Objective To study the correlation of expression of N-myc downstream regulated gene 1(NDRG1) with invasion of breast invasive duct carcinoma and lymph node metastasis. Methods A total of 71 specimens including 26 case of primary breast invasive duct carcinoma with lymphnode metastasis,45 case of nonmetastasis breast invasive duct carcinoma were observed.NDRG1 was detected by immunohistochemistry in formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded sections.At the same time,the correlations of NDRG1 with E-cad,MMP2,MMP9,and TIMP2 were investigated. Results The expression of NDRG1 in breast cancer with metastasis of lymph nodes(9/26) was lower than that of non-metastasis of lymph nodes(32/45)(P

BACKGROUND: It has been reported tbat there are rich expressions of serotonin transporter (5-HTT) in the cortical and limbic regions related to emotion and behavior in cerebrum. Regulation of the intensity and persistence of serotonergic nerve response can change the serotonergic neurotransmission, meanwhile, 5-HTT is also an important target for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).OBJECTIVE: To observe whether there is a correlation of 5-HTT gene polymorphism with plasma level of 5-HT and the clinical response of SSRIs in the population of Nanjing area.DESIGN: A case-control observation.SETTING: Department of Psychiatry, Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University.PARTICIPANTS: Totally 132 inpatients with depression in the Department of Psychiatry, Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University and 100 volunteer healthy blood donors were taken as the observational subjects between January 2001 and December 2003.METHODS: The genotype was analyzed with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) polymorphism analysis in the patients with depression and healthy subjects; plasma level of 5-HT was analyzed with high performance liquid chromatography-electrical chemistry detector (HPLC-ECD); and the clinical response to the antidepressants were assessed with Hamilton depression rating scale (HAMD).MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The analytical results of 5-HTT genotype frequency and allele frequency in both groups, and the relationship between 5-HTT genotype and plasma level of 5-HT before and after SSRIs treatment were observed.RESULTS: Blood samples were collected from all the 132 patients with depression and 100 normal healthy subjects, and they all finished the scale test and entered the analysis of results. ① There were no significant differences between the depression group and normal control group in the 5-HTT gene genotype frequencies (LL: 24.2%, LS: 44.7%, SS31.1%; LL:29.0%, LS: 47.0%, SS: 24.0%, x2=1.405 8, P ＞ 0.05) and allelefrequencies (L:46.59%, S: 53.41%; L: 52.5%, S: 47.5%, x2=0.696 2, P ＞ 0.05). ② The total score of HAMD had significant differences before treatment among the depressive patients of different genotypes (F=6.48, P=0.002 1). After 4-week treatment of SSRIs antidepressants, the total score of HAMD was significantly decreased, and there was significant difference in the decrease of score (F=3.38, P= 0.037). ③ The plasma level of 5-HT had significant differences before treatment among the depressive patients of different genotypes (F=5.38,P= 0.005 7). After 4-week treatment of SSRIs antidepressants, the plasma level of 5-HT was increased, and the increased level was significantly different among different genotypes (F=23.55, P ＜ 0.01).CONCLUSION: The 5-HTT polymorphism may be not associated with the attack of depression, but with the severity of depression and the clinical responses of SSRIs in the population of Nanjing area, and the genotype in this area may become a reference index for the realization of individualized treatment in patients with depression.

BACKGROUND: Monoamine hypothesis has been demonstrated by researches. However, the correlation between the metabolite of plasma monoamine neurotransmitter and anti-depression treatment in patients with depression has less been reported.OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of different drugs on metabolite of plaama monoamine neurotransmitter, and the correlation between the metabolite of plasma monoamine neurotransmitter and anti-depression treatment in patients with depression.DESIGN: Case controlled study.SETTING: Neurological Department and Brain Institute of Nanjing Medical University.PARTICIPANTS: Forty patients with depression hospitalized in Nanjing Brain Hospital (depression group) were diagnosed with the second revised edition of China classification of mental diseases(CCMD-2) and the tenth edition of International classification of diseases. And the total score of Hanmilton rating scale for depression(HAMD) was more than 17. Healthy voluntary blood donators in the control group were from Nanjing Municipal Central Blood Station( n = 20).INTERVENTIONS: Antidepressant was used in the depression for 4 weeks: fluoxetine 20 mg per day; 5-serotonin selective reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) paroxetine 20 mg per day; venlafaxime 50- 100 mg per day;5-serotonin and morepinephrine selective reuptake inhibitor(SNRI) fluvoxamine 50-100 mg per day. High performance liquid chromatograpy(HPLC)was used to measure the level of metabolite of plasma monoamine neurotransmitter in patients with depression before and 42 week after treatment, and the HAMD was used to evaluate clinical effect of the patients.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The levels of metabolites of plasma monoamine neurotransmitters in patients with depression: 5-hydroxyindoleace tic acid(5-HIAA), 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol(MHPG) and homovani llic acid(HVA) were measured before and 4th week after treatment.RESULTS: The levels of 5-HIAA, MHPG and HVA of the metabolites of plasma monoamine neurotransmitters in patients with depression before treatment [ (20.3±14.6), (124.8±103.6), (54.7±32.1) μg/L] were all lower than those in the normal control group[ (39.5±28.4), (334.5 ±107.3), (88.5±37.2) μg/L], with statistically significant differences (P＜0.05). After SSRI treatment, the 5-HIAA content[ (37.1±21.9)μg/L]was significantly increased as compared with that before treatment, whose difference indicated significant meaning ( P＜0.05), but the differences in MHPG and HVA had no significant meaning as compared with those before treatment(P＞0.05) . After SNRI treatment, 5-HIAA and MHPG contents [(35.4±25.2 ), (291.2±120.4) μg/L] both were significantly increased, which indicated significant difference as compared with those before treatment( P＜0.05); but HVA level had no significant changes.CONCLUSION:'The peripheral neurotransmitter metabolites in plasma can reflect their states in brain. The change of neurotransmitter metabolite in plasma can be regarded as an important reference index for the evaluation of depression.

Autoimmune Diseases ; diagnosis ; immunology ; pathology ; surgery ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G ; blood ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pancreatectomy ; Pancreatitis ; diagnosis ; immunology ; pathology ; surgery

Objective To analyze the clinical and histopathologic characteristics in children with subcutaneous panniculitis-like T-cell lymphoma(SPTCL),and explore the pathological diagnosis and differential diagnosis,in order to boost paediatricians to better understanding the disease.Methods One case was diagnosed SPTCL with over 2 years protracted course of fever and multiple skin lesions.The evolvement of clinical presentation,the misdiagnosed experience,the histopathological features,the immunohistochemical results and T cell receptor(TCR)gene cloning rearrangement were observed.The related literatures published were reviewed.Results Skin biopsy showed that the histopathologic findings were limited within subcutaneous fatty tissue,the atypical lymphocytes characteristically rimmed individual fat cells in a lace-like pattern.Immunophenotypic studies showed CD45,CD45RO,CD3,CD5,T cell intracellular antigen-1(TIA-1)and perforin usually expressed possitive,while CD10,CD20,CD56,CD68,epithelial membrane antigen(EMA)and cytokeratin(CK)were negative,implying tumor cells derived from T-cell.The results of TCR gene rearrangement as following:IgH FR2(+),FR3A(-);TCR ? JVI(-),JVII(+);TCR? JD1(-),JD2(-).Although the protocol of children's T-cell Non-Hodgkin lymphoma was administrated,the treatment outcome was poor.Conclusion SPTCL is a special primary cutaneous lymphoma with poor prognosis,skin biopsy of suffered lesion is an important method for the diagnosis of SPTCL children with unclear recurrent fever and multiple skin lesions.

