OBJECTIVETo discuss the results and significance of the detection of the CFTR gene mutation in azoospermia patients with congenital unilateral absence of the vas deferens (CUAVD).

METHODSWe collected peripheral blood samples from 6 azoospermia patients with CUAVD for detection of the CFTR gene mutations and single nucleotide polymorphisms. We analyzed the genome sequences of the CFTR gene in comparison with the website of the UCSC Genome Browser on Human Dec. 2013 Assembly.

RESULTSMissense mutation of c. 592G > C in exon 6 was found in 1 of the 6 azoospermia patients with CUAVD and splicing mutation of c. 1210-12T[5] was observed in the noncoding region before exon 10 in 2 of the patients, both with the V470 haplotype in exon 11.

CONCLUSIONMutations of the CFTR gene can be detected in azoospermia patients with CUAVD and the detection of the CFTR gene mutation is necessary for these patients.

Azoospermia ; genetics ; Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator ; genetics ; Exons ; Humans ; Male ; Male Urogenital Diseases ; genetics ; Mutation, Missense ; genetics ; Vas Deferens ; abnormalities

Adolescent ; Adult ; Arsenic Poisoning ; drug therapy ; Child ; Chronic Disease ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Phytotherapy

Objective To observe the contents of acid phosphatase (ACP) of Oncomelania snails infected with Schistosma japonicum.Methods Both the blood lymphocytes of positive and negative Oncomelania snails were dyed with the histochemistry staining method and their ACPs were observed under a microscope. Results The contents of ACP in the positive Oncomelania snails increased, being significantly higher than those in the negative snails. Conclusion The contents of ACP increase in Oncomelania snails infected with Schistosoma japonicum and ACP may have the defence function.

Objective To explore the early diagnostic significance of anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide(CCP) antibody and hidden rheumatoid factor immunoglobulin M(HRF-IgM) detected by ELISA in patients with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis(JRA). Methods The synthesized CCP was used as the antigen to detect anti-CCP antibody. Anti-CCP antibody and HRF-IgM were detected dynamically in 27 patients with early diagnosed JRA and their specificity and sensitivity were determined for early diagnosed JRA by calculating the positive predicting value (PPV) and negative predicting value (NPV). Results The total positive rate of anti-CCP antibody and HRF-IgM were 58.5 % and 65.0 % respectively in patients with JRA. The sensitivity of HRF-IgM was more predominant than that of anti-CCP antibody. There was a positive correlation between the positive rate of antibodies and the subtype of JRA. The specificity of anti-CCP antibody for predicting early JRA was superior to that of HRF-IgM. When using these two tests in combination, the PPV predicting rate of early JRA was 93.7 % . Conclusions Both anti-CCP antibody and HRF-IgM are elevated in patients with JRA, which show positive correlations with the subtype of the disease. The specificity of anti-CCP antibody testing is considerably higher for diagnosing early JRA, and when it was used together with HRF-IgM testing, the PPV for JRA can be raised further.

Objective To investigate the relativity of the lupus anticoagulant(LAC), anticadiolipin antibody(aCL) - IgG,aCL-IgM,aCL-IgA levels and clinical symptoms of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and to determine the significance of the LAC level in the prognosis of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) by detecting the LAC and aCL-IgG, IgM,IgA levels in 310 children with SLE and 249 children with ITP. Methods Kadin-cephalin clotting time(KCCT) and correcting test to detect the plasma LAC level and to the serum aCL- IgG, IgM, IgA levels with enzyme - linked immunosorbent assay. Results In SLE group, there were 66.1% patients with higher LAC among whom 45.9% patients suffered from lupus nephritis , aCL subantibody level elevated in 46.8% patients (90.2% IgG and/or IgM) serum; 46.9% and 11.7% patients suffered from central nervous system diseases and blood diseases with SLE respectively. In ITP group, 36.2% patients with LAC positive were diagnosed as SLE by detecting the serum antinuclear antibody level, and 7.6% suffered from SLE subsequently in the period of 2 months to 2.4 years. Conclusions The LAC and aCL subantibody levels may have an important relativity with the clinical symptoms of SLE. The LAC is the predominant pathologic autoantibody in patients with lupus nephritis, and the aCL subantibody( IgM, IgG) levels were related to lupus thromboangiitis. The IAC level of children with ITP should be monitored in order to determine the prognosis of the disease as soon as possible.

Objective:To explore the expression and clinical significance of late autophagy in per-ipheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of patients with primary gouty arthritis (GA).Methods:Peripheral blood, clinical data, and laboratory tests were collected from 30 patients with acute gout (AG), 30 patients with intermittent gout (IG), and 50 healthy controls (HC). Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was used to detect mRNA expression levels of autophagy-related genes (ATG5, ATG12, ATG16, ATG3, ATG7, ATG10, ATG4B, LC3-2/LC3B). Measurement data conformed to normal distribution were tested using t test or analysis of variance (ANOVA), and non-normal distribution data were tested using Mann-Whitney test or Kruskal-Wallis H test. SNK was used for pairwise comparison among the three groups. Correlation between variables was tested by Spearman correlation analysis. Results:① The expression level of ATG5 mRNA,ATG12 mRNA, ATG16 mRNA, ATG10 mRNA and LC3-2 mRNA in the AG group was lower than that of the IG group and the HC group, and the expression level of the IG group was lower than that of the HC group[9.16×10 -3(6.04×10 -3, 15.00×10 -3) vs 14.48×10 -3(9.95×10 -3, 21.38×10 -3) vs 0.08×10 -3(12.21×10 -3, 42.79×10 -3), H=19.377, P<0.001; 18.89×10 -3(13.85×10 -3, 24.92×10 -3) vs 21.13×10 -3(12.11×10 -3, 28.06×10 -3) vs 33.57×10 -3(13.11×10 -3, 49.89×10 -3), H=7.545, P=0.023; 8.72×10 -3(4.96×10 -3, 13.74×10 -3) vs 10.62×10 -3(7.48×10 -3, 24.71×10 -3) vs 20.07×10 -3(11.99×10 -3, 39.56×10 -3), H=20.962, P<0.001; 1.05×10 -3(0.73×10 -3, 1.84×10 -3) vs 1.60×10 -3(0.93×10 -3, 2.58×10 -3) vs 1.69×10 -3(1.05×10 -3, 3.54×10 -3), H=8.193, P=0.017; 2.31×10 -3(1.22×10 -3, 3.53×10 -3) vs 2.78×10 -3(1.68×10 -3, 5.96×10 -3) vs 3.68×10 -3(2.00×10 -3, 5.67×10 -3) , H=7.135, P=0.028]. The expression level of ATG4B mRNA in the AG and IG group was higher than that in HC group, and there was significant difference between IG group and AG group, IG group and HC group[9.95×10 -3(6.32×10 -3, 12.23×10 -3) vs 10.86×10 -3 (8.80×10 -3, 17.03×10 -3) vs 8.07×10 -3(5.52×10 -3, 11.63×10 -3), H=8.531, P=0.014]. There was no significant difference between the ATG3 mRNA and ATG7 mRNA groups ( H=0.539, 3.739, bothall P values >0.05). ② The results of Spearman correlation analysis suggested that in patients with acute gout, ATG3 was negatively correlated with PDW and MPV ( r=-0.499, P=0.006; r=-0.463, P=0.011); ATG4B was positively correlated with HDL-C ( r=0.408, P=0.048); ATG7 was negatively correlated with GLOB ( r=-0.554, P=0.001); ATG10 was positively correlated with ALB ( r=0.412, P=0.024) and negatively correlated with Crea and hsCRP ( r=-0.459, P=0.011; r=-0.375, P=0.045); ATG12 was negatively correlated with MO ( r=-0.434, P=0.017); ATG16 was negatively correlated with ALT and AST ( r=-0.389, P=0.034; r=-0.366, P=0.047); LC3-2 was positively correlated with UA ( r=0.381, P=0.041) and negatively correlated with MPV and PDW ( r=-0.413, P=0.026; r=-0.449, P=0.015). In patients with intermittent gout, ATG3 and ATG4B were negatively correlated with apoB100 ( r=-0.555, P=0.011; r=-0.462, P=0.040); ATG5 was negatively correlated with Crea ( r=-0.456, P=0.011); ATG10 was negatively correlated with TC, LDL-C, and apoB100 ( r=-0.526, P=0.017; r=-0.556, P=0.011; r=-0.515, P=0.020). Conclusion:Autophagy is involved in the development of gout, and is correlated with ibflammatory and metabolic indicators, suggesting that autophagy is an important feature in the pathogenesis of GA.

Objective To investigate the effect of atorvastatin on the expressions of long non-coding RNA (LncRNA) metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1)and inflammation factors in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) stimulated by high glucose. Methods The expression of MALAT1 in HUVECs incubated with high glucose(30 mmol/L) for different time periods were detected by real-time PCR. Under high glucose condition, the expressions of MALAT1, interleukin-6(IL-6), and interleukin-8 (IL-8) in HUVECs were detected after MALAT1 was silenced by siRNA or atorvastatin was added. Results (1) After HUVECs were incubated with high glucose for different time periods, the expressions of MALAT1 were increased to some extent(P<0.05), with the peak at 12h (P<0.01). The levels of IL-6 and IL-8 expression and secretion were increased after HUVECs were stimulated by high glucose for 12h (P<0.05). (2)The silence of MALAT1 markedly suppressed high glucose-stimulated expression and secretion of IL-6 and IL-8 (P<0.05). (3) Atorvastatin significantly inhibited high glucose-stimulated expressions of MALAT1, IL-6, and IL-8(all P<0.05). Conclusions High glucose induces the secretion of inflammatory factors by stimulating MALAT1 expression in endothelial cells. Atorvastatin significantly inhibits high glucose-stimulated MALAT1 expression and decreases inflammatory reaction.

Depression is a common emotional disorder that seriously affects people's life and health all over the world. The pathogenesis of depression is complex, and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for antidepressants has a good therapeutic effect because of its multi-component, multi-pathway, and multi-target action mode. At present, the anti-depressive mechanism of TCM has not been fully clarified, but it is clear that depression is closely related to metabolic health. Therefore, in order to further explore the anti-depressive mechanism of TCM, this paper proposes research strategies on the anti-depressive mechanism of TCM based on functional metabolomics from the perspective of metabolism, the potential biomarkers of depression are analyzed with the help of multi-omics combined analysis technology, and the functional molecules of TCM for antidepressant are studied. Molecular biology techniques are used to accurately capture the molecular interactions between biomarkers of depression and functional compounds, which identify effective drug targets and further elucidate the biochemical functions and related mechanisms involved in depression metabolic disorders. This paper systematically reviews the research strategies and applications of functional metabolomics in the anti-depressive mechanisms of TCM, expounds on the core value of functional metabolomics, and summarizes the current research status and hot issues of TCM for antidepressants in recent years, providing new methods and new ideas for the study of mechanisms of TCM with the help of functional metabolomics.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the protective effects of daidzein (DD) on ventricular remodeling in rats with myocardial hypertrophy induced by pressure overload and its mechanism.

METHODMyocardial hypertrophy model of rats induced by pressure overload was prepared by constricting abdominal aorta. The operated rats were randomly divided into sham operated control group, aorta-constricted model group and three DD groups (30, 60, 120 mg kg(-1)). Four weeks later, the heart-weight (HW), left ventricular weight (LVW), the ratio of HW/BW and LVW/BW (LVI) and the cardio-myocyte diameters (MD) after dyeing by HE colar were measured. The hydroxyroline, nitric oxide (NO) and the activity of nitric oxide synthetase (NOS) and Na+ -K+ -ATPase, Ca2+ -ATPase in left ventricle were quantified with spectrophotometry and the angiotension II (Ang II) in left ventricle and serum was messured with radioimmunoassay.

RESULTAfter treatment of the left ventricular with DD, vs aorta-contricted model group, NO content, cNOS and Na+ -K+ -ATPase, Ca2+ -ATPase activity were significantly increased, the content of AngII in left ventricle and serum and iNOS activity and the ratio of HW/BW, LVI, MD were significantly reduced.

CONCLUSIONDD has protective effects on ventricular remodeling in rats with myocardial hypertrophy induced by pressure overload and its mechanism may be related to raising NO content and reducing the level of Ang II.

Angiotensin II ; blood ; metabolism ; Animals ; Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular ; metabolism ; pathology ; Isoflavones ; pharmacology ; Male ; Myocardium ; metabolism ; pathology ; Nitric Oxide ; metabolism ; Phytoestrogens ; pharmacology ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Ventricular Remodeling ; drug effects

AIM:To evaluate the effect of lipoic acid ( LA) on LPS-induced Parkinson disease ( PD) model of mice.METHODS:Female C57BL/6 mice of 10-month-old were randomly divided into saline control group , PD group and LA group.The PD mouse model was induced by intranasal instillation of LPS .Assays of tyrosine hydroxylase , microglia and nuclear factor kappa B ( NF-κB) were performed by the methods of immunohistochemistry and Western blotting .RE-SULTS:Intranasal LPS instillation exhibited basic characteristics of PD model .However, LA administration significantly improved motor dysfunction , protected dopaminergic neurons from damage , and inhibited NF-κB activation in inflammatory microglia in the substantia nigra area of the brain .CONCLUSION:LA may exert a profound neuroprotective effect by an-ti-neuroinflammatory reaction to arrest the progression of PD .