Objective To investigate the imbalance of Th1/Th2 cell response in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) combined with coronary heart disease .Methods SLE patients ,SLE patients with coronary heart disease and healthy con-trols were enrolled and blood samples were collected .T-bet/GATA-3 ,the transcription factors of Th1/Th2 cells ,were detected by real-time PCR ;the intracellular cytokines IFN-γ and IL-4 in CD4 + T cells were stained by fluorescent antibodies and detected by flow cytometry ;the level of serum IFN-γ and IL-4 were detected by ELISA .Results Comparing with healthy control group ,the ex-pression level of Th1 transcription factor T-bet ,the introcellular secretion of IFN-γ in CD4 + T cells and the serum IFN-γ were all decreased in non-coronary heart disease patients with SLE( P < 0 .05) .Comparing with non-coronary heart disease patients with SLE or healthy control group ,the expression level of Th1 transcription factor T-bet ,the introcellular secretion of IFN-γ in CD4 + T cells and the serum IFN-γ were all increased in patients with SLE combined coronary heart disease(P< 0 .05) ;while the expression level of Th2 transcription factor GATA-3 ,the introcellular secretion of IL-4 in CD4 + T cells and the serum IL-4 were all decreased in patients with SLE combined coronary heart disease(P< 0 .05) .Conclusion There were imbalance towards Th1 cell response in patients with SLE combined coronary heart disease ,which may related to the occurrence and development of disease .

Objective To investigate the relationship between the expression of p63, p73 proteins and the development of hemangioma. Methods The immunohistochemical technique and quantitative image analysis were used to detect the expression of p63 and p73 proteins in 40 cases of capillary hemangioma and 20 specimens of normal skin. Results The absorbance value (mean ? SD) of p63 and p73 expression in normal skin tissue, proliferative phase of hemangioma and involuting phase of hemangioma were 0.923 ? 0.191 and 0.953 ? 0.120, 8.271 ? 1.953 and 6.408 ? 2.151, 0.920 ? 0.187 and 1.073 ? 0.516, respectively. The expression of p63 and p73 in proliferative phase of hemangioma was significantly increased as compared with those in involuting phase of hemangioma and normal skin tissue (P 0.05). Conclusions It is suggested that p63 gene is not a tumor suppressor gene but an oncogene in hemangioma and may contribute to the proliferation of endothelial cell and be associated with angiogenesis, and p73 may play an important role in the proliferation of hemangioma.

In order to prepare the recombinant vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) using intein mediated rapid purification system,the cDNA encoding the recombinant VIP was designed and synthesized according to the preference of E.coli,and then was cloned into the expression vector PTWIN. The recombinant plasmid PTWIN-VIP was transformed into expression host E.coli strain ER2566.The fusion protein consisting of the recombinant VIP,intein and chitin binding domain was expressed and purified by chitin affinity chromatography. The target peptide was released from the fusion protein by changing the temperature and the pH of the cleavage buffer. The molecular weight of the recombinant VIP was determined by the mass spectrometry and the results was conformity with the theoretical value. The preliminary bioactivity assay indicated that the recombinant VIP decreased the serum resistin levels significantly in LPS-induced acute inflammation. The preparation and the characterization of anti-inflammatory effects of the recombinant VIP layed the foundation for its further application.

OBJECTIVETo observe the effects of Rubiae Radix et Rhizoma (RRR) and carbonized Rubiae Radix et Rhizoma (CRRR) on the acute blood stasis rat model, and reveal their differences in efficacy.

METHODThe acute blood stasis model was induced by subcutaneously injecting adrenaline hydrochloride and soaking in ice water. Yunnan Baiyao was used as the positive control drug, and administered for consecutively seven days. This model was adopted to observe the effect of high, middle and low dose RRR and CRRR groups on hemorheology, thrombin activity, and blood platelet system.

RESULTRRR could significantly reduce the wholeblood viscosity and plasma viscosity of blood stasis rats under different shear rates, and showed certain two-way regulating function in hemostasis. It also showed certain effect on ADP-induced platelet aggregation rate, but which was lower than CRRR. CRRR achieved the main hemostatic mechanism by stimulating intrinsic and extrinsic blood coagulation and fibrinogen, and could significantly enhance the platelet aggregation rate of rats in the acute blood stasis model (P <0. 01).

CONCLUSIONRRR had the effect of removing blood stasis and hemostasis, while CRRR mainly has the hemostatic effect. This further demonstrates the traditional processing theory of "promoting blood circulation with crude herbs and stopping bleeding with processed herbs".