Objective To investigate the immunogenicity and cross protective effects of two novel HCV DNA vaccines in a mice model.Methods Two self-replicating alphavirus vector-based HCV DNA vaccines, pSCK CE1E2Y and pSCK H155, were constructed based on the genes encoding the structural pro-teins (Core, E1 and E2) and structural and NS3 fusion proteins (Core, E1 , E2 and NS3) of a HCV strain isolated from a Chinese patient (genotype 1b, Hebei strain), respectively.Western blot analysis was per-formed to detect the expression of fusion antigens.The BALB/c mice were intradermally immunized with the recombinant DNA vaccines by using electroporation.The immune responses induced in mice and the cross protective effects of the recombinant DNA vaccines were evaluated.Results The DNA vaccines effectively expressed the target antigens in vitro.The antigen-specific antibody responses and specific T cell immune re-sponses were induced in mice by the immunization of replicative DNA vaccines.However, no effective cross protection was provided by either of the DNA vaccines in the surrogate challenge model based on a recombi-nant heterologous HCV (JFH1, 2a) vaccinia virus strain.Conclusion Although no effective cross protec-tion was observed, both of the two replicative DNA vaccines could induce strong humoral and cellular im-mune responses against multi-target antigens of HCV strains.This study has paved the way for further inves-tigation on the development of novel HCV vaccines.

Heart rate variability (HRV) is a reliable, innocuous and sensitive new index to measure cardiac autonomic nervous function. Anxiety disorder is often accompanied by autonomic nerve dysfunction and its main sign is abnormal HRV. Acupuncture can affect HRV indices, correct abnormal HRV and improve cardiac autonomic nerve dysfunction to relieve anxiety. This article sorts out and analyzes recent years’ studies on abnormal HRV in anxiety disorder, the effect of acupuncture on HRV and acupuncture regulation of abnormal HRV in anxiety disorder to provide a therapeutic basis for clinical acupuncture intervention in abnormal HRV in anxiety disorder.

The clinical characteristics of patients who presented in poor clinical grade due to ruptured middle cerebral artery aneurysms (MCAAs) associated with large sylvian hematomas (SylH) were analyzed and an ingenious designed prophylactic hinged craniectomy was introduced. Twenty-eight patients were graded into Hunt-Hess grades IV-V and emergency standard micro-neurosurgeries (aneurysm clipping, hematoma evacuation and prophylactic hinged craniectomy) were performed, and their clinical data were retrospectively analyzed. 46.43% of the patients reached encouraged favorable outcomes on discharge. The favorable outcome group and the poor outcome group significantly differed in terms of patients' anisocoria, Hunt-Hess grade before surgery, extent of the midline shift and time to the surgery after bleeding (P<0.05). There were no significant differences in age, sex, volume and location of the hematoma, size of aneurysm between the favorable and poor groups (P>0.05). However, ingenious designed prophylactic hinged craniectomy efficiently reduced the patients' intracranial pressure (ICP) after surgery. It was suggested that preoperative conditions such as Hunt-Hess grading, extent of the midline shift and the occurrence of cerebral hernia affect the prognosis of patients, but time to the surgery after bleeding and prophylactic hinged craniectomy are of significant importance for optimizing the prognosis of MCAA patients presenting with large SylH.

Objective To investigate whether erythropoietin(Epo) is potentially beneficial in protecting cultured retinal neurocytes.Methods Primary isolated retinal nerve cells were cultured.Expressions of Epo and EpoR protein in cultured retinal neurocytes were decected by immunohistochemical analysis.Survival of cultured neurocytes that were incubated in the presence of Epo or glutamate in the presence or absence of Epo were estimated by determining the activity of their mitochondrial dehydrogenases using the MTT assay.Results Epo and EpoR protein were expressed on the cultured retinal neurocytes.The presence of different concentrations of Epo did not improve the survival of retinal neurocytes,and Epo could prevent glutamateinduced toxicity. Conclusion Epo is beneficial in protecting mixed cultured retinal neurocytes from glutamate-induced cytotoxicity.

Objective To explore the relationship between the expression of syndecan-1 and the prognosis in pancreatic cancer. Methods The data of 30 patients with pancreatic cancer who received radical operations were retrospectively analysed.Immunohistochemical staining was performed,and the expression of syndecan-1 in tumor epithelial cells and stroma was observed by light microscopy.The relationship between immunohistochemical findings and survival was analysed.Results For those with negative,weak positive,moderate positive and strong positive expression of synecan-1 in tumor epithelial cells and stroma,there were significant differences in the case numbers between those survived for 1 to 2 years and those survived for 2 to 4 years(P