AIM: To construct prokaryotic expression vector of human angiogenesis inhibitor arresten gene and express recombinant arresten in Escherichia coli. METHODS: Human arresten gene was amplified from recombinant plasmid pGEM-Arr with polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and then cloned into prokaryotic expression vector pRSET by means of recombinant gene technology. The recombinant plasmid pRSET-Arr was transformed into E.coli BL21(DE3), and recombinant arresten was expressed in the bacteria under induction of IPTG. The expressed products were detected by SDS-PAGE analysis. RESULTS: Restriction analysis indicated that the arresten gene was successfully inserted into the expression vector, and DNA sequencing verified that the reading frame of the recombinant vector was correct. Recombinant arresten was successfully expressed in Escherichia coli; its molecular weight was about 26 kD and its amount was approximately 30% of total bacterial proteins.CONCLUSION: The successful construction of prokaryotic expression vector containing human arresten gene and the effective expression of recombinant arresten in Escherichia coli laid the foundation for further study on its biological functions.

Objective:To evaluate the effect of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in patients with wet age-related macular degeneration (wAMD) and investigate the recurrence factors.Methods:In this case-control study, 40 eyes of 38 patients with wAMD treated by anti-VEGF therapy in Xijing Hospital from October 2015 to April 2017 were included.Ranibizumab or conbercept was consecutively intravitreally injected monthly under 3+ pro re nata (PRN) regimen.All included patients were followed-up at least 12 months.The best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was expressed in logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (LogMAR) units.Optical coherence tomography (OCT) was used to observe the morphologic characteristics of macula and measure the central retina thickness (CRT). Patients were divided into recurrence and recurrence-free group based on whether recurrence occurred during follow-up.Potential associated factors with recurrence after treatment were analyzed by multivariate logistic regression analysis.Meanwhile, the morphological and functional response were identified at 1 month after loading phase as well as at last follow-up visit.This study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Shanghai General Hospital (No.2016KY243) and written informed consent was obtained from each patient prior to receiving injection.Results:All the operative eyes showed retinal effusion absorption at least once, and 21 (52.5%) eyes had relapse during follow-up.The patients with lower BCVA (LogMAR) value at the first absorption time had higher risk of recurrence ( OR=16.7, 95% CI=1.22-100, P<0.05). The eyes in the recurrence group received more times of treatment than eyes in the recurrence-free group (5.8±2.3 vs 3.5±1.4, t=3.64, P<0.05). However, there was no significance between the two groups in BCVA change before and after treatment ( t=-1.52, P>0.05). In the recurrence group, the BCVA (LogMAR) and CRT at last visit were 0.73±0.34 and (187.2±81.7)μm respectively, while were significantly improved in comparison with 0.81±0.37 and (234.2±74.5)μm at the relapse time ( t=2.14, 2.62; both at P<0.05). There were 87.5% (35/40) eyes showed good morphological responses at 1 month after the loading phase while 12.5% (5/40) eyes presented poor morphological responses, the retinal effusion was absorbed after additional (3.2±2.2) times of injections.The BCVA of eyes with a good morphological response at 1 month following loading phase was better than that at the first retinal effusion absorption time ( t=-2.23, P<0.05). Average CRT at last visit was significantly decreased in comparison with the baseline CRT ( Z=-4.62, P<0.01). Conclusions:For wet AMD patients, the anti-VEGF treatment is safe and effective in the short term, while there is still a high rate of recurrence.More attention should be paid to eyes with better vision at the first time of retinal effusion absorption which may have more chance to experience recurrence.Patients need long-term follow-up after treatment to prevent recurrence.In addition, the complete loading treatment is needed for patients who have a good morphological response after the first retinal effusion absorbed.

Cell epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation is one of the causes of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The emergence of targeted drugs for EGFR gene mutation provides a new direction for NSCLC treatment. The common EGFR-targeted drugs like the first-generation gefitinib and erlotinib, the second-generation afatinib and the third-generation osimertinib have shown their good efficacies in a number of large international clinical trials. EGFR gene mutation in Chinese NSCLC patients is different from that in European and American NSCLC patients. This paper briefly reviews the characteristics of EGFR gene mutation and the current status and progress of EGFR-targeted drugs in Chinese NSCLC patients to investigate the mutation characteristics of EGFR in Chinese NSCLC patients and the response as well as prognosis of Chinese patients to EGFR-TKI therapy.

Osimertinib, the third generation of epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI), has demonstrated notable clinical benefit in the targeted therapy for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the development of drug resistance is an inevitable challenge. In order to tackle this issue, ongoing efforts are being made to develop new generations of targeted drugs and treatment strategies, some of which are already undergoing clinical trials. This article aims to review the current research on the mechanisms of osimertinib resistance and outline the advancements made in post-drug resistance treatment strategies.

Based on the historical documents regarding professor, his educational philosophy of acupuncture and moxibustion was summarized. As a result, the following characteristics were found. He focused on the education of acupuncture and moxibustion, which combined the classroom teaching with apprentice teaching; he compiled teaching materials and committed himself to education reform; he started the first acupuncture undergraduate majors in Fujian province; he valued the academic inheritance and practice of acupuncture; he authored publications and proposed arguments to inherit experience. In addition, he valued medical ethics and focused on patients.

Professor, who studied from professor, is a famous acupuncturist in Quanzhou of Southern Fujian. The publications authored by professorwere collected in this study to summarize his academic characteristics of acupuncture and moxibustion. The result indicated he highly valued the regulation of, and established the theory of "developingto nourish", which proposes to developto achieve the effect of culturing; he summarized eight methods to regulate the governor vessel and conception vessel, which can condition the body'sand; he paid attention to moxibustion therapy and its dosage, and made the best of direct moxibustion. In addition, he focused on meridian theory with effective application of meridian syndrome differentiation; in clinical treatment, he regulated the hand-meridian to treat diseases by nourishing, generatingand regulating.

Pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma(PPGL) was a kind of neuroendocrine tumor that derived from chromaffin tissue, which seems to be an important etiology of secondary hypertension. With the development of molecular detection technology, at least 17 kinds of pathogenic genes of PPGL has been discovered, which is related to 35%-40% PPGL, and about 40% malignant PPGL is associated with SDHB gene mutation. In this study, we reported a case with a novel splicing mutation of SDHB gene induced paraganglioma.