6-Ketoprostaglandin F1 alpha ; blood ; Animals ; Blood Coagulation ; drug effects ; Carbon ; chemistry ; Chemistry, Pharmaceutical ; methods ; Disease Models, Animal ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Female ; Hemodynamics ; drug effects ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Rubia ; chemistry ; Thromboxane B2 ; blood

AIM: To investigate the effects of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI), fosinopril, captopril and angiotensin II AT 1 antagonists, valsartan on tissue factor (TF) expression on monocytes induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). METHODS: Mononuclear leukocytes from normal delivered female umbilical veins were incubated with bacterial LPS in presence or absence of different ACE inhibitors .At the end of incubation, the cells were disrupted by 3 freeze-thaw cycles. TF procoagulant activity was assessed by a one-stage clotting assay. RT-PCR was used to check TF mRNA expression, and GAPDH mRNA was used for parallel assay. RESULTS and CONCLUSION: The results showed that increased expression of TF mRNA induced by LPS was inhibited by fosinopril, captopril and valsartan, respectively, and the procoagualant activity of monocytes was also reduced. [

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the clinical therapeutic effects of oral administration and external application of Chinese drugs combined with micro-invasive surgery for the treatment of varicose ulcers in the lower extremities (ecthyma).

METHODSA total of 152 patients (163 limbs) suffering from varicose ulcers on the lower limbs were assigned to two groups according to the patients' willingness. The 102 cases (109 limbs) in the treatment group underwent the method of endovenous microwave closure of communicating veins combined with oral administration and external application of Chinese drugs before and after the operation. The 50 cases (54 limbs) in the control group, were treated with oral administration and external application of Chinese drugs only. Clinical manifestations, including the condition of ulcer healing, the improvement conditions of alogotrophy, edema and other symptoms, were observed before and after 3 months of treatment. The clinical healing rate, the ulcer healing time, and the ulcer recurrence rate, were compared between the two groups. All the patients were followed-up 3 months after treatment.

RESULTSThe follow-up was carried out for 3 to 42 months (mean 30.5 months). In the treatment group, 99 patients (106 limbs) were clinically cured, and the clinical healing rate was 97.06%; the ulcer healing time was 9-101 days (average 31.25+/-8.28 days) and 3 cases (5 limbs) had recurrence; the ulcer recurrence rate was 5.81%. In the control group, 40 patients (43 limbs) were clinically cured, with a clinical healing rate of 80.00%; the ulcer healing time was 10-152 days (average 50.60+/-12.31 day) and 5 cases (7 limbs) recurred, with the ulcer recurrence rate being 20.59%. The effects in the treatment group were obviously better than those in the control group (P<0.01 or P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe oral administration and external application of Chinese drugs combined with micro-invasive surgery for the treatment of varicose ulcers in the lower extremities has a significant curative effect, with a higher clinical healing rate, shorter ulcer healing time and lower ulcer recurrence rate than either treatment alone.

Administration, Oral ; Aged ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; Female ; Humans ; Lower Extremity ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Middle Aged ; Recurrence ; Time Factors ; Varicose Ulcer ; therapy ; Wound Healing

OBJECTIVETo explore mechanism of acupuncture for renal interstitial fibrosis (RIF) in hypertension rats.

METHODSTwenty-four 24-week-old male spontaneously hypertensive rats were randomly divided into a model group, a perindopril group and an acupuncture group, eight cases in each one. In the acupuncture group, with rats tied up, electroacupuncture was applied at bilateral "Quchi" (LI 11) and "Zusanli" (ST 36) under mild vibration of needle handle for 20 min, once a day. In the perindopril group, perindopril (0.4 mg/kg) suspension liquid was applied for intragastric administration, once a day. In the model group, rats were tied up for 20 min a day without any treatment. Eight same-age same-race Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats with normal blood pressure were taken as a control group, which was given with free diet but no treatment. The treatment was reuqired for six weeks. The systolic blood pressure of caudal artery was tested. Kidney morphological structure was observed by HE coloration. Deposition optical density of type I and III collagen in kidney was tested by immunohistochemistry. Expression of transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) mRNA was tested by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method.

RESULTSCompared with the model group, the blood pressure was significantly decreased in the acupuncture group (P < 0.01), the damage of kidney morphology was minor, positive depositional area of type I and III collagen was obviously decreased (both P < 0.05), and the expression of semi-quantitative analysis of TGF-beta1 mRNA was decreased (P < 0.05), which had similar effect as western medication perindopril.

CONCLUSIONAcupuncture at "Quchi" (LI 11) and "Zusanli" (ST 36) probably intervenes the process of RIF by reducing synthesis of kidney type I , III collagen and restraining expression of TGF-beta1.

Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Animals ; Collagen Type I ; genetics ; metabolism ; Disease Models, Animal ; Humans ; Hypertension ; genetics ; metabolism ; therapy ; Kidney ; anatomy & histology ; metabolism ; Male ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Inbred SHR ; Rats, Inbred WKY ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1 ; genetics ; metabolism

Objective To evaluate the curative value of the tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA) and Danning table (DN) in the prevention of bile duct stones recurrence after ERCP. Methods 210 patients with Choledocholithiasisby ERCP were randomly divided into 3 groups. The patients in the control group were not given any medicine. The patients in the TUDCA group took TUDCA every night. The patients in the DN group took Danning tablets of three times a day. The course of medication and followed up for the patients was 24 months after the operation. All the patients would be examined regularly by Biliary color doppler ultrasound and MRCP. The recurrence rates of Choledocholithiasis, cholesterol saturation index and serum lipid were recorded and compared statistically between the three groups. Results In total, 190 patients completed the treatment and follow-up according to the experimental design. The recurrence rates of the control, TUDCA and DN group were 17.46%(11/63), 6.34% (4/63) and 10.94% (7/64). The recurrence rates in the TUDCA and DN group were significantly lower than those the control group (P < 0.05).The recurrence rate in the TUDCA group was significantly lower than that in the DN group; On the tenth days after the operation, the CSI in the TUDCA were significantly lower than those the control group and the DN group (P < 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between the DN group and the control group (P > 0.05); To the patients without recurrence, the level of TC, LDL in the TUDCA group were significantly lower than those the control group and and the DN group (P < 0.05). The level of HDL in the TUDCA group were significantly higher than those the control group and and the DN group (P < 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference on the level of HDL between the DN groupand the control group (P > 0.05). Conclusion The application of TUDCA and DN for patients with Choledocholithiasis after ERCP can effectively reduce the recurrence rates, the curative effect of TUDCA more than DN.

ObjectiveTo observe the thyroid status of pregnant women during the 1st and 2nd trimester of gestation,and its role in brain and neural development of their offspring's.MethodsFrom 2008 to 2009,pregnant women from nine townships of two counties in Wushi and Baicheng in Aksu prefecture of Xinjiang were selected as research subjects according to the survey standard.After informed consent signed,their urinary iodine,serum thyroid stimulating hormone(TSH) and free thyroxin(FT4) were analyzed.The value of thyroid hormone of normal pregnant women was used in diagnosis of subclinical hypothyroidism and hypothyroxinemia in pregnant women.From 2010 to 2011, The brain and neural development status among offspring born by those pregnant women were evaluated with DDST.In accordance with the results of Denver Development Screen Test (DDST) screening,pregnant women were classified into survey and control groups,and the survey group was the suspicious and abnormal of the result of DDST screening(delay),the control group was normal of the result.According to gestational age,pregnant women were divided into 4 gestation groups:G1(6 to 13 weeks),G2(14 to 18 weeks),G3 ( 19 to 23 weeks) and G4(24 to 28 weeks).ResultsA total of 396 cases of pregnant women during the 1st and 2nd trimester of gestation were investigated(survey group 102 cases,control group 294 cases).The median value of urinary iodine concentration among pregnant women in survey group was 152.4 μg/L The prevalence of subclinical hypothyroidism and hypothyroxinemia among pregnant women was 10.78％(11/102) and 3.93％(4/102),respectively.In control group,the median value of urinary iodine concentration was 180.0 μg/L The prevalence of subclinical hypothyroidism and hypothyroxinemia among pregnant women was 7.48％ (22/294) and 4.42％ (13/294),respectively.During the pregnant period from G1 to G3,the median serum TSH of pregnant women in DDST survey group (2.24,3.49,2.85 mU/L) was higher than that of DDST control group( 1.59,2.70,2.28 mU/L).Especially,the difference of TSH between the two groups during the period of G3 was statistically significant (t =4.906,P ＜ 0.05 ).ConclusionsHypothyroidism tendency of pregnant women during the period from gestation week 19th to 23rd may be an important factor in the development of brain abnormalities of their offsprings.

OBJECTIVESTo investigate whether antisense Bmi-1 plasmid could inhibit the proliferation of Jurkat cells.

METHODSThe antisense plasmid was constructed by PCR amplification of a 171 bp segment spanning Bmi-1 start codon and zinc finger structure and the PCR product was subsequently inserted reversely to plasmid pLNCX2. The final construct was confirmed through restriction enzyme digestion. G418 was added into the medium after the plasmid was successfully introduced into Jurkat cells by using lipofectin-mediated DNA transfection. The proliferation of Jurkat cells were determined by MTT and colony formation assays. Cell cycle was determined by flow cytometry. The p16 expression of Jurkat cells was studied by immunofluorescent histochemistry.

RESULTSThe growth rate of antisense Bmi-1 transfected Jurkat cells was significantly lower than that of the controls, and the colony forming capacity of the transfected cells decreased significantly (P < 0.01), the colony numbers being (90.7 +/- 9.07)/10(3) cells, (83.3 +/- 6.11)/10(3) cells and (56.0 +/- 5.56)/10(3) cells for control cells, empty plasmid transfected Jurkat cells and antisense Bmi-1 transfected Jurkat cells, respectively. The percentage of G, phase cells was increased and the p16 expression of antisense Bmi-1 transfected cells was significantly upregulated than that of control cells.

CONCLUSIONAntisense Bmi-1 can inhibit the growth and upregulate the expression of p16 of Jurkat cells in vitro.

Cell Cycle ; Cell Proliferation ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Genetic Vectors ; Humans ; Jurkat Cells ; Nuclear Proteins ; genetics ; Oligonucleotides, Antisense ; genetics ; Plasmids ; genetics ; Polycomb Repressive Complex 1 ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins ; genetics ; Repressor Proteins ; genetics ; Transfection