BACKGROUND:During in vitro culture, dental folicle cels are easy to loss self-renewal capacity and become aging, and they are also very difficult to be purified and amplified in quantity, which limits the application of dental folicle cels in periodontal tissue engineering. OBJECTIVE:To study the osteogenic effect of immortalized rat dental folicle cels. METHODS:pSSR69-pAmpho plasmids containing SV40T-Ag were used to transfect 293 cels. Rat dental folicle cels were transfected with virus supernatant and screened by hygromycin to establish immortalized rat dental folicle cels (experimental group). Untransfected cels served as controls. RT-PCR was used to detect the osteogenic related factors (alkaline phosphatase, osteocalcin, bone morphogenetic protein 2, and Runx2) in the experimental group and control group. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The results showed no statistical differences between the experimental group and the control group in the expressions of alkaline phosphatase, bone morphogenetic protein 2 and Runx2 (P > 0.05). The expression of osteocalcin was significantly higher in the experimental group than the control group (P < 0.05). These findings suggest that in the late osteogenesis differentiation, immortalized rat dental folicle cels may promote the secretion of osteocalcin and then make osteoblasts early entry into the bone calcification stage.

From October 9 to 12,2008,the 2th Academic Meeting of the Basic Theory of TCM Branch was held in Huangshan,Anhui province.The theme of this meeting was to discuss the key scientiflc problems of Zang xiang and Zheng Hou.The meeting arranged special topic reports and free speeches.The aims of the meeting were discussing key sclentific issues in the science of basic theory of TCM,exchanging experiences and new technologies and methods,promoting the establishment and construction of academic team,and advancing the development of this science.

Objective To investigate the myocardial remodeling and cardiac function effects of metoprolol combined Xinshuaining mixture for treating chronic heart failure.Methods One hundred and seventy patients with chronic heart failure was equally divided into treatment group and control group of 85 cases each,accorded to the random principle of parallelism,both groups were given conventional treatment based on metoprolol,the treatment group was added Xinshuaining mixture.Results After treatment,the effective rate in the treatment group was 95.3 ％(81/85),so that was 81.2％(69/85) in the control group,there was significant difference (P ＜ 0.05).After treatment,the level of left ventricular end-systolic volume (LVESV),left ventricular end-diastolic volume (LVEDV),heart rate (HR) in treatment group were significantly lower than those in control group [(41.36 ±7.11) ml/m2 vs.(44.32 ±6.26) ml/m2,(46.28 ± 7.56) ml/m2 vs.(55.69 ± 8.12) ml/m2,(72.25 ± 3.62) bpm vs.(78.36 ± 3.44) bpm],while the level of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and 6-minute walk test distance were significantly higher [(56.48 ±8.00)％ vs.(35.16 ± 8.21)％,(566.68 ±51.86) m vs.(476.88 ±50.99) m],there were significant differeces (P ＜ 0.05).After followed up for 3 months,the incidence of cardiac adverse reactions in treatment group was significantly lower than that in control group [3.5％ (3/85)vs.11.8％ (10/85)] (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions Metoprolol combined Xinshuaining mixture for treating chronic heart failure can improve cardiac remodeling and heart function,thereby improve the prognosis of efficacy.While its better security should be widely applied.

0.05).Conclusion The therapeutic mechanism of AEP of Chinese herbal medicine for asthma may be related with the inhibition of EOS infiltration,the decrease of peripheral IL-4 content and the increase of IFN-?.

Vildagliptin,a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor,is always used in combination with metformin.Data from multiple clinical trials showed that vildagliptin and metformin combination therapy can improve HbA1c,fasting blood glucose,and postprandial blood glucose without weight gain,good gastrointestinal (GI)tolerance,and no increase in the incidence of hypoglycemia.Vildagliptin increases plasma levels of glucagon-like peptide-1 ( GLP-1 ).When glucose levels are above normal fasting levels,enhanced GLP-1 levels stimulate insulin secretion.Mefformin has been shown to increase insulin sensitivity and inhibit hepatic glucose production.The effect of vildagliptin to increase plasma levels of intact GLP-1 was enhanced in patients receiving concomitant metformin.

