Adult ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Esophageal and Gastric Varices ; drug therapy ; etiology ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage ; drug therapy ; etiology ; Humans ; Infusions, Intravenous ; Liver Cirrhosis ; complications ; drug therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Phytotherapy

Objective To study the effects of tumor necrosis factor-?(TNF-?) on hypermetabolism of skeletal muscle protein in rats with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD) and explore the mechanisms. Methods Forty-five SD rats were randomly divided into normal control group,COPD group and COPD +TNF-? group(n=15).Rat COPD models were established by passive cigarette smoking in COPD group and COPD +TNF-? group.After dissecting and isolating the extensor digitorium longus(EDL) muscles,the EDL muscles were either cultured with media containing 10 ug/L recombinant rat TNF-? or without TNF-?.The subsequent changes in ubiquitin mRNA and protein levels were determined by real-time quantitative PCR and Western blot,respectively. Results The expressions of ubiquitin mRNA and protein of COPD group and COPD+TNF-? group were higher than those of normal contro1 group(P

Wip1 is a nuclear protein and a member of serine/threonine specific protein phosphatase type 2C(PP2C)family.It was initially identified as a gene whose expression was induced in response to ? or UV radiation in a p53-dependent manner and a negative feedback regulation of p38MAPK-p53 signaling.Then,Wip1 gene was confirmed a proto-oncogene and amplified or overexpressed in several human tumor types.This review will introduce the structures and functions of Wip1 and details on the signaling process of cancer progression.

To study the impact of five different origin processing methods, namely natural drying, drying in baking shop, drying by microwave heating, drying in drum and drying with sulphur fumigation, on the quality of Lonicerae Japonicae Flos from Donghai cultivation base in Jiangsu Province, with the contents of chlorogenic acid and galuteolin and the similarity in HPLC fingerprints as the evaluation indicators. The results showed that different origin processing methods had significant impact on the content of chlorogenic acid and the similarity in HPLC fingerprints, but with no significant difference on the content of galuteolin. By means of drying by microwave heating and drying in drum, the samples showed higher contents of chlorogenic acid, respectively 3.67% and 3.39%. The similarities of HPLC fingerprints were 0.815 and 0.793, respectively. By means of the drying in baking shop and the drying with sulphur fumigation, the contents of chlorogenic acid in the samples were 2. 87% and 2. 53% , respectively. The similarities of HPLC fingerprints were 0.964 and 0.765, respectively. The lowest content of chlorogenic acid in naturally dried samples was 1.92%. The similarity of HPLC fingerprints was 0.940. According to the findings as well as the internal control standards for Lonicerae Japonicae Flos herbs of Jiangsu Kanion Pharmaceutical Co. , Ltd. , the optimum processing method for Lonicerae Japonicae Flos from Donghai cultivation base was the drying in baking shop. This study provided a theoretical basis for determining the processing method for Lonicerae Japonicae Flos from Donghai cultivation base of Jiangsu Province.
China ; Desiccation ; methods ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; Lonicera ; chemistry ; growth & development ; Quality Control

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were induced into a nucleus pulposus-like phenotype utilizing simulated microgravity in vitro in order to establish a new cell-based tissue engineering treatment for intervertebral disc degeneration. For induction of a nucleus pulposus-like phenotype, MSCs were cultured in simulated microgravity in a chemically defined medium supplemented with 0 (experimental group) and 10 ng/mL (positive control group) of transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1). MSCs cultured under conventional condition without TGF-β1 served as blank control group. On the day 3 of culture, cellular proliferation was determined by WST-8 assay. Differentiation markers were evaluated by histology and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). TGF-β1 slightly promoted the proliferation of MSCs. The collagen and proteoglycans were detected in both groups after culture for 7 days. The accumulation of proteoglycans was markedly increased. The RT-PCR revealed that the gene expression of Sox-9, aggrecan and type II collagen, which were chondrocyte specific, was increased in MSCs cultured under simulated microgravity for 3 days. The ratio of proteoglycans/collagen in blank control group was 3.4-fold higher than positive control group, which denoted a nucleus pulposus-like phenotype differentiation. Independent, spontaneous differentiation of MSCs towards a nucleus pulposus-like phenotype in simulated microgravity occurred without addition of any external bioactive stimulators, namely factors from TGF-β family, which were previously considered necessary.

Objective The levels of Thl cytokines(IL-10 and IL-13)and Th2 cytokines(INF-? and TNF-?)were determined in the sera of patients with Schistosomiasis japonica in order to find the relationship between cytokines and severe hepatic fibrosis(HF)in schistosomiasis.Methods A total of 358 patients with advanced Schistosomiasis japonica were examined by ultrasound.68 HBsAg negative patients were chosen randomly as experimental control.Among them,39 patients were found to have mild HF and 29 were severe HF.The sera levels of Thl and Th2 cytokines were determined with ELISA.Results Among these 358 patients,83(23.2%)were HBsAg positive.Neither earlier nor severer hepatic fibrosis was noted in the patients who had been simultaneously infected with HBV than those only infected with schistosomiasis. There was a significant difference between mild[ 1.60(1.30-12.14)ng/L]and severe[ 4.20(1.43- 52.07)ng/L]HF patients in the level of IL-10(Z=-3.907,P0.05)was found in level of IFN-?,between severe[3.12(1.38-66.14)ng/L]and mild[5.87(1.33-216.33)ng/ L]HF subjects.Our observation did not reveal any obvious difference of TNF-? between severe[ 2.48(0.79 -19.86)ng/L]and mild[ 2.28(0.67-15.72)ng/L]HF groups.Conclusions Patients infected with advanced shistosomiasis may become more susceptible to HBV.The results of the present investigation showed that a high level production of IL-13 was associated with severe HF.

