AIM: To establish the quality standard for Compound Yiqi Granules (Radix Astragali, Radix Achyranthis Bidentatae, etc.). METHODS: Radix Achyranthis Bidentatae; Herba Epimedii were identified by TLC. The content of astragaloside IV in Compound Yiqi Granules was determined by TLCS. RESULTS: The methodological study showed a good linear correlation at the range of 1.12-5.60 ?g of astragaloside IV. The average recovery of astragaloside IV was 97.69% and RSD was 2.10%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The method is simple, accurate and with good repeatability. The method can be used for quality control of Compound Yiqi Granules.

Animals ; Bone Regeneration ; physiology ; Cell Differentiation ; Dental Enamel Proteins ; pharmacology ; Dental Pulp ; cytology ; Fibroblasts ; cytology ; Gingiva ; cytology ; Guided Tissue Regeneration, Periodontal ; methods ; Humans ; Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells ; cytology ; physiology ; Mouth Mucosa ; cytology ; Periodontal Ligament ; cytology ; Tissue Engineering ; methods

Objective To explore the outcome, recurrence rate and postoperative MRI of the modified microendoscopy discectomy (MED) and the conventional MED. Method A total of 107 patients with disc herniation treated from January 2005 to December 2009 were randomly divided into Group A (54 patients) and Group B (53 patients). The patients in Group A were treated with the modified MED that removed the prominent nucleus pulposus but did not access into the annulus. The patients in Group B were treated with traditional MED that removed the prominent nucleus pulposus and cut annulus fibrosus and removed the nucleus pulposus within the annulus fibrosus. The operation outcome, recurrence rate and lumbar spine MRI were compared for observing the morphological changes of intervertebral disc and its surrounding structures. Results All patients were followed up for 1-4 years ( average 2 years),which showed no recurrence in Group A but four patients with recurrence Group B. According to Japanese orthopedic association (JOA) scoring of low back pain, the efficacy was excellent in 51 patients (94%)and good in three (6%), with excellence rate of 100% in Group A; while the efficacy was excellent in 42 patients (79%), good in seven (13%) and poor in four (8%), with excellence rate of 92% in Group B. Videman semi-quantitative assessment of disc signal showed no significant difference of MRI in aspects of signal intensity, thickness, diameter of the spinal canal in Group A before and after operation but highlighted significant differences in protruding degree,spinal canal diameter and lateral recess diameter. Substantial differences of MRI in aspects of signal intensity, thickness, protruding degree, spinal canal diameter and width were observed before and after operation in Group B. There was no significant difference in spinal canal diameter. Conclusions Both methods have sound clinical efficacy. However, the modified MED procedures take advantages of minimizing the damage of disc structure, maintaining the relative stability of the spine and delaying the disc degeneration, which contributes to lower recurrence rate.

Objective:To investigate the relationship between IL-37 and soluble PD-1 in patients with rheumatoid arthritis ( RA) , and investigate the relationship between IL-37 and soluble PD-1.Methods: Peripheral blood was collected from RA patients and control group.The levels of IL-37 and sPD-1 in 30 RA patients (RA standard score ≥6) and 30 healthy controls were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay ( ELISA).The expression of IL-18, IL-6 and IL-18BP in the peripheral blood of two groups was analyzed and the correlation was analyzed by Pearson correlation analysis .Results:The results of ELISA detection showed that the ex-pression levels of IL-37 and sPD-1 in the peripheral blood of patients with RA and other inflammatory cytokines such as IL -18, IL-18BP and IL-6 were higher than those of healthy controls (P<0.05).IL-37 was positively correlated with cytokines IL-18, IL-18BP and IL-6;sPD-1 was positively correlated with cytokine IL-6.IL-37 and sPD-1 were positively correlated with the severity of patients.Conclusion:IL-37 and sPD-1 are elevated in RA patients and associated with other inflammatory cytokines and disease severi -ty.Both of them may play an important regulatory role in the progress of RA , and provide a new basis for future RA therapy .

Objective To evaluate the effects of soy isoflavones on bone density (BMD) in women in randomized clinical trials by meta-analysis. Method We searched the databases the Medline, Pubmed, and CNKI from January 1990 to October 2007 using the keywords, phytoestrogen, isoflavone, soy, genistein in combination with bone. We only included the studies of randomized clinical trial, in which the data of BMDs at lumbar spine, total hip or femoral neck prior to and post isoflavone intervention or their relevant changes and their standard deviation or 95% CI in women were provided. Results Sixteen papers (1304 women, 91% postmenopausal) were included and a mean daily dose of 73 mg supplemental soy isoflavones resulted in weighted mean (%)(95%CI) difference in yearly BMD changes of 18.3 (2.0%,CI 6.0~30.6) and 3.3(0.40%,CI 0.5~6.1) mg/cm2 at the lumber spine and total hip, respectively. Subgroup analyses showed that the effects were more pronounced in those with the isoflavone dose ≥80 mg/d than those of

