Objective To study surface heparinization of small intestinal submucosa(SIS)and an- tithrombegenicity of beparinized SIS films with plasma initiation technique for the engineering vascular scaffolds. Methods The SIS films were grafted with heparin by hypothermia plasma initiation technique.The blood com- patibility of the modified SIS films was assessed by observing blood coagulation time in vitro and the long term pa- tency of hepafinized SIS vascular scaffolds directly under the circulation of blood.Results The hypothermia plasma initiation method could attach heparin onto the SIS surface,The water contact angle of SIS films modified with heparin was decreased while the surface free energy and hydrophilicity increased.The prothrombin time(PT),ac- tivated partial thromboplastin time(APTT)and thrombin clotting Time(TT)of the SIS films modified with heparin were prolonged obviously.Small caliber engineering vascular scaffold made of heparinized SIS films kept the patency for six weeks.Conclusion Heparin can be attached to SIS films by hypothermia plasma initiation technique.The modified surfaces provide good and persistent antithrombogenicity,and possess potent blood compatibility,

Cardiac Catheterization ; Child ; Echocardiography, Three-Dimensional ; Heart Septal Defects ; diagnostic imaging ; Humans ; Prosthesis Implantation ; Time Factors

Although previous publications suggest the 2009 pandemic influenza A(H1N1)virus was reassorted from swine viruses of North America and Eurasia, the immediate ancestry still remains elusive due to the big evolutionary distance between the 2009 H1N1 virus and the previously isolated strains. Since the unveiling of the2009 H1N1 influenza, great deal of interest has been drawn to influenza, consequently a large number of influenza virus sequences have been deposited into the public sequence databases. Blast analysis demonstrated that the recently submitted 2007 South Dakota avian influenza virus strains and other North American avian strains contained genetic segments very closely related to the 2009 H1N1 virus, which suggests these avian influenza viruses are very close relatives of the 2009 H1N1 virus. Phylogenetic analyses also indicate that the2009 H1N1 viruses are associated with both avian and swine influenza viruses circulating in North America. Since the migrating wild birds are preferable to pigs as the carrier to spread the influenza viruses across vast distances, it is very likely that birds played an important role in the inter-continental evolution of the 2009 H1N1virus. It is essential to understand the evolutionary route of the emerging influenza virus in order to find a way to prevent further emerging cases. This study suggests the close relationship between 2009 pandemic virus and the North America avian viruses and underscores enhanced surveillance of influenza in birds for understanding the evolution of the 2009 pandemic influenza.

Myeloid differentiation factor MyD88 is a critical adaptor molecule that integrates and transduces intracellular signals in inducing the differentiation of dendritic cells (DCs).The domain regions within MyD88 was searched,it could potentially affect the function of dendritic cells and found that MyD88 aa155-171 motif not only regulate the activity of transcription factor NF-?B, but also control the production of cytokines and expression of costimulatory molecules. Indeed, aa155-171 motif deleted type MyD88 (MyD88155-171) transfected RAW264.7 cells exhibited the reduced NF-?B and AP-1 activity and interrupted the expression of CD86 and B7H1. Meanwhile, lower level expression of cytokines such as IL-12,IFN-? were also observed by means of cytokine array in MyD88-/-DC trasfected with MyD88155-171 as compared to the MyD88 transfected cells. Thus, aa155-171 motif inside MyD88 could affect the expression of costimulatory molecules, production of cytokines and transduction of Toll like receptor signal pathway, suggesting that this motif may play an important role in regulating responses of innate immune system.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the prognostic value of lateral pelvic lymph node metastasis on low rectal cancer.

METHODSOne hundred and seventy-six patients with low rectal cancer who underwent radical resection combined with lateral pelvic lymph node dissection between 1994 and 2005 were reviewed. The data of the cases was investigated to define the prognostic value of lateral pelvic lymph node metastasis on the patients.

