Recent studies have demonstrated that bitter taste receptors are distributed not only in oral cavity but also in non-gustatory systems,such as the respiratory,digestive,reproductive and cardiovascular systems.The physiological role of bitter taste receptors is to recognize bitter substances or bacterial secretions,to trigger the immune response and to maintain the internal environmental homeosta-sis.In addition,oral bitter taste receptors are expressed not only in taste buds,perceiving bitter taste,but also in many other parts of periodontal tissues,which is the potential treatment target for oral infectious diseases.This review summarized the expression and distri-bution of oral bitter taste receptors which was off the taste buds and their roles in regulating oral inflammation and oral bacteria,dis-cussed the effects of genetic polymorphism of bitter taste receptor 38 subtype(TAS2R38)on innate immunity and its relationship with the susceptibility of dental caries and periodontal,aimed to provide novel ideas for the better prevention and treatment of dental caries and periodontal diseases.

Objective To investigate the effect of microRNA-223(miR-223)on prostate cancer cell damage by regulating the Kelch-like epichlorohydrin related protein 1(Keap1)/nuclear factor E2 related factor 2(Nrf2)/antioxidant response element(ARE)signaling pathway.Methods The prostate cancer cell line PC3 was cultured and randomly divided into control,down-regulated miR-223,and up-regulated miR-223 groups.Changes in miR-223 expression,cell proliferation rate,cell migration number,cell invasion number,apoptosis rate,and expression level of Keap1/Nrf2/ARE signaling pathway were explored.Results Compared with the control group,the cell invasion number,cell migration number,cell proliferation rate,Nrf2 and ARE expression increased at 24,48 and 72 h in down-regulated miR-223 group,while the expressions of miR-223,Keap1 and apoptosis rate decreased(P<0.05).Compared with the down-regulated miR-223 group,24,48 and 72 h cell proliferation rate,cell invasion number,cell migration number,ARE and Nrf2 expression decreased in the up-regulated miR-223 group,while miR-223,apoptosis rate and Keap1 expression increased(P<0.05).Conclusion Regulation of miR-223 effectively ameliorates prostate cell injury,and the mechanism may be related to the Keap1/Nrf2/ARE signaling pathway.

Objective To explore the expression and significance of miR-21 in patients with primary gout. Methods The patients were divided into 4 groups: 35 acute gout patients (AG), 50 intermittent gout patients (IG), 25 chronic gout patients (CG) and 39 healthy patients. Their peripheral blood were collected and laboratory indexes were recorded. The expression of miR-21 and Nod-like receptor pyrin domain-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) mRNA in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) was detected by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). The blood and clinical data of another 5 healthy volunteers were collected, their peripheral blood was stimulated with 100 μg/ml monosodium urate (MSU) for 1 hour, pho-sphate buffer (PBS) was used as controls, then the expression of microRNA (miR)-21, NLRP3, interleukin (IL)-1β mRNA was detected by RT-qPCR. Rank sum test and spearman correlation analysis were used for data analysis. Results In primary gout patients, the expression of miR-21 in AG [12 ×10-4 (8.0 ×10-4)], IG [9.4 ×10-4 (6.9 ×10-4)], CG [7.3 ×10-4 (5.6 ×10-4)] was significantly higher than that in healthy control group [1.0×10-4(2.0×10-4)] (Z=9.83, P=0.02], while the expression of NLRP3 in AG[0.0444(0.0233)], IG[0.0581(0.0326)], CG[0.0314(0.0198)] was significantly lower than that in healthy control group [0.0886(0.0359)] (Z=13.82, P<0.01). In the primary gout of IG group, the expression of miR-21 was positively correlated with NLRP3 mRNA (r=0.449, P=0.016). After stimulated by 100 μg/ml MSU, the expression of miR-21 of the stimulated group [8.78×10-4(14×10-4)] was higher than that in the control group [6.25×10-4(6×10-4)](Z=-2.203, P<0.05), and the expression of IL-1βin stimulated group [3.06(2.00)] was higher than that in the control group [2.64 (1.22] (Z=-2.203, P<0.05). The level of miR-21 in patients with primary gout was positively correlated with the level of uric acid (UA), glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (AST) and glutamic pyruvic transaminase (ALT) (r=0.473, 0.639, 0.487, P<0.05). Conclusion The increase of miR-21 in patients with primary gout may be involved in the inflammatory reaction of gout.

