BACKGROUND: Recently, T-helper 17 (Th17) cells have been proved to play an important role in promoting cervical cancer. But, till now, few study has been carried out to understand the involvement of these cells in efficacy of anti-tumor treatments. This study aimed to investigate the alterations in the percentage of circulating Th17 cells and related cytokines in locally advanced cervical cancer (LACC) patients before and after concurrent chemoradiotherapy (cCRT) and to analyze the correlations between the alterations in Th17 cells and treatment efficacy. METHODS: A prospective study with 49 LACC (International federation of gynecology and obstetrics [FIGO] stage IIB-IIIB) patients and 23 controls was conducted. Patients received the same cCRT schedule and were followed up for 3 years. Circulating Th17 cells (CD3+CD8- interleukin [IL]-17+ T cells) and related cytokines IL-17, transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), IL-10, IL-23, IL-6, and IL-22 were detected before and after cCRT. Correlations between alterations of circulating Th17 cells and treatment efficacy were analyzed. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used for overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). RESULTS: We found that 40 patients finished the entire cCRT schedule and met the endpoint of this study. The percentage of circulating Th17 cells in the LACC patients was higher than that in the controls, and it significantly decreased after cCRT (P < 0.05). After cCRT, patients were divided into two groups based on the average of the Th17 cells declined. The subgroup of patients with a prominent decrease in circulating Th17 cells after cCRT had a higher treatment efficacy and longer PFS and OS times. Compared with the control patients, LACC patients had higher IL-6, IL-10, IL-22, TGF-β levels and a lower IL-23 level (P < 0.05). After cCRT, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17, IL-23 level significantly increased and TGF-β level significantly decreased compared with the levels before cCRT (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION Circulating Th17 cells in the LACC patients (FIGO stage IIB-IIIB) were higher than those in the controls, but they generally decreased after cCRT. A more pronounced decrease in circulating Th17 cells after cCRT was correlated with better therapeutic effect and longer PFS and OS times.
Chemoradiotherapy ; Disease-Free Survival ; Female ; Humans ; Neoplasm Staging ; Prospective Studies ; Retrospective Studies ; Th17 Cells ; Treatment Outcome ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/therapy*

According to the procedures for the development of evidence-based medicine guidelines, a multi-disciplinary guideline development working group was established, after three rounds of discussions by the consensus expert group, a new evidencebased guideline for diagnosis and treatment of senile osteoporosis in China(2018) was developed. The grading of recommendations assessment, development and evaluation(GRADE) system was used to rate the quality of evidence and the strength of recommendations. Recommendations were derived from evidence body, and at the same time considered the balance of benefits and harms as well as values and preferences of Chinese patients. The guideline development working group developed 15 recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of senile osteoporosis. The guideline covered the screening for senile osteoporosis, risk assessment, diagnosis, basic treatment, multiple anti-osteoporosis drugs, therapeutic effect monitoring and evaluation of senile osteoporosis. This guideline aims to serve as a tool for clinicians and patients for best decisions-making in China.

In order to explore endophytes diversity and difference in Dendrobium huoshanense,in this paper,the metagenomics method was used to analyze the endophytic bacteria and fungi community of 5 groups include 30 samples in different growth years. The results indicate that 3 540 bacterial OTUs were identified from D. huoshanense,and there are 138 OTUs in 5 groups simultaneously;2 168 fungal OTUs were identified,and 143 OTUs exist in 5 groups simultaneously. The dominate endophytic bacteria community are Sphingomonas sp.,Acinetobacter sp.,Burkholderia sp.,Methylobacterium sp.,Enterococcus sp.,Bacillus sp.,the difference endophytic bacteria community are Oceanobacillusd sp.,Actinomycetospora sp.,Paenibacillus sp.. The dominate endophytic fungi community are Zasmidium sp.,Zymoseptoria sp.,Alternaria sp.,Cladosporium sp.,Fusarium sp.,the difference endophytic fungi community are Cyphellophore sp.,Fusarium sp.. The results of clustering revealed that both the endophytic bacteria and the endophytic fungi,ⅢY2 and ⅢY3 are complete clustered,and ⅡY1 and ⅢY1 are also cluster completely. These enriched the species and resources of endophytic bacteria and fungi in D. huoshanense,and provided a theoretical reference for the reasonable harvest of D. huoshanense.
Ascomycota ; Bacteria ; Dendrobium ; Endophytes ; Fungi ; Fusarium ; Phylogeny

Objective: To predict B cell and T cell epitopes of 22-kDa, 47-kDa, 56-kDa and 58-kDa proteins. Methods: The sequences of 22-kDa, 47-kDa, 56-kDa and 58-kDa proteins which were derived from Orientia tsutsugamushi were analyzed by SOPMA, DNAstar, Bcepred, ABCpred, NetMHC, NetMHC II and IEDB. The 58-kDa tertiary structure model was built by MODELLER9.17. Results: The 22-kDa B-cell epitopes were located at positions 194-200, 20-26 and 143-154, whereas the T-cell epitopes were located at positions 154-174, 95-107, 17-25 and 57-65. The 47-kDa protein B-cell epitopes were at positions 413-434, 150-161 and 283-322, whereas the T-cell epitopes were located at positions 129-147, 259-267, 412-420 and 80-88. The 56-kDa protein B-cell epitopes were at positions 167-173, 410-419 and 101-108, whereas the T-cell epitopes were located at positions 88-104, 429-439, 232-240 and 194-202. The 58-kDa protein B-cell epitopes were at positions 312-317, 540-548 and 35-55, whereas the T-cell epitopes were located at positions 415-434, 66-84 and 214-230. Conclusions: We identified candidate epitopes of 22-kDa, 47-kDa, 56-kDa and 58-kDa proteins from Orientia tsutsugamushi. In the case of 58-kDa, the dominant antigen is displayed on tertiary structure by homology modeling. Our findings will help target additional recombinant antigens with strong specificity, high sensitivity, and stable expression and will aid in their isolation and purification.

This study was carried out to investigate the effect of oral administration of Dendrobium huoshanense on the expressions and activities of hepatic microsomal cytochrome P450s in mice, and to provide a reference for the evaluation of drug-drug interactions between D. huoshanense and clinical drugs. The C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into blank control group, D. huoshanense low dose group (crude drug 1.25 g·kg⁻¹), D. huoshanense high dose group (crude drug 7.5 g·kg⁻¹), and phenobarbital positive control group (0.08 g·kg⁻¹). Each group was intragastrically administered with drugs for 2 weeks. The mice were sacrificed and their liver microsomes were prepared. The expressions of major subtypes of P450 enzyme were determined by Western blot and the probe drugs were used to detect the enzyme activities of P450 subtypes with protein expression changes. Western blot analysis showed that the protein expressions of CYP1A1, CYP1A2 and CYP2B in liver tissues were up-regulated in D. huoshanense-treated group. In vitro enzyme activity tests showed that there were no significant difference in metabolism of 7-ethoxyresorufin (a probe drug for CYP1A1) and bupropion (a probe drug for CYP2B) between D. huoshanense group and control group. The metabolism of phenacetin (a probe drug for CYP1A2) showed a statistical difference in rate Vmax, and it was significantly increased by approximately 20% in D. huoshanense group as compared with the blank control group, and the clearance CLint in treated group was also increased by about 32%. Therefore, oral administration of D. huoshanense had no effects on the activities of most hepatic P450 enzymes in mice, with no drug-drug interaction related to the P450 enzyme system in most clinical drugs theoretically. However, oral administration of D. huoshanense may accelerate the metabolism of CYP1A2-catalyzed drugs, which needs to be considered in clinical practice.
Animals ; Cytochrome P-450 CYP1A1 ; metabolism ; Cytochrome P-450 CYP1A2 ; metabolism ; Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System ; metabolism ; Dendrobium ; chemistry ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Microsomes, Liver ; drug effects ; enzymology ; Random Allocation

The ecological agriculture of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is generally acknowledged as the most advanced agricultural mode. However, it's still a doubt whether ecological agriculture could be widely applied in TCM agriculture. In this study, we first analyze both the differences and relationships between ecological and organic agriculture, which suggesting that ecological agriculture does not need all the inputs as traditional agriculture. After introducing the situation of ecological agriculture from all across the world, we analyze the differences and characteristics between ecological and chemical agricultures. Considered with the big challenge caused by chemical agriculture, we pointed out that ecological agriculture could definitely replace chemical agriculture. Last but not the least, combined with the situation and problems of Chinese agriculture, we analyze the distinctive advantages of TCM ecological agriculture from 3 aspects as its unique quality characteristics, its unique habitat requirements in production and its unique application and market characteristics, respectively. In conclusion, ecological agriculture is the straight way of TCM agriculture.

