Effect of Sanqi Oral Liquid on the expressions of CD4⁺, CD8⁺ and CD68⁺ cells in 5/6 nephrectomized rats with chronic renal failure / 中国结合医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the mechanisms of Chinese herbal medicine Sanqi Oral Liquid, composed of Astragalus membranaceus and Panpax notoginseng, in alleviating renal injury by observing its effect on the expressions of CD4(+), CD8(+) and CD68(+) cells in 5/6 nephrectomized rats with chronic renal failure.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 102 SD rats were randomly divided into six groups: three treatment groups were administrated with high, medium and low dosage of Sanqi Oral Liquid respectively by gavage; a normal group, a 5/6 nephrectomized model group, and a group treated with coated aldehyde oxygenstarch were used as controls. Following oral administration of Sanqi Oral Liquid for 12 weeks, the general condition and renal pathological changes were observed, and the renal function, platelet count (PLT) and the expressions of CD4(+), CD8(+) and CD68(+) cells were determined for each group.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>There were proliferation of mesangial matrix, renaltubularnecrosis and obvious tubulointerstitial fibrosis in the model group, and they were much milder in the treatment groups. Compared with the model group, the amounts of blood urea nitrogen (BUN), serum creatinine (Scr) and PLT in the treatment groups decreased (P<0.05 for all); and in the group administrated of medium dosage of Sanqi Oral Liquid, the expression of CD4(+) cells was up-regulated and those of CD8(+) and CD68(+) cells were down-regulated (P<0.05 for all), leading to an increased ratio of CD4(+)/CD8(+)(P<0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Sanqi Oral Liquid has a significant effect on regulating lymphocyte subsets, reducing the infiltration of macrophages in renal tissues and alleviating tubulointerstitial fibrosis, and this may be one of mechanisms of Sanqi Oral Liquid in delaying the progression of chronic kidney diseases.</p>

Effect of silencing VEGF, c-myc, survivin and hTERT by multiple shRNA expression vectors on the xenografted human nasopharyngeal carcinoma in nude mice / 中华耳鼻咽喉头颈外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effects of multiple short hairpin (shRNA) expression vectors, targeting VEGF, c-myc, survivin and hTERT, genes on the xenografted human nasopharyngeal carcinoma (CNE-2Z) in nude mice.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The shRNA expression vectors were constructed and subsequently transfected by direct injections into the tumors formed by CNE-2Z cells implanted in nude mice. The expressions of the targeted genes in tumor tissues and the apoptosis of tumor cells were evaluated.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>NPC CNE-2Z cells were successfully inoculated and subcutaneous tumor was formed in all nude mice. Under fluorescence microscope, tumor tissues showed the expression of each vector with green fluorescence. The expression of multiple shRNAs led to the decreases in the expressions of VEGF, c-myc, survivin, hTERT mRNA and proteins. Multi-gene silencing was better than single gene silencing in inducing the apoptosis of tumor cells. Tumor growth curves showed that the tumors treated with the shRNAs, including VEGF, c-myc, survivin, hTERT or the combination of 4 shRNAs, grower slowly obviously compared with control tumors. Inhibited rates of tumor growth by VEGF-, c-myc-, survivin- and hTERT-shRNA were 46.2%, 48.5%, 51.9% and 46.8% respectively. The combined application of 4 shRNA produced the more significant inhibitory rate (82.4%) than single shRNA application.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The application of vector-based RNAi targeting multiple genes is a promising therapeutic modality in the gene therapy of nasopharyngeal carcinoma and multi-gene silencing is a new strategy for tumor therapy.</p>

Pathological classification and clinical characteristics of lupus nephritis: a report of 49 cases / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the relation between the pathological features of lupus nephritis (LN) and the clinical activity and laboratory examination.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Renal biopsies were obtained from 49 cases of lupus nephritis and classified according to ISN/RPS(2003) classification. The clinical activity, laboratory results and the renal pathological features of the disease were analyzed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>All the cases showed pathologies in the kidney. Type IV and V LN cases had a high incidence of nephrotic syndrome, and type II and III cases frequently showed latent nephritis. The NIH index and biopsy index indicated the degree of pathological lesions and were significantly related to the clinical features. Nearly all the indexes including NIH index, biopsy index, the clinical activity and the laboratory examination suggested stronger activity of type IV LN than the other types.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The pathological changes, clinical activity and laboratory examination results of LN are related with each other. The clinical activity and laboratory examination of LN can be used to estimate the pathological type and degree of renal lesion in LN.</p>

Effects of RNA interference targeting four different genes on the growth and proliferation of nasopharyngeal carcinoma CNE-2Z cells / 中华耳鼻咽喉头颈外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the effects of RNA interference (RNAi) targeting four different genes (VEGF, c-myc, survivin, hTERT) on the growth and proliferation of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) CNE-2Z cells.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Plasmid-1 targeted all four genes, plasmid-2, 3, 4 and 5 targeted VEGF, c-myc, survivin and hTERT respectively. These plasmids were transfected separately into human NPC CNE-2Z cells and xenograft tumors in nude mice. The expressions of plasmids in NPC CNE-2Z cells and xenograft tumors were observed. Cell proliferation was detected with MTT assay. The inhibitory effects on target genes were evaluated with RT-PCR and Western blot respectively. The effects of the plasmids on the biological behavior of CNE-2Z cells were observed with Transwell invasion chamber model. Apoptosis was determined with flow cytometer. The inhibitory effect of the plasmids on xenograft tumors were observed in nude mice.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>CNE-2Z cell proliferation was significantly inhibited and in vitro invasion ability was significantly decreased in the plasmid-1 group compared with those in the plasmid 2 - 5 groups (all P < 0.05). mRNA and protein expressions of all four genes decreased in the plasmid-1 group. The apoptosis rate in the plasmid-1 group was higher than that in the plasmid 2 - 5 groups (all P < 0.05). Growth of xenograft tumors in nude mice were significantly inhibited in the plasmid 1 - 5 groups, particularly in the plasmid-1 group.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>RNA interference targeting multiple genes can effectively inhibit NPC proliferation and induce apoptosis, which provides an experiment basis for NPC gene therapy.</p>