OBJECTIVE: The study aim was to investigate the effects of exposure to multiple environmental organic pollutants on cardiopulmonary health with a focus on the potential mediating role of oxidative stress. METHODS: A repeated-measures randomized crossover study involving healthy college students in Beijing was conducted. Biological samples, including morning urine and venous blood, were collected to measure concentrations of 29 typical organic pollutants, including hydroxy polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (OH-PAHs), bisphenol A and its substitutes, phthalates and their metabolites, parabens, and five biomarkers of oxidative stress. Health assessments included blood pressure measurements and lung function indicators. RESULTS: Urinary concentrations of 2-hydroxyphenanthrene (2-OH-PHE) ( β = 4.35% [95% confidence interval ( CI): 0.85%, 7.97%]), 3-hydroxyphenanthrene ( β = 3.44% [95% CI: 0.19%, 6.79%]), and 4-hydroxyphenanthrene (4-OH-PHE) ( β = 5.78% [95% CI: 1.27%, 10.5%]) were significantly and positively associated with systolic blood pressure. Exposures to 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OH-PYR) ( β = 3.05% [95% CI: -4.66%, -1.41%]), 2-OH-PHE ( β = 2.68% [95% CI: -4%, -1.34%]), and 4-OH-PHE ( β = 3% [95% CI: -4.68%, -1.29%]) were negatively associated with the ratio of forced expiratory volume in the first second to forced vital capacity. These findings highlight the adverse effects of exposure to multiple pollutants on cardiopulmonary health. Biomarkers of oxidative stress, including 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine and extracellular superoxide dismutase, mediated the effects of multiple OH-PAHs on blood pressure and lung function. CONCLUSION Exposure to multiple organic pollutants can adversely affect cardiopulmonary health. Oxidative stress is a key mediator of the effects of OH-PAHs on blood pressure and lung function.
Humans ; Oxidative Stress/drug effects* ; Male ; Cross-Over Studies ; Female ; Young Adult ; Environmental Pollutants/toxicity* ; Environmental Exposure/adverse effects* ; Biomarkers/blood* ; Adult ; Blood Pressure/drug effects* ; Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons/urine* ; Beijing

Clinical data of 3 patients with linezolid-induced lactic acidosis treated in 2 hospitals in Beijing and Shandong were retrospectively analyzed,and relevant literatures at home and abroad were retrieved.The pathogene-sis,risk factors,clinical manifestations,and treatment scheme were valuated.Three patients received linezolid anti-infection treatment due to their disease condition.At different phases of treatment,they developed lactic acidosis that was difficult to be explained with septic shock.After discontinuing linezolid and receiving bedside continuous veno-venous hemofiltration(CVVH)treatment,patient's blood lactate levels decreased significantly.It is clinically diagnosed linezolid-induced lactic acidosis finally,but the initial diagnosis was septic shock by all doctors.After ac-tive treatment,2 patients recovered and 1 patient died.Linezolid-induced lactic acidosis is easily to be misdiagnosed as septic shock.Clinicians should enhance their understanding and recognition of the early diagnosis of the adverse reactions,take effective measures,so as to improve patient prognosis.

Aortic Valve/surgery* ; Aortic Valve Stenosis/surgery* ; China/epidemiology* ; Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation ; Humans ; Severity of Illness Index ; Treatment Outcome

Objective: To study the changes in the permeability of the blood labyrinth barrier of the aging cochlea in mice, and to establish a non-contact co-culture model of endothelial cells (EC) and pericytes (PC) to furtherly investigate the cochlear stria vascularis microvascular pericytes impact on the permeability of endothelial cells. Methods: C57BL/6J mice were divided into two groups, three months old as young group, 12 months old as senile group. Cell experiment was divided into four groups, EC group, EC+PC co-culture group, D-gal+EC group and D-gal+EC+PC co-culture group. Auditory brainstem response (auditory brain response, ABR) was used to detect the auditory function of the two groups of mice. Evans blue staining was applied to detect the permeability of the cochlear blood labyrinth barrier of the two groups of mice. Transmission electron microscopy was used to observe the ultrastructure of blood labyrinth barrier endothelial cells, pericytes and tight junctions in the two groups of mice. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression levels of tight junction proteins in the stria vascularis of the cochlea of the two groups of mice. Transwell chamber was used to detect the permeability of endothelial cells. Western blot and immunofluorescence technology were used to detect the expression level of tight junction protein on endothelial cells. SPSS 20.0 software was used to analyze the data. Results: Compared with the young group, the ABR threshold of the aging group was significantly increased, the latency of wave I was prolonged (t=10.25, P<0.01;t=5.61, P<0.05), the permeability of the cochlear blood labyrinth barrier was increased and the expression of tight junction protein on the vascular stria was decreased (P<0.05). The cochlear ultrastructure showed that the cochlear vascular stria microvascular lumen was deformed, the basement membrane thickened and the tight junction gap between endothelium enlarged. The positive rate of ECs and PCs in primary culture was more than 95%. The cells induced by 15 g/L D-gal were determined to be senescent cells. Compared with EC group, the expression of tight junction protein in endothelial cells of D-gal+EC group decreased（t=7.42，P<0.01；t=13.19，P<0.05）and the permeability increased (t=11.17, P<0.01). In the co-culture group, the expression of tight junction protein between endothelial cells in EC+PC co-culture group and D-gal+EC+PC co-culture group increased and the permeability decreased. Conclusions: In aging mice, the permeability of cochlear blood labyrinth barrier will increase and the level of tight junction protein will decrease; in aging state, cochlear vascular stria microvascular pericytes may affect endothelial cell permeability by regulating the expression of tight junction protein.
Animals ; Cochlea ; Endothelial Cells ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Pericytes ; Permeability ; Stria Vascularis ; Tight Junctions

