Objective To evaluate right atrial function in patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDCM) and ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM) by using two-dimensional speckle tracking imaging (2D-STI).Methods Study population consisted of 31 patients with IDCM,30 with ICM and 30 healthy subjects.High frame rate two-dimensional images were recorded from the apical four chamber view.Right atrial global longitudinal strain (GLS) was measured using two-dimensional strain soft ware.Results Compared with the controls,left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF),tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE),right ventricular fractional area change (RVFAC),right ventricular fractional shortening (RVFS) and tricuspid annular peak systolic velocity(S') decreased (P ＜0.05),while right ventricular myocardial performance index (MPI) increased in IDCM and ICM group.There were no significant differences for all above echocardiographic parameters between IDCM and ICM patients.Compared with the controls,right atrial GLS decreased significantly in patients with IDCM and ICM,even much lower in patients with IDCM (P ＜0.001).Conclusions Measurement of right atrial strain using 2DSTI could be used for the assessment of right atrial dysfunction in patients with ICDM and ICM.

Objective:To explore the protective effect of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) on the prognosis of rats suffering from cardiac arrest/cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CA/CPR) under different treatment timings.Methods:The method of percutaneous epicardial electrical stimulation was used to establish CA model of rat. Fifty-three male SD rats were randomly (random number) divided into the sham group ( n=5), CPR group ( n=12), PRE group ( n=12), POST5 group ( n=12) and POST30 group ( n=12). The sham group did not experience CA/CPR. VNS treatment was started at 30 min before CA (PRE group, n=12), 5 min after recovery of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) (POST5 group, n=12), and 30 min after ROSC (POST30 group, n=12) in different VNS-treated group, respectively. The electrical stimulation was applied to the vagus nerve for 30 min with a unified parameter. The neurological deficit scores at 24, 48, and 72 h after ROSC were recorded, and the survival rate in each group was observed. TUNEL staining was used to detect the apoptosis of cortical area and the expression of α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7nAChR) in brain tissue was measured by immunofluorescence at 72 h after ROSC. Variables were compared with one-way analysis of variance, and survival for Kaplan-Meier curves were tested with the log-rank test. A P value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results:Compared with the CPR group (survival rate 33.33%), both pre-treatment (survival rate 75%) and post-treatment of VNS (POST5 group survival rate 75% and POST30 group survival rate 83.33%) significantly improved the 72 h survival rate after CPR ( P<0.05), mitigated neurological deficits after ROSC, reduced the positive rate of apoptosis neurons, and up-regulated the expression of α7nAChR in cerebral cortex. There was no significant difference among the VNS-treated groups (all P>0.05). Conclusions:Both pre-treatment and post-treatment of VNS can play a protective role in rats after CA/CPR, which may be related to the activation of α7nAChR-mediated anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptosis effects.

Objective To obtain monoclonal antibodies ( mAbs ) against neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin ( NGAL ) and a chemiluminescense immune quantification assay based one paired mAbs.Methods Six-to-eight weeks old female BALB/c mice were immunized with the purified recombinant human NGAL antigen( rhNGAL) that was produced by the Escherichia coil expression system.The spleen was fused with hybridoma for screening anti-NGAL monoclonal antibodies by indirect ELISA.Western blot was implemented to identify the reactivity with native NGAL. Results The rhNGAL antigen was found to form disulfide cross-linked dimers and present excellent immunogenicity.The reaction titer of the immune serum of NGAL immunized mice was about 106.Thirty mAbs were screened by indirect ELISA, hereinto;the EC50 values of mAb23C12 and 38D10 were 0.034 g/mL, 0.022 g/mL respectively.The antibodies pair, 38D10/23C12-SAE labeled with AcridiniumEster(AE), were shown to work well in chemiluminescense immune response quantitative detection which was screened by NGAL standardand clinical urine samples.This detection can resolve positive and negative samples with a statistically significant difference (P<0.0001).And the correlation coefficient R2between NGAL quantitative results and that of the Abbott's NGAL chemiluminescence immune assay kit was greater than 0.97.The detection linear range was 10-1500 ng/mL, analytical sensitivity of the method was 0.63 ng/mL.Conclusion Highly purified rhNGAL antigen and specific anti-NGAL monoclonal antibodies are generated in this study.The detection capability of method is comparable with that of the international commercial kit.

OBJECTIVETo compare the clinical efficacy and safety between Huorongbushen and indomethacin in patients with oligospermia or asthenospermia.

METHODS86 patients with oligoasthenospermia were received at our clinic of andrology. They were randomly divided into group A and B. The patients in group A received Huorongbushen 48 g daily for 3 months, and the other patients in group B were given indomethacin 50 mg daily for 3 months. The sperm parameters of the patients were analyzed by computer-assisted sperm analysis system before and after treatment.

