Abdominal Pain ; therapy ; Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Low Back Pain ; therapy ; Middle Aged ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

Objective To investigate the effects of warming-needle acupuncture on the levels of matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) in the articular cartilage in knee osteoarthritis induced by immobilization in rabbits.MethodsA total of 30 adult male Japanese white rabbits were randomly assigned into three groups by random number table method: a normal group, a model group and a treatment group, with 10 rabbits in each group. Knee osteoarthritis was induced by 6 weeks of immobilization. The rabbits in the treatment group received warming-needle acupuncture after modeling at points of “Neixiyan” (EX-LE4), “Dubi” (ST35), “Zusanli” (ST36) and “Yanglingquan” (GB34) for 4 weeks. The level of MMP-1 and IL-1β in the articular cartilage of the knee were determined with radioimmunological assay.ResultsThere were significant difference in the levels of MMP-1(0.16 ± 0.02 ng/mg, 0.37 ± 0.02 ng/mg, and 0.28 ± 0.03 ng/mg;F=258.251) and IL-1β (0.21 ± 0.01 pg/mg, 0.34 ± 0.02pg/mg, and 0.31 ± 0.04 pg/mg;F=127.112) among the normal group, model group and treatment group. The levels of MMP-1 and IL-1β both in the model group and treatment group were significant higher than those in the normal group (allP<0.01), while the levels of MMP-1 and IL-1β in the treatment group were significant lower than those in the model group (allP<0.01).ConclusionWarming-needle acupuncture can effectively reduced the levels of MMP-1 and IL-1β in the articular cartilage in knee osteoarthritis induced by immobilization in rabbits.

Hazardous Substances ; adverse effects ; Humans ; Occupational Exposure ; Workplace

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Carbon Monoxide Poisoning ; epidemiology ; therapy ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Inpatients ; statistics & numerical data ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Young Adult

Objective: To analyze the correlation of miR-625 expression with clinicopathological characteristics in esophageal squa-mous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and to explore the effect of miR-625 on the migration and proliferation of ESCC cells. Methods:The expres-sion level of miR-625 was determined through real-time PCR in 86 paired human ESCC tissue specimens and tumor-adjacent normal esophageal tissue specimens, ESCC cell lines, and esophageal epithelial cell line. The associations of miR-625 expression with clinico-pathological characteristics and survival in ESCC patients were analyzed. Transwell and CCK-8 assays were performed to examine the effect of miR-625 expression on migration and proliferation of ESCC cells. Results:Compared with tumor-adjacent normal specimens, miR-625 was significantly downregulated in ESCC tissue specimens (P<0.05). MiR-625 expression was decreased in ESCC cell lines com-pared with human esophageal epithelial cell lines (P<0.05). Lower miR-625 expression was associated with poorer prognosis and sur-vival. The migration and proliferation abilities of ESCC cells were inhibited by miR-625 overexpression (P<0.05). Conclusion:MiR-625 acts as a tumor suppressor gene in the development and progression of ESCC, suggesting that miR-625 may serve as an efficient prog-nosis biomarker and a potential therapeutic target for ESCC.

Recent studies reported that thymoquinone (TQ), a component derived from the medicinal spice Nigella sativa (also called black cumin), exhibited inhibitory effects on cell proliferation of many cancer cell lines. This study was performed to investigate the anti-metastatic effect of thymoquinone on the pancreatic cancer in vitro and in vivo. The results showed that thymoquinone suppressed the migration and invasion of Panc-1 cells in a does-dependent manner. To investigate the possible mechanisms involved in these events, Western blotting analysis was performed, and found that thymoquinone significantly down-regulates NF-kappaB and MMP-9 in Panc-1 cells. In addition, metastatic model simulating human pancreatic cancer was established by orthotropic implantation of histologically intact pancreatic tumor tissue into the pancreatic wall of nude mice. And administration of thymoquinone significantly reduced tumor metastasis compared to untreated control. Furthermore, the expression of NF-kappaB and MMP-9 in tumor tissues was also suppressed after treatment with thymoquinone. Taken together, the results indicate that thymoquinone exerts anti-metastatic activity on pancreatic cancer both in vitro and in vivo, which may be related to down-regulation of NF-kappaB and its regulated molecules such as MMP-9 protein. Consequently, these results provide important insights into thymoquinone as an antimetastatic agent for the treatment of human pancreatic cancer.

Objective To investigate the influence of anti-depression therapy on inflammatory cytokines and quality of life(QOL) in patients with acute coronary syndrome(ACS) complicating depression.Methods Ninety-four patients with ACS complicating depression(HAMD total score ≥8) were randomly divided into the treatment group and control group,47 cases in each group.The control group was given the conventional drug therapy,pantoprazole 40 mg /d,on this basis the treatment group was given sertraline 50 mg/d.The treatment course in the two groups was 6 months.The change of HAMD score,inflammatory cytokines,QOL and incidence of adverse cardiovascular events were observed and compared between the two groups.Results The HAMD score after 3-,6-month treatment in the treatment group was significantly lower than that in the control group (P<0.05).The levels of inflammatory cytokines after treatment in the two groups were all reduced,while the IL-6 and TNF-α levels in the treatment group were lower than those in the control group (P<0.05);the scores of all dimensions and total scores of SAQ after 6-month treatment in the treatment group were significantly improved,and the anginal attack situation,treatment satisfaction degree and total score were significantly higher than those in the control group (P<0.05).During 12-month follow-up,the incidence rate of major and minor cardiovascular events,alimentary tract hemorrhage events and total events had no statistical difference between the two groups(P>0.05).Conclusion The antidepressant therapy is safe and effective for treating ACS patients,can effectively improve the depression emotion,inhibits inflammatory reaction,relieves somatic symptoms,and improves QOL.

Bc58 is a UV resistant wild type strain that has an ability to produce a sorrel pigment induced by L-tyrosine.The FT-IR spectra and chemical tests of its pigment are similar to that of the standard melanin(Sigma).By bioassay shows that the LC_(50) of a Bt formulation added with the melanin of Bc58 and exposed to UV for 5 h is 16.1?g/mL,which is similar to that of Bt formulation without treated with UV,however,it is almost double higher than that of Bt formulation exposed to UV without the melanin of Bc58.The result of SDS-PAGE indicates that the melanin of Bc58 can protect the insecticidal crystal proteins from degradation.It suggests that an excellent UV protective agent to the insecticidal crystal proteins of Bt formulation.

Cholesterol-degrading strains was isolated from traditional koumiss. The effects of Lb. casei Zhang on the total serum cholesterol (TC) , triglycerid (TG), high density liporotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) low density liporotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) were investigated in artificially-induced hyperlipemial rats. The results showed that only heat-killed cells of Lb. casei Zhang significantly reduced serum TC (P

Objective To investigate the basic biological functions of NKX3.1 with construction of a series of eukaryotic expression vector of NKX3.1 to study its effects on cell cycle and apoptosis.Methods The full-length reading frames (ORF) of NKX3.1 was amplified from normal human prostate tissue with polymerase chain reaction (PCR),the ORF was cloned into T vector,and then NKX3.1 was cloned into eukaryotic expression vector pcDNA3.1 (+) and pcDNA3.1 (-) with this T vector as template.NKX3.1 in pEGFP C1 was transfected into PC3 cell line,and C1 pEFP was taken as control to observe the localization of NKX3.1 in cells.At the same time,NKX3.1 in pcDNA3.1 and pcDNA3.1 were transfected into PC3 cells and the cells were collected after 24 ～48 hours to detect cell cycle and apoptosis by flow cytometry.Results The eukaryotic expression vector of NKX3.1 was constructed successfully.Fluorescent protein was ocated in the nucleus after transfection of NKX3.1 in pEGFP C1,but pEGP C1 was both expressed in nucleus and cytoplasm.There was significant effect on the early apoptosis (P＜0.01),but no effect on the cell cycle (P ＞ 0.05) after transfection of NKX3.1 compared to PC3 cell-transfected with empty vector of pcDNA3.1.Conclusions The result data suggest that NKX3.1 be nuclear protein and have effect on the early apoptosis of PC3 cell line based on the construction of eukaryotic expression vector.