Objective: To investigate the effect of taurine on learning and memory impairment, cytokines secretion in rats intrahippocampally injected with ?-amyloid (A?) 1-40. Methods: SD rats were randomly divided into control group, A? injected group, taurine (0.3g/kg?d, 0.6g/kg?d) groups. The rats were fed with taurine for 7 days, and then subjected to bilateral intrahippocampus injection of A?1-40 or vehicle. Two weeks later, all rats performed Morris water maze test. The contents of IL-6, TNF-? were checked by way of radio-immunity assay for hippocampus samples. Results: Compared with A?model group, the escape latency and distance were significantly reduced in taurine (0.6g/kg?d) group; the ratio of swimming distance in the target quadrant to that in the whole pool of the probe trial; the content of cytokines of IL-6 and TNF-?in hippocampus were reduced significantly. Conclusion: Taurine can effectively attenuate the cognitive dysfunction caused by A?1-40 in rats. The reduced cytokines content in hippocampus might contribute to this effect.

Aged ; Humans ; Male ; Urinary Diversion ; adverse effects ; Urinary Fistula ; diagnosis ; etiology

OBJECTIVETo study the current situation of depression and anxiety from patients with hypertension as well as to provide reference for the development of control and prevention program.

METHODSParticipants older than 35-year including both hypertensive patients and healthy controls were randomly selected in 2 communities of Pukou district in Nanjing through Health Behavior Survey. All the subjects were assessed by the Zung's self-rating depression scale (SDS) and the Zung's self-rating anxiety scale (SAS).

RESULTSRaw score and index score of SDS and SAS were both significantly (P < 0.01) greater in hypertensive patients than in healthy control group. The prevalence of depression of 17.9% and anxiety of 9.5% in patient group were found significantly higher than that in healthy control group as 11.5% and 4.3%. Data from logistic regression model analysis showed that depression and anxiety were possible risk factors of hypertension (OR = 1.677, 95% CI: 1.013-2.776; OR = 2.451, 95% CI: 1.228-4.894). There was a combined effect seen between depression and anxiety (OR = 5.238, 95% CI: 2.356-11.664) but interaction did not appear.

CONCLUSIONDepression and anxiety were possibly associated with hypertension and more attention needs to be paid to the mental health situation of hypertensive patients in order to improve their quality of life.

Aged ; Anxiety ; epidemiology ; Case-Control Studies ; China ; epidemiology ; Depression ; epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension ; epidemiology ; psychology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Risk Factors

This study was aimed to investigate the expression of SALL4 and BMI-1 mRNA in acute leukemia (AL) and its clinical significance. mRNA expression levels of SALL4 and BMI-1 in 62 AL patients and 10 controls were measured by semi-quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The results showed that (1) the expression of SALL4 mRNA were up-regulated in AL (except M3 and T-ALL), and the expression of of SALL4 mRNA in AML was significantly higher than that in B-ALL (p<0.05); expression was negative in 9 out of 10 controls, and expression level of SALL4 mRNA in one case was low; (2) the expression of SALL4 in de novo AL was higher than that in controls, which significantly decreased at complete remission (CR). The difference between CR group and de novo group was statistically significant (p<0.05). In relapsed patients, the expression of SALL4 increased, slightly higher than that in de novo AL group (p>0.05); (3) the expression pattern of BMI-1 was the same to that of SALL4 except the up-regulation in M3, and the expression of BMI-1 was positively correlated with that of SALL4 in acute leukemia (r=0.684, p<0.01). It is concluded that SALL4 and BMI-1 expressions are up-regulated significantly in acute leukemia, which may contribute to the development of leukemia, thus become an important index for evaluation of development, relapse and prognosis in acute leukemia.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Leukemia ; genetics ; metabolism ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute ; genetics ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nuclear Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Polycomb Repressive Complex 1 ; Prognosis ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; Repressor Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Transcription Factors ; genetics ; metabolism ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo explore the relative factors on the failure in digit replantation in order to take preventions to control the risk factors.

METHODSFrom January 2013 to December 2013, 236 consecutive patients (311 fingers) underwent digit replantation were collected to analyze retrospectively, involving 183 males and 53 females with an average age of 34.5 years old ranging from 2 to 62 years old (6 cases under 6 years old and 230 cases elder than 6 years old). There were 51 thumbs, 87 index fingers, 78 middle fingers, 63 ring fings and 32 little thumbs. Forty cases(forty fings) who were failured as the observation group, the others as the control group. The factors of age, gender, finger, cause of injury, smoking history, ischemia duration, plane of division, condition of venous drainage and condition of arterial repair we assessed.

RESULTSAll 236 cases with 311 fingers were replanted, 40 fingers were failured after operation. The relative factors on the failure in digit replantation included smoking history, cause of injury, plane of division, condition of venous drainage and condition of arterial repair (P< 0.05). There were no significant correlation between the failure and age, gender, finger and ischemia duration (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONSmoking history, causes of injury, plane of division, condition of venous drainage and condition of arterial repair are risks of failure in digit replantation. Before choosing the type of operation, it should be think about the patient's general conditions, injury status, grasp firmly the operative indications and actively carry out surgical treatment.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Child ; Female ; Finger Injuries ; surgery ; Fingers ; surgery ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Reconstructive Surgical Procedures ; Replantation ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Thumb ; injuries ; surgery ; Treatment Failure ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo investigate the expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and vascular endothelial growth factor-C (VEGF-C) in human gastric cancer, the relationship between their expression and the clinicopathological features,as well as the relationship between these two parameter expression and lymphangiogenesis and lymph node metastasis.

METHODSCOX-2 and VEGF-C expressions were detected in 63 gastric cancer samples by immunostaining. Lymphangiogenesis was evaluated by immunostaining with the specific antibody LYVE-1.

RESULTSThe expression rates of COX-2 and VEGF-C were 66.7% (42/63), 52.4% (33/63), respectively in 63 gastric cancer specimens. LYVE-1 was positive in 35 cases (35/63), which indicated lymphangiogenesis in the tumors. The expression of COX-2 was significantly correlated with the expression of VEGF-C, tumor lymphangiogenesis and lymphatic metastasis (P< 0.05), however not gender, tumor size, tumor location, Lauren classification and serosa invasion (P< 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSIn gastric cancer, the expression of COX-2 is significantly associated with VEGF-C expression, lymphangiogenesis and lymphatic metastasis. COX-2 may up-regulate the expression of VEGF-C, which induces lymphangiogenesis and accordingly contributes to lymphatic metastasis.

Aged ; Cyclooxygenase 2 ; metabolism ; Female ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; metabolism ; pathology ; Lymphangiogenesis ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Stomach Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor C ; metabolism

AIMTo identify the factors influencing diagnosis and treatment of chronic prostatitis (CP) among Chinese urologists.

METHODSA sample of 656 urologists from 29 provinces of China were asked to complete a questionnaire that explored attitudes towards CP as well as diagnosis and treatment patterns in the management of CP. Both univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis schemes were used to determine the factors that influence the diagnosis and treatment of CP.

RESULTSA total of 656 questionnaires were given out. All were returned and 410 of those were included in the final univariate and multivariate analysis. Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that belief of bacterial infection in the etiology of CP (odds ratio [OR], 2.544; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.650-3.923; P < 0.001) was the most significant factor influencing the routine performance of bacterial culture test. Using the same model, the type of hospital (OR, 2.799; 95% CI, 1.719-4.559; P < 0.001) and the routine use of the 4- or the 2-glass test (OR, 3.194; 95% CI, 2.069-4.931; P < 0.001) were determined to be significant factors influencing the use of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) new classification system. According to the same model, belief of bacterial infection in the etiology of CP (OR, 3.415; 95% CI, 2.024-5.762; P < 0.001) and the routine use of bacterial culture test (OR, 2.261; 95% CI, 1.364-3.749; P < 0.01) were important factors influencing the routine prescription of antibiotics.

CONCLUSIONOur findings suggest that attitudes towards CP, and the characteristics of individual urologists' practices may influence the diagnosis and treatment of CP among Chinese urologists.

Adult ; Aged ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; therapeutic use ; China ; Chronic Disease ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Health Surveys ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multivariate Analysis ; Practice Patterns, Physicians' ; Prostatitis ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; microbiology ; Surveys and Questionnaires

OBJECTIVETo investigate the expression of transcription factor Sp1 in human gastric cancer tissues and normal gastric mucosa, and its prognostic significance.

METHODSBy using immunohistochemistry, we studied the Sp1 expression patterns in 65 cases of gastric cancer with various clinico-pathologic characteristics, and 40 normal gastric mucosa specimens obtained from patients who underwent partial gastrectomy for benign gastric diseases. The significance of Sp1 expression on the survival of patients was evaluated.

RESULTSThe expression rate of Sp1 in normal gastric mucosa was 12.5% (5/40). The positively stained glandular cells were mainly limited to those in the neck region. Cells at the basal portion of the gland were essentially negative. In sharp contrast, Sp1 expression rate in gastric cancer lesions was 53.8% (35/65). The medium survival time in patients who had a tumor with negative, weak and strong Sp1 expression was 1700, 1560 and 1026 days, respectively (P = 0.036). Sp1 protein expression was closely related to the depth of tumor invasion and TNM stage (P = 0.001, P = 0.026), but not related to the number of metastatic lymph nodes and Lauren's classification (P = 0.306, P = 0.667).

