OBJECTIVETo detect the expression level of interleukin 17 (IL-17) in the plasma and colonic mucosa of patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), and to explore the synergistic mechanism of qingchang huashi recipe (QHR) combined with Mesalazine.

METHODSRecruited were 24 mild or moderate UC patients of damp-heat inner accumulation syndrome (DHIAS). Their samples of intestinal tissues were histologically graded. They were assigned to the combination group and the Western medicine (WM) group, 12 in each group. Besides, another 12 healthy volunteers were recruited as the healthy control group. QHR combined Mesalazine were given to patients in the combination group, while those in the WM group took Mesalazine. The therapeutic course for all was 3 months. By the end of treatment the expression level of IL-17 in the plasma and colonic mucosa was detected using ELISA. The infiltration of IL-17 in the intestinal mucosal tissue was detected by immunohistochemical SP method.

RESULTSThe expression level of IL-17 in the plasma and colonic mucosa was significantly higher in UC patients than in healthy controls (P <0. 05). The higher the histological grading the higher the expression level. The expression level of IL-17 in plasma and colonic tissues decreased after treatment in the two treatment groups (P < 0.05). Besides, the expression level of IL-17 was lower in the combination group than in the WM group (P <0.05).

CONCLUSIONQHR combined Mesalazine could synergically enhance the effect and effectively inhibit intestinal inflammation through down-regulating the expression of IL-17.

Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal ; therapeutic use ; Colitis, Ulcerative ; drug therapy ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Immunologic Factors ; metabolism ; Inflammation ; metabolism ; Interleukin-17 ; metabolism ; Intestinal Mucosa ; drug effects ; Intestines ; metabolism ; Mesalamine ; therapeutic use

Recent epidemiologic data indicate that metfomin has an anti-tumor effect.However,the underlying anti-tumor mechanisms remain unclear.MicroRNAs (miRNAs)can exhibit pro-oncogenic or anti-oncogenic effects by regulating the differentiation and proliferation of cells.In vitro studies show that metformin can regulate the expressions of multiple miRNAs which are closely associated with tumor development,a process possibly relating to the anti-cancer roles of metformin.

Foreign Bodies ; Glottis ; Humans

ObjectiveTo observe the effects of Jiuqiang Naoliqing(JNQ) on the microcirculation of the cheek pouch of golden hamsters. MethodsAutomatic measuring device was used to evaluate the changes of microcirculation. ResultsAfter the disorder of microcirculation of cheek pouch made by noradrenaline(NA), the JNQ group recovered better and more rapidly than other groups. ConclusionJNQ can prevent and reverse the disorder of microcirculation made by NA, and do better than NQ.

Objective To investigate the safety, feasibility and results of laparoscopic assisted distal radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer. Methods Twenty-three cases of gastric cancer were subjected to laparoscopic assisted distal radical gastrectomy, D_(1+α)/D_(1+β) lymphadenectomy on 3 cases and D_2 lymphadenectomy on 20 cases. All cases received Billroth I reconstruction. Results Laparoscopic assisted distal radical gastrectomy was carried out in all cases successfully. The mean operative time was (205 ±38 )min, mean blood loss was (105 ± 66) ml and mean number of lymph nodes dissected was 19.7 ± 6.2 each case. The mean postoperative time of recovery of bowel function was (3.5 ±1.2) d,mean postoperative time of liquid intake was (4.9 ±0.9) d and mean hospitalization was (10.2 ± 2.7) d. No postoperative death or anastomotic fistula was found. Postoperative upper gastrointestinal bleeding occurred in 1 case and was cured by conservative treatment. Follow-up for 1-12 months revealed no recurrence or metastasis. Conclusions Laparoscopic assisted distal radical gastrectomy is a safe and feasible procedure with satisfactory short-term outcomes.Moreover,the short-term outcomes may be improved if the patients are treated under the notion of fast track surgery.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the diagnostic significance of D2-40 and annexin-1 in the ependymal tumors.

METHODSTo analyses the expression of D2-40, annexin-1, EMA and Ki-67 by immunohistochemistry in 52 cases of ependymal tumors (48 cases of ependymomas, 4 cases of choroid plexus papilloma) from Xuanwu Hospital from 2005 to 2009. Ten cases of corresponding normal brain tissue were also obtained as control.

RESULTSThirty-two of forty-eight (66.7%) cases of ependymomas were positive for D2-40. "Dot-like" and "ring-like" structures were commonly observed in ependymomas (55.3%, 21 of 38 cases) and anaplastic ependymomas (5 of 6 cases) with D2-40 staining. There was no difference in the expression between D2-40 and Ki-67 (r(s) = -0.013, P = 0.931). For annexin-1, 87.5% (42 of 48 cases) of the ependymomas were positive. The specific "granular structures" and cilium were observed in ependymomas (1 of 4 cases of myxopapillary ependymomas and 11 of 38 cases of ependymomas respectively) for annexin-1. The difference in expression between annexin-1 and Ki-67 was statistically significant (r(s) = -0.405, P = 0.005). D2-40 in combination of EMA and annexin-1 increased the positive rate to 100% in ependymomas. Choroid plexus papillomas were all positive for D2-40 and annexin-1. The control tissue was negative for D2-40 but positive for annexin-1 in the capillaries.

CONCLUSIONSThe specific structures are valuable in diagnosing of ependymal-genetic tumors, and are highlighted by D2-40 and annexin-1. D2-40 in combination of EMA and annexin-1 is a useful diagnostic marker for ependymal tumors.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Annexin A1 ; metabolism ; Biomarkers, Tumor ; metabolism ; Brain Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; metabolism ; pathology ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Ependymoma ; diagnosis ; metabolism ; pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Ki-67 Antigen ; metabolism ; Male ; Membrane Glycoproteins ; metabolism ; Middle Aged ; Mucin-1 ; metabolism ; Papilloma, Choroid Plexus ; diagnosis ; metabolism ; pathology ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo explore the mechanisms involved in the ligustrazine alleviation of the pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH) in patients of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) associated with chronic cor pulmonale (CCP) during exacerbation.

METHODSSeventy patients of COPD and CCP with acute exacerbation were randomly and equally divided into control group and treatment group. The control group received standard treatment with antibiotics, antiasthmatic and expectorant medications, and oxygenation; and the ligustrazine treatment group received ligustrazine treatment (80 mg/d; i.v.; for 2 weeks) in addition to the standard treatment. Before and at the end of 2 week treatment, the clinic responses of the two regimens were evaluated, plasma levels of endothelin-1 (ET-1) and nitric oxide (NO) were determined; arterial oxygen partial pressure (PaO2, mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP), outflow tract of right ventricle (RVOT), and internal diameter of right ventricle (RV) were measured.

RESULTSGood clinic benefits were achieved in both the standard and ligustrazine regimens, plasma level of ET-1, values of mPAP, RV and RVOT decreased significantly, plasma level of NO and PaO2 values decreased (all P < 0.01 vs pre-treatment to all parameters). Compared with the control group, ligustrazine greatly enhanced the clinic efficacy from 77.1% to 97.1% (P < 0.05), and also resulted in more significant changes of all these parameters (P < 0.01 vs control group for all parameters). For both groups, the levels of plasma ET-1 were positively correlated with values of mPAP, RVOT, and RV (r = 0.710, 0.853, and 0.766, respectively, all P = 0.000), and negatively correlated with plasma NO and PaO2 (r = - 0.823, and - 0.752, respectively, all P = 0.000).

CONCLUSIONLigustrazine is effective in treating pulmonary artery hypertension during acute exacerbation of COPD and CCP in patients from the plateau area. The observed changes in the plasma levels of NO and ET-1 in response to ligustrazine treatment suggest that ligustrazine may act through the selective effect on pulmonary blood vessels to enhance the synthesis and release of NO and suppress those of ET-1 from lung vascular endothelial cells, thus reducing pulmonary artery pressure and decreasing pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Altitude ; Blood Gas Analysis ; Chronic Disease ; Endothelin-1 ; blood ; Humans ; Hypertension, Pulmonary ; drug therapy ; Nitric Oxide ; blood ; Pulmonary Artery ; physiopathology ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive ; drug therapy ; Pyrazines ; therapeutic use ; Respiration

The purpose of this study is to explore the feasibility of wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) modified liposome as a vehicle for ophthalmic administration. Liposome loaded with 5-carboxyfluorescein (FAM) was prepared by lipid film hydration method. WGA was thiolated and then conjugated to the surface of the liposome via polyethylene glycol linker to constitute the WGA-modified and FAM-loaded liposome (WGA-LS/FAM). The amount of thiol groups on each WGA molecule was determined, and the bioactivity of WGA was estimated after it was modified to the surface of liposome. The physical and chemical features of the WGA-modified liposome were characterized and the ocular bioadhesive performance was evaluated in rats. The result showed that each thiolated WGA molecule was conjugated with 1.32 thiol groups. WGA-LS/FAM had a mean size of (97.40 +/- 1.39) nm, with a polydispersity index of 0.23 +/- 0.01. The entrapment efficacy of FAM was about (2.95 +/- 0.21)%, and only 4% of FAM leaked out of the liposome in 24 h. Erythrocyte agglutination test indicated that after modification WGA preserved the binding activity to glycoprotein. The in vivo ocular elimination of WGA-LS/FAM fitted first-order kinetics, and the elimination rate was significantly slower than that of the unmodified liposome, demonstrating WGA-modified liposome is bioadhesive and suitable for ophthalmic administration.
Absorption, Physicochemical ; Adhesiveness ; Administration, Ophthalmic ; Animals ; Drug Carriers ; Eye ; metabolism ; Fluoresceins ; chemistry ; Liposomes ; administration & dosage ; chemistry ; pharmacokinetics ; Male ; Particle Size ; Polyethylene Glycols ; chemistry ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Wheat Germ Agglutinins ; administration & dosage ; chemistry ; pharmacokinetics

BACKGROUND:In recent years, some studies have demonstrated that ganglioside can promote survival and differentiation of umbilical blood cord mesenchymal stem cel s in vitro. OBJECTIVE:To observe the effect of injection of human umbilical blood cord mesenchymal stem cel s and ganglioside into rat lateral ventricles on neurological functional recovery from cerebral palsy. METHODS:Total y 60 cerebral palsy neonatal rats were delivered from pregnant rats which were modes were given intraperitoneal injection of lipopolysaccharide for 2 successive days on day 17 of gestation. Then those neonatal rats were randomly divided into five groups, including model group (n=10), sham transplantation group (n=10), stem cel transplantation group (n=18), ganglioside group (n=10) and combination group (n=12). Under stereotaxic instrument, umbilical blood cord mesenchymal stem cel s or ganglioside were injected into left lateral ventricles of the rat brain, respectively, and the sham transplantation group was given the same volume of phosphate buffered saline. Two rats from the stem cel transplantation group were put to death for immunofluorescence staining at 7, 14, 21 and 28 days after transplantation, respectively, and two rats in the combination group were kil ed for immunofluorescence staining at 14 days. Besides, al rats were underwent neurologic evaluation at 28 days after transplantation. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The umbilical blood cord mesenchymal stem cel s could survive, migrate and differentiate, which mainly distributed in the lateral ventricle, hippocampus and cortex. At 14 days after transplantation, positive expressions of BrdU and glial fibril ary acidic protein in the combination group were significantly higher than those in the stem cel transplantation group (P<0.05). In addition, compared with the model group, the holding time significantly prolonged and foot error times significantly decreased in the latter three groups (P<0.05), as wel as in the combination group compared with the stem cel transplantation and ganglioside groups (P<0.05). These results indicate that umbilical blood cord mesenchymal stem cel s and ganglioside can both improve neurological function of rats with cerebral palsy. Given that ganglioside can promote survival and differentiation of umbilical blood cord mesenchymal stem cel s in vivo, the combined transplantation is preferred.

Background and purpose:The chemokine,CXCL12 and its receptor,CXCR4,have recently been shown to play an important role in the metastasis of several kinds of carcinoma. It also has been demonstrated that VEGF regulates both the expression of CXCR4 and invasiveness in cancer cell. Our aim was to study the expression of CXCR4,VEGF in osteosarcoma and the correlation between these two factors and distant metastasis. Methods: The immunohistochemical staining SP method was used to detect the expression of CXCR4 and VEGF in 56 cases of osteosarcoma. We analyzed the correlation between the expression of CXCR4 and VEGF,and the correlation between the expression of CXCR4,VEGF and clinical stage,the level of ALP. The patients were followed up for 2 years. Results:There was signifi cant correlation between the expression of CXCR4 and VEGF in 56 cases(r=5.678,P=0.02). Univariate analysis showed a signifi cant correlation between the expression of CXCR4,VEGF and clinical tumor stage(P=0.026),and no correlation between the expression of these two factors and age,sex and serum ALP level. 31 cases had metastasis in two years in a total of 56 follow-up cases,and the expression of CXCR4 and VEGF was associate with metastasis(P=0.018 and P=0.022,respectively). Conclusion:VEGF can upregulate tumor angiogenesis and promote tumor metastasis to specific organ by increasing expression of CXCR4.The increasing expression of CXCR4 and VEGF is useful to predict metastasis and prognosis of osteosarcoma.