UNLABELLEDOBJECTIVE To explore the effect of combined use of rehmannia (RM) and rhodiola (RD) on peripheral leukopenia and bone marrow hematopoietic function suppression induced by cyclophosphamide (CTX) in mice.

METHODSICR mice were established into bone marrow inhibition models by intraperitoneal injection of CTX, and were administered with RM, RD or its extract (RDE), singly or in mixture, via gastrogavage for 10 days. The changes of peripheral hemogram, bone marrow nucleated cell proliferation, CFU-GM colony formation, GM-CSF and erythropoietin (EPO) secretion were observed.

RESULTSCompared with the un-treated model mice, the peripheral white blood cell count was significantly higher in model mice treated with RDE and RM mixture; the bone marrow nucleated cells count, CFU-GM formation, and GM-CSF production were significant higher in model mice treated with RD and RM mixture, showing statistical significance (P < 0.01); while EPO production in the RD and RM mixture treated group was slightly elevated, but the difference showed no statistical significance.

CONCLUSIONRD and RM mixture could regulate hematopoietic system by promoting the production of bone marrow cells and colonies, as well as enhancing the synthesis of related cytokines, such as GM-CSF, so as to increase the amount of peripheral white blood cells and restore the hematopoietic function of organism.

Animals ; Bone Marrow ; drug effects ; Cyclophosphamide ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Erythropoietin ; secretion ; Female ; Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor ; secretion ; Hematopoiesis ; drug effects ; Leukopenia ; chemically induced ; drug therapy ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred ICR ; Phytotherapy ; Rehmannia ; chemistry ; Rhodiola ; chemistry

OBJECTIVE: To establish the electricity plate digestion and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) method for determination of 33 inorganic elements in human hair. METHODS: Lithium (6Li), Germanium (72Ge), Yttrium (89Y), Indium (115In), and Terbium (159Tb) were used as internal standards. The electric heating board digestion in a mixture of nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide was used as the pre-treatment of the hair. Thirty-three inorganic elements in human hair were analyzed by ICP-MS method. RESULTS: The detection limit of ICP-MS was 0.0001 microg/g(Th)-10.9 microg/g (Ca) and the limit of quantitation was 0.0005 microg/g (Th)-25 microg/g (Ca). The recovery rate of this method was 86%-113%. The RSD for the intra-day and inter-day were less than 9.2%. The method was not statistically different from microwave digestion method. CONCLUSION This method is highly efficient and accurate. It can be used for analysis of 33 inorganic elements in human hair.
Electricity ; Hair/chemistry* ; Humans ; Limit of Detection ; Mass Spectrometry/methods* ; Microwaves ; Reference Standards ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Trace Elements/analysis*

OBJECTIVE: To determine the normal reference values of 33 elements, Ag, Al, As, Au, B, Ba, Be, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Fe, Ga, Hg, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Rb, Sb, Se, Sr, Th, Ti, Tl, U, V, Zn and Zr, in the blood and urine samples from the general population in Sanmen County of Zhejiang province, a typical coastal area of eastern China. METHODS: The 33 elements in 272 blood and 300 urine samples were determined by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The normality test of data was conducted using SPSS 17.0 Statistics. The data was compared with other reports. RESULTS: The normal reference values of the 33 elements in the blood and urine samples from the general population in Sanmen County were obtained, which of some elements were found to be similar with other reports, such as Co, Cu, Mn and Sr, while As, Cd, Hg and Pb were generally found to be higher than those previously reported. There was a wide variation between the reports from different countries in blood Ba. CONCLUSION The normal reference values of the 33 elements in the blood and urine samples from the general population in Sanmen County are established, and successfully applied to two poisoning cases.
Blood Chemical Analysis ; China ; Elements ; Environmental Monitoring ; Humans ; Urinalysis

BACKGROUNDOlfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) can promote many kinds of neuron growth and axonal extension. The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of co-culturing with OECs on neuron apoptosis in vitro.

METHODSApoptosis was induced by treatment of cultured dorsal root ganglion neurons with 1 mmol/L hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)). Cells were randomly arranged into the following treatment groups. In group 1, OECs at different density (10(4)/ml to 8 x 10(5)/ml) were added immediately after H(2)O(2) treatment and cells were co-cultured for 24 hours. In group 2, OECs were added at different time points (0, 4, 8, 12 and 24 hours) after H(2)O(2) treatment. Apoptotic cell death was determined by Hoechst 33258 staining and flow cytometry (FCM). Cell viability was determined by using methyl thiazoleterazolium (MTT) assays.

RESULTSThe results showed in the Hoechest 33258 staining, FCM and MTT that OECs have both the density-dependent protection and time-dependent protection on neuron apoptosis. The apoptosis decreased and the dorsal root ganglion neuron viability increased, when the density of OECs was increased in co-culture groups. But further increasing OEC density above 2 x 10(5)/ml (i.e. 8 x 10(5)/ml) failed to exert additional protection. As the interval between adding H(2)O(2) and adding OECs was increased, the amounts of apoptosis cells were also increased. When OECs were added 24 hours after H(2)O(2), no significant protection was observed.

