Age-related macular degeneration( AMD) is one of the major reasons of blindness among the elderly in the developed countries. As AMD patients are increasing year by year, AMD has become one of the important topics of ophthalmic research to prevent blindness. Its pathogenesis is not fully understood, but many studies have shown that vascular endothelial growth factor ( VEGF ) plays an important role in the pathogenesis. With the development and application of anti - VEGF drugs, there are a variety of drugs applied to the disease. This article introduces conbercept for the treatment of AMD.

Cystic Adenomatoid Malformation of Lung, Congenital ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; surgery ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Lung ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Male ; Pneumonectomy ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Lysins are efficient bacteria cell wall digesting enzymes encoded by DNA bacteriophage. Gram-positive bacteriophage lysins feature similar domain structure, high lytic efficiency, synergic antibacterial effect with antibiotics, rare neutralization by antibodies, less chance of developing drug-resistant strains, et al. The past decade has seen a considerable amount of research worldwidely focused on lysin, and lysins have been used successfully in a variety of animal models to control pathogenic antibiotic resistant bacteria found on mucosal surfaces and infected tissues. The great potential of lysins as an anti-infective agent prompted this review.

Objective To study the clinical pathological features of mesenteric and omental inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (IMT) in children.Method Clinical features,laboratory result,pathological evidence for diagnosis and treatment of 5 cases with mesenteric and omental IMT were analyzed and evaluated.Results Intra-abdominal mass was most frequently found in childhood mesenteric and omental IMT.Gastrointestinal obstruction was showed in 2 cases.Anemia,leucocytosis,thrombocytosis,polyclonal-hyperglobulinemia appeared in 5 cases.The histological pattern showed:4 cases were myxoid pattern IMT,1 case was compact spindle cells pattern IMT.Immunohistochemistry showed:the spindle cells were expressed vimentin,smooth muscle action(SMA) and desmin.Partial spindle cells were anaplastic lymphoma kinase(ALK) and cytokeratin(CK) positive,while S-100 protein,CD34 were negative.Complete surgical excision was performed on 5 cases.Follow-up studies ranged from 5 months to 3 years,and no patient developed recurrence.Conclusions Childhood mesenteric and omental IMT is a rare interstitial tumor.The diagnosis should be based on pathological and immunohistochemistry examinations.Most cases are benign,and complete surgical excision can avoid local recurrence.

The anti-cancer effects of betulinic acid (BA) on Jurkat cells and its in vitro mechanism were examined by using MTT assay. Apoptosis was detected by using Hoechst33258 staining and annexin-V/PI double-labeled cytometry. The effects of betulinic acid on the cell cycle of Jurkat cells were studied by propidium iodide method. RT-PCR and Western blotting were used to analyze the changes of cyclin D3, bcl-xl mRNA and protein levels in Jurkat cells after treatment with betulinic acid. Our results showed the proliferation of Jurkat cells was decreased in betulinic acid-treated group with a 24-h IC50 value being 70.00 mumol/L. Betulinic acid induced apoptosis of Jurkat cells in a time- and dose-dependent manner. The number of Jurkat cells treated with betulinic acid showed an increase in G(0)/G(1) phase and decrease in S phase. After treatment with 0, 20, 60, 100 mumol/L betulinic acid for 24 h, the number of Jurkat cells was increased from (31.00+/-1.25)% to (58.84+/-0.32)% in G(0)/G(1) phase, whereas it was decreased from (61.45+/-1.04)% to (35.82+/-1.95)% in S phase. PBMCs were less sensitive to the cytotoxicity of betulinic acid than Jurkat cells. The expressions of cyclin D3, bcl-xl mRNA and protein were decreased sharply in Jurkat cells treated with betulinic acid. It is concluded that betulinic acid is able to inhibit the proliferation of Jurkat cells by regulating the cell cycle, arrest cells at G(0)/G(1) phase and induce the cell apoptosis. The anti-tumor effects of betulinic acid are related to the down-regulated expression of cyclin D3 and bcl-xl.
Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic/*pharmacology ; Apoptosis/*drug effects ; Cell Proliferation/*drug effects ; Cyclin D3/metabolism ; Down-Regulation/drug effects ; Jurkat Cells ; Triterpenes/*pharmacology ; bcl-X Protein/metabolism

Objective To investigate the anticancer effects and molecular mechanism of betulinic acid (BA)on Raji cells in vitro.Methods The effects of BA on the growth of Raji cells were studied by MTT assay.Apoptosis was assessed by Annexin-V/PI double-labeled cytometry.The influence on cell cycle was studied by flow cytometer.The cyclin D3 mRNA expression was checked by Western blotting and RT-PCR techniques.Results BA showed obvious inhibition on proliferation,as well as induction potency of apoptosis on Raji cells in vitro in a time-and dose-dependent manner by Annexin-V/PI double-labeled method.With the IC_(50)value for 24 h being(39.44?0.65)?g/mL,Raji cells treated with BA showed ac- cumulation in G_0/G_1 phase and reduction in the percentage of cells in S phase.The cyclin D3 mRNA ex- pression and protein were sharply decreased in Raji cells treated with BA.Conclusion BA could inhibit the proliferation of Raji cells by regulating the cell cycle that arrests cells at G_0/G_1 phase and induces apop- tosis of Raji cells.The antitumor effects of BA may be related to down-regulation of the expression of cy- clin D3.

To investigate the dynamics of interleukin-21 (IL-21) cytokine in the Chinese HIV patients undergoing highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAAPT).Methods A total of 25 adults with chronic HIV infections,responding to combined highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) guideline criteria were enrolled for a 1-year follow-up.After signing an informed consent,20 mL blood was collected from each patient at the base line,6 month and 12 month,respectively.CD4 and CD8 cell count was quantified by flux cytometry,serum HIV RNA quantified by real time PCR and IL-21 concentrations by ELISA.Results IL-21 levels increased gradually during the follow-up but did not reach the healthy levels.IL-21 correlated positively with the CD4 cells but not with CD8 T cells.HIV RNA correlated negatively with CD4 cell count but did not show any relationship with the CD8 cells.Conclusion IL-21 has potential role in the immunopathogenesis of HIV,and might be an important factor in immune construction during HAART.

Objective To observe the Th17, IL-17 and Tr cells equilibrium state as well as their changes of HIV infected or AIDS suffered patients in one-year HAART treatment. Methods Select 33 HIV/AIDS patients received HAART treatment while 33 healthy volunteers as controls. Flow cytometry was used to analyze Th17 and Tr cells in venous blood at the time of pre-therapy, 6th, 12th month when IL-17 levels in serum are tested by ELISA. Results The ratio of Th17 cells in CD4 cells in HIV/AIDS patients and volunteers were (1.20±0.37)%, (2.50±1.03)%, (3.70±1.56)%, (4.70±1.43)%, respectively; The ratio of Tr cells were (9.16±3.33)%, (7.19±2.91)%, (5.53±1.88)%, (4.43±0.97)%, respectively; The levels of IL-17 in serum were (5.3±2.5) pg/ml, (7.7±2.4) pg/ml, (10.4±3.1) pg/ml, (17.7±6.6) pg/ml respectively. The Th17 cells' level was positively correlative with the amount of CD4 cells, negatively correlate with the count of viral load. However, the Tr cells level is positively correlative with the count of viral load, negatively relate to the quantity of CD4 cells. Conclusion HIV could make IL-17, Th17 cells and Tr cells lost their balance, but the immune equilibrium state may gradually recover after HAART treatment. Which indicates the IL-17, Th17 cells and Treg cells may play an important role in the pathogenesis of AIDS, and they are likely to be the effective indexes to observe the progress of AIDS and the treatment effect of highly active antiretroviral therapy(HAART).

Chronic lung diseases, including bronchial asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), chronic bronchitis, allergic rhinitis and repeated respiratory tract infection (RRTL) in infants, exacerbate frequently in winter because of respiratory viral infections and low temperature. Summer acupoint application therapy (SAAT) is thought to be effective in reducing exacerbation frequency of chronic lung diseases in winter. It is a kind of therapy using a herbal mixture for external application on special acupoints during summer. The herbal mixture basically contains Semen Sinapis Albae, Herba Asari, Radix Euphorbiae Kansui and Rhizoma Corydalis. The acupoints include Feishu (BL13), Dazhui (GV14) and Danzhong (CV17). Through a large-scale multicenter trial based on three years of clinical observation, and retrospective and prospective analyses, this study aims to explore the efficacy of SAAT.

Objective To determine the incidence, clinical manifestation and part of lymphokines which represent the balance of Th1 and Th2 in the role of the immunologic mechanisms for IRIS(immune restoration inflammatory syndromes)in patients initiating HAART(Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy).Methods A prospective study of all patients initiating HAART was performed. A period of six months tracking initiating HAART was performed. The incidence of IRIS, time of occurrence and clinical disease spectrum were recorded. The main T lymphokines including IL-2, INF-γ, IL-4, IL-10 which on behalf of the balance of Th1 and Th2 were detected. To explore the immunopathologic mechanisms for IRIS, the levels of T lymphokines at pre-HAART, initiating HAART for 1 month, 3months and 6 months were compared in IRIS group and non-IRIS group, healthy group. Results A total of 212 patients were enrolled in this study. 59 patients were diagnosed as IRIS at a median of 21 days after HAART initiation (QR 19 days).The main disease spectrum included tuberculosis, herpes virus infections, pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia. No matter in the IRIS group or non-IRIS group, the main lymphokines baseline of IL-2, INF-γ reduced and IL-4, IL-10 increased before HAART compared to healthy group (P ＜ 0. 05), which had the tendency to restore balance relations initiating HAART. The lymphokines levels had significant difference between baseline and 6 months initiating HAART (P ＜ 0. 05). The changed levels of lymphokines between IRIS group and non-IRIS group before HAART had significant difference compared to healthy group. IL-2, INF-γ increased level[(11.68 ± 2. 89) pg/ml vs (8.52 ±2.26) pg/ml; (22. 19 ± 6. 22) pg/ml vs (18.34 ±5. 35) pg/ml] and IL-10 decreased level [(19. 21 ± 4. 03) pg/ml vs (23. 19 ± 5.92) pg/ml] had significant difference between IRIS group and non-IRIS group initiating HAART I month(P ＜0. 05). Conclusions The incidence of IRIS during 6 months initiating HAART in HIV/AIDS was 27. 8%, IRIS usually occurred in 1 month initiating HAART. The most common disease spectrum was infectious disease, including tuberculosis and herpes virus infection. Lymphokine of Th1 and Th2 existed unbalance in IRIS group and non-IRIS group before HAART. The unbalance tendency in IRIS group was more obvious. All lymphokines had the trend to recover balance. IL-2, INF-γ significantly increased and IL-10 significantly decreased, which might involve the occurrence of the IRIS.