Objective To investigate the demographic characteristics, clinical features, diagnosis and treatment of patients with gout in China.Methods Clinical data of 6 814 patients with gout from 100 hospitals in 27 provinces, municipalities or autonomous regions in China were collected and analyzed. Results (1)The ratio of male to female in patients with gout was 14.7:1.The mean age of onset was(48.8 ± 15.1)years old.Mean serum urate level was(526.7 ± 132.3)μmol/L.Patients'education background was of U-shaped distribution; (2) Hypertension was the most common comorbidity [15.8%(1 079/6 814)], then overweight or obesity[51.9%(3 536/6 814)];(3)Alcohol and high-purine food intake were dominant triggering factors in men. The diagnosis of gout was made after onset in majority of patients with cardinal symptom arthralgia.Most patients had the disease less than 5 years,and the longer the course,the more flares in the previous year of entry;(4)Febuxostat was the mostly used urate-lowering medication.20.7%(1 412/6 814), 10.8%(739/6 814) and 3.9%(265/6 814) of patients were followed up in 4 weeks, 12 weeks and 24 weeks after registration,and 18.9%(267/1 412),29.1%(215/739)and 38.1%(101/265)of them reached the control target of serum urate levels,respectively.After treatment,patients'liver function was not affected,but serum creatinine levels decreased significantly. Conclusions The proportion of gout patients who reach target serum urate level is very low.Further steps including education and survey need to be carried on.

By using(S)-MonoPHOS and ［Rh(COD)2］BF4 as catalyst, the asymmetric hydrogenation reactions of methyl-2-acylamino-3-arylacrylate and the effect of different amino protective groups on hydrogenation efficacy were studied. The products resulting from asymmetric hydrogenation were hydrolyzed by hydrochloric acid, and the corresponding amino acids were obtained at yields of 63%- 92%.

Objective To compare the effects of two head holders on the setup errors during head and neck neoplasms radiotherapy.Methods Totally 30 patients were divided into groups A and B randomly and equally.Group A applied TypeSTM Extension for setup,and group B used Type-S Overlay Board,with thermoplastic film applied to fixation.Varian23IX image guided linear accelerator was involved in the therapy,and the patients underwent CBCT-guided therapy once a week in 6 weeks.The setup errors at left-right,head-foot and anterior-posterior directions were obtained by bone registration and manual checking.Results The absolute setup error at anterior-posterior direction of group A,was (2.31 ± 1.35) mm,which was significantly higher than (1.88±1.79) mm of group B (P=0.032).There were no obvious differences between the setup errors of group A and those of group B (P＞0.05),and the weekly absolute errors of group A were not statistically different from those of group B (P＞0.05).Conclusion There are no significant differences between the effects of the two head holders on the setup errors during head and neck neoplasms radiotherapy,and proper head holder can be selected according to clinical requirements.

Objective To explore the effect of paracrine extracts derived from human adipose stem cells on white matter injury of neonatal rats and to compare the difference of therapeutive effect between the cerebellum medulla oblongata pool injection and the jugular vein injection.Method A total of 73 three-day-old SD rats were chosen to establish the model of white mater injury.After 24 hours,the 73 rats were randomized into the experimental group (n =46) and the control group (n =27).Then the experimental group was reclassified into ventricular group (n =23) and intravenous group (n =23).In the ventricular group,the paracrine extracts of human adipose stem cells was injected locally into the cerebellum medulla oblongata pool injection,while the extracts was injected into the jugular vein in the intravenous group.The control group was reclassified ventricular control group (n =15) and intravenous control group (n =12),and equivoluminal saline was injected the same way as the experimental group.Frozen sections of the brain tissue from 3 rats of each experimental group one day after injection were stained with fluorescein-conjugated streptavidin to study the distribution of the extracts.The brain tissue of 3 rats from each subgroup 3 days after injection were stained with hematoxylin eosin (HE) to observe the pathomorphological changes.While 7 days later,myelin basic protein (MBP) of white matter which was obtained from 7 rats of each group was detected by immunofluorescence staining.28 days after injection,the remaining rats were assessed by neurobehavior tests.For the rats that died during the experiment,the same number of the rats would be substituted in this study.Result The paracrine extracts were found to transfer to the brain lesion area,and the amount of the extracts was more in the ventricular group.The results of the HE staining showed that the white matter injury was more severe in the ventricular control group,and extensive area of infarction were found in this group.White matter injury was mild in the experimental group,and the structure of the corpus callosum was more complete in the ventricular group.MBP semi-quantitative scores of the ventricular group (0.7 ± 0.3) and intravenous group (1.7 ± 0.3) were lower than those of ventricular control group (3.4 ± 0.4)and intravenous control group(3.3 ±0.3).And the MBP scores of ventricular group was significantly lower than that of intravenous group (P ＜ 0.05).The scores of the neurobehavioral tests of the experimental group were significantly higher than those of the control group,while the scores of the ventricular group were significantly higher than those of the intravenous group (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion The paracrine extracts derived from adipose stem cells could improve the prognosis of white matter injury,and cerebellum medulla oblongata pool injection showed better curative effect than the jugular vein injection.

