Objective To evaluate the role of Akt and nuclear factor (NF)-κB pathway in the development of chemoresistance in gastric cancer and the relation between Akt and NF-κB.Methods SGC-7901 cells were exposed to chemotherapeutic drugs (doxorubicin and etoposide ) or chemotherapeutic drugs combined with Wortmannin or MG-132.The cell growth was detected using MTT method.The apoptosis of SGC-7901 cells was measured by TUNEL and Annexin V/PI methods.The protein level of NF-κB was analyzed by immunocytochemical staining.Electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) was used to confirm the increased nuclear translocation of NF-κB/P65.chemotherapeutic drugs could obviously inhibit the growth of SGC-7901 cells in time-dose-dependent manner.Pretreatment of SGC-7901 cells with Wortmannin or MG-132 could promote this inhibitory κB in a dose-dependent manner.Wortmannin or MG-132 pretreatment could enhance the apoptosis of NF-κB was found in SGC-7901 cells stimulated with Wortmannin,but no activation of Akt was noted in those treated with MG-132.Conclusions The chemotherapeutic drugs can both induce apoptosis and activate Akt and NF-κB in SGC-7901 cells.The efficacy of chemotherapeutic drugs can be increased via inhibiting activation of Akt or NF-κB.

Objective: Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) is an important natural source of vitamin E. 2-Methy-6-phytyl-1,4- benzoquinone methyltransferase (MPBQ MT) is a key enzyme in vitamin E synthesis pathway. MPBQ MT gene was cloned, bioinformatics was analyzed, and expression was analyzed to provide the foundation for the biosysthesis and regulation mechanism of vitamin E in safflower. Methods: According to the intermediate sequence obtained from the database of the safflower seed,MPBQ MT gene sequence was cloned by RT-PCR and RACE techniques, and the protein characteristics were analyzed using bioinformatics and constructing phylogenetic tree. The expression of MPBQ MT gene in the different development stages was analyzed using real time-PCR. Results: The full cDNA sequence of MPBQ MT gene was 1 392 bp, named CtMPBQ MT, contained an open reading frame (ORF, 1 038 bp), and encoded a protein of 345 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of 38 900. The conserved structural domain analysis showed that it had the typical functional domains of SAM protein. Sequence alignment and phylogenetic tree analyses showed that the MT MPBQ gene had some homology with other amino acids, and among them CtMPBQ MT had 89% and 86% of consistency with MPBQ MT of Helianthus annuus and Lactuca sativa. The expression of CtMPBQ MT gene in safflower seeds at different development stages was determined by quantitative real-time PCR, it was found that the highest expression level of CtMPBQ MT gene was detected in 50 d after flowering. Conclusion: MPBQ MT gene of safflower is successfully cloned, analyzed, and expressed, meantime a basis for the study on matter in the synthesis and regulation of vitamin E is provided.

OBJECTIVETo improve cell retention on the graft with dual cell seeding technique, adding a layer of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) between the graft and endothelial cells (ECs).

METHODSPolytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) grafts pretreated with fibronectin were seeded with SMC followed by ECs one day later and exposure to an in vitro flow system. The number of ECs on grafts was counted under microscope.

RESULTSAfter exposure to the flow for 1 hour, 61% of the ECs lost when the ECs were seeded alone, whereas only 27% of the ECs lost when the ECs were seeded on the top of SMCs. Preconditioning of a cell seeded graft in a low rate flow did not improve cell retention when late exposure to a higher rate flow.

CONCLUSIONThis in vitro study indicates that using SMCs as a media layer between ECs and graft surface can improve the retention of seeded ECs on PTFE graft.

Blood Vessel Prosthesis ; Cell Adhesion ; Endothelial Cells ; cytology ; Fibronectins ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle ; cytology ; Polytetrafluoroethylene ; Prosthesis Design ; Tissue Engineering ; methods

Objective To investigate the risk factors of pathological upgrading in gastric mucosal lesions with low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (LGIN) after endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD).Methods From January 2010 to December 2016,the complete clinical data of 326 patients pathologically diagnosed with gastric LGIN lesions before ESD were retrospectively analyzed.Single factor analysis of variance and multiple factor Logistic regression analysis were performed to analyze the risk factors of pathological upgrading after ESD.Results A total of 326 patients with gastric LGIN lesions diagnosed by preoperative biopsy before ESD were enrolled.Among them the postoperative pathological diagnosis of 244 cases (74.85％) were still LGIN,while the postoperative pathological diagnosis of 82 cases (25.15 ％) were upgraded,of which 61 cases (18.71％) were upgraded to high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia and 21 (6.44％) were upgraded to gastric early cancer.The results of single and multiple factor analysis indicated that lesion size≥2.0 cm,deep depressed-type,surface erythema,lesion mucosa with ulceration and lesions with spontaneous bleeding were the risk factors of pathological diagnosis upgrading after ESD (F=5.37,6.44,4.56,7.56 and 7.78,respectively;all P＜0.01),odds ratio (OR) value and 95％ confidence interval (CI) were 4.086 (2.035 to 10.786),7.435 (2.845 to 19.862),3.205 (1.535 to 8.541),8.668 (3.365 to 21.457) and 7.056 (2.732 to 18.355).The age,gender and location of the lesion were not the risk factors.Conclusions Pathological upgrading is common in gastric lesions with LGIN after ESD.The lesions with high risk factors should be alerted and treated more actively.

Objective To assess the detection performance of SYSMEX HISCL5000 automatic chemiluminescence immunoassay analyzer for serum hepatitis B virus (HBV) biomarkers.Methods Serological HBV biomarkers,including HBsAg,HBsAb,HBeAg,HbeAb and HbcAb,were measured by HISCLS000 analyzer.Further,a panel of parameters were analyzed,including precision,cross contamination rate,linear range,concordance rate,biological reference interval and limit of detection.According to the guideline from Clinical & Laboratory Standards Institues (CLSI) EP system,the potential clinical application of using HISCL5000 analyzer to measure serum HBV biomarkers were evaluated.Results A panel of five serum HBV biomarkers was measure by using HISCLS000 analyzer.The coefficient of variation (CV) value of the within-run imprecision was from 0.60％ to 4.17％,and CV value of the between-run imprecision was from 0.04％ to 5.35％.Linear verification showed that r2 was between 0.980 5 and 0.998 7,and a was between 0.970 9 and 1.022 6.The ratio of cross contamination was 0.00％.The coincident rate of HISCL5000 analyzer with other methods was between 96.00％ and 100.00％.Biological reference interval and limit of detectionderived from this analyzer were also proved qualified.Conclusion HISCL5000 analyzer can be used clinically to detect HBV biomarkers.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the value of virtual colonoscopy in diagnosis of colorectal neoplasia. METHODS: Virtual colonoscopy was performed in 29 patients with colorectal neoplasia confirmed by colonoscopy. The results were compared with colonoscopy for each case. RESULTS: Virtual colonoscopy was successfully performed in each patient without any complications. All colorectal carcinomas detected by colonoscopy were identified by virtual colonoscopy. Twenty-five polyps were detected with colonoscopy, whereas only 16 identified by virtual colonoscopy. Compared with the results of colonoscopy, detection rate of polyps greater than 1.0 cm between 0.5 approximate, equals 0.9 cm and less than 0.5 cm in size was 90.0% 62.5% and 28.6% respectively. CONCLUSION: Virtual colonoscopy is fast, minimal invasive and well tolerated. This technique is a valuable clinical method in diagnosis of colorectal cancer and polyps larger than 0.5 cm in size.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the efficacy and safety of entecavir maleate (ETV) versus ETV in Chinese patients with hepatitis B e antigen(HBeAg)-positive chronic hepatitis B(CHB).

METHODSThe patient population of this previously published randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, controlled, multicenter study was expanded by patients in the 0.5 mg/day ETV maleate group (total n = 110) and patients in the 0.5 mg/day ETV group (total n = 108). At treatment weeks 12, 24 and 48, hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA levels were measured by the Roche Cobas Ampliprep/Cobas Taqman PCR assay. Adverse events (AE) were recorded.

RESULTSAs in the original analysis, the two treatment groups showed similar characteristics at baseline. In addition, the results for the all therapeutic effects showed identical trends to the results obtained in the original analysis, including the statistically similar effects of ETV and ETV maleate treatment-induced decreases in mean HBV DNA level at weeks 12, 24, and 48 (ETV: by 4.28, 5.00, and 5.53 log10 IU/ml vs. ETV maleate: by 4.46, 4.99, and 5.51 log10 IU/ml, respectively; all vs. baseline P more than 0.05), achievement of undetectable levels of serum HBV DNA ( less than 20 IU/ml) at week 48 (ETV: 38.18% vs. ETV maleate: 35.19%; P more than 0.05), HBeAg loss rates at week 48 (ETV: 10.91% vs. ETV maleate: 12.96%; P more than 0.05), HBeAg seroconversion rates at week 48 (ETV: 7.77% vs. ETV maleate: 10.38%; P more than 0.05), normalization of alanine aminotransferase at week 48 (ETV: 75.47% vs. ETV maleate: 82.86%; P more than 0.05), and overall incidence of AE (ETV: 18.02% vs. ETV maleate: 17.43%; P more than 0.05).

CONCLUSIONPerforming analysis of the therapeutic efficacies of entecavir maleate versus entecavir with a larger study population confirmed our original findings of similar efficacy and safety profiles for these two drugs in patients with HBeAg-positive CHB.

Adult ; Antiviral Agents ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Double-Blind Method ; Female ; Guanine ; adverse effects ; analogs & derivatives ; therapeutic use ; Hepatitis B e Antigens ; blood ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; blood ; drug therapy ; Humans ; Male ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo assess the feasibility of the 10 microg recombination yeast hepatitis B vaccine in the expanded applicable population group aged 5 - 18.

