Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Cluster Analysis ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Humans ; Liver Diseases ; classification ; epidemiology ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Middle Aged ; Yang Deficiency ; classification ; epidemiology ; Yin Deficiency ; classification ; epidemiology

Objective To investigate the molecular mechanisms for the development of cardiac hypertrophy in hypertension,the present study provided the differential protein expression analysis of hypertrophied heart at differ- ent stages in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR).Methods The profiles of protein expression of left ventricu lar myocardium in SHR and its normotensive control Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats at the age of 4 and 20 weeks were analyzed with two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) in combination with matrix assisted laser desorption ioniza- tion-time of flight (MALDI-TOF-TOF) mass spectrometry.Results Although the blood pressure of SHR was normal at 4 weeks age,hypertrophy of the left ventricle had already developed.The expression pattern in the hy- pertrophic myocardium was found 27 modulated proteins,20 of which were identified.These proteins are involved in reactions of energy metabolism,mitoehondrial oxidative phosphorylation and oxidative stress,etc.The expres- sion of 13 proteins was significantly changed in SHR rats at early stage prior to the development of sustained hyper- tension,while the expression changes of other 7 proteins occurred only at late stage in SHR rats when the blood pressure was significantly elevated.Conclusions lncrease in glycolysis and decrease in oxidation of fatty acid and glucose was shown in the hypertrophied myocardium from early stage in SHR prior to the development of hyperten sion.The significant changes in protein expression of the mitochondrial electron transport chain and antioxidative molecules support the hypothesis that oxidative stress promotes and accelerates the development of hypertensive car- diac hypertrophy.

OBJECTIVETo study the protective effect of Ligustrazine Injection (LI) against cisplatin-induced ototoxicity and to explore its mechanism.

METHODSThirty healthy adult guinea pigs were randomly divided into three groups, 10 in each group, i.e., the normal control group, the cisplatin group, and the LI group. Guinea pigs in the normal control group were intraperitoneally injected with normal saline at 3 mL/kg for 7 consecutive days. Those in the cisplatin group were intraperitoneally injected with cisplatin at 3 mg/kg for 7 consecutive days. Those in the LI group were intraperitoneally injected with LI at 140 mg/kg for 7 days, but cisplatin (3 mg/kg) was intraperitoneally injected from the opposite side starting from the 4th day. Brainstem auditory evoked potential (BAEP) was performed in all animals before and after injection. All animals were sacrificed after the final testing under anesthesia and their cochleas collected. Half the cochleas of each group were collected for silver nitrate staining of cochlear basilar membrane stretched. The other half the cochleas of each group made into paraffin sections to observe the apoptosis of cochlea cells by TUNEL method and the expression levels of c-Jun detected by immunohistochemistry.

RESULTSThere was no statistical difference in the difference of BAEP threshold among the 3 groups before injection (P > 0.05), but the BAEP threshold increased in the cisplatin group and the LI group (P < 0.05). Besides, it was higher in the cisplatin group (P < 0.05). In the cisplatin group, most hair cells were missing, spiral ganglion cells obviously decreased, more TUNEL positive cells occurred, and the expression of c-Jun was stronger. But the aforesaid impairment in the LI group was obviously lessened (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSLI showed certain antagonist effect on cisplatin-induced ototoxicity. Its mechanism might be associated with scavenging oxygen radicals of the cochlea tissue, improving the microcirculation, and fighting against apoptosis.

Animals ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Cisplatin ; toxicity ; Cochlea ; drug effects ; metabolism ; pathology ; Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem ; Guinea Pigs ; Pyrazines ; pharmacology ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; metabolism

To prepare the RNAse-resistant virus particles containing the partial gene fragments of avian influenza virus H5N1 for use as RNA standard and control in RNA virus detection, the genes coding the coat protein and maturase of E.coli bacteriophage MS2 were amplified by PCR and then cloned into prokaryotic expression vector pET32a to construct the intermediate vector pET32a-MS2. In addition, the gene sequences coding hemagglutinin (HA), neuraminidase(NA) and M protein of the H5N1 virus were also cloned separately to the down-stream of plasmid pET32a-MS2, thus constructing the prokaryotic expression vectors pET32a-NS2-HA, pET32a-MS2-NA and pET32a-MS2-M. These recombinant plasmids were then transformed separately to E.coli BL21(DE3) with induction by IPTG. to express the virus-like particles. The virus-like particles observed under electron microscopy were identified by RT-PCR ,while their stability was confirmed by real-time RT-PCR. In this way, the virus-like particles were successively constructed and identified through PCR amplification, enzymolysis identification and sequencing analysis. These virus-like particles observed under electron microscopy appeared to be circular in shape with a diameter of about 50 nm. Their stability was proved to be rather good. From these observations, it is apparent that these virus-like particles can be used as RNA standard and quality control in the detection of avian influenza virus H5N1.

