Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for determination of thyroid-stimulating antibody in the sera of patients with Graves' disease was established using ganglioside (GLS) purified from bovine brain as binder. It was applied in clinical practice. The results showed that LATS could react with ganglioside under suitable conditions. Very significant difference was observed between normal subjects and untreated GD (P

There are still many problems at liquid state culture especially large-scale culture for Helicobacter pylori at present. Using analytical technique of single factor test statistics, a suitable medium and shaking culture conditions for Helicobacter pylori have been selected. The experimental results showed: under the optimal shaking culture conditions Hp could be growed well enough in Brucella broth with ?-CD. The thalli weight reached 0.6g/100mL.

OBJECTlVE To investigate the effect of Guiyuan tablets on the analgesic effect of morphine and morphine-induced tolerance and hyperalgesia. METHODS ① The model of morphine-induced acute tolerance Mice were ig treated with Guiyuan tablets 200, 400 and 800 mg·kg-1 and 15 min later were sc treated with morphine 10 mg·kg-1 every hour for consecutive 9 h. At 24 and 48 h, they were sc treated with morphine 10 mg·kg-1 alone, respectively.②The model of morphine-induced chronic tolerance Mice were ig treated with Guiyuan tablets 200, 400 and 800 mg·kg-1 and 15 min later were sc treated with morphine 10 mg·kg-1 every day for consecutive 8 d. On d 9, the mice were sc treated with morphine 10 mg·kg-1 alone. ③ The model of morphine-induced established tolerance. Mice were sc treated with morphine 10 mg·kg-1 every day for consecutive 8 d. On d 1, d 4 or d 7, the mice began to be ig co-administered with Guiyuan 200 mg·kg-1 . On d 9, they were sc treated with morphine 10 mg·kg-1 alone. The hot-plate test was used to detect the values of the baseline latency ( T0 ) and the post-treatment latency ( T1 ) before the percentage of maximal possible analgesic effect (%MPAE) was calculated. Spec-trophotometry was used to detect the nitric oxide synthase ( NOS) activity and the nitric oxide ( NO) con-tent in the tissue of the spinal cord. RESULTS The ED50 of the analgesic effect of Guiyuan tablets was 523.5 mg·kg-1 in the hot-plate test. Guiyuan tablets 200 and 400 mg·kg-1 prolonged the duration of mor-phine anti-nociception and deceased its ED50 from 4.67 to 3.14 and 0.65 mg·kg-1, respectively. ln the models of both acute and chronic tolerance, Guiyuan tablets prevented the decrease of the%MPAE and the baseline latencies ( P<0. 05 ) . ln the model of morphine-induced established tolerance, Guiyuan tablets rapidly reversed the decrease of%MPAE( P<0.05) , and this compound preparation which began to be co-administered with morphine from d 1 could significantly inhibit the increase of the NOS activity and NO content induced by morphine in the spinal cord ( P<0.01) . CONCLUSlON Guiyuan tablets are capable of enhancing the analgesic effect of morphine, prolonging the duration of morphine anti-nocicep-tion, preventing the development of morphine-induced tolerance and hyperalgesia, and might have neuroprotective effect.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of dendritic cells (DCs) transfected with survivin gene, and to observe the effective and specific anti-tumor immunological effect induced by modified DC in vitro.

METHODSSurvivin gene was transfected to DCs with liposomes. Survivin expression could be detected both in DCs cells and in cell culture with method of Western blot. Cytokines as well as cellular surface molecule such as IL-12, TNF-alpha, CD1 alpha, CD83, MHCII, CD80 and CD86 were detected. The competence of inducing human specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTLs) was also detected with MTT.

RESULTSSurvivin expression could be detected both in DCs which were transfected with survivin cDNA and in cell culture superior. The IL-12 and TNF-alpha level was (265.2 +/- 32.7), (437.1 +/- 83.5) pg/ml, and much higher in transgened DC cells than blank DC cells (P < 0.05). CD1 alpha, CD83, MHCII, CD80 and CD86 was high expressed in survivin-DC cells, however, it was low expressed in blank DC cells. The lyse rate to gastric cancer cell, colon cancer cell and bile duct cancer cell was 65%, 77%, and 85% respectively, and these were much higher than those of blank DC cells.

CONCLUSIONSDCs transfected with survivin gene could induce specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes and strikingly raised DC cell's antigen present function, and have specific CTL killing activity.

Antigens, CD ; metabolism ; Dendritic Cells ; immunology ; Gastrointestinal Neoplasms ; therapy ; Humans ; Immunotherapy, Active ; In Vitro Techniques ; Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins ; Interleukin-12 ; secretion ; Microtubule-Associated Proteins ; genetics ; Neoplasm Proteins ; genetics ; Transfection ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; secretion

OBJECTIVETo study effective active constituents of Cayratia japonica,a genuine herbal medicine from Fujian.

METHODSuch chromatographic methods as Macroporous, Sephadex LH-20, ODS and normal phase silica gel column chromatography were adopted to separate the chemical components of C. japonica.

