Background:CXC chemokine receptor type 2(CXCR2)is a member of G protein coupled receptor superfamily,and is mainly involved in the growth of tumor,angiogenesis and the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases. Studies showed that CXCR2 was associated with the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease(IBD),but the exact role has not yet been clarified. It was found that the interaction of interleukin-8(IL-8)with CXCR1 and CXCR2 played an important role in the pathogenesis of IBD. Aims:To investigate the expressions and significance of CXCR2 and IL-8 in patients with IBD. Methods:A total of 121 IBD patients in active stage from October 2013 to December 2014 at Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University were enrolled and assigned into Crohn’s disease(CD)group and ulcerative colitis(UC)group. Seventy healthy subjects were served as controls(HC). Expressions of IL-8 mRNA and CXCR2 mRNA in peripheral blood and intestinal mucosal tissue were determined by real-time PCR;expression of CXCR2 protein in intestinal mucosal tissue was determined by Western blotting. Results:In peripheral blood,expression of IL-8 mRNA in UC group was significantly higher than that in HC group(P = 0. 017),while expressions of CXCR2 mRNA in CD,UC and HC groups were not significantly different (P = 0. 285). In intestinal mucosal tissue,expressions of IL-8 mRNA in CD,UC and HC groups showed no significant difference(P = 0. 206),while expressions of CXCR2 mRNA in CD and UC groups were significantly higher than that in HC group(P = 0. 002;P < 0. 001),and expression of CXCR2 mRNA in UC group was significantly higher than that in CD group(P = 0. 005);expressions of CXCR2 protein in UC and CD groups were higher than that in HC group(P = 0. 049 P =0. 080). Conclusions:Expressions of CXCR2 mRNA and protein in intestinal mucosal tissue of patients with IBD, especially UC are significantly increased. Down regulation of CXCR2 expression in intestinal mucosa may provide a new target for treatment of UC. IL-8 is significantly highly expressed in peripheral blood of patients with UC,which suggests that IL-8 might be related mainly with UC.

Objective To research the serum urea nitrogen (BUN),creatinine (Cr),urinary inhibition C (CysC) and retinol binding protein (RBP) four biochemical indicators of joint detection on the early diagnostic value of lupus nephritis (LN).Methods According to the American Rheumatology Association (ACR) 2012 revision of the diagnostic criteria,collected 177 LN patients with kidney disease from January 2011 to April 2016 in Shaanxi Provincial People's Hospital,at the same time,choose 167 cases of healthy physical examination as normal control group.With Hitachi 7170A a fully automated analy zer on two groups of serum BUN,Cr,CysC and concentration of RBP for testing,the data obtained by SPSS17.0 statistical software for statistical analysis.Results LN patient group compared with healthy controls,the serum BUN (6.67 ± 1.43 mmol/L vs 6.57±1.16 mmol/L),Cr (96.9±10.1 μmol/L vs 92.6±13.2 μmol/L),CysC (1.7±0.5 mg/L vs 0.75±0.15 mg/L),RBP (180.5±8.28 mg/L vs 42.6±9.6 mg/L) concentrations were higher,and serum CysC,RBP higher level com pared with healthy control group difference was statistically significant (t=8.145,21.594,all P＜0.05).Single parameter detected abnormal rate in terms of LN patients serum BUN,Cr,CysC and RBP abnormal rates were 28.3％,29.4％,68.4 ％,65.0 ％,four indicators combined detection of abnormal rate was 85.3 ％,significantly higher than the single parameter test (x2 =35.973～168.742,all P＜0.01).Conclusion Conbined detection of BUN,Cr,CysC and RBP four early diagnosis of renal damage in patients with lupus nephritis had important clinical value.

