Objective To evaluate the security of big animals with a new bioartificial liver system .Methods Six Tibet pigs re-spectively received treatment of hybrid artificial liver and simple bioartificial liver ,observed and recorded the vital signs ,venous pressure ,transmembrane pressure and slurry pot pressure each hour ,and collected blood to make endotoxin and bacterial culture test in the zero hour ,fourth and eighth hour .Results Compared with the zero hour ,venous pressure ,transmembrane pressure ,slur-ry pot pressure were much higher in the fifth hour (P< 0 .05) ,and there were no significant difference in the rest of other time points(P>0 .05) .The mean arterial pressure and respiratory rate in all time point showed no significant changes (P>0 .05) .Com-pared with the zero hour ,the heart rate was much lower in the second hour (P<0 .01) .The values of blood endotoxin were less than 0 .5 EU/mL in the zero hour ,fourth and eighth hour from beginning ,and the bacterial culture test showed no growth of bacteria . Conclusion The experiment of big animals with a new bioartificial liver system was safe ,the efficacy in the treatment of hepatic failure could be assessed further .

Object: To investigate the effects of Huaiqihuang Granule, a compound Chinese herbal medicine, on expressions of nephrin and podocin of slit diaphragm of glomerular podocytes in rats with adriamycin-induced nephrosis and to explore the mechanism in reducing the proteinuria. Methods: Twenty SD rats were randomly divided into five groups: control group, model group, glucocorticoid group, Huaiqihuang Granule group and Huaiqihuang Granule plus glucocorticoid group. The 24-hour urine was collected 7, 14, 21 and 28 days after adriamycin injection respectively to measure 24-hour urinary protein, and all rats were sacrificed after 28-day treatment. Pathological changes in renal tissues were observed under a light microscope and an electron microscope. Expressions of nephrin and podocin mRNAs in renal cortex were determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction, and protein levels of nephrin and podocin were detected by Western blotting. Results: (1) In the model group and the treatment groups, the level of urinary protein increased significantly from the 14th day. (2) Under the light microscope, inflammatory cells and slight fibroplasia were found in renal interstitium of the model group, but there were less inflammatory cells in renal interstitium in the intervention groups than in the model group. Under the electron microscope, 29 days after adriamycin injection, extensive fusion of foot processes was observed. (3) The expressions of nephrin and podocin were higher in treatment groups than in the model group. (4) Proteinuria level was negatively correlated with the expressions of nephrin mRNA and nephrin and podocin proteins. Conclusion: The above results indicate that Huaiqihuang Granule can maintain the integrity of the slid diaphragram in podocyte, alleviate the lesion of glomerular filtration membrane, and decrease the proteinuria by up-regulating the expressions of nephrin and podocin. Huaiqihuang Granule plus glucocorticoid maybe has better effects than glucocorticoid alone.

OBJECTIVETo observe the effect of Tangke Decoction (TD) on the expression of TGF-beta1/Smad4 of rats with early diabetes and to explore the effect and mechanism of TD against the renal injury induced by diabetes.

METHODSSD rats were randomly divided into the normal control group (n = 12), the model group (n = 10), the Chinese herbs prevented group (n =10), the Chinese herbs treated group (n = 10), and the Western medicine control group (n = 10). TD (18 mg/kg) was given by gastrogavage to rats in the Chinese herbs prevented group immediately after successful modeling for 12 weeks, once daily. At the 4th week of successful modeling, rats in the rest 4 groups were administered by gastrogavage. Equal volume of normal saline was given to rats in the model group and the normal control group. Benazepril suspension (1 mg/kg) was administered by gastrogavage to rats in the Western medicine control group for 8 weeks, once daily. TD (18 mg/kg) was given by gastrogavage to rats in the Chinese herbs treated group for 8 weeks, once daily. The body weight, kidney weight, index of kidney weight, fasting blood sugar, 24 h urinary albumin excretion rate were examined after experiment. The pathological changes of the renal tissue were observed by HE staining, Masson staining, and electron microscope. The expression of renal transforming growth factor-beta1, (TGF-beta1) and Smad4 were detected using immunohistochemical assay.

RESULTSCompared with the normal control group, the body weight of rats decreased significantly; the kidney weight, index of kidney weight, blood sugar, 24 h urinary protein excretion, the urinary albumin excretion rate,TGF-beta1 and Smad4 expression increased significantly in the model group (all P < 0.01). Compared with the model group, the aforesaid indices were improved in each treatment group with statistical difference (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). Compared with the Western medicine control group, the kidney weight, index of kidney weight, blood sugar, 24 h urinary protein excretion, and the urinary albumin excretion rate were obviously improved in the Chinese herbs prevented group (P < 0.01). The renal pathological changes were most obvious in the model group significantly, but they were improved in all treatment groups.

