BACKGROUND: The effective therapy of artificial liver for severe hepatitis needs an absorbing material which possesses strong adsorptive property, high adsorption rate and good blood compatibility.OBJECTIVE: To study the adsorptive property of eight novel adsorbents for plasma bilirubin and cytokines in severe hepatitis patients. DESIGN: A controlled observation.SETTINGS: Graduate School of Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin Haihe Hospital, Tianjin Third Central Hospital and the Institute of Polymer Chemistry in Nankai University.PARTICIPANTS: All plasma was collected from 30 severe hepatitis patients hospitalized in Tianjin Third Central Hospital from November 2004 to November 2005. Informed consent was obtained from each patients. This experiment was approved by the hospital ethical committee. All the patients were divided into two groups at random: group 1 (n=10) and group 2 (n=20). The level of total bilirubin (TBiL) before therapy in two groups was (377.3±147.5) μmol/L and (327.6±140.1) μmol/L, respectively.METHODS: ①Adsorbents: Chitosan (Qingdao Lizhong Chitosan Factory, Shandong) with relative molecular weight 97 000 and de-acetyl grade 85%; Adsorbents No.1-3 were prepared by using 1%, 3%, 5% polyethyleneglycol (relative molecular weight 600) as porogenic agent. Adsorbent No.4 was aminated crosslinked chitosan microspheres; Adsorbent No.5 was divinyl-benzene crosslinked macroporous polystyrene microspheres; Adsorbent No.6 was post-crosslinked macroporous divinyl-benzene styrene copolymer microspheres; Adsorbents No.7 and 8 were chitosan wrapped adsorbent No.5 and 6.②Detection: Step 1: 3 mL plasma collected from each severe hepatitis patient in group 1 was absorbed with 1 mL of 8 kinds of adsorbents. Levels of plasma TBiL, direct bilirubin (DBiL) and indirect bilirubin (IBiL) before and after adsorption were determined by using the vanadate oxidation method to analyze the average adsorption capacity so as to screen the adsorbents with the better adsorptive properties. Step 2: 3 mL plasma collected from each severe hepatitis patient in group 2 was absorbed with 1 mL of two adsorbents selected from the step 1. The levels of bilirubin, interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α before and after the adsorption were analyzed by ELISA method.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The levels of bilirubin and cytokines before and after the adsorption were determined.RESULTS: ①The data in the first step experiment showed that after No.4 and No.5 adsorbents were used, the level of plasma TBiL, DBiL and IBiL were significantly decreased (P < 0.01); no differences were found for other six kinds of adsorbents (P > 0.05).②The data in the second step experiment showed that the average levels of plasma TBiL, DBiL, IBiL, interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α were remarkably reduced after using adsorbents No.4 and No.5 (P < 0.01). Compared with adsorbent No.5, there were significant decrements for adsorbents No.4 (P < 0.01).CONCLUSION: Aminated chitosan microsphere has significant effects on adsorbing bilirubin and cytokines in plasma of severe hepatitis patients in vitro.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most aggressive and lethal human cancers. Cur-rent studies on the relationship between complicated type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and PDAC prognosis have demonstrated inconsis-tent results. The present study aimed to determine the relationship between complicated T2DM and the clinicopathological characteris-tics of PDAC, and evaluate whether complicated T2DM is a significant predictor for overall survival in patients with resectable PDAC. Methods: In this study, clinicopathological characteristics were observed in 136 patients who underwent surgery for PDAC at the Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University between January 2009 and February 2011. The relationship between complicated T2DM and overall survival of PDAC patients was analyzed using univariate and multivariate analyses. Results:The median age of pa-tients was 60 years (range: 35-80 years). Among the 136 patients, 76(55.9%) were male. The prevalence of complicated T2DM was 27.9%in 136 PDAC cases. Preexisting T2DM was not associated with any of the clinicopathological characteristics (all P>0.05). Uni-variate analysis showed that complicated T2DM (P=0.045), maximum diameter (P=0.011), histological differentiation (P=0.013), pT stage (P=0.034), vessel invasion (P=0.032), and pTNM stage (P=0.030) were significantly associated with the overall survival of PDAC patients. The median overall survival time was 14.2 months for T2DM patients, and 18.8 months for non-T2DM patients. In mul-tivariate analysis, complicated T2DM [hazard ratio (HR), 1.873;95%confidence interval (CI), 1.187-2.954;P=0.007], poorly differenti-ated tumor (HR, 2.647;95%CI, 1.413-4.957;P=0.002), and maximum diameter≥4.0 cm (HR, 1.699;95%CI, 1.094-2.640;P=0.018) were the independent predictors associated with poor overall survival. Conclusion:Complicated T2DM was associated with poor prog-nosis. It could be used as a prognostic predictor in patients with resectable PDAC. If confirmed, these findings may provide a novel ap-proach for individualized adjuvant therapy.