To know the characteristics of Shuxuening injection used on cerebral infarction patients in clinical practice, 6 053 cases of Hospital information system (HIS) data from 20 hospitals were analyzed. Using the basic description method and association rules to analysis the data. By analysis the data we found that the average age of cerebral infarction patients who used Shuxuening injection is 67.96, 83.94% of patients were aged 46-80. The injection is administered intravenously,with most patients receiving a dosage of 15-20 mL per dose for between 1 and 14 days. It is always combined with aspirin (48.508%), cinepazide maleate injection (22.073%), atorvastatin calcium tablets (18.873%) in clinical practice. When it comes to two drug combinations, it always combined with cinepazide maleate injection and aspirin (8.178%), nicergoline capsules and aspirin (7.63%). Therefore, based on existing data, we give the conclusion that for the treatment of cerebral infarction Shuxuening injection is mainly used for older patients, and is often combination with similar pharmacological effects chemical drugs, which is complied with the guidelines. However, the wrong dose is still exist, doctors should realize the hiding risk.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Anticoagulants ; therapeutic use ; Aspirin ; therapeutic use ; Atorvastatin Calcium ; Cerebral Infarction ; drug therapy ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Heptanoic Acids ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Piperazines ; therapeutic use ; Pyrroles ; therapeutic use ; Young Adult

It has been widely verified by various sorting methods that cancer stem cells (CSCs) exist in different types of tumor cells or tissues. However, due to lack of specific stem cell surface markers, CSCs are very difficult to be separated from some cancer cells, which becomes the key barrier of functional studies of CSCs. The sorting method by side population cells (SP) lays a solid foundation for in-depth and comprehensive study of CSCs. To identify the existence of SP in prostate cancer cell lines, we applied flow cytometry sorting by SP to cultures of prostate cancer cell lines (TSU, LnCap, and PC-3), and the cancer stem-like characteristics of SP were verified through experiments in vitro and in vivo. The proportion of SP in TSU cells was calculated to be 1.60%±0.40% [Formula: see text], and that in PC-3 and LnCap cells was calculated to be 0.80%±0.05% and 0.60%±0.20%, respectively. The colony formation assay demonstrated that the colony formation rate of SP to non-SP sorted from TSU via flow cytometry was 0.495±0.038 to 0.177±0.029 in 500 cells, 0.505±0.026 to 0.169±0.024 in 250 cells, and 0.088±0.016 to 0.043±0.012 in 125 cells respectively. In the in vivo experiments, tumors were observed in all the mice on the 10th day after injecting 50 000 cells subcutaneously in SP group, whereas when 5×10(6) cells were injected in non-SP group, tumors were developed in only 4 out of 8 mice until the 3rd week before the end of the experiment. Our results revealed that prostate cancer cells contain a small subset of cells, called SP, possessing much greater capacity of colony formation and tumorigenic potential than non-SP. These suggest that SP in prostate cancer cells may play a key role in the self-renewal and proliferation, and have the characteristics of cancer stem-like cells. Dissecting these features will provide a new understanding of the function of prostate CSCs in tumorigenicity and transformation.

[Objective] The aim of this study was to establish a quantitative SYBR Green Ⅰ real-time PCR method for detection of wide-type p53-induced phosphatase 1 (Wip1 or PPM1D) gene expression level in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC),and to investigate the relationship between Wip1 mRNA expression level and the clinicopathological characters.[Method] Real-time PCR was employed to determine the expression level of Wip1 mRNA in 44 specimens of NSCLC tissues and their adjacent normal tissues.[Results] In the 44 specimens,the expression of Wip1 mRNA in both cancer tissues and adjacent normal lung tissues were positive.Wip1 gene was overexpressed in 17 specimens among 44 NSCLC specimens.The rate was 38.6%.The relative level of Wip1 mRNA in NSCLC tissues was significantly higher than the adjacent normal lung tissues (Ratio ＝ 2.1644 ± 1.394,P ＜ 0.01).The expression of Wip1 mRNA was also correlated with pathological staging (F ＝ 5.08,P ＝ 0.013).[Conclusion] The established SYBR Green Ⅰ quantitative real-time PCR method can successfully detect the expression level of Wip1 mRNA.The results suggested that Wip1 may be involved in the development of NSCLC.

Objective To evaluate the usefulness of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI) and apparent diffusion coefficients (ADC) in differentiating tumor, edema, and normal brain tissue, and in classification of cerebral gliomas. Methods Using Philips Achieva 1.5T super conduct MR scanner, 46 patients with gliomas underwent conventional MR imaging and DWI. The ADC of regions of interest ( ROI ) were measured with two different b values, 0s/mm2 and 1000s/mm2. ROIs were manually placed over areas of tumor,edema, and normal brain tissue. Results The signals of DWI and ADC map in tumor tissue were respectively higher and lower than those in normal brain tissue. The ADC values in tumor were 1.68 ± 0.18,1.65 ± 0.20,1.29 ±0.16,1.21 ±0.21 for grade Ⅰ、Ⅱ、Ⅲ、Ⅳ gliomas, respectively; the corresponding figures in edema were 1.74 ±0.22,1.72 ±0.19,1.35 ±0.20,1.28 ±0.19, respective. The ADC values in tumor were not significantly different from the values in edema (P ＞0.05); however, both values were significantly different from those in normal brain ( P ＜0.05 ). The ADC value of low grade ( grade1-2 ) gliomas was significantly higher than that of high grade (grade3-4) glioma (P＜0.05). Conclusion ADC values can aid in distinguishing tumors from normal tissues, but can not distinguish tumors from adjacent edema. Individually, ADC values overlapped considerahly. ADC value is associated with cellularity of gliomas. DWI can help characterizing the malignancy of gliomas.