Tripterygium wilfordii has complex chemical components. To study and summarize the advance in studies on the anti-inflammatory and immunoregulatory activities and toxicology of known monomers of T. wilfordii, the pertinent literatures related to the studies on the pharmacology, toxicology and pharmacokinetics of T. wilfordii over past 30 years were searched. According to the findings, more than ten anti-inflammatory and immunoregulatory monomers were found in T. wilfordii. The pharmacology and toxicology of wilforidine, triptolidenol, triptonide, demethylzeylasteral shall be further studied.
Animals ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Immunologic Factors ; pharmacology ; Plant Extracts ; pharmacokinetics ; pharmacology ; Tripterygium ; chemistry

OBJECTIVETo investigate the protective effects of trimetazidine on rabbit myocardium in ischemia and reperfusion.

METHODSFourty rabbits were divided into five groups randomly: normal control group, ischemia control group, ischemia and drug intervention group, reperfusion control group, reperfusion and drug intervention group. Ischemia lasted for 30 minutes and reperfusion was given for 30 minutes. Serum CPK, SOD activities and MDA concentrations were measured in each group and ischemia tissue ATP concentrations were also measured. Heart tissue was examined with electron microscope in each group.

RESULTS(1) Serum concentrations of MDA in ischemia and drug intervention group were significantly different from those in ischemia control group [(4.09+/-0.40 vs 4.79+/-0.92)nmol/ml, P<0.01], serum activities of CPK [(1322+/-1148 vs 1498+/-190) NU/ml], SOD[(324+/-71 vs 288+/-54)NU/ml] were not significantly different between ischemia and drug intervene group and ischemic control group (PP>0.05,respectively). (2) Serum activities of CPK [(1512+/-226 vs 1904+/-203) NU/ml], SOD[(213+/-71 vs 119+/-55) NU/ml], concentrations of MDA [(6.09+/-0.69 vs 7.43+/-0.20)nmol/ml] and concentrations of ATP[(1.401+/-0.248 vs 0.629+/-0.175) micromol/g] in ischemia heart tissue of reperfusion and drug intervention group were significantly different from those in reperfusion control group (P<0.001 - 0.01 respectively). (3) There were significant differences in electron microscopic observation between intervention group and control group.

CONCLUSIONTrimetazidine can improve cardiac mitochondrial metabolism and scavenge oxygen free radicals. Trimetazidine has cardioprotective function during ischemia and reperfusion.

Adenosine Triphosphate ; analysis ; Animals ; Creatine Kinase ; blood ; Female ; Male ; Malondialdehyde ; blood ; Mitochondria, Heart ; drug effects ; ultrastructure ; Myocardial Reperfusion Injury ; prevention & control ; Protective Agents ; pharmacology ; Rabbits ; Superoxide Dismutase ; blood ; Trimetazidine ; pharmacology

Objective To evaluate the risk of hepatitis B virus(HBV) infection among preschool children who were the non-responders to hepatitis B vaccine in future. Methods A prospective cohort study was conducted. Children aged 2 to 5 years were selected from 64 kindergartens.These children were inoculated three doses of hepatitis b vaccine at 0, 1 and 6 months after birth. Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)and Hepatitis B surface antibody (anti-HBs)were detected during the period from March to May 2015. The children who were HBsAg negative were enrolled in the study. The subjects were divided into exposure group (anti-HBs negative) and control group (anti-HBs positive) . The follow-up began on June 1, 2015 and ended on June 1, 2016. Serum HBsAg of children in the cohort was then collected and detected from June 1 to 30, 2016. At the end of the study, the HBsAg positive rates between two groups were compared. Results 83 children who received hepatitis B vaccine again during the follow-up period were excluded from 1 907 non-responders. The actual number in non-responders group was 1 824. 151 children were lost at the end of the study. The actual number of follow-up was 1 673 and 5 children were found to be positive for HBsAg and the infection rate was 0.30% (5/1673). In the respondent goup, 2 054 were enrolled and followed. Finally, 140 children were lost and none of the remaining 1 914 people were HBsAg positive at the end of the study. HBsAg positive rate was higher in the non-responder group than in the responder group (P=0.023). Conclusion There is a risk of HBV infection in the children who are non-responders to hepatitis B vaccine in future.

