AIM To develop an HPLC method for the simultaneous content determination of berberine hydrochloride,jatrorrhizine hydrochloride,palmatine hydrochloride,kaempferol,luteolin and apigenin in Qingre Zhili Pills (Berberidis Radix and Portulacae Herba).METHODS The analysis of methanol extract of this drug was performed on a 35 ℃ thermostatic Agilent TC-C18 column (4.6 mm × 250 mm,5 μm),with the mobile phase comprising of acetonitrile-0.02％ potassium dihydrogen phosphate flowing at 0.9 mL/min in a gradient elution manner,and the detection wavelengths were set at 265 nm and 360 nm.RESULTS Six constituents showed good linear relationships within their own ranges (r≥0.999 3),whose average recoveries were 97.16％-99.90％ with the RSDs of 0.62％-1.48％.CONCLUSION This simple method can be used for the rapid quality control of Qingre Zhili Pills.

Objective To investigate the intervention of Chinese herb Shengjiang San(SJS)for the imbal-ances of serum Th1/Th2 cells and related regulatory factors in sepsis patients. Methods Fifty-five sepsis patients were randomly divided into two groups:conventional treatment group of 27 cases and SJS group of 28 cases. Nine cases of healthy volunteers were enrolled as control group in the study. Cases of conventional group were treated with western medicine only and cases of SJS group were treated with both western medicine and Chinese herb SJS (100 mL twice one day). The therapy course of both groups was 3 days. Score of Chinese medical syndromes ,se-rum level of leukocyte count,C reactive protein(CRP)and procalcitonin(PCT),serum T-bet,GATA-3,Th1&Th2 cells in the proportion of whole CD4+Th cells and Th1/Th2 ratio were compared respectively in each group be-fore and after treatment. Results There were significant differences between SJS group and conventional group in score of Chinese medical syndromes,serum level of leukocyte count,T-bet,GATA-3,Th1&Th2 cells in the pro-portion of whole CD4+Th cells and Th1/Th2 ratio(P<0.05 or P<0.01). There were no significant differences be-tween the two groups in serum level of CRP,PCT and GATA3. Compared with control group,there were signifi-cant differences in all indicators except GATA3 of the two groups(P<0.01). Conclusion Chinese herb Shengji-ang San has an effective benefits to Chinese medical syndromes,inflammatory reaction,the imbalance of serum Th1/T2 and related regulatory factors(T-bet&GATA-3)in sepsis patients.

One endophytic stain SS02 was isolated from the underground stems of Paris polyphylla var. Chinensis franch. The ferments of SS02 showed antibiosis activities against 13 kinds of the crop causes germs. The characteristics of morphology,physiological and biochemical showed that SS02 belonged to Bacillus sp. The 16S rDNA of SS02 was PCR and sequenced. The accession of GenBank is AY842144. The one 16S rDNA phylogenetic tree was constructed by comparing with the published 16S rDNA sequences of the relative bacteria species. In the phylogenetic tree SS02 and Paenibacillus daejeonensis was the closest relative with 97.7% sequence similarity. According to the phylogenetic analysis it was identified as Paenibacillus daejeonensis SS02.

HER2, a member of epidermal growth factor receptor family proteins, is overexpressed in about 30% of human breast cancer. Increased levels of HER2 are associated with poor patient prognosis and enhanced metastasis. RNA interference (RNAi) is developed recently as a new technique which can inhibit gene expression specifically in mammalian cells. On the basis of previous study,in which two target sequences with favorable RNAi effect on HER2 were identified, a series of dual promoter siRNA-expressing vectors containing two opposing U6 and H1 promoters were constructed. After transfection of HER2-overexpressing SKBR3 breast cancer cells with the siRNA-expressing vectors, downregulation of HER2 was identified quantitatively. Subsequently, the siRNA-expressing cassettes were subcloned into lentiviral vectors by LR recombination reaction and lentivirus was prepared successfully. The results from infection of SKBR3 cells with siRNA-expressing lentivirus demonstrated that lentiviral-mediated RNAi could downregulate HER2 expression efficiently through fluorescent quantitative PCR (FQ-PCR), western blot, and FACS analysis. Furthermore, cell growth was inhibited in cell proliferation assay after treatment with siRNA lentivirus.A new tool for clarifying the function of HER2 in cancer metastasis and developing the gene therapy drug was offered.

Objective To summarize adverse reactions of common traditional Chinese medicine injection for the treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases,and put forward the countermeasures.Methods Adverse reactions of common traditional Chinese medicine injection for the treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases were arranged,and the reasons were analyzed.Results Adverse reactions were mainly skin and cardiovascular system diseases and so on,and were related with the quality of medicinal material,preparation process,and so on.Conclusion We should strengthen every link of production,from the medicinal plant to clinical use,improve the quality of traditional Chinese medicine injection,and strengthen the supervision to reduce the incidence of adverse reactions and ensure drug safety.

Objective To assess the value of procalcitonin(PCT)measurement to differentiate infection from non-infection in critically ill patients requiring long-term immunosuppressive therapy.Methods A prospective study was conducted in patients with underlying diseases requiring corticosteroids or chemotherapy in ICU from January 2008 to December 2009.Patients were divided into the infection group and the non-infection group and their PCT levels were compared.Results A total of 103 patients (65 women)were enrolled in this prospective study[aged(47.9 ± 21.9)years old]with 84 in the infection group and 19 in the non-infection group.The baseline level of PCT was significantly higher in infection than in non-infection patients[2.58(0.08-44.65)pg/L vs 0.62(0.15-6.00)pg/L,P =0.002].Different levels of PCT were manifested in different pathogen groups with 3.41(0.45-44.65)pg/L in bacteria infection,0.99(0.28-6.67)pg/L in fungus infection,0.11(0.08-0.20)pg/L in virus infection group(P =0.018).The AUCROC of PCT was 0.867 for diagnostic bacterial infection.By multivariate analysis,the factors associated with the level of PCT were bacteria infection(OR 5.1,P =0.031)and septic shock(OR 7.5,P =0.027),while the factors not associated with the level of PCT were age,renal function,infection site and prognosis(P ＞ 0.05).Conclusions The level of PCT is increased in the critically ill patients requiring immunosuppressive therapy with infection and it can be used for diagnosis for bacterial infection.

Objective To assess the role of the different pancreatic islet β cell function index in the evaluation of glucose metabolism in different duration of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).Methods Normal glucose tolerance subjects without diabetes family history (NC group,48 cases) and T2DM patients (182 cases) were enrolled.The T2DM patients were divided into three groups:less than 5 years group (DM ＜5 group,74 cases),5-10 years group (DM5-10 group,51 cases) and more than 10 years group ( DM ＞10 group,57 cases).Oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and insulin release test were taken in all groups.Insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR) and whole body insulin sensitivity index [ISI(Matsuda)] were used to estimate insulin sensitivity,and early insulin secretion index ( △ I30/ △ G30) and glucose disposition index (DI) were used to evaluate the function of pancreatic islet β cell.Results HOMA-IR was increased and ISI (Matsuda) was decreased in DM ＜5 group,DM5-10 group and DM ＞10 group compared with those in NC group [HOMA-IR:8.78 ± 7.12,8.08 ± 3.67,7.84 ± 5.08 vs.4.76 ± 3.43;ISI(Matsuda):46.78 ± 29.00,36.71 ± 16.67,38.86 ±21.72 vs.61.13 ± 32.08,P ＜ 0.05],however,there was no significant difference among DM ＜5 group,DM5-10 group and DM ＞10 group.△ I30/ △ G30 and DI were decreased in DM ＜5 group,DM5-10 group and DM ＞10 group compared with those in NC group [ △ I30 △ G30:( 68.41 ± 361.52 ),(4.31 ± 3.42 ),(7.70 ± 5.78 ) mU/mmol vs.(92.65 ± 309.29) mU/mmol;DI:0.0421 ± 0.0123,0.0412 ± 0.0123,0.0363 ± 0.0116 vs.0.1151 ± 0.0236,P ＜ 0.05 ],and there was no significant difference in △ I30 / △ G30 among DM ＜5 group,DM5-10 group and DM ＞10 group,however,DI was decreased in DM＞10 group compared with that in DM＜5 group and DM5-10 group (P＜0.05).ConclusionsHOMA-IR,ISI (Matsuda),△I30/△G30 are not sensitive to evaluate the insulin resistance of different duration.DI can reflect the glucose utilization of pancreatic islet β cell earlier and the ability to regulate blood sugar steady state changes.

ObjectiveTo explore the correlation between IL-6-634C/G gene promoter polymorphism and body mass index (BMI),blood sugar (BS),25-hydroxy vitamin D (25-OH-D),and serum lipid levels by investigating in 8-12-year-old Han children in Shanxi province,China.MethodsIn Datong city of Shanxi province,214 8-12-year-old children were enrolled after obtaining informed consent from their parents.The weight and height were measured and the BMI was calculated.BS,serum lipids,and 25-OH-D were determined.IL-6-634C/G polymorphism were detected by polymerase chain reaction restricted fragment length polymorphism.The effects of genotype on BMI,BS,serum lipids,and 25-OH-D were also studied.ResultsThe genotypes of IL-6-634C/G polymorphism in 214 cases were GG ( 15％ ),GC (40％),and CC (45％).The percentages of C and G allele frequencies were 65％ and35％.The genotypes and allele frequencies showed no gender differences ( P ＞ 0.05 ).However,significantly different GG genotypes frequencies were found between overweight and obese children (38.3％) and other children ( normal weight children: 7.3％ ; thin children: 10.9％ ) (x2 =14.715,P =0.006).Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that IL-6-634C/G polymorphisms and triglyceride were correlated with overweight and obesity (P ＜ 0.05 ).25-OH-D was not correlated with BMI (r =0.075,P =0.528),BS ( r =0.018,P =0.880 ),triglyceride ( r =- 0.097,P =0.417 ),high density lipoprotein cholesterin ( r =0.038,P =0.751 ),and low density lipoprotein cholesterin ( r =- 0.028,P =0.817 ).25-OH-D was not significantly different between overweight and obesity children.The distribution of three genotypes showed no correlation with 25-OH-D deficiency (x2 =0.622,P =0.733 ).ConclusionsIL-6-634C/G polymorphism exists in Han children in Shanxi province.IL-6 gene 634 GG genetype is a risk factor of childhood overweight and obesity,and may affect lipid metabolism.However,it has no direct impact on glucose metabolism.IL-6 gene 634C/G polymorphism and serum 25-OH-D are not relevant.IL-6 gene 634C/G polymorphism is not related to vitamin D deficiency diseases,and may be not related to bone calcium metabolism.25-OH-D is not relevant with BS and blood lipids level,and also is not associated with childhood overweight and obesity.

OBJECTIVE:To investigate the medication safety status of Chinese patent medicines and related influence factors for residents in Guangdong province,and provide reference for better guarantee of medication safety for residents. METHODS:Questionnaires were randomly sent out among the residents in 3 cities of Guangdong province. The cognition,utilization habit and safety awareness,the ways to get the related information of Chinese patent medicines and purchase way were surveyed and ana-lyzed statistically. RESULTS:Totally 530 questionnaires were sent out and 514 valid questionnaires were collected with effective re-covery of 96.98%. There are 64.01% of respondents didn’t know the composition of Chinese patent medicines;50.39% didn’t know the contraindications of Chinese patent medicines;48.44% didn’t know the adverse drug reactions of Chinese patent medi-cines that they were using;23.47% had once broken the tablets when took them;65.18% didn’t know that the old people had less dosage than teenagers and 44.75% didn’t know that Chinese patent medicines couldn’t be taken with some western medicines. There were many ways to get the related information of Chinese patent medicines and purchase them,and the main sources were from doctors and pharmacists in drug stores;90.08% had purchased Chinese patent medicines in drug stores. CONCLUSIONS:During daily medication of Chinese patent medicines,the biggest problem for residents is that the weak awareness of medication safety,unreasonable medication behavior and habit caused by lack of related knowledge of medication safety,which may cause safety risks or happen medication safety problems. Therefore,the residents’education of self-medical knowledge should be intensi-fied,the management of prescription in drug stores should be enhanced,pharmaceutical service function of pharmacists should be played,supervision management of drug advertisement should be strengthened and the contents in drug instructions should be regu-lated.

BACKGROUNDThe human metapneumovirus (hMPV) is a newly discovered respiratory viral pathogen that was first isolated in 2001 in the Netherlands. Its global distribution and long history of infection in humans have been well documented. In this study, we assessed the seropositivity of hMPV IgG antibodies in children in Chongqing, China.

METHODSThe specificity of the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was first validated by using respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infected, antigen subtracted reference serum and by performing western blotting using anti-hMPV animal serum. This assay was used to determine the presence of the IgG antibody against hMPV and RSV in 325 serum samples obtained from children aged 0 - 6 years.

RESULTSNo crossreaction was detected by ELISA between the antibodies to hMPV and RSV. The seropositivity of the anti-hMPV IgG antibody was 74.5% in children aged 0 to 5 months, 64.0% in 6 to 11 months, 72.7% in 12 to 23 months, 87.1% in 24 to 35 months and 90.3% in 3 to 6 years.

CONCLUSIONShMPV is a common and significant respiratory pathogen in Chinese children. Almost all individuals are exposed to hMPV by age 6 years.

Animals ; Antibodies, Viral ; blood ; Blotting, Western ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; epidemiology ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Metapneumovirus ; immunology ; Paramyxoviridae Infections ; epidemiology ; Rabbits ; Respiratory Syncytial Viruses ; immunology ; Seroepidemiologic Studies