Oxymatrine is the main effective monomer of Radix Sophorae flavescentis( Kushen) , which has a variety of pharma-cological actions and valuable clinical applications. Recently, there are many reports about molecular mechanisms of oxymatrine pharmacological actions, giving highly attention to the anti-in-flammatory, anti-fibrosis and antineoplastic effects. These effects are achieved through resisting of oxidation and free radical, anti- ＜br> virus, and affecting the secretion of inflammatory factor and ap-optosis and so on. This article summarizes the reports on the mo-lecular mechanism of the protection on liver, cardiovascular sys-tem, endocrine system and nervous system, hoping to provide theoretical basis for the practical application.

Aim To study the effect of oxymatrine (OMT)on protecting human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs)from toxicity induced by high glucose in vitro.Methods The HUVECs were cultured with medium containing different concentrations of glucose or OMT. The cells were randomly divided into 6 groups:5.5 mmol·L -1 control group(Control),22.2 mmol·L -1 high glucose (22.2 mmol·L -1 ),44.4 mmol·L -1 high glucose (44.4 mmol·L -1 ),control+OMT(control +OMT),22.2 mmol·L -1 high glu-cose +OMT(22.2 mmol·L -1 +OMT),44.4 mmol ·L -1 high glucose +OMT (44.4 mmol · L -1 +OMT).The protective effect of oxymatrine was as-sessed by MTS assays.The expression of A2B in HU-VECs was detected by Real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR)and Western Blot methods.Results The glucose was shown to have caused cytotoxicity in HU-VECs.Oxymatrine (3 μmol·L -1 )was found to have protected HUVECs from glucose toxicity effectively, and reduced the expression of A2B significantly.Con-clusion Oxymatrine can obviously protect HUVECs from cytotoxicity induced by high glucose and the effect is performed partly by decreasing A2B expression.

Long-term treatment with an agonist of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-γ is associated with bone fractures in the clinical practice. However, the mechanisms underlying the fractures are not fully understood. This study was aimed to examine the effect of rosiglitazone (an agonist of PPAR-γ) of different doses on the proliferation, differentiation, and transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1)-induced expression of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) in primary rat osteoblasts in vitro. Osteoblasts were isolated from newly born SD rats and treated with different doses of rosiglitazone (0-20 μmol/L). The proliferation and differentiation of osteoblasts were measured by MTT assay and NPP assay, respectively. The expression of CTGF was determined by RT-PCR and Western blotting. The results showed that most isolated osteoblasts displayed strong alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and treatment with different doses of rosiglitazone did not affect their proliferation, but significantly inhibited the differentiation of osteoblasts in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, treatment with different doses of rosiglitazone significantly reduced the TGF-β1-induced CTGF mRNA transcription and protein expression in a dose-dependent manner in rat osteoblasts. It was concluded that the activation of PPAR-γ may inhibit the differentiation of osteoblasts by reducing the TGF-β1-induced CTGF expression in vitro.

Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Coronary Artery Disease ; complications ; therapy ; Coronary Stenosis ; complications ; therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

Objective To compare and evaluate the effect of PBL in clinical teaching of Pediatrics.Methods Among students of Grade 2002 in our university,two types of PBL,pre-learning and case-discussion,were used in their clinical learning of Pediatrics. And then,their effects were evaluated and compared with those of traditional learning method.Results More than 60% of the students agreed with PBL methods,and they considered PBL favorable to practice scientific logical thinking of clinical affairs,to increase their capabilities of learning,oral expression,communication and cooperation.The teachers agreed with PBL methods too for the better learning effect resulting from PBL.Conclusion PBL fits the needs of medical learning reformation.To train new type of doctors in century 21st,it is necessary to use kinds of new learning methods,including PBL methods and standardized patient (SP)in clinical teaching.

A(p.G888S)were detected in POLG1 gene.Sequence analysis of parental blood DNA revealed that her father carried L83P and her mother carried G888S.Conclusions The characteristics of clinical manifestation,electrophysiology,pathology and POLG1 gene mutation of the patient were highly consistent with Alpers syndrome.The prominent white matter change and increased immunological factors in CSF were first reported in Alpers syndrome.Alpers syndrome should be considered for those patients whose liver function were severely impaired after exposure to valproic acid.

This study examined the effects of arsenic trioxide on apoptosis and interleukin-4 release in T cells of asthmatic patients in vitro and investigated the role of Bcl-2 in the active mechanism. T cells were isolated from asthmatic patients (n = 21) and healthy controls (n = 20), and then treated with arsenic trioxide and dexamethasone. Cell apoptosis was measured using fluorescence microscopy, flow cytometry and a cytochrome c ELISA kit. Interleukin-4 levels in the serum and in supernatants from T cells were quantified by ELISA. Flow cytometric analysis and immunofluorescence studies were performed to determine Bcl-2 expression. T cells of the asthmatic patients (i. e. without treatment) exhibited decelerated spontaneous apoptosis after 24 h incubation in vitro when compared to T cells of the healthy controls. With dexamethasone treatment, an increase in apoptosis of T cells was not significantly different between both groups, irrespective of the method used. Arsenic trioxide treatment, however, significantly increased the apoptosis of T cells of the asthmatic group and showed a slight effect on the control group. In asthmatic patients, elevated levels of interleukin-4 and up-regulated Bcl-2 expression were detected. Moreover, in vitro, T cells of asthmatic patients spontaneously released more interleukin-4 and exhibited more Bcl-2 expression than T cells from the control group. Arsenic trioxide treatment significantly decreased interleukin-4 release and down-regulated Bcl-2 expression in asthmatic patients, while it only slightly affected healthy controls. Dexamethasone treatment decreased interleukin-4 release in both groups examined. It did not significantly influence Bcl-2 expression. These results suggest that arsenic trioxide induces T cell apoptosis and decreases interleukin-4 release in T cells of asthmatic patients in vitro and that down-regulation of Bcl-2 expression may be an important mechanism.
Adult ; Anti-Asthmatic Agents ; pharmacology ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Arsenicals ; pharmacology ; Asthma ; metabolism ; pathology ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Flow Cytometry ; Gene Expression Regulation ; Humans ; Interleukin-4 ; metabolism ; Microscopy, Fluorescence ; Middle Aged ; Oxides ; pharmacology ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 ; metabolism ; T-Lymphocytes ; metabolism ; pathology

Objective To quantitatively assess severity of movement disability by analyzing physical activities recorded by an actigraph monitor in patients with neurology disorders.Methods Eighty-one patients with Parkinson' s disease(PD)and 61 patients with acute cerebral infarction(ACI)accompanying impaired upper limb motor function were included in the study.PD patients and ACI patients were treated using the international PD and ACI treatment guidelines,respectively.The patients were asked to wear an Actigraph monitor for 6 days before the treatment in both PD and ACI patient groups and at 24-38 days post-treatment in PD patients or at 28 days post-treatment in ACI patients.The recorded data was analyzed by power-law exponent(PLE)and detrended fluctuation analysis(DFA).Clinically,before and after the treatments,PD patients were evaluated using the conventional Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS),and ACI patients were evaluated by assessing upper limb motor function using Fugl-Meyer Assessment(FMA)and Functional Independence Measure(FIM).The correlation of the UPDRS scores with PLE was analyzed in PD patients,and the correlation of FMA or FIM with DFA in ACI patients.Results Both the UPDRS scores and the PLE values in PD patients were improved after the drug administration(UPDRS total:32.8 ± 16.2 and 28.8 ± 14.7,Z =2.080,P =0.038; UPDRS Ⅲ:18.6 ± 8.2 and 15.7±6.8,Z=2.155,P=0.031; PLE:0.98 ±0.25 and 0.82 ±0.21,Z=2.212,P=0.027,before and after the treatment,respectively).There were a linear correlation coefficient of 0.699 between the improvements of total UPDRS scores and the PLE values,and of 0.823 between the UPDRS Ⅲ and the PLE values.FMA,FIM scores and DFA were improved significantly than before treatment(FMA:12.39 ± 8.21 and 30.28 ±7.29,Z=3.016,P =0.004; FIM:8.98 ±7.29 and 13.21 ±7.6,Z =2.282,P=0.038; DFA:0.86 ±0.31 and 0.98 ±0.27,Z =2.360,P =0.036,before and after the treatment,respectively).It also showed linear correlations between the improvements of FMA scores and DFA(r =0.638),and between FIM scores and DFA(r =0.712,both P ＜0.05).There was no correlation between UPDRS scores and DFA values in PD patients,nor between FIM scores or FMA scores and PLE values in ACI patients.Conclusions Actigraph device can be used to monitor patients activity in movement disorders.Analysis of its PLE can provide a quantitative evaluation in PD while its DFA may provide useful specific assessment of impaired upper limb motor function in ACI patients.It can also be used in quantitatively assessing new drug efficacy.

In this cross-sectional survey,2 682 traffic policemen in Tianjin were enrolled,and they were tested with Occupational Stress Inventory-Revised (OSI-R) and Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90).Body mass index,blood pressure,fasting blood glucose,triglycerides,and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol ( HDL-C ) were also determined at the same time. Correlation analysis showed that body mass index was positively correlated with somatization ( r =0.039,P =0.045 ),hostility ( r =0.046,P =0.01 8 ),and psychoticism ( r =0.041,P =0.036).Systolic blood pressure was positively correlated to somatization (r =0.056,P =0.004 ),obsessive-compulsiveness ( r =0.044,P =0.023 ),interpersonal sensitivity ( r =0.041,P =0.034 ),depression ( r =0.039,P =0.043),anxiety ( r =0.055,P =0.004 ),and psychoticism ( r =0.051,P =0.009 ).Diastolic blood pressure was positively correlated to somatization ( r =0.047,P =0.015 ),interpersonal sensitivity ( r =0.042,P =0.030 ),anxiety ( r =0.050,P =0.010 ),and psychoticism ( r =0.047,P =0.014 ).Fasting blood glucose was positively correlated to somatization ( r=0.042,P=0.028 ).Multiple regression analysis showed that occupational stress factors were role boundary,physical environment,responsibility,recreation,role ambiguity,role overload,and cognitive coping.Among these factors,role ambiguity and cognitive coping reduced occupational stress while others increased the stress.The results of the unconditional logistical regression analysis showed that there is an independent association of metabolic syndrome with somatization,role insufficiency,and physical strain for the task and body tension ( P＜0.01).

Naturally occurring mutations in surface proteins of Hepatitis B virus(HBV)usually result in altered hepatitis B surface antigen(HBsAg)secretion efficiency.In the present study,we reported two conserved residues,M75 and M103 with respect to HBsAg,mutations of which not only attenuated HBsAg secretion(M75 only),but also suppressed HBV genome replication without compromising the overlapping p-gene product.We also found M75 and M103 can initiate truncated surface protein(TSPs)synthesis upon over-expression of full-length surface proteins,which may possibly contribute to HBV genome replication.However,attempts to rescue replicationdefective HBV mutant by co-expression of TSPs initiated from M75 or M103 were unsuccessful,which indicated surface proteins rather than the putative TSPs were involved in regulation of HBV genome replication.