Background T helper cell 17 (Th17),a newly discovered subset of CD4+ T cells,have been found to play an important role in dry eye disease in animal model.Further investigation should be done on the immunopathogenesis of Th17 cells in dry eye patients.Objective This study was to analyze the expression status of interleukin-17 (IL-17) and IL-22 in tear and supernatant of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of dry eye patients and their correlation with clinical symptom and sign.Methods Twenty Sj(o)gren syndrome (SS)patients,twenty non-Sj(o)gren syndrome (NSS) patients were included in Wuxi Second Hospital from 2010 to 2011,and twenty healthy volunteers were recruited at the same period.All of subjects understood the purpose and procedure of research and written informed consent was obtained form each subject initial of this study.Dry eye symptom questionnairs were self-answered and multiple dry eye disease-related clinical tests,including the breakup time of tear film (BUT),Schirmer Ⅰ test (S Ⅰ t) and corneal fluorescein staining were performed.The periphery blood of 3 ml and tear were collected in all the subjects,and IL-17 and IL-22 levels in supernatant of PBMCs and tear were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).The correlations between levels of IL-17 and IL-22 with BUT,S Ⅰ t,corneal fluorescein staining and dry eye scores were analyzed.Results The dry eye scores reduced,BUT prolonged,S Ⅰ t increased and corneal fluorescein dye decreased from SS group,NSS group to normal control group,with significant differences among the three groups (dry eye scores:H =40.81,P＜0.01 ; BUT:H =40.15,P＜0.01 ;S Ⅰ t..H=50.07,P＜0.01 ;corneal dye scores:H=40.52,P＜0.01).The concentration of IL-17 in the supernatant of PBMCs in the SS patients,NSS patients and normal controls were (964.92±124.83)ng/L,(718.85± 115.89)ng/L and (341.95±85.08) ng/L,showing a statistically significant difference among them (F=162.95,P＜0.01).The levels of IL-17 in the tear were (440.69±126.09) ng/L,(364.33±126.85) ng/L and (61.16±11.60) ng/L in the SS group,NSS group and normal control group respectively,exhibiting an elevated level in the SS group and NSS group compared with the control group (F=75.27,P＜0.01).In addition,the levels of IL-22 in the supernatant of PBMCs in the SS patients,NSS patients and normal controls were (98.77± 11.27) ng/L,(79.65 ± 11.01) ng/L and (32.78±9.34) ng/L,and those in the tear were (22.22 ± 8.96) ng/L,(14.92 ±4.35) ng/L and (10.47 ± 2.67) ng/L,with significant differences among the three groups (F =206.27,P＜0.01 ;F =19.87,P＜0.01).The significant correlations were found between the IL-17 and IL-22 concentration in the supernatant of PBMCs and tear with corneal fluorescein staining scores and S Ⅰ t.Conclusions The contents of IL-17 and IL-22 in PBMCs and tear upregulate in the SS and NSS patients,indicating that Th17 plays a key role in the immunity mechanism of dry eye.

Background Mechanism of dry eye disease has not been established clearly.Some increasing evidences showed that inflammation plays an important role in pathogenesis and development of dry eye disease.However,the association of interleukin-6 (IL-6) with dry eye has not been clarified.Objective This study was to assess the correlation of IL-6 levels in tear and serum of patient with dry eye disease and clinical symptom.Methods Twenty patients with Sj（o）gren syndrome (SS) and 20 cases with non-Sj（o）gren syndrome (NSS) were enrolled from Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University,and 20 healthy volunteers were recruited as the normal controls.Symptom questionnaires were self-answered and multiple dry eye-related clinical tests were performed,including tear film breakup time (BUT),Schirmer Ⅰ test (S Ⅰ t) and corneal fluorescence staining.IL-6 concentrations in serum and tear were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELASA).The correlation between IL-6 level and tear film and ocular surface parameters was analyzed by Spearman rank correlation.Written informed consent was obtained from each subject initial of this trial.Results The scores of symptom questionnaires were 18.50 (11.75,23.00),23.00 (19.00,32.00) and 2.00 (0.25,4.00) in the SS group,NSS group and the normal control group,and significantly increasing values were seen in the SS group and NSS group compared with the normal control group (P=0.00,0.00).BUT values in the SS group and NSS group were 2.50 (2.00,3.88) seconds and 3.50 (2.13,4.00) seconds and were lower than 15.00 (13.13,17.00) seconds in the normal control group (P=0.00,0.00).S Ⅰ t values in the SS group,NSS group and the normal control group were 2.00 (1.50,2.88),4.00 (3.00,5.75) and 19.00 (18.00,25.00)mm,showing significant differences between the SS group and the normal control group (P =0.00),the SS group and the NSS group (P =0.00) or the NSS group and the normal control group (P=0.00).The marked elevation of keratoepithelioplasty score was seen between the SS group and the normal control group (5.75 (4.00,7.75) vs.0.00 (0.00,0.75) (P =0.00) or the NSS group and the normal control group (4.50(3.63,6.00) vs.0.00(0.00,0.75)) (P=0.00).Concentrations of IL-6 in serum and tear in the SS group,NSS group were (131.47±21.04) μg/L and (77.81 ± 15.68) μg/L and were significantly higher than (31.62±8.57) μg/L of the normal control group,and those in the tear were (33.44±8.01) μg/L,(18.78 ±5.73) μg/L and (8.77 ± 3.43)μg/L,respectively in the three groups,with a significant reduce in the normal control group (all P=0.00).tL-6 levels in serum and tear were positively correlated with the score of symptom questionnaires or keratoepithelioplasty and negatively correlated with BUT and S Ⅰ t (all P =0.00).Conclusions IL-6 levels in the tear and serum of the dry eye patient are associated with the severity of the disease.IL-6 levels in serum and tear may be objective,sensitive and reliable indicators of dry eye.

