Objective To determine the aromatase protein expression in A549 cell and to investigate the effects of 17? estrogen (E 2), testosterone (T), estrogen receptor antagonist tamoxifen (TAM), and aromatase inhibitor DL aminoglutethimide (AMIN) on the growth and proliferation of A549 cells. Methods The expression of aromatase protein was determined by immunohistochemical methods. The changes of cell cycle and cell number before and after treatment with E 2, T, TAM, and AMIN were measured by flow cytometry and tetrazolium method (MTT). Results The aromatase protein was positively expressed in A549 cells. The aromatase inhibitor AMIN and 5?10 -7 mol/L TAM could inhibit the growth of A549 cells and block them in G 0/G 1 phase ( P

OBJECTIVETo investigate the mothod and therapeutic efficacy of total hip anthroplasties (THA) for osteoarthritis secondary to Crowe type IV developmental dysplasia of hip in adults.

METHODSFrom May 2006 to December 2013, THA was performed on 15 adult patients (17 hips) with Growe type IV acetabular dysplasia, including 13 females and 2 males, with a mean age of 30.9 years old (22 to 58 years old) and an average preoperative Harris score of (34.0 ± 6.5) points. Traction of the affected limb was not performed before surgery. After extensive release and lengthening of soft tissues, sub-trochanteric osteotomy of the femur was performed, hip joint center was rebuilt and the abduction function was restored.

RESULTSThe patients were followed up with a mean period of 33 months (ranged from 6 months to 5 years). The postoperative Harris score was 85.0 ± 7.3,higher than the preoperative score. The extended length of limb ranged from 1.6 to 5.4 cm, with a mean of (3.42 ± 0.65) cm. The shortening and malformation of the affected limb were corrected in the most patients,with the difference in length of the two legs less than 1.5 cm. After surgery, 1 patient experienced partial sciatic nerve injury, which was largely recovered after 3 months of conservative treatment. One patient experienced complete sciatic nerve injury, which was partially recovered after 6 months of conservative treatment; a foot-drop varus deformity was formed in the distal end of the affected limb, which was improved after tendon transposition and transplantation. Joint pain was relieved, and the joint function was restored significantly. Over the follow-up period, no severe complications such as dislocation, infection, prosthesis loosening, or subsiding occurred.

CONCLUSIONSatisfactory efficacy can be achieved for adult Growe type IV acetabular dysplasia associated with osteoarthritis by THA, with proper soft tissue release and lengthening, sub-trochanteric osteotomy of femur, joint functional restoration, appropriate choice of prosthesis, and careful protection of nerves and vessels.

Adult ; Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip ; methods ; Female ; Hip Dislocation, Congenital ; complications ; Humans ; Leg Length Inequality ; therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Osteoarthritis, Hip ; surgery

Adult ; Choanal Atresia ; complications ; Ethmoid Sinus ; Humans ; Male ; Nose ; abnormalities ; Osteoma ; complications ; Paranasal Sinus Neoplasms ; complications

Objective　To evaluate the effect of Naogongfude (NGFD, a traditional Chinese medicine orally administrated) on learning and memory and the expressions of synaptophysin (SY) and Tau-protein in cerebral cortex and hippocampus in aged rats and to explore the possible mechanism. Methods　Rats were divided into normal and neural disturbance groups according to the outcomes of active avoidance reaction (AAR) test, and then each group was randomly divided into control and NGFD-treated experimental groups. Animals were orally fed with NGFD for 2 months (5 ml/d) in experimental group or routinely fed in control and taken AAR and passive avoidance reaction (PAR) tests. After the rats were sacrificed, the synaptosome count, the expression of SY and Tau-protein, and the neuron apoptosis in cerebrum were examined. Results　The rats after 2-month NGFD administration had an increased AAR acquisition, obviously delayed AAR extinction and prolonged step through latency (STL) of PAR. The number of synaptosomes was raised and the immunoreactive intensity of synaptophysin was increased remarkedly, while Tau-protein immunoreactivity and apoptotic cells were decreased in cerebrum. Conclusion　NGFD does have the effect of improving brain function and putting off the aging of rat brain according to the results of behavior study and morphological observation.

