Objective To investigate the role of Akt signal pathway on the expression of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 ( MCP-1 ) and nuclear transcription factor-κB (NF-κB) in renal tubular epithelial cells (HK-2) stimulated by albumin and to explore the mechanisms of action. Method The HK-2 cells were incubated in the presence of albumin (5,15,30 mg/mL) with or without Ly294002 (an inhibitor of Akt). Expression of mRNA was analyzed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).Expression of Akt and protein MCP-1 were assessed by Western blot. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) was used to detect the activation of NF-κB. q-test was used to evaluate the differences in means between groups. Results Compared with control group, the expression of MCP-1 mRNA remarkly increased. [Control group: 0.233 ±0.01; BSA(5 mg/mL) group: 0.285 ±0.04; BSA( 15 mg/mL) group:0.387 ± 0.02; BSA ( 30 mg/mL) group: 0.473 ± 0.05; BSA ( 30 mg/mL) + Ly294002 group: 0. 325 ±0.05, P ＜ 0.05 ]. The expression of MCP-1 protein in renal interstitum of operation group were remarkly increased too. [ Control group: 100 ± 15.1; BSA ( 5 mg/mL) group: 148 ± 19.3; BSA ( 15 mg/mL) group: 176±20.7; BSA(30 mg/mL) group: 263 ± 18.1; BSA(30 mg/mL) + Ly294002 group: 175 ± 18.0, P ＜0.05 ]. Albumin stimulated the expression of MCP-1mRNA and protein in a dose-dependent manner. Albumin remarkably increased the activity of NF-κB. Albumin enhanced the expression of Akt. Ly294002 inhibited albumin-induced the expression of NF-κB and partially decreased the level of MCP-1. Apositive correlation was noted between NF-κB activation and MCP-1 expression( r = 0.68 ,P ＜ 0.01 ). Conclusions Albumin-induces MCP-1 and NF-κB production via Akt signal pathway in renal tubular epithelial cells.

Background Researches demonstrated that CpG ODN,a immunostimulatory sequences,has preventing and treating effect on allergic conjunctivitis caused by protein allergen.However,its effect on allergic conjunctivitis caused by fungal allergen is unclear. Objective This study aimed to investigate into whether the Th1-Th2 switching immunostimulatory CpG ODN could reverse the response in the murine allergic conjunctivitis model caused by aspergillus fumigatus. Methods A mixture of spores and hyphae of aspergillus fumigatus strain was used to induce allergic conjunctivitis in male BALB/C mice aged 6-8 weeks.This experiment was designed into preventive or therapeutical treatment program.Under both settings,allergic conjunctivitis of the animals were treated with CpG ODN,nonstimulatory GpC ODN or PBS.After the last challenge with the allergen,the clinical symptoms of the animals were scored based on the criteria of Magone.The animals were sacrificed and the histopathological examination of conjunctiva was performed.Expression of TLR4 mRNA in conjunctiva was analyzed by real-time PCR assay.The responsiveness and populations of lymphocytes in spleen and draining lymph nodes were analyzed by flow cytometry.The use complied with the Standard of Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology. Results In the prevention mode.CpG ODN decreased subconjunctival infiltration compared with GpC ODN and PBS groups with the average neutrophil count index(21.25 ±11.59/section,30.75 ±11.44 section and 69.00±9.90/section,respectively).Expression of TLR4 mRNA was up-regulated significantly by CpG ODN.The clinical scores for CpG ODN group were insignificantly lower than those in GpC ODN group and PBS group(P＞0.05).In the therapeutic mode,compared with GpC ODN and PBS groups,the allergic symptom score in CpG ODN group manifested significantly lower(t=4.000.t=2.750,P＜0.01)and showed fewer cellular infiltration(t=4.870,t=3.829,P＜0.01)and higher expression of TLR4 mRNA(P＜0.01).In cultured splenic and draining lymph node cells,increased percentages of CD4+ CD25+ and CD4+ CD25+ CD69+ in CpG ODN group were observed compared with control groups(|P＜0.05). Conclusion CpG ODN can relieve aspergillus fumigatus-induced allergic conjunctivitis via either subconjunctival injection or topical application by upregulating expression of TLR4 and activating Treg lymphocytes.

