BACKGROUND:Hepatocyte growth factor(HGF) is a kind of multifunctional growth factor,which can accelerate cell growth,transition and genesis in various organs.In cardiovascular system,HGF has reported to have anti-apoptotic,anti-fibrotic,as well as repair endothelial cell injury effects,suppose that HGF has relationships with hypertension.OBJECTIVE:To investigate the effect of HGF on blood pressure,vascular endothelial system and renin-angiotensin system(RAS) in spontaneously hypertensive rats,further more,to discuss the mechanisms between HGF and hypertension.DESIGN,TIME AND SETTING:The randomized control experiment on animal was performed at the Department of Cardiology,First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University from March to July 2007.MATERIALS:The exogenous HGF power was purchased from America Peprotech Company.Rats with 14-weeks-old,weighting 200-250 g,were randomly divided into the experimental and spontaneous hypertension groups,WKY rats were serves as the control group,with 12 animals in each group.METHODS:Rats in the experimental group were administrated 5,10,15,20,and 25 ?g/kg HGF per 24 hours,the partes aequales sodium chloride was injected into the spontaneous hypertension and control groups.Five minutes after administration,systolic pressure and heart rates were measured.The rats were sacrificed and harvested 2 mL blood of right ventricle when blood pressure decrease the lowest,about 30 minutes after administration.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:The effect of HGF on systolic pressure and heart rates,and levels of serum nitrogen monoxidum(NO),plasma endothelin(ET),as well as angiotensinⅡ(Ag Ⅱ) were detected by colorimetry and radio-immunity methods.RESULTS:When injected 5?g/kg HGF,the blood pressure did not significantly change.After 10 ?g/kg HGF injection,the blood pressure began to decrease and reached a peak after 30 minutes,gradually recovered after 1 hour,and back to the normal after 5 hours.Injection of 20 ?g/kg has largest effect on rats,with reduced contractive pressure 40-50mmHg,but no significantly changes appeared by adding HGF dose.There were no significantly differences of heat rate and blood pressure between the two control groups.Compared with the spontaneous hypertension group,the levels of ET and AgⅡ were decreased,however,the level of NO was increased(P

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of serum PCT level in deciding the development and progno-sis of sepsis and its conrrelation with APACHE Ⅱ scoring.Methods 56 patients of sepsis accepted intensive care treatment and were all given APACHE Ⅱ scoring within the first 24 h after admission to ICU.The PCT level at dif-ferent time(1 d,3 d,5 d-7 d,10 d after admission)was detected.All these patients were divided into survival group and death group based on the 28-day fatality.Results The PCT level declined gradually with the treatment and it decreased obviously from the third day in comparison with the original level before admission [survival group/death group:(2.98±0.48)μg/L/(4.98±0.66)μg/L vs(4.04±0.50)μg/L/(6.02±0.50)μg/L](P

Provirus integration site Moloney murine leukemia virus (Pim-1) is a proto-oncogene reported to be associated with cell proliferation, differentiation and survival. This study was to explore the neuroprotective role of Pim-1 in a rat model subjected to optic nerve crush (ONC), and discuss its related molecules in improving the intrinsic regeneration ability of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). Immunofluorescence staining showed that AAV2- Pim-1 infected 71% RGCs and some amacrine cells in the retina. Real-time PCR and Western blotting showed that retina infection with AAV2- Pim-1 up-regulated the Pim-1 mRNA and protein expressions compared with AAV2-GFP group. Hematoxylin-Eosin (HE) staining, γ-synuclein immunohistochemistry, Cholera toxin B (CTB) tracing and TUNEL showed that RGCs transduction with AAV2-Pim-1 prior to ONC promoted the survival of damaged RGCs and decreased cell apoptosis. RITC anterograde labeling showed that Pim-1 overexpression increased axon regeneration and promoted the recovery of visual function by pupillary light reflex and flash visual evoked potential. Western blotting showed that Pim- 1 overexpression up-regulated the expression of Stat3, p-Stat3, Akt1, p-Akt1, Akt2 and p-Akt2, as well as βIII-tubulin, GAP-43 and 4E-BP1, and downregulated the expression of SOCS1 and SOCS3, Cleaved caspase 3, Bad and Bax. These results demonstrate that Pim-1 exerted a neuroprotective effect by promoting nerve regeneration and functional recovery of RGCs. In addition, it enhanced the intrinsic regeneration capacity of RGCs after ONC by activating Stat3, Akt1 and Akt2 pathways, and inhibiting the mitochondrial apoptosis pathways. These findings suggest that Pim-1 may prove to be a potential therapeutic target for the clinical treatment of optic nerve injury.

