[ ABSTRACT] AIM: To study the influences of tangeretin ( TGN) on the growth and invasion of non-small-cell lung cancer ( NSCLC) cells, and to explore the molecular mechanisms.METHODS: The A549 cells were treated with different concentrations of TGN in vitro.The relative cell activity was determined by MTT assay.The apoptotic rate was an-alyzed by flow cytometry with Annexin V-FITC/PI staining.The number of the invasive cells was measured by Transwell as-say.The mRNA expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9 was detected by RT-PCR, and the protein levels of Ki67, Cyt C, caspase-3, cleaved caspase-3, MMP-2, MMP-9, Akt, p-Akt and p-PI3K were determined by Western blotting analysis. RESULTS:TGN inhibited the proliferation of A549 cells in a dose-dependent manner ( P<0.05) along with the low ex-pression level of proliferation biomarker Ki67.TGN up-regulated the protein levels of Cyt C, caspase-3 and cleaved caspase-3 (P<0.01) and promoted the apoptosis of A549 cells in a dose-dependent manner.Moreover, TGN down-regu-lated the invasion-related molecules MMP-2 and MMP-9 at the mRNA and protein levels, and the number of invasive cells reduced with the increase in the concentration of TGN.The protein levels of p-Akt and p-PI3K in the A549 cells was re-duced (P<0.05), and no difference of the cell viability in the cells treated with different concentrations of TGN was ob-served after blocking PI3K/Akt signaling pathway using LY294002.CONCLUSION: TGN inhibits the growth and inva-sion of A549 cells and promotes the cell apoptosis by potentially inhibiting PI3K/Akt signaling pathway activation.There-fore, this study will provide a new target for the prevention and control of NSCLC.

Objective: To investigate the changes of serum levels of leptin in chronic heart failure (CHF) rats with cachexia and to study its mechanism via leptin receptor expression and leptin signal transduction pathways.
Methods: There were 15/60 male SD rats were randomly used as Control group. CHF model was established in rest 45 rats by isoproterenol hydrochloride (ISO) injection as CHF group, n=36;9 rats died. According to body weight changes and echocardiography examination, CHF rats were further divided into 2 groups:cCHF group, the rats with cachexia, n=16 and ncCHF group, the rats with non-cachexia, n=20. Serum levels of leptin and protein levels of janus activating kinase 2 (JAK2), signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3) were examined by ELISA;the expressions of leptin receptor in the myocardial and adipose tissues were observed by immunohistochemistry;mRNA expressions of JAK2, STAT3 and SOCS3 in adipose tissue were detected by RT-PCR.
Results: Serum levels of leptin, JAK2, STAT3 and the expressions of JAK2, STAT3 in adipose tissue were higher in both ncCHF and cCHF groups than Control group, P<0.05;protein levels and mRNA expressions of JAK2 and STAT3 were similar between cCHF group and ncCHF group, P>0.05. Serum levels of leptin, SOCS3 and mRNA expression of SOCS3 in cCHF group were lower than ncCHF group, P<0.05. The expressions of leptin receptor in myocardial and adipose tissue were higher in cCHF group than ncCHF group, P<0.05, while the expressions in ncCHF group were higher than Control group, P<0.05.
Conclusions: Increased serum level of leptin was involved in HF occurrence, leptin receptor expression and JAK2/STAT3 signal transduction pathways might be related to CHF combining cachexia in experimental rats.

Objective To put forward suggestions for improving the writing standards of package inserts of Chinese patent drug in China. Methods Totally 84 package inserts of Chinese patent drug were chosen randomly. The labeled items in them would be investigated and analyzed according to legal documents in China. Results The rate of complete labeled items was 0%. Meanwhile, many problems existed in the items which affected medication safety seriously. In addition, there were defects in expression of the content, revision of package inserts of Chinese patent drug and so on. Conclusion It is urgent to improve the writing standards and the completeness of the labeled items as well as the scientificalness on the expressions of package inserts of Chinese patent drug.

In recent years, monoclonal antibody comes to be a new and promising kind of treatment mode for malignant lymphoma, because of its advantages, such as target property, minimal residual of tumor cell in vivo and little side effect. The main methods include single agent therapy, combination with chemothera-py, combination with immunotoxin, radioimmunotherapy and etc.

Objective To observe the therapeutic effect of hyper-laser irradiation combined with acupuncture for the treatment of temporomandibular joint disturbance syndrome(TMJDS).Methods Sixty TMJDS patients were equally randomized into two groups: the treatment group was given hyper-laser irradiation combined with acupuncture,and the control group given acupuncture alone.The treatment lasted 10 days.After treatment,the improvement of symptoms and signs in both groups was evaluated.Results The total effective rate was 93.3% in the treatment group and 80.0% in the control group,the therapeutic effect in the treatment group being superior to that in the control group(P

It has been proved that severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is caused by a novel coronavirus. Detecting disease in its early stage, understanding its pathways of transmission and implementing specific prevention measures for the disease are very important in the course of disease control. China has established the definitions of suspected and confirmed cases of SARS. But the laboratory tests and definitions for the diagnosis are limited.Now the primary measures for SARS include isolation, therapeutics application with ribavirin and corticosteroid, mechanical ventilation, etc. Convalescent plasma is being explored.There still are many problems to be solved in the course of conquering SARS.

The numbers of eosinophils and mast cells expressing 5-lipoxygenase of airway in aspirin-induced asthma (AIA) increased. LTC 4 synthase, the terminal enzyme for cys-LT production, is overexpressed markedly in bronchial biopsy specimens of most patients with AIA. These characterized the unique airway inflammation of AIA which may illuminat the pathogenesis of AIA to some extent.

Angiogenesis is an important feature of malignant neoplasm and plays an essential role in the genesis,growth and metastasis of tumors. CT perfusion imaging (CTPI),as one of the functional imaging techniques reflecting neovascularity of neoplasm,perfectly combines anatomical imaging with physiological information and can be used in a range of clinical areas,such as differentiation between benign and malignant lesions,early detection of malignancy or metastasis,prediction of tumor behavior and the assessment of responses to therapies. Many researches have been done on perfusion CT in tumors of the brain,thyroid gland,salivary gland,mammary gland,lungs,liver,esophagus,kidney,colorectum,and so on. The present article reviews the basic principles of perfusion CT and its clinical application in tumors.

Matrix metallopmteinase(MMP),a family of proteolytic enzymes,can degradate the composition of extracellular matrix.Its structure,regulatory function and physiopathology have been deeply studied,and its role in tumor metastasis has received more attention.The tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase(TIMP),as an endogenous MMP inhibitor,suppresses both the form and course of MMP activation.The function zone of its C-end accords with some other parts of MMP,forming an MMP-TIMP compound,to block the combination of MMP with the substrate,suppress the activation of MMP,and slow down or block the invasion and metastasis of osteosarcoma.

Mycoplasma pneumoniae(MP) is a common pathogen found in respiratory tract infections of children and is susceptible to macrolides, tetracycline, aminogly-cosides, and quinoloines . Of all these antibiotics, macrolides is the frist choice for children. However,in recent years, strains which are resistant to common drugs have been selected in vitro and isolated from patients Point mutation at antibitics target site of these 8trains is one of the molecular mechanisms.The study of MP resistance can provide theoretical guidance for rational choice of antibiotics and application.