Effects of P and K fertilizer on content of coumarin and yield of Glehnia littoralis / 中国中药杂志

By a orthogonal experiment, the influence of different ratio of phosphorus and potassium fertilizers on imperatorin, isoimperatorin and psoralen contents and yield of Glehnia littoralis were studied. The results showed that root dry weight and the yield of G. littoralis increased when reasonably applied phosphorus fertilizer combined with potassium fertilizer within a certain range. And the influence of phosphorus fertilizer was greater than that of potassium fertilizer. The optimal value of root dry weight and yield achieved at both P2O5 360 kg x hm(-2), K2O 270 kg x hm(-2) and P2O5 360 kg x hm(-2), K2O 180 kg x hm(-2). The effects of different phosphorus and potassium treatments on the content of imperatorin, isoimperatorin and psoralen in G. littoralis were determined, which shows that the content increased with the moderate increase of phosphorus and potassium. And the effects of phosphorus fertilizer were more significantly. The isoimperatorin content achieved the largest value at P2O5 360 kg x hm(-2), K2O 270 kg x hm(-2), also a larger content of imperatorin and psoralen. The imperatorin content is the largest when applied P2O5 360 kg x hm(-2), K2O 180 kg x hm(-2), and the isoimperatorin content was higher as well. So that the treatment of P2O5 360 kg x hm(-2), K2O 180 kg x hm(-2) are suitable for promote to the agricultural production, which could improve the quality and yield of G. littoralis.

CpG methyltransferase induced down-regulation of claudin-7, -8 and its effects on proliferation and apoptosis of human colorectal cancer HT-29 cells / 中华肿瘤杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the regulatory effect of CpG methyltransferase (M.SssI) on expression of claudin-7 and claudin-8, promoting apoptosis and inhibiting proliferation of human colorectal cancer HT-29 cells.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>HT-29 cells were treated with M.SssI (50 U/ml) for 24 hours. The methylation status of claudin-7 and claudin-8 gene promoters was assayed by bisulfite sequencing PCR (BSP). Real-time PCR with SYBR green I technique was used to detect the relative expression of claudin-7 and -8 mRNA, and claudin-7 and claudin-8 proteins were tested by cell immunofluorescence and Western blotting, while the effect on cell apoptosis was assessed by Hoechst 33342 fluorescence and flow cytometry. Inhibition of cell proliferation was measured by MTT assay.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The amounts of methylated claudin-7 and claudin-8 gene CpGs were 25, 10 in the M.SssI group, 9 and 5 in the PBS group, 0 and 3 in the 5-azacytidine group, respectively. Compared with the PBS group, Claudin-7 and -8 were significantly reduced by M.SssI (P < 0.05), but increased by 5-azacytidine (P < 0.05) at both mRNA and protein levels. Hoechst 33342 staining revealed that HT-29 cells treated with PBS and 5-azacytidine were not significantly different, showing even blue fluorescence, round shape and same cell volume. But the M.SssI group presented more apoptotic cells with intensive white fluorescence intensity. Cytometry indicated that early apoptotic index of the M.SssI group was increased by 84.7%, compared with that of the PBS group (P = 0.002). Measurement of MTT optical density demonstrated that cell growth of the M.SssI group was significantly lower than that of the PBS group (P = 0.002), with an inhibition rate of 32.1%, whereas the proliferation of 5-azacytidine group was similar to that of the PBS group (P = 0.084).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Our findings suggest that M.SssI can down-regulate claudin-7, -8 mRNA and proteins in the human colon cancer HT-29 cells by up-regulating methylation status of claudin-7 and -8 gene promoters, and finally induce apoptosis and inhibit proliferation of the tumor cells.</p>

Survival rates of invasive breast cancer among ethnic Chinese women born in East Asia and the United States.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have compared the breast cancer survival rates of US born ethnic Chinese women and the survival rates of Chinese immigrants. The main purpose of this study is to explore the difference of breast cancer survival rates between the two populations and compare the survival rates to those of Caucasians born in the US. METHODS: Between 1973 and 2002, 365,215 women who had been diagnosed with primary invasive breast cancer (ICD-O-2 C500:C509) were recorded in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) registries. Of the 316,881 breast cancer patients who were white, 180,835 (57%) were born in the United States, 20,983 (7%) were born elsewhere, and 115,063 (36%) had unknown birthplaces. Among the 3,634 breast cancer patients who were ethnically Chinese, 952 (26%) patients were born in the US, 1,356 (37%) were born in East Asia, 146 (4%) were born elsewhere, and 1,180 (33%) had unknown birthplaces. We compared the survival rates and estimated the risk ratios (RRs) by the Kaplan-Meier estimates and the Cox proportional hazards models. RESULTS: A lower 5-year overall survival rate of breast cancer was observed among Chinese women born in East Asia (0.74, 95% CI=0.72-0.77) than those born in the U.S. (0.79, 95% CI=0.76-0.81), with an adjusted hazards ratio of 1.22 (95% CI=1.06-1.40). The 5-year survival rates for SEER stage were higher among Chinese women born in the U.S. (localized: 0.90, 95% CI=0.87-0.93; regional: 0.71, 95% CI=66-0.77; distant: 0.16, 95% CI=0.06-0.25) than that among Chinese women born in East Asia (localized: 0.86, 95% CI=0.83-0.89; regional: 0.68, 95% CI=0.63-0.73; distant: 0.16, 95% CI=0.07-0.25). Higher 5-year survival rates among Chinese women born in the U.S. in comparison to Chinese women born in East Asia were also observed in different calendar years (1973-1980, 1981-1990, 1991-2002), in surgery and radiation therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Our analysis showed that among the Chinese breast cancer patients, women born in East Asia had lower 5-year survival rates than women born in the United States. SEER stage, grade, and tumor size appear to be important prognostic factors. The poor 5-year survival rates among Chinese women born in East Asia indicate potential problems of accessing medical facilities for early detection, diagnosis and treatment because of potential language and culture barriers, lower education level, as well as stress of the first generation of migrant Chinese women in the United States.

Clinical Efficacy of Mizolastine in the Treatment of Dermatographism / 药物流行病学杂志

Objective:To investigate the clinical efficacy of mizolastine in the treatment of dermatographism. Method:32 patients were randomly allocated to two groups.Their efficacy was compared with ketotifen.A two-period cross trial was adopted.Result:The clinical efficacy of mizolastine in the treatment of dermatographism corresponded to ke- totifen,the ADRs were markedly lower than ketotifen.Conclusion:Mizolastine is effective in the treatment of dermatogra- phism.