Tacrolimus is a novel immunosuppressant used in the treatment of a variety of autoimmune diseases.More and more studies have shown that tacrolimus has a certain therapeutic effect on myasthenia gravis (MG).This article reviews the mechanism,clinical researches,adverse reactions,dosage and clinical evaluation of tacrolimus in the treatment of MG.

OBJECTIVETo analyze the influence of retinoic acid (RA) on the undifferentiated state and EB formation abilities of human embryonic stem cells.

METHODSThe biological characteristics of H9 ESCs after RA treatment were characterized by real-time PCR, MTS proliferation assay and immunofluorescence staining. The expression of three germ layers markers, osteogenic differentiation markers and adipogenic differentiation markers in H9-differentiated embryoid bodies (EBs) with RA treatment were quantified by real time PCR.

RESULTSThe proliferation of H9 ESCs in the early logarithmic growth phase was accelerated by RA treatment. In addition, RA induced differentiation of H9 ESC coupled with morphology changes, decreased expression of undifferentiated markers Oct4, Nanog, Sox2 and OCT4 mRNA binding protein Lin28 at mRNA level, and reduced expression of Oct4 at protein level. RA induced formation of cavities in EBs. Real time PCR results showed that the expressions of ectodermal markers: NeuroD1, Noggin; mesodermal markers: Brachyury, Twist and endodermal markers: AFP, GATA-4 were significantly increased (P < 0.05), especially for AFP (P < 0.01), by RA treatment in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, the expression of adipogenic differentiation marker C/EBPalpha was increased while the osteogenic differentiation marker OPN was decreased in EBs after RA treatment for 5 days.

CONCLUSIONSHigh concentrations of RA induced the loss of stemness in H9 ESCs and excessive differentiation in EBs, and damaged the balance between osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation during early EB differentiation, which may be relevant to the congenital malformations.

Cell Differentiation ; drug effects ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Embryonic Stem Cells ; cytology ; drug effects ; Humans ; Tretinoin ; pharmacology

OBJECTIVETo observe the effect of shikonin on the proliferation of human keratinocytes induced by IL-17 and secretion of chemokines, in order to discuss the mechanism of Shikonin in the treatment of psoriasis.

METHODIn vitro cultured HaCaT cells were stimulated by IL-17A (200 μg x L(-1)) and mixed with different concentrations (2, 1 mg x L(-1)) of shikonin for 24 hours. The cell proliferation was detected by CCK-8 assay. Cell secretion inflammatory factor interleukin-23 (IL-23) was detected by ELISA. The expressions of intracellular chemokines CXCL1, CXCL2, CCL20 and 6-defensin 4 (DEFB4) were detected by Real-time PCR.

RESULTShikonin (2,1 mg x L(-1)) could distinctly inhibit HaCaT cell proliferation induced by IL-17A, with statistical difference (P < 0.01). Each shikonin group showed decreases in the secretion of IL-23 and inhibition in expressions of intracellular CXCL1, CXCL2, CCL20 and DEFB4.

CONCLUSIONShikonin could inhibit HaCaT cells proliferation induced by IL-17 and secretion of relevant cytokines and recruit leukocytes by inhibiting chemokines, so as to show the effect in treating psoriasis.

Cell Line ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Chemokines ; genetics ; metabolism ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Interleukin-17 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Keratinocytes ; cytology ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Naphthoquinones ; pharmacology

OBJECTIVETo explain the essence of pungent-hot herb property express according to in vivo and in vitro studies on its effect on calmodulin on the base of the observation of the adjustment in hypothalamic-pituitary-gonad axis functions of Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata, Curculiginis Rhizoma, Cinnamomi Cortex and bitter-cold herb Phellodendri Chinensis Cortex in rats under the state of yang deficiency.

METHODThe yang-deficient model was duplicated by intramuscularly injecting hydrocortisone sodium succinate powder injection. After the intervention with Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata, Curculiginis Rhizoma, Cinnamomi Cortex and bitter-cold herb Phellodendri Chinensis Cortex for seven days, TSH, T3, T4, 17-OHCS, COR, T, E2 of hypothalamus-pituitary-target gland axis and other relevant indexes were detected. The calmodulin expression in livers and L02 cells cultured in vitro was detected by using Western blot.

RESULTPungent-hot herbs Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata, Curculiginis Rhizoma, Cinnamomi Cortex can significantly correct indicators of hypothalamic-pituitary-gonad axis and calmodulin, whereas the bitter-cold herb Phellodendri Chinensis Cortex showed no obvious effect.

CONCLUSIONThe pungent-hot herb property expression may be closely related to calmodulin.

Animals ; Calmodulin ; metabolism ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; chemistry ; Gonads ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Liver ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Yang Deficiency ; drug therapy ; metabolism

Objective To comprehensively evaluate the relationship between children's high iodine goiter and excessive iodine . Methods A computerized literature search was carried out to collect articles published before 2014 in electronic databases CBM , WabFang ,VIP ,CNKI ,PubMed ,EMbase ,Ovid and Cochrane Library .The study type was randomized controlled trial or quasi‐ran‐domized control trial .Literature was analyzed by RevMan5 .0 software ,then calculated and combine RR and 95% CI .Publication bi‐as of Meta analysis was evaluated by Begg's test ,Egger's test and Macaskill's test .The result stability of Meta analysis was tested by sensibility analysis .Results A total of 10 controlled before and after studies were included in our meta‐analysis .The result showed that the iodine content of 150 -300 μg/L (RR:1 .54 ;95% CI:1 .14 -2 .07);301 -600 μg/L (RR:2 .33;95% CI:1 .43 -3 .82);601-900 μg/L (RR:2 .72 :95% CI:1 .01-7 .33) and greater than 900μg/L (RR:2 .41 ;95% CI:1 .38-4 .23) would result in chil‐dren goiter .Conclusion Iodine content greater than 150 μg/L would result in children goiter .

Dengue virus(DENV)is an enveloped single positive-stranded RNA virus that belongs to the Flaviviridae family. It is the cause of dengue fever,life-threatening dengue hemorrhagic fever and den-gue shock syndrome. Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus are responsible for the wide transmission of DENV in tropical and subtropical regions throughout the world. Currently,there have been several dengue vaccines entering clinical trials,including the Sanofi Pasteur chimeric yellow fever dengue tetravalent vaccine (CYD),which has been licensed for use in some countries. However,CYD does not provide adequate pro-tection against all four serotypes of DENV and induces severe dengue diseases in young and seronegative vac-cine recipients. Therefore,a more efficacious dengue vaccine is still needed. Here,we reviewed the oppor-tunities and challenges for the development of dengue vaccines.

Objective:Clinicopathological features, treatment and prognosis of urinary and male reproductive system soft tissue sarcoma (STS) and sarcomatoid carcinoma in adults were compared.Methods:A retrospective analysis was performed on the clinical data of 73 patients with STS and 15 patients with sarcomatoid carcinoma in adult urinary and male reproductive system in the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University. There were 59 males and 14 females in STS group, with a median age of 41 (18-78)years old. The maximum tumor diameter ranged from 0.5 to 19.0 cm. The primary tumors were located in testis and peritesticular (23 cases), kidney (23 cases), prostate (15 cases), bladder (8 cases), ureter(3 cases), other parts(1 case). There were 18 cases of lymph node metastasis and 8 cases of distant metastasis. Among 73 patients with STS, 66 patients underwent surgical resection, of which 31 patients underwent radical resection. Among the 66 patients who underwent surgery, 3 patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy; 22 patients received adjuvant chemotherapy; 5 patients were treated with adjuvant radiotherapy. Among 7 patients with STS did not receive surgical treatment, 2 patients received radiotherapy combined with chemotherapy, 2 patients received chemotherapy alone, and 3 patients received symptomatic support treatment.There were 11 males and 4 females in sarcomatoid carcinoma group, with a median age of 65 (23 - 84)years old. The measurable tumor diameter ranged from 0.4 to 16.9 cm. The primary tumors were located in kidney (6 cases), bladder (5 cases), ureter(2 cases) and prostate(2 cases). There were 2 patients of lymph node metastasis and 4 patients of distant metastasis. Of the 15 patients with sarcomatoid carcinoma, 12 patients underwent surgical resection, of which 5 patients underwent radical resection. 2 patients were treated with adjuvant therapy after operation. Among the 12 patients who received surgical treatment, 2 patients had distant metastasis before operation, all of which originated from the kidney. Among the 3 patients without surgical treatment, 1 patients received systemic chemotherapy and 2 patients received symptomatic supportive treatment. There was no significant difference in gender, tumor maximum diameter, distant metastasis and operation, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and operation combined with chemotherapy ( P>0.05) and there were significant differences in age, tumor primary location and lymph node metastasis ( P<0.05) between STS and sarcomatoid carcinoma patients.The categorical variables of the two groups were compared by χ2.With Kaplan-Meier method for univariate survival analysis, the Cox was used for multivariate analysis. Results:The median follow-up time was 18.3(0.3-90.4) months.In STS group, there were 14 patients of synovial sarcoma, 11 patients of liposarcoma, 15 patients of rhabdomyosarcoma, 16 patients of leiomyosarcoma, 10 patients of other types, and 7 patients of spindle cell sarcoma without specific classification. Among 66 patients with STS, 8 patients recurred, 14 patients metastasized after operation, 4 patients recurred and metastasized after operation. The 7 patients without surgical treatment all progressed. Among the 10 patients of sarcomatoid carcinoma without distant metastasis before operation, 3 patients recurred and 3 patients metastasized after operation. Two patients of renal sarcomatoid carcinoma with distant metastasis were treated with nephrectomy and chemotherapy. One of them had overall survival (OS) up to 2 years, and one recurred 2 months after operation. The 3 patients without surgical treatment all progressed without remission. The median OS of STS patients were 59.3 (95% CI 24.1-94.5) months and that of sarcomatoid carcinoma patients were 8.7 (95% CI 6.1-11.2) months. The OS of STS patients were better than those of sarcomatoid carcinoma patients ( HR=2.874, 95% CI 1.118-7.386, P=0.022). Conclusions:The onset age of STS in adult urinary and male reproductive system was lower than that in sarcomatoid carcinoma. The primary lesions of STS were mainly in testis, peritesticular and kidney. The primary lesions of sarcomatoid carcinoma were mainly in kidney. Among STS, leiomyosarcoma was the most common type.STS and sarcomatoid carcinoma should be diagnosed and treated with surgery quickly, and systemic therapy should be performed for patients who cannot be treated with surgery.

Objective: To observe the time-effect relationship of moxibustion for primary dysmenorrhea (PD) due to stagnation and congelation of cold-damp, thus explore the optimal choice of moxibustion duration, and provide evidence for achieving satisfactory efficacy in moxibustion treatment. Methods: A total of 90 patients with PD due to stagnatin and congelation of cold-damp were divided into three groups by the random number table method, with 30 cases in each group. All the patients in the three groups were given moxibustion treatment at Guanyuan (CV 4), 20 min in group A, 40 min in group B and 60 min in group C. The changes in the pain measurement score in the three groups were observed after treatment. Results: After treatment, there were significant differences in the clinical efficacy among the three groups (P<0.05); the clinical efficacy was better in group B and group C than that in group A (P<0.05), and that in group B was better than that in group C (P<0.05). Besides, the pain measurement score changed significantly after treatment in the three groups (all P<0.05), and the between-group differences were also statistically significant (P<0.05); the pain measurement scores in group B and group C were lower than that in group A (P<0.05), and that in group B was lower than that in group C (P<0.05). Conclusion: Given the same stimulating frequency and intervention time of moxibustion, 40-minute duration demonstrates relatively better efficacy for PD due to stagnation and congelation of cold-damp.

OBJECTIVETo study the effects of Tianwang Buxinwan decoction on the contents of amino acids neurotransmitters in corpus striatum of rats to implicate the mechanism of Tianwang Buxinwan promoting and Improving sleeping.

METHODContents of two amino acids neurotransmitters in corpus striatum of rats were prepared by microdialysis technology and were determined by HPLC which involved pre-column derivation with orthophthaladehyde, recersed-phase gradient elution and fluorescence detection.

RESULTIn the experimental separation condition, Tianwang Buxinwan seemed do not influence three kinds of contents of amino acids neurotransmiters (glutamic acid, glycin, aspartic acid), but TBW seemed increase the content of gamma-GABA in corpus striatum of rats.

CONCLUSIONThe effects of Tianwang Buxinwan to relieve uneasiness may relate with the inhibitory amino acids gamma-GABA. Tianwang Buxinwan may promote increasing the content of gamma-GABA. This discovery may be helpful for the deep study of related mechanism of Tianwang Buxinwan.

Animals ; Brain ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Brain Chemistry ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; Male ; Microdialysis ; Neurotransmitter Agents ; antagonists & inhibitors ; metabolism ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

In the current study, a total of nineteen triterpenoids (1-19) from 60% EtOH extracts of Stauntonia obovatifoliola Hayata subsp. intermedia stems were separated and purified by solvent extraction and chromatographic methods including silica gel, ODS as well as preparative HPLC. According to the results of chemical reactions and spectral data, compounds were identified as: lupeol (1), betulinonic acid (2), betulinic acid (3), 3-epi-betulinic acid (4), quinatic acid (5), 24-O-acetyl quinatic acid (6), 3-O-α- L-arabinopyranosyl-30-nor-hederagenin-28-O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1 --> 4) -β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1 --> 6) -β-D-glucopyranosyl ester (7), Stauntoside A (8), kalopanax saponin A (9), kalopanax saponin J (10), Kizuta saponin K10 (11), 3-O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl (1--> 2) -α-L-arabinopyranosyl-hederagenin-28-O-β-D-xylopyranosyl-(1 --> 6) -β-D-glucopyranosyl ester (12), kalopanax saponin B (13), 3-O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1 --> 2) -α-L-arabinopyranosyl-hederagenin-28-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1 --> 6) -β-D-glucopyranosyl ester (14), sieboldianoside A (15), septemoside A (16), kalopanax saponin K (17), septemloside I (18), and 3-O-α-L-arabinopyranosyl (1 --> 2)-β-D-glucuronopyranosyl- hederagenin (19). Among them, compounds 4, 6, 10, 12, 14, and 16-19 were isolated from the Stauntonia genus for the first time, and compound 6 was a new natural product.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Magnoliopsida ; chemistry ; Molecular Structure ; Plant Stems ; chemistry ; Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization ; Triterpenes ; chemistry