OBJECTIVETo study the characteristics of the peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets in pediatric patients with chronic active EBV (CAEBV) infection.

METHODFlow cytometry was used to detect the peripheral blood NK, B, T lymphocyte subsets and the functional, regulatory, naïve, memory and activatory subsets of T lymphocytes in 10 pediatric patients with CAEBV infection, 13 pediatric patients with acute Epstein-Barr virus infection (AEBV) and 12 healthy children in our hospital between March 2004 and April 2008.

RESULTCompared with AEBV group, the number of white blood cells [3325 x 10(6)/L (median, just the same as the following)], lymphocytes (1078 x 10(6)/L), NK cells (68 x 10(6)/L), B cells (84 x 10(6)/L), total T cells (684 x 10(6)/L), CD4+ T cells (406 x 10(6)/L) and CD8+ T cells (295 x 10(6)/L) in CAEBV patients were lower (P<0.05). The functional subset of the CD4+ T cells in CAEBV group (94.5%) was lower than those of the healthy control group (98.7%) (P<0.05), but was still higher than those of AEBV group (74.0%) (P<0.05). While the functional subset of the CD8+ T cells in CAEBV (40.7%) was not dramatically different from the healthy control group (48.3%), but was still higher than that of AEBV group (21.0%) (P<0.05). Although the regulatory subset in CAEBV group (5.0%) was higher than the health control group (4.6%) (P<0.05), but lower than AEBV group (5.8%) (P<0.05). In CAEBV, the proportion of CD4+/CD8+ naïve T cells (32.3%/37.5%) was lower than that of normal group (58.3%/56.6%) (P<0.05), but the proportion of CD4+/CD8+ effective memory T cells in CAEBV group (23.9%/15.1%) was lower than that in AEBV group (36.5%/69.8%) (P<0.05), while the proportion of CD8+ fake naïve T cells in CAEBV (17.5%) was higher than the other 2 groups (P<0.05). The CD8+ activatory subset in CAEBV group (84.4%/34.0%) was higher than that of the healthy control group (44.1%/16.7%) (P<0.05), but still lower than AEBV group (96%/95%) (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONThere is an imbalance in lymphocyte subsets and disturbance in cellular immunity in CAEBV patients, which may be associated with EBV chronic active infection. Detecting the peripheral haematologic parameters and lymphocyte subsets may be helpful in the diagnosis and the differential diagnosis of CAEBV.

Adolescent ; CD4-CD8 Ratio ; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes ; CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes ; Case-Control Studies ; Child ; Epstein-Barr Virus Infections ; blood ; immunology ; virology ; Female ; Flow Cytometry ; Herpesvirus 4, Human ; Humans ; Killer Cells, Natural ; Lymphocyte Subsets ; immunology ; Male

BACKGROUNDTraumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of death and disability in children and young adults worldwide. Therefore, we investigated the role of AG490 in regulating brain oedema, expression of CD40 and neurological function after TBI.

METHODSSprague Dawley rats (n = 240) were randomly divided into a sham operation group, TBI+saline group and TBI+AG490 (JAK/STAT inhibitor) group. Members of each group were euthanized at 6, 12, 24 or 72 hours after injury. Neurological severity score (NSS) was used to evaluate the severity of neurological damage. Brain water was quantitated by wet/dry weight method. The expression of CD40 was assessed by flow cytometry.

RESULTSIn both the TBI+saline group and the TBI+AG490 group, the brain water content was elevated after TBI, reached a peak at 24-hour and remained high for the rest of the period investigated; the expression of CD40 reached a peak 24 hours after TBI; the NSS was elevated after TBI and then decreased after 6 hours. Elevations in the level of CD40, degree of brain edema and NSS after TBI were significantly reduced in TBI+AG490 group.