CONCLUSIONThese results indicated that OECs could protect dorsal root ganglion neurons from apoptosis induced by H(2)O(2) in a density- and time-dependent manner.

Animals ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Cell Survival ; drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Coculture Techniques ; Ganglia, Spinal ; cytology ; drug effects ; Hydrogen Peroxide ; toxicity ; Male ; Olfactory Bulb ; cytology ; physiology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Time Factors

Objective To investigate the isolation and culture of the neural stem cells (NSCs) derived from the embryonic mouse spinal cord and striatum, and observe the differences in their proliferation and differentiation characteristics in vitro, thereby providing evidences for identifying more suitable seed cells for repainng spinal cord injuries. Methods The spinal cord and striatum of 14-day-old embryonic mice were dissected for primary NSC culture. After 4 passages, the cells were examined for the expression ofnestin, β-tubulin Ⅲ, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and MAG using immunohistochemistry. Results The NSCs derived from the spinal cord and the striatum both possessed in vitro proliferation capacity and expressed nestin antigen. After induced differentiation, the NSCs expressed specific antigens of neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. Conclusion Multipotent NSCs can be obtained from embryonic mouse spinal cord and striatum through different in vitro culture methods under different conditions. According to the differenees between the two kinds of NSCs in culture situation and differentiation, the striatum derived NSC is suitable for transplantation to repair spinal cord injury.

This study was purposed to detect the expression of transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) and its receptors (TGF-βR) and to investigate their roles in pathogenesis of immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). The expressions of TGF-β1 and their receptors TGF-βRI, TGF-βRII and TGF-βRIII in the peripheral blood of patients with ITP and healthy persons were detected by the real-time PCR, and differences of their expression levels were analysed. The results showed that the expression of TGF-β1 and TGF-βRII mRNA in ITP patients was significantly higher than that in the healthy controls, while the TGF-βRI mRNA expression in ITP patient was significantly lower than that in the controls. The expression of TGF-βRIII was not statistically different between the two groups. It is concluded that TGF-β1 and its receptors including TGF-βRI and TGF-βRII express abnormally in the peripheral blood of ITP patients, which suggests that the TGF-β signaling pathway probably play a vital role in the pathogenesis of the ITP.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Case-Control Studies ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Protein-Serine-Threonine Kinases ; metabolism ; Purpura, Thrombocytopenic, Idiopathic ; metabolism ; pathology ; Receptors, Transforming Growth Factor beta ; metabolism ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1 ; metabolism ; Young Adult

This study was performed to explore the effect of flagellin+rapamycin on the growth and metastasis of 4T1 breast cancer in tumor-bearing mice,and their regulatory effect on several immunocytes.4T1 cell line was applied to establish an breast cancer model in Balb/c mice,which then injected with flagellin+rapamycin,and the volume and inhibition rate of tumor were recorded.MTT assay was used to detect the inhibitory effect of flagellin+rapamycin against 4T1 cells.Data showed that the combination of flagellin and rapamycin had the best inhibition effect on 4T1 cells,and the same results were found in animal model experiments.Flow cytometry result indicated that flagellin+rapamycin significantly down-regulated the levels of CD11b+Gr-1+myeloid-derived suppressor cells(MDSCs)and CD11b+F4/80+tumor-associated macrophages(TAMs)of tumor-bearing mice.Furthermore,flagellin+rapamycin alleviates the metastasis of 4T1 cancer cells into liver and lung.Taken together,flagellin+rapamycin can inhibit proliferation and metastasis of 4T1 cells,thus exert antitumor effects in mice,which may related with its regulatory effects on immunocytes in tumor microenvironment.

Objective:To investigate the relationship between the level of anti Mullerian hormone (AMH) and antral follicle count (AFC) and oocytes number in patients with in vitro fertilization (IVF). Methods:372 patients with primary infertility who received IVF and embryo transfer (IVF-ET) treatment in the Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University from January 2020 to December 2020 were prospectively selected as the study subjects. According to the oocytes obtained, the patients were divided into low ovarian response group (LOR group, the number of oocytes obtained ≤5, n=37), normal group (NOR group, the number of oocytes obtained was 6-15, n=292) and high ovarian response group (HOR group, the number of oocytes obtained >15, n=43). The levels of AMH and AFC in the three groups were observed. The relationship between AMH, AFC with LOR and HOR was observed by multivariate logistic analysis. The sensitivity, specificity, optimal cut-off value and area under the curve (AUC) of AMH and AFC for predicting LOR and HOR were calculated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Results:There were significant difference in AMH, AFC and oocyte number among the three groups (all P<0.05). The AMH, AFC and oocyte number in NOR group were higher than those in LOR group, and AMH, AFC and oocyte number in HOR group were higher than those in LOR and NOR group (all P<0.05). The results of binary multivariate analysis showed that AFC and AMH were protective factors of LOR (all P<0.05), while AFC and AMH were risk factors of HOR ( P<0.05). The sensitivity and specificity of AMH and AFC in predicting LOR were 83.8% and 75.7%, 65.7% and 84.2%, respectively. The sensitivity of AMH or AFC positive as the standard for predicting LOR was 94.6%, and the specificity of AMH and AFC was 91.6%. The sensitivity and specificity of positive AMH and AFC in predicting HOR were 69.8% and 74.4%, 69.6% and 83.6%, respectively. The sensitivity of AMH or AFC positive as the standard for predicting HOR was 93.0%, and the specificity of AMH and AFC positive as the standard for predicting HOR was 93.0%. Conclusions:AMH and AFC are significantly correlated with oocyte number in patients with primary infertility. Flexible application of AMH and AFC is beneficial to better predict the number of oocytes obtained, which provides a reference for clinical development of individualized ovarian stimulation program.