Objective:To explore the pathogenesis of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome(MODS)with respect to the bal- ance of Th1/Th2.Methods:Eighteen healthy male minipigs,weighing 22-30 kg,were randomly divided into two groups: MODS group and control group.Double-hit method including hemorrhagic shock and endotoxiemia was used to establish the porcine MODS model.The peripheral vein blood samples were collected at different time-points(before bloodletting,before en- dotoxin injection,1 h,24 h,48 h and 72 h after endotoxin injection)in the two groups.The spleen samples were collected after death of the animals.Plasma levels of IFN-?and IL-4 were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).Real- time PCR was used to detect the expression of IFN-?,IL-4,T-bet and GATA-3 mRNA(The latter 2 were the key transcription factors associated with Th1/Th2 response)in the spleen samples.Results:The plasma levels of IFN-?and IL-4 quickly reached the peak values 1 h after the endotoxin injection,then the level of IFN-?decreased quickly.The ratio of IFN-?/IL-4 was signifi- cantly lower than the baseline value 72 h after endotoxin injection(P=0.000).The ratio of IFN-?/IL-4 mRNA in MODS group was obviously lower than that in the control group(P=0.020);the ratio of T-bet/GATA-3 was also lower in MODS group (P=0.038).Conclusion:The shift from Th1 to Th2 occurs in the progress of MODS.

BACKGROUND: von Willebrand factor (vWF) is only released from endothelial cells and platelets and is an in vivo and in vitro marker of endothelial injury in septic patients with acute lung injury (ALI). Interleukin-8 (IL-8), as a proinflammatory mediator causing recruitment of inflammatory cells, induces an increase in oxidant stress mediators and makes it as a key parameter for localized inflammation. However, it has not been well established whether the level of serum IL-8 is associated with the severity of lung injury and whether it is a prognosis marker for severe lung contusion. This study was to investigate the expression of plasma vWF and IL-8 and their association with the severity and outcomes of severe pulmonary contusion. METHODS: A total of 63 patients were divided into a severe pulmonary contusion with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) group and a non-ARDS group, or a survivor group and a non-survivor group, or an injury severity score (ISS) <20 group and an ISS ≥20 group. Another 20 healthy volunteers served as controls. The levels of plasma vWF and serum IL-8 were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) at 1, 3, 5 and 7 days after injury. The expression patterns of the plasma vWF and serum IL-8 were compared between different groups. RESULTS: The concentrations of plasma vWF and serum IL-8 were significantly increased in all severe pulmonary contusion patients at all time points in comparison with the control group. The concentrations of plasma vWF in patients with ARDS increased during the whole study period, but vWF in patients with non-ARDS increased gradually until day 5 and then decreased at day 7. The concentration of serum IL-8 showed a similar expression pattern in both groups, but the expression increased more significantly in the ARDS group than in the non-ARDS group. Interestingly, both plasma vWF and serum IL-8 levels steadily increased in the non-survivor group. Furthermore, the level of plasma vWF was higher in the ISS≥20 group than in the ISS<20 group. The level of serum IL-8 in the ISS≥20 group was consistently high, while that in the ISS<20 group peaked at day 3 and decreased at day 5. In addition, the level of plasma vWF was positively correlated with platelet count, but negatively correlated with oxygen index. The level of serum IL-8 was positively correlated with white blood cell count and ISS score, and inversely correlated with oxygen index. CONCLUSION: The elevated levels of plasma vWF and serum IL-8 in severe pulmonary contusion patients reflect the severity of pulmonary injury and patients outcomes, suggesting that the plasma vWF and serum IL-8 are sensitive markers for clinical evaluation of the severity of pulmonary injury and predication of patient prognosis.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the characteristics and influencing factors leading to sudden cardiac death (SCD) of incarcerated prisoners. METHODS: Seventy-five SCD cases of prisoners between 2000 and 2013 in Henan province were collected, and environment, psychological and physical factors were retrospectively analyzed. Combined with histopathological results, specific factors of SCD were also studied. RESULTS: In the 75 cases, 21 cases (28%) had definite chronic past medical histories, and 75 cases (100%) had cardiovascular disease confirmed by autopsy. CONCLUSION Due to presence of the potential cardiac diseases, special incarcerated environment, psychological stress, and body-restraint might be the precipitating factors in SCD of those prisoners.
Autopsy ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Death, Sudden, Cardiac ; Environment ; Humans ; Mental Disorders ; Prisoners ; Retrospective Studies ; Stress, Psychological

Objective To explore acute toxicity of succimer on mice.Methods Twenty Kunming mice(10 males and 10 females) weighting approximately (21.2?2.3)g were acclimatized for 3 days prior to dosing,then were divided into control group and experiment group with 10 mice in each group according to body weight.Fasted for 12 hours,the mice in experiment group received intragastric administration of 160mg DMSA in deionized water in 24 hours,and the control group received the same volume of deionized water,and then they were observed for 7 days.Blood was collected into heparinized-tubes by removal of eyeball.All mice were sacrificed and brain,heart,liver and kidney were removed and washed with normal saline.The activity or amount of BUN,Scr,AST,ALT,SOD, GSH-PX and MDA were analyzed.Results (1)Given 160rag DMSA in 24 hours,gastrointestinal symptoms were main side effects.During the observation,experiment group lost weight due to the decrease of food-intake ,and some mice had slight hydroabdomen.(2)High dose of DMSA caused a significant inhibition of GSH-PX(P0.05).The hepatic cell was damaged accord- ing to the significant raise of MDA in liver(P0.05),which was related to acute toxicity on liver.Conclusion Succimer could inhibit the antioxidarrt systems and could do damage to liver and kidney.

