matrix material, so as to effectively improve its mechanical performance.

Objective To investigate the effect of spinal cord ischemia/reperfusion injury on hindlimb dysfunction in rabbits.Methods Twenty-eight health adult rabbits were distributed into normal control group (n =4) and model group (n =24) according to the random number table.The modelof spinal cord ischemia/reperfusion injury was established by selective occlusion of lumbar arteries.The model group were submitted to ischemia for 30 min (Group Ⅰ),60 min (Group Ⅱ) and 90 min (Group Ⅲ) before the reperfusion with 8 rabbits each.Jacobs score,Reuters score and Rivlin inclined plane test were used to evaluate the hindlimb function in each Group at days 1,3 and 7 after reperfusion.Changes in nerve conduction function in each group were observed using the cortical somatosensory evoked potential (CSEP).Results At days 1,3 and 7,the paraplegia rates in group Ⅰ were 50％,38％ and 38％ respectively,in Group Ⅱ were 75％,88％ and 100％,and in Group Ⅲ were all 100％.Paraplegia rate differed significantly among the three groups at 1 d and 3 d (P ＜ 0.01).Paraplegia rate differed significantly in Groups Ⅱ and Ⅲ when compared to that in Group Ⅰ at 7 d (P ＜ 0.01),but there was no significant difference between Groups Ⅱ and Ⅲ (P ＞ 0.05).With the prolongation of reperfusion,the Reuters score in Group Ⅰ dropped but not differed from that in control group (P ＞ 0.05);the Reuters score in Groups Ⅱ and Ⅲ increased and differed from that the control group (P ＜0.01),but the difference between Groups Ⅱ and Ⅲ was insignificant (P ＞ 0.05).Critical angle and obstacle rate of the inclined plane in control group were (68.4 ± 3.0)° and 0％.One day after reperfusion,critical angles of the inclined plane in Groups Ⅰ,Ⅱ and Ⅲ were (58.8 ± 4.1) °,(38.5 ± 2.8) ° and (29.8 ± 1.8) °,and the obstacle rates were (14.5 ± 0.9) ％,(43.6 ± 2.4) ％ and (56.0 ± 2.9) ％.There were significant differences compared to control group (P ＜ 0.01).Slight decrease in critical angle of the inclined plane but a minor increase in the obstacle rate was detected in Groups Ⅱ and Ⅲ at 3 d and 7 d after reperfusion,and the differences were significant compared to control group (P ＜ 0.01).Three days after reperfusion,critical angle of the inclined plane raised and obstacle rate of the inclined plate fell in group Ⅰ,not significantly different from these in control group (P ＞ 0.05).Latencies of CSEP N1 and P1 waves in Group Ⅱ [(33.1 ± 1.8) ms and (58.6 ± 4.0) ms] were longer than these in control group [(23.7±0.5)msand (48.1±4.1)ms]andgroup Ⅰ [(26.2±0.7)ms and (50.2±4.2)ms] (P＜ 0.01) 7 days after reperfusion,but the differences between control group and Group Ⅰ were insignificant (P ＞ 0.05).While the CSEP wave disappeared in Group Ⅲ.Conclusions Severity of spinal cord inschemia/reperfusion injury is related to the duration of ischemia.Hindlimb dysfunction caused by ischemia/reperfusion injury is characterized mainly by spastic paraplegia.

To investigate the influence factors and effects of metal or dissolving microneedles on the formation and healing of skin microchannels, the pencil-shaped or conical stainless steel microneedles with different lengths, tip to tip space and base area, and the pencil-shaped dissolving microneedles with different tip to tip space were used. The microneedles were applied to the skin of epilatory mice and rats, and the effects of various microneedle parameters, application parameters, and animals on the microchannels were explored by the transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and methylene blue staining. Visually observe the skin local irritation caused by the microneedles. The animal experiments were approved by the Animal Experiments Welfare and Ethical Committee of Zhejiang University of Technology. The application time of the microneedle should be maintained at 30 s or more. When the insertion forces were 2, 4, 8 N, and the TEWL initial values of the formed microchannels were 12.9, 33.0, 40.4 g·m^-2·h^-1, respectively. When the length of metal microneedle were 400, 600, 800 μm, and the TEWL initial values of the formed microchannels were 37.1, 40.4, 49.5 g·m^-2·h^-1, respectively. When the tip to tip space of metal microneedle were 400, 600, 800 μm, and the TEWL initial values of the formed microchannels were 33.2, 40.4, 55.8 g·m^-2·h^-1, respectively. When the base area of metal microneedle were 0.16, 0.35, 0.62 cm², and the TEWL initial values of the formed microchannels were 35.1, 40.4, 67.1 g·m^-2·h^-1, respectively. The effects of conical and pencil-shaped microneedles are similar. When the tip to tip space of pencil shaped dissolving microneedle were 400, 600, 800 μm, and the TEWL initial values of the formed microchannels were 49.8, 60.5, 70.5 g·m^-2·h^-1, respectively. The TEWL baseline values of animal skins of different genders and series are different, but the tendency of microchannels formation and closure is similar. Visual inspection revealed that the slight erythema caused by the microneedles subsided within 24 h. Microneedles of different parameters have different effects on microchannels. The microchannels closed within 24 or 48 h, and the skin local irritation caused by microneedle was mild.

Recent research based on various animal models has shown the neuroprotective effects of erythropoietin (EPO). However, few studies have examined such effects of EPO in the clinic. In this study we enrolled patients with spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion (I-R) injury to investigate the clinical application of EPO and methylprednisolone (MP) for the neuroprotection against spinal cord I-R injury. Retrospective analysis of 63 cases of spinal cord I-R injury was performed. The Frankel neurological performance scale was used to evaluate the neurological function after spinal cord injury (SCI), including 12 cases of scale B, 30 cases of scale C, and 21 cases of scale D. These cases were divided into 2 groups: group A (27 cases) got treatment with both EPO and MP; group B (36 cases) got treatment with MP only. The neurological function of patients after treatment was evaluated by American Spinal Cord Injury Association (ASIA) index score, and activity of daily living (ADL) of the patients was also recorded. All patients got follow-up and the follow-up period ranged from 24 to 39 months (mean 26 months). There was no significance difference in neurological function between groups A and B before the treatment (P>0.05). However, the neurological function and ADL scores were significantly improved 1 week, 1 year or 2 years after the treatment compared to those before the treatment (P<0.05), and the improvement was more significant in group A than in group B (P<0.05). It is suggested that the clinical application of EPO and MP provides the neuroprotection against spinal cord I-R injury.

BACKGROUND:Osteoarthritis is a joint disease that primarily affects the cartilage. With the changes of the extracelular matrix, chondrocytes appear to have apoptosis. Vascular endothelial growth factor plays an important role in promoting endothelial cel division and proliferation and inducing angiogenesis. Hypoxia-inducible factor is a celular transcription factor and produces different reactions due to the oxygen content. Vascular endothelial growth factor and hypoxia-inducible factor are focused on inhibiting chondrocyte apoptosis. OBJECTIVE:To elaborate the effects of vascular endothelial growth factor and hypoxia-inducible factors on chondrocyte apoptosis. METHODS: Recent literatures related to chondrocyte apoptosis were summarized and analyzed. During the process of osteoarthritis, changes in vascular endothelial growth factors in chondrocytes and regulatory effects of vascular endothelial growth factor and hypoxia-inducible factor on chondrocyte apoptosis were elaborated.

BACKGROUND:In recent years, repair of articular cartilage injury has become an important field in basic medical research. Because injured articular cartilage is difficult to repair, the repair of articular cartilage injury has become a difficult hotspot.