Objective To explore the clinical significance of serum clara cell secretory protein(CC16),total immunoglobulin E(TIgE)and eosinophil cationic protein(ECP)in children with asthma.Methods Serum were collected from 59 cases during asthmatic acute attacks,29 asthmatic children who were in mild conditions,and 30 cases who were in moderate to severe conditions,and 30 healthy children.Serum CC16 concentration were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA),TIgE and ECP concentration were measured by uniCAP100.Results The levels of CC16 in serum of asthmatic children during acute attacks were significantly lower than that in control group(t=2.93 Pa

A percutaneous visceral tumor puncture director is introduced in this paper, which can be used for needle biopsy and brush biopsy in kinds of visceral tumor. The clinical informations show that the application of the director can increase the positive ratio of puncture, and it has important clinical value. The director is safe, practical and easy to operate.
Biopsy, Needle ; instrumentation ; methods ; Equipment Design ; Humans ; Neoplasms ; pathology ; Sensitivity and Specificity

Acupuncture Points ; Administration, Cutaneous ; Asthma ; drug therapy ; therapy ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Moxibustion

BACKGROUND:Atopic individuals predispose to alergic rhinitis after contacting with an alergen, which is mainly released by IgE-mediated histamine. Alergic rhinitis is a kind of non-infectious inflammatory disease that involves a variety of immune cels and cytokines and is related to Th1 and Th2 immune imbalance. Interferon γ is a cytokine secreted by Th1 cels, while interleukin-4 is a cytokine secreted by Th2 cels. OBJECTIVE:To establish a stable 129Sv mouse model of alergic rhinitis, so as to lay the foundation of establishing gene knockout 129Sv mouse models of alergic rhinitis, and to observe the concentration variation of IgE, interleukin-4 and interferon γ. METHODS: Twenty-four mice were randomly divided into 2 groups: model and control groups. Mice in the model group were sensitized by intraperitoneal injection of ovalbumin to establish mouse models of alergic rhinitis. Mice in the control group were subjected to intraperitoneal injection of PBS. After successful modeling, pathological changes of nasal eosinophils and plasmocyte infiltration were evaluated by nasal mucosa staining. Interleukin 4 and interferon γ levels and ovalbumin-specific IgE antibody concentration were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay showed that compared with the control group, serum ovalbumin-IgE and interleukin-4 concentrations were significantly increased, and Interferon γ concentration was significantly lower in the model group (P < 0.05). Hematoxylin-eosin staining results showed that cilia lodging and submucosal serous gland hyperplasia, eosinophils and plasmocyte infiltration were obvious. These results confirm that a mouse model of allergic rhinitis was successfully constructed in this study and the pathogenesis of allergic rhinitis was related to Th1/Th2 imbalance.

A novel and sensitive HPLC-UV method has been developed for the simultaneous determination of twelve major compounds in Longdan Xiegan Pill.The chemical profile of the twelve compounds,including geniposidic acid（1）,geniposide（2）,gentiopicroside（3）,liquiritin（4）,crocin（5）,baicalin（6）,wogonoside（7）,baicalein（8）,glycyrrhizic acid（9）,wogonin（10）,oroxylin A（11）and aristolochic acid A（12）,was acquired using high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector coupled with an electrospray tandem mass spectrometer（HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS）.The analysis was performed on a Dikma Platisil ODS C18 column（250 mm×4.6 mm,5 μm）with a gradient solvent system of acetonitrile-0.1% aqueous formic acid.The validation was carried out and the linearities（r〉0.9996）,repeatability（RSD〈1.8%）,intra-and inter-day precision（RSD〈1.3%）,and recoveries（ranging from 96.6% to 103.4%）were acceptable.The limits of detection（LOD）of these compounds ranged from 0.29 to 4.17 ng.Aristolochic acid A,which is the toxic ingredient,was not detected in all the batches of Longdan Xiegan Pill.Furthermore,hierarchical cluster analysis was used to evaluate the variation of the herbal prescription.The proposed method is simple,effective and suitable for the quality control of this traditional Chinese medicine（TCM）.