OBJECTIVETo study the clinical effect of combined treatment with gamma-globulin, corticosteroids, immunosuppressor and Chinese medicines on systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients characterized by hypoplastic bone marrow (HBM).

METHODSNineteen patients were randomly assigned to two groups, the treated group (10 cases) received combined therapy of prednisone and cyclophosphamide (CTX) plus Chinese medicine Langchuang Recipe after being treated impactively with gamma-globulin. The control group (9 cases) was treated with prednisone and CTX. Changes of hypoplastic bone marrow, peripheral white blood cell (WBC), complement C3, 24 h urinary protein excretion, and lupus activity index (LAI) were observed, and a follow-up was carried out for one year.

RESULTSAfter one-month treatment, the bone marrow hypoplasia was relieved significantly in the treated group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01), showing an improvement superior to that in the control group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01); after three months treatment, the level of complement C3 increased (P < 0.01), while the 24 h urinary protein excretion and LAI decreased in the treated group (P < 0.05), showing significant difference as compared with those in the control group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). In the follow-up period, 3 cases withdrew from the trial because of infection and 4 cases manifested full moon-face and acne in the control group, while no adverse reaction was found in the treated group.

CONCLUSIONTreatment with integrated Chinese and Western medicine could effectively improve bone marrow hypoplasia, alleviate the clinical symptoms, suppress the activity of lupus in patients, and reduce the adverse reaction of treatment, showing a superiority to the treatment with prednisone combining with CTX.

Adult ; Cyclophosphamide ; therapeutic use ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic ; complications ; drug therapy ; Male ; Myelodysplastic Syndromes ; complications ; drug therapy ; Phytotherapy ; Prednisone ; therapeutic use ; Treatment Outcome ; gamma-Globins ; therapeutic use

Objective To compare the effect of right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) and right ventricular apex (RVA) pacing on ventricular systolic synchrony using gated blood pool SPECT (GBPS).Methods A total of 50 patients implanted with pacemaker due to high degree or complete atria-ventricular block were enrolled in the study. Twenty-three patients were RVOT paced ( Group A, n = 23) and 27 were RVA paced (Group B, n=27). Twenty-four patients with malignancy, normal echocardiographic findings and no history of cardiac diseases were scheduled for pre-chemotherapy evaluation of cardiac structure and function and were enrolled as control group ( Group C, n = 24). All patients underwent GBPS imaging and the values of phase angle (PS), mean phase of each wall, standard deviation (SD) of mean phase of each wall, lateral-septal motion delay of left ventricle ( LV Sep-Lat Delay), septal-right ventricular (RV) delay of LV ( LV Sep-RV Delay) and LV-RV Delay were acquired. The parameters of ventricular systolic synchrony among the three groups were compared using one-way ANOVA. Results The mean phase of LV lateral wall in Groups A and B were significantly higher than that in Group C: Group A (120.50 ±40.58) ms; Group B (103.23±28.34) ms; Group C (84.63 ±22.38) ms (F=7.72, P ＜0.05). There was no significant difference between Groups A and B ( t = 1.30, P ＞ 0.05 ). The mean phase of RV in Group A was significantly larger than those in Groups B and C: Group A ( 137.05 ± 39.27) ms, Group B ( 100.85 ± 23.79) ms,Group C (59. 13 ±30.52) ms (F=35.55, P＜0.05). PS, SD and LV Sep-Lat Delay in Groups A and B were significantly higher than those in Group C: (85.73 ± 12.00)°vs (89.85 ± 15.61 )°vs (58.95 ±9.87)°, (27.68±10.66) ms vs (26.15 ±13.02) ms vs (15.63 ±8.35) ms, (25.06±34.23) ms vs (2. 62 ± 60. 31 ) ms vs ( - 23.66 ± 31.39) ms, F = 41.54,8.55,6.81, all P ＜ 0.01 ), however, there was no significant difference between Groups A and B ( t = 0. 68, 0.68, 1.30, all P ＞ 0.05 ). LV Sep-RV Delay and LV-RV Delay were significantly different among the three groups ( LV Sep-RV Delay: Group A (57.60 ±56.77) ms, Group B (6.36 ±61.88) ms, Group C ( -41.89 ±35.78) ms; LV-RV Delay:Group A (47.36 ±42.59) ms, Group B ( 3.08 ± 38.81 ) ms Group C ( - 26.50 ± 20.99 ) ms, F = 20. 32,25.38, both P ＜ 0.01 ). Conclusion Both RVA and RVOT pacing increase the segmental phases detected by GBPS, causing inter- and intra- ventricular asynchrony compared with patients without pacemakers.