Nomegestrol acetate, 19-norprogesterone de ri vatives, has been used for oral contraception. Recently, studies showed that nom egestrol was a selective estrogen enzyme modulator (SEEM). Nomegestrol is capabl e of inhibiting estrone sulfatase and 17-beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (17 beta-HSD) and increasing the activity of sulfotransferase,which will provide a new option in the treatment of breast cancer. In addition, nomegestrol has stro ng reversal effects on multidrug resistance in breast cancer cells. In vitro, nomegestrol also exhibits as an inhibitor on endometrial proliferation in uter us. These advances will be introduced in the present review.

Objective To investigate the clinical characteristics between elderly and non-elderly patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) in order to provide the base for diagnosis and management of the disease.Methods Two hundred and four patients with UC admitted to Shengjing Hospital from January 2009 to December 2011 were enrolled in this study.The patients were divided into elderly group (≥60 years of age) and non-elderly group(＜ 60 years of age).The clinical manifestation,laboratory examination indices and endoscopic feature were recorded and analyzed.Results Among the 204 cases with UC,33 (16.2％,33/204) were elderly patients,and 171 (83.8％,171/204) were non-elderly patients.Onset peak of U C was ranged from 30-39 years old.There was no significant difference in terms of other indices of clinical presentations,extraintestinal manifestations,complications,clinical and endoscopic score between two groups.The rate of abdominal distension,constipation,difficult defecation,alteration of intestinal flora,hypokalemia and hypoproteinemia in elderly group were 36.4％,9.1％,6.1％,66.7％,45.5％,36.4％ respectively,higher than that in in nonelderly group (14.6％,1.2％,0.6％,48.0％,14.0％,20.5％ respectively),and there was significant differences between groups (x2 =8.808,7.260,5.724,3.876,17.660 and 3.942 respectively,P ＜ 0.05).Endoscopic examination revealed that the colonic lesion parts in elderly patients was limited in left-side colon and protosigmoid,which was different from that of no-elderly group (P =0.044).Conclusion The elderly patients showed a similar clinical manifestation with non-elderly patients.However,the colonic lesion parts in elder group was limited to left-side colon and protosigmoid.They also had the higher rate of hypoproteinemia,hypokalemia and alteration of intestinal flora,which needed to pay more attention.

Objective: Combining with national drug sampling program,to evaluate the current quality situation and problems of compound Yinqiao and paracetamol and chlorphenamine maleate capsules by testing and analyzing 78 batches of samples collected from the realm of drug production and circulation all over the country in 2015.Methods: As the current standard could not control the product quality, and combined the prescribed examination with exploratory research, the method of HPLC was used to determine the contents.GC and TLC was respectively used to identify peppermint oil and study on forsythin.Near infrared spectrum database was established by near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), which provided the basis for rapid testing.The results of the prescribed examination and exploratory research were statistically analyzed.Results: There were significant differences in the results of the prescribed examination and exploratory research.Conclusion: The results of exploratory research show that there are many defects in the statutory standards.The product quality of different manufactures was divers, and it is necessary to guide them to improve the preparation process and the quality.More exclusive, accurate and sensitive methods should be used to comprehensively control the quality.

To investigate the effect of recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) on JAK2-STAT3 pathway and the growth of gastric cancer cell lines at different GHR expression status, the eukaryotic expression vector targeting human GHR (pGPU6/GFP/Neo-shGHR and pGPU6/GFP/Neo-scramble) was constructed and transfected into MGC803 cells by Lipofectamine 2000. Stable expressive cell lines were obtained by G418 screening. The expression of GHR was analyzed by Western blotting. After being stimulated with rhGH, cell growth was detected by MTT assay. Cell cycle and apoptosis were examined by flow cytometry. The components of JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway were detected by Western blotting. There is no significant difference of GHR expression between MGC803 and pGPU6/GFP/Neo-scramble-transfected cells (named as MGC803-NC) (P > 0.05). Compared with MGC803, the GHR expression in pGPU6/GFP/Neo-shGHR-transfected cells (named as MGC803-shGHR) decreased significantly (protein decreased 50%). The cells were treated with rhGH at 0, 150 and 300 ng x mL(-1), the growth rate of MGC803 and MGC803-NC increased significantly, PI and the number of G2/M phase cells all increased significantly, and apoptosis decreased significantly. Western blotting revealed that the expression of pJAK2 and pSTAT3 was up-regulated after being treated with rhGH in MGC803 and MGC803-NC cells. In contrast, similar change was not observed in MGC803-shGHR cells. Knockdown of GHR gene may decrease the sensitivity of gastric cancer cells to rhGH, and down-regulating of components of the expression of JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway may be the potential mechanisms.

Objective To investigate the effects of 15-deoxy-?12,14-prostaglandin J2(15d-PGJ2) and DDP on the growth of human pulmonary carcinoma PLA-801D cells and the mechanisms of apoptosis.Methods The human pulmonary carcinoma PLA-801D cells were selected and added to each well of 96-well place and cultivated for 24 h.Then the cells were treated with different concentrations of 15d-PGJ2(0,5,10,20,40 and 80 ?g?L-1) or 15d-PGJ2 combined with DDP(3 mg?L) for 24 h.0 ?g?L-1 15d-PGJ2 group was control group.The morphological changes of cells were observed under inverted microscope.Microculture tetrazolium(MTT)dye was applied to detect the proliferation of the human pulmonary carcinoma PLA-801D cells treated with 15d-PGJ2 and DDP.Diphenylamine assay(DPA) was used to evaluate the activation.Flow cytometry assay(FCM) was used to detect the apoptosis proportion and the changes of cell cycle.Results When the human pulmonary carcinoma PLA-801D cells were treated with low-concentration 15d-PGJ2 alone(5,10 and 20 ?g?L-1),no significant difference was observed in the inhibitory rate of cell growth and the apoptotic indexes such as the apoptosis proportion,the percent of DNA fragmentation and the activity of caspase-3 compared with control group(P

Objective To investigate the effects of recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) on tumor growth and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression of human gastric carcinoma xenografts in nude mice with different expressions of growth hormone receptor (GHR). Methods Immunocytochemical method was used to pick out one GHR-positive and one GHR-negative cell line. Then the cells were subcutaneously injected into 24 nude mice separately. The nude mice bearing two different kinds of human gastric caicinoma were equalges of body weight and tumor volume of nude mice were recorded. Serum concentrations of VEGF in peripheral blood were analyzed by ELISA. VEGF protein and mRNA expression in tumor tissue were detected by immunohistochemistry and RT-PCR, respectively. Results We chose SGC-7901 as GHR positive group, and MKN-45 as the negative one. For nude mice bearing GHR + SGC-7901 xenografts, the tumor volumes were significantly larger in rhGH groups than in control group (P ＜ 0.05), and the high-dose rhGH group revealed greater effect (P ＜ 0. 05).Body weights were not significantly different among three groups (P ＞ 0. 05). Serum VEGF concentration was (252.94 ± 15.32) ng/L in the high-dose rhGH group, which was significantly higher than that in control group [(49.94 ± 5.73) ng/L] and low-dose rhGH group [(167.60 ± 9.54) ng/L] (P ＜ 0.05). Moderate positive staining with VEGF was observed in the control group, while VEGF staining was strong in rhGH administration groups. The relative expression of VEGF mRNA for the high-dose rhGH group was 0. 6470 ± 0. 0447, which was significantly higher than that in control group (0. 3230 ± 0. 0258)and low-dose rhGH group (0. 412 ± 0. 0351)(P ＜ 0.05). While for nude mice bearing GHR-MKN-45 xenografts, the body weights of the rhGH-administrated groups were significantly higher than that of control group (P ＜ 0.05), while tumor growth, serum VEGF concentration, and the expressions of VEGF mRNA and protein in tumor tissue were not significantly different (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusions rhGH can promote tumor growth and increase the expression of VEGF in the GHR-highly-expressed SGC-7901 xenograft tumor model. However, such effects do not exist in GHR-negatively-expressed MKN-45 xenograft tumor model. The existence of GHR may be a key target where rhGH influences the secretion of VEGF.

Articular cartilage defects are commonly found in clinics. It is always a great challenge for the repair of cartilage defects due to the limited self-regeneration after injury. Tissue engineering,a newly emerging biotechnique to regenerate cartilage with chondrogenic potential cells and biodegradable scaffolds in vivo and in vitro,provides a promising method to solve the challenge in cartilage defects repair. To regenerate cartilage with favourable structure and function,it is essential to gain a deep insight into the biochemical structure,biomechanical property and their relationship of articular cartilage. This article gives an introduction to the biochemical structure,biomechanical property and their relationship of both native and tissue-engineered cartilage.

Objective: Clone, express and purify human recombinant calreticulin (CRT). Methods: Human CRT cDNA was amplified from total RNA of human lung cancer cell line A549 cells by RT-PCR. Then, PCR product was subcloned into prokaryotic expression vector pET-15b. After sequencing, this recombinant plasmid was transformed into E.coli. Rossetta. Recombinant CRT was expressed in host cells by IPTG induction. Resulted protein was purified by Ni-NTA resin under denature condition and dialyzed to recover its native structure. SDS-PAGE and Western blot method were used to identify the expression and purification of reconbinant CRT. Results: Human CRT cDNA was cloned from total RNA of A549 cells. CRT prokaryotic expression vector pET-15b-crt was constructed. Reconbinant CRT was induced to express in E.coli and purified by Ni-NTA affinity chromatograph. Conclusion: A method for prokaryotic expression and purification of human recombinant CRT was successfully established. This method laid a foundation for the subsequent CRT research.

To investigate the effects of Caulis Sargentodoxae Granule (CSG), a compound traditional Chinese herbal medicine for treating endometriosis, on expressions of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its receptor-2 fetal liver kinase-1 (Flk-1) in rats with endometriosis.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the characteristics of patients on long-term peritoneal dialysis (PD). MethodsPatients who started PD since 1994 and received PD for at least one year were included in this study. According to dialysis duration, patients were divided into two groups. Group A (long-term) was defined as patients survived on PD for more than 5 years. Group B (short-term) was defined as patients who died or switched to bemodialysis within less than 5 years. Demography, biochemical indexes, dialysis prescription and adequacy were compared between two groups. ResultsThere were 68 patients in group A and 98 patients in group B. Mean followed-up period of group A and B was (84.80±19.42) months and (27.25±12.31) months, respectively. Younger, fewer episodes of diabetic comorbidity (group A 3/68 vs group B 18/98, P ＜0.05) and coronary heart disease (group A 6/68 vs group B 22/98, P＜0.05) were found in group A. Compared to group B, the level of serum albumin at the beginning of PD was much higher in group A [(35.56±4.74) g/L vs (33.69±5.45) g/L, P＜0.01). The levels of blood sugar, TC, TG, hemoglobin, calcium, phosphate and iPTH were not significantly different between two groups. Estimated GFR, renal Kt/V and renal Ccr at the beginning of dialysis were much higher in group A, however there was no significant difference in urinary volume between two groups. Both estimated GFR and urinary volume decreased more slowly in group A compared to group B. Peritonitis mobidity was lower in group A (1/81.22 months vs 1/29.03 months, P＜0.01). Conclusions In comparison to short-term survivors, long-term PD patients are characterized by being younger, less diabetic and coronary heart disease, fewer episodes of peritonitis, higher level of serum albumin, higher estimated GFR and less loss of residual renal function.