CONCLUSIONTD could obviously improve the symptoms of diabetes and down-regulate the expression of renal TGF-beta1 and Smad4 of early diabetic nephropathy rats, which suggested that TD had certain preventive effect on early diabetic nephropathy.

Animals ; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Kidney ; metabolism ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Smad4 Protein ; metabolism ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1 ; metabolism

Objective To retrospectively analyze 45 cases of oral and maxillofacial malignant tumors and to assess the efficacy and feasibility of oral and maxillofacial malignant tumors implanted with 125I radioactive seeds under guidance of ultrasound.Methods A total of 47 focuses in these 45 patients were determined with the size of these tumors by imaging study,the section was planed by ultrasound,the number and distribution of radioactive seeds were determined with the help of the particle treatment planning system,and were percutaneously implanted particles under guidance of ultrasound.The number and the distribution of particles were assessed by CT.Efficacy endpoints were reexamined and evaluated regularly by ultrasonic and CT according to the standards of WHO.Results The total percentage of efficacy was 70.2% (including complete remission,partial remission).The treatment effect of metastatic carcinoma of lymph node is superior to the parotid tumor.There was no serious complication during the period of implanting and 2 patients with oral ulcers were found after operation.Conclusion The oral and maxillofacial malignant tumor treated implanted with 125I radioactive seeds under guidance of ultrasound is very effective and safe,which is deserved to popularize.The ultrasound is the first choice as a guided method for oral and maxillofacial malignant tumors.

Objective To develop an online organ doses reporting software VirtualDose-IR, which can compute the radiation doses and provide an easy access to evaluation and control of patients ′radiation doses.Methods Monte Carlo method was applied to simulating various interventional radiology ( IR) processes , which included various parameters such as different patient models at different ages and with different weights , different projection angles and regions of interest , and other parameters .All of the dose data was acquired and then integrated into a database , and displayed with hyper text markup language (HTML), so only a web browser was necessary for users .Results A web-based software that reports organ doses for patients under IR progress was developed .The organ doses assessed with VirtualDose-IR were compared with other experiment and simulation data , and the results were basically consistent with each other .Conclusions VirtualDose-IR is a easy and efficient method to assess patients′radiation doses of IR.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the treatment for patients with early stage primary tonsil non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL).

METHODSTwo hundred and thirteen patients with previously untreated early stage primary tonsil NHL were reviewed. All patients were pathologically confirmed. According to Ann Arbor classification, 35 patients were stage I, 178 stage II. The primary treatment for stage I was radiotherapy alone in 12 and combined modality therapy (CMT) in 23 patients. The primary treatment for stage II was radiotherapy alone in 57,chemotherapy alone in 2, and CMT in 119 patients.

RESULTSThe 5-year overall survival, cancer specific survival (CSS) AND disease-free survival (DFS) for the early stage primary tonsil non-Hodgkin's lymphoma were 65%, 70% and 61%, respectively. The 5-year CSS was 63% for the radiotherapy alone group and 72% for the CMT group (p = 0.064), and the 5-year DFS were 56% for the radiotherapy alone group and 62% for the CMT group. For patients with stage I disease, The 5-year CSS were 100% in both radiotherapy alone and CMT groups, and the 5-year DFS were 100% and 80% in these two groups (p = 0.148), respectively. There was no significant difference of efficacy between the two treatment s for the patients with stage I disease. For the patients with stage II disease, the 5-year CSS was 58% in radiotherapy alone group and 66% in CMT group (p = 0.051). However, CMT significantly improved DFS in stage II disease, with a 5-year DFS of 46% for radiotherapy alone and 60% for CMT (P = 0.046).

CONCLUSIONPatients with stage I tonsil non-Hodgkin's lymphoma treated with radiotherapy alone or CMT can achieve an excellent outcome. CMT significantly improve the DFS in stage II patients. There was a trend that CMT improved the survival rates in the patient with early stage disease. It was suggested that CMT should be used for the patients with early stage primary tonsil non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Child ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin ; mortality ; pathology ; therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate ; Tonsillar Neoplasms ; mortality ; pathology ; therapy

OBJECTIVETo design and develop a novel esophageal prosthesis by selecting appropriate biomaterials, developing special manufacturing techniques, and investigating the feasibility of replacement of cervical esophagus in mongrel dogs.

METHODSIn accordance with the requirements of ideal esophageal substitutes, we designed a new type of esophageal prostheses. The inner stent were made with polyurethane of medical grade, and the outer surface of the prosthesis was coated with collagen-chitosan sponge. The silicone tube was used as a control. Thirteen adult mongrel dogs that were divided into two groups were used to establish the experimental models.

RESULTSIn the experimental group (n = 8), the esophageal prostheses were completely incorporated with the native esophagus and adherent to the surrounding host connective tissues. Epithelial linings of varying degrees were formed on the luminal surface, and complete epithelization was seen in 1 month postoperatively. The granulation at the sites of the anastomosis in this group was less significant than that of the control group. One dog has been surviving for 12 months up to now without any complications. In the control group (n = 5), esophageal epithelial was not observed on the luminal surface, constriction of the regenerated esophagus progressed and all the dogs died within 2 months after operation.

CONCLUSIONThese observations suggest that this esophageal prosthesis made of composite biomaterials has high biocompatibility and potential for long-segment esophageal reconstruction, which is promising for the clinical repair of esophageal defects.

Absorbable Implants ; Animals ; Artificial Organs ; Biocompatible Materials ; Chitosan ; Collagen ; Dogs ; Esophagus ; Implants, Experimental ; Models, Animal ; Polyurethanes ; Prosthesis Design ; methods ; Prosthesis Implantation

The purpose of this study was to investigate the lethal effect of cytotoxic lymphocytes against U266 cells induced by DCs pulsed with multiple myeloma (MM) U266 lysate and transfected with GM-CSF recombinant adenovirus. The cytotoxic lymphocytes against U266 cells were induced by culturing with DCs, which pulsed with MM U266 antigens and transfected with GM-CSF recombinant adenovirus. The effect of cytotoxic lymphocytes against U266 cells were measured by LDH release detection. Experiments were divided into 3 groups: N-DC group as control in which DCs were normal; U-DC group in which DCs were pulsed by U266 soluble antigen, and G-U-DC group in which DCs were stimulated by U266 soluble antigen and GM-CSF transfected with Ad-CMV. The results showed that there was significant difference on killing rate against U266 cells between 3 groups (F = 10.939, p < 0.05). The killing rate of G-U-DC group was the highest (p < 0.001), and killing rate of U-DC group was higher than that of N-DC group (p < 0.001). It is concluded that the cytotoxic lymphocytes against U266 cells can be induced by DCs pulsed with U266 lysate, and the lethal effect of CTLs can be enhanced when DCs transfected by recombinant adenovirus with exogenous gene GM-CSF.
Adenoviridae ; genetics ; Antigens, Neoplasm ; genetics ; immunology ; Cancer Vaccines ; immunology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cytotoxicity, Immunologic ; Dendritic Cells ; immunology ; Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor ; genetics ; immunology ; Humans ; Multiple Myeloma ; Recombinant Proteins ; T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic ; immunology ; Transfection

OBJECTIVETo study the effects of strychnos alkaloids on the proliferation of adult rat neuroprogenitor cells.

METHODSStrychnos alkaloids free of strychnine and brucine were extracted from Strychnos nux vomica, and the effects of Strychnos alkaloids on the survival of HEK293 and PC12 cells were evaluated using MTT assay. In vitro cultured adult rat neuroprogenitor cells isolated from the hippocampus were treated with different concentrations of Strychnos alkaloids for 2 days, and the cell proliferation was assessed using BrdU incorporation assay.

RESULTSAt the concentration above 0.5 mg/ml, Strychnos alkaloids produced toxic effect against HEK293 cells (P<0.0001), while for PC12 cells, Strychnos alkaloids inhibited the cell survival at the concentration as low as 5 microg/ml (P<0.0001). After 2 days of exposure to 50 microg/ml Strychnos alkaloids, the neuroprogenitor cells showed significantly decreased number of BrdU-positive cells (P<0.01), but the total cell number remained stable when compared with that of the control cells (P>0.05), whereas at the concentration of 100 microg/ml, Strychnos alkaloids produced obvious cytotoxicity against the neuroprogenitor cells.

CONCLUSIONStrychnos alkaloids can significantly inhibit the proliferation of adult rat neuroprogenitor cells, and this effect is probably selective, suggesting the potential of Strychnos alkaloids as a new drug for treatment of neurocytoma.

Alkaloids ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Animals ; Cell Line ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Hippocampus ; cytology ; Humans ; Neurons ; cytology ; PC12 Cells ; cytology ; Rats ; Stem Cells ; cytology ; Strychnos ; chemistry

OBJECTIVETo detect the point mutations by chip-based capillary electrophoresis and to provide a rapid and sensitive technique detection for beta-thalassemia.

METHODSMultiplex primer-extension reaction was used to amplify the common loci of the samples for beta-thalassemia. The reaction products were detected by the chip-based capillary electrophoresis and the genotypes of the samples were discrened.

RESULTSA system was constructed to detect the point mutations of beta-thalassemia by chip-based capillary electrophoresis, and the technology was ralidated by the patients' samples and the results coincided with those of detection kit.

CONCLUSIONBeta-thalassemia can be detected by chip-based capillary electrophoresis rapidly with a small amount of samples. It would be a new detection method of the genetic disorders.

Electrophoresis, Capillary ; methods ; Female ; Genetic Diseases, Inborn ; diagnosis ; genetics ; Humans ; Male ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis ; methods ; beta-Thalassemia ; diagnosis ; genetics