ObjectiveTo study the chemical constituents from the roots of Flemingia philippinensis.MethodsThe chemical constituents were isolated and purified by combination of silica gel column,Sephadex LH-20,polyamide,and ODS column chromatography.The structures of the isolated compounds were identified by means of spectral data.ResultsTen compounds were isolated from F.philippinensis and identified as isoderrone (1),dalparvin A (2),prunetin (3),7,3'-dihydroxy-5,4',5'-trimethoxyisoflavone (4),pratensein-7-O-β-D-glucoside (5),sissotrin (6),sophororicoside (7),formononetin (8),orobol (9),and biochanin A (10).ConclusionCompounds 1-6 are obtained from this plant for the first time.

Objective To purify and rejuvenate the plant of Curcama kwangsiensis,improve the transplantation survival rate of cultivars,and make the convenience of storagement and management for the cultivars production.Methods The rhizome plantlet formation of C.kwangsiensis was induced by regulating both of macro-element and sucrose concentration in the MS culture medium.Results Both of them were very important influence factors on the rhizome plantlet formation of C.kwangsiensis.Media 1/2 MS and 6% sucrose were adaptable to the rhizome plantlet formation of C.kwangsiensis,had the best effects on the formation rate of the rhizome plantlet,diameter and direct transplanting rate of the rhizome plantlet.Both plantlet and root system development were stronger.Conclusion In the present research,it is successful in inducing the rhizome plantlet formation of C.kwangsiensis.

Objective To analyze the computed tomography(CT)and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)appearances of primary clear cell carcinoma of the liver (PCCCL)and evaluate the value in the diagnosis of the disease.Methods CT and MR images of 38 patients of pathologically confirmed PCCCL were evaluated retrospectively.Twenty-six patients underwent CT,23 underwent MRI, and 1 1 underwent both CT and MRI.Results In pre-contrast CT scanning,24 PCCCLs appeared hypodense and 2 hyperdense.As for MRI 1 9 of the 23 PCCCLs were hypointense and 4 were iso-hypointense on T1 WI.While on T2 WI,22 cases were heterogeneously hyperintense,and 1was iso-hypointense.On the arterial phase of CT/MRI,all cases presented intense enhancement,and on the portal venous phase,35 cases(35/38,92.1%)were relatively hypodense/hypointense and 3 were slightly hyperdense/hyperintense.Among the tumors larger than 3 cm(n=22),nodular enhancement pattern was found in 14 cases(63.6%,14/22).The capsular rim en-hancement was demonstrated in 26 cases.Conclusion PCCCL showed similar dynamic enhancement pattern as common hepatocellu-lar carcinoma,but also depicted specific imaging features.

To study the response of cultured cells to the cyclical biaxial biomechanical strain, a system was made according to the principle of Winston. The system was made of culture dish, pressure cavity and step motor. The culture dishes were made of polymethyl methacrylate and the bottom of the culture dishes were made of silicone rubber membrane. When the diameter of the silicone rubber tube and the distance between rollers and curvilinear plate changed, the pressure in the pressure cavity changed and the strain of the membrane changed from 0 to 4%. When the roll of the step motor changed, the frequency of the strain changed from 0.1 to 5 Hz.
Animals ; Cell Culture Techniques ; instrumentation ; Equipment Design ; Finite Element Analysis ; Rats ; Stress, Mechanical

Objective To express the recombinant caspid of genotype 4 hepatitis E virus(HEV) ORF2. Methods HEV recombinant capsid protein D66 was expressed in E. coli, using the ORF2 fragment (aa368-606, obtained from swine bile) of genotype 4 HEV. Results The recombinant capsid proteins D66 self-assemble to be particle with a radius of 13 nm through dimeric form in neutral solution. Coated particles reacted well with sera obtained from patients during acute or recovered phase of HEV infection. Immunofluorescence and immnoblot assay suggested that D66 bound and penetrated HepG2 cell lines, and the process of attachment was blocked by sera collected from patients during acute or recovered phase of HEV infection.Conclusion Recombinant D66 particles simulate the structure at the surface of genotype 4 HEV well and specifically adhere and penetrate the host cells, which lays the foundation for the investigation of the molecular mechanism of genotype 4 HEV infection.

