Objective:To investigate the cellular immunological regulation mechanism of Zhongjiling tablet on the myasthenia gravis(MG) patients.Methods:The myasthenia gravis patients were randomly divided into 2 groups, the curing group and the control group, 30 cases per group. Patients of curing group administered Zhongjiling tablet and prednisone placebo, patients of control group administered prednisone tablet and Zhongjiling tablet placebo. Course of treatment was 12 weeks. The distribution of T lymphocyte subgroup of myasthenia gravis patients was detected by flow cytometry. The content of IFN-?, IL-4 and TGF-? of the patients’ peripheral blood mononuclear in vitro were detected by ELISA kits.Results:After treatment, CD4+T cell percentage and the ratio of CD4+/CD8+ decreased significantly(P0.05). The IFN-? and IL-4 of treating group depressed, compared with that of pre-treatment, significant difference exited(P

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of Zige lyophilized powder for injection in improving the acute cerebral microcirculation disturbance in rats.

METHODWindow craniotomy was performed for rats after the drug administration for 14 days. The experimental microcirculation disturbance model was duplicated with high molecule dextran. After the drug administration, the micro-vein diameters of cerebral pla mater of various groups were observed and recorded under the biological microscope. The blood flow volume was monitored by laser Doppler flow-meter. HCT was measured by the electric resistance method. The hemorheological indexes were detected by the auto-hemorheological instrument.

RESULTZige lyophilized powder for injection (16.40, 32.70, 65.40 mg x kg(-1)) could significantly expand the micro-vein diameter of cerebral pla mater, improve the downward trend of the blood flow volume, and reduce the various hemorheological indexes.

CONCLUSIONZige lyophilized powder for injection shows the effect in improving the cerebral microcirculation.

Animals ; Brain ; blood supply ; drug effects ; Brain Ischemia ; drug therapy ; physiopathology ; Cerebrovascular Circulation ; drug effects ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; Humans ; Male ; Powders ; administration & dosage ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

OBJECTIVE Zn-doped CuO nanocomposites (nZn-CuO NPs) are novel nanoparticles synthesized by sonochemical method.This study aimed to further investigate the antitumor effects and mechanism of nZn-CuO NPs, as well as the exact mechanism of reactive oxygen species (ROS) on nZn-CuO NPs-induced death using N-acetylcysteine (NAC). METHODS The antitumor effects of nZn-CuO NPs were evaluated by MTS assay and orthotopic transplantation tumor model in nude mice. The effects of nZn-CuO NPs with or without NAC on ROS production, DNA damage, apoptosis, mitochondrial damage, autophagy, lysosome impairment, and ER and Golgi stress were determined. Also,western blot was used to detect apoptosis and autophagy related proteins,as well as NF-κB pathway related proteins. RESULTS nZn-CuO NPs significantly inhibit tumor growth both in vitro and in vivo. nZn-CuO NPs were able to cause cytotoxicity, ROS production, DAN damage mitochondrial damage, apoptosis, and autophagy, and NAC can attenuate them. Further studies showed that nZn-CuO NPs induced changes of apoptosis, autophagy and NF-κB pathway related proteins, and NAC can restore them. CONCLUSION Overall, our data demonstrated that nZn-CuO NPs could inhibit tumor growth both in vitro and in vivo by ROS-dependent regulation of apoptosis and autophagy, which might be cross-linked by NF-κB pathways.

Objective To establish the HeLa cell line that can stably express EYFP fluorescent protein as the model for anion channel blocker (halide ion) screening ,which lays the foundation for high throughput screening of anion channel blocker (halide ion) .Methods Through gene recombination technology ,a new lentivirus vector which can express mutant protein YFP (EYFP‐H148Q/I152L) and puromycin resistance ,was built .The mixture of lentivirus vector and packaging plasmid was transfected into 293T cells to produce lentivirus particles . After infection of HeLa cells by the lentivirus particles ,puromycin was used to screen the cells as YFP‐positive HeLa cell line .Then cell amplification was carried out after purification and efficiency of EYFP‐H148Q/I152L was further detected by Real‐time quantitative PCR (RT‐PCR) and Western blot .We then verified the activity of EYFP‐HeLa transfected cell line as a screening model of anion channel blocker .Results Gene sequencing verified that EYFP‐H148Q/I152L was successfully inserted into lentivirus vectors .RT‐PCR and Western blot results showed that the target gene was overexpressed in HeLa cells . The specific yellow fluorescence of EYFP of HeLa cells could be observed under fluorescence microscope with the efficiency of nearly 100% . I- (low permeability ) solution stimulated the opening of anion (halogen) channels ,and the yellow fluorescence was quenched by I - flow into cells . Conclusion The EYFP‐HeLa cell line can stably express EYFP yellow fluorescent protein and is sensitive to the internal flow of I - .Therefore ,it can be used as an ideal screening model of anion channel blocker (halide ion) .

