Aged ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; therapeutic use ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; drug therapy ; radiotherapy ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Esophageal Diseases ; etiology ; Esophageal Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; radiotherapy ; Female ; Fluorouracil ; administration & dosage ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Particle Accelerators ; Platinum Compounds ; administration & dosage ; Radiation Injuries ; etiology ; Radiotherapy, High-Energy ; adverse effects

The aim of this paper was to obtain low toxicity and high efficiency anti-tumor Chinese medicine through screening the combination ratios of Momordicae Semen and Epimedii Folium, and to explore the anti-tumor mechanism of the combination of two drugs by observing their effect on apoptosis-related proteins in cancer cells. Methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium(MTT) assay was used to observe the effect of drug combination on the proliferation of tumor cells from different tissue sources. The effects of the combination of the two drugs on tumor cells were analyzed by Compusyn software. Plate cloning assay was used to observe the effect of combination of these two drugs on the proliferation of A549 cells in vitro. The expression of reactive oxygen species(ROS) and apoptotic proteins p53, Bcl-2 and Bax were compared by using ROS kit and Western blot. Lewis lung cancer model was used to observe the anti-tumor effect of drugs in vivo. The results showed that the anti-tumor effect of their ethanol extract was more significant than that of water extract, and the anti-proliferation effect was strongest when the ratio was 1∶1(P<0.05). Compusyn analysis showed that the combination of the two drugs had synergistic effect. Further studies showed that after combined use, the number of clonogen formation in A549 cells was significantly reduced(P<0.01); ROS production was increased; the expression of apoptosis-related protein p53 was up-regulated, and the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax was decreased. In vivo animal study showed that the tumor inhibition rate was 53.06%(P<0.05) in the high dose group. As compared with the single use of the two drugs, the combination of the two drugs had more significant anti-proliferative effect on tumors, and the optimum ratio was 1∶1. The combination of the two drugs at a ratio of 1∶1 inhibited the proliferation of various tumor cells, and had no significant effect on normal liver cells LO2 when compared with other ratios. Therefore, it can be preliminarily inferred that the combination of the two drugs may have the effect of synergism and detoxification. Further studies showed that the combination of the two drugs can significantly inhibit the proliferation of A549 cells, and its mechanism may be related to the activation of endogenous apoptotic pathway. In vivo experiments also showed that the tumor inhibition rate increased with the increase of drug concentration.
A549 Cells ; Animals ; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic/pharmacology* ; Apoptosis ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology* ; Epimedium/chemistry* ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms/drug therapy* ; Momordica/chemistry* ; Neoplasms, Experimental/drug therapy* ; Plant Leaves/chemistry*

The normal immune system has the ability to distinguish between "self" and "non-self". Because of its dynamic balance of "immune activity-immune tolerance", it will produce immune response to the non-self antigen, but with no response or weak response to the self-antigen. However, if the balance was broken, T cell in the abnormal immune activation state will respond continually to the self-antigen, with an abnormal immune response, which caused autoimmune disease. Pathologically, "invalid" immune recognition and immune response become the main causes for autoimmune diseases. Co-stimulatory molecule is an important link between Attach antigen presenting cells（APC） and immune cells (T cell and B cell). Studies have proved that excessive co-stimulation and/or insufficient co-inhibition could cause detect of self-tolerance and induce autoimmunity. Although co-stimulatory and co-inhibitory pathways have a significant impact on all ADS, this paper focuses on their effect on two systemic autoimmune diseases [systemic lupus erythematosus （SLE） and rheumatoid arthritis（RA）] and two organ-specific autoimmune diseases [multiple sclerosis （MS） and type 1 diabetes （T1DM）], in order to discuss the pathogenesis and relationship between co-stimulatory molecules and autoimmune diseases.

Objective:To study the protective effect and mechanism of artemisinin on systemic inflammatory response syndrome （SIRS）mice using endotoxin （LPS）-induced SIRS mouse model. Method:Male BALB/c mice aged 5-7 weeks were randomly divided into normal group， LPS model group， low， medium and high-dose artemisinin groups （25， 50， 100 mg·kg^-1） and ibuprofen group （39 mg·kg^-1）. LPS （10 mg·kg^-1） was intraperitoneally injected at the 7^th day after the prophylaxis. According to the SIRS clinical diagnostic criteria， the respiratory rate， rectal temperature， lung index， spleen index， glycolipid metabolism， brain tissue inflammatory factors， and phosphorylation of lung tissue inflammation-related proteins were measured. Result:Intraperitoneal injection of LPS significantly reduced the respiratory rate of mice （P<0.05）， body temperature decreased significantly （P<0.01）， spleen index increased significantly （P<0.01）， peripheral blood neutrophil percentage increased significantly （P<0.05）， percentage of monocytes decreased significantly （P<0.01）， thrombocyte decreased （P<0.01）， platelet specific ratio decreased （P<0.01）， total cholesterol content in plasma decreased （P<0.01）， plasma glucose content decreased （P<0.01）. The expression of interleukin-1β increased in hippocampus and cortex of brain tissue （P<0.01）， and the secretion of tumor necrosis factor-α increased in hippocampus and cortex of brain tissue （P<0.01）. The expression of phosphorylated protein STAT1 was increased （P<0.01）， and the expression of phosphorylated protein c-Jun was increased （P<0.01）. After the administration of artemisinin， the body temperature and the respiratory rate of mice induced by LPS were significantly increased， the pathological changes of various organs induced by LPS were alleviated， the hypoglycemia induced by LPS was significantly increased （P<0.05）， the levels of inflammatory factors in hippocampus and cortex was significantly reduced， and the expressions of phosphorylated proteins STAT1 and c-Jun in lung tissue were significantly reduced （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Conclusion:Artemisinin has a significantly protective effect on SIRS mice induced by intraperitoneal injection of LPS possibly by reducing the secretion of inflammatory factors TNF-α and IL-1β.