RESULTThirteen compounds were obtained, and their structures were identified by analyzing multiple spectral data as luteolin(1), apigenin(2), triethyl citrate-(3), 3-formylindole(4), esculetin(5), bis(2-ethylhexyl)-phthalate(6), calendin(7), ethyl-trans-3,4-dihydr-oxycinnamate(8), luteolin7-O-D-glucoside(9),5-hydroxy-3,4-dimethyl-5-pentyl-2(5H-furanone(10),ethyl-3,4-dihydroxybenzoate(11), eriodictyol(12) and daucosterol(13).

CONCLUSIONAmong them, compounds 3-8 and 10-12 were separated from the plant for the first time.

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Biomolecular ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Vitaceae ; chemistry

Special designed group I intron ribozymes can specifically splice objective RNA, repair the mutant gene in RNA level. The specificity of ribozyme is determined by nucleotides specific internal guide sequence (IGS) introduced to the enzyme. In this study, fragment sequence containing Tetrahymena thermophilia intron I of 26S rRNA gene was cloned and cis-splicing activity of this ribozyme was confirmed by in vitro transcription. For evaluating the trans-splicing activity of this ribozyme, a truncated mutant Green Fluorescence Protein (GFP) vector, XYQ5/XYQ10- pEGFP-C2, was constructed. This vector deleted the 3' end 564bp fragment of EGFP coding sequence, led to the lost the activity of emitting green fluorescence. Trans-splicing ribozyme plasmids ptrans-rib-CMV2 for remedy of the truncated mutant EGFP was constructed by PCR and molecular cloning techniques. This vector utilizing cloned 26S rRNA intron 1 as core enzyme; selecting T-G site at 194bp of EGFP coding sequence as splicing receptor, designed an IGS which is inversely complement to the 188-193nt of EGFP mRNA; the 195-890bp fragment of EGFP coding sequence was ligated to the 3'-end of ribozyme core. The fragment containing these components was inserted to a eukayotic expression vector pRC-CMV2. Using linearized XYQ5/XYQ10- pEGFP-C2 and ptrans-rib-CMV2 as templates, truncated EGFP mRNA and the constructed ribozyme vector were transcribed and mixed to evaluate the trans-splicing activity. Analysis of in vitro transcription products mix by RT-PCR verified the existence of wild type EGFP mRNA molecule. Co-transfection of XYQ5/XYQ10- pEGFP-C2 with ptrans-rib-CMV2 to Hela cells proved this ribozyme restored green fluorescence within cell, but the efficiency was low.
Animals ; Base Sequence ; Green Fluorescent Proteins ; genetics ; HeLa Cells ; Humans ; Introns ; genetics ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Mutant Proteins ; genetics ; Mutation ; RNA, Catalytic ; genetics ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; Tetrahymena ; enzymology ; Trans-Splicing ; Transcription, Genetic

OBJECTIVETo study the characteristics of infrasound and its effects on the workers at power plants.

METHODSThe audible noise and infrasound in three thermoelectricity plants were measured and by using Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90), the subjective sensation, and the physiological indices were compared between exposed workers and controls.

RESULTSThe infrasound levels were different at different measure sites of the three thermoelectricity works ranging from 40 to 98 dB. There was still 40 approximately 80 dB infrasound even when the soot blower stopped running. Different apparatus produced different infrasound levels with the highest ranging from 62 to 115 dB. A single frequency (16 Hz) infrasound was produced in certain department during working hour with sound pressure levels of 110 to 120 dB, but the audible noise sound pressure level was less than 70 dB. There was no significant difference in the indices representing vision fatigue and neurobehaviour function between exposed workers and controls. Workers at certain department experienced evident subjective sensation of neurobehavioral dysfunction, and the scores of somatization, depression, hostility, phobic anxiety, and psychotism in the SCL-90 were significantly higher in the exposed group than in the control and the norm in China (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONInfrasound is ubiquitous in the working environment, but usually, the noise levels are less than 120 dB. In some special production department, there is persistent infrasound above 110 to 120 dB. No obvious health effects are found among those who are exposed to infrasound below 100 dB. However, the workers who are chronically exposed to infrasound above 110 to 120 dB present notable subjective sensation of autonomic neurobehavioral dysfunction, and their psychological health status is not as good as those in the control and those in the domestic normal pattern.

