OBJECTIVETo investigate the Malytea Scurfpea fruit (MSF) on melanocyte adhesion and migration.

METHODHuman epidermal melanocytes were treated with MSF and Ginger respectively, then adhesion to bovine serum fibronectin-coated culture dishes was checked. Control and treated cells were also examined for migration into micropore filters coated with the same protein.

RESULTCompared with control, MSF treated melanocytes were obviously easier to adhere to the dishes and move into the filters in a dose-dependent manner. When the dose of MSF was 200 mg x L(-1), it could not reincrease melanocyte adhesion and migration. At 10 mg x L(-1), under every other concentrations of MSF, there was no marked difference among MSF-treated, Ginger-treated and untreated melanocytes (P < 0.05) when adhesion test were studied. But to migration, even at 10 mg x L(-1) MSF, there was obvious increased migration compared with MSF-untreated or Ginger-treated melanocytes (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONMSF has effect on melanocyte adhesion and migration, which can explain, in part, the capacity of MSF to modulate melanocyte function in vitiligo lesions.

Cell Adhesion ; drug effects ; Cell Movement ; drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Fruit ; chemistry ; Ginger ; chemistry ; Humans ; Melanocytes ; cytology ; drug effects ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Psoralea ; chemistry

OBJECTIVETo explore the relationship between Chinese medicine (CM) constitutive susceptibility and syndrome diversity in diabetic nephropathy (DN).

METHODSEpidemiologic investigation on constitution adopting the "Constitution in Chinese Medicine Questionnaire" (CCMQ), and survey on syndrome type by CM syndrome scale (preliminary) were carried out in 180 DN patients. Cluster analysis on symptom items was used to determine the syndrome type, and canonical correlation analysis was used to analyze the relationship between patients' constitution and syndrome.

RESULTSBaseline levels in all enrolled patients were not different statistically. Cluster analysis showed 8 syndromes existed in DN patients, namely: I, qi-yin deficiency with qi-stagnancy type; II, yin-yang deficiency with heat-water-blood stasis type; III, qi-yin deficiency with dampness-heat type; IV, yin-yang deficiency with blood-stasis and heat type; V, qi-yin deficiency with stagnant heat type; VI, yin-yang deficiency with inner dampness-heat stagnancy type; VII, yin deficiency with heat stagnancy type; and VIII, Kidney (Shen)-Spleen (Pi) deficiency with stagnant heat type. Correlation analysis on the 8 syndromes and the 9 constitutions showed statistical significant correlations between syndrome III and dampness-heat constitution (P=0.0001); syndrome IV and blood-stasis constitution (P=0.0001); and syndrome VII and yin-deficiency constitution (P=0.0180).

CONCLUSIONCertain relationship revealed between CM constitutions and syndrome types; constitution decides the disease genesis, its syndrome type and prognosis, as well as the change of syndromes.

Aged ; Body Constitution ; Cluster Analysis ; Diabetic Nephropathies ; therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Syndrome

Objective To study the effects of environmental factors,including high temperature,high humidity and low temprtature,on the quality of whole blood.Methods Fresh blood was collected from 9 blood donors and divided into 40 parts.One group that comprised 20 samples was used to assess the effects of storage at high temperature and high humidity (0,3,6,12 and 24 h),and the other group(20 samples)was used to determine the effects of low temprtature(0,1,2 and 3 h).The serum free hemoglobin(FHb)concentration, plasma prothrombin time(PT), activated partial thromboplastin time(APTT),thrombin time(TT)and fibrinogen(FIB)were measured and analyzed.Results The high temperature(27-37℃)and humidity(60%-90%RH)had no effect on FHb, PT, APTT, TT or FIB of whole blood. The low temperature(0-13℃and -18--20℃)had some effect on the quality of whole blood.The FHb of test group was higher than that of control group.There was no significant difference in PT, APTT, TT and FIB between the two groups.Conclusion Under high temperature and humidity conditions, 24 hours of whole blood placement is feasible. Under low temperature or cold conditions,short-term whole blood placement is feasible in a tent with heating facilities.

AIMTo evaluate the hemodynamic effects of aminophylline and nifedipine in patients with HAPE.

