Objective To examine the effect of berberine on tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)-induced VEGF expression and the possible mechanism.Methods There were two sessions in this study.In the first session,HepG2 cells were treated with 10 ng/mL TNF-αfor 0,12,24 and 48 h,respectively.In the second session,HepG2 cells were pre-incubated with 0,10,25 and 50μmol/L berberine for 24 h,respectively,and then treated with 10 ng/mL TNF-αfor 24 h.The effect of berberine on the prolif-eration of HepG2 cells was assayed by MTT.The level of VEGF mRNA was detected by real-time PCR,and the expression lev-els of VEGF,IκBαand NF-κB p65 proteins by Western blot.The activity of NF-κB was measured by ELISA.Results Berberine could dose-dependently inhibit the growth of HepG2 cells.TNF-αcould increase the mRNA and protein expression levels of VEGF in HepG2 cells in a time-dependent manner.Berberine could significantly dose-dependently down-regulate the TNF-α-in-duced VEGF expression at mRNA and protein levels.TNF-αsignificantly decreased the expression of IκBαand increased the ex-pression of NF-κB p65 and the activity of NF-κB in a time-dependent manner,which could be dose-dependently abrogated by pretreatment with berberine.Conclusion Berberine inhibits TNF-α-induced VEGF expression via NF-κB signaling pathway.

Objective To observe the effect of different concentrations of realgar on the apoptosis of gastric adenocarcinoma cell Line SGC-7901. Methods MTT assay was conducted to detect the growth inhibition ratio of SGC-7901 cells treated by different concentrations of realgar (0,10,20,50 and 80 μg·mL-1 ). AnnexinⅤ/ Propidium iodide double staining method together with flow cytometry were used to detect the effect of realgar at 0,20,50 and 80 μg·mL-1 on the apoptosis of SGC-7901 cells. Results The growth inhibition ratio of SGC-7901 cells by various concentrations of high-purity realgar (10,20,50 and 80 μg·mL-1 ) was 6. 15% ,7. 54% ,42. 31% and 63. 54% ,respectively,24 h after realgar treatment. At 48 h after the treatment,the growth inhibition ratio rose to 32. 56% ,46. 14% ,64. 51% and 87. 52% ,respectively (P<0. 05). Half inhibitory concentration was 45. 23 μg·mL-1 after 24 h and 15. 34 μg·mL-1 after 48 h. After treated by various concentrations of pure realgar (0,20,50 and 80 μg·mL-1 ) for 24 h,early cell apoptosis rate was (11. 10±2. 10)% ,(15. 31±1. 30)% ,(25. 81 ±2. 68)% and (43. 62 ±8. 51)% ,respectively,significantly different among the four groups (P<0. 05). The late cell apoptosis rate in each group was (1. 84±0. 25)% ,(4. 41±0. 09)% ,(4. 37±0. 14)% and (5. 00±0. 10)% ,respectively (P>0. 05). Conclusion High purity realgar can inhibit the proliferation and induce early apoptosis of gastric adenocarcinoma SGC-7901 cells.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effectiveness of FTA Elute® Cartridge (GE healthcare, Kent, UK) in combination with hybrid capture 2 (HC2) testing for cervical cancer screening.

METHODSFrom May to June 2012, 412 women aged 25 to 65 years in Jiangxi Tonggu were enrolled in the study. We used pathological outcome as the gold standard, and the accuracy of the FTA card in combination with HC2 testing was investigated from both physician- and self-sampling, respectively.

RESULTSPhysician sampling using the FTA card in combination with HC2 testing showed a comparable sensitivity (12/13) with the liquid based medium, but a higher specificity 69.5% (266/383) vs (77.8%, 298/383) (P < 0.001).When self sampling method was used, the sensitivity and specificity of using the FTA card in combination with HC2 testing with liquid based medium was 10/13 vs 8/13(P = 0.625) and (62.3%, 238/382) vs (75.7%, 289/382) (P < 0.001). The agreement of detection results for HC2 between FTA and liquid-based sampling medium was 86.1% (340/395) and 79.5% (314/395). For physician-collected samples used for HC2 testing to detect CIN2+, the accuracy of the FTA card was superior to that of the liquid-based medium (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) = 0.898, 95%CI:0.838-0.958).

CONCLUSIONFTA Elute® cartridge in combination with HC2 testing is a promising method of specimen transport for cervical cancer screening programs with a good precision.With further optimization, it could become an effective method for cervical cancer screening in various economic levels of areas.

Adult ; Early Detection of Cancer ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Specimen Handling ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms