Objective To investigate the role of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) on transforming growth factor - ?1 (TGF - ?1 )of asthmatic remodeling model Methods One hundred and eight guinea pigs were divided into 3 groups randomly and equally: asthmatic group( A), therapeutic group(B), control group(C) Three groups were treated by ovalbumin, budesonide, normal saline respectively The lung tissue specimens were collected after the guinea pigs were killed; the expression of TGF- ?1 was determined Results The expressions of TGF-?1 in A, K and C groups were(41 83 ? 10. 45) %, (27. 22 ? 8. 09)% , (15. 36 ? 2. 64)% respectively at 12 weeks. It was statistically significant( P

OBJECTIVEThis study aimed to investigate risk influencing factors of asthma for children in Suzhou City, China.

METHODSA survey of asthma was conducted on children aged 0 - 14 with or without asthma from September 2010 to April 2011 in Pingjiang district of Suzhou city. A total of 271 children diagnosed with asthma were considered as a case group, and 271 non-asthmatic children with the same age, sex and living region formed the control group. Risk factors were analyzed with χ(2) test and logistic regression analysis.

RESULTSAll children were Han. The case group was composed of 165 boys and 106 girls, so was the case group. The average age was (7.5 ± 2.3) years for the case group and (7.8 ± 2.9) years for the control group, which did not showed any significant difference (P > 0.05). Family history of allergy (OR = 10.624, 95%CI: 6.294 - 18.623), history of children's eczema (OR = 4.403, 95%CI: 8.627 - 29.632), history of allergic rhinitis (OR = 6.871, 95%CI: 7.658 - 31.871), passive smoking when baby was born (OR = 3.323, 95%CI: 3.541 - 11.634), mold contamination (OR = 1.837, 95%CI: 1.531 - 4.926) were the risk factors, and breast-feeding (OR = 0.513, 95%CI: 0.418 - 0.914) was the protective factor.

CONCLUSIONFamily history of allergy, history of children's eczema, history of allergic rhinitis, passive smoking, and old contamination are the risk factors, and breast-feeding is the protective factor.

Adolescent ; Asthma ; etiology ; Case-Control Studies ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Risk Factors ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Animals ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; genetics ; metabolism ; virology ; Genes, p53 ; Hepatitis B ; genetics ; metabolism ; virology ; Hepatitis B virus ; Humans ; Inhibitor of Growth Protein 1 ; Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins ; metabolism ; Liver Neoplasms ; genetics ; metabolism ; virology ; Loss of Heterozygosity ; Nuclear Proteins ; metabolism ; Point Mutation ; Signal Transduction ; Trans-Activators ; genetics ; metabolism ; Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Tumor Suppressor Proteins ; metabolism

AIMTo study the pharmacokinetic (PK) properties in rabbits treated with N-Ile(1)-Thr(2)-63-desulfato-r-hirudin (rH) newly developed in China by means of bioassay in order to provide preclinical experiment basis for its development as a novel anticoagulant agent.

METHODSrH plasma concentration was determined using bioassay based on ex vivo antithrombin activity of rH. Normal rabbits received iv rH 4.0, 2.0 and 1.0 mg/kg or sc rH 2.0 mg/kg, respectively. The rabbits with acute severe renal failure were given iv rH 2.0 mg/kg.

RESULTSThe bioassay described in this paper met requirements for study of PK in rabbits. The major PK parameters after iv dosing were as follows: t(1/2beta) 58.4-59 min. V(d) 0.09-0.12 L/kg, CL 0.0035-0.0040 L/(kg.min); AUC were proportional to the doses, t(1/2) and CL did not change significantly with the doses. The sc bioavailability reached 94%. The rabbits suffering from acute severe renal failure presented 11-fold longer t(1/2beta) and 13-fold greater AUC than normal healthy rabbits.

CONCLUSIONrH exhibited rapid elimination, distribution was only limited to extracellular space and good absorption from sc site. The excretion of rH by kidneys played a very important role in the elimination of rH. The PK of rH could be described by the two- and one-compartment model after iv and sc dosing, respectively, and followed linear kinetics.

Algorithms ; Animals ; Biological Assay ; methods ; Computer Simulation ; Hirudins ; blood ; pharmacokinetics ; Metabolic Clearance Rate ; Models, Biological ; Rabbits ; Reproducibility of Results ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Thrombin Time ; methods

OBJECTIVETo investigate the polymorphisms of HLA-DPA1 and HLA-DPB1 loci of Han population in Zhejiang province of China.

METHODSThe alleles of HLA-DPA1 and HLA-DPB1 loci in 100 unrelated healthy individuals were analyzed using polymerase chain reaction-sequence based typing.

RESULTSEight HLA-DPA1 alleles and 19 HLA-DPB1 alleles were found in the population. The HLA-DPA1 alleles with higher frequencies were DPA1*020202 (47.0%), DPA1*010301 (38.5%) and DPA1*020101(10.5%). The HLA-DPB1 alleles with higher frequencies were DPB1*0501, DPB1*020102 and DPB1*040101. The frequencies were 39.5%, 13.5% and 13.0%, respectively. A total of 44 estimated DPA1-DPB1 haplotypes were detected. The HLA-DPA1*020202-DPB1*0501(29.5%) was the most frequent haplotype.

CONCLUSIONThe polymorphism data of the HLA-DPA1 and -DPB1 were obtained in Han population in Zhejiang province of China. There was linkage disequilibrium between the two loci.

Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; ethnology ; genetics ; China ; ethnology ; Databases, Genetic ; Ethnic Groups ; genetics ; Female ; Gene Frequency ; Genetic Loci ; genetics ; HLA-DP Antigens ; genetics ; HLA-DP alpha-Chains ; HLA-DP beta-Chains ; Haplotypes ; Humans ; Linkage Disequilibrium ; Male ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymorphism, Genetic

OBJECTIVETo observe the effect of dopamine receptor (DR2) activation on hypoxia/reperfusion injury (HRI) in the neonatal rat cardiomyocytes, and to explore its mechanism.

METHODSThe hypoxia/reperfusion (H/R) injury model was established in primarily cultured neonatal rat cardiomyocytes, and randomly assigned: control, H/R, bromocriptine (Bro) and haloperidol (Hal) groups. The cell apoptosis was detected using inverted microscope, transmission electron microscope and flow cytometry (FCM). The lactate dehydrogenase(LDH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and malondialdehyde (MDA) content in cell medium were analyzed. The expression of mRNA and protein of caspase-3, caspase-8, caspase-9, Fas, Fas-L, Cyt C and Bcl-2 were detected by RT-PCR and Western blot, respectively.

RESULTSCompared with the control group, apoptosis rate, LDH activity, MDA content and the expression of pro-apoptotic factors and anti-apoptotic factors were increased, but SOD activity was decreased in H/R group. Compared with the H/R group, all index above-mentioned were down-regulated or reversed in Bro-group, and had no obvious differences in Hal-group.

CONCLUSIONThe neonatal rat cardiomyocytes injury and apoptosis caused by hypoxia/reperfusion can be inhibited with DR2 activation, which mechanism is related to scavenging oxygen radical.

Animals ; Animals, Newborn ; Apoptosis ; Cell Hypoxia ; Myocardial Reperfusion Injury ; etiology ; metabolism ; Myocytes, Cardiac ; cytology ; metabolism ; Oxidative Stress ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Receptors, Dopamine D2 ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo compare the detection rates of Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP) from nasopharyngeal aspirates (NPA) and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) in children with pneumonia.

METHODSA total of 164 hospitalized children with pneumonia were enrolled. NPA and BALF of these children were collected within 24 hours of admission, and MP-DNA was detected by fluorescence quantitative PCR. Venous blood samples of all these children were collected within 24 hours of admission and on days 7-10 of treatment, and serum MP-IgM was detected using ELISA.

RESULTSThe positive rate of MP-DNA in NAP of the 164 cases was 51.8% , which was lower than 63.4% as the detection rate of MP-IgM in serum (P=0.044), and the two detection rates were moderately consistent with each other (Kappa=0.618, P<0.01). The positive rate of MP in BALF was 71.3%, which was not significantly different with that of MP-IgM in serum (P>0.05), and the detection rates were well consistent (Kappa=0.793, P<0.01). The detection rate of MP in NPA was lower than that in BALF (P<0.01), with moderate consistency between two of them (Kappa=0.529, P<0.01). The median MP copy number in BALF was significantly higher than that in NPA (P<0.01). The MP detection rates in NPA and BALF were significantly different among different courses of disease (P<0.05). As the course of disease extended, the MP detection rates in both NPA and BALF showed a declining trend; children with MP pneumonia of 1-2 weeks' duration and 2-4 weeks' duration had a higher MP-DNA detection rate in BALF than in NPA (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONSMP-DNA in BALF has a high sensitivity, with a great significance for early diagnosis of MP pneumonia, while NPA MP-DNA tests may lead to a missed diagnosis.

Adolescent ; Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid ; microbiology ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; DNA, Bacterial ; analysis ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Nasopharynx ; microbiology ; Pneumonia, Mycoplasma ; diagnosis

INTRODUCTIONThe role of soluble OX40 ligand (sOX40L) in adult bronchial asthma is unclear. This study aims to determine the serum concentrations of sOX40L in adult patients with bronchial asthma, and discussed its relationship with pulmonary function.

MATERIALS AND METHODSWe measured the pulmonary function using the spirometer and detected the serum concentrations of sOX40L by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 19 healthy persons in the control group, 58 acute asthmatic adult patients who were grouped according to their disease severity: 18 mild grade, 24 moderate grade, 16 severe grade, and 24 persons in a stable asthmatic group.

RESULTSThe serum concentrations of sOX40L in asthmatic adult patients (6.80 ± 4.95 ng/L) were distinctly higher than those in the control group (3.98 ± 2.83 ng/L, P <0.05), and they were negatively correlated with pulmonary function indexes (FEV1%, FVC%, FEV1/FVC) (r = -0.754, P <0.01, r = -0.557, P <0.01, r = -0.457, P <0.01, respectively). Moreover, the serum concentrations of sOX40L showed obvious differences among control, mild, moderate, and severe groups (3.98 ± 2.83, 4.87 ± 1.89, 6.97 ± 5.91, 8.71 ± 5.18 ng/L, respectively; P <0.01). The concentrations of sOX40L decreased to the same extent as the control group after therapeutic treatments were provided to the asthmatic adult patients.

CONCLUSIONThe concentrations of sOX40L were found to be high in adult asthmatic patients and were associated with the severity of the disease. Therefore, sOX40L could be a potential inflammatory mediator in the pathogenesis of asthma.

Adult ; Analysis of Variance ; Asthma ; blood ; etiology ; physiopathology ; Case-Control Studies ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Forced Expiratory Volume ; Humans ; Inflammation Mediators ; blood ; Lung ; physiopathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; OX40 Ligand ; blood ; Severity of Illness Index ; Spirometry

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVERecently, many studies have focused on stem cells in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and found some stem cell markers in HCC, which are associated with the prognosis. OCT4, as a member of the POU transcription factor family, is a key factor to maintain self-renewal and pluripotency of embryonic stem cells (ESCs). This study was to explore the expression of the ESCs marker OCT4A in HCC, and its correlations with clinicopathologic features and prognosis of HCC.

METHODSOCT4A mRNA expression was detected in five liver cancer cell lines (SMMC-7721, BEL-7402, Hep-G2, MHCC97-L, and MHCC97-H), one immortalized liver cell line L-O2, tumor tissues with matched non-neoplastic liver tissues in 107 HCC patients, and normal liver tissues of 20 cases using semi-quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The correlations between OCT4A mRNA and clinicopathologic features and prognosis of HCC were analyzed.

RESULTSOCT4A mRNA was detected in SMMC-7721, BEL-7402, Hep-G2, MHCC-97L, and MHCC-97H cells, but not in L-O2 cells. The positive rate of OCT4A mRNA expression was significantly higher in the HCC tissues than in the non-neoplastic liver tissues (72.0% vs. 30.8%, P<0.001). No OCT4A mRNA expression was found in the normal liver tissues. OCT4A mRNA expression was correlated with the tumor size, vascular invasion, and TNM stage (P<0.05). Kaplan-Meier survival curves showed that patients with positive expression of OCT4A mRNA had lower overall survival and disease-free survival rates.

CONCLUSIONSOCT4A mRNA, which is highly expressed in a subset of liver cancer cell lines and HCC tissues, may be involved in the carcinogenesis of HCC. OCT4A mRNA may be a valuable biomarker for assessing the prognosis of HCC.

Biomarkers, Tumor ; metabolism ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Cell Line ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Disease-Free Survival ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hepatectomy ; Humans ; Liver ; cytology ; metabolism ; Liver Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; Neovascularization, Pathologic ; metabolism ; pathology ; Octamer Transcription Factor-3 ; genetics ; metabolism ; RNA, Messenger ; metabolism ; Survival Rate ; Tumor Burden

Objective To explore the effect of single local intraosseous injection of small dose simvastatin on the angiogenesis and cardiac function in rats after myocardial infarction. Methods Adult male Wistar rats were divided into sham operation group, myocardial infarction model group and intraosseous injection of simvastatin 0. 5 mg group ( all n=12 per group) . The left anterior descending branch of coronary artery was ligated to establish a rat model of myocardial infarc-tion. The left ventricular function was evaluated by small animal echocardiography at 4 weeks postoperatively. The rest of the rats were sacrificed, the myocardial infarct size was evaluated by TTC staining, and the myocardial neovascularization was detected by immunofluorescence staining. Results We successfully established the rat model of myocardial infarction. The echocardiography showed that the left ventricular systolic function was decreased significantly at 4 weeks after myocardi-al infarction. Intraosseous injection of simvastatin (0. 5 mg) did not improve the left ventricular function after myocardial infarction in the rats. TTC staining showed that intraosseous injection of simvastatin did not reduce myocardial infarct size. Immunofluorescence staining showed that the myocardial capillary density of simvastatin group was slightly higher than that of myocardial infarction model group, but showing no significant difference between them. Conclusions Intraosseous in-jection of simvastatin 0. 5 mg 24 hours after myocardial infarction cannot significantly promote myocardial angiogenesis, which is believed to be beneficial to the revascularization after ischemia, and thus failed to improve the cardiac function.