Objective: To explore the occurrence of cognitive impairment in Chinese heart failure (HF) patients and it's impact on prognosis. Methods: In this prospective observational study, a total of 990 HF patients were enrolled from 24 hospitals in China during December 2012 to November 2014. All patients were administrated with the interview-format Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), according to which they were divided into MoCA<26 (with cognitive impairment) group and MoCA≥26 (without cognitive impairment) group. Baseline data were collected and a 1-year follow up was carried out. Univariate and multivariate logistic or Cox regression were performed for 1-year outcomes. Results: Cognitive impairment was evidenced in 628 patients (63.4%) and they were more likely to be older, female, and with higher proportion of New York Heart Association(NYHA) class Ⅲ-Ⅳ, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), ischemic heart disease, while body mass index (BMI), education level, and medical insurance rate were lower (all P<0.05) as compared to patients in MoCA≥26 group. The rate of percutaneous intervention, device implantation, cardiac surgery and evidence-based medications were significantly lower in MoCA<26 group than in MoCA≥26 group (all P<0.05). During the 1-year follow up, patients in the MoCA<26 group had higher all-cause mortality (10.2%(64/628) vs. 2.2%(8/362), P<0.01), cardiovascular mortality (5.9%(37/628) vs. 0.8%(3/362), P<0.01) and major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) (9.6%(60/628) vs. 2.5%(8/362), P<0.01) than patients in the MoCA≥26 group. In univariate regression, MoCA<26 was associated with increased all-cause mortality (HR(95%CI):4.739(2.272-9.885), P<0.01), cardiovascular mortality (HR(95%CI):7.258(2.237-23.548), P=0.001) and MACCE (OR(95%CI):4.143(2.031-8.453), P<0.01). After adjustment by multivariate regression, MoCA<26 was indicated as an independent risk factor for all-cause mortality (HR(95%CI): 6.387(2.533-16.104), P<0.01), cardiovascular mortality (HR(95%CI): 10.848(2.586-45.506), P=0.001) and MACCE (OR(95%CI): 4.081(1.299-12.816), P=0.016), while not for re-hospitalization for HF (OR(95%CI):1.010(0.700-1.457), P=0.957). Conclusions: Cognitive impairment is common in HF patients,and it is an independent prognostic factor for 1-year outcomes. Routine cognitive function assessment and active intervention are thus recommended for HF patients.
China ; Female ; Heart Failure ; Humans ; Mental Status and Dementia Tests ; Prognosis ; Prospective Studies

Objective The aim of this study is to investigate the macrolide resistance rate and molecular type withmultiple-locus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis (MLVA) of Mycoplasma pneumoniae of Beijing in 2016 in pediatric patients. Methods Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to identify M. pneumoniae, and MLVA was performed. The domain V of the 23S rRNA was sequenced to detect macrolide-resistant point mutations. We also investigated the activities of antibiotics against M. pneumoniae isolates in vitro. Results The PCR detection rate of M. pneumoniae in children in Beijing was 40％, and the macrolide resistance rate was 66％. The A2063G mutation in the 23S rRNA V region is the dominant mutation (137/146, 93.84％), whereas the A2064G mutation is rare (9/146, 6.16％). Seventy-three samples were typed successfully by MLVA typing, including 86.3％ (63/73) were MLVA type 4-5-7-2, and 13.7％ (10/73) were MLVA type 3-5-6-2. No other types were found. No strains were resistant to levofloxacin or tetracycline. Conclusion In 2016, a specific decrease in the macrolide resistance rate occurred in Beijing. The detection rate and macrolide resistance rate of outpatients are lower than those of inpatients. The A2063G mutants M. pneumoniae have high levels of resistance to erythromycin and azithromycin. The primary MLVA type is 4-5-7-2, followed by 3-5-6-2. No other MLVA types were detected. No strains resistant to tetracycline or levofloxacin were found in vitro.