Four compounds were isolated from the 70% EtOH extract of Ardisia crispa by using various chromatographic techniques, including silica gel, ODS and semi-preparative HPLC. The structures of 1-4 were elucidated based on physicochemical properties and spectroscopic data. These compounds were defined as crispalactone A (1), (+)-pinoresinol (2), 3,5-dimethoxy-4- hydroxyphenol-1-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (3) and (+)-schizandriside (4). Compound 1 is a new γ-valerolactone derivative, and compounds 2-4 are firstly isolated from Ardisia crispa.

Objective To evaluate the feasibility of Mycobacteria growth indicator tube ( MGIT ) liquid culture combined with rifampin resistance test real-time PCR ( Xpert MTB/RIF test) in the diagnosis of tuberculosis.Methods 652 cases of suspected pulmonary tuberculosis from October 2014 to March 2015 in Quzhou People′s Hospital were enrolled. The morning sputum samples were collected for acid-fast staining, L?wenstein-Jensen ( L-J) culture, BACTEC MGIT culture and Xpert MTB/RIF test.Samples with positive results of MGIT liquid culture were subjected to strain identification and drug sensitivity test with fluid method.Methodological comparison between four methods was made and the performance of MGIT liquid culture combined with Xpert MTB/RIF test in the rapid diagnosis and drug resistance detection in Mycobacterium tuberculosis was evaluated by chi-square test. Results Among the samples from 399 confirmed tuberculosis patients, the diagnostic sensitivity of the 4 methods ( acid-fast staining, L-J culture, MGIT culture and Xpert MTB/RIF test) were 17.0%(68/399), 23.8%(95/399), 37.8% (151/399) and 37.3%(149/399) respectively.The sensitivity and specificity of MGIT culture combined with Xpert MTB/RIF test was 39.8%(159/399) and 94.8%(240/253).The sensitivity of MGIT culture combined with Xpert MTB/RIF test was significantly higher than acid-fast staining (χ2 =50.9, P<0.01 ) and L-J culture (χ2 =23.7,P<0.01).The average detection time of MGIT culture was 7.5 days ( smear positive and Xpert MTB/RIF positive), 13.4 days (smear negative and Xpert MTB/RIF positive) and 16.9 days ( smear negative and Xpert MTB/RIF negative) .The sensitivity and specificity of Xpert MTB/RIF test in rifampin resistance detection were 9/9 and 97.3% ( 129/132 ) respectively.The average detection time of fluid method for drug sensitivity test was 8.3 days.Conclusions MGIT liquid culture combined with Xpert MTB/RIF test can detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis and the drug sensitivity rapidly.The method is highly sensitive and specific.It is important for clinical diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis.

[ABSTRACT]OBJECTIVETo investigate the relationship between upper airway MRI parameters and the severity of patients with obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS). Then the values of upper airway MRI parameters in waking state were assessed.METHODS The MRI upper airway parameters of 37 OSAHS patients and 18 nonsnoring normal subjects were measured and compared. Then data analysis were carried out to find out significant correlations between the MRI upper airway parameters and the severity of patients (the apnea hypopnea index, AHI; the lowest oxygen saturation, LSaO2; the oxygen desaturation index, ODI) with OSAHS.RESULTSThe correlation between cross-sectional areas and left-right diameter in the narrowest retropalatal region, the thickness of lateral pharyngeal wall, the length of the tongue, the length and thickness of the soft palate and the cross-sectional areas of the soft palate on midsagittal planes and severity of OSAHS were found (P<0.05).CONCLUSIONThe MRI upper airway parameters can be used in evaluating the severity of OSAHS in some ways, locating the obstruction sites and choosing the best treatment planning.

