Objective:To investigate the efficacy of miR-7 antagomir in treatment of MRL/lpr mice.Methods:Thirty MRL/lpr mice were selected and randomly divided into miR-7 antagomir group,CTX group and Saline control group,with 10 mice in each group.MRL/lpr mice were treated at 13 weeks,and the above drugs were administered continuously for 5 weeks.General condition of the mice in each group was observed weekly and weighed,and serum and urine samples were collected.Serum ANA,anti-ds-DNA an-tibody and C3 levels of mice in the 13～17 weeks of three groups were detected by ELISA,and urinary protein level of mice in the above three groups were detected at every week.Changes in proportion of Tfh cells in the three groups of mice were detected by flow cytometry.RT-PCR was used to detect expression levels of miR-7 and PTEN mRNA in spleen and lymph nodes of three groups of mice.Pathological conditions of kidneys of three groups of mice were observed under light microscope by HE,PAS,PASM staining.Results:After 5 weeks of treatment,in terms of gross morphology:Compared with Saline group,mice in miR-7 antagomir group and CTX group were in good general condition,and their body weight were increased with the increased age.In terms of serology:Serum ANA and anti-ds-DNA antibody of miR-7 antagomir group and CTX group were significantly lower than those of Saline group,while level of complement C3 was significantly increased,there was no statistical difference in the above indicators between the two treatment groups.In terms of cytology:Proportion of Tfh cells in spleen of mice in miR-7 antagomir group was significantly lower than that in Saline group.Compared with Saline group,expression level of miR-7 in spleen B cells of mice in miR-7 antagomir group was decreased,while expression level of PTEN mRNA was increased.In addition,pathological changes of kidneys of mice in miR-7 antagomir group and CTX group were improved compared with Saline group,there was no significant difference in pathological changes of kidneys between the two groups.Conclusion:miR-7 can be used as a potential target for treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus,miR-7 antagomir can show similar therapeutic effects as the classical immunosuppressant CTX,effectively improve the lupus-like disease manifestations in MRL/lpr mice and delay the progression of the disease.

Introduction: There is a high burden of tuberculosis (TB) in the Western Province, Papua New Guinea. This study aims to describe the spatial distribution of TB in the Balimo District Hospital (BDH) catchment area to identify TB patient clusters and factors associated with high rates of TB. Methods: Information about TB patients was obtained from the BDH TB patient register for the period 26 April 2013 to 25 February 2017. The locations of TB patients were mapped, and the spatial scan statistic was used to identify high- and low-rate TB clusters in the BDH catchment area. Results: A total of 1568 patients were mapped with most being from the Balimo Urban (n = 252), Gogodala Rural (n = 1010) and Bamu Rural (n = 295) local level government (LLG) areas. In the Gogodala region (Balimo Urban and Gogodala Rural LLGs), high-rate clusters occurred closer to the town of Balimo, while low-rate clusters were located in more remote regions. In addition, closer proximity to Balimo was a predictor of high-rate clustering. Discussion There is heterogeneity in the distribution of TB in the Balimo region. Active case-finding activities indicated potential underdiagnosis of TB and the possibility of associated missed diagnoses of TB. The large BDH catchment area emphasizes the importance of the hospital in managing TB in this rural region.

Objective Amifostine (WR-2721) is the first FDA-approved cyto-protective agent, which is prescribed to reduce certain side-effects during chemotherapy of ovarian , non-small cell lung cancer , and in the radiation treatment for head-and-neck cancer patients.However, due to the fact that intravenous infusion of the drug was the main route of medication and assimilation was low if taken orally , its wide application was therefore affected clinically .For this reason , we intended to develop biodegradable enteric micro-capsules of WR-2721 for oral delivery , so as to improve the bioavailability of the drug .Methods The preparation of the microcapsule was made by using the high-molecular and biodegradable Eudragit L 100-55 as its capsule material and by the spray drying technique . The diameter, shape, particle size distribution and yield rate of the capsules were measured by transversal distribution measurement of laser light scattering pattern in medium particle diameter .High performance liquid chromatography ( HPLC) was used to detect in vitro release of the drug and the drug amount remaining in the microcapsule at a specific sampling time .One hour after medication , radio-protective efficacy of the new drug formulation was determined by 30-day mice survival rate with whole-body exposure to 6Gy.Results The diameter of 90%microcapsules of the 3 batches was (2.8 ±0.24) μm.The shape of the microcapsule was spherical with a smooth surface, and the yield rate was 80%.In vitro release rate in 24 h was respectively [(95.35 ±2.13)%] at 37℃ and [(89.68 ± 3畅17 )%] at 4℃, with the release rate at 37℃being higher than that at 4℃.The 30-day survival rate for the WR-2721 microcapsule group was 80%, the rate for the WR-2721 oral group was 50%, the rate for the radiation group was 0%, and the rates for the blank control group and the abdominal injection group were as high as 100%.Conclusion As compared with the oral WR-2721 group, the WR-2721 microcapsule had significant radio-protective effect .

Objective To observe the distribution and imaging of radiolabelled arginine-glycineaspartic(RGD)peptide(99Tcm-3P4-RGD2)in collagen-induced arthritis(CIA),and to investigate the possibility of new markers for monitoring the angiogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis(RA)before and after treatment by single photon emission computed tomography(SPECT)labelled with 99Tcm-3P4-RGD2.Methods Type Ⅱ chicken collagen was injected into the tails of Wistar rats to establish arthritis models.The CIA-Wistar rats were randomly divided into three group:the Avastin group,the recombinant human tumor necrosis factor-α receptor Ⅱ group,and the blank control group.The changes of the arthritis index,joint pad thickness and radiological of T/NT before and after treatment were observed.The level of vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)in the serum was measured by enzyme-linked immuno sorbent assay(ELISA).The back metapedes pathological section was analyzed by Hematoxylin and Eosin stain(HE)and Safranin O stain as well as arthritic pathology index was also scored.The synovial expression level of VEGF was measured by immuno-histochemistry.The stain level of VEGF was assayed by semiquantitative approach.T test was applied for the comparison of two intergroup samples.Results Abnormal radioactive concentration appeared in the arthritis of the CIA-Wistar rats(1.40±0.17,1.32±0.20,1.30±0.08,P＜0.05).Through the treatment of Avastin and recombinant human tumor necrosis factor-α receptor Ⅱ,the radiological of T/NT decreased significantly(0.43±0.14,0.40±0.12,t=17.710,16.812,P＜0.05).After the treatment with Avastin and recombinant human tumor necrosis factor-α receptor Ⅱ,the severity of synovial pannus,joint pad thickness,arthritis index and the expression of VEGF were all decreased.The radiological of T/NT was positively correlated with the indices mentioned above(r=0.753,0.800,0.892,all P＜0.01 respectively with the the rhTNFR:Fc group)(r=0.701,P=0.001;r=0.502,P=0.024;r=0.481,P=0.032 individually with the rhTNFR:Fc group).Conclusion When 99Tcm-3P4-RGD2 is injected through the tail vein of Wistar rats,it can show the pathological changes of arthritis clearly.99Tcm-3P4-RGD2may be the new eikonogen to monitor the angiogenesis of RA before and after treatment.