CONCLUSIONInhibition of the JAK/STAT signalling pathway reduces brain oedema, decreases the expression of CD40 and exerts neuroprotective effects after TBI.

Animals ; Brain Edema ; metabolism ; Brain Injuries ; drug therapy ; CD40 Antigens ; analysis ; Flow Cytometry ; Janus Kinases ; metabolism ; Male ; Neuroprotective Agents ; therapeutic use ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; STAT Transcription Factors ; metabolism ; Tyrphostins ; therapeutic use

OBJECTIVETo explore the effect of acupuncture-drug compound anesthesia on immune function in patients with extracorporeal circulation undergoing cardiac surgery.

METHODSThirty cases undergoing cardiac surgery which included atrial septal defect neoplasty, ventricular septal defect neoplasty, mitral valve replacement and pulmonary valve coarctotomy were randomly divided into group A and group B, 15 cases in each group. Group A was given general anesthesia plus acupuncture at Neiguan (PC 6), Lieque (LU 7) and Yunmen (LU 2), and group B was given simple general anesthesia. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-2 (IL-2) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) levels before and after surgery were compared.

RESULTSThe level of TNF-alpha was increased and the levels of IL-2 and IL-10 in the serum were decreased in both groups after extracorporeal circulation for 2 h and 24 h, and the ranges of all changes were more less in group A (all P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONCompared with simple general anesthesia, acupuncture-drug compound anesthesia can improve immune suppression partially in the perioperative periods under the same conditions of controlling anesthesia degree.

Acupuncture Analgesia ; Adult ; Anesthesia, General ; Cardiac Surgical Procedures ; Female ; Heart Diseases ; blood ; immunology ; surgery ; Humans ; Inflammation Mediators ; blood ; Interleukin-10 ; blood ; Interleukin-2 ; blood ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Perioperative Care ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; blood ; Young Adult

BACKGROUNDThe synovial fluid concentrations of adiponectin are significantly higher in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) than in patients with osteoarthritis (OA). Accumulating evidence suggests that adiponectin may be an inducer of inflammation in arthritis, but the mechanism remains unclear. The objectives of this study were to compare the expression levels of adiponectin receptors in rheumatoid arthritis synovial fibroblasts (RASF) and osteoarthritis synovial fibroblasts (OASF), evaluate the roles of adiponectin receptors in adiponectin-induced prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) production, and then investigate the effects of a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) and a cyclooxygenase (COX)-2-selective inhibitor on adiponectin-induced PGE(2) release.

METHODSThe expressions of adiponectin receptor 1 (AdipoR1) and AdipoR2 mRNA and protein in synovial fibroblasts from seven patients with RA and eight patients with OA undergoing total knee replacement were evaluated by real-time polymerase chain reaction, immunofluorescence microscopy and Western blotting analysis. Adiponectin-induced PGE(2) production was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RNA interference against the AdipoR1 and AdipoR2 genes was performed to investigate the effects of the adiponectin receptors on adiponectin-induced PGE(2) production in both RASF and OASF.

RESULTSAdipoR1 and AdipoR2 mRNA and protein were expressed by both RASF and OASF. Compared with OASF, RASF exhibited higher levels of AdipoR1, but there was no significant difference for AdipoR2. Adiponectin induced the production of PGE(2) by the synovial fibroblasts in a concentration-dependent manner, and this was more obvious in RASF. RNA interference showed that the difference may be mediated by the diverse distribution of AdipoR1. The adiponectin-induced PGE(2) production was efficiently relieved by the NSAID and COX-2-selective inhibitor.

CONCLUSIONThe present findings suggest that AdipoR1 may mediate the difference in adiponectin-induced PGE(2) production in RASF and OASF.

