Diabetic nephropapthy (DN) is a common cause of end-stage renal disease.Early diagnosis and treatment are significant for delaying the development of DN.Smad proteins mediate transforming growth factor β superfamily intracellular signal transduction.Recent studies have found that Smad1 protein plays an important role in the process of renal fibrosis.Urine Smad1 emerges in the early stage of DN,which is expected to be a non-invasive indicator in early diagnosis of DN.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of highly conserved non-coding small RNA molecules.They regulate gene expression by inhibiting transcription or translation.Ischemic stroke is one of the major diseases of resulting in death and disability worldwide.The final outcome of its pathological process is neuronal death.Neuronal apoptosis is mainly seen in ischemic penumbra,and saving the neurons in penumbra are the key to the treatment of ischemic stroke.This article reviews the roles of miRNAs in the neuronal apoptosis during cerebral ischemia.

Objective To study the clinical efficacy and safety of leflunomide combined with irbesartan in the treatment of lupus nephritis . Methods 80 cases of patients with lupus nephritis in Yueqing Hospital Affiliated to Wenzhou Medical University from May 2014 to May 2016 were selected and randomly divided into leflunomide group ( leflunomide combined with irbesartan group ) and cyclophosphamide group ( cyclophosphamide combined with irbesartan group),40 cases in each group.The urine indexes and blood indexes levels,clinical curative effect,adverse reaction of the two groups were statistically analyzed.Results The 24h urine protein,urine beta 2-MG,urine red blood cell count,blood beta beta2-MG,ESR,Cr levels of the leflunomide group were significantly lower (P<0.05),the serum albumin,C3 levels were significantly higher (P<0.05),the total treatment efficiency 97.5%was significantly higher than the cyclophosphamide group 82.5%(P<0.05),the incidence of adverse reactions 5.0%was significantly lower than the cyclophosphamide group 22.5%(P<0.05).Conclusion Leflunomide combined with irbesartan is safe and effective in the treatment of lupus nephritis.

Objective To investigate the feasibility of using ultrasound‐mediated destruction of microbubbles ( US+ MB) to enhance the transplantation of endothelial progenitor cells ( EPCs) to confer chronic allograft vasculopathy (CAV) .Methods Bone marrow derived mononuclear cells were isolated and induced in vitro . The abdominal aorta transplantation was performed . Four groups were divided:control group without treatment (group A) ,injection with saline (group B) ,injection with EPCs (group C) ,group D ( US+MB+EPCs) was injected with EPCs and US was applied to MB prior to the infusion . All rats were killed during 8 weeks after transplantation to enable histological examination;SDF‐1α expression was detected by immunohistochemistry ,the expression of SDF‐1αand TNF‐αin the grafted aortas were detected with RT‐PCR . Results When 8 weeks after EPCs transplantation ,there was a significant improvement in aortic intima of Group D compared with Group B and C ,respectively ( P <0 .05) . In addition ,treatment of Group D significantly increased the expression of SDF‐1αand reduced the expression of TNF‐αin the grafted aortas . Conclusions US‐mediated MB destruction prior to EPCs transplantation into the grafted aortas can improves the effectiveness of endothelial repair and delay the progress of CAV .

The activation of coagulation system,especially in the occurrence and development of cardiogenic cerebral embolism,plays an important role.As one of the major preventive measures in ischemic stroke,the anticoagulant therapy is getting more and more attention.At the same time,the studies of anticoagulant drugs aiming to the intervention of different links in coagulation pathway have also made significant progress.

Objective To study factors used to predict 30-day mortality and favorable outcomes to intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) in young adult subjects and to estimate the reliability of these predictors.Methods Data of 175 acute ICH patients selected from 201 patients admitted to our hospital from 2008 to 2011 were reviewed retrospectively.Patients were assessed with Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and routine laboratory examinations after admission.Independent predictors of 30-day mortality or good outcome (modified Rankin score,0-2) were identified by stepwise logistic regression.Results There were 90 male and 85 female,and 142 survivals and 33 deaths.The modified Rankin score (mRS) of survival group was ＜6 and mRS =6 in death group,and mRS ＜3 in good outcome group and mRS ＞ or =3 in poor outcome group.Independent factors for 30-day mortality were hypertension (P =0.023) or hyperglycemia (P =0.007),infra-tentorial ICH (P =0.000),large ICH volume (P =0.008),low Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores (P =0.000),high white blood cell count (P =0.000),higher blood glucose level (P =0.039) and prothrombin time (PT) (P =0.001) after admission.Independent factors for 30-day good outcome were younger age (P =0.001),normal blood pressure (P=0.010) or absence of hyperglycemia (P=0.028),lower NIHSS scores (P=0.000),small ICH volume (P =0.000),low white blood cell (WBC) count (P =0.000),lower blood glucose level (P =0.012) or lower systolic blood pressure (SBP) level (P =0.000) at admission.The NIHSS score and GCS score were excellent predictors,while the SBP level,WBC count and ICH volume were fine predictors.Conclusions Overall prognostic factors should be integrated to get high reliabilities for predicting the outcomes of ICH in young people.

