OBJECTIVE:To study inhibitory effect of Lycianthes biflora polysaccharide on the proliferation of hepatic stellate HSCs-T6 cells in rats and its mechanism. METHODS:After treated with 0(blank control),50,100,200μg/ml L. biflora polysac-charide for 24 and 48 h,the activity of hepatic stellate HSCs-T6 cells in rats was determined by MTT assay and inhibitory rate of cell proliferation was calculated;the content of Hyp in supernatant was detected by immunohistochemical assay. After 48 h,the ex-pression of cellular α-smooth muscle actin(α-SMA)was measured by immunohistochemical assay;both transforming growth fac-tor β1(TGF-β1)and Smad3 were measured by Western blot assay. RESULTS:Compared to blank control,50,100 and 200 μg/ml L. biflora polysaccharide could inhibit the proliferation of HSCs-T6 cells;cell inhibitory rates were 39.84%-69.31% and 45.16%-82.93% respectively after treated for 24 and 48 h,which were positively associated with time and concentration. The con-tents of Hyp in supernatant were 178.36-93.25 μg/ml and 131.94-68.74 μg/ml respectively after treated with different concentrations of PRP for 24 and 48 h,which were negatively associated with time and concentration. The protein level of TGF-β1 and Smad3 de-creased after treated with L. biflora polysaccharide for 48 h(P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS:L. biflora polysaccharide can inhibit the proliferation of hepatic stellate HSCs-T6 cells in rats,and its mechanism is associated with the inactivation of endogenous TGF-βpathway for reducing collagen production.

Objective:To investigate whether pORF5 plasmid protein of Chlamydia trachomatis(Ct) induces 1L-1βand 1L-18 production in THP-1 cells,and its potential molecular mechanism.Methods:pORF5 plasmid protein was used to stimulate THP-1 cells at different concentrations(0,3,6,12,24,36 μg/ml),then the inflammatory cytokines IL-18 and IL-1βwere detected by ELISA at the time of 0,8,16,24,36 h;The mRNA expression of NALP3 inflammasome were detected by Realtime-PCR,and Caspase-1 activity was determined by Western blot analysis.THP-1 cells were transfected with siRNA targeting NALP3 and ASC gene for 24 h or pretreated with Caspase-1 inhibitor(Z-YVAD-FMK) for 30 min,and subsequently stimulated with pORF5(24 μg/ml) for 24 h,then secretion of IL-1βand IL-18 were analyzed by ELISA.Results: The pORF5 plasmid protein induced THP-1 cells to secrete IL-1βand IL-18 by dose-and time-dependent manners,production of IL-1βand IL-18 reached their peaks(491 pg/ml and 186 pg/ml) at concentration of 24 μg/ml,and the peak amount of IL-1βand IL-18 occurred at 24 h and 16 h post-stimulation respectively.pORF5 plasmid protein in-creased mRNA expression of NALP3 inflammasome and activated Caspase-1 in THP-1 cells.NALP3 siRNA,ASC siRNA and Z-YVAD-FMK reduced pORF5-induced IL-1βand IL-18 production when compared with control groups(P<0.05).Conclusion:pORF5 plasmid protein could induce THP-1 cells to produce IL-1βand IL-18 through NALP3 inflammasome activation,which may play an important role in the pathogenesis in Ct infection.

Objective:To investigate the etiological distribution of hydronephrosis caused by upper uri-nary tract obstruction in adult patients and to improve the diagnostic accuracy for this condition.Me-thods:The clinical information of adult patients with newly diagnosed hydronephrosis in Upper Urinary Tract Repair Outpatient Clinic of Peking University First Hospital from May 2020 to May 2021 were pro-spectively and continuously collected.Patients with ureteral calculi or upper urinary tract tumor were ex-cluded.A total of 767 patients were involved.The underlying causes of upper urinary tract obstruction were identified by senior urological surgeons according to symptoms,medical history,physical examina-tion,and a range of diagnostic imaging techniques including ultrasound,computed tomography(CT),magnetic resonance imaging(MRI),retrograde pyelography,antegrade pyelography,radionuclide reno-gram and ureteroscopy.Results:Among the 767 patients,359(46.8％)were male and 408(53.2％)were female.The median age of these patients was 37 years(range,14-84 years).Hydronephrosis was observed at left-sided in 357 cases(46.6％),right-sided in 251 cases(32.7％),and bilateral in 159 cases(20.7％).The causes of hydronephrosis were classified as follows:(1)Non-iatrogenic factors were found in 464 cases(60.5％).These included urinary malformations in 355 cases(76.5％),infec-tion in 29 cases(6.3％),pelvic lipomatosis and/or cystitis glandularis in 23 cases(5.0％),ureteral en-dometriosis in 18 cases(3.9％),retroperitoneal fibrosis in 15 cases(3.2％),trauma in 7 cases(1.5％)and other non-iatrogenic factors in 12 cases(2.6％).Some of these patients had multiple non-iatrogenic causes.Among the 355 cases with urinary system malformations,252 cases(71.0％)had ureteropelvic junction obstruction.(2)Iatrogenic ureteral injuries accounted for 210 cases(27.4％),including 112 cases(53.3％)of urological surgical injuries,51 cases(24.3％)of radiotherapy for malignant tumor re-lated injuries,34 cases(16.2％)of gynecological and obstetrical surgical injuries,and 13 cases(6.2％)of general surgical injuries.(3)The cause of hydronephrosis remained unknown in 93 cases(12.1％).Conclusion:Hydronephrosis in adults due to upper urinary tract obstruction has a diverse range of cau-ses,with urinary malformations and iatrogenic ureteral injuries being significant contributors.Urological surgeon involved in upper urinary tract reconstruction should be familiar with these potential causes to fa-cilitate accurate diagnosis and effective treatment.

AIM: To investigate the effect of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) on the pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics (PK/PD) of daptomycin in critically ill patients. METHODS: Twenty four patients with severe infection in our hospital were randomly selected and divided into ECMO group and non ECMO group. They were intravenously injected with daptomycin 500 mg qd. After the drug reached the stability statement, venous blood was collected at different time points before and after the infusion. The plasma drug concentration was measured and the pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated. The probability target acquisition (PTA) and the cumulative fraction response (CFR) were calculated by Monte Carlo simulation. RESULTS: After dosing, the main pharmacokinetic parameters in ECMO and non-ECMO group were calculated and listed as follows: C