Total 1188 subjects aged 35-74 in an urban community of Beijing were recruited by a multistage stratified random sampling procedure. Dental caries were examined by three dentists independently. The prevalence of dental crown caries was 79. 6% (DF), that of DMFS was 24. 39% and the root caries index (RCI) was 3.5% in this group. 22. 3% of the examinees required treatment for the crown caries and 26. 0% for root caries. Bivariate correlation analysis showed that DMFS was significantly correlated with RCI (P <0. 01 ), and there was no significant difference of DMFS and RCI between males and females. The study indicates that dental caries is a common health problem in adults and elderly population of urban Beijing, and the development of community oral health service system is necessary.

To study the mechanism of Shenkangling (SKL), a compound traditional Chinese herbal medicine, combined with prednisone in treating adriamycin-induced nephropathy in rats.

Polymeric micelles which are self-assembled from amphiphilic copolymers are thermodynamically stable, and they can solubilize hydrophobic drugs by the hydrophilic core. Many excellent active compounds are confined because of general low oral bioavailability due to poor solubility. Take into account from the two points above, polymeric micelles may be used as proper oral carrier to improve the dissolubility of hydrophobic drugs, and enhance the permeation though gastrointestinal tract, therefore, the pharmacodynamics is elevated. Meanwhile, the segments in copolymers are multivariate, so many kinds of micelles can be obtained, such as, pH- or thermo- sensitive as well as mucoadhesive ones. The modified micelles can alter drug release profiles while solubilizing them, that is why the oral bioavailability increase further. In this review, recent progress of polymeric micelles used in oral administration is summarized, and the prospect of polymeric micelles' application in this field is also evaluated.
Administration, Oral ; Animals ; Area Under Curve ; Biological Availability ; Drug Carriers ; Drug Delivery Systems ; Humans ; Micelles ; Pharmaceutical Preparations ; administration & dosage ; Poloxamer ; chemistry ; Polyethylene Glycols ; chemistry ; Polymers ; chemistry ; Risperidone ; administration & dosage ; pharmacokinetics ; Silymarin ; administration & dosage ; pharmacokinetics ; Solubility

Objective To observe the effects of Class 5 and 6 chemical indicative cards used for monitoring pressure steam sterilization to standardize the procedure for selecting the monitoring substance of pressure steam sterilization. Methods Several pieces of Class 5 and 6 cards were placed at the four corners and center of the clave to undergo sterilization with the conventional parameters of 134 ℃, 240 s and 220 kPa as well as the simulation critical parameters of 134 ℃, 120 s and 220 kPa.The two kinds of cards had their qualification rates compared with two sets of parameters.SPSS 19.0 software was used for data analysis and Chi-square test was applied to comparison.Results The two kinds of cards had the qualification rates being 100% with the conventional parameters;with the simulation critical parameters,Class 5 card had the qualification rate being 100%,while Class 6 card had the rate of 66.67%,and there were significant difference between the qualification rates of the two cards(P<0.05).Conclusion Class 6 chemical indicative card has higher resistance and efficiency with the same conditions when compared with Class 5 card,which can be combined with the tube cavity challenger to execute mass monitoring with unstable parameters.

[Objective] To investigate the perioperative risk of different operation times on renal angiomyolipoma (AML) patients with rupture and hemorrhage.[Methods] From January 2006 to December 2016,AML patients with rupture and hemorrhage who receiving surgical treatment were recruited.According to the operation time,patients receiving surgery within 7 days after the hemorrhage were classified as short-term operation group.Patients receiving surgery exceeded 30 days after the hemorrhage were classified as long-term operation group.The general and perioperative data were compared between the two groups.[Results] There were no statistically significant differences in age,tumor size,clinical symptoms and operative methods between the two groups.However,as compared to the long-term operation group,the hemorrhage during surgery [(780±451) vs.(572±913) mL,P=0.029],the volume of transfused blood [(2600 ± 1733) vs.(820±582) mL,P=0.027],the nephrectomy rate (60.0％ vs.22.6％,P=0.027) were significantly increased in the short-term operation group.[Conclusions] A long-term operation group for AML patients with rupture and hemorrhage could have a lower perioperative risk.

