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Objective To investigate the effects of wet hyperthermia combined with microwave ablation on the pro-portion and function of CD 4 +CD25 +regulatory T cell in animal model of mouse mammary carcinoma and explore its significance .Methods An experimental model of mouse mammary carcinoma was established and then treated with microwave ablation on day 14.Local wet hyperthermia was also performed .The proportion of CD4 +CD25 +regula-tory T cells (Tregs) in splenocytes was analyzed by FACS.The relative expression of Foxp3, as well as the expres-sion of CTLA-4 and GITR, on Tregs was determined by real-time PCR assay and FACS respectively .Moreover, the secretion of TGF-βand IL-10 from Tregs also were detected by ELISA .In addition , the suppressive capacity of Tregs on CD4 +CD25 -T cell was also examined by MTT assay .Results The proportion of Tregs in wet hyperther-mia combined with microwave ablation treated group decreased significantly compared with that in wet hyperthermia or microwave ablation treated alone group ( P<0.05 ) .Moreover , the expression level of Foxp 3 on Tregs decreased significantly (P<0.05).Furthermore, the expression of CTLA4 and GITR, as well as the secretion of TGF-βand IL-10, on Tregs also obviously decreased (P<0.05).Finally, the suppressive capacity of Tregs on the proliferation of CD4+CD25-T cells were also significantly impaired ( P<0.05) .Conclusions Wet hyperthermia combined with microwave ablation os more effective than single wet hyperthermia or microwave ablation as a mono -therapy alone on the function of Tregs , which may be closely related to the enhanced suppression of tumor growth .
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Objective To study the effects of enteral nutrition( EN) on inflammatory factors and cardiac function in elderly patients with heart failure ( HF ) . Methods A total of 96 elderly patients with HF were enrolled in this study and randomly divided into treatment group A,treatment group B and control group( n= 32 in each group) . Patients in group A were provided with 500 mL of EN daily for 1 month, and those in group B were provided with the same dose of EN for 3 months. Control group was treated with normal diet. The nutrition status of each group was assessed by NRS2002. Meanwhile,all patients were evaluated by New York Heart Association(NYHA) class and left ventricle eject fraction(LVEF). The levels of BNP,IL-6, CRP and TNF-α were also measured before and after nutrition treatment. Results In group A and group B,BMI,TSF,AMC, TP,ALB and HGB increased. Symptoms of HF alleviated quickly and LVEF increased compared to the baseline. The levels of BNP,IL-6,CRP and TNF-α were significantly lower after treatment(P<0. 05) in both treatment groups,and the change in group B was more obvious(P<0. 01) than group A. However,in control group,there is neither evident improvement in cardiac function or nutrition status,nor in inflammatory factor levels. Conclusion Adding EN support to the normal treatment of heart failure in elderly malnourished patients with HF not only improves the function of heart and nutrition status, but also helps to support immune system so as to alleviate acute inflammatory response. The benefits from EN depend on the duration of therapy.
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Objective To investigate the therapeutic effects of microwave ablation combined with dendritic cell (DC) tumor vaccine on a murine breast cancer model and to explore its immunological mechanism.Methods Forty-eight Balb/c mice were used to establish models of mouse mammary carcinoma,and then randomly divided into a sham-operation group,a microwave ablation treated group,a DC tumor vaccinated group and a microwave ablation plus DC tumor vaccinated group.Microwave ablation was conducted with the microwave ablation group on day 14 after establishing the model.DC tumor vaccination was performed on day 7 in the vaccinated group.In the microwave ablation plus DC tumor vaccinated group,DC tumor vaccination and microwave ablation were consecutively performed on days 7 and 14,respectively.Tumor growth,lung metastasis and survival were observed.The proportion of CD3+ and CD4+ T cells in splenocytes were analyzed by fluorescence Activated Cell Sorter (FACS) on the 14th day after microwave ablation.Serum levels of interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and interleukin-4 (IL-4) were also detected using ELISA.Results The survival time (56.4 ± 4.3 days),tumor size (67.3 ± 6.1 mm2) and lung metastasis index (0.6 ± 0.4) in the microwave ablation plus DC tumor vaccinated group were all significantly lower than the corresponding averages in the microwave ablation and DC tumor vaccinated group.The proportions of splenic CD3 + T cells (27.8 ±10.3 ％) and CD4+ T cells (16.7 ± 8.3 ％) in the microwave ablation plus DC tumor vaccinated group were significantly larger than in the control group.Average serum levels of IFN-γ (41.8 ± 22.9 pg/ml) in the microwave ablation plus DC tumor vaccinated group were also significantly larger than in the control group,while the average serum level of IL-4 (15.4± 6.4 pg/ml) was significantly lower.Conclusions Microwave ablation and DC tumor vaccination together could have synergistic effects in treating experimental breast cancer,which might be closely related to the enhanced immune response.