Objective:Characteristics of the retroperitoneal tumor blood supply arteries were analyzed to evaluate the safety and effec-tiveness of preoperative interventional embolization for benign and malignant retroperitoneal tumors. Methods:A total of 241 cases were divided into benign retroperitoneal tumor group and malignant retroperitoneal tumor group. Each group was divided into groups A, B, and C according to the long diameter of the tumor tissue. Group A>10.0 cm, 5.0 cm0.05). Significant differences in intraoperative bleeding and intraoperative blood transfusion were found between groups A and B (P<0.05). Main arteries of the abdominal retroperitoneal tumor are the lumbar, internal iliac, and adrenal arteries. The main artery of pelvic retroperitoneal tumor is the internal iliac artery. Conclusion:Preoperative interventional embolization can effec-tively reduce the risk of bleeding during malignant retroperitoneal tumor surgery and improve the perioperative safety of patients. No significant benefit of benign retroperitoneal tumors and no increased risk of bleeding during surgery were observed. Retroperitoneal tumor preoperative embolization should focus on investigating the lumbar, internal iliac, and adrenal arteries.

ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of 1-3-n-Butylphthalide on the blood-brain barrier (BBB) following whole brain irradiation in rats.Methods144 male Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into sham-irradiation group,irradiation group,1-3-n-Butylphthalide group,and irradiation plus 1-3-n-Butylphthalide group.Whole-brain irradiation was given as a single-dose of 10 Gy using 4 MV X-ray.The rats were injected intraperitoneally with 1-3-n-Butylphthalide at 0.3 mg/kg,1.0 mg/kg,3.0 mg/kg once per day.The changes of the BBB were assessed by Evans blue (EB) assay.The expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the brain tissue was determined by immunohistochemistry. The circulating endothelial cells (CECs) isolated from right ventricular blood were counted.MRI was evaluated with the T1-weighted images,T2-weighted images and MRI enhancement images induced by Gd-DTPA.The data were compared among the groups through Student-Newman-Keuls test.ResultsCompared with the sham-irradiation group,the EB content,the expression of VEGF in the brain tissue and the CECs were significantly increased in the irradiation group (2.81∶ 7.82,P =0.002;5.83∶ 10.26,P=0.003;3.16∶6.14,P =0.002).The signal intensity of T1-weighted images was significantly decreased while T2-weighted images and the enhancement rate significantly increased in the irradiation group (P =0.004 -0.018 ).Compared with irradiation group,the EB content,the expression of VEGF and the CECs were decreased significantly in the irradiation plus 1-3-n-Butylphthalide group ( 7.80∶ 3.86,P =0.007 ; 10.83 ∶ 5.26,P =0.008 ;6.36∶ 3.64,P =0.009 ).However,the changes in the MRI were significantly attenuated ( P =0.008-0.026,and 0.006 -0.038,respectively).Conclusions Following whole brain irradiation,1-3-n-Butylphthalide can decrease the permeability of the BBB in rats via decreasing VEGF expression and decreasing the CECs.

Objective To investigate the protective effect and its mechanism of DL-3-n-Butylphthalide on the brain damage in rats following whole brain irradiation.Methods A total of 120 male Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into sham-irradiation group,irradiatien group and DL-3-n-Butylphthalide group.The model of whole-brain irradiatien was established by exposuring rat brain to 4 MeV X-rays with a single-dose of 10 Gy.The rats were intraperitoneally injected with DL-3-n-Butylphthalide at the dosages of 0.3,1.0,and 3.0 mg/kg once a day.The contents of malondialdchyde and super oxide dismutase activity were measured,while the expressions of apoptosis-associated genes and the ultrastructural changes in hippocampus were examined by immunohistnchemisty staining and electron microscope,respectively.Results After irradiation,the content of malondialdehyde and the expression of apoptosis gene bax in rat brain tissue increased while the activity of super oxide dismutase(SOD) and the expression of anti-apoptosis gene bcl-2 decreased.Apoptosis was also observed in the neurons of hippocampus CA1.Compared with irradiation group,the content of malondialdehyde and the expression of bax gene in the DL-3-n-Butylphthalide group wen significantly reduced ( t =-3.89--1.96,2.72-3.48,P ＜ 0.05 ),while the activity of SOD and bcl-2 gene were significantly elevated ( t =2.94-3.76,-3.18--2.08,P ＜ 0.05),and the injury degree of neuron structure in the DL-3-n-Butylphthalide group was slighter than that in the irradiation group.Conclusions DL-3-n-Butylphthalide executes protective effects in a dose-dependent manner againest the radiation injury in rats brain by reducing the induction of malondialdehyde,raising the activity of SOD and inhibiting the generation of apoptosis.

Endothelial cells (ECs) with a variety of functions are vulnerable to attack by various risk factors. These risk factors of vascular pathology lead to endothelial dysfunction (ED). However, the present methods of evaluating ED have their limitations. Atomic force microscope (AFM), which can offer the information on the surface images and the mechanical properties of the single cell at nanometer scale, will become a new technical approach to ED evaluation. This review focuses on the recent progress in the application of AFM to assess ED.
Endothelial Cells ; cytology ; physiology ; Humans ; Microscopy, Atomic Force ; methods