Objective Vimentin is the major protein consisting of intermediate filaments in normal and neoplastic mesenchymal cells.It has been regarded as a marker of epithelial mesenchymal transition( EMT) .How-ever,little is known about colorectal cancer( CRC) with Vimentin expression as a marker of EMT and prognosis. Methods We investigated the expression of Vimentin in CRC tissues and determined the correlations between Vimentin expression patterns and clinicopathologic characteristics and prognosis in CRC.In total,189 patients di-agnosed with CRC based on histopathological evaluation and those subjected to surgical resection at the Liaoning Province Cancer Hospital and Institute between 2000 and 2002 were examined.Immunohistochemical staining for Vimentin was performed for each specimen.Results Positive expression of Vimentin was significantly associated with the lymph node metastasis(pN stage,P=0.038),TNM stage(P=0.024).Survival analysis revealed that positive Vimentin expression was significantly related to poor prognosis ( P =0.016 ) .Multivariate analysis re-vealed that Vimentin expression was an independent prognostic factor for patient survival in colorectal cancer ( P=0.026) .Conclusion In conclusion,our data provide novel evidence for the clinical significance of Vimentin ex -pression as potential predictive biomarkers for identifying patients with lymph node metastasis or poor prognosis in CRC.

Objective To establish a HPLC method for the determination of geniposide in Mengning Tablets and to investigate the thermal stability of geniposide. Methods The content of geniposide in Mengning Tablets was determined on a E- clipse XDB-C_(18) column with a mobile phase consisting of 0.2% triethylamine (containing 0.1% phosphate) and acetonitrile (85: 15) at a flow rate of 1.0 mL?min~(-1) and detected at a wavelength of 240 nm. The thermal stability of geniposide was investigated by hyperthermal accelerated test. Results A linearity was obtained from 0. 10 ?g to 0.52 ?g of geniposide (r=0.9997, n=5) and the recovery was 98.92%(n=5). The variation of geniposide in Mengning Tablets was in first-order reaction and the expiry date of the medicine at normal temperature was 2.83 years when geniposide content was used as criteria. Conclusion This is a fast method for the determination of the expiry date of a Chinese patent medicine and this method is useful infor the development of a new medicine.

AIM: To optimize the technical parameters of total arasaponin'S purification with macroporous resin. METHODS: Conditions for the elution were studies under the conditio n of the content of total arasaponin. RESULTS: The purity of total arasaponin was up to 83.3% after d riing the part of 70% ethanolic elution. CONCLUSION: The method was a good purification for total arasaponi n.

Objective To investigate the advantages, indications, operative techniques and pre-liminary curative effect of proximal femoral nail antirotation(PFNA) in surgical treatment of intertrochan-teric fractures. Methods From March 2006 to June 2007, PFNA fixation was done on 38 patients with intertrochanteric fractures including 17 males and 21 females, at an average age of 65. 4 years(35-93 years). According to AO/ASIF classification, there were 10 patients with type 31-A1 fractures, 21 with type 31-A2 and 7 with type 31-A3. All patients were reduced through longitudinal traction on the traction table, with implantation of PFNA via a mini-incision. Results The mean operation duration was 50 minutes(35-105 minutes)and mean blood loss 100 ml(50-300 ml). All patients were successful except for 1 patient with split lateral cortical bone of distal shaft of the femur during operation. All pa-fients were followed up for average 13 months(4-19 months), which showed long-team bed stay due to severe complieations in 1 patient. Function recovery in 32 and deterioration of the injured limbs in 5. Cer-ebral infarction was found 6 months after operation in 1 patient, who was able to walk under support. Pri-mary bone union was achieved in all patients, with average healing time of 9. 5 weeks. There were no complications such as infection of incisional wound, pulmonary infection, phlebothrombosis, over incision or coxa adducta, except that 2 patients had perioperative respiratory system disease. According to Harris hip rating scale system. The result was excellent in 20 patients, good in 13, common in 4 and poor in 1, with total excellence rate of 89%. Conclusions As a new technique, PFNA has advantages of litth trauma. Early get-out-of-bed exercise, few complications, rigid fixation and high bone union rate and is suitable for all kinds of intertrochanteric fractures especially for old patients with osteoporosis.

Objective To examine whether speckle tracking imaging(STI) could provide for the assessment of acute cardiac rejection. Methods Hearts from Brown Norway rats or Lewis rats were transplanted into other Brown Norway rats. Isografts and groups of allografts either untreated or treated with cyclosporin A (CsA) at a low dose (3 mg ·kg-1 ·d-1) or high dose (10mg · kg-1 ·d-1) from 1　day before transplantation were compared at posttransplantation day 7. Results Echocardiography-derived left ventricular post wall thickness was increased only in untreated allografts. The left ventricular eject fraction was significant lower in the allografts compared with isograft, but allografts treated without or with low-dose CsA showed similar results. The radial systolic radial strain rate showed a lower value in untreated allografts than other grafts,but there was no significant differences between allograft treated with high- or low-dose CsA and isografts. The circumferential strain and circumferential strain rate was comparable among the 4 groups. However the radial strain exhibited a clear gradient in these groups [(2. 8 ± 1.3)％ in untreated allografts, (5.2 ± 0.9)％ in allografts treated with low-dose CsA, (6.3 ± 1.8 )％ in allografts treated with high-dose CsA,and (12.7 ± 7.9) in isografts, P＜0.001]. The radial strain exhibited a clear correlation with the severity of rejection ( r =-0.812, P＜ 0.0000). Conclusions The radial strain decreased as the severity of rejection worsen. STI offers promise as a noninvasive method for detecting transplant allograft rejection.