Objective To reconfirm the mesangial cell differentiation potential of BMSCs and to study the mechanism of cell induction.Methods Rat BMSCs were isolated and incubated with platelet-derived growth factor(PDGF)-BB to induce the mesangial cell phenotype.At day 7,the cell morphology,mesangial cell-specific markers and cell contraction function were examined.MAPK/ERK kinase inhibitor(PD98059) was added to examine its impact on cell growth and mesangial cells marker expression.Results After cultivation under the differentiation condition for 7 days,the induced cells expressed ?-actin and Desmin,which highly resembled cultured mesangial cells in rat.The induced cells with increasing level of PDGF receptors mRNA expression changed into a wide range of shapes from spindle to stellate and were contracted in response to angiotensin Ⅱ.PD98059 perturbed the induced cells mesangial cell-specific markers mRNA expression.Conclusion BMSCs can differentiate into mesangial-like cells with PDGF-BB induction in vitro.The mechanism involved in the differentiation was mediated through MAPK/ERK1/2 signal transduction pathway.

Background The evaluation of visual function after laser in situ keratomileusis(LASIK) mainly focuses on the study of contrast sensitivity funetion (CSF).However,CSF measurement is a subjective method and therefore has a limiting in application.A point spread function (PSF) is becoming a study topic because of its objectivity in assessing visual quality.Objective Present study was to evaluate the change of the modulation transfer function (MTF) of eyes and compare the optical and visual quality of human eyes after LASIK.Methods Thirty-six patients(72 eyes) were included in this study.The patients were divided into low myopia(-2.72±0.52 D),moderate myopia (-4.89+0.80 D) and high myopia (-8.00+0.98 D) groups according to the spherical equivalent (SE)diopter before the sugery.The uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA),best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) were examined before and after operation,and PSF data was obtained with Topoeon PSF-1000 analyzer under the 3.0 mm and 6.0 mm pupil size conditions.The follow-up visits of the patients were scheduled at the 7th days,1 st and 3rd months.Written informed consent was obtained from each patient before this study. ResuIts The MTF values among the three refractive groups were significantly different between 3 mm and 6 mm pupil preoperatively (P＜0.05).Under the condition of 3 mm pupil size,the MTF values in the spatial frequencies of 2.98 cpd and 14.88 cpd were significantly declined in different time points after operation in comparison with preoperative ones (P＜0.05).However,the MTF changes had no statistical significance in the spatial frequencies from 18.85-37.70 cpd among various time points(P＞0.05).Under the condition of the 6 mm pupil size,MTF values in low and moderate myopia groups were reduced after operation in comparison with before operation at the spatial frequencies from 2.98-7.44 cpd(P＜0.05),however,there were no obvious difference was found in the spatial frequencies of 9.42-37.70 cpd(P＞0.05).The MTF values of high myopia group was decreased significantly at all spatial frequencies(P＜0.05).The MTF values improved gradually as the prolong of time after operation but was still lower at the 3rd postoperative month than that of preoperation. Conclusion The postoperative visual quality is associated with refractive power and pupil diameter.PSF is a feasible method in assessing the early visual quality after LASIK.