Adiponectin ; pharmacology ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; metabolism ; Blotting, Western ; Cells, Cultured ; Dinoprostone ; metabolism ; Female ; Fibroblasts ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Humans ; Immunoassay ; Male ; Microscopy, Fluorescence ; Middle Aged ; Osteoarthritis ; metabolism ; RNA, Small Interfering ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Receptors, Adiponectin ; genetics ; metabolism ; Synovial Membrane ; cytology

OBJECTIVETo analyze the change of EB virus VCA/IgA and EA/IgA titer during the development of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), and the role in screening for NPC.

METHODSVCA/IgA and EA/IgA were monitored in a period of 12 years by immunoenzymatic titration from the sera of 54 NPC patients after primary serological screening.

RESULTSVCA/IgA and EA/IgA titer had shown gradual increment 1 - 7 years before NPC was pathologically diagnosed. The mean titer of VCA/IgA was 1:21.04, 7 - 4 years before diagnosis. VCA/IgA titer ascended quickly within 3 years before diagnosis. The geometric mean titer (GMT) of VCA/IgA and EA/IgA were 1:76.86 and 1:6.49 when NPC was diagnosed, which descended quickly after radiotherapy and, in 4 years, approached the average titer of VCA/IgA positive population.

CONCLUSIONVCA/IgA titer rises uninterruptedly 3 years before NPC is diagnosed pathologically in most patients but their EA/IgA titer rises slowly. The detection of VCA/IgA titer can be used to find early NPC, whereas EA/IgA can not. The pre-clinical phase of NPC is 3 years according to this dynamic study.

Adult ; Antibodies, Viral ; blood ; Antigens, Viral ; immunology ; Capsid Proteins ; immunology ; Early Detection of Cancer ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin A ; blood ; Middle Aged ; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; virology

Objective To evaluate the effects of amino acids (AA) on the development of in vitro cultured preimplantation embryos of Kunming mice, and define the optimal AA concentration for embryo culture. Methods Totally 630 zygotes were collected from the oviducts of superovulated female Kunming mice, which were cultured in protein-free potassium simplex optimized medium (mKSOM) supplemented with Eagle's essential amino acids and Eagle's non-essential amino acids of different concentrations (mKSOM, mKSOM+1/16AA, mKSOM+1/8AA, mKSOM+1/4AA, mKSOM+1/2AA, mKSOM+AA, and mKSOM+2AA). Results The embryos cultured with the amino acids showed higher development rate to both 8-cell embryo stage and blastocyst stage than those cultured without amino acids. The correlation of amino acid concentration with 8-cell and blastocyst development rates conformed to the cubic model, with the highest development rate to both of the two stages observed at half of the amino acid concentration. Conclusion Amino acids can promote the development of preimplantation Kunming mouse embryos, but excessively high concentration of amino acids impair embryo development possibly because of metabolic and osmotic pressure changes of the embryos as well as toxicity of ammonium resulting from the metabolism of amino acids.

Objective To evaluate the effects of amino acids (AA) on the development of in vitro cultured preimplantation embryos of Kunming mice, and define the optimal AA concentration for embryo culture. Methods Totally 630 zygotes were collected from the oviducts of superovulated female Kunming mice, which were cultured in protein-free potassium simplex optimized medium (mKSOM) supplemented with Eagle's essential amino acids and Eagle's non-essential amino acids of different concentrations (mKSOM, mKSOM+1/16AA, mKSOM+1/8AA, mKSOM+1/4AA, mKSOM+1/2AA, mKSOM+AA, and mKSOM+2AA). Results The embryos cultured with the amino acids showed higher development rate to both 8-cell embryo stage and blastocyst stage than those cultured without amino acids. The correlation of amino acid concentration with 8-cell and blastocyst development rates conformed to the cubic model, with the highest development rate to both of the two stages observed at half of the amino acid concentration. Conclusion Amino acids can promote the development of preimplantation Kunming mouse embryos, but excessively high concentration of amino acids impair embryo development possibly because of metabolic and osmotic pressure changes of the embryos as well as toxicity of ammonium resulting from the metabolism of amino acids.