A strain of P. Aeruginosa,which was seperated from clinical environment,shows a special characteristic. It keeps normal short rod shape when cultured at 37℃, however,it forms filament without pyocyanin producing when cultured at 25℃ overnight. The filaments will divide and form short rods, simultaneously, produce pyocyanin when culture time is prolonged to over 72h or culture temperature is raised to 37℃. The preliminary study indicates that this phenomenin has nothing to do with nutritive conditions and could the inbluenced by inoculating density and irradiating with ultraviolet rays The absence of pyocyanin was not the cause of filamentous formation by the test results.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) pneumonia is a refractory,even lethal complication in immunosuppressive individuals and immune disturbances may promote the pathological process.We aimed to investigate the regulatory T (Treg) cell activity in an immunosuppressive mice model of PA pneumonia by estimating levels of main transcription factor and the main effector of Treg cells,i.e.,Forkhead box protein 3 (FOXP3) and interleukine-10 (IL-10).Seventy-two BALB/c mice were divided into four groups randomly:control (A),PA pneumonia (B),immunosuppression (C) and immunosuppression with PA pneumonia (D).Mice were sacrificed at 4,8 and 24 h after establishing experimental models.The pathological changes of lung tissue were graded,and the FOXP3 mRNA and serum IL-10 levels were detected.Histological analysis of lung tissues showed there were no significantly pathological changes in groups A and C,but significantly pathological changes were found in groups B and D,especially in group D at 8 h (P＜0.05).The expression levels of FOXP3 mRNA in groups A and C showed no significant changes at the three time points,which were significantly lower than those in groups B and D (P＜0.05).FOXP3 mRNA levels were lowest at 4 h,and there was significant difference between groups B and D (P＜0.05).The serum levels of IL-10 in groups A and C were almost normal at the three time points,but decreased significantly in groups B and D (P＜0.05).The serum levels ofIL-10 decreased to the lowest at 8 h,especially in group D (P＜0.05).The results indicate that PA pneumonia in immunosuppressive individuals worsens rapidly,which may be associated with Treg cells function disturbance.And Treg cells may be promising as adjuvant therapeutics for PA pneumonia in immunosuppressive individuals.

OBJECTIVETo explore impaired erythropoiesis and relative inadequacy of erythropoietin production in the anemic cancer patients and the correlation of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) or interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) with inadequate erythropoietin (EPO) response and impaired erythropoiesis in cancer patients with anemia.

METHODSFifty adult anemic and 15 non-anemic tumor patients were studied. Serum EPO levels were measured by radioimmunoassay (RIA) and serum soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR). TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma levels by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Log transformed EPO and sTfR values were used in statistical analysis. The R correlation analyses were performed.

RESULTSThe mean serum immunoreactive erythropoietin level in anemic cancer patients [(23.11 +/- 10.00) IU/L] was not significantly higher than in healthy people (P = 0.053), but significantly lower than in IDA patients with similar degree of anemia [(43.00 +/- 22.00) IU/L, P < 0.01]. Both O/P EPO [0.88 (0.54-1.10)] and O/P sTfR [0.89 (0.57-1.22)] were significantly lower in anemic cancer patients than in controls and in non-anemic cancer patients. There was no significant difference between the latter two groups. Furthermore, the expected inverse linear relation between serum EPO and hemoglobin levels was absent in the anemic cancer patients, and so did the relation between serum sTfR and hemoglobin levels. There was no correlation between O/P EPO and O/P sTfR. The serum levels of both TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma in anemic cancer patients [(25.75 +/- 26.71) ng/L, (50.49 +/- 42.12) ng/L, respectively] were significantly higher than those in healthy controls (both P < 0.01) or in nonanemic cancer patients (both 0.01 < P < 0.05), and so did between non-anemic cancer patients and controls. The serum levels of TNF-alpha were inversely correlated with hemoglobin levels (r = - 0.40, P = 0.004), O/P EPO (r = -0.32, P = 0.025) or O/P sTfR (r = -0.36, P = 0.01); while serum levels of IFN-gamma were inversely correlated with hemoglobin levels (r = -0.36, P = 0.01) or O/P sTfR (r = 0.39, P = 0.006), but not with O/P EPO. Conclusions Anemia of cancer is due to impaired erythropoiesis and relative inadequacy of EPO production. TNF-alpha might inhibit EPO production and erythropoiesis, while IFN-gamma maybe directly inhibit erythropoiesis and be independent of EPO response inadequacy.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Anemia ; blood ; etiology ; physiopathology ; Erythropoiesis ; physiology ; Erythropoietin ; biosynthesis ; blood ; Female ; Humans ; Interferon-gamma ; blood ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasms ; complications ; Receptors, Transferrin ; blood ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; metabolism

In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) technology has advanced rapidly and has been widely applied in various fields such as medicine and pharmacy, accelerating the drug development process. Focusing on the application of AI in the discovery and optimization of lead compounds, this review provides a detailed introduction to AI-assisted virtual screening and molecular generation methods for discovering lead compounds, while particularly highlighting the cases of AI-drived drugs into clinical trials. Additionally, we briefly outline the application of AI basic algorithm models in quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) and drug repurposing, offering insights for AI-based drug discovery.

AIM:To investigate the stemness of mouse triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) 4T1 cells induced by doxorubicin (DOX) and the underlying mechanism.METHODS:The 4T1 cells and MDA-MB-468 cells were treated with DOX at different concentrations (0, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.5μmol/L) for 24 h, and the shape and viability of the cells were observed.The concentration of DOX at 0.1μmol/L was chosen as the optimal concentration for the following experiments.The 4T1 cells and MDA-MB-468 cells resistant to DOX were established by continuous stimulation with DOX for 4 weeks, and named as 4T1-DOX and MDA-MB-468-DOX.Sphere formation assay was used to detect the stemness of 4T1cells and MDA-MB-468 cells.The expression of CD133 was observed by immunofluorescence staining.The expression of CD44 was analyzed by flow cytometry.The protein levels of Stat3, phosphorylated Stat3 (p-Stat3) and Oct-4 were determined by Western blot.RESULTS:The sphere formation ability of the 4T1-DOX cells was stronger than that of the 4T1control cells.The 4T1-DOX cells expressed high levels of the stemness markers CD133 and CD44 as compared with the 4 T1 cells (P<0.05).Furthermore, the 4T1-DOX cells exhibited enhanced activation of Stat3 (p-Stat3) and increased expression of Oct-4 (P<0.05) , while the expression of total Stat3 had no obvious variation.In addition, when activation of Stat3 was inhibited by WP1066, the protein levels of p-Stat3, Oct-4 and CD44 were down-regulated (P<0.05).Furthermore, inhibition of Stat3 phosphorylation reduced the sphere formation ability of the 4T1-DOX cells (P<0.05).CONCLUSION:DOX induces the stemness of mouse TNBC 4T1 cells through Stat3-Oct-4 signaling pathway.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the expressions of three kinds of glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol anchor proteins (GPI-AP), the CD(55), CD(59) and CD(87) on the peripheral granulocytes and the soluble u-PAR (su-PAR) level in serum from patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), aplastic anemia (AA), and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), and to analyse their clinical implications.

METHODSTwenty-two PNH patients, including 4 complicated with thrombotic diseases and 5 with AA-PNH syndrome, 30 AA patients, including 9 being severe AA (SAA) and 11 chronic AA (CAA), 27 MDS-RA patients, and 20 healthy individuals were tested. The expressions of CD(55), CD(59) and CD(87) on peripheral granulocytes were analyzed with flow cytometry. Serum su-PAR was assayed by ELISA.

RESULTSThe CD(55)(+), CD(59)(+) and CD(87)(+) granulocytes in peripheral blood of 20 normal controls were all more than 90%. The expressions of three kinds of GPI-APs in 22 PNH patients were significantly decreased as compared with that in normal controls, AA patients and MDS-RA patients. The serum level of su-PAR in PNH group was higher than that of the other three groups. The expression of CD(87) was significantly decreased in thrombotic PNH patients as compared with that in non-thrombotic PNH patients. The expression of CD(87) was significantly decreased in AA patients than in normal controls. The expressions of three kinds of GPI-APs in 5 AA-PNH syndrome patients were remarkably reduced as compared with AA patients, but no significant difference was found for these indexes between AA-PNH syndrome and PNH patients and between 27 MDS-RA patients and 20 normal controls.

CONCLUSIONMeasurement of CD(55), CD(59) and CD(87) expressions levels on the peripheral granulocytes and su-PAR in serum would be alternative approaches for diagnosis and differential diagnosis of PNH. Serum level of su-PAR may be helpful to monitor thrombosis in PNH patients.

Adult ; Aged ; Anemia, Aplastic ; blood ; CD55 Antigens ; blood ; CD59 Antigens ; blood ; Female ; Glycosylphosphatidylinositols ; blood ; Hemoglobinuria, Paroxysmal ; blood ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Myelodysplastic Syndromes ; blood ; Receptors, Cell Surface ; blood ; Receptors, Urokinase Plasminogen Activator