Objective To explore the immunomodulatory effects of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25 (OH)2D3) in the treatment of experimental colitis induced by dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) in mice.Methods According to random number table,thirty BALB/c mice were randomly divided into control group,model group,low dose,moderate dose,and high dose intervention group.Mice of model group,low dose,moderate dose and high dose intervention group drank 5％ DSS solution for seven days to create colitis model.On the 1st,3rd,5th,7th day,the mice of low dose,moderate dose and high dose intervention group were intraperitoneal injected with low,moderate,and high dose of 1,25(OH)2D3 (50,100 and 200 ng/each mouse,respectively).Mice of control group and model group were intraperitoneal injected with sterile soybean oil as control.The observed indicators included disease activity index (DAI) and colonic histopathological score (HPS).On the 8th day,all mice were sacrificed.The expression of interferon (IFN)-γ,interleukin (IL-17) and IL-21 in mice colon tissues and spleens at mRNA and protein level were measured by reverse transcription-polymerose chain reaction (RT-PCR) and flow cytometry,respectively.The data were analyzed by one way ANOVA.LSD-test or Tamhane test were performed for comparison in groups.Results Compared with the control group,the DAI and colitis HPS of mice in the model group significantly increased (0.33±0.52 vs 7.33±1.03,0.17±0.41 vs 12.00±0.63).Compared with the model group,the DAI and colonic HPS of intervention groups treated with 1,25 (OH)2 D3 declined with varying degrees (2.83 ± 0.40,2.83±0.75,2.33±0.52 and 10.83±0.98,7.50±0.84,6.67±0.52,LSD-t=0.39 and 0.41,all P＜0.01).The expression of IFN-γ,IL-17 and IL-21 of the model group were significantly higher than those of the control group.The expressions of IFN-γ,IL-17 and IL-21 of intervention group were signifiantly lower than that of the model group (mRNA:LSD-t =0.12,0.13,0.09; protein:F =20.61,22.46,4.80,all P＜0.01).Conclusion 1,25 (OH)2D3 might have a direct role on T-cell phenotype,down-regulate effective cytokines IFN-γ,IL-17 and IL-21 and then play an interventional role.

Aim To investigate the antioxidant capacity of crocetin and crocin in an in vivo system.Methods Column chromatography was applied to the seperation of crocetin and crocin-1 from gardenia.Crocetin(6.25,12.5 and 25.0 mg·kg~(-1)·d~(-1)) and crocin (18.7,37.5 and 75.0 mg·kg~(-1)·d~(-1)) were orally administered to kunming mice.Then,superoxide dismutase(SOD),glutathione peroxidase(GSH-Px),total antioxidant capacity(TAOC)and malondialdehyde(MDA)in mice were determined for the comparison of antioxidant activity of crocetin and crocin-1.Results Oral administration of crocetin and crocin for six weeks could enhance SOD of liver and kidney,GSH-Px of liver and TAOC of heart and kidney.In addition,it could decrease MDA of serum in mice.Conclusions The comparison of results suggests the evidence supporting the comparable antioxidant activity of crocetin and crocin.The results of the research also indicate that liver and kidney are two organs targeted for protection concerning endogenous antioxidant among various tissues.

Objective To explore the mechanism of protecting cells from hypoxia/ reoxygenation (H/R) injury by constructing specific small interference RNA (siRNA) to inhibit NALP3 expression in rat renal tubular epithelial cells (NRK-52E).Methods (1) To establish the H/R injury model of NRK-52E by regulating the pressure of N2 in incubator to hypoxia condition,the cells were cultured with hypoxia for 1 h and then with reoxygenation for 1 h,2 h,4 h,8 h,16 h and 24 h.The activity of lactae dehydrogenase (LDH) in the culture medium,cell count and cell viability,the expression of NALP3 were determined by biochemical method,trypan blue exclusion and Western blotting.(2) The siRNA was transfected into NRK-52E.The irrespective siRNA transfected group wasused as control.NALP3 expression was examined by Western blotting.(3) The cells were divided into 4 groups:control group,H/R group,irrespective siRNA transfected group and NALP3-siRNA transfected group.To establish the H/R injury model of NRK-52E by regulating the pressure of N2 in incubator to hypoxia condition,the cells were cultured with hypoxia for 1 h and then with reoxygenation for 4 h.And the expression of NALP3 was determined by Western blotting.(4)Cellular apoptosis was examined by Annexin V/PI staining and flow cytometry.NF-κB DNA binding activity,IκB-α,Bcl-2 and Bax expression were examined by EMSA and Western blotting.Results (1)Compared with the control group,the activity of LDH significantly increased,cell count and cell viability significantly decreased (all P＜0.05).The expression of NALP3 significantly increased and peaked at 4 h after H/R.(2)The specific siRNA could efficiently inhibit NALP3 expression in NRK-52E.Compared with the irrespective siRNA transfected group,the protein expression of NALP3 was significantly down-regulated in NALP3 siRNA transfected group (P＜0.05).(3)After hypoxia 1 h and reoxygenation 4 h,the activity of LDH and the expression of NALP3 increased.Compared with the irrespective siRNA transfected group,LDH concentration in media and the expression of NALP3 significantly decreased in NALP3-siRNA transfected group.(4)After hypoxia 1 h and reoxygenation 4 h,NF-κB DNA binding activity was increased,IκB-α phosphorylation and degradation,Bcl-2 and Bax were significantly up-regulated.However,compared with the irrespective siRNA transfected group,NF -κB DNA binding activity,IκB-α degradation and Bax/Bcl-2 were significantly decreased (P＜0.05) in NALP3-siRNA transfected group.At the same time,the ratio of apoptosis was significantly increased in three groups than that in control.Compared with the irrespective siRNA transfected group,the ratio of apoptosis in NALP3-siRNA transfected group was significantly decreased (P＜0.05).Conclusions H/R induces the expression of NALP3 in NRK-52E.The synthesized siRNA can inhibit the expression of NALP3 and protect NRK-52E from hypoxia/reoxygenation injury.The mechanism may be via inhibiting the activation of NF-κB,modulating expression of Bcl-2 and Bax,as well as decreasing cell apoptosis.

Research on the association between maternal periodontal disease and the risk of preeclampsia has generated inconsistent results. This meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the association between maternal periodontal disease and the risk of preeclampsia. A literature search of PubMed and Embase was performed to identify relevant papers published before March 2013. Only observational studies that assessed maternal periodontal disease and the risk of preeclampsia were selected. Patients' periodontal status was examined at different time points during pregnancy or after delivery (at 14-32 weeks of gestation, within 48 h prior to or within 5 days after delivery). Pooled odds ratios (ORs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated for cases and controls. Cases were defined as women with concurrent hypertension and proteinuria after 20 weeks of gestation. Eleven studies involving 1118 women with preeclampsia and 2798 women without preeclampsia were identified and analyzed. Women with periodontal disease before 32 weeks of gestation had a 3.69-fold higher risk of developing preeclampsia than their counterparts without periodontal disease (OR=3.69; 95% CI=2.58-5.27). Periodontal disease within 48 h prior to delivery was associated with a 2.68-fold higher risk of preeclampsia (OR=2.68; 95% CI=1.39-5.18). Pregnant women with periodontal disease within 5 days after delivery had a 2.22-fold higher risk of preeclampsia than women without periodontal disease (OR=2.22; 95% CI=1.16-4.27). In conclusion, this meta-analysis suggests that maternal periodontal disease is an independent predictor of preeclampsia.

Objective To study the distribution patterns of the SNPs for the 3 sites (Ⅱe105Val, Ala114Val and Asp147Tyr) of glutathione S-transferase pi (GST-pi) in epilepsy patients without definite etiological factors. Methods At the same time, the possible relationship of GST-pi gene mutation with the vulnerability of drug-resistant epilepsy, drug-responsive epilepsy and EEG feature were explored. The SNPs of GST-pi for healthy people, drug-responsive epilepsy patients and drug-resistant epilepsy patients were genotyped by sequence-specific primers (SSP)-based PCR technologies (PCR-SSP). Results In drugresponsive epilepsy group, the frequency for 3 sites of mutated SNP of GST-pi was 59.62%, 55.32% and 50.94%, while it was 58.33%, 51.19% and 45.92% in drug-resistant epilepsy group. The difference of genotype and allele between normal group and foregoing epilepsy group was significant ( P<0.01 ), but no difference was found between drug-respensive epilepsy group and drug-resistant epilepsy group ( P>0.05 ). There was a difference of genotype distribution between groups with typical and untypical epilepsy EEG ( F = 0.0294, 8.867 × 10-6, 1.366 × 10-5, P<0.05 ). Conclusions The results indicate that the SNPs of GST-pi are associated with an increased risk of epilepsy, but not associated with an increased risk of drugresistant epilepsy. The patients present EEG characteristic of typical epilepsy.