Objective To investigate the protective effects of recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) on caecal ligation and puncture (CLP)-induced acute liver injury.Methods Ninety-six healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 250-300 g were randomly divided into 3 groups:normal control group (sham group,n =32),CLP model group (sepsis group,n =32) and rHuEPO treatment group (n =32).The rat model of sepsis was established by caecal ligation and puncture.In treatment group,rats were treated with rHuEPO 5000 U/kg administered through caudalis vein after CLP procedure.Continuous observation was carried out until 24 h after modeling.Of each group,8 rats were sacrificed at 2 h,6 h,12 h and 24 h,respectively,and then the liver tissue samples and blood samples were collected.Blood samples were assayed for determining the levels of serum cytokines [tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α)],and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) by using the enzyme-linked immunoadsorbentassay (ELISA) method.The levels of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were also detected.Histopathological changes of liver tissues were observed under optical and transmission electron microscopy.Results (①)The levels of ALT,AST,TNF-a,iNOS in serum of rats in control group were lower than those in model group and rHuEPO group (P ＜0.01).The levels of TNF-α,IL-6 and iNOS in serum of rats in rHuEPO group were decreased significantly compared with model group (P ＜ 0.01).(②) The optical microscopy and the transmission electron microscopy showed hepatocyte edema,liver focal necrosis,inflammatory cell infiltration in portal area and severe congestion of interlobular veins,hepatocyte karyopyknosis,mitochondrial and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) obviously decreased in sepsis group at 24 h.Hepatic injury was attenuated after employment of rHuEPO.Conclusions Recombinant human erythropoietin can inhibit the levels of ALT,AST,TNF-a,iNOS in serum,thus modifying the inflammatory response and providing protective effects against acute liver injury in the wake of infection.

Objective To investigate the protective effects of recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) on caecal ligation and puncture (CLP)-induced acute kidney injury (AKI).Methods A total of 260 healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats (250-300 g) were randomly divided into 6 groups:normal control group,sham group,CLP model group,the large dose rHuEPO (5000 U/kg)group,the middle dose rHuEPO (1000 U/kg) group,and the small dose rHuEPO (500 U/kg) group.The rat models of sepsis were established by CLP.In treatment groups,rats were treated with rHuEPO through caudalis injection after CLP surgery.Each group was divided into 2-,6-,12-,24-,36-hour subgroups with 10 rats.Rats were sacrificed and the tissue samples including kidney and blood samples were collected.The kidney function,plasma cytokines [interleukin 6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α)],kidney injury moleclue 1 (KIM-1) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS)were measured.Cytokines were determined by ELISA method.The expression of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB) protein in kidneys were detected by immnunohistochemistry method.Pathological changes of kidney tissues were observed by light and transmission electron microscopy for cytokine content and apoptosis.Results Compared with CLP model group,renal function,the levels of TNF-α,IL-6,KIM-1 and iNOS in serum,the expression of NF-κB,significantly decresed in large dose rHuEPO group (all P ＜ 0.05).rHuEPO also lessened the histological changes in large dose group.rHuEPO did not lessen the histological changes in others.Conclusion rHuEPO can inhibit the levels of TNF-α,IL-6 and iNOS in serum,thus modify the inflammatory response and provide protective effects against acute kidney injury induced by sepsis.

Objective To investigate the impact of systolic blood pressure (SBP) at admission on in-hospital outcomes in patients with ST elevated acute myocardial infarction (STEMI).Methods Data of 336 STEMI patients admitted from September 2008 to May 2011 were retrospectively analyzed.Total of 336 STEMI patients were classified into 4 groups as per the level of SBP at admission:group A (＜ 101 mmHg,n =59) ; group B (101-120 mmHg,n =109) ; group C (121-140 mmHg,n =98) and group D (＞ 140 mmHg,n =69).And clinical features,coronary angiography (CAG) findings,the strategy of treatment,complications and hospital mortality were compared among 4 groups with SPSS version 18.0 software.Results The mortality rates of the four groups were 18.64％,1.83％,4.08％,1.45％,respectively.The patients with SBP ＜ 106 mmHg were in greater risk of in-hospital mortality,Killip class ≥ 3 at admission,shock and refractory arrhythmias,and more patients in this group needed pacemaker and intraaortic balloon pump (IABP) treatment than patients in other 3 groups.While there was no significant difference in mortality rate between other three groups.Multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated SBP ＜ 101 mmHg (OR =6.368,P =0.002) and peak value of troponin Ⅰ (OR =3.781,P =0.008) were independent risk factors of in-hospital death in STEMI patients.Conclusions The STEMI patients with SBP ＜ 101 mmHg at admission had higher mortality rate and low SBP at admission had great prognostic value in short-term outcomes of STEMI.

The laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) was applied to perform a qualitative elementary analysis on four precious Tibetan medicines, i. e. Renqing Mangjue, Renqing Changjue, 25-herb coral pills and 25-herb pearl pills. The specific spectra of the four Tibetan medicines were established. In the experiment, Nd: YAG and 1 064 nm-baseband pulse laser were adopted to collect the spectra. A laser beam focused on the surface of the samples to generate plasma. Its spectral signal was detected by using spectrograph. Based on the National Institute of Standard and Technology (NIST) database, LIBS spectral lines were indentified. The four Tibetan medicines mainly included Ca, Na, K, Mg and other elements and C-N molecular band. Specifically, Fe was detected in Renqing Changjue and 25-herb pearl pills; heavy mental elements Hg and Cu were shown in Renqing Mangjue and Renqing Changjue; Ag was found in Renqing Changjue. The results demonstrated that LIBS is a reliable and rapid multi-element analysis on the four Tibetan medicines. With Real-time, rapid and nondestructive advantages, LIBS has a wide application prospect in the element analysis on ethnic medicines.
Calcium ; analysis ; Copper ; analysis ; Iron ; analysis ; Lasers ; Medicine, Tibetan Traditional ; Mercury ; analysis ; Silver ; analysis ; Spectrum Analysis ; methods

Angiogenesis inhibitors can make tumor cells in a harsh environment by inhibiting tumor angiogenesis and effectively blocking the tumor progression.However,anti-angiogenic drugs have shown lots of limitations,such as short-term duration,numerous adverse reactions,benefiting only a minority of tumor types and so on.These limitations restrain the development of new drugs and limit the cancer therapies.Many studies have revealed that tumor cells can escape from anti-angiogenic treatments through a variety of ways and mechanisms.In this review,we focus on the reasons behind the failure in treatments,so as to propose solving strategies to improve the current anti-angiogenic drug efficacy and provide reference for new angiogenesis inhibitors and clinical medication.

Objective To investigate the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) preconditioning on apoptosis after cerebral ischemia-re-perfusion (I/R). Methods A total of 72 male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into sham group (n=24), model group (n=24) and EA group (n=24). The rats in latter two groups were occluded the right middle cerebral arteries for two hours and reperfused. EA group was treated with EA at Baihui (GV20) for two weeks before modeling. They were as-sessed with modified Neurological Severity Scores (mNSS) 24 hours after modeling. Then, the cerebral infarct volume was measured with TTC staining, the apoptosis was detected with TUENL assay, and the expression of p53, Bax and Bcl-2 proteins in ischemic penumbra was detected with Western blotting. Results Compared with the model group, the score of mNSS, cerebral infarct volume and the number of TUNEL-posi-tive cells all significantly decreased (P<0.05) in EA group; while the expression of p53 and Bax proteins de-creased (P<0.05), Bcl-2 increased (P<0.05), and Bax/Bcl-2 decreased (P<0.05).Conclusion EA preconditioning can induce tolerance to cerebral I/R injury, which might associate with the inhibition of p53 protein and down-regulation of the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio in ischemic penumbra, to inhibit cerebral cell apoptosis.

Toxoplasma gondii is an apicomplexan zoonotic protozoan parasite that infects most species of warm-blooded animals, including humans. The heavy incidence and severe or lethal damage caused by T. gondii infection clearly indicate a need for the development of an effective vaccine. T. gondii GRA8 is a member of the dense granules protein family and is used as a marker of acute infection. In the present study, we evaluated the protective immunity induced by DNA vaccination based on a recombinant eukaryotic plasmid, pDsRed2-GRA8, against acute toxoplasmosis in mice. BALB/c mice were intramuscularly immunized with the pDsRed2-GRA8 plasmid and then challenged by infection with the highly virulent GFP-RH strain of T. gondii. The specific immune responses and protective efficacy against T. gondii of this vaccine were analyzed by measuring cytokine and serum antibody titers, splenocyte proliferation assays, and the survival times of mice after challenge. Our results showed that mice immunized with pDsRed2-GRA8 demonstrated specific humoral and cellular responses, induced higher IgG antibody titers with predominant IgG2a production; increased levels of IL-10, IL-12 (p70), IFN-γ, TNF-α, and splenocyte proliferation; and prolonged survival times compared to those of control mice. The present study showed that DNA immunization with pDsRed2-GRA8 induced humoral and cellular immune responses, and all immunized mice showed greater Th1-type immune responses and longer survival times than those of control mice. These results indicated that T. gondii GRA8 DNA immunization induces a partial protective effect against acute toxoplasmosis.
Animals ; DNA ; Humans ; Immunity, Cellular ; Immunization ; Immunoglobulin G ; Incidence ; Interleukin-10 ; Interleukin-12 ; Mice ; Parasites ; Plasmids ; Toxoplasma ; Toxoplasmosis ; Vaccination