CONCLUSIONNormal and malignant gastric tissues have unique Sp1 expression patterns. Sp1 might be served as an independent prognostic factor.

Adenocarcinoma ; metabolism ; pathology ; Aged ; Biomarkers, Tumor ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Gastric Mucosa ; metabolism ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Invasiveness ; Prognosis ; Sp1 Transcription Factor ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Stomach Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology

BACKGROUNDReceptor activator of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) ligand (RANKL) and osteoprotegerin (OPG) have been recently shown to play important roles in bone resorption. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible association between the expression of bone resorption regulators (RANKL and OPG) and inflammatory cell infiltration in chronic apical periodontitis.

METHODSThe samples of chronic periapical lesions (n = 40) and healthy periapical tissues (n = 10) were examined for immunohistochemical analysis of RANKL and OPG. Lesion samples were further analyzed for the inflammatory infiltration condition. The inflammatory cell infiltration was scored in relation to immunohistochemical reactivity for CD3, CD20 and CD68.

RESULTSThe number of RANKL-positive cells and the ratio of RANKL/OPG in chronic apical periodontitis were significantly higher than those in healthy periapical tissues (P < 0.001). The number of RANKL-positive cells was higher in lesions with severe inflammatory infiltration than in those with light inflammatory infiltration (P < 0.05). Significantly increased RANKL expression was found with T lymphocytes (CD3(+)), macrophages (CD68(+)) and B lymphocytes (CD20(+)) infiltration (P < 0.05). No association was found between the ratio of RANKL/OPG and inflammatory cell infiltration.

CONCLUSIONSRANKL expression was increased with T, B lymphocytes and macrophages infiltration, respectively in chronic periapical lesions. RANKL appears to be closely related to periapical inflammatory infiltrates. The relative ratio of RANKL/OPG may be a key determinant of RANKL-mediated bone resorption.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Chronic Periodontitis ; immunology ; pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; In Vitro Techniques ; Inflammation ; metabolism ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Osteoprotegerin ; metabolism ; RANK Ligand ; metabolism ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo construct RNA interfering retrovirus vector targeting CXCR4 gene driven by human prostate-specific antigen promoter and investigate its targeted inhibition effects in androgen-responsive prostate cancer cells LNCaP.

METHODSTo clone the CXCR4 targeting siRNA gene by PCR. The PCR products were inserted into the pGensil-1 plasmid containing U6 promoter and EGFP. U6 promoter was replaced by hPSA promoter. Then, the recombinant EGFP-hPSA-siCXCR4 fragment was sub-cloned into pLXSN, which was evaluated by restriction enzyme. The pLXSN-EGFP-hPSA-siCXCR4 was transfected into PA317 cells with Lipofectamine 2000. The virus obtained from transfected PA317 cells was transfected into PC-3m, LNCaP and MCF-7 cells, respectively. The expression of CXCR4 mRNA and protein was detected by RT-PCR and Western blot. The invasion ability of prostate carcinoma cells was detected by Transwell experiment.

RESULTSThe recombinant pLXSN-hPSA-siCXCR4 was successfully constructed. The expression of CXCR4 mRNA and protein in LNCaP cells was blocked by pLXSN-hPSA-siCXCR4. The expression inhibition rate was (81.53 +/- 10.22)% at mRNA level detected by semi-quantitive RT-PCR and (90.52 +/- 9.31)% at protein level detected by Western blot, respectively, in LNCaP cells at 48 h. The expression of CXCR4 mRNA and protein was effectively inhibited by sequence-specific hPSA-siCXCR4 in LNCaP cells, but not in PC-3m and MCF-7 cells. The results of Transwell experiment showed that the number of cells in down-pore of micro-membrane was 139.9 +/- 14. 2 in the treated group, significantly less in comparison with 348.4 +/- 36. 4 in the controlled group (P < 0.05). However, the number of PC-3m and MCF-7 cells in down-pore of micro-membrane was not significantly different among the control and treated groups (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe downstream siRNA controlled by hPSA promoter in retrovirus system can be expressed selectively in androgen-responsive prostate carcinoma cells, showing an apparent targeting character. RNAi targeted to CXCR4 driven by hPSA promoter has a potential value in gene therapy of androgen-responsive prostate cancer.

Animals ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Genetic Vectors ; Humans ; Male ; Mice ; NIH 3T3 Cells ; Neoplasm Invasiveness ; Plasmids ; Promoter Regions, Genetic ; Prostate-Specific Antigen ; genetics ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; RNA Interference ; RNA, Messenger ; metabolism ; RNA, Small Interfering ; genetics ; Receptors, CXCR4 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Recombinant Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Retroviridae ; genetics ; Transfection