Small molecules with physiological or pharmacological activities need to interact with biological macromolecules in order to function in the body. As the protein with the highest proportion of plasma protein,serum albumin is the main protein binding to various endogenous or exogenous small molecules. Serum albumin interacts with small molecules in a reversible non-covalent manner and transports small molecules to target sites. Bovine serum albumin( BSA) is an ideal target protein for drug research because of its low cost and high homology with human serum albumin. The research on the interaction between drugs and BSA has become a hotspot in the fields of pharmacy,medicine,biology and chemistry. In this research,molecular docking method was used to study the interaction between three small ginsenosides with high pharmacological value( Rg_1,Rb_1,Ro) and bovine serum albumin( BSA),and the binding mode information of three ginsenosides interacting with BSA was obtained. The results of molecular docking showed that ginsenosides and amino acid residues in the active pocket of proteins could be combined by hydrophobic action,hydrogen bonding and electrostatic action. The interaction between small ginsenosides and bovine serum albumin is not the only form,and their interaction has many forms of force. The interaction between these molecules and various weak forces is the key factor for the stability of the complex. The results of this study can provide the structural information of computer simulation for the determination of the interaction patterns between active components and proteins of ginseng.
Animals ; Binding Sites ; Cattle ; Computer Simulation ; Ginsenosides ; chemistry ; Molecular Docking Simulation ; Protein Binding ; Serum Albumin, Bovine ; chemistry ; Spectrometry, Fluorescence ; Thermodynamics

Objective Protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5),a member of the histone arginine methylation transferase family,is involved in a wide range of biological regulation through ei-ther epigenetic or posttranslational methylation modifications. The pur-pose of the present study was to investigate the effects of PRMT5 on cell proliferation of ovarian cancer cell HO8910. Methods Cell lines HO8910 with PRMT5 overexpression were obtained by transi-ent transfection,which were divided into three groups in the experiment: blank control group (wild-type cell line HO8910),negative control group (HO8910 cells were transfected with pCMV-myc plasmid),and experimental group (HO8910 cells were transfected with pCMV-myc-PRMT5 plasmid). Western blot was used to detect the expression of myc protein,and qRT-PCR was used to detect the ex-pression of PRMT5 mRNA. Cell lines HO8910 with inducible stable knockdown of PRMT5 were established by shRNA interference method,which were divided into four groups: pLKO control group (infected by empty vector lentivirus),pLKO+Dox (100ng/mL) group,shPRMT5 group (infected by PRMT5shRNA lentivirus) and shPRMT5+Dox (100 ng/mL) group. Western blot and qRT-PCR were used to detect the expression of PRMT5 protein and mRNA levels. Dox-induced PRMT5 knockdown was detected by increasing Dox concentration,which includes four groups,Dox 0ng/mL group,Dox 1ng/mL group,Dox 10ng/mL group,Dox 100ng/mL group,and each group was treated for 48 hours. Western blot and qRT-PCR were used to detect the PRMT5 protein and mRNA expression. Colony formation assay,EdU assay,and CCK-8 assay were used to test cells proliferation. The experiment was conducted in two large groups each with two subgroups: PRMT5 knockdown group (Dox-group,Dox+ group),PRMT5 overexpression group (pCMV-myc group,pCMV-myc-PRMT5 group). Western blot was used to detect the effects of PRMT5 expression on proliferation-related proteins. The experiment was conducted in two large groups,PRMT5 knockdown group with four subgroups : Dox 0ng/mL group,Dox 1ng/mL group,Dox 10ng/mL group and Dox 100ng/mL group,and PRMT5 overexpression group with two subgroups (pCMV-myc group and pCMV-myc-PRMT5 group). Results Western blot results showed that the expression of myc was detected in the experimental group in which HO8910 cells were transfected with pCMV-myc-PRMT5,and the expression of PRMT5 mRNA was significantly higher in the experimental group than those in the blank control group and the negative control group (P<0.001) . Western blot and qRT-PCR showed that PRMT5 protein (0.32±0.25) and mRNA expression levels in shPRMT5+Dox group were significantly lower than those of shPRMT5 group (0.89±0.18) (P<0.05). Western blot and qRT-PCR confirmed that PRMT5 protein (0.21±0.24) and mRNA expres-sion in Dox 10ng/mL group and Dox 100ng/mL group (0.08±0.15) were significantly downregulated compared to Dox 0ng/mL group (1.11±0.15) (P<0.05). Colony formation experiments,EdU experiments,and CCK-8 experiments confirmed that the proliferative ca-pacity of cells in Dox+group was lower than that of Dox-group in PRMT5 knockdown group(P<0.05); while in PRMT5 overexpression group,the proliferative capacity of pCMV-myc-PRMT5 group was significantly higher than that of the pCMV-myc group (P<0.05). Western blot results showed that the protein expression of Cyclin D1 was significantly lower in Dox 100 ng/mL group (0.17±0.06) than that in Dox 0 ng/mL group (1.18±0.18) (P<0.05) and the expression of P21 was significantly increased in PRMT5 knockdown group (P<0.05). In the PRMT5 overexpression group,the protein expression of Cyclin D1 in pCMV-myc-PRMT5 group (3.48± 0.22) was higher than that in pCMV-myc group (0.88±0.15) (P<0.05),while the protein expression of P21 (0.08±0.17) were significantly lower than that of pCMV-myc group (4.12±0.10) (P<0.05). Conclusion PRMT5 plays an important role in the proliferation of ovarian cancer cells. Down-regulation of PRMT5 can inhibit cell proliferation and up-regulation of PRMT5 can pro-mote cell proliferation.