Objective To detect the serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interferengamma (IFN-γ) in brucellosis patients and to study the Th1 immune response in acute and chronic patients.Method Serum levels of TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma of 110 brucellosis patients,including 58 acute brucellosis patients and 52 chronic brucellosis patients,were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) from 2014 to 2015 in Zhangjiakou Infectious Disease Hospital.Results The serum levels of TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma of 58 acute brucellosis patients were (38.2± 3.6) pg/L and (31.3 ± 3.7) ng/L,respectively;the serum levels of TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma of 52 chronic brucellosis patients were (12.4 ± 2.6) pg/L and (8.8 ± 3.4) ng/L,respectively.The differences were statistically significant between acute and chronic patients (t =43.216,33.809,all P ＜ 0.05).The early cure rate,early base cure rate,improvement rate and inefficiency rate were 36.2％ (21/58),32.7％ (19/58),25.9％ (15/58)and 5.2％ (3/58),respectively in acute patients.Inversely,they were 17.3％ (9/52),13.5％ (7/52),15.4％ (8/52)and 53.8％ (28/52),respectively in chronic patients.The therapeutic effect was better in acutepatients than chronic patients (x2 =4.937,5.657,all P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion It seems that acute brucellosis patients have a higher serum levels of TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma and a better prognosis due to effective Th1 immune response,and chronic brucellosis patients are associated with poor outcome due to deficiency of Th1 immune response.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of cerebral hemodynamic changes on white matter damage in premature infant with patent ductus arteriosus(PDA). METHODS: A total of 106 premature infants were enrolled in the study, including 35 PDA infants with hemodynamic changes (hsPDA group), 35 PDA infants without hemodynamic changes (non-hsPDA group) and 36 non-PDA infants (control group). Serum level of neuron-specific enolase (NES) was detected and craniocerebral ultrasound examination was performed on d3, d7 and d14 after birth. The correlation between blood flow rate of PDA and gray scale value of lateral ventricle was analyzed. RESULTS: Gray scale values of lateral ventricle and serum levels of NES in hsPDA group were higher than those in control group on d3, d7 and d14 (P<0.01), but no significant difference was observed between non-hsPDA group and control group (P>0.05). There was a positive correlation between the blood flow rate of PDA and gray scale value of lateral ventricle (r=0.876, P<0.01) in premature infants. CONCLUSION Patent ductus arteriosus with hemodynamic changes is closely related to white matter damage in premature infants, and early intervention is necessary.
Ductus Arteriosus, Patent ; complications ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature ; Ultrasonography ; White Matter ; pathology

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the feasibility of integrating cancer gene therapy with therapeutic effect evaluation using siRNA-loaded nano-scale microbubbles (siRNA-NBs).

METHODSsiRNA-NBs were prepared by hetero-assembly of polymeric siRNA micelles and liposomal microbubbles, and the particle sizes and surface potentials were examined with dynamic light scattering. The distributions of cy3-labled siRNA in the tumor tissues were evaluated using confocal laser scanning microscopy. A siRNA targeting the anti-apoptosis gene SIRT2 was designed and its gene silencing effects was tested in vivo using siRNA-NBs with ultrasound exposure. The therapeutic effect of the loaded siRNA-NBs was evaluated by contrast-enhanced ultrasonography.

RESULTSThe siRNA-NBs had a mean diameter of 400.7 ± 30.5 nm with a weak positive charge of +8.8 ± 0.8 mV. With ultrasound exposure, siRNA-NBs effectively delivered cy3-siRNA into the cytoplasm of cancer cells and caused SIRT2 suppression and cell apoptosis in tumor tissues, resulting in significantly suppressed tumor growth. In addition, contrast-enhanced ultrasonography of siRNA-NBs provided good imaging quality to allow real-time observation of blood supply during gene therapy.

CONCLUSIONSAs a novel ultrasound contrast agent, siRNA-NBs make possible the integration of tumor gene therapy and therapeutic effect evaluation for cancer.

Apoptosis ; Contrast Media ; Gene Silencing ; Genetic Therapy ; Humans ; Liposomes ; Micelles ; Microbubbles ; Neoplasms ; therapy ; Particle Size ; Polymers ; RNA, Small Interfering ; Sirtuin 2 ; genetics ; Ultrasonics