Dendrobium huoshanense is a rare traditional Chinese medicinal herb, and the anti-tumor activity of its polysaccharides is a research hotspot in traditional Chinese medicine resources domain. This study aims to explore the material basis for the anti-tumor activity of polysaccharide. D. huoshanense was used as raw material in the experiment, and the different protein components were obtained through low salt solution extraction and ammonium sulfate fractional precipitation. Then glycoprotein components were determined by SDS-PAGE electrophoresis staining, and were further isolated and purified by DEAE ion column and Sephadex gel column. At the same time, MTT assay was used in detecting the cytotoxicity of different products on HepG2 cells in vitro. As a result, three kinds of glycoprotein components RG1, RG2, RG3 with relative molecular mass of 22.5, 19.8, 15.6 kDa were gained, and the IC₅₀ of three compounds on human liver cancer cell HepG2 was 534.23 mg•L⁻¹, meanwhile IC₅₀ of single glycoprotein component RG1, RG2 was 432.96, 413.91 mg•L⁻¹ respectively, and glycoprotein component RG3 had no cytotoxicity on HepG2 cells. All in all, the experiment results suggested that two kinds of glycoproteins components with relative molecular mass of 22.5, 19.8 kDa may be one of the material basis for anti-tumor activity of D. huoshanense polysaccharide, and they had a synergistic effect.

This study aims to investigate the protective effect of Dendrobium huoshanense, D.officinale(Huoshan), D.officinale(Yunnan), D.moniliforme and D. henanense on CCl4-induced hepatic damage in mice. C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into control group, model group, high-dose(7.5 g•kg⁻¹) and low-dose (1.25 g•kg⁻¹) groups of the five Dendrobium. Each group was intragastrically administered with drugs for 2 weeks. The control group was intraperitoneally injected with Olive oil solution, while the other groups were intraperitoneally given 0.5%CCl4combined with Olive oil solution 2 h later after the last administration. Subsequently, ALT and AST activities in serum, SOD activities and MDA contents in liver tissues were determined in all groups 16 h later after administration. The liver index was calculated, and hepatic histopathological examination was performed. The mRNA expressions of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α were analyzed by Real-time PCR. Compared with the CCl4 model group, the activities of ALT and AST in serum decreased significantly in the five different Dendrobium groups. Meanwhile, in liver tissues, the levels of MDA reduced obviously, while the SOD activities markedly increased. Furthermore, liver tissue damage induced by CCl4 was ameliorated according to the histopathological examination. IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α mRNA expressions in D.huoshanense-treated liver tissues were significantly decreased. In conclusion, the five different Dendrobium groups showed hepatoprotective effects on CCl4-induced acute liver injury in mice. However, there were differences among Dendrobium of different types and origins. The protect effect of D.huoshanense is the most obvious, and the order of the protective effect of the other Dendrobium from high to low is D.officinale(Yunnan), D. officinale(Huoshan), D.henanense and D.moniliforme. The differences between the different types of Dendrobium might be related to their chemical components.

The effect of Chinese medicine (CM) compound prescription is the combined action results of single herbs based on the basic theory of Chinese medicine, and its function embodies the characteristics of multi components, multi targets and comprehensive effects. It is difficult to study the therapeutic material, establish quality standards or determine Q-marker, so we can't strictly monitor the quality of the whole process of CM. The identification of Q-marker has a profound influence on the whole process of the pharmaceutical engineering of CM. The scattered effect of CM multi-components is regarded as the integral action of the parent nucleus group by the metabolic rule of co-network compatibility and rainbow potential (CCRP). The rule can be used to communicate the individual components and macro components, to reveal the metabolism of CM in organism body and basic law of information exchange, thus revealing the action law of CM on human body. Through the systematic analysis of the Q-marker's guidance to the development of CM and its relationship with the metabolic rule of CCRP, we try to provide some ideas for the identification of Q-marker.

OBJECTIVETo explore the molecular mechanism in the formation of unstable plaques.

METHODSThe cDNA microarray E-MTAB-2055 was downloaded from ArrayExpress database to screen the differentially expressed genes in 24 ruptured plaques against 24 stable plaques. Functional enrichment analysis was conducted to define the biological processes and pathways involved in disease progression. The protein-protein interaction network was constructed to identify the risk modules with close interactions. Five pairs of carotid specimens were used to validate 3 differentially expressed genes of the risk modules by real-time PCR.

RESULTSA total of 439 genes showed differential expression in our analysis, including 232 up-regulated and 207 down-regulated genes according to the data filter criteria. Immune-related biological processes and pathways were greatly enriched. The protein-protein interaction network and module analysis suggested that TYROBP, VCL and CXCR4 might play critical roles in the development of unstable plaques, and differential expressions of CXCR4 and TYROBP in carotid plaques were confirmed by real-time PCR.

CONCLUSIONOur study shows the differential gene expression profile, potential biological processes and signaling pathways involved in the process of plaque rupture. TYROBP may be a new candidate disease gene in the pathogenesis of unstable plaques.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing ; genetics ; Disease Progression ; Down-Regulation ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Humans ; Membrane Proteins ; genetics ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis ; Plaque, Atherosclerotic ; genetics ; Protein Interaction Maps ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Receptors, CXCR4 ; genetics ; Transcriptome ; Up-Regulation ; Vinculin ; genetics