Objective: To analyze the clinical features of dyslipidemia in patients with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC). Methods: The clinical and laboratory data of 136 PBC patients in Peking Union Medical College Hospital from 2010 to 2016 were retrospectively analyzed.The liver function was compared between patients with normal and abnormal blood lipids. Results: Among 136 PBC patients, 100(74%)had abnormal serum lipids. The incidence of increased cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein and triglyceride was 61%(59/96), 58%(48/83) and 47%(46/97), respectively; while that of reduced HDL-C was 26%(21/82). The incidences of pruritus [26%(26/100) vs. 8%(3/36), χ²=4.93, P=0.032], serum total bilirubin (TBIL) [17.3(12.2, 28.2) μmol/L vs. 14.5 (9.4, 21.1) μmol/L, Z=2.25, P=0.024], direct bilirubin (DBIL)[5. 5 (3.4, 12.4) μmol/L vs. 4.4(2.9, 7.1) μmol/L, Z=2.00, P=0.045], and glutamyl aminotransferase (GGT)[193.0(64.3, 454.8)U/L vs. 105.5(53.5, 179.5)U/L, Z=2.02, P=0.043], alkaline phosphatase(ALP)[183(86, 351)U/L vs. 135(85, 188) U/L, Z=1.98, P=0.048] in PBC patients with dyslipidemia were significantly higher than thosein patients with normal serum lipids.Pearson regression analysis showed that in PBC patients with dyslipidemia, the ALT was positively corrected with TG and TC(r=0.248 and 0.272, P=0.015 and 0.008); ALB was positively correlated with LDL-C(r=0.335, P=0.002); DBIL was positively corrected with HDL-C(r=0.252, P=0.022); TC was positively correlated with ALP and GGT(r=0.313 and 0.346, P=0.002 and 0.001); GGT was positively correlated with LDL-C(r=0.251, P=0.022). Conslusion Increased TC and LDL-C were more common in PBC patients. PBC patients with dyslipidemia have more severe liver damage than the patients with normal serum lipids.

This study was purposed to investigate the reversal effect of gambogic acid (GA) on multidrug resistance of K562/A02 cells and its mechanism. The IC(50) (half maximal inhibitory concentration) of adriamycin (ADM) was evaluated by MTT. Cell apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry. Morphological changes of K562/A02 cells were observed by fluorescent microscopy with DAPI staining. The expressions of Survivin and P-gp were determined by Western blot. The results showed that the IC(50) of ADM on K562 and K562/A02 cell proliferation were (1.42 ± 0.07) µg/ml and (28.42 ± 1.40) µg/ml respectively. GA ≤ 0.0625 µmol/L had no inhibitory effect on proliferation of K562 and K562/A02. 0.0625 µmol/L GA could enhance the sensitivity of K562/A02 cells to ADM (P < 0.05) and the reversal multiples was 1.53. The apoptotic rate was raised after treating with ADM combined with 0.0625 µmol/L GA for 48 h (P < 0.05). Morphological differences were typical and obvious between cells of control and treated groups under fluorescence microscopy using DAPI staining. After treating K562/A02 cells with ADM combined with 0.0625 µmol/L GA for 48 h, the expressions of Survivin and P-gp were down-regulated at protein levels. It is concluded that GA can enhance the sensitivity of K562/A02 cells to ADM, which may be related to increasing cell apoptosis and down-regulating expressions of Survivin and P-gp.
Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Doxorubicin ; pharmacology ; Drug Resistance, Multiple ; drug effects ; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm ; drug effects ; Gene Expression Regulation, Leukemic ; Humans ; Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins ; metabolism ; K562 Cells ; Substance P ; metabolism ; Xanthones ; pharmacology