Adult ; China ; Humans ; Occupational Exposure ; adverse effects ; Power Plants ; Sound ; adverse effects ; Workplace

Aim To observe whether paeonol can in-hibit fibronectin (FN) and intercellular cell adhension molecule-1 (ICAM-1) expressions in high glucose (HG)-induced glomerular mesangial cells(GMCs) via up-regulating CKIP-1 and activating the Nrf2 signaling pathway. Methods The effects of paeonol on the ex-pressions of CKIP-1,Nrf2,FN and ICAM-1 were eval-uated in GMCs treated with HG. Small interfering RNA was used to deplete CKIP-1 protein expression, and Western bolt was used to detect the expressions of Nrf2, HO-1 and SOD1. DHE fluorescent probe tech-nique was used to determine intracellular superoxide level. Results The protein levels of CKIP-1 and Nrf2 were elevated by paeonol in HG-treated GMCs. In the meanwhile,the expressions of Nrf2 downstream antiox-idant enzymes, i.e. HO-1 and SOD1, were also up-regulated by paeonol, which was accompanied by re-ductions of superoxide and H2O2levels. Importantly, paeonol reversed the excessive accumulation of FN and ICAM-1 in HG-induced GMCs. si-CKIP-1 decreased the up-regulation of Nrf2,HO-1 and SOD1 expressions during paeonol treatment, which was accompanied by increased superoxide and H2O2levels. Furthermore, si-CKIP-1 reversed the down-regulated levels of FN and ICAM-1 induced by paeonol. Conclusion Pae-onol inhibits the expressions of FN and ICAM-1 in HG-treated GMCs possibly by up-regulating CKIP-1 and activating the Nrf2 signaling pathway.

Objective To study the acceptability of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent the transmission of HIV among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Guangxi, China.Methods Snow-balling methods were used to recruit 650 MSM in Guangxi. Questionnaires and interview were administrated to these 650 men, using a self-designed questionnaire and face to face interviews to collect information on HIV-related risk behaviors, knowledge and acceptability of PrEP.effective, safe and free of charge', 597 (91.9%) of the 650 MSM claimed that they would accept it,who refused to use it, most of them said that were afraid of the side-effect and doubted on the effectiveness of PrEP. Data from logistic regression analysis showed that those who had found partners through friends (OR=6.21, P=0.020) and those who would advise his friend to use PrEP (OR=39.32, P=0.000) were more likely to accept PrEP. Those who thought they could protect themselves from HIV infection (OR=0.32, P=0.010) or not having sex with the ones who refused to use a condom (OR=0.34, P=0.010) were less likely to accept PrEP. Conclusion Effectiveness, safety and cost seemed to be the main influential factors related to the acceptability of PrEP. Peer education might improve the acceptability of PrEP.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the relationship between the dendritic cell (DC) subsets and transcriptive factors, T-bet, GATA-3, and immune imbalance in acquired severe aplastic anemia (SAA).

METHODSThe DC1 (HLA-DR+Lin-CD11c+) and DC2 (HLA-DR+Lin-CD123+) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNC) were measured with flow cytometry (FCM), the expressions of T-bet mRNA and GATA-3 mRNA in PBMNC with semiquantitative RT-PCR and the plasma level of IFN gamma and IL-4 with ELISA in 29 SAA patients and 16 healthy controls.

RESULTSThe percentages of DC1 in PBMNC were (0.44 +/- 0.24)% and (0.73 +/- 0.30)% in untreated and recovered SAA patients respectively, both were higher than that in controls (0.29 +/- 0.10)% (P < 0.05). The percentage of DC2 in the untreated cases was lower than that of recovered ones or controls [(0.18 +/- 0.14)% vs (0.28 +/- 0.20)% and (0.29 +/- 0.13)%] (P < 0.05). DC1/DC2 ratios were 3.45 +/- 2.71 and 2.90 +/- 0.95 in untreated and recovered groups respectively, both were higher than that in controls (1.15 +/- 0.56) (P < 0.05). No statistic difference in DC1/DC2 ratio was found between untreated and recovered patients (P < 0.05). The relative mRNA expression levels of transcriptive factor T-bet were 0.37 +/- 0.07, 0.20 +/- 0.07 and 0.17 +/- 0.05 in the above 3 groups, respectively, untreated group being higher than that of recovered group or healthy controls (P < 0.05). There was no statistic difference of GATA-3 expression among the 3 groups (P > 0.05). T-bet/GATA-3 ratio was 0.72 +/- 0.13 in untreated group, being higher than that of recovered group (0.33 +/- 0.08) or controls (0.35 +/- 0.11). The plasma level of IFN gamma in the untreated group was (50.9 +/- 1.1) ng/L, which was higher than that of recovered group [(49.7 +/- 0.9) ng/L] or controls [(49.7 +/- 0.7) ng/L]. There was significant positive correlations between T-bet and DC1/DC2 ratio (r = 0.445, P < 0.01), as well as between T-bet and IFN gamma (r = 0.402, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONEither DC1/DC2 or T-bet/GATA-3 ratio might become an index to estimate immune imbalance. High-expressed T-bet was related to the progress of SAA. In patients with SAA, DC1/DC2 ratio returns to normal range later than that of routine blood test does, indicating that immunosuppressive therapy should not be withdrawn too earlier.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Anemia, Aplastic ; blood ; immunology ; Child ; Dendritic Cells ; immunology ; Female ; GATA3 Transcription Factor ; blood ; genetics ; Humans ; Interferon-gamma ; blood ; Interleukin-4 ; blood ; Male ; Middle Aged ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; T-Box Domain Proteins ; blood ; genetics ; Young Adult