This study aimed to investigate the synergistic effect of lidamycin (LDM) and rituximab on human B cell lymphoma Ramos cells. Cell proliferation was measured using MTS assay, cell apoptosis was analyzed by Annexin V-FITC/PI assay, the expression of apoptosis related proteins was analyzed by Western blotting, and the in vivo lymphoma inhibition was verified using BALB/c mice inoculated via tail vein using Ramos cells which stably expressed pEGFP-N1 plasmid. The results showed that, after the pretreatment with rituximab for 48 h, rituximab and LDM showed significantly synergistic effects on cell proliferation. Cells in combined treatment group had a higher apoptosis rate than that in LDM treatment group. Compared with the LDM treatment group, the expression of apoptosis-related proteins such as Cleaved caspase-3, Cleaved caspase-7, Cleaved caspase-9 and Cleaved PARP in combined treatment groups increased, and expression of cIAP-2 and Bcl-2 decreased. The result of in vivo experiment showed that, in the combined treatment group, the survival time of BALB/c mice was significantly longer than the mice in control group and LDM treatment group, and the degree of tumor accumulation and metastasis to lymph nodes and spleen was lower.
Aminoglycosides ; pharmacology ; Animals ; Antibiotics, Antineoplastic ; pharmacology ; Antineoplastic Agents ; pharmacology ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Caspase 3 ; metabolism ; Caspase 7 ; metabolism ; Caspase 9 ; metabolism ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Drug Synergism ; Enediynes ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins ; metabolism ; Lymphoma, B-Cell ; metabolism ; pathology ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Mice, Nude ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Neoplasm Transplantation ; Poly(ADP-ribose) Polymerases ; metabolism ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 ; metabolism ; Random Allocation ; Rituximab ; pharmacology

Abstract: Schistosomiasis, an important zoonotic parasitic disease, is one of the six major tropical diseases identified by WHO, and also one of the most important parasitic diseases for prevention and control in China. After more than 70 years of efforts, the prevention and control of schistosomiasis in China has made great achievements, and the current epidemic of schistosomiasis in China has entered an extremely low epidemic state, but the distribution base of the only intermediate host of schistosomiasis, Oncomelania hupensis, is still large. For now, the techniques used to monitor schistosomiasis have shortcomings such as time-consuming, laborious and low sensitivity, which cannot meet the current needs of China. Environmental DNA (eDNA) refers to DNA that can be extracted from environmental samples (such as soil, water or air) without isolating any target organisms, which is a complex mixture of genomic DNA and its degradation products from different organisms in the same environment. eDNA technology can reflect the community or species composition information in the ecosystem through DNA extraction and detection of environmental samples. Compared with traditional biological monitoring methods, eDNA technology has the advantages of high efficiency, high sensitivity and environmental friendliness. eDNA has been successfully used for the specific detection of Schistosoma mansoni, Schistosoma haematobium and Schistosoma japonicum. This paper reviews the current detection methods of eDNA, the application and technical limitations of eDNA technology in schistosomiasis monitoring, aiming to provide scientific reference for research in the field of schistosomiasis surveillance.

Objective To investigate the immediate effects of lower limb with open chain weight-adding on joint position sense and gait symmetry in stroke patients. Methods From January, 2016 to January, 2017, 39 stroke patients were included. Their joint position sense and gait symmetry were compared before and after weight-adding. The joint position senses of active reproduction of active positioning (ARAP) and passive reproduction of passive positioning (PRPP) were assessed during lower limb straight leg raise. The gait symmetry was also as-sessed and three indexes were recorded including the symmetry of foot rotation angle, step length and percentage of single leg support phase. Results After weight-adding, the position sense of PRPP did not improve (t=0.832, P=0.832), nor of the symmetry of foot rotation an-gle (t=-0.704, P=0.483) and percentage of single leg support phase (t=0.381, P=0.702);the position sense of ARAP improved (t=3.158, P=0.011), as well as the symmetry of step length (t=2.022, P=0.041). Conclusion The lower limb with open chain weight-adding could im-prove the active joint position sense and symmetry of step length.

Objective To observe the influence of coal burning fluorosis on learning and memory ability in rats and reveal its possible mechanisms. Methods Healthy 48 SD rats were divided into control, low-fluoride and high-fluoride group. All rats in fluoride exposed groups were fed with the eom polluted by drying processes with burning coal containing high level of fluoride obtained from the endemic fluorosis area to produce the animal model of fluorosis. The experiment period were 3,6 mouths, respectively. The ability of leaning and memory was measured by Morris test and cholinesterase activity detected by photometric method at 3 or 6 month after experiment, respectively. Results Fluoride contents signifieantlly influenced the escape latency, the numbers of crossing the platforms and the time of staying the platforms(the value of F was 29.29,6.47,6.50, respectively, P<0.01).In addition, the numbers of crossing the platforms and the time of staying the platforms were influenced by the exposed time(the value of F was 16.11,45.59, P<0.01). Furthermore, the fluoride contents and the exposed time had an interaction between the numbers of crossing the platforms and the time of staying the platforms (the value of F was 4.67,5.68, P<0.05 or<0.01). Three months after the experiment, the mean values of escape latency [(14.71± 4.85)s] of rats in highly fluoride exposed group were significantly prolonged as compared with controls [(9.28±4.22)s]; 6 month after the experiment, the mean values of escape latency[(12.42±8.03)s, (17.48± 8.05)s] of rats in both groups exposed to fluoride were significantly prolonged as compared to controls [(7.04± 3.29)s, P<0.05]. The decreased numbers of crossing the platforms[(1.62±0.87)number] and the declined time of staying the platforms[(16.70±5.02)s] were found in the rats exposed to high fluoride as compared to controls [(3.53±1.67 )number, (23.33±5.35)s, P<0.05]. The fluoride contents obviously influenced the activities of acetylcholinesterase and butylcolinesterase (the value of F was 12.83,13.27, P<0.01). On the other hand, the times of breeding also influnced the activities of butylcolinesterase (the value of F was 16.26, P<0.01). In 3 months of the experiment, the activities of butylcolinesterase [(0.55±0.12)kU/g] in low fluoride exposed group were significantly decreased in comparison with controls[(0.73±0.10)kU/g, P<0.05]. The activities of acetylcholinesterase[(0.62±0.42)kU/g] and butylcolioesterase[(0.58±0.10)kU/g] in high fluoride group were significantly decreased as compared to eontrois[(1.41±0.52), (0.73±0.10)kU/g, P<0.05]. The correlation analysis showed that there was a negative correlation between the cholinesterase and the escape latency(r=-0.68, P< 0.01), and a positive correlation between the cholinesterase and the time of staying the platforms(r=0.57, P< 0.01). Conclusions The ability of learning and memory in rats with coal buring fluorosis was decreased, which might be connected to the decreased activity of cholinesterase in a dose-effect correlation.

This study purposed to investigate the effects of different oxygen concentrations and reactive oxygen species (ROS) on the biological characteristics of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) and their possible mechanisms through simulating oxygen environment to which the peripheral blood HSC are subjected in peripheral blood HSCT. The proliferation ability, cell cycle, directed differentiation ability, ROS level and hematopoietic reconstitution ability of Lin(-)c-kit(+)Sca-1(+) BMHSC were detected by using in vitro amplification test, directional differentiation test, cell cycle analysis, ROS assay and transplantation of Lin(-)c-kit(+)Sca-1(+) HSC from sublethally irradiated mice respectively. The results showed that oxygen concentrations lower than normal oxygen concentration, especially in hypoxic oxygen environment, could reduce ROS generation and amplify more primitive CD34(+)AC133(+) HSC and active CD34(+) HSC, and maintain more stem cells in the G(0)/G(1) phase, which is more helpful to the growth of CFU-S and viability of mice. At the same time, BMHSC exposed to normal oxygen level or inconstant and greatly changed oxygen concentrations could produce a high level of ROS, and the above-mentioned features and functional indicators are relatively low. It is concluded that ROS levels of HSC in BMHSCT are closely related with the oxygen concentration surrounding the cells and its stability. Low oxygen concentration and antioxidant intervention are helpful to transplantation of BMHSC.
Animals ; Bone Marrow Cells ; cytology ; metabolism ; Cell Differentiation ; Cells, Cultured ; Female ; Hematopoietic Stem Cells ; cytology ; metabolism ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Oxygen ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; metabolism

Rolling circle amplification (RCA) is a newly developed experimental technique that can specific ally amplify circular DNA. Since 2008, RCA has been extensively used in hepatitis B virus (HBV) research, such as the amplification of the full-length sequence of the HBV genome, and the analysis of the drug-resistant mutations of HBV covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA), amongst others. To create an easy assay for the analysis of duck hepatitis B virus (DHBV) cccDNA, this study established an RCA-based method. DHBV cccDNA was amplified from the DHBV DNA samples of duck liver with four pairs of sulfur-modified primers, which were designed according to the highly conserved sequence of DHBV using sera DHBV DNA as the negative control. DHBV cccDNA was detected in the obtained RCA products by the sequencing of RCA amplicons that were amplified with primer pairs on both sides of the gap of DH BV relaxed circular DNA, rather than by digesting RCA products with a restriction enzyme. The liver and sera DHBV DNA samples of 39 ducks infected with DHBV were examined with the RCA-based DHBV cccDNA detection method, and the results showed that while DHBV cccDNA was detected from all 39 liver DHBV DNA samples, no DHBV cccDNA was found in any of the sera DHBV DNA samples. These results suggest that the method established in the study is highly specific and sensitive for the detection of DHBV cccDNA. The establishment of this RCA-based DHBV method for cccDNA detection lays the groundwork for using a DHBV model to study the role of cccDNA in the pathogenesis of hepatitis B and to evaluate the effect of anti-virus therapies.
Animals ; DNA Primers ; genetics ; DNA, Circular ; genetics ; DNA, Viral ; genetics ; Ducks ; Hepadnaviridae Infections ; veterinary ; virology ; Hepatitis B Virus, Duck ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Liver ; virology ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; methods ; Poultry Diseases ; virology

OBJECTIVETo investigate the relationship between hyperuricemia and contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

METHODSA total of 446 consecutive patients with CKD undergoing PCI in Guangdong general hospital were enrolled in this study. Patients were divided into hyperuricemic group (n = 205) and normouricemic group (n = 241).Hyperuricemia was defined as serum uric acid > 420 µmol/L for male, > 357 µmol/L for female. CIN was defined as ≥ 44.2 µmol/L or ≥ 25% increase from baseline Serum creatinine within 48-72 hours after contrast medium exposure, and that was not attributable to other causes.In hospital incidences of CIN and the major adverse cardiac events were compared between the two groups. The relationship between the incidence of CIN and hyperuricemia was evaluated by multivariate logistic regression analysis.

RESULTSCIN occurred in 16.6% (74/446) of patients, and incidence of CIN was significantly higher in the hyperuricemic group than in the normouricemic group [23.9% (49/446) vs. 10.4% (25/446) , P = 0.000]. Patients who developed CIN had higher in hospital mortality [14.9% (11/74) vs. 1.3% (5/372), P = 0.000]. Need for renal replacement therapy, acute heart failure, intra-aortic balloon pump use and the hypotension after PCI were significantly higher in the hyperuricemic group compared with normouricemic group (P < 0.01 or P < 0.05) . Multivariate analysis indicates that hyperuricemia (OR = 1.9, 95%CI:1.1-3.5, P = 0.037), age > 75 years (OR = 3.2, 95%CI:1.8-5.7, P = 0.000) , emergent PCI (OR = 2.9, 95%CI:1.6-5.1, P = 0.000) and anemia (OR = 2.1, 95%CI:1.2-3.8, P = 0.012) were predictors of CIN in patients with CKD.

CONCLUSIONHyperuricemia is the independent risk predictor of CIN in patients with CKD undergoing PCI.

Aged ; Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary ; Contrast Media ; adverse effects ; Female ; Humans ; Hyperuricemia ; complications ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention ; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic ; complications ; therapy ; Risk Factors

Objective To investigate the current situation of perioperative pain treatment and management using questionnaire survey.Methods A questionnaire was designed by ourselves and sent to anesthesiologists in each hospital all over China via the WeChat platform within 1 month.The system automatically recorded the situation of questionnaires.Results A total of 8 447 anesthesiologists involved in the investigation,the number of valid questionnaires retrieved was 6 778,anesthesiologists in the survey came from 847 hospitals in China,distributing across China 31 provinces and cities,and there were 526 tertiary hospitals (62.1％) and 321 hospitals under tertiary grade (37.9％).Among the medication for perioperative analgesia (not including medication for anesthesia),the following analgesics (applied alone or in combination) were used by anesthesiologists,and the application rate was as follows:opioids 79.74％,nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs 53.78％,paracetamol 25.76％,local analgesics for analgesia (for nerve blockade) 25.44％,other drugs (such as ketamine,gabapentin) 12.39％;combination of two or more drugs 63.65％.Six hundred forty-nine hospitals (76.6％) carried out therapy with analgesic pump after operation,and the constituent ratio of hospitals using patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) pump was 43.8％.Four hundred seventy-five hospitals (56.1％) established Acute Pain Service (APS),the organizing rate of APS was significantly higher in tertiary hospitals than in hospitals under tertiary grade (P＜ 0.01),and the majority of APS personnel was anesthesiologists (72.4％).Conclusion Multimodal analgesia and PCA technique are not widely adopted and the requirement for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and nerve blockade is lower in perioperative pain treatment in China;analgesic pump is widely used after operation,but the application rate of PCA technique is not high;APS establishment is relatively weak in pain management and anesthesiologists play a leading role in APS.

The clinical tumor therapy was greatly challenged due to the complex characteristics of tumor microenvironment, however, which also provide arena for novel therapeutic strategies. In this study, poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline)-poly(lactic acid)-SS-poly(β-amino ester (PEOz-PLA-SS-PBAE) triblock copolymers with pH and GSH double response were synthesized, polymer micelles were prepared by thin film hydration method for loading of silybin to improve its antitumor activity. The critical micelle concentration was determined by pyrene fluorescence method as 1.8 μg·mL^-1. The particle size was 155.30 ± 1.80 nm as determined by dynamic light scattering, with polydispersity index of 0.168 ± 0.004. The drug loading and entrapment efficiency of the micelles were determined by HPLC as (5.48 ± 0.04)% and (68.52 ± 0.48)%, respectively. The in vitro drug release profiles showed that the micelles have low pH sensitivity and high GSH responsiveness, and exhibited sustained release profiles. The good biocompatibility of the material was proved by measuring the hemolysis rate and cytotoxicity of the blank micelle. The cytotoxicity and apoptosis rate of tumor cells showed that the drug loaded PEOz-PLA-SS-PBAE micelles had significant inhibitory effect and apoptosis-inducing effect on MDA-MB-231 cells. The results of wounding healing assay and Transwell invasion test showed that the drug loaded PEOz-PLA-SS-PBAE micelles could significantly inhibit the metastasis of MDA-MB-231 cells. The PEOz-PLA-SS-PBAE drug-loaded micelles prepared in this study have good inhibitory effect on tumor growth and anti-tumor metastasis in vitro, which lays the foundation for the further application of silybin.

OBJECTIVETo explore the optimal treatment selection for treating varicocele (VC) male infertility patients accompanied with oligozoospermia or azoospermia of different Chinese medical syndrome types by comparing the efficacies of integrative medicine.

METHODSOne hundred and twenty male infertility patients with VC accompanied with oligozoospermia or azoospermia were assigned to Chinese medical treatment group (A) and the surgical group (B), each consisting of three Chinese medical syndrome types, i.e., damp-heat stagnation syndrome (DHSS), Shen-deficiency blood stasis syndrome (SDBSS), and blood stasis stagnation syndrome (BSSS), 20 in each group. Corresponding Chinese medical treatment was administered to those in Group A, C, and E, while microscopic ligation of internal vena spermatic was administered to those in Group B, D, and F. The routine analysis of semen, biochemical analysis of seminal plasma, and serum sex hormones (prolactin, testosterone, follicle stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, and estradiol) were performed before treatment and by the end of the 24th week after treatment.

RESULTSTotally 18 patients' spouses were pregnant. Of them, 1 in Group A of DHSS (abbreviated as Group A), 3 in Group B of DHSS (abbreviated as Group B), 4 in Group A of SDB-SS (abbreviated as Group C), 5 in Group A of SDBSS (abbreviated as Group D), 1 in Group A of BSSS (abbreviated as Group E), and 4 in Group B of BSSS (abbreviated as Group F). After 24-week treatment, the sperm concentration, class a sperm percentage, class a + b sperm percentage, the motility rate, the seminal plasma of fructose density, and the seminal plasma neutral alpha-glucosidase were more significantly improved in Group B, C, D and F, when compared with the same group before treatment (P <0. 01, P <0. 05). There was no statistical difference in the aforesaid indices between before and after treatment in Group A and Group E (P >0.05). As for the improvement percentage of seminal routine indices, the difference of the seminal plasma of fructose density, and the difference of seminal plasma neutral alpha-glucosidase between before and after treatment in the same Chinese medical syndrome types, better effects were obtained in Group B than in Group A (P <0.01), and better effects were obtained in Group F than in Group E (P <0.01). There was no statistical difference between Group C and D (P >0.05). There was no statistical difference in the 5 items of sex hormones in each group between before and after treatment (P >0.05).

CONCLUSIONSSurgical treatment could effectively improve the semen quality for male infertility VC patients accompanied with oligozoospermia or azoospermia. Of them, Chinese medical treatment could be recommended to those of SDBSS who would not receive surgical treatment.

Adult ; Humans ; Infertility, Male ; diagnosis ; etiology ; therapy ; Integrative Medicine ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Phytotherapy ; Varicocele ; complications ; diagnosis ; therapy