METHODSPeople with both HBsAg and anti-HBs negative were selected to take two-stage clinical experiment and the safety and immunogenicity were observed. Safety observation was conducted in 925 subjects, while 568 for immunogenicity. The observation group (aged 5 - 18) included 493 subjects, and (age > 18) 75 enrolled in control group. For the observation group, there were three sub-groups including a child group (141, aged 5 - 6), early youth group (177, aged 12 - 13), and youth group (175, aged 16 - 18). Both groups were administered with 10 microg recombination yeast hepatitis B vaccines with 3 doses at 0 month, 1st month, 6th month. To assess the immunogenicity, the vaccination reactions were observed during the following 4 weeks in order to assess the vaccine safety. The blood samples were taken during 4 - 6 weeks after fully vaccinated, and then anti-HBs were tested with RIA and analyzed by comparing the positive rate of anti-HBs, the geometric mean titer (GMT) and the protective rate between the two groups.

RESULTSBoth observation and control group didn't show any general reactions, adverse events following immunization (AEFI) or coincidental cases when observed at 0.5 h, 6 h, 24 h, 48 h, 72 h, 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, 4 weeks after being vaccinated. The result of serum test showed, the positive rates of child group, early youth group, youth group and control group were respectively 100.00% (141/141), 97.18% (172/177), 98.29% (172/175) and 89.33% (67/75); the GMTs of anti-HBs were respectively 440.28, 875.38, 467.80, 131.06 U/L; the protective rates were respectively 100.00% (141/141), 97.18% (172/177), 97.14% (170/175) and 86.67% (65/75). The positive rate, GMT and protective rate of the experimental group were all higher than that of control group (chi(2)(positive rate) = 12.77, 5.12, 7.99; t(GMT) = 3.89, 4.13, 5.91; chi(2)(protective rate) = 16.81, 8.60, 8.44; P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThis vaccine could be expanded to 5 - 18 year-old population with safety and effectiveness, the positive rate and protective rate of anti-HBs were both higher than that of control group.

Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Hepatitis B Antibodies ; blood ; immunology ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; blood ; immunology ; Hepatitis B Vaccines ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; immunology ; Humans ; Male ; Vaccines, Synthetic ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; immunology

Objective To analyze the causes of missed diagnosis and misdiagnosis of abdominal organ le -sions through reviewing preoperative transabdominal ultrasound reports .Methods Data of the patients who re-ceived abdominal operation for abdominal organ lesions ( including liver , gallbladder , biliary tract , pancreas , spleen, kidney, adrenal gland, and appendix) in Peking Union Medical College Hospital within the period from March 1 to August 31 in 2013 were exported from pathological workstation .The preoperative ultrasound reports of these patients were reviewed .The missed diagnosis and misdiagnosis cases were recorded , and causes of the mis-takes were analyzed .Results Altogether 58 cases of missed diagnosis or misdiagnosis were identified from 1081 ultrasound reports (5.37%, 58/1081), including 6 liver lesions (5.77%, 6/104, all misdiagnosed), 6 gall-bladder and biliary tract lesions ( 1.30%, 6/462 , 5 missed and 1 misdiagnosed ) , 14 pancreatic lesions (19.72%, 14/71, all missed), 20 kidney and adrenal lesions (6.47%, 20/309, 11 missed and 9 misdiag-nosed), and 12 appendical lesions (16.00%, 12/75, 11 missed and 1 misdiagnosed).The average maximum diameter of the missed nodular lesions was significantly smaller than that of the misdiagnosed lesions ( P =0.001 ) .Conclusions Missed diagnosis and misdiagnosis of ultrasound are attributable to various causes , inclu-ding the nature , location , and size of abdominal organ lesions and the limitation of transabdominal ultrasound technology .The clinical ultrasound examination should be carried out very carefully and thoroughly .Ultrasound radiologists should have a thorough understanding of characteristics of different organ lesions and the limitation of ultrasound technique , in order to avoid missed diagnosis and misdiagnosis in clinical practice .

Macrophages are a group of immune cells with pluripotency and plasticity that can differentiate into different phenotypes under different microenvironments in vitro and in vivo. In the development of pulmonary fibrosis, there are alveolar macrophages and interstitial macrophages, which are polarized to different cell phenotypes at different stages of development. And their polarized phenotypes include M1 macrophages and M2 macrophages. In the inflammation early stages of pulmonary fibrosis, the increase of classical activated macrophages are helpful to clear pathogenic microorganisms and promote the progress of inflammation. In the fibrosis stage, the alternatively activated macrophages increased, which inhibiting the inflammatory reaction or directly promoting tissue fibrosis, on the other hand, it also promoting the fibrosis degradation. To clarify the polarization and polarization mechanisms of macrophages in pulmonary fibrosis will be conducive to the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis. In IPF, the polarization mechanism of M1 and M2 is closely related to TGF-β1/Smad. TGF-β1/Smad pathway plays an important regulatory role in liver fibrosis, renal fibrosis, myocardial fibrosis, scars, tumors and other diseases. Blocking the signaling of TGF-β1 by Smad3 and Smad4 is beneficial to inhibit the polarization of AM, which in turn helps to inhibit the progression of IPF.
Fibrosis ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Macrophages ; Pulmonary Fibrosis ; Signal Transduction