RESULTSPatients of group A were significantly improved in sperm concentration, forward sperm motility, total sperm motility, straight line velocity and average path velocity. Patients of group B remained unimproved in sperm concentration and were significantly improved in other sperm parameters. The patients in group A reported a significantly higher sperm concentration than that in group B. There was no significant difference between group A and B in other sperm parameters.

CONCLUSIONCompared with indomethacin, Huorongbushen is efficacious for oligoasthenospermia with lower side effects.

Adult ; Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors ; therapeutic use ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Indomethacin ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Oligospermia ; drug therapy ; Phytotherapy ; Sperm Count ; Sperm Motility

This work was mainly studied the effects of the four alkaloids from Coptidis Rhizoma on the mouse peritoneal macrophages in vitro and preliminarily discussed the regulating mechanisms. The effect of alkaloids from Coptidis Rhizoma on the vitality of macrophages was measured by the MTT assay. The effect of alkaloids on the phagocytosis of macrophages was determined by neutral red trial and respiratory burst activity was tested by NBT. The expressions of respiratory-burst-associated genes influenced by alkaloids were detected by qRT-PCR. The conformation change of membrane protein in macrophages by the impact of alkaloids was studied by fluorospectro-photometer. Results showed that the four alkaloids from Coptidis Rhizoma could increase the phagocytosis of macrophages in different level and berberine had the best effect. Berberine, coptisine and palmatine had up-regulation effects on respiratory burst activity of mouse peritoneal macrophages stimulated by PMA and regulatory activity on the mRNA expression of PKC, p40phox or p47phox, whereas the epiberberine had no significant influence on respiratory burst. Moreover, alkaloids from Coptidis Rhizoma could change the conformation of membrane protein and the berberine showed the strongest activity. The results suggested that the four alkaloids from Coptidis Rhizoma might activate macrophages through changing the conformation of membrane protein of macrophages and then enhanced the phagocytosis and respiratory burst activity of macrophages. Furthermore, the regulatory mechanism of alkaloids on the respiratory burst activity of macrophages may be also related to the expression level of PKC, p40phox and p47phox.
Alkaloids ; pharmacology ; Animals ; Cells, Cultured ; Coptis ; chemistry ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Female ; Gene Expression ; drug effects ; Macrophages, Peritoneal ; drug effects ; Mice ; Phosphoproteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Protein Kinase C ; genetics ; metabolism ; Rhizome ; chemistry

Objective To construct the vector of mouse HMGB1 promoter-driven red fluorescent protein reporter gene so as to supply a tool for the study on the expression regulation of HMGB1 gene in mammalian cells and related signal transduction mechanism. Methods The mouse HMGB1 promoter sequence was subcloned into a red fluorescent protein reporter gene vector, pDsRed1-1. The recombinant vector pDsRed1-1-HMGB1p was then transfected into NIH3T3 cells by liposome, and the intracellular activity of HMGB1 promoter was observed under a fluorescence microscope in normal condition or after tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) stimulation. Results The recombinant plasmid was confirmed by enzyme digestion and DNA sequence analysis. The vector was expressed with red fluorescence at a low level in the rest NIH3T3 cells, but the expression was highly increased by the stimulation with TNF-α. Conclusion A red fluorescent protein reporter gene vector driven by mouse HMGBI promoter is constructed successfully, which can be expressed in mammalian cells with a physiological response to TNF-α stimulation, thus providing an important and convenient tool for the study on the regulatory mechanisms of HMGB 1 gene expression.

OBJECTIVETo establish a method for the determination of quercetin-3-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-7-O-beta-D-gentiobioside in Semen Descurainiae.

METHODHPLC was used with self-made quercetin-3-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-7-O-beta-D-gentiobioside as reference substances.

RESULTThe average collection was 99.78%, RSD 2.4%.

CONCLUSIONThe method is appropriate for quality control of Semen Descurainiae.

Brassicaceae ; chemistry ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Glucosides ; analysis ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Quality Control ; Quercetin ; analogs & derivatives ; analysis ; Seeds ; chemistry