A total of 21 papers about topical use of triamcinolone in the treatment of oral diseases were retrieved.1 7 of the 21 papers were about the treatment of oral lichen planus,3 were about recurrent aphthous ulcer and 1 was about Behcet's Syndrome.Topical use of triamcin-olone,either used alone or combined with other drugs,was effective in the treatment of oral lichen planus,recurrent aphthous ulcer and Beh-cet's Syndrome.No adverse drug reaction happened when triamcinolone was used in the patients after a short time application,while it hap-pened in the patients after prolonged-use.It may be also effective in the treatment of other allergy or immune dysfunction related oral mucosal diseases,of which more research should be carried out.

Liver transplantation is a valid treatment option for select patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma HCC and end-stage liver disease. However, in approximately 20% of patients, recurrent HCC is the rate-limiting factor for longterm survival. Despite identification of clinical parameters that may stratify patients at high risk and exhaustive preoperative staging, cancer recurrence is likely the result of microscopic extrahepatic disease. With a desperate donor organ shortage, locoregional ablation techniques and resection are being employed in patients on the waiting list to serve as a bridge to OLT. Further more, some have advocated aggressive surgical resection of isolated metastasis in both the liver and extrahepatic viscera. Whether these creative strategies confer a survival advantage is unknown, requiring longterm follow-up to determine their efficacy.

Objective To investigate the effect of mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) and sildenafil on the systolic pulmonary arterial pressure (SPAP),right ventricular hypertrophy index (RVHI),pulmonary arterial and heart structural of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) rat models.Methods The rat models of monocrotaline (MCT)-PAH were developed.Sprague-Dawley male rats were randomly assigned into the control group,the MCT group,the MMF (40 mg·kg-1·d-1) group,the sildenafil (20 mg·kg-1·d-1) group,and the MMF (40 mg·kg-1·d-1) + sildenafil (20 mg·kg-1·d-1) group.The SPAP and RVHI were measured,and the pulmonary arterial and heart structural changes were observed for all rats.Statistical analysis were performed by one-way ANOVA and rank-sum test.Results ① SPAP of the MMF group,the sildenafil group and the MMF + sildenafil group were (31±8),(37±8),(29±6) mmHg,while that of the MCT group was (53±7) mmHg,the difference was statistically significant (P＜0.01).The RVHIs in the MMF group,the sildenafil group and the MMF+sildenafil group were reduced [(0.365±0.038),(0.407±0.047),(0.325 ±0.459) respectively] when compared with the MCT group (0.543±0.080),the difference was statistically significant (P＜0.01).The SPAP between the MMF+sildenafil group and the sildenafil group was statistically significantly different (P＜0.05),and the RVHI difference between the MMF+ sildenafil group and the sildenafil group was statistically significant (P＜0.05).② The wall thic-kness/tubes diameter of the MMF group (0.355±0.074) and the MMF+sildenafil group (0.289±0.017) were reduced when compared with that of the MCT group [(0.466±0.006)],the difference was statistically significant (P＜0.05).The wall thickness/tubes diameter of the MMF group (0.355±0.074) were reduced compared with the sildenafil group (0.455±0.006),and the difference was statistically significant (P＜O.05).In addition,the wall thickness/tubes diameter of the MMF+ sildenafil group (0.289±0.017) was reduced when compared with that of the sildenafil group (0.455±0.006),and the difference was statistically significant (P＜ 0.05).Conclusion Both sildenafil and MMF can reduce the SPAP and RVHI of PAH rat models induced by MCT.MMF and sildenafil can reduce wall thickness as well.

Bronchogenic cysts( BC) is a congenital malformation of the lung which is common in chil-dren and adolescents. Because the disease is rare and not characteristic in symptom,sign and imaging,it can be easily misdiagnosed. It is still difficult to improve the rate of correct and early diagnosis. This article reviewes the research progress of the occurrence,symptom and management of BC.