Objective To investigate the effects ofviaminate on the proliferation and differentiation of HaCaT cells,a human keratinocyte cell line.Methods Cultured HaCaT cells were treated with various concentrations (2,5,10,15,20,25 and 30?g/mL) of viaminate for various durations.The cell proliferation was assessed by MTT method,the changes of cell cycle and apoptosis rate by flow cytometry,the changes of keratin 10 and involucrin mRNA expressions by semi-quantitative reverse transcription PCR.Results The proliferation of HaCaT cells was inhibited by the treatment with viaminate of≥2?g/mL for 48 h,and the inhibition rate was raised with the increase of treatment time and dosage.The viaminate of 30?g/mL inhibited the proliferation of HaCaT cells by 57.67% and 82.00% at 48 and 72 h after the incubation respectively,and elevated the mRNA expression of involucrin from 40.80% to 156.12%,decreased the mRNA expression of keratin 10 from 96.46% to 14.60%.The mRNA expression of involucrin increased with the elevation of viarninate dosage.Under the treatment with viaminate for 48 h,the cell population at G_1 phase significantly increased,that at S and G_2 phases decreased;the switching of G_1 to G_2 was inhibited;but the cell apoptosis was not affected.Conclusion Viaminate could inhibit the proliferation and induce the differentiation of keratinocytes.

The experiment included three potassium levels (K0 0 g x kg(-1), K1 0.33 g x kg(-1), K2 0.67 g x kg(-1)) and two water gradients (well watered and drought stress), then measured growth indicators, SOD, POD, CAT activities and concents of osmotic regulation substances. To explore the effects of K fertilizer and water on growth and physiological characteristics of Isatis indigotica, providing reference for improving drought resistance of I. indigotica. The result showed drought stress inhibited the growth and decreased the biomass of I. indigotica but K fertilizer can alleviate the drought stress. Compared with K0 treatment, K1, K2 treatment increased the biomass of overground part of by 89. 13% ,60. 87% under drought stress. The corresponding increase in soluble sugar content was 16.67%, 5.00%, and in proline content was 42.41%, 65.62%, respectively. SOD,POD and CAT activities was significantly improved in K1, K2 treatment in comparison with K0 treatment under drought stress, but soluble protein content significantly reduced. The conclusion is that appropriate amount of K fertilizer can increase the activities of antioxidase and the content of osmoregulation substance under drought stress, and improve drought resistance of I. indigotica.
Fertilizers ; analysis ; Isatis ; chemistry ; enzymology ; growth & development ; metabolism ; Peroxidase ; metabolism ; Plant Proteins ; metabolism ; Potassium ; analysis ; metabolism ; Seedlings ; chemistry ; enzymology ; growth & development ; metabolism ; Superoxide Dismutase ; metabolism ; Water ; analysis ; metabolism

Objective To study the expression and pathologic significance of CD147,cyclophilin A (CyPA)and cyclophilin B(CyPB)in psoriatic lesions.Methods Immunohistochemical method was ap- plied to detect the expression of CD147,CyPA and CyPB in skin specimens of 15 patients with psoriasis pustulosa(PP),20 patients with progressive psoriasis vulgaris(PPV),and 20 patients with inactive psori- asis vulgaris(IPV).Immunoreactivity intensity distribution index(IRIDI)was calculated to assess the expres- sion intensity of CD147,CyPA and CyPB.Results CD147,CyPA and CyPB were detected in all speci- mens.The IRIDI scores of CD147 and CyPA were significantly higher in keratinocytes of psoriatic lesions than in those of the control specimens(all P0.05).The IRIDI score of CyPB in T lymphocytes of PP lesions was significantly elevated than that in PPV lesions,which was in turn higher than that in IPV lesions(all P0.05).Conclusion CD147,CyPA and CyPB may play a role in the occurrence and development of psoriasis.

Objective To investigate the effects of siRNA targeting CD 147 gene on the expression of CD147 in melanoma cell line A375, and on proliferation of these cells. Methods Previously prepared recombinant plasmid pSUPER/CD147 siRNA was used. In this study, the recombinant was transfected into the A375 cells. The mRNA expression of CD147 was measured by semi-quantitive RT-PCR, the proliferation of the cells by MTT assay. Results After the transfection with pSUPER/CD147 siRNA1 and pSU-PER/CD147 siRNA2, the mRNA expression of CD147 in the A375 cells was significantly down-regulated by 90.81% (P

AIM: To observe the expression of β-catenin in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) at different disease phases, and to analyze the relationship between BCR-ABL and cytogenetic response to imatinib mesylate. METHODS: RT-PCR and Western blotting were used to detect β-catenin mRNA and protein expression in bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMNCs) from 99 patients with CML. The association with BCR-ABL and BCR-ABL fusion was determined by FISH in 94 patients after one year treatment with imatinib mesylate, and the relationship between β-catenin and cytogenetic response to imatinib mesylate was analyzed. RESULTS: The expression of β-catenin was increased significantly in patients with blast crisis and accelerated phase (P<0.01), while the expression of β-catenin between normal person and chronic phase of CML patients was not statistically different (P>0.05). No significant relation between β-catenin and BCR-ABL expression (r=0.314, P>0.05) was observed. The expression of β-catenin was increased significantly in the patients who did not reach main cytogenetic remission (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: The patients in progression phases of CML over-express β-catenin. The expression of β-catenin is not significantly related to BCR-ABL expression, but related to the therapeutic response of imatinib. Beta-catenin may be involved in the mechanism of CML progression and could be used as a new therapeutic target.