OBJECTIVETo study the effects of huai qi huang, a traditional Chinese medicine, on cytokines Th1, Th2 and Th17 levels and alveolar macrophage phagocytosis in asthmatic rats sensitized by ovalbumin (OVA).

METHODSForty male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into five groups: normal control, untreated asthma, budesonide-treated, huai qi huang-treated and budesonide+huai qi huang-treated asthma (n=8 each). Asthma was induced by OVA sensitization and challenge. The levels of IL-4, IFN-γ and IL-17 in plasma and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were measured using ELISA. The phagocytosis of alveolar macrophages which were isolated and purified from BALF was evaluated by the colorimetric assay.

RESULTSThe levels of IL-4 and IL-17 increased, in contrast, the IFN-γ level decreased in plasma and BALF in the untreated asthma group compared with those in the normal control group. The IFN-γ level in the huai qi huang-treated asthma group was higher than that in the untreated asthma group. The IFN-γ level increased and the IL-17 level decreased more significantly in the budesonide+huai qi huang-treated asthma group when compared with the budesonide and huai qi huang alone treatment groups. The phagocytosis of alveolar macrophages in the untreated asthma group was lower than that in the normal control group. Huai qi huang alone or combined with budesonide increased the phagocytosis of alveolar macrophages compared with the normal control, untreated asthma and budesonid-treated asthma groups. The levels of IFN-γ in plasma and BALF were positively correlated with the phagocytosis of alveolar macrophages.

CONCLUSIONSThe levels of IL-4 and IL-17 increase and the IFN-γ level decreases in plasma and BALF, and the phagocytosis of alveolar macrophages decreases in asthmatic rats. Huai qi huang treatment may increase the IFN-γ expression in plasma and BALF and the phagocytosis of alveolar macrophages in asthmatic rats. There is a synergistic effect between huai qi huang and glucocorticoids.

Animals ; Asthma ; drug therapy ; immunology ; Cytokines ; biosynthesis ; Macrophages, Alveolar ; drug effects ; immunology ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Phagocytosis ; drug effects ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer ; immunology ; Th1 Cells ; immunology ; Th17 Cells ; immunology ; Th2 Cells ; immunology

OBJECTIVECurrent study was conducted to investigate and compare the impact of temperature and pH on the activities of amylase, protease and lipase in alimentary tract of Whitmania pigra.

METHODThe responses of amylase, protease, and lipase activities were determined over a wide range of temperatures (7-52 degrees C) and pH gradient (2.2-11.2).

RESULTThe highest lipase activity was found under 37 degrees C, pH 8.2, and the highest amylase activity was detected under 37 degrees C, pH 5.2, while protease activity peaked at 42 degrees C, pH 3.2 or pH 9.2.

CONCLUSIONThe optimal temperature in alimentary tract of Wh. pigra for lipase and amylase was 37 degrees C, and the responding temperature for protease was 42 degrees C. The optimal pH value in alimentary tract of Wh. pigra for lipase and amylase was pH 8.2 and pH 5.2, respectively. While pH 3.2 or 9.2 seems to be both favorable for high protease activity.

Amylases ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Animals ; Digestive System ; chemistry ; enzymology ; Enzyme Stability ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Leeches ; chemistry ; enzymology ; Lipase ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Peptide Hydrolases ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Temperature

The concept of neurovascular units studies the interaction between neural cells and blood vessels, regards the blood-brain barrier as the core,and relates with the neurodegenerative diseases.This paper reviewed the relationship be-tween neurovascular units and neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Huntington's disease,multiple sclerosis,etc.

Exosome is a hot topic in the field of medical research in recent years, which can serve as new carriers for cell-to-cell communication, and show great potential in the diagnosis and treatment of ischemic stroke. microRNA containing in exosomes plays an important role in it. This article reviewed the research progress of exosomes in ischemic stroke on biomarkers, drug carriers, neurovascular remodeling, and treatment.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) concentration in children with idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (INS) and its clinical significance.

METHODSThirty-four children newly diagnosed with INS received oral prednisone for 4 weeks. Patients whose urinary protein did not become negative were classified as steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome (SRNS) group, while those whose urinary protein did become negative were classified as steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome (SSNS) group. Morning midstream urine specimens were collected from all patients before use of prednisone and after 1, 2, 3, and 4 weeks of treatment with prednisone. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to measure the urinary NGAL concentration. Meanwhile, urinary creatinine (Cr) concentration was measured, and urinary NGAL concentration in a single urine collection was adjusted according to the urinary Cr excretion. The two groups were compared in terms of urinary NGAL/Cr ratio.