Objective:To explore the classification and influencing factors of family resilience and post-traumatic growth in patients with spinal tumor.Methods:A cross-sectional investigation was conducted among 219 inpatients with spinal tumor admitted from July 2021 to July 2022. The General Demographic Information questionnaire, Chinese-Family Resilience Assessment Scale, Posttraumatic Growth Inventory, Family Crisis-Oriented Personal Evaluation Scales (F-COPES), and Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS) were used in the study. The ordinal and multivariate logistic regression analyses was applied to identify the factors associated with the classification of family resilience and post-traumatic growth.Results:Of the 219 patients, there were 62 cases of primary spinal tumors (28.3%). According to the results of latent profile analysis, the respondents were classified into three categories by family resilience and post-traumatic growth, namely family difficulty-resistant type ( n=38, 17.4%), general resilience-struggle type ( n=99, 45.2%) and family adaptation-growth type ( n=82, 37.4%). There were significant differences in occupational status, commitment to housework, family atmosphere( χ2=10.75, P=0.025; χ2=6.95, P=0.031; χ2=11.37, P=0.017), and total score of F-COPES and SSRS ( F=25.95, P<0.001; F=19.06, P<0.001)among three groups. Ordinal and multivariate logisitc regression analyses showed that retirement ( OR=2.928, 95% CI:1.098-7.808, P<0.05), family coping ( OR=1.113, 95% CI:1.063-1.165, P<0.05), and social support ( OR=1.226, 95% CI:1.103-1.362, P<0.05) were independently associated with family resilience and post-traumatic growth in patients with spinal tumor. Conclusion:Patients with spinal tumor have significant differences in characteristics by family resilience and post-traumatic growth. As a result, more targeted interventions should be provided for different categories of spinal tumor patients in the future.

Objective:To investigate the risk factor of renal anemia in maintenance hemodialysis patients (MHD) and the association of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic (NT-proBNP) level with renal anemia.Methods:Patients who received MHD for more than 3 months at Huashan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University from August 2018 to November 2018 were selected as the subjects. The patients were divided into anemia group and non-anemia group according to the hemoglobin level. The patients' general data, the laboratory examination and dialysis related data during the observation period were collected. Pearson correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between anemia indicators, dialysis-related indicators and blood NT-proBNP levels. Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis was used to analyze the risk factors for anemia in MHD patients.Results:A total of 160 patients with MHD were included in this study, aged (63.11±11.35) years. There were 79 males (49.4%) and 81 females (50.6%). The dialysis age was (118.01±82.32) months, hemoglobin was (110.09±13.48) g/L, and the median NT-proBNP was 3 985 ng/L. There were 73 cases (45.6%) in anemia group and 87 cases (54.4%) in non-anemic group, and NT-proBNP levels were significantly higher in anemia group than that in the non-anemia group ( t=-3.714, P<0.001). Hemoglobin levels were positively correlated with weekly dialysis time ( r=0.228) and albumin ( r=0.349), and negatively correlated with NT-proBNP levels ( r=-0.318). Hematocrit was positively correlated with weekly dialysis time ( r=0.283), serum calcium ( r=0.317), phosphorus ( r=0.264) and albumin ( r=0.513) with significance (all P<0.05). Univariate regression analysis showed that the level of ln (NT-proBNP) was negatively correlated with hemoglobin ( P<0.001). Stepwise multiple linear regression results showed that low albumin level and high NT-proBNP level were independent risk factors for renal anemia in MHD patients. Conclusions:The increase level of NT-proBNP in MHD patients is independently associated with the decrease level of hemoglobin. Low albumin level and high NT-proBNP level are risk factors for renal anemia, suggesting that the treatment of renal anemia needs to consider improving the factors such as malnutrition and high volume.

BACKGROUND: The role of sex hormones and their receptors has drawn much attention in the process of cartilage regeneration. This study aimed to investigate the effect of androgen receptor (AR) on the chondrogenic ability of articular chondrocytes and the related mechanism. METHODS: Articular chondrocytes were isolated, cultured, identified by toluidine blue staining and then transduced with lentivirus carrying the AR gene. The cell viability was determined using Cell Counting Kit-8, and cell apoptosis was assessed by flow cytometry analysis. The effects of AR overexpression on the expression of cartilage-specific proteins and some signalling molecules were evaluated by real-time PCR and Western blotting. Using 24 New Zealand rabbits, the regeneration of rabbit articular cartilage defects was further investigated in vivo and evaluated histologically. RESULTS: The overexpression of AR significantly reduced the apoptosis rate of chondrocytes but did not affect their proliferation. The overexpression of AR also promoted the expression of Sry-related HMG box 9, collagen II and aggrecan, decreased the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-13, and downregulated p-S6 and RICTOR. The experimental group with AR-overexpressing chondrocytes exhibited superior regeneration of cartilage defects. CONCLUSION AR overexpression can maintain the phenotype of chondrocytes and promote chondrogenesis in vitro and in vivo. mTOR-related signalling was inhibited.

BACKGROUND: The role of sex hormones and their receptors has drawn much attention in the process of cartilage regeneration. This study aimed to investigate the effect of androgen receptor (AR) on the chondrogenic ability of articular chondrocytes and the related mechanism. METHODS: Articular chondrocytes were isolated, cultured, identified by toluidine blue staining and then transduced with lentivirus carrying the AR gene. The cell viability was determined using Cell Counting Kit-8, and cell apoptosis was assessed by flow cytometry analysis. The effects of AR overexpression on the expression of cartilage-specific proteins and some signalling molecules were evaluated by real-time PCR and Western blotting. Using 24 New Zealand rabbits, the regeneration of rabbit articular cartilage defects was further investigated in vivo and evaluated histologically. RESULTS: The overexpression of AR significantly reduced the apoptosis rate of chondrocytes but did not affect their proliferation. The overexpression of AR also promoted the expression of Sry-related HMG box 9, collagen II and aggrecan, decreased the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-13, and downregulated p-S6 and RICTOR. The experimental group with AR-overexpressing chondrocytes exhibited superior regeneration of cartilage defects. CONCLUSION AR overexpression can maintain the phenotype of chondrocytes and promote chondrogenesis in vitro and in vivo. mTOR-related signalling was inhibited.