Objective To analyze the relationship of cerebral microbleeds (CMBs)of different regions,especially mixed-CMBs,with cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA)detected using 18F-AV45 positron emission tomography(PET).Methods A total of 52 consecutive patients (68.17 ± 9.89 years old)with memory decline and CMBs found in susceptibility-weighted images(SWI)according to the inclusive and exclusive criteria were recruited.Patients were divided into three groups based on different regions of CMBs,the strictly lobar CMBs (SL-CMBs) group,the deep-CMBs (D-CMBs) group and the mixed-CMBs (M-CMBs)group.Patients in the three groups underwent 18F-AV45 PET detection and then were analyzed based on the results of 18F-AV45 PET.Results The positive rates of cerebral amyloid angiopathy in the SL-CMBs,M-CMBs and D-CMBs groups were 68.4 ％ (13/19),82.4 ％ (14/17) and 25.0 ％ (4/16),respectively,with statistical significance (P =0.002).There were significant differences in positive rates of cerebral amyloid angiopathy between the D-CMBs group and the M-CMBs group and between the D-CMBs group and the SL-CMBs group(P =0.001 and 0.010,respectively),while there was no difference between the M-CMBs and SL-CMBs groups in positive rates of cerebral amyloid angiopathy(P =0.335).Using the D-CMBs group as the reference group,multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the odds ratios of positive CCA detected by PET in SL-CMBs and M-CMBs were 30.585(95％CI:2.492-375.360)and 8.107(95％CI:1.072-61.295),respectively.Conclusions Compared with D-CMBs,M-CMBs and SL-CMBs are more likely to be related to cerebral amyloid angiopathy.The presence of M-CMBs also indicates that patients have a high probability of CAA.

To investigate the prevalence of drug-resistance mutations, resistance to antiretroviral drugs, and the subsequent virological response to therapy in treatment-naive and antiretroviral-treated patients infected with HIV/AIDS in Henan, China, a total of 431 plasma samples were collected in Queshan county between 2003 and 2004, from patients undergoing the antiretroviral regimen Zidovudine + Didanosine + Nevirapine (Azt+Ddi+Nvp). Personal information was collected by face to face interview. Viral load and genotypic drug resistance were tested. Drug resistance mutation data were obtained by analyzing patient-derived sequences through the HIVdb Program (http://hivdb.stanford.edu). Overall, 38.5% of treatment-naive patients had undetectable plasma viral load (VL), the rate significantly increased to 61.9% in 0 to 6 months treatment patients (mean 3 months) (P＜0.005) but again significantly decrease to 38.6% in 6 to 12 months treatment patients (mean 9 months) (P＜0.001) and 40.0% in patients receiving more than 12 months treatment (mean 16 months) (P＜0.005). The prevalence of drug resistance in patients who had a detectable VL and available sequences were 7.0%, 48.6%, 70.8%, 72.3% in treatment-na(1)ve, 0 to 6 months treatment, 6 to 12 months treatment, and treatment for greater than 12 months patients, respectively. No mutation associated with resistance to Protease inhibitor (PI) was detected in this study. Nucleoside RT inhibitor (NRTI) mutations always emerged after non-nucleoside RT inhibitor (NNRTI) mutations, and were only found in patients treated for more than 6 months, with a frequency less than 5%, with the exception of mutation T215Y (12.8%, 6/47) which occurred in patients treated for more than 12 months. NNRTI mutations emerged quickly after therapy begun, and increased significantly in patients treated for more than 6 months (P＜0.005), and the most frequent mutations were K103N, V106A, Y181C, G190A. There had been optimal viral suppression in patients undergoing treatment for less than 6 months in Queshan,Henan. The drug resistance strains were highly prevalent in antiretroviral-treated patients, and increased with the continuation of therapy, with many patients encountering virological failure after 6 months therapy.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the changes in transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-beta1)/Smads signaling pathway in rats with chemical hepatocarcinogenesis.

METHODSFresh diethylnitrosamine (DENA) solution was administered in SD rats to induce hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The protein expressions of TGF-beta1, phosphorylated Smad2, Smad4 and Smad7 were detected in these rats with immunohistochemistry, and the mRNA expression of Smad4 was evaluated with RT-PCR.

RESULTSCirrhotic nodules occurred in the rats 8 weeks after DENA treatment, and HCC nodules were found 16 weeks after the treatment. In the normal liver tissue, very low levels of TGF-beta1 and Smad4 expressions, low Smad7 expression and high phosphorylated Smad2 expression were detected. The development of liver cirrhosis was accompanied by increased expressions of TGF-beta1, Smad4 and Smad7 but at 8 weeks after DENA treatment, the expression of phosphorylated Smad2 was significantly decreased, followed then by gradual increment till nearly the normal level. Twenty-two weeks after DENA treatment, Smad4 expression in liver tissue decreased markedly as compared with the levels at 8 and 16 weeks. The expressions of Smad4 and phosphorylated Smad2 in the HCC tissue was significantly lower than those in normal liver tissue.

CONCLUSIONHepatocarcinogenesis involves very complex mechanisms, can can be related partially to the decreased Smad4 and phosphorylated Smad2 expression and TGFbeta1 and Smad7 overexpression in advanced stage of liver cirrhosis.

Animals ; Diethylnitrosamine ; Liver Neoplasms, Experimental ; chemically induced ; metabolism ; pathology ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Signal Transduction ; Smad2 Protein ; metabolism ; Smad4 Protein ; metabolism ; Smad7 Protein ; metabolism ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1 ; genetics ; metabolism