Objective To observe the effects of Shenfu injection on intestinal mucosal barrier of rats with hepatic ischemia-reperfusion.Method Ninety SD male rats and weight from 230 to 270g were randomly divided into three groups( 30 rats in each),and 30 rats in each group divided again into 6h and 12h group( 15 rats in each):(1)SO group received sham operation(SO);(2) IR + NS group received so and 0.9 normal saline intravenously imediately before the ischemia reperfusion injury;(3) IR + SF group received Shenfu injection intravenously imediately before the ischemia reperfusion injury,IR + NS group and IR + SF group occlusion of the hepatoduodenal ligament,and endotoxin,ALT and MDA were detected.Results The levels of ALT,MDA in IR + NS group were higher than those in IR + SF group,and the rate of bacterial translocation( BT)group.

Adult ; Efficiency ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Psychometrics ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Objective To study the clinical characteristics of bulbar myasthenia gravis (MG). Methods Retrospective review was performed on 166 patients with bulbar type of myasthenia gravis, diagnosed at Tongji Hospital in the period of May 1983 through October 2005.Results Bulbar MG was a relatively rare type of MG,accounting for 5.7% (166/2888) of MG classifications.Females were more often affected than males (the ratio of male:female was 1:1.35).The peak of onset age was at 20—40 years.The incidence of myasthenia crisis in the group was 26.5% (44/166).Myasthenic crisis occurred in 10.8% (18/166) of the bulbar MG patients within 6 months after onset,resulting in a mortality rate of 6.0% (10/166) in the group.Out of the group,30 cases experienced puhnonary infections (18.1%). Thirty cases were initially misdiagnosed as other diseases such as nasopharyngeal disorders (33/166, 19.9%).The routine therapy was not very satisfactory.Median dose cyclophosphamide therapy appeared to be effective for ameliorating refractory MG.Thymectomy was performed in 25 patients,with optimistic efficacy rate up to 80.0% (20/25) in a 3-year follow-up.Conclusions The clinical analysis in the current study suggested that the bulbar MG had its own characteristics in such aspects as progression of the disease, complications,treatment and prognosis.The information of the clinical manifestations presented in this study may be useful in diagnosing and treating bulbar MG.

OBJECTIVETo establish the HPLC fingerprint of Radix Aconiti Kusnezoffii.

METHODThe chromatographic separation was performed on a Kromasil C18 (4.6 mm x 250 mm, 5 microm) eluted with a mobile phase of acetonitrile-ammonium acetate buffer (2. 5 per thousand acetic acid-ammonia pH 10.5) (60:40). The UV detection wavelength was set at 240 nm and the flow rate was set at 1.0 mL x min(-1).

RESULTThe RSD of precision and repeatability was less than 2%. Under the selected chromatographic conditions, good HPLC fingerprints of Radix Aconiti Kusnezoffii were obtained.

CONCLUSIONThe method was simple, accurate and repeatable. It can be used for the quality control of Radix Aconiti Kusnezoffii.

Aconitine ; analogs & derivatives ; analysis ; Aconitum ; chemistry ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; methods ; Plant Tubers ; chemistry ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Quality Control ; Reproducibility of Results

OBJECTIVETo study the expression of gastrin(GAS) and gastrin releasing peptide(GRP) in patients with gastric cancer and investigate the clinical significance.

METHODSThe expression of GAS and GRP in sixty patients with gastric cancer was detected by using tissue chip technique and immunohistochemical methods.

RESULTSThe positive rates of GAS and GRP were 30.0% and 11.7% respectively in 60 cases with gastric cancer. The positive rates of GAS and GRP were higher in moderately and poorly differentiated cancers than those in well differentiated cancer (P< 0.05). The positive rates of GAS and GRP were significantly higher in mucinous adenocarcinoma and signet-ring cell carcinoma than those in other types of gastric cancer (P< 0.05). The positive expression of GAS and GRP in gastric cancer was correlated with lymph node metastasis (P< 0.05).

CONCLUSIONTissue chip technique is a feasible,rapid,economic and accurate approach for screening clinical tissue specimens on a large scale.

Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Gastrin-Releasing Peptide ; metabolism ; Gastrins ; metabolism ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; methods ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Invasiveness ; Neoplasm Staging ; Protein Array Analysis ; Stomach Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology

ObjectiveTo investigate the relationship between the serum concentration of IL-6,S100β,NT-3 and the cognitive functions in first-episode schizophrenia characterized by positive or negative symptoms.Methods44 first-episode schizophrenic patients characterized by positive symptoms (positive group),36 first-episode schizophrenic patients characterized by negative symptoms (negative group) and 50 healthy controls (controls) were collected.The serum levels of IL-6,S100β and NT-3 were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).The systematic evaluation tool-MCCB was applied to assess cognitive function in patients and controls.ResultsNT-3 serum levels in positive or negative groups were lower than those in controls and the differences were significant((118.39±37.50) ng/L,(112.55±32.29) ng/L vs (141.18±29.67) ng/L) (P<0.01).IL-6 and S100β serum levels in positive or negative groups were higher than those in controls and the differences were statistically significant((5.74±1.00)ng/L,(5.07±1.17)ng/L vs (4.23±0.91)ng/L),((132.98±46.71)ng/L,(124.99±43.14)ng/L vs (103.63±31.57)ng/L)(P<0.01).IL-6 serum levels in the positive group ((5.07±1.17)ng/L) were lower than those in the negative group ((5.74±0.99)ng/L) and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05).In MCCB test,the TMT scores in patients characterize by positive symptoms or patients characterize by negative symptoms were higher than those in healthy control group (P<0.01).BACS SC,HVLT-R WMS-Ⅲ,SS,NAB,BVMT-R,CF in patients characterize by positive symptoms or by negative symptoms were lower than those in healthy control group(P<0.01).There were no statistical difference in the MCCB scores between the patients with positive symptoms and negative symptoms.In positive group,there was a positive correlation between the IL-6 serum concentration and the general symptom scores in PANSS (P<0.05).In positive group,NT-3 serum concentration was positively correlated with the general symptom scores or total scores of PANSS (P<0.05).BVMT-R scores in MCCB were also positively correlated with IL-6 or NT-3 serum concentration in positive group (P<0.05).ConclusionThe impairment of part of cognitive functions for schizophrenic patients may be related to the serum protein factors.There may be different in pathophysiology between the first-episode schizophrenic patients characterized by positive symptoms and those characterized by negative symptoms.

OBJECTIVETo understand and analyze the infection situation of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori).

METHODSExtensively reviewing Chinese literature collecting the related with electronic documents in combination with manual retrieve and using Meta-analysis to do a quantitative analysis.

RESULTSSlight difference in the infection rate of H. pylori between men and women (95% CI: 0.0579-0.0963) was noticed. The infection rate of H. pylori in children whose parent was positive with infection of this bacteria was higher than that of children whose parent was negative (95% CI: 0.3378-0.5042).

CONCLUSIONThe infection rate of H. pylori showed gender difference with nature of family aggregation. Epidemiological studies of H. pylori was comprehensive and involved many aspects. Further investigation needs to be focused on infection rate and other risk factors.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Antibodies, Bacterial ; blood ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; epidemiology ; Family Health ; Female ; Helicobacter Infections ; epidemiology ; transmission ; Helicobacter pylori ; immunology ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; Sex Factors

OBJECTIVETo investigate the enhancing effect of Chinese medicine-Xuebijing injection on lipopolysaccharide (LPS) -induced apoptosis of CD4+ CD25+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) and polarization of helper T cells (Th).

METHODSCD4+ CD25+ Tregs collected from rat spleen in vitro by immunomagnetic beads assay were divided into the control group, anti-CD3/CD28 group, anti-CD3/CD28 + LPS group, anti-CD3/CD28 + "Xuebijing injection" group and anti-CD3/CD28 + LPS + "Xuebijing injection" group. Tregs apoptosis rate and expression of winged helix transcription factor (Foxp3) in Tregs were detected by flow cytometry on 3rd post culture day. CD4+ CD25- T cells were co-cultured with CD4+ CD25- Tregs (1:1) for 68 hours with canavalin A stimulation. Interferon gamma (gamma-IFN), interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-17 in supernatants, which respectively was secreted by Th1, Th2 and Th17, were measured by ELISA.

RESULTSTregs apoptosis rate of anti-CD3/CD28 + LPS + "Xuebijing injection" group (45.1 +/- 2.7%) was significantly higher than that of anti-CD3/CD28 + LPS group (29.4 +/- 1.6%, P < 0.01). Meanwhile, Foxp3 expressions in Tregs in above 2 groups were 95 +/- 9 and 140 +/- 18 respectively, showing statistically significant difference between them (P < 0.01). Gamma-IFN levels secreted in anti-CD3/CD28 + LPS + "Xuebijing injection" group were significantly higher than those in anti-CD3/CD28 + LPS group (P < 0.01), while IL-4 levels had an opposite tendency compared with gamma-IFN (P < 0.05), resulting in a marked increase in the ra- tio of gamma-IFN/IL-4 in anti-CD3/CD28 + LPS + "Xuebijing injection" group (P < 0.01). In anti-CD3/ CD28 + "Xuebijing injection" group, IL-17 secretion levels were significantly decreased compared with anti-CD3/CD28 group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSActivation of CD4+ CD25+ Tregs induced by LPS may mediate Th1 shift to Th2 response. "Xuebijing injection" can effectively regulate immune function of T cells, increase the LPS-induced apoptosis of CD4+ CD25+ Tregs as well as enhance the polarization of Th2 to Th1, thereby abating the suppressive state of cell-mediated immunity.

Animals ; Apoptosis ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Endotoxins ; Lipopolysaccharides ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer ; drug effects ; immunology ; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory ; drug effects ; immunology

Orthotopic liver transplantation has proven to be effective in the treatment of a variety of life-threatening liver diseases, however, the limitations of donated organs available and long-term immunosuppression provided an impetus for developing alternative therapies. Cell replacement strategies have been one major effective approach for overcoming the obstacles of organ transplantation in recent years. The exogenous cells should be able to proliferate and differentiate into mature hepatic cells after grafting. Use of mature hepatocytes is also hampered by limited tissue source and inability to proliferate and maintain the function for a long term in vitro. Embryonic stem cells are immortal and pluripotent and may provide a novel cell source for potential cell therapy. This review summarizes the mechanisms of controlling early liver development and hepatic differentiation of visceral endoderm in embryoid bodies, and provides an overview of diverse differentiation systems in vitro and in vivo that were applied to hepatic research in recent years. Several studies have demonstrated that ES cell-derived hepatocytes can incorporate into liver tissue and function in vivo , but a few of them have shown complete restoration of liver function after transplantation into mice with liver diseases. Further studies should be made to exploit efficient methods and clinical applications of hepatocytes derived from ES cells in the future. In addition to clinical transplantation for treatment of liver diseases, ES cells can provide a valuable tool for drug discovery applications and study on of molecular basis of hepatic differentiation.
Animals ; Cell Differentiation ; physiology ; Cells, Cultured ; Embryonic Stem Cells ; cytology ; transplantation ; Hepatocytes ; cytology ; Humans ; Liver Diseases ; therapy

This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic significance of serum bone sialoprotein (BSP) and prostate-specific antigen doubling time (PSADT) in patients with bone metastasis (BM) from prostate cancer (PC). A total of 116 patients with PC, 120 patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and 120 healthy controls were enrolled in this study. PC patients were divided into bone metastasis (BM) group (n=56) and non-bone metastasis (NBM) group (n=60). Serum BSP was detected by Sandwich ELISA. Severity of bone pain was evaluated using visual analogue score (VAS). Serum f-PSA and t-PSA levels were measured by using electrochemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA). PSADT was calculated according to the formula: PSADT=lg(2)/[log(PSA2)-log(PSA1)]. The mean serum BSP level in PC patients with BM was significantly higher than in PC patients without BM, BPH patients and controls (P<0.001 for all). Pearson's analysis showed that serum BSP level was positively correlated with VAS in PC patients with BM (P<0.05). Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis demonstrated that BSP discriminated patients with BM from those without BM at the cutoff value of 33.26 ng/mL. The sensitivity and specificity were 78.21% and 79.28%, respectively. The optimal cutoff value of PSADT was 131 days, with sensitivity of 85.69% and specificity of 85.36%. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that subjects with higher BSP levels/shorter PSADT had a shorter BM-free period than those with lower BSP levels/longer PSADT. Serum BSP and PSADT are useful biomarkers for the diagnosis of BM from PC, and can be regarded as independent factors for predicting the prognosis of BM from PC. Combined determination of BSP and PSADT can improve accuracy and positive rate of BM from PC significantly.
Biomarkers, Tumor ; blood ; Bone Neoplasms ; blood ; pathology ; secondary ; Humans ; Male ; Osteopontin ; blood ; Prostate-Specific Antigen ; blood ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; blood ; pathology