Objective:To analyze the effect of integrated care model on relocation stress and sense of coherence in caregivers of severe multiple injuries patients after ICU transfer.Methods:From January 2017 to October 2019, 102 caregivers of severe multiple injuries patients in ICU of Liuzhou Worker′s Hospital were selected and divided into control group and observation group by random digits table method,with 51 cases in each group. In the process of ICU transfer the control group received routine nursing, while the observation group carried out integrated care model based on the control group scheme. Before and after ICU transfer, the degree of relocation stress and sense of coherence of caregivers in two groups were evaluated by Family Relocation Stress Scale (FRSS) and Sense of Coherence Scale (SOCS) respectively.Results:The scores of migration preparation dimension, migration satisfaction dimension,caregiver stress dimension and the total scores of FRSS were 17.51 ± 3.46, 4.81 ± 0.48, 11.69 ± 1.82 and 49.91 ± 4.51 in the observation group, which were significantly higher than those in the control group after transfer (13.61 ± 2.83, 3.32 ± 0.53, 9.42 ± 2.17, 39.25 ± 4.01)( t values were 5.12-7.64, all P<0.05). The scores of manage ability dimension, comprehensibility dimension, meaningfulness dimension and the total scores of SOCS were 29.58 ± 4.96, 24.07 ± 2.72, 22.04 ± 3.64 and 75.52 ± 6.80 in the observation group, which were significantly higher than those in the control group (24.34 ± 4.13, 20.50 ± 2.99, 17.19 ± 3.96, 64.80 ± 6.12) after transfer ( t values were 4.51-7.01, all P<0.05). Conclusions:The integrated care model can significantly alleviate relocation stress and promote sense of coherence in caregivers of severemultiple injuriespatients after ICU transfer.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the efficacy of iloprost in acute vasodilatation test during cardiac catheterization and to explore a useful hemodynamic indication regarding operability in the patients with severe pulmonary hypertension (PH) related to congenital heart disease (CHD).

METHODSThe clinical data of 46 patients [mean age (12 ± 9) years] with severe PH related to CHD from June 2006 to December 2008 was retrospectively analyzed. All patients underwent standard right and left cardiac catheterization and a trial of inhaled iloprost test during cardiac catheterization. The mean pulmonary arterial pressure was (80 ± 13) mm Hg (1 mm Hg = 0.133 kPa) and pulmonary vascular resistance index was (17 ± 10) wood.m². A positive response to inhaled iloprost was defined as a decrease of at least 20% in pulmonary vascular resistance index (PVRI) without changes on systemic artery pressure. Patients with positive response to iloprost underwent cardiac surgical repair. The pulmonary artery pressure and PVRI was monitored by Swan-Ganz catheter postoperatively.

RESULTSOf the 46 patients, 29 (63.1%) showed a positive response after iloprost inhalation, defined by a significant reduction in PVRI from (15 ± 6) wood.m(2) at baseline to (9 ± 4) wood.m² in response to iloprost inhalation therapy (P < 0.05). The ratio of pulmonary to systemic resistance (Rp/Rs) decreased from 0.7 ± 0.2 to 0.4 ± 0.2 (P < 0.05). Seventeen patients (36.9%) didn't respond to iloprost displayed only little changes in PVRI [from (21 ± 10) wood.m(2) to (19 ± 9) wood.m²] and Rp/Rs (from 1.0 ± 0.5 to 0.9 ± 0.5). Out of 29 positive patients, 21 (72%) underwent successful cardiac surgical repair with a reduction of mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP) to an average of (27 ± 10) mm Hg after the operation. Only 2 patients out of the 17 patients from the negative group were referred to surgery. Their mPAP was greater than 45 mm Hg.

CONCLUSIONSA significant reduction in pulmonary artery pressure after cardiac surgery was observed in patients with positive response to inhaled iloprost. Inhaled iloprost may be a valuable tool in the preoperative evaluation of patients with severe PH related to CHD.

Administration, Inhalation ; Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Heart Defects, Congenital ; physiopathology ; surgery ; Hemodynamics ; drug effects ; Humans ; Hypertension, Pulmonary ; physiopathology ; surgery ; Iloprost ; pharmacology ; Infant ; Lung ; blood supply ; Male ; Preoperative Care ; Retrospective Studies ; Vasodilator Agents ; pharmacology ; Young Adult