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Objective To observe the expressions of Akt and ERK phosphorylation in abdominal aortic aneurysm of rat model, and explore the pathogenesis of abdominal aortic aneurysm. Methods The rat model of abdominal aortic aneu-rysm was established. The diameter of abdominal aorta was measured and the extended rate of the aorta was calculated. HE staining was used to observe the change of pathology. Immunohistochemistry and Western blot methods were used to detect the expressions of Akt and ERK phosphorylation in the level of protein. Results The dilation of aorta was significantly high-er in abdominal aortic aneurysm group than that of saline group and normal group (P＜0.05). HE staining showed structural disorder and inflammatory cell infiltration in abdominal aortic aneurysm group. The results of immunohistochemistry and Western blot results showed that phosphorylation of Akt expression was significantly higher in abdominal aortic aneurysm group than that of saline group and normal group (P＜0.05). There was no significant difference in phosphorylation of ERK expression between three groups (P>0.05). Conclusion PI3K/Akt signaling pathway may be involved in the development of abdominal aortic aneurysm.
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The expression and significance of osteopontin (OPN) and NF-κB in patients with thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA) and abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) were investigated. Thirteen TAA specimens, 20 AAA specimens and 6 normal aortic specimens were collected. The expression of OPN, nuclear factor-κB P65 (NF-κB P65), urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA), matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) were detected by using immunohistochemistry and Western blotting was employed to determine the expression of OPN and NF-κB P65. Immunohistochemical results showed that the expression of OPN, NF-κB P65, uPA, MMP-2 and MMP-9 was positive in all TAA and AAA specimens and negative in normal specimens, with the difference being statistically significant (P0.05). Correlation analysis revealed that there existed a positive correlation between the expression of OPN and that of NF-κB P65, uPA, MMP-2 and MMP-9 and between the expression of NF-κB P65 and that of uPA, MMP-2, MMP-9 (P0.05). It was concluded that OPN and NF-κB P65 were involved in the pathogenesis of TAA and AAA. OPN can up-regulate the expression of MMP and uPA via NF-κB signaling pathway thereby accelerating the degradation of extracellular matrix and playing an important role in the pathogenesis and development of TAA and AAA.
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ObjectiveTo investigate the pathological characteristics of the expressions of associated proteins in vascular smooth muscle cells and infiltration of macrophages in elderly abdominal aortic aneurysms. MethodsHE stained slices, Van Gieson' s stained slices and immunohistochemical staining were applied to detect protein expression in the tissue sections of 15 cases of elderly abdominal aortic aneurysms and 6 cases of normal abdominal aorta. The protein expressions of α-smooth muscle actin, cathepsin B and CD68 were detected by immunohistochemical staining. ResultsCompared with normal abdominal aorta, the collagen content was higher in elderly abdominal aortic aneurysms [(9.3 ± 1.9) % vs. (5.3±1.8) %, P ＜ 0.05]. The levels ofexpression of cathepsin B and CD68 were higher in elderly abdominal aortic aneurysms than those in normal abdominal aorta , but the level of expression of α-SMA was lower in elderly abdominal aorticaneurysms than that in normal abdominal aorta[(0.38±0.07) vs. (0.135=0.06), (0.51±0.12) vs.(0.01±0.01), (0.23±0.05) vs. (0.335±0.05) ,respectively, all P＜0.05]. ConclusionsChanges in the expression of associated proteins in vascular smooth muscle cells and infiltration of macrophages may participate in the vascular walls destruction in elderly abdominal aortic aneurysms.
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In order to study the effect of and mechanism of lysophosphatidylcholine (LysoPC) on proliferation of the calf thoracic aorta smooth muscle cells (ASMCs), the ASMCs were used to observe the effects of LysoPC-induced endothelial cell conditioned medium on the DNA content and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) expression in the calf thoracic ASMCs by flow cytometry and Western Blot technique. It was found that LysoPC-induced endothelial cell conditioned medium could significantly promote PCNA expression of the calf ASMCs, induce the converting of ASMCs from G0/G1 phase to S phase of DNA synthesis, and increase the tyrosine phosphorylation protein expression. Tyrosine protein kinase inhibitor (TPKi) RG50864 could obviously inhibit proliferation of LysoPC-induced ASMCs in a dose-dependence manner. The results indicated that the effect of LysoPC promoting the proliferation of ASMCs is partly evoked by endothelial cell derived growth factors such as PDGF and so on.