RESULTSLateral node metastasis occurred in 33 patients (18.8%), and 51.5% of the metastasis occurred in internal iliac nodes or nodes at middle rectal roots and 39.4% in obturator nodes. Age < or =40 years, infiltrative cancer, T34 tumor, upward lymph node metastasis were risk factors for lateral node metastasis in low rectal cancer (P < 0.05). The overall 5-year survival rate was 64.1%, and it was 94.1%, 79.1%, 42.1% for patients with TNM stage I, II, III cancer, respectively. Tumor size, depth of infiltration, upward lymph node metastasis, lateral node metastasis was correlated significantly with prognosis (P < 0.05). The 5-year survival rate of the patients without lateral metastasis was 73.6%, which was significant higher than that of patients with lateral metastasis (21.4%, P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONLateral pelvic lymph node metastasis is an important prognostic factor for low rectal cancer.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Lymph Node Excision ; Lymph Nodes ; pathology ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multivariate Analysis ; Pelvis ; pathology ; Prognosis ; Rectal Neoplasms ; pathology ; surgery ; Retrospective Studies ; Young Adult

Objective To investigate the expression of matrix metalloproteinase 7(MMP-7) mRNA in LOVO cells of colon cancer induced by TF/F Ⅶ a and its signal pathway.Methods We transfected LOVO cells stably with RNAi plasmid targeting to tissue factor to get TFRNAi LOVO cells and detected efficiency of interference in TFRNAi LOVO cells based on Western blot analysis;Expression of MMP-7 was evaluated in LOVO cells treated with 100 nmol/L FⅦa in 0 h、4 h、8 h、12 h、24 h based on RT-PCR and Northern blot.Expression of MMP-7mRNA was determined in quiescent LOVO cells treated with different doses of FⅦa(0 nmol/L、10nmol/L、50 nmol/L、100 nmol/L、200 nmol/L)for 8 h based on Northern blot.Quiescent LOVO cells were treated for 0 h、4 h、8 h、12 h、16 h、24 h with 100 nmol/L FⅦa to evaluate the expression of p-P38;The expression level of MMP-7mRNA induced by 100 nmol/L FⅦa for 8 h in LOVO cells blocked by 10retool SB203580 0.5 h previously and in TFRNAi LOVO cells were measured by Northern blot.Results Northern blot analysis revealed that FⅦa markedly increased the expression of MMP-7mRNA in a time-and dose-dependent manner.Western blot analysis confirmed that FⅦa stimulates p-P38 in a time-dependent manner.SB203580 block 59.2% expression of MMP-7mRNA in LOVO cells induced by TF/FⅦa.In TFRNAi LOVO cells,the expression of MMP-7mRNA induced by TF/FⅦa was 48% less than that in normal LOVO cells.Conclusions TF/FⅦa Complex induces the expression of MMP-7mRNA in LOVO cells in vitro,possibly through P38 pathway.

Objective The aim is to investigate the correlation between bisphenol A (BPA) exposure and tumor tissue ceramide (Cer) as well as serum tumor markers in colorectal cancer (CRC). Methods The morning urine and CRC tumor tissue were collected from 84 patients with CRC. The concentration of urine BPA was determined by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometer (LC-MS), urine BPA concentration was corrected with creatinine (Cr). Cer concentration of CRC tumor tissue was detected by Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The correlations of urine BPAcr, Cer content of CRC tumor tissue and tumor markers were analyzed. Results Cer content in CRC tumor tissue was positively correlated with BPAcr (r=0.784, P＜0.001). Regression analysis showed that the regression coefficient of Cer content in CRC tumor tissue and BPAcr was 0.218 (95% CI: 0.18-0.26), which was statistically significant (P＜0.001). There were significantly differences in CRC tumor tissue Cer and urine BPAcr between the CEA positive and negative groups, CA125 positive and negative groups, and CA19-9 positive and negative groups (all P<0.05), while there was no significant difference between AFP positive and negative groups in CRC tumor tissue Cer and urine BPAcr (P=0.247). Serum CEA, CA125 and CA19-9 were positively correlated with urine BPAcr (r values were 0.348, 0.251, 0.281, respectively, all P＜0.05) and Cer content in CRC tumor tissue (r values were 0.265, 0.309, 0.263, respectively, all P＜0.05). Conclusions BPA exposure may cause an increase of Cer in CRC tumor tissue and abnormalities in serum tumor markers, suggesting that BPA exposure may participate in the development and occurance of CRC by affecting the metabolism of Cer in CRC tumor tissue.

