Objective To investigate the traditional Chinese medicine ( TCM) syndromes of rheumatoid arthritis ( RA) by studying the Chinese medical patterns,and analyze the correlations of different indicators and related syndromes. Methods The questionnaires were designed according to clinical epidemiological theories. The data were collected and analyzed by multivariate statistical methods. Results The TCM symptoms of the 401 cases of RA were concluded into 3 common factors,that is,cold,heat and deficient. Their syndromes were sub-classified as 6 groups: cold syndrome,heat syndrome,deficiency,cold heat complex,deficient cold and asthenic fever. Statistical analysis showed that there were significant differences in health assessment questionnaire ( HAQ) ,platelet ( PLT) ,rheumatoid factor ( RF) ,anti-keratin antibody ( AKA) among these 6 TCM syndromes ( P

Objective To observe the effects of S100A4 siRNA on the expression of serum TNF‐α,IL‐1βand VEGF in adjuvant arthritis rats .Methods Adjuvant arthritis rat models were established and were randomly divided into model group and interfere group .On Day 11 ,rats in interfere group were injected with S100A4 siRNA fragment in articular cavity .Arthritis index (AI) chan‐ges and pathological changes of ankle joint were observed .The levels of serum TNF‐α and IL‐1β ,VEGF were detected by ELISA . Results Compared with that of model group ,the levels of serum TNF‐ α ,IL‐1β and VEGF were reduced significantly in interfere group (P< 0 .05) ;variances of AI and pathological scores in interfere group were diminished significantly (P< 0 .05) .Conclusion Inhibition of the expression of S100A4 gene can significantly reduce the expression of inflammatory factor TNF‐α ,IL‐1 β and angio‐genesis factor VEGF ,and improve the pathological injury of synovial membrane .

BACKGROUND: Sinomenine is an alkaloid monomer extracted from a Chinese medicinal herb sinomenium acutum stem. It is used in the therapy of the rheumatoid arthritis and has clear and definite therapeutic effects, but the therapeutic mechanism is unclear.OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of sinomenine at different doses in vitro on the activity of nuclear factor-κB(NF-κβ) and mRNA expressions of the tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), interleukin-1β(IL-1β) andinterleukin-10 (IL-10) in the synovial cells of the rats with adjuvant arthritis(AA) to explore the probable mechanism of sinomenine in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis(RA).DESIGN: A controlled repeated measuring study based on the cells.SETTING: Department of traditional chinese medicine and the institute of burn research of a military medical university.MATERIALS: This study was finished at the Laboratory of the Institute of Burn Research of Chinese PLA. The experimental animals were 25 healthy male Wistar rats of clean grade. The AA model rats were made and the synovial cells were collected and grouped as follows: normal control group, AA group,AA + sinomenine 30 mg/L group, AA + sinomenine 60 mg/L group, AA + sinomenine 120 mg/L group. The activity of the NF-κB was measured by the electrophoresis mobility shift assay(EMSA) . The mRNA expressions of the TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-10 were measured by reverse transcription-PCR assay.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The results of the changes of the activity of the NF-κB and the mRNA expressions of the TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-10 in the synovial cells of the rats with adjuvant arthritis after the treatment with sinomenine at different doses.RESULTS: Compared with the normal control group, the activity of the NF-κB and the mRNA expressions of the TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-10 in the synovial cells in the AA group all increased significantly and the outcomes were 17±6, 0.570±0.047, 0.730±0.093, 0. 683 ±0.081 (t= 2.71 -4.07, P < 0.05). After the administration of sinomenine, the activity of NF-κB showed a good correlation with mRNA expressions of the TNF-αandIL-13(r=0.810, P <0.001; r=0.562, P <0.05), but no statistical relevance with mRNA expression of IL-10 was established. Sinomenine showed a dose-dependent inhibition on the activity of the NF-κB and the mRNA expressions of the TNF-α and IL-1β in a certain range of concentrations(30-120 mg/L), but no dose-dependent inhibition on mRNA expression of the IL-10 was observed.CONCLUSION: Through the inhibition of the activity of the NF-κB,sinomenine decreased the mRNA expressions of the TNF-α and the IL-1β in the synovial membrane cells.

Objective To find the different plasma-associated proteins of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis for understanding the pathogenesis of RA. Methods The total protein from either RA patients or normal ones was prepared by means of immobilized pH gradient based on two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. After silver staining, gel-image analysis was performed by using PDQuest. The differentially expressed proteins were identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS). Results 2-DE patterns of plasma from controls and RA patients were presented. The results showed that average number of protein spots was 592 and 563 respectively, and the corresponding average matching rate was 89% and 87% respectively. Gel-image analysis revealed that there were 24 differential protein spots. A total of 15 differential protein spots were successfully identified by MALDI-TOF-MS, of which 6 proteins were up-regulated as compared with control. Conclusion The differentially expressed proteins can be observed in plasma from RA and controls, which can be used to elucidate the pathogenesis of RA for further study.

Objective To explore epidemiological characteristics of brucellosis in Shanxi Province during 2011-2015,and to provide evidences for making control and prevention strategy.Methods Data and surveillance data of disease outbreaks in Shanxi Province from 2011 to 2015 were collected.The retrospective analysis method was used to analyze the population distribution,regional distribution,time distribution,outbreak situation,serological and pathogenic test results of brucellosis.Results During 2011-2015,totally 33 697 brucellosis cases were reported,with an average annual incidence of 18.65/100 000,and one death case was reported.Brucellosis distributed in 119 counties (districts) of 11 cities.The area with most reported brucellosis cases was Datong City.The incidence of the disease had seasonal fluctuation and the incidence peak was from March to July.The male/female ratio of the cases was 3.69 ∶ 1.00 (26 515/7 182).Totally 75.77％ (25 531/33 697) were at the ages of 40-＜ 70 years.The yearly proportion of the cases occurred in the age groups was significantly different (H =146.263,P ＜ 0.05).Farmer was the predominant occupation group among the cases [82.90％ (27 935/33 697)].Totally 16 cases of human brucellosis outbreaks were occurred during the five years.The epidemic spread to seven counties in five cities.Totally 144 136 cases received serological test,the positive rate was 5.85％ (8 426/144 136),and 6 759 cases were found.Totally 164 strains of Brucella melitensis were isolated in human blood culture samples.All of which were Brucella melitensis biotype 3.Conclusions In recent years,the epidemic situation of brucellosis in Shanxi is severe,the total incidence has presented a rising tendency.There are outbreaks of human brucellosis in some countries.Brucella melitensis biotype 3 is the epidemic strain in Shanxi.

Objective To analyze the epidemiological surveillance results of human brucellosis in Shanxi Province from 2012 to 2017,to know the epidemic status of brucellosis,and to provide evidence for prevention and control of brucellosis.Methods Incidence date and surveillance date of disease outbreaks in Shanxi Province from 2012 to 2017 were collected,the retrospective analysis method was used to analysis the "three distribution" of brucellosis,outbreak situation and the results of serological and pathogenic surveillance in the 4 surveillance stations.Results A total of 36 220 brucellosis cases were reported from 2012 to 2017,the average incidence was 16.62/100 000;8 540 brucellosis cases were reported in 2014,with incidence 23.53/100 000;a total of 23 197 cases of brucellosis were reported mainly in Datong,Shuozhou,Jinzhong and Xinzhou,accounting for 64.04％ of the province total.The onset was seasonal,and the peak of the epidemic was from March to August,accounting for 67.23％ (24 350/36 220).The brucellosis cases were mainly youth (23 084),male (28 317),farmers and herdsman (32 616).In the 4 surveillance stations of the brucellosis,39 140 cases were investigated,of which 10 536 cases did serological test,in which 585 were positive for Brucella (5.55％).The highest positive rate of serological test was 9.50％ (226/2 738) which was found in Tianzhen.A total of 626 samples carried out pathogen culture,in which 107 strains of brucellosis were detected,the detection rate was 17.09％,and 106 strains Brucella were melitensis biovar 3 of the total strains except 1 mutant.Conclusions The reported incidence in Shanxi Province is in a decline tendency,but the situation of brucellosis epidemic is still relatively serious.It is suggested that the surveillance work should be strengthened;the epidemic situation of brucellosis should be mastered in time and effectively controlled.

Objective To evaluate the accuracy of human brucellosis diagnosis and reporting in medical institutions in Shanxi province, and understand the performance of clinical doctors to diagnose human brucellosis according to diagnostic criteria. Methods Field investigation was conducted in 6 medical institutions in the key areas of human brucellosis in Shanxi province. The diagnosis data of the reported brucellosis cases in 2015 were collected and reviewed retrospectively for the evaluation of the diagnosis accuracy with systematic sampling method. The database was established with Excel 2010 and the descriptive analysis and statistical test were conducted with software R 3.3.2. Results The diagnosis consistent rate of the 377 brucellosis cases reviewed was 70.8% (267/377), the diagnosis consistent rates in medical institutions at city-level and country-level were 77.0%(127/165) and 66.0%(140/212) respectively, the differences had significance (χ2=5.4, P=0.02). Among the reviewed cases, the diagnosis consistent rate of laboratory diagnosis and clinical diagnosis were 87.1%(256/294) and 13.3%(11/83) respectively, and the differences had significance (χ2=170.7, P<0.001) . Among the 21 investigated clinical doctors, the numbers of the doctors who correctly diagnosed the suspected cases, probable cases and lab-confirmed cases were only 3, 0 and 8 respectively. All of the clinical doctors knew that it is necessary to report the brucellosis cases within 24 hours after diagnosis. Conclusion The accuracy of human brucellosis diagnosis in key areas of human brucellosis in Shanxi was low, and the performance of the clinical doctors to diagnose human brucellosis according to diagnostic and case classification criteria was unsatisfied.

To evaluate immune efficacy of the recombinant Lactobacillus casei, we constructed pLA-Newcastle disease virus (NDV)-F/L. casei and obtained the expression products. PCR amplified the NDV F gene carrying part of the major epitopes. The target gene was inserted to the shuttle plasmid pLA, and then transformed into Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) in order to screen positive recombinant plasmid. The positive recombinant plasmid was transformed into L. casei by electroporation to construct pLA-NDV-F/L. casei. The positive strains were identified by PCR. The reactivity of the recombinant bacteria was identified by Western blotting and the protein expression was detected by indirect immunofluorescence, flow cytometry and laser confocal microscopy. The 14-day-old chickens in each group were vaccinated by oral plus nose drops. The pLA-NDV-F/L. casei twice immunization group and three times immunization group, the commercial vaccine group, the pLA/L. casei group, the unchallenge PBS and the challenge PBS group were established. IgG in serum and sIgA in the lavage fluid of intestinal, nasal and lung were detected by ELISA. The protection rate of chickens was evaluated. The results showed that 94.10% of the recombinant bacteria expressed the F protein. The recombinant protein was highly expressed on the surface of L. casei with a protein size of 62 kDa, which specifically bound to anti-NDV serum. The levels of anti-F IgG and sIgA antibodies in each test group were significantly higher than those in the control groups. The duration of antibody in the pLA-NDV-F/L. casei three-time immunization group lasted 28 days longer than that in the twice immunized group, and there was no significant difference between antibody peak values. The attack protection rates in each group of immunized pLA-NDV-F/L. casei three times, twice, attenuated vaccine, pLA/L. casei and PBS were 80%, 80%, 90%, 0% and 0%, respectively. Therefore, the antigenic protein of NDV F was successfully expressed by L. casei expression system, which has of reactogenicity and immunogenicity, and could induce protective immune responses in chickens.
Animals ; Antibodies, Viral ; Chickens ; Immunization ; Lactobacillus casei ; Newcastle disease virus ; Vaccines, Attenuated ; Viral Vaccines