AIM:To compare the clinical effects of 25G+ and 27G+ transconjunctival sutureless vitrectomy in treating idiopathic macular hole.METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical outcomes of 56 eyes (56 patients) with idiopathic macular hole which were treated with micro-incision vitrectomy from June 2015 to September 2016.Patients were divided into two groups, 28 patients (28 eyes) were treated with 25G+ vitrectomy and the rest (28 eyes) were treated with 27G+ vitrectomy.The operative time and intraoperative complications were recorded and patients were followed up for 3-6mo.During the follow up period, best correct vision acuity (BCVA), intraocular pressure, macular hole healing and postoperative complications were documented and statistically analyzed.RESULTS: BCVA in two groups were significantly improved after surgery(P<0.001) and there was no significant difference between the two groups(P=0.84).No serious complications occurred.No statistically significant difference was found between the two groups in surgical time and healing rate of macular hole (P=0.57, 0.64).The incidence of low intraocular pressure (IOP<10mmHg) in 27G+ group was lower than that in 25G+ group on the first day after surgery(P=0.31).There was no significant difference between preoperative and postoperative intraocular pressure at 1wk after operation in both groups (P=0.72, 0.92).CONCLUSION: Both 25G+ and 27G+ vitrectomy are safe and effective technique in treating idiopathic macular hole.Besides, 27G+ showed better superiority on the maintenance of intraocular pressure and reduce the trauma.

Norepinephrine transporter (NET) transfection leads to significant uptake of iodine-131-1abeled metaiodobenzylguanidine (131I-MIBG) in non-neuroendocrine tumors.However,the use of 131I-MIBG is limited by its short retention time in target cells.To prolong the retention of 131I-MIBG in target cells,we infected hepatocarcinoma (HepG2) cells with Lentivirus-encoding human NET and vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2) genes to obtain NET-expressing,NET-VMAT2-coexpressing,and negative-control cell lines.We evaluated the uptake and efflux of 131I-MIBG both in vitro and in vivo in mice bearing transfected tumors.NET-expressing and NET-VMAT2-coexpressing cells respectively showed 2.24 and 2.22 times higher 131I-MIBG uptake than controls.Two hours after removal of 131I-MIBG-containing medium,25.4％ efflux was observed in NET-VMAT2-coexpressing cells and 38.6％ in NET-expressing cells.In vivo experiments were performed in nude mice bearing transfected tumors;results revealed that NET-VMAT2-coexpressing tumors had longer 131I-MIBG retention time than NET-expressing tumors.Meanwhile,NET-VMAT2-coexpressing and NET-expressing tumors displayed 0.54％ and 0.19％,respectively,of the injected dose per gram of tissue 24 h after 131I-MIBG administration.Cotransfection of HepG2 cells with NET and VMAT2 resulted in increased 131I-MIBG uptake and retention.However,the degree of increase was insufficient to be therapeutically effective in target cells.

This study was aimed to establish the PCR methods to detect nucleophosmin (NPM) gene and its mutation. 2 leukemia cell lines and 23 specimens from patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) were investigated. The level of NPM mRNA was detected by RT-PCR. The exon-12 of NPM gene in leukemia cell lines was amplified by PCR and sequenced. Using the plasmid containing cDNA of NPM mutation A as a positive template, the PCR procedure to detect mutation A was established and evaluated. Then, the mutation of NPM was analyzed in 23 AML specimens. The results indicated that the expression level of NPM in leukemia cell lines was higher than that in normal cells. Different overexpression levels of NPM mRNA were found in all 23 AML specimens. PCR indicated that mutation had been not occurred at NPM exon-12 in THP1 and K562 cells, but a T base was deleted at 3' untranslated region of NPM gene in K562 cells. The PCR used for directly detecting NPM mutation A can specially amplify the NPM mutation gene. The method was reproducible, whose coefficient of variability was 1.6% and 3.1% in intra-and inter-assays respectively. The lowest detectable limit was 100 pg cDNA. Using the PCR methods, NPM mutation A could be detected in 2 out of 23 AML specimens, but NPM mutation A was not found in THP1 and K562 cells. It is concluded that the RT-PCT method detecting NPM mRNA level and the PCR method detecting directly NPM mutation are established. NPM mRNA is overexpressed in leukemia cells; NPM mutation A occurs in some AML patients.
Adult ; Base Sequence ; Female ; Humans ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute ; genetics ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Mutation ; Nuclear Proteins ; genetics ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; methods ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; metabolism ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo investigate the possible role of mycobacteria in the pathogenesis of sarcoidosis.

METHODSWe used nested polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (nPCR-RFLP) and gene sequencing method to examine 31 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded specimens (including 19 skin lesions and 12 lymph nodes ) obtained from patients with sarcoidosis, 14 normal skin specimens, and 3 cutaneous tuberculosis specimens.

RESULTSThe 65kD mycobacterial heat shock protein gene was found in 4 out of 19 (21.1%) skin specimens of sarcoidosis. The mycobacteria included M. tuberculosis (n = 1), M. chelonei (n = 2), and M. gordonae (n = 1). Mycobacterial DNA was negative in 12 lymph node specimens and 14 normal skin specimens. M. tuberculosis gene was detected in all 3 specimens of cutaneous tuberculosis.

CONCLUSIONMycobacteria may play a role in the pathogenesis of cutaneous sarcoidosis.

Adult ; Aged ; DNA, Bacterial ; analysis ; Female ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; microbiology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mycobacterium ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Mycobacterium Infections ; microbiology ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length ; Sarcoidosis ; microbiology ; Skin ; microbiology ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVEBased on the potential for nucleotide analogues to affect DNA polymerase-gamma, which controls the proliferation of mitochondria, this study aimed to determine whether long-term treatment with entecavir can cause damage to mitochondrial (mt)DNA in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB).

METHODSPatients with CHB were divided into three groups according to their history of treatment type and duration: (1) entecavir monotherapy for 2 years, n = 17; (2) entecavir monotherapy for 3 years, n = 17; (3) non-antiviral treatment as control, n = 18. PBMCs were isolated and used to assess the mtDNA content by quantitative real-time PCR of mitochondria-specific genes. Plasma malonaldehyde (MDA) and F2-isoprostanes were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. Plasma total antioxidant capacity (TAOC) was detected by spectrophotometry.

RESULTSThe relative quantity (RQ; of mtDNA to nuclear (n)DNA) was significantly lower in the 3-year treatment group (0.5+/-0.3) than in the control group (1.4+/-1.2; F = 5.233, P = 0.009). The RQ was also significantly lower in the 2-year treatment group (0.4+/-0.2) than in the control group (P = 0.004). The level of F2-isoprostanes (ng/mL) was significantly lower in the 3-year treatment group (1.2+/-0.5) than in the control group (3.6+/-2.9, P = 0.002) or the 2-year treatment group (2.4+/-1.3, P = 0.007). The TAOC was significantly different when compared among all three groups (F = 4.326, P = 0.019). The TAOC (IU/mL) in the 3-year treatment group (2.6+/-1.2) was significantly lower than in the control group (5.0+/-3.0 P = 0.005), but was not significantly different than that for the 2-year group (3.2+/-1.6, P = 0.227). The levels of MDA were not significantly different between any of the groups (F = 0.291, P = 0.749).

CONCLUSIONLong-term treatment with entecavir, up to 3 years, leads to decreased mtDNA content in PBMCs. Since no clinical manifestations of mtDNA toxicity were observed, the consequent damage to the mitochondrial function may be compensated for by yet unknown mechanisms.

Adult ; Antiviral Agents ; adverse effects ; DNA Damage ; drug effects ; DNA, Mitochondrial ; drug effects ; Female ; Guanine ; adverse effects ; analogs & derivatives ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; blood ; Humans ; Leukocytes, Mononuclear ; cytology ; Male ; Middle Aged

OBJECTIVETo assess effect of acupuncture combined with massage of sole on sleeping quality of the patient with insomnia.

METHODSFifty-eight cases of insomnia were randomly divided into an observation group (n = 32) and a control group (n = 26). The observation group were treated with oral administration of Alprazolam, massage of sole, and acupuncture at Zhongwan (CV 12), Guanyuan (CV 4), Qihai (CV 6), etc. on the abdomen as main points; the control group were treated with Alprazolam. Clinical therapeutic effects, and scores for Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) were assessed before and after treatment in the two groups.

RESULTSThe effective rate was 93.75 in the observation group and 88.46% in the control group with no significant difference between the two groups; after treatment, there were significant or very significant differences in scores for various factors in the PSQI, SAS and SDS (P < 0.01, P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONAbdominal acupuncture as main combined with massage of sole can obviously improve sleeping quality of the patient with insomnia.

Acupuncture Therapy ; Adult ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Female ; Foot ; Humans ; Male ; Massage ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Middle Aged ; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders ; therapy