Objective To assess the dietary risk of organophosphates pesticides residues in some vegetables in Shaanxi Province. Methods The monitoring data of organophosphorus pesticides in vegetables from 2012 to 2016 were derived from Shaanxi Province Food Contamination Monitoring Network. The exposure of organophosphorus to vegetables by using exposure risk index (ERI) , dietary exposure risk index (RI) and dietary exposure risk assessment. Results Exposed risk index (ERI) of organophosphorus in some vegetables in Shaanxi Province ranged from 1.25E-06 to 1.87E-01, and among them, the highest ERI of clozaptid in garlic was 1.87E-01, followed by onion. In some vegetables, the highest exposure to organophosphorus was isocarbophos of fresh beans with an exposure of 4.27E-02 μg / (kg body weight · day) and the lowest dietary exposure was bulbs, and stems and fresh beans were 2.00E-04μg / (kg body weight·day) . The exposure of organophosphorus to all kinds of vegetables was less than their respective daily allowable intake (ADI) . The risk of dietary exposure to organic- phosphorus in vegetables was 187％ and greater than 100％ for the risk index (RI) of lettuce, and RI for all other vegetables was <100％. Conclusion The dietary exposure and risk index of organophosphates pesticides in some vegetables in Shaanxi Province was safe, and more attention should be paid to dimethoate and isazofos.

Ultrafine powder and cell wall-broken powder of herbal medicine lack of the morphological characters and microscopic identification features. This makes it hard to identify herb's authenticity with traditional methods. We tested ITS2 sequence as DNA barcode in identification of herbal medicine in ultrafine powder and cell wall-broken powder in this study. We extracted genomic DNAs of 93 samples of 31 representative herbal medicines (28 species), which include whole plant, roots and bulbs, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits and seeds. The ITS2 sequences were amplified and sequenced bidirectionally. The ITS2 sequences were identified using Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) method in the GenBank database and DNA barcoding system to identify the herbal medicine. The genetic distance was analyzed using the Kimura 2-parameter (K2P) model and the Neighbor-joining (NJ) phylogenetic tree was constructed using MEGA 6.0. The results showed that DNA can be extracted successfully from 93 samples and high quality ITS2 sequences can be amplified. All 31 herbal medicines can get correct identification via BLAST method. The ITS2 sequences of raw material medicines, ultrafine powder and cell wall-broken powder have same sequence in 26 herbal medicines, while the ITS2 sequences in other 5 herbal medicines exhibited variation. The maximum intraspecific genetic-distances of each species were all less than the minimum interspecific genetic distances. ITS2 sequences of each species are all converged to their standard DNA barcodes using NJ method. Therefore, using ITS2 barcode can accurately and effectively distinguish ultrafine powder and cell wall-broken powder of herbal medicine. It provides a new molecular method to identify ultrafine powder and cell wall-broken powder of herbal medicine in the quality control and market supervision.
Cell Wall ; DNA Barcoding, Taxonomic ; DNA, Plant ; genetics ; DNA, Ribosomal Spacer ; genetics ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; analysis ; Phylogeny ; Plants, Medicinal ; classification ; genetics ; Powders ; Quality Control

OBJECTIVETo explore the correlation between pathological characteristics of target organs and excess evil syndrome in IgA nephropathy.

METHODSData were collected in multicenter cooperation. Totally 266 IgA nephropathy patients were typed into exogenous wind-heat affection syndrome (49 cases), lower energizer damp-heat syndrome (100 cases), damp-phlegm syndrome (43 cases), and blood stasis syndrome (74 cases). Meanwhile, percutaneous renal biopsy was performed in all patients for Hass classification, Oxford classification, Katafuchi integral, and Jiang's classification methods. The correlation between excess evil syndrome and pathological index was analyzed.

RESULTSFour syndrome types were correlated with their Hass levels (r = 0. 341, P <0. 01). Affection of exogenous wind-heat syndrome was correlated with segmental proliferation of endothelial cells and damaged active lesions of segmental capillary loops. Lower-energizer damp-heat syndrome was associated with Hass III level, destroying active lesions of capillary loops, segmental proliferation of endothelial cells, glomerular segmental lesions, focal interstitial infiltration of inflammatory cells, focal interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy. Blood stasis syndrome was associated with Hass IV level, glomerular sclerosis, segmental glomerulosclerosis (S)/adhesion, mesangial hypercellularity (M), angiohyalinosis, multi-foci interstitial infiltration of inflammatory cells, multi-foci interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy. Phlegm-damp syndrome had higher proportions of Hass I and III levels, but with no association with other pathological parameters.

CONCLUSIONSExcess evil syndrome was associated with partial pathological characteristics of IgA nephropathy. It could reflect pathological damage degree of target organs, activities, chronic lesions, and prognosis of IgA nephropathy to certain extent. Correlated pathological characteristics and its evolution could indicate excess evil syndrome types and their evolution rules.

Capillaries ; Fibrosis ; Glomerulonephritis, IGA ; pathology ; Glomerulosclerosis, Focal Segmental ; Humans ; Kidney Glomerulus ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Prognosis ; Syndrome

OBJECTIVETo investigate in vivo inhibitory effect of histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor valproic acid (VPA) on xenografted Kasumi-1 tumor in nude mice and its mechanism.

METHODSXenografted Kasumi-1 tumor mouse model was established by subcutaneous inoculation of Kasumi-1 cells. Xenotransplanted nude mice were assigned into control or VPA treatment groups. Volume of the xenografted tumors was measured and compared between the two groups. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase biotin-dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) was applied to detection of tumor cell apoptosis. The gene expression of GM-CSF, HDAC1, Ac-H3 and survivin was studied with semi-quantitative RT-PCR and Western blotting. ChIP method was used to assay the effects of VPA on acetylation of histone H3 within GM-CSF promoter region.

RESULTS(1) VAP significantly inhibited xenografted Kasumi-1 tumor growth. The calculated inhibition rate was 57.25%. (2) Morphologic study showed that VPA induced differentiation and apoptosis of Kasumi-1 tumor cells. The apoptosis index of VAP treatment group [(3.661 +/- 0.768)%] was significantly higher than that of control group [(0.267 +/- 0.110)%]. (3) Comparing to those in control group, the level of nuclear HDAC1 protein was significantly decreased, the Ac-H3 protein expression level was increased, the mRNA and protein expression levels of GM-CSF and acetylation of histone H3 were remarkably increased, and the gene expression level of survivin significantly decreased in VPA treatment group.

CONCLUSIONVAP significantly inhibits xenografted Kasumi-1 tumor growth and induces tumor cell differentiation and apoptosis. The mechanism may be decrease of survivin gene expression, inhibition of nuclear expression of HDAC, promotion of histone protein acetylation level and acetylation of histone H3 within GM-CSF promoter region, and increase of GM-CSF transcription.

Animals ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Mice ; Mice, Nude ; Valproic Acid ; pharmacology ; Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays

OBJECTIVETo explore the mechanism of tanshinol on alleviate the inflammatory injury of lung tissue in rat hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS).

METHODSSD rats were randomly divided into normal control group (n = 8), hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) group (n = 11) and tanshinol intervention group (n = 9). HE staining was used to observe the histopathology changes of pulmonary and hepatic tissues, and to count the number of macrophages in lung tissues. The activity of alanine transferase (ALT) and concentrations of endotoxin, tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-alpha) and homocystein (Hcy) in plasma were detected. The concentrations of TNF-alpha, nitric oxide (NO) and malondialdehyde (MDA) and the activity of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in the lung tissues were measured, respectively.

RESULTSThickened alveolar septum and increased macrophages were observed in lungs in HPS rat. After administered with tanshinol, the pulmonary pathological changes were alleviated and the number of macrophages in lung tissue was decreased compared with HPS group. The activity of ALT and the concentrations of endotoxin, TNF-alpha and Hcy in plasma ,and TNF-alpha, iNOS, NO and MDA in lung tissue in HPS group were higher than those of normal control group; meanwhile, those tanshinol group were less those that of HPS group.

CONCLUSIONTanshinol may play an important role in delaying the development of HPS through protecting liver or directly antagonizing the effect of intestinal endotoxemia so as to alleviate the inflammatory reaction in lung tissue.

Alanine Transaminase ; metabolism ; Animals ; Caffeic Acids ; pharmacology ; Disease Models, Animal ; Endotoxins ; blood ; Hepatopulmonary Syndrome ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Homocysteine ; blood ; Liver ; drug effects ; pathology ; Lung ; drug effects ; pathology ; Macrophages ; drug effects ; pathology ; Male ; Malondialdehyde ; metabolism ; Nitric Oxide ; metabolism ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; blood

OBJECTIVETo explore the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its receptors (flt-1 and flk-1) in the retina of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), and its relation to the alteration of retinal blood vessels.

METHODSEighty-six newborn Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into hyperoxia and air groups, then each group was further divided into 1, 3, 7 and 14 days subgroups. The rats in hyperoxia group inhaled 75% oxygen and ROP model was thus set up. These animals were sacrificed respectively after 1, 3, 7 and 14 days, then the retinal endothelial cells were marked by CD34 to observe the change of retinal blood vessels. The expression of VEGF, flt-1 and flk-1 in the retina was measured by immunohistochemistry.

RESULTSThe retinal capillary density index (RCDI) in control group increased as days went on (F = 21.589, P < 0.01, but it was the least on the 7th day in hyperoxia group, after the rats had been returned to air for 7 days, RCDI increased significantly (F = 67.885, P < 0.01); In the control group, the expression of VEGF and flk-1 was the strongest in the retina on the 7th day, the result had significant difference as compared with the 1st and 14th day (P < 0.05). The expression of VEGF and flk-1 on the 7th day in hyperoxia group was weaker than that of control group (P < 0.05). But on the 14th day in hyperoxia group, they were stronger than that of control (P < 0.05). The localization of the expression of flt-1 was changed when blood vessels altered, but there was no significant difference in expression intensity as a whole (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONWhen the premature retina was exposed to hyperoxia, the expression of VEGF and flk-1 was reduced, and retinal blood vessels were also decreased; but the expression of VEGF and flk-1 was stronger in retina when premature rats were exposed to relative hypoxia, and the retinal blood vessels also increased significantly. It is concluded that VEGF and flk-1 may play important roles in the development of retinal blood vessels and its change in ROP. However, flt-1 has less effect compared with flk-1.

Animals ; Animals, Newborn ; Disease Models, Animal ; Female ; Hypoxia ; Immunohistochemistry ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Receptors, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor ; analysis ; Retina ; chemistry ; pathology ; Retinal Diseases ; metabolism ; pathology ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; analysis

OBJECTIVETo probe the mechanism of electroacupuncture at points "Weibingfang" in treatment of acute gastric mucosal lesion.

METHODSForty Wistar rats of sanitary degree were randomly divided into 4 groups, normal group, model group, sham-model group and Weibingfang group, 10 rats in each group. The acute gastric mucosal lesion model was made by intragastric perfusion of anhydrous alcohol. The Weibingfang group were treated by electroacupuncture at "Neiguan" (PC 6), "Zhongwan" (CV 12) and "Zusanli" (ST 36) with sparse-dense wave, frequency of 10-30 Hz, current intensity of 2 mA, for 20 min. One hour after the treatment, the blood from the abdominal aorta and the gastric mucosa tissue were taken, and serum epidermal growth factor (EGF) level and epidermic growth factor receptor mRNA (EGFR mRNA) expression in the gastric mucosa were detected with enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) respectively.

RESULTSThere were significant differences in blood EGF level (41.62 +/- 12.58) ng/L and EGFR mRNA expression (0.78 +/- 0.03) in the model group were significantly different from [(60.37 +/- 12.01) ng/L and 0.55 +/- 0.04] in the normal group and [(61.21 +/- 13.46) ng/L and 0.53 +/- 0.05] in the sham-model group (P < 0.05); after electroacupuncture, blood EGF level (70.59 +/- 10.14) ng/L increased and the EGFR mRNA expression (1.18 +/- 0.02) in the gastric mucosa was up-regulated with a significant differences as compared with those in the model group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONPoint "Weibingfang" can promote proliferation, differentiation and migration of the gastric mucosal epidermic cells to repair the gastric mucosal lesion.

Acupuncture Points ; Animals ; Electroacupuncture ; Epidermal Growth Factor ; blood ; genetics ; Female ; Gastric Mucosa ; metabolism ; Gene Expression ; Humans ; Male ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; metabolism ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Receptor, Epidermal Growth Factor ; genetics ; metabolism ; Stomach Diseases ; genetics ; metabolism ; therapy

ObjectiveThis study is aimed to investigate the association of human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DRB1 with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in Chinese Han population.MethodsA total of 281 Chinese Han patients with RA and 202 healthy controls were recruited.DNA was extracted from PBMC and HLA typing was performed by sequence based typing and PCR-Sequence Specific Primer.The frequency of HLADRB1 was compared between patients and controls using x2 test with continuity correction.ResultsThe susceptible HLA-DRB1 alleles were * 0101,* 0102,*0404,* 0405,and * 0410 which belonged to QRRAA.DRRAA and DERAA were protective alleles.At genotypic level,The association of S3P and S3D was detected.However,the protective effect of S3D was shown to be in a recessive mode.ConclusionOur results have shown that there are racial differences in RA susceptibility between Chinese Han population and Caucasians.

Objective To analyze the effects of S100A6 on Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway and its molecular mechanism. Methods The expression of GST-hS10OA6 was induced with IPTG in Escherichia coli BL21, and the fusion protein was purified with glutathione-sepharose 4B beads. β-catenin level of human colon cancer cell line MG63 and human osteosarcoma cell line HCTl16 cells infected with AdS10OA6 was measured by Western blot. Luciferase activity assay was applied to analyze the effect of S100A6 on the β-catenin/TCF4 activity. The interactions between S100A6 and β-catenin/GSK-3β/Dvl/Axin were detected by GST-pulldown/Western blot. Results The β-catenin level in AdS100A6-infected MG63 and HCT116 cells was significantly increased in comparison with that in the AdGFP control group (P<0.01). The luciferase activity in human embryonic renal cell line 293 cells transfected with pTOP-Luc and followed by GST-hS100A6 treatment was increased by 20. 2-fold in comparison with that in the GST control group (P<0.01). The interaction between GST-hS100A6 and Axin was not found. Conclusion S100A6 up- regulates the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, and this may be attributed to the interaction between S100A6 and β-catenin/GSK-3β/Dvl.

Objective: To investigate the effects of artesunate treatment on chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD). Methods: Recipient BALB/c mice received 8 × 10(6) bone marrow cells with 8×10(6) spleen cells from B10D2 mice. Artesunate solubilized in acetone was injected intraperitoneally every day at the dose of 1 mg/kg at Day 28 after BMT. The clinical scores, survival and histopathological damage were analyzed. The frequency of Th17 and Tregs in PB and spleens from the mice were evaluated by flow cytometry. In addition, CD4(+) T cells from the spleens of mice were cultured in vitro, then stimulated with artesunate, the frequency of Th17 and Tregs in these splenocytes were evaluated by flow cytometry. Results: Artesunate administration diminished clinical and histopathological damage, and improved the survival of cGVHD mice[(46.57±7.83)% vs (55.71±6.99)%, χ(2)=5.457, P=0.020]; Artesunate contributed to Tregs development [(4.45±0.04)% vs (8.40±0.23)%, t=15.679, P<0.001; (6.62±0.24)% vs (10.48±0.48)%, t=6.587, P=0.003] while decreased Th17 cells [(1.51±0.18)% vs (0.58±0.19)%, t=7.233, P<0.001; (1.48±0.38)% vs (0.71±0.18)%, t=3.653, P=0.011] expressions in both PB and spleens, and decreased the Th17/Treg ratio (0.34±0.05 vs 0.09±0.03, t=7.621, P=0.002; 0.19±0.03 vs 0.06±0.02, t=6.993, P=0.002). Moreover, artesunate suppressed the Th17 cells expressions [(0.82±0.37) % vs (3.39±1.22) %, t=4.044, P=0.007] and contributed to Tregs development [(34.63±1.29) % vs (14.28±1.69) %, t=19.119, P<0.001], and also decreased the Th17/Treg ratio (0.24±0.09 vs 0.02±0.01, t=4.780, P=0.003) in vitro. Conclusions: Artesunate suppressed the Th17 cells expressions and contributed to Tregs development, which provided new sights into the development of a novel drug for cGVHD, e.g., artemisinin.
Animals ; Artesunate ; Graft vs Host Disease ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory ; Th17 Cells