RESULTSCompared with the SRNS group, the SSNS group had significantly decreased urinary NGAL/Cr ratios after 3 and 4 weeks of prednisone treatment (P < 0.05). Compared with the SRNS group, the SSNS group had a significantly decreased urinary β2-MG/Cr ratio after 4 weeks of prednisone treatment (P < 0.05). In both groups, urinary NGAL/Cr ratio was positively correlated with urinary protein/Cr ratio (r = 0.510, P < 0.01). The results of ROC curve analysis showed when diagnostic cut-off point of urinary NGAL/Cr was 0.043 by 3 weeks after treatment, sensitivity and specificity achieved 100% and 79.2% respectively.

CONCLUSIONSUrinary NGAL/Cr ratio remains high in children with SRNS, while this ratio decreases gradually during prednisone treatment in children with SSNS, and it falls ahead of urinary β2-MG/Cr ratio. These results suggest that dynamic monitoring of urinary NGAL/Cr ratio is useful for early judgment of response to prednisone in patients with INS.

Acute-Phase Proteins ; urine ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Creatinine ; urine ; Female ; Humans ; Lipocalin-2 ; Lipocalins ; urine ; Male ; Nephrotic Syndrome ; drug therapy ; urine ; Prednisone ; therapeutic use ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins ; urine ; beta 2-Microglobulin ; urine

OBJECTIVETo investigate the role and significance of FHIT genes depletion, p53 overexpression and HPV16/18 infection in cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and cervical carcinoma (CC).

METHODSTumor samples taken from 52 cases of CIN and 69 cases of CC were processed by immunohistochemistry (SP) to determine the expression of FHIT genes and p53 protein, by in situ hybridization to detect HPV16/18 infection, and were compared with those in 18 cases of normal cervical tissues as control.

RESULTS(1) The FHIT expression was positive in normal cervical tissue with no depletion occurred, and was 30.8% in CIN. It was significantly higher in CIN III and carcinoma groups than that in normal and CIN I/II groups (P < 0.01). The depleted expression of FHIT in infiltrating cervical carcinoma group was 66.7% (46/69), significantly higher than that in normal and CIN groups (P < 0.01). Along with the decreasing of cell differentiation, the negative rate of FHIT raised. (2) The positive expression of p53 in CC group was 56.5% (39/69) and the HPV16/18 was 84.1% (58/69), both higher than that in CIN and normal groups (P < 0.05). (3) In CIN and CC groups, the positive rate of p53 in cases with positive or negative FHIT expression was similar (P > 0.05). (4) There is a negative correlation between FHIT and p53 expression. The rate of HPV16/18 infection in the depleted expression of FHIT group was significantly higher than that in FIHT normal expression group (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSION(1) The FHIT-depletion is related with cervical carcinogenesis. It may be used as a marker to serve mass screening of CIN-high risk subjects and diagnostic indicator for early cervical carcinoma. (2) Depleted expression of FHIT is frequently associated with p53 over-expression in CIN and CC subjects, but there is no direct correlation between them. (3) HPV16/18 infection may probably be the common cause leading to altered FHIT and p53 expression.

Acid Anhydride Hydrolases ; metabolism ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; metabolism ; virology ; Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia ; metabolism ; virology ; Female ; Human papillomavirus 16 ; genetics ; Human papillomavirus 18 ; genetics ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; In Situ Hybridization ; Neoplasm Proteins ; metabolism ; Papillomavirus Infections ; metabolism ; virology ; Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 ; metabolism ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms ; metabolism ; virology

OBJECTIVETo examine the transfection of Homeobox A13 (HOXA13) on epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and the expression of bone morphogenetic protein-7 (BMP-7) induced by albumin-overload in human kidney tubular epithelial cells (HKCs).

METHODSThe cultured HKCs were treated with 20 mg/mL human serum albumin (HSA) for 48 hours. Protein expression of cytokeratin (CK), vimentin and HOXA13 in the HKCs was assessed by Western blot. Protein expression of CK, vimentin, and BMP-7 was also detected in HKCs transfected with lipofectamine contained HOXA13 DNA.

RESULTSHSA induced EMT in HKCs, presented by decreased CK expression (P<0.01) and increased vimentin expression (P<0.01). The up-regulated expression of HOXA13 transfected by lipofectamine inhibited the level of EMT induced by HSA in HKCs (P<0.05). The decreased rate of BMP-7 protein expression induced by HSA was inhibited by over-expressed HOXA13 in HKCs (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONSTransfection of HOXA13 in HKCs could inhibit the degree of EMT induced by albumin-overload, possibly by increasing BMP-7 expression.

Bone Morphogenetic Protein 7 ; genetics ; Cells, Cultured ; Epithelial Cells ; metabolism ; Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition ; Homeodomain Proteins ; physiology ; Humans ; Keratins ; genetics ; Kidney Tubules ; metabolism ; Transfection ; Vimentin ; genetics

Swine influenza viruses (SIVs) are respiratory pathogens of pigs. They cause both economic bur den in livestock-dependent industries and serious global public health concerns in humans. Because of their dual susceptibility to human and avian influenza viruses, pigs are recognized as intermediate hosts for genetic reassortment and interspecies transmission. Subtypes H1N1, H1N2, and H3N2 circulate in swine populations around the world, with varied origin and genetic characteristics among different continents and regions. In this review, the role of pigs in evolution of influenza A viruses, the genetic evolution of SIVs and interspecies transmission of SIVs are described. Considering the possibility that pigs might produce novel influenza viruses causing more outbreaks and pandemics, routine epidemiological surveillance of influenza viruses in pig populations is highly recommended.
Animals ; Humans ; Influenza A virus ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; physiology ; Influenza, Human ; epidemiology ; transmission ; virology ; Orthomyxoviridae Infections ; epidemiology ; transmission ; veterinary ; virology ; Swine ; Swine Diseases ; epidemiology ; transmission ; virology

Objective To investigate the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) preconditioning on apoptosis after cerebral ischemia-re-perfusion (I/R). Methods A total of 72 male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into sham group (n=24), model group (n=24) and EA group (n=24). The rats in latter two groups were occluded the right middle cerebral arteries for two hours and reperfused. EA group was treated with EA at Baihui (GV20) for two weeks before modeling. They were as-sessed with modified Neurological Severity Scores (mNSS) 24 hours after modeling. Then, the cerebral infarct volume was measured with TTC staining, the apoptosis was detected with TUENL assay, and the expression of p53, Bax and Bcl-2 proteins in ischemic penumbra was detected with Western blotting. Results Compared with the model group, the score of mNSS, cerebral infarct volume and the number of TUNEL-posi-tive cells all significantly decreased (P<0.05) in EA group; while the expression of p53 and Bax proteins de-creased (P<0.05), Bcl-2 increased (P<0.05), and Bax/Bcl-2 decreased (P<0.05).Conclusion EA preconditioning can induce tolerance to cerebral I/R injury, which might associate with the inhibition of p53 protein and down-regulation of the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio in ischemic penumbra, to inhibit cerebral cell apoptosis.

Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of self-prescribed Guchong Decoction combined with Ferroids for the treatment of iron deficiency anemia (IDA)patients with unconsolidation of thoroughfare and conception vessels. Methods A total of 70 IDA patients with unconsolidation of thoroughfare and conception vessels were randomized into treatment group and control group,35 cases in each group. The control group was given oral use of Ferroids, and the treatment group was treated with self-prescribed Guchong Decoction combined with Ferroids. One month constituted a treatment course,and both groups were treated for 2 courses. Before and after treatment,we compared the parameters of blood routine test for red blood cells(RBC),hemoglobin (HGB), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), MCH concentration (MCHC),white blood cells(WBC)and platelets,as well as reticulocytes(Ret)and iron metabolism indexes including serum iron(SI),serum ferritin(SF),and total iron-binding capacity(TIBC). The adverse reaction was monitored during the treatment. After treatment,both western medicine clinical efficacy and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)syndrome clinical efficacy of the two groups were evaluated. A 3-month follow-up was carried out after treatment to evaluate the recurrence rate. Results(1)Drop-out occurred in one case from the treatment group and in 2 cases from the control group because of short-term medication suspension.(2)After treatment for 2 months, western medicine clinical cure rate of the treatment group was 82.4％ and that of the control group was 60.6％, and TCM syndrome clinical cure rate of the treatment group was 94.1％ and that of the control group was 51.5％,the difference being significant(P < 0.05 or P < 0.01).(3)The levels of RBC,HGB,Ret, MCV, MCH, MCHC, and WBC of the two groups were obviously increased after treatment (P < 0.01), and PLT level was markedly decreased (P < 0.01)as compared with those before treatment,but the inter-group differences after treatment were insignificant (P > 0.05). (4)After treatment,iron metabolism indexes of SF and SI of the two groups were significantly increased (P < 0.01), and TIBC of the treatment group was significantly decreased (P < 0.01). The treatment group had stronger effect on increasing SF and SI and on decreasing TIBC than the control group (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). (5)The incidence of adverse reaction and the recurrence rate in the treatment group were lower than those of the control group,the difference being significant (P< 0.01). Conclusion Guchong Decoction combined with Ferroids is effective for the treatment of IDA with unconsolidation of thoroughfare and conception vessels through relieving symptoms rapidly, reducing gastrointestinal adverse reaction,and decreasing recurrent rate.