OBJECTIVE:To compare in vivo and in vitro permeation behaviors of the ethosome gels of testosterone,testoster-one propionate and testosterone undecanoate. METHODS:The ethosome gels of testosterone,testosterone propionate and testoster-one undecanoate were prepared. With cumulative permeating amount and permeation rate as the indexes,Franz diffusion cell and HPLC were employed to compare in vitro permeation behaviors of 3 kinds of ethosome gels in mouse skin. With testosterone patch as the positive control drug, electrochemistry method was adopted to detect the concentration of testosterone in plasma 0,3,6, 9,12,24,36 and 48 h after applying such 3 kinds of ethosome gels on the back of rats,and then pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated with DAS 2.0 software. RESULTS:24 h cumulative permeating amounts of the ethosome gels of testosterone,tes-tosterone propionate and testosterone undecanoate were(234.31±13.8),(175.63±41.1)and(72.60±15.3)μg/cm2,and the per-meation rates were(10.25±1.9),(7.64±1.4)and(2.96±0.8)μg/(cm2·h),respectively. The pharmacokinetic parameters of the above-mentioned three kinds of ethosome gels and the positive control drug were respectively as follows as cmax of(20.19±2.57), (17.50±2.91),(0.23±0.04),(14.97±2.12)ng/ml,t1/2Ka of(2.80±0.45),(3.36±0.59),(4.02±0.62),(4.20±0.71)h,AUC0-48 h of(13.85±1.96),(13.93±2.13),(0.35±0.07),(11.76±2.31)ng·h/ml. CONCLUSIONS:in vivo and in vitro permeation behav-iors of the ethosome gels of testosterone and testosterone propionate are fairly good.

Objective To study the Gadolinium-enhanced MRI and diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) characteristics of the chondroid matrix-forming sarcomas.Methods Contrast-enhanced MRI and DWI were performed in 14 eases of chondroid matrix-forming sarcomas (10 chondrosarcomas,4 chondroblastic esteosarcomas) and 13 cases of other types of osteosarcomas.DWI was obtained with a single-shot echo-planar imaging (EPI) sequence using a 1.5 T MR imager with two different b values of 0 and 700 s/mm2.The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values were obtained in GE Functiontool software.The contrast-enhancement pattern was evaluated and the ADC values of ehondroid matrix-forming sarcomas was compared with that of other types of asteosarcoma.Independent sample t-test was performed to evaluate the difference of ADC values between the group of chondroid matrix-forming sarcoma and the group of other types of osteosarcoma.In addition, nonparametrie test was used to assess the difference of ADC values between the chondrosareoma and the chondroblastic osteosarcoma.P value less than 0.05 was considered to represent a statistical significance.Results For 14 eases of ehondroid matrix-forming sarcomas, peripheral enhancement was found in all cases, septonodular enhancement was identified in 12 cases.While 13 eases of other types of osteosarcowas demonstrated heterogeneous enhancement.The mean ADC value of chondroid matrix-forming sarcomas [(2.56 ±0.35) × 10 -3 mm2/s] was significantly higher than that of other types of osteosarcoma [( 1.16±0.20) × 10-3 mm2/s] (t = 12.704,P <0.O1 ).There was no significant difference in the ADC value between the chondrosarcoma and the chondroblastie osteesarcama(Z =0.507 ,P =0.959).Conclusion Contrast-enhanced MRI and DWI can improve differentiation between chondroid matrix-forming sarcomas and other types of osteosarcomas.

Objective To study the expression and value of CXCR1 and CXCR2 on neutrophils, CD14~+ monocytes and CD3~+ T lymphocytes of peripberol blood of ankylosing spondylitis(AS)patients and to investigate the correlation between CXCR1,CXCR2 and disease activity.Methods A case control study was designed and enrolled 30 active AS,30 active rheumatoid arthritis(RA)and 30 healthy controls.The levels of CXCR1 and CXCR2 expression on neutrophils,CD3~+ T cells and CD14~+ monocytes of peripheral blood of the patients and healthy controls enrolled were measured and analyzed by flow cytometry by measuring the mean fluorescence intensity(MFI)channel.The correlations between the level of CXCR1 and CXCR2 anti disease activity or functional index of AS such as BASDAI,BASF1,ESR and CRP were analyzed.Results The MFI of CXCR1 expression on CD3~+ T lymphocytes of peripheral blood was significantly higher in AS patients (41?24)than that in RA patients(18?10)and healthy controls(19?7)(P

Objective:To study the effects of andrographolide on the expression of IL-18 related cytokines by peripheral blood monocytes.Methods:After treatment of andrographolide in different concentrations on LPS stimulated human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and LPS+IFN-γ/IL-4 activated magnetic bead-sorted monocytes (PBM),the transcription level of IL-18,IL-18BP,IL-18Rα and IL-18Rβ was detected by real-time RT-PCR;and secreted IL-18,IL-18BP and IL-1β,IL-1Rα by PBM was detected with ELISA.Results:Andrographolide regulated the transcription of IL-18 and IL-18BP in a dose-and time-dependent effect.Andrographolide up-regulated the transcription of IL-18BP in LPS stimulated PBMC,and increased the ratio of IL-18BP/IL-18.The ratio of IL-18BP/IL-18 rose from 9.60 to 214 in LPS+IFNγ activated PBM,and IL-1Rα/IL-1β declined from 9 200 to 6 520 in IL-4 activated PBM by andrographolide treatment.Conclusion:Andrographolide can regulate IL-18 related gene transcription and expression in activated peripheral blood monocytes,and inhibit the excessive expression of IL-18 during inflammation.

In order to establish a method for the determination of the sterols of the oil in the freeze-dried acai (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) and to evaluate its antioxidant activities, a saponification/extraction procedure and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis method were developed and validated for the analysis of phytosterols in PEE (Petroleum ether extract). Separation was achieved on a Purosper STAR LP C18 column with a binary, gradient solvent system of acetonitrile and isopropanol. Evaporative light scattering detection (ELSD) was used to quantify β-sitosterol and the total sterols. Peak identification was verified by retention times and spikes with external standards. Standard curves were constructed (r = 0.999 2) to allow for sample quantification. Recovery of the saponification and extraction was demonstrated via analysis of spiked samples. The highest content of total sterols is β-sitosterol. The antioxidant activities of the extracts were evaluated using the total oxyradical scavenging capacity assay (TOSC assay). The result showed that the PEE exhibited significant antioxidant properties, sample concentration and the antioxidant capacity had a certain relevance.
Antioxidants ; analysis ; Arecaceae ; chemistry ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; analysis ; Phytosterols ; analysis ; Sitosterols ; analysis

The development of immunotoxin DT386-GMCSF, a fusion protein which bears the N-terminal 386 amino acids of diphtheria toxin and human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and targets the GM-CSF receptor (GM-CSFR), has provided a promising alternative therapy to the acute myeloid leukemia (AML). However, the poor expression of the protein in E.coli is still a bottleneck which limits the industrial production. To identify the critical down-regulating factors on the expression of DT386-GMCSF, a series of truncated mutants of DT386-GMCSF at the C-terminal of GM-CSF were generated and expressed in E.coli. The results showed that the encoding sequences for the L114 of the GM-CSF dramatically impact the expression of DT386-GMCSF. On this basis, a serial of mutants integrating amino acid substitutes were generated. The results revealed that the expression level of the mutant DF123GVT, which harbors the amino acids 1-123 of GM-CSF whose L114L115V116 was substituted with G114V115T116, was evidently higher than that of the DT386-GMCSF, whereas the specific cytotoxicity to blast recovered from mice injected with HL60, a cell line highly expresses the GM-CSFR, was similar. These results have provided an important basis for the future development of the immunotoxins targeting the GM-CSFR.