OBJECTIVETo identify differentially expressed microRNAs (miRNAs) related to lung adenocarcinoma in Xuanwei region and predict their target genes and related signaling pathways based on bioinformatic analysis.

METHODSHigh-throughput microarray assay was performed to detect miRNA expression profiles in 34 paired human lung adenocarcinoma and adjacent normal tissues (including 24 cases in Xuanwei region and 10 in other regions). Gene ontology and KEGG pathway analyses were used to predict the target genes and the regulatory signaling pathways.

RESULTSThirty-four miRNAs were differentially expressed in lung adenocarcinoma tissues in cases in Xuanwei region as compared with cases in other regions, including 23 upregulated and 11 downregulated miRNAs. The predicted target genes included GF, RTK, SOS, IRS1, BCAP, CYTOKINSR, ECM, ITGB, FAK and Gbeta;Y involving the PI3K/Alt, WNT and MAPK pathways.

CONCLUSIONThe specific microRNA expression profiles of lung adenocarcinoma in cases found in Xuanwei region allow for a better understanding of the pathogenesis of lung adenocarcinoma in Xuanwei. The predicted target genes may involve the PI3K/Alt, WNT and MAPK pathways.

Adenocarcinoma ; genetics ; metabolism ; Computational Biology ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Humans ; Lung ; metabolism ; Lung Neoplasms ; genetics ; metabolism ; MicroRNAs ; genetics ; metabolism ; Signal Transduction

Cell Differentiation ; Cells, Cultured ; Glucose ; Macrophages ; Periodontal Ligament ; Stem Cells

Objective: To investigate the molecular characteristics of ciprofloxacin-cefotaxime-azithromycin co-resistant Salmonella enterica serovar Thompson (S. Thompson) isolates from sporadic cases of foodborne diseases and aquatic foods in Hunan province. Methods: Ciprofloxacin-cefotaxime-azithromycin co-resistant S. Thompson isolates were selected from samples, and broth microdilution method was used to determine the resistance to 11 antibiotics of these isolates in vitro. Whole genome sequencing was used for investigating antimicrobial resistance gene patterns and phylogenetic relationships of strains. Results: Nine ciprofloxacin-cefotaxime-azithromycin co-resistant isolates were recovered from 19 S. Thompson isolates. Among nine ciprofloxacin-cefotaxime-azithromycin co-resistant isolates, eight of them harbored IncC plasmids, simultaneously carrying plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR) genes qepA and qnrS1, β-lactamase resistance gene bla_CMY-2, azithromycin resistance gene mph(A), and one isolate harbored IncR plasmid, and carried PMQR genes qnrB4 and aac(6')-Ib-cr, bla_OXA-10 and mph(A). Genetic environment analysis showed that qnrS1, qepA, mph(A) and bla_CMY-2 genes might be integrated on genomes of strains by ISKra4, IS91, IS6100 and ISEcp1, respectively. Phylogenetic core genome comparisons demonstrated that ciprofloxacin-cefotaxime-azithromycin co-resistant isolates from patients and aquatic foods were genetically similar and clustered together. Conclusion: Ciprofloxacin-cefotaxime-azithromycin co-resistant S. Thompson isolates have been isolated from both human and aquatic food samples, suggesting that the spread of multidrug resistant Salmonella between human and aquatic animals.
Animals ; Humans ; Ciprofloxacin ; Cefotaxime ; Azithromycin ; Serogroup ; Phylogeny ; Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial/genetics* ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology* ; Salmonella ; Quinolones ; Foodborne Diseases ; Plasmids ; Salmonella enterica ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests