Objective To explore the role of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) in hyperoxia-induced lung injury in preterm rats. Methods At the 2 nd postnatal day Sprague-Dawley preterm rats were randomly assigned to air group and hyperoxia group (exposed to about 85% of O 2). At 3,7,14 and 21 days after exposure, six rats of each group were used to assess lung histologic changes and expression of MMP-2, MMP-9, TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 in lungs by immunohistochemistry. At 3,7 and 14 days after exposure, gelatinase activity in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of another six rats in each group by gelatin zymography was examed. Results Except 3 d after exposure, hyperoxia group showed lung injury characterized by subacute alveolitis and inhibition of lung development. Expression of MMP-2, MMP-9, TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 in hyperoxia group was stronger than that in air group at every time (P

Objective To discuss the safety of percutaneous puncture drainage for liver abscess in patients with blood coagulation dysfunction. Methods A total of 85 patients with liver abscess, who were admitted to authors’ hospital during the period from January 2013 to January 2014 to receive ultrasound-guided percutaneous puncture drainage, were included in this study. According to the international normalized ratio of prothrombin time≥1.5 and platelet count≤50 ×109/L, the patients were divided into group A (normal coagulation group,n=67) and group B (coagulation dysfunction group,n=18). The occurrence of postoperative complications was recorded and the results were compared between the two groups. Results In both groups, no statistically significant difference in hemoglobin level existed between preoperative level and postoperative one, and no bleeding complications occurred in all patients after the procedure. Conclusion For patients with liver abscess complicated by blood coagulation dysfunction, percutaneous puncture drainage treatment is safe and reliable.

Objective Color-coded digital substraction angiography (CC-DSA) was based on DSA and takes image postprocessing via corresponding software (iFlow or Angioviz).It can observe the change of datas,which will be used to analysis the hemodynamics.CC-DSA has advantages of high temporal and spatal resolution.Meanwhile it spends less time and dose not increase the quantity of contrast-medium and X-ray.The application of CC-DSA in recent years were reviewed in this paper.

This study examined the effects of retinoic acid (RA), PD98059, SP600125 and SB203580 on the hyperoxia-induced expression and regulation of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and metalloproteinase-2 (TIMP-2) in premature rat lung fibroblasts (LFs). LFs were exposed to hyperoxia or room air for 12 h in the presence of RA and the kinase inhibitors PD98059 (ERK1/2), SP600125 (JNK1/2) and SB203580 (p38) respectively. The expression levels of MMP-2 and TIMP-2 mRNA were detected by semi-quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). MMP-2 activity was measured by zymography. The amount of p-ERK1/2, REK1/2, p-JNK1/2, JNK1/2, p-p38 and p38 was determined by Western blotting. The results showed that: (1) PD98059, SP600125 and SB203580 significantly inhibited p-ERK1/2, p-JNK1/2 and p-p38 respectively in LFs; (2) The expression of MMP-2 mRNA in LFs exposed to hyperoxia was decreased after treatment with RA, SP600125 and SB203580 respectively (P<0.01 or 0.05), but did not change after treatment with PD98059 (P>0.05). Meanwhile, RA, PD98059, SP600125 and SB203580 had no effect on the expression of TIMP-2 mRNA in LFs exposed to room air or hyperoxia (P>0.05); (3) The expression of pro- and active MMP-2 experienced no change after treatment with RA or SP600125 in LFs exposed to room air (P>0.05), but decreased remarkably after hyperoxia (P<0.01 or 0.05). SB203580 inhibited the expression of pro- and active MMP-2 either in room air or under hyperoxia (P<0.01). PD98059 exerted no effect on the expression of pro- and active MMP-2 (P<0.05). It was suggested that RA had a protective effect on hyperoxia-induced lung injury by down-regulating the expression of MMP-2 through decreasing the JNK and p38 activation in hyperoxia.

Objective To determine the dynamic changes in adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in neurons of neonatal rats suffering from hypoxic ischemic brain injury.Methods Twenty-four-hour old and seven-day old neonatal rats were used in this study.A classic primary cortical neuron oxygen glucose deprivation (OGD) model and neonatal rat hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) model were employed.Lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) and 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) were used to evaluate neuron viability and damage.The expression of phosphorylated adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (P-AMPK),phosphorylated activated protein kinase (P-Akt) and Cleaved Caspase-3 in neurons and brain tissue was measured by Western blot at different time points after OGD or HIE.The Student-t test was used for statistical analysis.Results (1) Compared with the control group,LDH levels at 2,4,8 and 24 h after OGD were higher (all P＜0.05) and optical absorption levels of MTT were lower (all P＜0.05).(2) Levels of P-AMPK in the OGD group were higher than those in the control group,and showed a time-dependent increase at 30 min and 2,4,8 and 24 h (all P＜0.05).The expression levels of P-AMPK in the HIE group were higher than those in the control group (0.345 ± 0.038,0.387 ± 0.112 and 0.618 ± 0.075 at 1,3 and 7 days after HIE,and 0.132±0.032 in the control group,all P＜0.05).(3) The levels of P-Akt increased above the control levels at 30 min (0.991 ±0.134 vs 0.304±0.050),reached a maximum level at 2 h (1.183± 0.107),and then gradually declined,whereas the levels of Cleaved Caspase-3 started to increase at 30 min,and remained elevated at 24 h (all P＜0.05).Conclusion Following hypoxic ischemic brain damage,the expression of P-AMPK is significantly increased in both in vivo and in vitro studies in a time-dependent manner.

Hepatocellular carcinoma ( HCC ) is one of the most malignant tumors, transcatheter arterial chemoembolization( TACE) is a new treatment for HCC,which is currently considered as the standard care for pa-tients with unresectable HCC.MicroRNAs( miRNAs) ,a class of small non-coding RNAs,the correlations within miRNA dictions and tumor prognosis have been documented,and a part of miRNAs has been proposed as biomar-kers to reliably predict the outcomes before HCC patients being treated with TACE.

BACKGROUND:Cholesterol is closely linked to the occurrence and progression of atherosclerosis. Current approaches to study celular cholesterol dynamics have their own limitations.
OBJECTIVE: To measure the cholesterol efflux rate of RAW 264.7 mouse macrophages by BODIPY-Cholesterol labeling and to explore the effects of extracelular cholesterol and lipopolysaccharide on the cholesterol efflux rate.
METHODS:RAW 264.7 cels were cultured in vitro with DMEM containing 10% fetal bovine serum, and labeled with BODIPY-Cholesterol for 1, 2, 4, 8 hours. Then, the cels were rinsed with serum-free DMEM and inoculated for 6, 12, 24, 48, 96 hours to optimize the labeling time and incubation time. We measured and compared the cholesterol efflux rates after cultured cels were treated with cholesterol, lipopolysaccharide, human sera with high cholesterol or human sera with normal cholesterol.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The best labeling time for BODIPY-Cholesterol was 2-8 hours. Cholesterol efflux rates were gradualy decreased after the cels that were labeled for 2 hours were incubated with increasing concentrations of cholesterol (0.1, 0.5, 2.5 mmol/L,P< 0.01). Treating cels with lipopolysaccharide also decreased the cholesterol efflux rate (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the cholesterol efflux rate was decreased after cels were treated with human sera with high cholesterol (P< 0.05). These findings indicate that BODIPY-Cholesterol can be used to measure celular cholesterol efflux rate and to study the effects of extracelular cholesterol and lipopolysaccharide on the cholesterol efflux rate.

Objective To systematically assess the diagnostic performance of CTA for lower extremity peripheral arterial disease (PAD) using a Meta analysis method. Methods Studies were located through electronic searching of the PubMed, EBSCO, Springer, Ovid, CNKI, Cochrane library (from the date of establishment of the databases to October 2009 ). Bibliographies of the retrieved articles were also checked. All the studies concerning the diagnosis of PAD using CTA had been searched and reviewed, and the studies with the DSA as the gold standard were adopted as eligible. Subsequently, the characteristics of the included articles were appraised and extracted. Data on accuracy of included studies were extracted for further heterogeneity exploring, statistical pooling and SROC ( summary receiver operating characteristics)analyzing using the Meta Disc 1.4 software. Results Totally 24 studies met the inclusion criteria with a total of 1096 patients. The heterogeneity was found in these studies. The pooled accuracy indicators like sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) were 0.95 ( 95% CI:0.94-0.95 ), 0.96 ( 95% CI:0.95-0.96), and 471.13 (95% CI:242. 92-913.71 ), respectively. The area under of SROC curve was 0.9888 and the Q index was 0.9555. Subgroup analysis demonstrated significant difference on diagnostic performance for various CT slices (P ＜ 0.05 ). Conclusion CTA can be regarded as an effective and feasible method for PAD diagnosis and screening, based on the results of this systematic review. However,more rigorous evaluations of CTA in patients with critical limb ischemia are needed.

Objective To investigate the diagnostic value of dynamic level of TNF ?、IL 8、IL 1? and IL 6 in lung lavage fluid obtained from preterm infants with chronic lung disease (CLD). Methods Lung lavage were serially collected from 29 ventilated infants hospitalized in NICU from December 1999 to November 2002. Total cell counts, neutrophilic granulocyte counts, malondialdehyde, protein, TNF ?、IL 8、IL 1? and IL 6 in lung lavage fluid were examined. Among the 29 cases, 10 developed pneumonia, 6 HMD, 7 CLD and 6 without lung disease as control. Results Total cell counts(7.9?10 9/L), neutrophilic granulocyte counts(6.4?10 9/L), TNF ?(13.88 pmol/L)、IL 8(376.92 mg/L)、IL 1?(2.96 ?g/L)and IL 6(1.72 ?g/L) in lung lavage fluid in infants who developed CLD were higher than the others on day 5( P

Objective To investigate the efficacy and safety of aminophylline,caffeine citrate and aminophylline combined with naloxone in prevention of apnea of prematurity(AOP).Methods Ninety-four infants with a birth weight ＜ 1 500 g and gestational age ＜ 34 weeks admitted to Department of Pediatrics,Tongji Hospital Affiliated to Tongji Medical College,Huazhong University of Science and Technology between Jan.2010 and Jan.2012 were randomly divided into 3 groups.(1) Aminophylline group (n =30):30 infants received a loading dose of 4-5 mg/kg of aminophylline and then maintained by a dose of 2 mg/kg,with intravenous drip q12 h.(2) Caffeine citrate group(n =32):a loading dose of 20 mg/kg of caffeine citrate was followed by a daily maintained dose of 5 mg/kg,with intravenous drip per day.(3) Aminophylline combined naloxone group (observation group,n =32):32 infants were treated with Aminophylline combined with naloxone.After 6 hours of the first dose of aminophylline,a dose of 0.1 mg/kg naloxone was injected,q12 h.Then the two drugs were used alternately.The mortality and incidence of AOP,bronchopulmonary dysplasia(BPD),retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and brain injury were evaluated,and drug-related side effects were recorded.Results 1.There was no significant difference in gender,gestational age,birth weight,maternal antenatal glucocorticoid application,pregnancy (including multiple pregnancy) and delivery,5 min Apgar score,oxygen therapy,and the application of positive airway pressure as well as pulmonary surfactant among the 3 groups(all P ＞0.05).2.Compared with aminophylline group,the incidence of apnea of caffeine group and observation group were significantly lower (F =6.704,P ＜ 0.05),but there was no significant difference between caffeine group and observation group (P ＞0.05).3.There was no statistically significant difference in mortality,duration of oxygen therapy,the incidence of ROP,brain injury and hearing loss,postmenstrual age,body weight at discharge,the duration and cost of hospitalization among the 3 groups(all P ＞0.05).4.The BPD incidence in caffeine group[9.4％ (3/32 cases)] and observation group [12.5％ (4/32 cases)] were lower than that in Aminophylline group [20.0％ (6/30 cases)],but there was no statistical significance among the 3 groups(P ＞ 0.05).5.No drug-related side effects were recorded in the 3 groups.Conclusions It is safe and effective to use aminophylline combined with naloxone in prevention of AOP,and its efficiency is similar to caffeine citrate.