OBJECTIVETo observe microvessel density(MVD), epithelial stromal vascular cuffing(VC) and expression of vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) in human cervical carcinomas and to clarify their significance in the invasion and metastasis of cervical carcinoma.

METHODSVEGF and CD34 were stained immunohistochemically (SP) in 57 cases of cervical carcinoma (30 cases of squamous cell carcinoma, 20 of adenocarcinoma 7 of glandular and squamous cell carcinoma), 29 cases of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and 16 cases of normal cervices, meanwhile, MVD and VC were also assayed.

RESULTSThere were significant differences among the above 5 groups for MVD P<0.01 . The VC pattern showed a significant difference between cervical carcinoma and CIN or control group P<0.01). The positive rates of VEGF in normal cervical epithelium, CIN, squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, glandular and squamous cell carcinoma were 18.8% 3/16, 82.8% 24/29), 93.3% 28/30), 100% 20/20 and 7/7(100%), respectively. There were significant differences between these cervical lesion groups and the control group(P<0.001). The MVD showed significant differences between the positive pelvic node metastasis and negative pelvic node metastasis P<0.05). There was no significant correlation between the expression of VEGF and the tumor diameter, clinical stage, pathologic grade and pelvic node metastasis.

CONCLUSIONThe expression of VEGF may play an important role in the angiogenesis of cervical carcinoma. Degree of malignancy of cervical carcinoma has a close association with microvessel density.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Endothelial Growth Factors ; analysis ; Female ; Humans ; Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins ; analysis ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Lymphokines ; analysis ; Microcirculation ; Middle Aged ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms ; blood supply ; chemistry ; pathology ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factors

Objective To investigate the effects of dietary consumption of monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) on the control of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Methods One hundred and eighty-five patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus from a community in Shanghai were randomly divided into MUFA intervention group (MUFA group,n=125) and control group (n=60). The patients in MUFA group consumed tea oil enriched in MUFA for 3 months,while those in control group consumed normal oil. The serum glucose (fasting plasma glucose and 2-hour postprandial glucose),fasting insulin and blood lipid were examined before intervention and three months after intervention,and the parameters were compared within groups and between groups. Results The serum fasting glucose,fasting insulin,total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein-cholesterol 3 months after intervention were significantly lower than those before intervention in MUFA group (P0.05),while the serum fasting glucose,total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein-cholesterol in MUFA group were significantly lower than those in control group 3 months after intervention (P0.05). Conclusion Dietary consumption of MUFA can improve the glucose and lipid metabolism in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Background To optimize the culture method of human retinal microvascular endothelial cells is very important for the study of retinal angiogenesis disease.Human retinal microvascular endothelial cells have been successfully cultured in previous studies,but further improvement of the culture method to harvest higher yields and purity cells is still needed.Objective This study was to design a modified method to isolate and purify human retinal microvascular endothelial cells much easily and quickly,and to compare the expression of specific markers of vascular endothelial cells,factor Ⅷ and CD31/CD34 in the cells.Methods The use of human donor eyeballs was approved by the Ethic Commission of Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center of Sun Yat-sen University.The retina tissue from healthy donor was isolated and digested by the two-step digestion method with 2％ trypsin and 0.133％ collagenase Ⅳ.Human retinal microvascular endothelial cells were collected and plated in 60 mm dishes coated by 0.1％ fibronectin and cultured in endothelial cell-specialized medium supplemented with 10％ fetal bovine serum,0.3 mg/L β-endothelial cell growth factor (ECGF) and 100 ng/L sodium heparin.During the culturing,the growth situation of the cells was monitored by morphological observation,and immunohistochemical staining was performed to probe vascular endothelial cell-specific membrane protein CD31,CD34 and factor Ⅷ for identification of the cell purity.Results Human retinal microvascular endothelial cells were isolated successfully from the retina by the twostep digestion method.The primary cultured cells adhered to well 72 hours later and achieved confluence with the typical cobblestone appearance 9 to 10 days after cultured.The cells exhibited the blue nuclei and reddish cytoplasm by regular haematoxylin and eosin stain and showed a strong positive response for CD31,CD34 and factor Ⅷ by immunohistochemistry.The positive dye of CD31 and CD34 was lower than Ⅷ factor in both endothelial cells.Conclusions Modified culture method of human retinal microvascular endothelial cells can improve cell culture result and purify target cells.

Actins ; metabolism ; Adult ; Breast Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Calcium-Binding Proteins ; metabolism ; Cell Differentiation ; Desmin ; metabolism ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Fibroadenoma ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Hamartoma ; pathology ; Humans ; Hyperplasia ; Leiomyoma ; pathology ; Microfilament Proteins ; metabolism ; Muscle, Smooth ; pathology ; Phyllodes Tumor ; pathology

Objective To investigate the accuracy of the plasma DNA concentration in evaluating the prognosis in patients with sepsis.Methods One hundred and sixty patients with sepsis were enrolled as the sepsis group (group SE).Another 109 patients without sepsis hospitalized during the same period served as the control group (group C).The venous blood sample was taken on admission for determination of plasma DNA concentration by polymerase chain reaction,C reactive protein (CRP) concentration by ELISA.APACHE Ⅱ score and SOFA score were evaluated at 24 h after admission.The 160 patients with sepsis were divided into two groups according to the result of prognosis:survival group ( n =103) and death group ( n =57).Results Compared with group C,the plasma DNA concentration,CRP concentration,APACHE Ⅱ score and SOFA score were significantly increased in group SE (P＜0.05).Compared with survival group,the plasma DNA concentration,APACHEⅡ score and SOFA score were significantly increased in death group ( P ＜ 0.05).The areas under receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves of the plasma DNA concentration was significantly larger than those of APACHE Ⅱ score and SOFA score (0.81(95％ CI,0.74-0.88) versus 0.68(95％ CI,0.60-0.77),or 0.72(95％ CI,0.63-0.82)).Conclusion The plasma DNA concentration can accurately evaluate the prognosis in patients with sepsis.As compared with the plasma CRP concentration,APACHE Ⅱ score and SOFA score,the plasma DNA concentration is more accurate to evaluate the prognosis in patients with sepsis.

OBJECTIVETo assess the value of computed tomography( CT) in the staging and predicting respectability of primary advanced ovarian carcinoma.

METHODSThe data of preoperative abdomen and pelvis CT scan in 64 women with Stage II or IV ovarian carcinoma were collected from tumor registry database. All CT scans were analyzed retrospectively without knowledge of the operative findings, and the stage as based on CT was compared with the surgical and pathological findings. Residual lesion of < or = 2 cm in maximal diameter was considered as an optimal surgical result. Twenty-senven of these 64 patients (42.2%) underwent optimal cytoreduction surgery for residual disease C2 cm in diameter. Based on the ability of each parameter in predicting cytoreductive surgery outcome, 11 radiographic features were selected for the final model. Each predictive parameter was assigned a numeric value (1 to 7). Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value( PPV) , negative predictive value( NPV),and accuracy were calculated for each predictive parameter. Receiver operating characteristic( ROC) curve was used to assess the ability of the model to predict surgical outcome. The correlation between CT stage and surgical-pathologic stage was analyzed by Chi-square test and Spearman's rho analysis.

RESULTSThe overall accuracy of CT staging for advanced ovarian carcinoma was 87. 5% ; 86. 5% and 91.7% for stage III and IV patients respectively. The correlation between CT stage and surgicopathologic stage was found to be comformable. In the final predictive index model, when a predictive index scoreed > or = 2, the overall accuracy, sensitivity and specificity was 70. 3% , 67.6% and 74. 1% for identifying patients for suboptimal surgery. The PPV and the NPV was 78. 1% and 62. 5% , respectively. The ROC curve was generated with an area under the curve = 0. 792+/-0. 055 using the predictive index scores.

CONCLUSIONCT has a high accuracy in staging and a moderate ability to predict resectability for advanced ovarian carcinoma. Therefore, the predictive index model may be useful in the management of ovarian carcinoma patients.

Adenocarcinoma ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; surgery ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Cystadenocarcinoma ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; methods ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; surgery ; ROC Curve ; Reproducibility of Results ; Retrospective Studies ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; methods ; Treatment Outcome

Chemical constituents of ethyl acetate extract of Illicium burmanicum were isolated and purified by various chromatographic methods,including Silica gel, Sephadex LH-20, C18 reverse-phased silica gel, Preparative TLC and Preparative HPLC. Their structures were identified by spectral analysis including NMR and MS data. Fourteen compounds were separated from I. burmanicum and their structures were identified as 7S,8R-erythro-4,7,9,9'-tetrahydroxy-3,3'-dimethoxy-8-O-4'-neolignan (1), 7R,8R-threo-4,7, 9,9'-tetrahydroxy-3,3 '-dimethoxy-8-O-4'-neolignan(2) ,polystachyol(3), (-) -massoniresinol(4), angustanoic acid F (5), trans-sobrerol(6), (3S,6R) -6,7-dihydroxy-6,7-dihydrolinalool (7), (3S, 6S) -6,7-dihydroxy-6,7-dihydrolinalool (8), 2,6-dimethoxy-4-allyl-phenol (9), 3,5-dihydroxy4-hydroxy benzaldehyde (10), 3-hydroxy4-methoxybenzaldehyde (11), methyl vanillate (12), shikimic acid ethylester (13) and beta-sitosrerol (14). Except compound 14, the rest thirteen compounds were separated from this plant for the first time.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Illicium ; chemistry ; Molecular Structure ; Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization

Objective To investigate the value of ultrasound-guided diffuse optical tomography (US-guided DOT) to predict clinical efficacy of breast cancer neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC).Methods Eighty-eight breast cancer patients with 93 lesions were included.Pre-and post-last chemotherapy,the size,total hemoglobin concentration (THC) of each lesion were measured by ultrasonography (US) and US-guided DOT.Based on the guidelines to evaluate the response to treatment in solid tumors,the lesions of treated breast cancer patients were divided into 4 types of responses to NAC:complete response (CR),partial response (PR),stable disease (SD),and progressive disease (PD).Efficient groups include CR and PR groups.Results As expected,no significant difference was found in size and THC for untreated lesions (all P ＞0.05).However,for the treated lesions(P =0.001),THC,pre-vs post-treatment size changes (△Size％) (P =0.002) and THC changes (△THC％) (P ＜0.001) were significantly varied among CR,PR,SD,PD groups.When compared with pre-treated,tumor sizes after treatment were changed significantly in all CR(P ＜0.001),PR(P ＜0.001),SD (P =0.023) and PD (P =0.001),while significant change of THC was only found in CR(P ＜0.001),PR(P ＜0.001) and SD (P =0.002).When △THC％ =23.9％ as the threshold for prediction of NAC efficiency,the area under the curve of ROC was 0.75,and the sensitivity was 73.7％,specificity was 76.5 ％,positive predictive value was 93.3 ％,negative predictive value was 39.4％,accuracy was 74.2％.Conclusions △size％ changes in consistent with △THC％ among the intergroups,but their changes levels are different,the highest change percent appears in CR,gradually decreased in PR,SD groups.△THC％ will contribute to predict preoperative clinical NAC efficacy.

Background The incidence of retinal vascular diseases increase annually,such as diabetic retinopathy,retinopathy of prematurity and age-related macular degeneration.The key of treatment for these diseases is how to evaluate retinal vascular change effectively and objectively.Retro-orbital injection of fluorescein isothiocyanatedextran (FITC-dextran) is a simple and effective method for observing C57BL/6J mouse retinal vessels.But,whether it is suitable for other mice and rats is seldom reported.Objective This experiment was to assess the feasibility of the observation of retinal vessels by retro-orbital injection of FITC-dextran in different genus of mouse and offer the reference for relevant study.Methods Twelve animals of C57BL/6J mice,Kunming mice,SD rats and Wistar rats were selected,respectively and divided into the experimental group and control group at average.The right eyes of the animals of the experimental group received the retro-orbital injection of 9 ml/kg FITC-dextran,and the right eyes of animals of the control group received PBS solution at the same volume and way.All the animals were sacrificed 10 seconds after injection and both eyes of each animal were obtained for retinal stretched preparation.The retrobulbar tissue and whole-mount retina were viewed under a fluorescence microscope.The use of the animals complied with Regulation for the Administration of Affair Concerning Experimental Animals by State Science and Technology Commission.Results Retinal blood vessels labeled by FITC-dextran could be observed in both eyes of C57BL/6J mice and Kunming mice to present with a green fluorescence in experimental group under a fluorescence microscope,but no any fluorescence-labeled retinal blood vessel was exhibited in the control mice.The retinal blood vessel could not be observed in all eyes of SD rats and Wistar rats after the injection of FITC-dextran both in the experimental group and the control group under a fluorescence microscope.The surrounding tissues of the right eyes of mice and rats dyed with green fluorescence of FITC-dextran in the experimental group,however,green fluorescence could not be seen in the surrounding tissues of the left eyes of mice and rats.Conclusions Retro-orbital injection of FITC-dextran is a suitable method of observing the retinal vessels of mouse but not rat.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of hydroquinone (HQ) on expression of topoisomerase IIα (TOPOIIα) in human bone marrow mononuclear cells, and to explore the role and possible regulatory mechanism of TOPOIIα involved in toxicity of HQ to hematopoietic cells.

METHODSAfter human bone marrow mononuclear cells were exposed to 50 µmol/L HQ (used the cells which were exposed to sterile distilled water as control); the activity of TOPOII was measured by TOPOII assay kit; the expression levels of TOPOIIα mRNA and protein were detected by RT-PCR technique and Western blotting method respectively; the chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay was carried out to study the possible mechanism of TOPOIIα expression changes.

RESULTS(1) The activity of TOPOII was inhibited obviously; the protein and mRNA expression of TOPOIIα were 0.017 ± 0.029 and 0.610 ± 0.128, significantly lower than that in the control with the significant difference (P < 0.01) after treated with HQ for 10 h; (2) The decreased content of TOPOIIα was associated with descended level of histone H4 acetylation than in the control, from 1.198 ± 0.056 to 0.324 ± 0.229, with the significant difference (P < 0.01), without accompanied descended level of histone H3 acetylation, from 1.253 ± 0.045 to 1.177 ± 0.025 (P > 0.05); (3) TOPOIIα mRNA expression decreased gradually after HQ processing, and the chemical modification (histone H4 acetylation) of TOPOIIα promoter happened prior to the mRNA expression.

CONCLUSIONHQ could repress the expression of TOPOIIα in human bone marrow mononuclear cells; the change of histone chemical modification plays an important role in the benzene's hematopoietic toxicity.

Acetylation ; Adult ; Antigens, Neoplasm ; metabolism ; Bone Marrow Cells ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Cells, Cultured ; DNA Topoisomerases, Type II ; metabolism ; DNA-Binding Proteins ; metabolism ; Female ; Histones ; metabolism ; Humans ; Hydroquinones ; toxicity ; Male ; Young Adult