Objective To investigate the correlation of serum cystatin C and creatinine levels with cerebral infarction. Methods Eighty-four patients with cerebral infarction diagnosed by clinical manifestations, CT and (or) MRI and 76 healthy subjects were selected. Cystatin C level was tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and creatinine level was tested by the method of nitroxanthic acid. The correlation of cystatin C and creatinine levels with cerebral infarction was explored. Results The level of serum cystatin C in the cerebral infarction group (1.69±0.60 mg/L) was significantly lower as compared with that in the control group (2.00±0.67 mg/L) (t=-3.084, P=0.002); the level of serum creatinine in the cerebral infarction group (86.62±14.02 μmol/L) was significantly higher as compared with that in the control group (80.88±13.71 μmol/L) (t=2.611, P=0.010). Negative correlation between level of serum cystain C and cerebral infarction was noted (r=-0.238, P=0.002),while the level of serum creatinine was positively related to cerebral infarction (r=0.208, P=0.010).Conclusion A close correlation between cerebral infarction and both the levels of cystain C and creatinine exists, with cystatin C being a protective factor and creatinine being a risk factor for clinical cerebral infarction.

BACKGROUNDSerum expression of cytokines may provide information about the clinical outcome of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between serum cytokine levels and the clinical outcome of erlotinib treatment in a second or third line setting in patients with advanced NSCLC.

METHODSA total of 162 patients with advanced NSCLC who received erlotinib as either second or third line therapy were enrolled in this study. Blood samples were collected before the initiation of erlotinib treatment, and the levels of IL-1, IL- 2R, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Cutoff points were defined as the median levels of IL-1 (low (≥26.5 pg/ml) and high (>26.5 pg/ml)), IL-2R (low ( = 115 pmol/L) and high (>15 pmol/L)), IL-6 (low (≤49.5 pg/ml) and high (>49.5 pg/ml)), and TNF-α (low (≤48.5 pg/ml) and high (>48.5 pg/ml)). Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to estimate the survival time, and Cox regression analyses were used to correlate cytokines and baseline clinical characteristics with clinical outcomes, including time to progression (TTP) and overall survival (OS).

RESULTSBetween January 2007 and May 2011, 162 patients were enrolled. Their median age was 58 years. In this group, 109 were males and 53 were females, 74 were former or current smokers and 88 were non-smokers. A total of 122 patients had adenocarcinoma, 27 had squamous cell carcinoma, and 13 had tumors with other types of histology. And 139 patients had an Eastern cooperative oncology group (ECOG) performance status of 0-1, while 23 scored at 2-3. Expression of IL-1, IL-2R, and IL-6 was not significantly associated with age, gender, ECOG performance status, smoking status, or histology and stage of tumor. Only TNF-α was associated with smoking status (P = 0.045). Survival analysis showed that patients with low levels of either IL-6 or TNF-α had a statistically longer TTP and OS than patients with high expression (P < 0.05). These cytokines remained significant upon multivariate analysis (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONIL-6 or TNF-α may serve as potential predictive biomarker for the efficacy of erlotinib.

Adult ; Aged ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; blood ; drug therapy ; Cytokines ; blood ; Erlotinib Hydrochloride ; Female ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; blood ; drug therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Protein Kinase Inhibitors ; therapeutic use ; Quinazolines ; therapeutic use

To study the detection of weak D and Del from samples initially screened RhD(-), RhD phenotype was initially screened by routine serological test, out of which weak D phenotype was detected by indirect antiglobulin test (IAT) and Del phenotype was detected by chloroform-trichloroethylene absorption-elution test. The results showed that 56 samples were RhD(-) confirmed by routine serology test, which were screened out of 26 200 donors, among them 5 samples were typed as weak D by IAT and 9 cases samples were typed as Del by absorption-elution test. In conclusion, the samples which typed as RhD(-) by routine serological test must be identified by IAT and chloroform-trchloroethylene absorption test is order to detect weak D and Del phenotype. It is important for clinical transfusion safely.
Blood Donors ; Blood Grouping and Crossmatching ; methods ; standards ; Epitopes ; immunology ; Erythrocytes ; immunology ; Humans ; Rh-Hr Blood-Group System ; blood ; immunology