to observe the infarction volume.Nitrate reductase assay was used to detect the level of NO in brain tissue of the rats.The level of S100βin brain was detected by ELISA method.Results Compared with model group,the brain infarction volumes of the rats 24 and 72 h after cerebral ischemia reperfusion in curcumin group were significantly decreased (P<0.05).Compared with sham operation group,the NO and S100βlevels in the brain tissue 24 and 72 h after cerebral ischemia reperfusion of the rats in model group were significantly increased(P<0.05);compared with model group,the levels of NO in the brain tissue 24 and 72 h after cerebral ischemia reperfusion in curcumin group were remarkably decreased (P<0.05);compared with modee group,the level of S100βin the brain tissue 72 h after cerebral iscemia reperfusion in curcumin group was remarkably decreased (P < 0.05 ). Conclusion Curcumin can significantly reduce the degree of ischemia reperfusion injury in the rats and reduce the levels of NO and S100βin brain tissue,which suggests that the decrease of NO and S100βlevels in brain tissue may be associated with the neuroprotective effect of curcumin.

The wound healing in patients with DM is the result of multiple factors.The difficulty of macrophage M1 to M2 transformation is the key factor affecting wound healing.The biological function of macrophages is closely related to epigenetic modifications.This article reviews the research progress of macrophage polarization epigenetic regulation in diabetic wound healing.

OBJECTIVETo explore the role of P38 signaling pathway in neonatal rat astrocyte swelling and the expression of aquaporin-4 (AQP4) after oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) and recovery (OGD/R).

METHODSPrimarily cultured neonatal rat astrocytes were subject to OGD for 5 h followed by oxygen-glucose recovery in the presence or absence of the P38 inhibitor SB203580 (10 µmol/L). The astrocytes were investigated at 0.5, 2, 8 and 24 h after oxygen-glucose recovery for morphological changes and cell injuries using lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assay. The expressions of P38, P-P38, and AQP4 mRNAs and proteins in the astrocytes were detected using RT-PCR and Western blotting.

RESULTSOGD/R caused significantly enhanced expression of P-P38 protein, and this effect was blocked by SB203580. AQP4 mRNA and protein expression declined transiently at 0.5 h after OGD and increased gradually to reach the peak level at 8 h (P<0.05). Application of the SB203580 significantly lowered OGD-induced AQP4 mRNA and protein up-regulation (P<0.05). Astrocyte swelling occurred after OGD/R but was obviously lessened by SB203580. LDH release increased markedly after OGD/R, and was attenuated by treatment with SB203580 (P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONP38 signaling pathway participates in astrocyte swelling after OGD/R, and blocking this pathway can attenuate AQP4 up-regulation and ameliorate the cell swelling.

Animals ; Animals, Newborn ; Aquaporin 4 ; metabolism ; Astrocytes ; metabolism ; pathology ; Brain Edema ; metabolism ; pathology ; Cell Hypoxia ; Glucose ; pharmacology ; MAP Kinase Signaling System ; physiology ; Oxygen ; pharmacology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Reperfusion Injury ; metabolism

Diabetic retinopathy(DR)is a microvascular lesion in diabetes mellitus(DM),which is the main cause of irreversible blindness.The prevalence of DR increases as the number of DM patients increases.Due to limited treatment options,the overall cure rate is low.Mammalian target of rapamycin(mTOR)plays an important role in the occurrence and development of diabetic retinopathy as a hyperglycemic sensor.This article reviews the research progress on the role of mTOR signaling pathway in DR.

OBJECTIVETo explore the role of p38 signal pathway in regulating matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) expression and brain edema formation in a rat model of traumatic brain injury (TBI).

METHODSA total of 130 adult male Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into 4 groups, namely the normal group (n=10), sham-operated group (n=40), TBI (induced by Feeney free falling methods) group (n=40), and SB group with intraperitoneal SB203580 treatment (10 µmol/L) 15 min before TBI (n=40). The rats were sacrificed 2 h and 2 days after TBI. The expressions of p38, p-p38, and MMP-9 mRNA and protein were detected by RT-PCR and Western blotting. The blood brain barrier permeability was detected by Evans Blue (EB) test, and the brain water content (BWC) was determined using a gravimetric technique.

RESULTSThe expression of p-p38 protein increased markedly 2 h after TBI (P<0.05), and was suppressed by SB203580 treatment (P<0.05). MMP-9 mRNA and protein showed no obvious increase at 2 h after TBI, but significantly increased at 2 days as compared with those in the sham-operated group (P<0.05). MMP-9 mRNA and protein were much lower in SB group than in TBI group 2 days after TBI (P<0.05). The blood brain barrier permeability significantly increased 2 h after TBI (P<0.05) and kept increasing until 2 days (P<0.05), but was reduced significantly by SB203580 (P<0.05). BWC increased obviously 2 days after TBI (P<0.05) and was lessened by SB203580 (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONBlocking p38 signal pathway can attenuate MMP-9 upregulation and brain edema after TBI, suggesting the important role of p38 in regulating MMP-9 expression to affect traumatic brain edema.

Animals ; Brain Edema ; pathology ; Brain Injuries ; metabolism ; Enzyme Inhibitors ; pharmacology ; Imidazoles ; pharmacology ; MAP Kinase Signaling System ; Male ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 ; metabolism ; Pyridines ; pharmacology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley