Hepatitis B virus X protein(HBx) has a wide range of biological effects.It not only play important roles in the replication of the virus,but also in infects host cell proliferation and apoptosis,as well as the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma.HBx trans-activation has a broad regulatory role in the virus itself and host genes.HBx,by interfering with multiple signaling pathways,affected a variety of biological characteristics of the host cell.

Objective To determine serum cytokine profiles and levels in patients with early diabetic retinopathy(DR)by using antibody array technology and analyze their clinical significances.Methods Among 32 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus,16 patients with mild to moderate non-proliferative DR were as DR group;and 16 patients without retinopathy,as diabetic control group.Eight healthy subjects were selected as normal control group.The profiles of 42 cytokines were detected by human cytokines antibody array(Raybiotech).Results Compared with diabetic control group,in DR group,levels of epithelial neutrophil-activating peptide-78(ENA-78),growth related gene(GRO),regulated upon activation normal T cell expressed and secreted(RANTES),angiogenin,vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)and platelet-derived growth factor(PDGF)increased significantly(P

Objective: To evaluate the clinical effect of acupuncture in managing thalamic pain syndrome. Methods: Eighty patients with thalamic pain syndrome were randomly allocated into two groups, with 40 cases in the treatment group receiving combined scalp and body acupuncture treatment and 40 cases in the control group receiving single body acupuncture treatment. The intervention was given for 28 d in total, and the effects were evaluated after 14-day and 28-day treatments. Results: The inner-group comparison of McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) showed significant differences after the treatment d 14 in both of the two groups (P<0.05), and after the treatment d 28, the differences were even more significant (P<0.01). After 28-day treatment, compared with pre-treatment, the Transcranial Doppler (TCD) test detected significant changes in the two groups (P<0.05). The total effective rate was 72.5% in the treatment group versus 47.5% in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). The 3-month follow-up study found the relapse rate was 0 in the treatment group and 15.8% in the control group, and the difference was significant (P<0.05). Conclusion: Acupuncture is effective in treating thalamic pain syndrome and combined scalp and body acupuncture can achieve even better results.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the correlation of the autophagy-associated gene Atg5 with the pathogenesis of prostate cancer.

METHODSUsing real-time fluorescent quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry, we detected the expression of Atg5 in 50 cases of prostate intraepithelial neoplasm (PIN), 69 cases of prostate cancer (PCa), and 30 cases of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

RESULTSThe expression level of Atg5 mRNA was significantly higher in PIN (5.270 ± 0.230) and PCa (5.131 ± 0.252) than in the BPH tissue (1.723 ± 0.017) (P <0.01), and so was the positive rate of the Atg5 expression in the patients of the PIN group (94%) and PCa group (88.4%) than in those of the BPH group (6.7%) (P<0.01), but with no statistically significant differences between the PIN and PCa groups (P >0.05). No significant correlation was observed between the expression of Atg5 and the Gleason score of PCa (P >0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe upregulated expression of Atg5 might play a role in the tumorigenesis of prostate cancer.

Aged ; Autophagy ; Autophagy-Related Protein 5 ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Male ; Microtubule-Associated Proteins ; genetics ; Middle Aged ; Prostatic Hyperplasia ; genetics ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; genetics ; RNA, Messenger ; metabolism ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; methods ; Up-Regulation

Objective To investigate the extracellular regulated protein kinases (ERKs) pathway of hepatitis B virus(HBV) X protein(HBx) on glomerular mesangial cell(GMC) proliferation of rat and tumor necrosis factor(TNF)-? expression.Methods The HBV X gene was amplified by polymerase chain reaction(PCR),inserted into the eukaryotic expression vector PCI-neo and confirmed by restrict endonuclease digestion and sequence analysis.PCI-neo contained HBV X gene (PCI-neo-X) was transfected into cultured GMC via liposome.GMC proliferation,TNF-? and its mRNA expression were investigated in the condition of with or without U0126 in the culture media.HBx,ERK1/2 and phosphorynated-ERK1/2 (p-ERK1/2) expression in GMC were assessed by Western blot.TNF-? mRNA expression was assessed by semi-quantitative reverse transcriptase-PCR (RT-PCR).TNF-? level in supernatants was measured by enzymelinked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).GMC proliferation was assessed by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium(MTT).Results HBx expression was found in transfected GMC,and became prominent at 36 and 48 hours after transfection whether with or without U0126 in culture media.TNF-? mRNA expression was significantly decreased in U0126 group compared with U0126-free group.TNF-? levels in supernatants in PCI-neo-X transfection without U0126 group were (189.0?18.1) ng/L at 36 hours and (172.3?24.3) ng/L at 48 hours after transfection,respectively.In contrast,TNF-? levels in supernatants with U0126 were (65.6?11.6) ng/L and (84.0?24.6) ng/L,respectively.The TNF-? le-vels in the latter groups were significantly lower than the formers (Pa

Objective: In order to solve the problem of moisture absorption for Biantong Capsule, the extract granule of Chinese medicine is covered with HPMC for Biantong Capsule. Methods: Taking moisture absorption rate as measure index, various facters effected the moisture absorption rate, and the optimal coating process can be selected with well disturbed uniform design and computer analog test. Results: Under the condition of 25℃, relative moisture 75% and 100% respectively, the moisture absorption rate is lower than uncovered granules, the critic relative moisture of covered granules is greater than that of uncovered granules. Conclusion: Chinese medicine of Biantong Capsule covered with HPCM can be served as a good anti moisture method.

Objective To explore the synergistic effectiveness of hyperthermia and chemotherapy in the treatment of advanced gastric cancer.Methods Eighty-nine patients with advanced gastric cancer were randomly assigned to a study group which received a CapeOx chemotherapy regimen supplemented with hyperthermia or to a control group which received only the CapeOx regimen.The regimen consisted of capecitabine (1000 mg/m2,bid,orally for 14 consecutive days) plus oxalipaltin (130 mg/m2) on day 1.The hyperthermia was at 43℃ for 60 min in the tumor area on day 1 and twice a week thereafter.One cycle was 21 days.After 2 treatment cycles,efficacy was evaluated according to RECIST standards,improvements in the quality of life were assessed according to Karnofsky's performance status (KPS) and the side-effects of therapy were recorded.Results The response rate was 68.9％ in the study group and 36.4％ in the control group,showing a significant difference between the groups after two treatment cycles.The median progress-free survival (PFS) was 8.3 months in the study group vs 5.2 months for the controls.The 1-year survival rate was 66.4％ vs 45.5％ and the rate of improvement in KPS was 77.8％ vs 45.5％.All these differences were statistically significant.The common adverse effects were gastrointestinal toxicity,marrow depression and peripheral nerve abnormalities,but these adverse effects were all mild and similar in the two groups.Conclusion Hyperthermia when combined with the CapeOx chemotherapy regimen might improve the therapeutic effect in advanced gastric cancer without obviously increasing the adverse effects.

[ Objective ] To investigate the decisive factor of syndrome differentiation of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) , so as to provide its experimental evidence. [Methods] Serum levels of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) and soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1) in SLE patients with yin deficiency of the liver and kidney (group B) and with excessive toxic heat (group C) were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) . Serum levels of sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1 in SLE patients were compared with those in healthy volunteers (group A). Relationship of serum C-reaction protein (CRP), complement 3 ( C3) and complement 4 (C4) with sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1 as well as relationship between sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1 in SLE patients were observed. [ Results ] Serum levels of sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1 in groups B and C were higher than those of group A ( P