To investigate the effects of catechin on angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) activity, angiotensin II(Ang II) content and microvessel density (MVD) in renal tissues of 5/6 nephrectomized rats.

Eleven C21 steroids were isolated from chloroform extract of roots of Cynanchum otophyllumby silica gel, MCI, ODS columns, and semi-preparative HPLC. Their structures were determined by spectroscopic data analysis as otophylloside B(1), caudatin-3-O-beta-D-cymaropyranosyl-(1-->4)-beta-D-oleandropyranosyl-(1-->4)-beta-D-cymaropyranosyl-(1-->4)-beta-D-cymaropyranoside (2), caudatin-3-O-beta-D-oleandropyranosyl-(1-->4)-beta-D-oleandropyranosyl-(1-->4)-beta-D-cymaropyranosyl-(1-->4)-beta-D-cymaropyranoside (3), caudatin-3-O-beta-D-oleandropyranosyl-(1-->4)-beta-D-digitoxopyranosyl-(1-->4)-beta-D-cymaropyranoside (4), otophylloside O (5), gagamine-3-O-beta-D-oleandropyranosyl-(1-->4)-beta-D-cymaropyranosyl-(1-->4)-beta-D-cymaropyranoside (6), sinomarinoside B (7), mucronatosides C (8), wallicoside J (9), stephanoside H (10), and qinyangshengenin-3-O-beta-D-oleandropyranosyl-(1-->4)-beta-D-cymaropyranosyl-(1-->4)-beta-D-digitoxopyranoside (11). Among them, compounds 2-3, and 6-11 were separated from the roots of this plant for the first time.
Cynanchum ; chemistry ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Molecular Structure ; Plant Roots ; chemistry ; Steroids ; chemistry ; isolation & purification

Hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia (HED) is a hereditary disorder characterized by abnormal development of tissues derived from ectoderm. A case of hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia was reported, and the molecular biological progress in this area were reviewed.
Ectodermal Dysplasia 1, Anhidrotic ; Humans

Objective To study the mechanism of the protective effect of α_(1A)-AR antagonist Tamsulosin (Tam) on renal ischemic injury in hepatorenal syndrome (HRS) rats. Methods HRS was induced in male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats by intraperitoneal injection of D-(+)-galactosamine hydrochloride (GalN). Thirty-two HRS rats were divided into 3 groups randomly. Then surgical occlusions of the infrahepatic inferior vena cave (OIVC) were performed; Tam, an α_(1A)-AR antagonist, was administered daily before injection of GalN. During the operation, hemodynamic changes of the kidney and liver were measured by laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF). Serum samples were collected to measure serum levels of liver and renal function. At the same time, renal and liver samples were harvested and stained by HE and immunohistochemistry. Other parts of the sample were fixed with 2.5% glutaral to observe the cellular ultrastructure of renal and vascular endothelium by electron microscope. Results OIVC developed much severe ischemic injury in the kidney and liver of HRS rats. The renal cortex blood perfusion (RCBP) of HRS rats decreased rapidly after OIVC, and did not return to baseline after reflow. Pathological study showed severe injury of the liver and kidney. However, expressions of alpha-1 AR on renal artery and kidney were reduced in those rats that had received Tam before OIVC. Histological examination of the kidney also showed few abnormalities. Conclusion Marked increases of contractive response of renal artery of HRS rats induced by up-regulation of α_1-AR may be associated with a high risk of progression to acute renal failure in HRS rats after ischemia. Tamsulosin has a protective effect on renal ischemic injury through reducing α_(1A)-AR overexpression in HRS rats.

Objective:To evaluate the capacity and level of melting point determination of chemical drugs in the laboratories par-ticipating in the proficiency testing. Methods:Two test samples were prepared, and the labs volunteered to participate in the proficien-cy testing program ( PTP) . The melting point determination was performed according to the general principle 0612 in part four of Chi-nese Pharmacopoeia (2015 edition), and the results were analyzed by robust statistics and the determination proficiency of the laborato-ries were evaluated by Z-score. Results:The analysis showed that two test samples were homogeneous and stable, which met the re-quirements of the PTP. Totally 31 laboratories had satisfactory results, which accounted for 83. 8%. Conclusion:The majority of the participant laboratories can accurately determine the melting points of test samples, and the information is very helpful to the next profi-ciency testing program.

