Objective:To investigate the regulation of acupuncture on γ-interferon (INF-γ) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) of lung cancer-operative cases. Methods: to determine the INF-γ and TNF contents in the blood serum of lung cancer patients by double antibody sandwich immuno-enzymatic method (ELISA); to measure the INF-γ and TNF contents of 30 lung cancer patients in the acupuncture anesthesia group and 30 lung cancer patients in general anesthesia group before the operation and at the 8th days, the 12th day after the operation respectively and make comparison between the two groups. Results:The pre-operation INF-γ contents of the two groups showed no significant difference (P＞0.05); the post-operation INF-γ contents of the two groups showed significant difference at 8th day and 12th day after the operation (P＜0.05); the acupuncture anesthesia group was superior to the general anesthesia group; the self-comparison of the anesthesia group showed significant difference at the 12th day and 8th day after the operation (P＜0.05); the pre-operation TNF contents of the two groups showed no significant difference (P＞0.05) and the post-operation TNF contents of the two groups showed significant difference at the 8th day and 12th day after the operation (P＜0.05). Conclusion:Acupuncture can increase the serum INF-γ and TNF contents of lung cancer patients and therefore regulate the immunity of the patients.

Protein self-assemblies at the micro- and nano-scale are of great interest because of their morphological diversity and good biocompatibility. High-throughput screening of protein self-assembly at different scales and morphologies using protein crystallization screening conditions is an emerging method. When using this method to screen protein self-assembly conditions, some apparently transparent droplets are often observed, in which it is not clear whether self-assembly occurs. We explored the interaction between β-lactoglobulin and the protein crystallization kit Index™ C10 and observed the presence of micro- and nano-scale protein self-assemblies in the transparent droplets. The diverse morphology of the micro- and nano-scale self-assemblies in the transparent droplets formed by mixing different initial concentrations of β-lactoglobulin and Index™ C10 was further investigated by scanning electron microscope. Self-assembly process of fluorescence-labelled β-lactoglobulin was monitored continuously by laser confocal microscope, allowing real-time observation of the liquid-liquid phase separation phenomenon and the morphology of the final self-assemblies. The internal structure of the self-assemblies was gradually ordered over time by in-situ X-ray diffraction. This indicates that the self-assembly phenomenon within transparent droplets, observed in protein self-assembly condition screening experiments, is worthy of further in-depth exploration.
Crystallization ; Lactoglobulins