METHODS10 patients with HAPE undergone Swan-Ganz catheter. The parameters of hemodynamics and arterial blood gases in HAPE were measured before and after administration of nifedipine 20 mg sublingually and aminophylline 0.25 g intravenously respectively.

RESULTSAfter administering 0.25 g aminophylline the mPAP and PVR significantly decreased, the cardiac output and the level of PaO2, SaO2 increased obviously, the mSAP, HR did not change so much. After using 20 mg nifedipine, the mPAP, PVR and mSAP also decreased, while the cardiac output, HR and the level of PaO2, SaO2 did not show any changes.

CONCLUSIONBoth of aminophylline and nifedipine can attenuate pulmonary hypertension in patients with HAPE, but the effect of aminophylline was better than the effect of nifedipine.

Adult ; Altitude ; Altitude Sickness ; drug therapy ; Aminophylline ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Hypertension, Pulmonary ; drug therapy ; Male ; Nifedipine ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo explore the association of Chinese medicine constitution susceptibility to diabetic nephropathy (DN) and transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 (T869C) gene polymorphism.

METHODSTGF-β1 gene polymorphism detected with polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) was screened for 180 DN cases and 180 type 2 diabetic mellitus (T2DM) cases without combined DN. Patients with DN were surveyed epidemiologically with constitution in the Chinese medicine questionnaire (CCMQ). Binary logistic regression analysis was utilized to study the correlation between nine types of Chinese medicine constitution and TGF-β1 (T869C) gene polymorphisms.

RESULTSThe DN group has a higher frequency of TGF-β1 (T869C) gene polymorphism than the T2DM group, and CC/CT genotypes than the T2DM group [CC, CT, TT (DN group): 88, 87, 5 (cases) versus (T2DM group) 71, 73, 36 (cases), P<0.05]. The phlegm-dampness constitution, damp-heat constitution, and blood stasis constitution have correlations with TGF-β1 (T869C) gene polymorphism.

CONCLUSIONChinese medicine constitutions were associated with TGF-β1 (T869C) gene polymorphism, a potential predictor of susceptibility to DN in T2DM patients.

Aged ; Body Constitution ; genetics ; Diabetic Nephropathies ; genetics ; Female ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Health Surveys ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; genetics ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1 ; genetics

Cell Line ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Histone Chaperones ; metabolism ; Humans ; Liver ; cytology ; Protein Interaction Maps ; Solvents ; administration & dosage ; toxicity ; Transcription Factors ; metabolism ; Trichloroethylene ; administration & dosage ; toxicity

［Abstract］Objective:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of fermented cordyceps powder combined with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors （ACEI）/angiotensin Ⅱ receptor blocker （ARB） in the treatment of diabetic kidney disease （DKD）. Method:The randomized controlled trials （RCTs） concerning the treatment of DKD with fermented cordyceps powder plus ACEI/ARB were retrieved from Pubmed， Embase， Cochrane library， China National Knowledge Infrastructure （CNKI）， Chinese BioMedical Literature Database on disc （CBMdisc）， Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform， and Chongqing Weipu Database for Chinese Technical Periodicals （VIP）. The quality of the included articles was evaluated by the Cochrane Collaboration's tool， followed by data analysis using RevMan 5.3. Result:A total of 48 RCTs were included， involving 4 562 cases. As revealed by Meta-analysis， the effective rate of fermented cordyceps powder combined with ACEI/ARB was higher than that of ACEI/ARB ［risk ratio （RR）=1.20， 95% confidence interval （CI） （1.15，1.24）， P<0.000 01］. Moreover， such combination effectively reduced urinary albumin excretion rate ［standardized mean difference （SMD）=-2.61，95%CI （-3.17，-2.05），P<0.000 01］，24-h proteinuria［SMD=-1.75，95%CI （-2.15，-1.35），P<0.000 01］， serum creatinine（Scr）［mean difference （MD）=-14.57，95%CI （-17.94，-11.21），P<0.000 01］， blood urea nitrogen（BUN）［MD=-1.05，95%CI （-1.29，-0.81），P<0.000 01］， cystatin C （Cys-C） ［MD=-0.52，95%CI （-0.68，-0.36），P<0.000 01］， fasting blood glucose（FBG）［MD=-0.59，95%CI （-0.93，-0.25），P=0.000 6］， hemoglobin A1c（HbA1c）［MD=-0.50，95%CI（-0.75，-0.24），P=0.000 1］， tumor necrosis factor-α（TNF）-α ［SMD=-1.68，95%CI （-2.21，-1.15），P<0.000 01］， C-reactive protein（CRP） ［SMD=-1.35，95%CI （-1.77，-0.93），P<0.000 01］， and interleukin-6 （IL-6） ［SMD=-1.52，95%CI （-1.98，-1.07），P<0.000 01］. There was no significant difference in the incidence of adverse events between the two groups ［RR=0.77，95%CI （0.49，1.21），P=0.25］. Conclusion:Fermented cordyceps powder combined with ACEI/ARB is more effective than ACEI/ARB in the treatment of DKD， which is worthy of clinical promotion and use. More multi-center RCTs with a large sample size are needed for verification.

Objective To investigate the photodynamic effect mediated with 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) on U251 human glioma cells. Methods Fluorescence microscope and confocal laser scanning microscope were used to detect the localization of Pp Ⅸ in U251 human glioma cells. The cells with/without 5-ALA were irradiated at the wavelength of 635 nm. MTT assay was used to measure the cell survival after laser irradiation. Results 5-ALA cocultured with U251 cells successfully produced endogenous Pp Ⅸthat was observed distributively in the cytoplasm, but not in nuclear region. The overall survival rates of the U251 glioma cells photodamaged by ALA-PDT decreased as the incubation time went by or the 5-ALA concentration increased, while peaked at the incubation time of 6 h and the 5-ALA concentration of 2.0mmol/L. Without one of 5-ALA and light irradiation, the survival rate of the cells had no significant difference compared with that of cells of the control group. Conclusion The 5-ALA-induced PDT appears to be a promising therapy for human glioma. The optimal incubation time may be 6 h and the optimal 5-ALA concentration be 2.0 mmol/L.

ObjectiveTo isolate and study the biological characteristics of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 （SARS-CoV-2） from feces of coronavirus disease 2019 （COVID-19） patients. MethodsVero E6 cells were used for virus isolation and the isolated strains were tested by nucleic acid test， immunofluorescence test， virulence test and whole genome sequencing. 50% tissue culture infective dose （TCID₅₀） was calculated after the cell cultures of each generation were collected ResultsEight fecal specimens were inoculated with Vero E6 cells after treatment and cultured for 48 h. One specimen showed obvious cytopathic effect on Vero E6 cells. One SARS-CoV-2 out of 8 fecal samples from COVID-19 patients were isolated， and separation rate was 12.5%. The TCID₅₀ of P1， P2 and P3 were 10^4.0/0.2 mL， 10^4.5/0.2 mL and 10^4.75/0.2 mL， respectively. Only one of the 8 stool samples had SARS-CoV-2 virus replication and amplification， and the Ct value of the nucleic acid detection was about 10. The sequence of the isolation was more than 99.99% homologous with that of Wuhan-Hu-1（GenBank MN908947）. ConclusionThe SARS-CoV-2 strain is isolated from the fecal samples of COVID-19 cases and is confirmed by genomic sequencing and immunofluorescence test， which indicates the presence of live virus in feces of COVID-19 cases.

Objective:To observe the stability of severe acute respiratory syrdrome coronavirus （SARS-CoV-2） in cell cultures at different temperatures so as to provide basic data and scientific basis for the research and control of COVID-19 epidemic. Methods:The Vero E6 cells inoculated with SARS-CoV-2. According to TCID₅₀， SARS-CoV-2 with different dilution （10^-1， 10^-3， 10^-5， 10^-6）were stored at 37 °C， 22.5 °C， and 4 °C for one to seven days， and then infectious titer was determined by micro cytopathogenic effect assay， observing cytopathic effect （CPE）， and real-time fluorescence quantitative testing. Results:SARS-CoV-2 was stable under 4 °C. The infectivity of high concentration （10^-1 dilution） under 22.5 °C for seven days gradually decreased， while lower concentration completely lost infectivity after one day. The virus lost infectivity when stored at 37 °C for more than one day. Conclusion:SARS-CoV-2 is highly stable at 4 °C， sensitive to heat， and related to virus concentration.