Objective To evaluate effects of interleukin-36α (IL-36α) on psoriasiform skin lesions and C-C motif chemokine ligand 20 (CCL20) expression in mice.Methods Totally,30 BALB/c female mice were randomly and equally divided into 3 groups:control group treated with topical vaseline cream on the shaved back and intracutaneous injection with phosphate buffer saline (PBS),model group treated with topical imiquimod cream on the shaved back and intracutaneous injection with PBS,experimental group treated with topical imiquimod cream on the shaved back and intracutaneous injection with IL-36α solution.Psoriasis area severity index (PASI) was used to evaluate changes of psoriasiform skin lesions in mice,and light microscopy to observe morphological changes of skin lesions and to measure the thickness of the epidermis.Real-time fluorescence-based quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) and Western blot analysis were performed to determine the expression of IL-36α in skin lesions in the control group and model group,and qRT-PCR,Western blot analysis and immunohistochemical study to evaluate changes of CCL20 levels in skin lesions.Results The model group showed significantly increased mRNA (△ Ct value:0.0195 ± 0.0059) and protein expression (3.922 ± 0.248) of IL-36α compared with the control group (mRNA:0.0012 ± 0.0004,P ＜ 0.05;protein:0.690 ± 0.025,P ＜ 0.05).The mRNA and protein expression of CCL20 were significantly higher in the experimental group than those in the model group (mRNA:2.152 ± 0.793 vs.0.999 ± 0.178;protein:0.397 ± 0.033 vs.0.145 ± 0.030;both P ＜ 0.05),and higher in the model group than those in the control group (mRNA:0.378 ± 0.075;protein:0.025 ± 0.009;both P ＜ 0.05).Immunohistochemical study showed that the expression intensity of CCL20 in skin lesions significantly increased in the experimental group compared with that in the model group (Z =2.294,P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion IL-36α may aggravate psoriasiform skin inflammation in mice by promoting CCL20 expression.

Objective: To explore the clinical efficacy of muscle regions of meridians needling method for refractory facial paralysis affecting different locations.Methods: A total of 110 participants were randomized into an observation group and a control group, with 55 cases in each group. The observation group was treated with muscle regions of meridians needling method, and the control group was treated with conventional facial three-line needling method. The clinical efficacy was evaluated four weeks after the treatment. And the infrared imaging spectra of the two groups were examined. Results: The total effective rate of the observation group was higher than that of the control group (P<0.05), and its curative effect for refractory facial paralysis located above the geniculate ganglion was better than that of the control group (P<0.05). The color scale distribution of different disease locations in the two groups varied significantly (P<0.05), the higher the disease location, the higher the occurrence rate of cool zone and low temperature zone. After treatment, the reductions of the facial and periotic temperature difference between the healthy side and the affected side in the observation group were statistically different from those in the control group (P<0.05). Conclusion: Muscle regions of meridians needling method has a better effect than facial three-line needling method for refractory facial paralysis. It can promote the microcirculation of the affected side of the face, improve the blood and oxygen supply to local tissues, and thus promote the repair of the peripheral facial nerve.

Objective　To explore the molecular epidemiological characteristics of local Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Chongqing, China using genotyping methods and establish a suitable genotyping system tuberculosis genotyping in the region. Methods A total of 268 isolates collected from the sputum of tuberculosis patients at two national drug resistance monitoring sites in Chongqing from 2019 to 2021. The DNA of these isolates was extracted, and genotyping of the isolates was performed using VTNR 24 locus typing method. Epidemiological investigations were conducted on clustered isolates, and the clustering rates of isolates from the two surveillance sites were compared to analyze their transmission differences. Results In the two regions, the Hunter-Gaston discriminatory index (HGI) in Fengjie County ranged from 0 to 0.85, with 10 loci having an HGI above 0.6, 11 loci with an HGI between 0.3 and 0.6, and 3 loci with an HGI below 0.3; the highest resolution site was MIRU31, while the lowest resolution site was MIRU24. The HGI index in Fengdu County ranged from 0 to 0.81, with 12 loci having an HGI above 0.6, 9 loci with an HGI between 0.3 and 0.6, and 3 loci with an HGI below 0.3; the highest resolution site was MIRU26, while the lowest resolution site was MIRU23. In the clustering analysis, among the 140 isolates from Fengdu County, 10 samples clustered into 4 clusters, with the largest cluster consisting of 4 samples, resulting in a clustering rate of 4.1%. Among the 128 isolates in Fengjie County, 10 samples clustered into 5 clusters, with a clustering rate of 4.2%. Conclusion In Fengdu County and Fengjie County of Chongqing, the main population of the disease show independent genotypes, indicating a low recent transmission rate. The incidence of patients is mainly endogenous recurrence, that is, latent infection develops into active tuberculosis. While conducting standardized management of tuberculosis patients, prevention and control agencies should also increase the screening of latent infection at two monitoring points and carry out preventive treatment of latent infection, which is the key to reduce the incidence of tuberculosis in the two places.