Objective To discuss the role of EB virus (EBV)in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE) in children through investigating the copies of EBV DNA and expression of EBV genes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMCs).Methods (1)PBMCs were isolated from 30 patients with SLE and 12 healthy normal controls respectively and DNA was extracted from PBMCs.(2) PBMCs were co-cultured with EBV for 12 days and RNA was extracted from PBMCs.(3)Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR(Real-time PCR) was applied to detect the copies of EBV DNA in PBMCs.(4)Reverse transcription PCR was applied to detect expression of EBV genes.Results (1) Compared with the healthy control group [(40.1 ± 11.6) copies/μg],a significant increase of EBV DNA copies was observed in SLE group[(658.6 ± 183.6) copies/μg] (P ＜0.05).The EBV DNA copies in the active SLE group [(785.2 ± 179.2) copies/μg] were significantly higher than those in the non-active SLE group [(586.0 ± 193.1) copies/μg] (P ＜ 0.05).(2)There was no correlation between EBV DNA copies and systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity index (r =0.03,P ＞ 0.05).(3) After PBMCs got co-cultured with EBV,expression of latent EBV genes and lytic genes were both increased in the patients and healthy controls.The latent EBV genes including latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1),LMP2,EBV nuclear antigen 1 and the lytic genes including BCRF1,BLLF1 were all increased significantly in the patients compared with the healthy controls (all P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions There is a significant increase of EBV DNA copies and aberrant expression of EBV genes in SLE patients,which suggests that EBV may contribute to the pathogenesis of SLE.

Objective To investigate the expression and significance of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) genes in children with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).Methods Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated from 20 children with SLE and 12 healthy human controls.Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was conducted to detect anti-EBV viral capsid antigen (VCA) IgG/IgM antibodies.The culture supernatants of cells from patients with anti-EBV VCA IgG/IgM antibodies were collected,and PBMCs from the patients and controls were co-cultured with the supernatants respectively for 12 days.RNA was extracted from PBMCs before and after the coculture,and reverse transcription-PCR was performed to detect the expression of EBV genes,including LMP1,LMP2,EBNA1,BCRF1,BLLF1 and BILF1 genes.Results LMP1 gene was detected in fresh PBMCs from 10 out of 20 patients and 1 out of 12 controls (P ＜ 0.05).No significant differences were observed between the patients and controls in the detection rate of LMP2 gene (4/20 vs.1/12),EBNA1 gene (13/20 vs.3/12),BCRF1 gene (3/20 vs.1/12) or BLLF1 gene (5/20 vs.2/12) in fresh PBMCs.After co-culture with the supernatants of cells from patients with anti-EBV VCA IgG/IgM antibodies,the expressions of EBV genes in these PBMCs were increased to different degrees,and there was a significant difference in the expressions of EBV latent genes LMP1,LMP2 and EBNA-1 as well as EBV replicative genes BCRF1 and BLLF1 between the patient-derived and control-derived PBMCs (all P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions There is an aberrant expression of EBV genes in children with SLE,and EBV genes may contribute to the development of SLE.

Objective To investigate the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen(PCNA) in renal tissues of children with primary nephrotic syndrome(NS),and elucidate the relationship between PCNA expression and cell proliferation in renal tissues from the children with primary NS.Methods Paraffin-embedded renal biopsy tissue sections from 39 patients with primary NS were examined by immunohistochemical staining with anti-PCNA monoclonal antibody,normal renal tissue sections from 6 nephrectomized patients with nephroma were selected as control. Possible correlation between the percentage of PCNA positive cells and the pathologic type , histopathological score, clinical indices (serum albumin ,serum cholesterol ,serum creatinine and 24 hours urine protein ) before renal biopsy of NS were evaluated separately .Results The percentage of PCNA positive cells in glomeruli and tubulom terstitium of NS patients was significantly higher than that of the control (P

AIM:To investigate the safety and effect of femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery with Cionni modified capsular tension ring (MCTR) implantation in the management of traumatic lens subluxation.METHODS: Totally 11 patients (11 eyes) with traumatic lens subluxation were divided into three groups according to the severity of lens dislocation, ranging from 90° to 120° (4 eyes), 120° to 180° (5 eyes) and 180° to 270° (2 eyes).The contact LenSx femtosecond laser cataract surgery platform was applied to create the capsulotomy, prepare nuclear fragmentation and make corneal wound creation.Anterior vitrectomy was performed in some patients during the surgery.After capsular retractors insertion and phacoemulsification, the MCTR was inserted to the capsular bag and fixed to the sclera.Finally, the IOL was implanted into the capsular bag.Postoperative visual acuity, intra-and post-operative complications, anterior capsular opening, IOL and MCTR position and intraocular pressure (IOP) were assessed.RESULTS:The duration of follow-up was 2mo.All the operations were completed successfully.Five eyes underwent cataract surgery combined with anterior vitrectomy.Four eyes had been inserted with 2-eyelet MCTR and seven eyes with 1-eyelet MCTR.The best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) after operation was better than 0.5 in 4 eyes, between 0.3 and 0.5 in 3 eyes, between 0.1 and 0.3 in 3 eyes, and less than 0.1 in 1 eye.Compared with preoperative BCVA, the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05).All the IOLs were stably centered and the eyelet of MCTR was fixated steadily between the iris and the anterior capsule.The common intra-and post-operative complications were subconjunctival hemorrhage, incomplete capsulotomy, residual cortex, secondary glaucoma and posterior capsular opacification.CONCLUSION:Femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery can improve the success rate of capsulorhexis, and reduce the difficulty of nuclear fragmentation.Femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery combined with MCTR implantation is an ideal surgical method for traumatic lens subluxation.