Objective: To explore whether acupuncture can improve sleep disturbance, cognitive impairment and emotional disorders caused by sleep deprivation, and its association with the attenuation of oxidative stress injury in prefrontal cortex. Methods: Fifty-two male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into a control group (n=10), a model group (n=14), a manual acupuncture (MA) group (n=14), and a sham-MA group (n=14). All the groups were established as sleep deprivation models via the modified multiple platform method, except for the control group. Rats in both the MA group and the sham-MA group received corresponding intervention, respectively. After modeling and intervention, the four groups received three behavioral tests, namely sleep monitoring, by comprehensive lab animal monitoring system (CLAMS), Morris water maze (MWM) test and open-field test (OFT), followed by oxygen free radical level test and Western blot (WB) detection for the expression levels of Bax and Bcl-2. Results: The MA group derived more sleep time within 24 h than either the model group or the sham-MA group (both P<0.05). On MWM orientation navigation test day 1, there were no significant differences in escape latency among the control, MA and sham-MA groups (P>0.05), and the escape latency was significantly shorter in these three groups than that in the model group (all P<0.05). On test day 4, the escape latency was markedly shorter in the MA group than that in either the model group or the sham-MA group (both P<0.05); meanwhile, the MA group showed significantly better performance compared with these two groups in space probe test (both P<0.05). In OFT, compared with the control group, there was a significant decline in the horizontal movement score in the other three groups (all P<0.05), and the decrease was more significant in the model group and the sham-MA group than that in the MA group (both P<0.05). The superoxide dismutase (SOD) content was markedly higher and the malondialdehyde (MDA) content was markedly lower in the MA group than those in the model group and the sham-MA group (all P<0.05). Compared with the model group and the sham-MA group, the expression of Bax was significantly lower and the expression of Bcl-2 was significantly higher in the MA group (all P<0.05). Conclusion: MA therapy can lengthen the sleep time in sleep-deprived rats and improve learning and memory impairments induced by sleep deprivation, and the underlying mechanism may be associated with the enhancement of antioxidant capacity in the prefrontal cortex and the inhibition of hippocampal neuronal apoptosis.

OBJECTIVETo study the influence of cow's milk protein allergy (CMPA) on the diagnosis of functional gastrointestinal diseases (FGID) based on the Rome IV standard in infants and young children.

METHODSA total of 84 children aged 1 month to 3 years who were diagnosed with CMPA were enrolled as the case group, and 84 infants and young children who underwent physical examination and had no CMPA were enrolled as the control group. The pediatricians specializing in gastroenterology asked parents using a questionnaire for the diagnosis of FGID based on the Rome IV standard to assess clinical symptoms and to diagnose FGID.

RESULTSThe case group had a significantly higher incidence rate of a family history of allergies than the control group (P<0.05). In the case group, 38 (45%) met the Rome IV standard for the diagnosis of FGID, while in the control group, 13 (15%) met this standard (P<0.05). According to the Rome IV standard for FGID, the case group had significantly higher diagnostic rates of reflex, functional diarrhea, difficult defecation, and functional constipation than the control group (P<0.05). The children who were diagnosed with FIGD in the control group were given conventional treatment, and those in the case group were asked to avoid the intake of cow's milk protein in addition to the conventional treatment. After 3 months of treatment, the case group had a significantly higher response rate to the treatment than the control group (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONSIn infants and young children, CMPA has great influence on the diagnosis of FGID based on the Rome IV standard. The possibility of CMPA should be considered during the diagnosis of FGID.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the aberrant promoter methylation of hMLH1 gene promoter and its clinical significance in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC).

METHODSmethylation of hMLH1 gene promoter in the cancer tissue and matched tumor-adjacent normal tissue of 152 PTC patients were detected by real-time methylation specific PCR (qMSP). The relationship between the methylation of hMLH1 gene promoter and clinicopathological features was analyzed.

RESULTSThe methylation rate of hMLH1 gene promoter in cancer tissues was 37.5% (57/152), of which 33 cases were totally methylated and 24 cases were partially methylated. The methylation rate of adjacent normal tissues was 5.3% (8/152)(all were partially methylated). The methylation rate of PTC tissues was significantly higher than that in the tumor-adjacent normal tissue (P < 0.01). The promoter methylation of hMLH1 gene in PTC was significantly correlated with age, size and number of the primary lesion, local invasion, T stage and lymph node metastasis (P < 0.05) , but not correlated with gender and clinical stage (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONPromoter methylation of hMLH1 gene is a common molecular event in PTC tissue, and it is significantly correlated with the progression of PTC.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing ; genetics ; metabolism ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Carcinoma ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Carcinoma, Papillary ; DNA Methylation ; Female ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Humans ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; MutL Protein Homolog 1 ; Neoplasm Invasiveness ; Neoplasm Staging ; Nuclear Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Promoter Regions, Genetic ; genetics ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Tumor Burden ; Young Adult