We developed a high-sensitivity C-reactive protein quantifiable chemiluminescent immunoassay (hs-CRP CLIA). The high-purity native CRP was purified from hepatic cirrhosis patient ascetic fluid by affinity and ion exchange chromatography and used as an immunogen to develop the monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against CRP. Twenty-two mAbs were identified reactive with CRP in ELISA and 13 of them were reactive in the phosphorycholine ligand capture ELISA. The mAbs 10C5 and 10C11 were selected to develop the hs-CRP CLIA. The linearity and performance of the hs-CRP CLIA was characterized. It was showed not reactive when testing against other serum materials (IgG, hemoglobin and triglyceride). The reliable correlation (R2 > 0.993) was obtained between testing value (RLU/S) and the concentration of human serum CRP calibrator. The linearity fell in the range of 0.04-20.38 mg/L. The assay has good accuracy and reproducibility, the mean recovery was 99% and the precision of the intra- and inter assay was CVs (4.2%-5.8%) and (9.0%-11.5%), respectively. In testing of 90 human sera, this assay performed well and correlated comparably with a commercial hs-CRP ELISA kit. Thus, hs-CRP CLIA is an accurate, reliable, quantifiable assay for detection of high-sensitive C-reactive protein in serum, it may be useful to improve the risk assessment of cardiovascular disease and the prognosis of inflammatory bowel disease.
C-Reactive Protein ; analysis ; chemistry ; Humans ; Immunoassay ; methods ; Luminescent Measurements ; methods ; Sensitivity and Specificity

To study the effects of ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) on denervated skeletal muscle atrophy and to find a new approach to ameliorate atrophy of denervated muscle, a model was established by cutting the right sciatic nerve in 36 Wistar mice, with the left side serving as control. Then they were divided into two groups randomly. CNTF (1 U/ml) 0.1 ml was injected into the right tibial muscle every day in experimental group, and saline was used into another group for comparison. The muscle wet weight, muscle total protein, Ca2+, physiological response and morphology were analyzed on the 7th, 14th and 28th day after operation. Our results showed that compared to control group, there was a significant increase in muscle wet weight, total protein, Ca2+, muscle fiber cross-section area in CNTF group (P < 0.05). CNTF could ameliorate the decrease of tetanic tension (PO), post-tetanic twitch potentiation (PTP), and the prolonged muscle relaxation time (RT) caused by denervation (P < 0.05). The motor end-plate areas 7 days and 14 days after denervation was similar (P > 0.05), but significantly larger 28 days after the denervation (P < 0.05). Our results suggest that CNTF exerts myotrophic effects by attenuating the morphological and functional changes associated with denervation of rat muscles and has protective effects on denervated muscle and motor end plate.
Animals ; Ciliary Neurotrophic Factor ; pharmacology ; Male ; Motor Endplate ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Muscle Denervation ; adverse effects ; Muscle, Skeletal ; innervation ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Muscular Atrophy ; etiology ; prevention & control ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Sciatic Nerve ; surgery

Objective:To investigate the MRI features of hepatic nodular regenerative hyperplasia (NRH) induced by chemotherapy.Methods:The clinical data and MRI of 20 cases with hepatic NRH induced by chemotherapy and confirmed by pathology in Zhongshan Hospital Fudan University from August 2014 to May 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 13 males and 7 females, with an average age of 49.8 ± 9.7 years. Contrast-enhanced MR scan with Gd-DTPA was performed eighteen patients, and two patients underwent contrast-enhanced MR scan with hepatobiliary specific contrast (Gd-EOB-DTPA). The image analysis includes the number, location, size, shape, signal intensity in plain scan and enhancement pattern of lesions. The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values of the lesions and adjacent hepatic parenchyma were measured on the ADC map, and the difference was compared with paired sample t test.Results:A total of 36 lesions in 20 patients were rounded or oval, including 23 (63.9%) lesions in the right lobe, 12 (33.3%) in the left lobe and 1 (2.8%) in the caudate lobe. The average diameter of all lesions was 15.4 ± 6.4 (7.0-37.0) mm. The boundary was clear in 9 (25.0%) lesions and blurred in 27 (75%) lesions. In T1WI, 35 (97.2%) lesions showed slightly hypointensity, and in 1 (2.8%) lesion was iosintensity. All 36 lesions showed slightly hyperintensity in T2WI. 33 (91.7%) lesions showed slightly hyperintensity in DWI, and 3 (8.3%) lesions showed iosintensity. 31 lesions with Gd-DTPA enhanced MR scan were significantly enhanced in the arterial phase and showed slightly high signal intensity in early portal vein phase, late portal vein phase and equilibrium phase. 5 lesions with Gd-EOB-DTPA enhanced MR scan were also significantly enhanced in the arterial phase and showed slightly high signal intensity in early portal vein phase, late portal vein phase and equilibrium phase, then all lesions showed circular high signal intensity in hepatobiliary specific phase. The average ADC value of 29 lesions was (1.471 ± 0.253) × 10 -3 mm 2/s, and that of adjacent liver parenchyma was (1.460 ± 0.235) ×10 -3 mm 2/s. There was no significant difference between the two groups ( P > 0.05). Conclusion:MR findings of NRH induced by chemotherapy have certain characteristics, and the morphological manifestations, diffusion-weighted imaging, enhanced imaging and hepatobiliary specific phase features of the lesions can help to diagnose the disease.

Objective The aim of current study is to determine the effect and mechanism of thymic stromal lymphopoietin on apoptosis of mouse nucleus pulposus cells by investigating the apoptotic activity and variation of intracellular phosphorylated protein kinase B (p-Akt),X-linkedinhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP),cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase-3 (caspase-3),with the treatment of thymic stromal lymphopoietin.Methods Mouse lumbar nucleus pulposus cells were cultured and identified under a fluorescence microscope.Second or third passage cells maintained in monolayers were used for the following experiments.The groups were divided randomly into normal group,TNF-α treated group,TSLP treated group,TSLP+LY94002 treated group and TSLP+Embelin treated group.As a control,normal group was treated with PBS.TNF-α treated group was treated with 500 ng/ml TNF-αt as a positive control.TSLP treated group was treated with 10 ng/ml rhTSLP.TSLP+LY94002 treated group and TSLP+ Embelin treated group were treated with 10 ng/ml TSLP with the pretreatment of different pathway inhibitors for 30 ain in different corresponding experiments,for which 10 μ mol LY294002 or 50 LY294002 responding experimentsreatment of different pathway inhibitors formouse nucleus pulposus cells was detected by FACS.The expression levels of the intracellular p-Akt,XIAP,caspase-3 were investigated by Western blot analysis.Results As the culture cell type Ⅱ collagen staining was positive observed by fluorescence microscopy,we confirmed that the cuhured cells were nucleus pulposus cells.In comparison with negative control,the levels of p-Akt,XIAP in TSLP treated group were elevated (t=9.510,P=0.001;t=8.851,P=0.001).Thecaspase-3 activity were slightly enhanced and the rate of cells apoptosis was no significance.Compared with TSLP treated group,downregulated level of pAkt and XIAPand upregulatedcaspase-3 activity in TSLP+LY294002 treated group were observed (t=8.798,P=0.001;t=7.032,P=0.002;t=5.908,P=0.004).Upregulated caspase-3 activity were also observed in TSLP+ Embelin treated group (t=7.990,P=0.001).Furthermore,significant increased apoptotic cell rate was observed in TSLP+LY294002 or TSLP+Embelin treated groups (t=21.268,P=0.001;t=21.279,P=0.001).Conclusion TSLP may have a potential anti-apoptotic effect on mouse NP cells via upregulating XIAP in PI3K/Akt signaling pathway to restrain the activation of caspase-3.

Spinal cord injury, a severe injury of the central nervous system, shows high disability and mortality rate and seriously affects the patients′ quality of life. It is difficult to restore the spinal cord and achieve satisfactory neurological function improvement with various current treatments for spinal cord injury. Electric stimulation can accelerate axonal growth and myelination and promote nervous tissue repair and regeneration. Conductive hydrogels that can load electric stimulation have great potential in the treatment of spinal cord injuries. Under electric stimulation, different types of conductive hydrogels have different characteristics and can perform a variety of functions. However, clinicians still lack a comprehensive understanding of their application effects in repair of spinal cord injury. To this end, the authors reviewed the research progress on the role of electric stimulation as well as the characteristics and applications of different types of conductive hydrogels in repair of spinal cord injury to provide references for the synthesis and clinical transformation of conductive hydrogels for repair of spinal cord injury.