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The outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in February 2003 in Guangdong, China, middle east respiratory syndrome (MERS) in September2012 in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the current COVID-19 pandemics in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, are all caused by coronaviruses, and patients primarily died of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Compared with more than 5 years of wreaking havoc from MERS-CoV and Ebor, China successfully contains the SARS-CoV within one year, which shows her advantages in political governance controlling such pandemics. Many coronaviruses have been separated and their molecular structures analyzed. However, there is no specific anti-coronavirus drug developed in the world since the outbreaks. The problems come from not only pharmaceutical technology per se that must treat both coronaviruses and their life-threatening ARDS, but also the small size of patients who could immune against the coronaviruses after infections resulting in pharmaceutical reluctance to invest in the area. Facing both the pharmaceutical and social-economic bottlenecks, here, we summarized the current development of anti-coronavirus drugs, and proposed the strategies of repurposing existing drugs and preparing their pharmacological combinations to fight the viruses including COVID-19 based on a well-understanding of how the coronaviruses enter the host and damage our respiratory system.
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ObjectiveTo investigate the features of liver injury in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and to provide a reference for clinical diagnosis and treatment. MethodsMedical records were collected from 201 patients with COVID-19 who were admitted to Xiangyang Central Hospital from January 19 to March 5, 2020, and these patients were divided into non-critical (mild/common type) group with 173 patients and critical (severe/critical type) group with 28 patients. The data on alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total bilirubin (TBil), direct bilirubin (DBil), and albumin (Alb) were collected. The t-test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between groups, the chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups, and the Wilcoxon rank-sum test was used for comparison of ranked data between groups. ResultsAmong the 201 patients, 37 (18.4%) had liver injury, with 19 in the critical group and 18 in the non-critical group, and there was a significant difference in the incidence rate of liver injury between the two groups (67.9% vs 10.4%, χ2=52.963, P＜0.05). There were significant differences between the 19 patients with liver injury in the critical group and the 18 patients with liver injury in the non-critical group in the duration of abnormal ALT and/or AST (on admission and during hospitalization) (χ2=11.906, P＜0.05) and the increase in ALT and/or AST (Z=-2.869, P＜0.05), and most patients had mild or moderate liver injury. Among the 201 patients, only one patient had elevated bilirubin (TBil ＜2 × upper limit of normal, mainly indirect bilirubin) and had non-critical liver injury. The critical group had a significantly lower level of Alb than the non-critical group (t=-8.002, P＜0.05). Among the 201 patients, 75 had a reduction in Alb, among whom 50 (50/201, 24.9%) had a reduction on admission and 25 (25/201, 12.4%) had a reduction during hospitalization, and there were significant differences in Alb (t=-4.967, P＜0.05) and hypoalbuminemia (χ2=26.645, P＜0.05) between the two periods of time. ConclusionLiver injury is relatively common in patients with COVID-19, mainly mild or moderate liver injury. There is a low incidence rate of abnormal bilirubin and a high incidence rate of the reduction in Alb. There are significant differences in the incidence rate and severity of liver injury between the crucial and non-critical patients. Alb level can be used as one of the indicators to evaluate and predict the severity of COVID-19 patients.
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@#【Objective】To investigate the clinical efficacy of endoscopic tympanoplasty for chronic suppurative otitis with large tympanic membrane perforation.【Methods】A total of 110 cases（115 ears）which were diagnosed as chronic suppurative otitis with large tympanic membrane perforation were retrospectively collected from May 2017 to Jan 2019. All cases were performed endoscopic tympanoplasty；including removing tympanic lesions，reconstruction of ossicular chain， and myringoplasty with cartilage and perichondrium complex by underlay technique. At the same time of tympanoplasty ， balloon eustachian tuboplasty（BET）was performed in patients who were diagnosed with eustachian tube dysfunction. The graft success rate，pure tone threshold average（PTA）of speech frequency and the air-bone gap（ABG）were assessed at 3 months after surgery.【Results】The primary graft success rate was 95.7%，and the PTA and ABG were（25.7±11.8）dB HL and（13.8 ± 6.9）dB HL，respectively，which showed significant differences compared with pre- operation conditions （P < 0.001）. Furthermore，29 ears which were diagnosed with eustachian tube dysfunction were treated with BET at the same time of tympanoplasty. Compared with simply tympanoplasty （86 ears），no difference was found in primary graft success rate ，PTA and ABG post-operation（P > 0.05）.【Conclusions】 Endoscopic tympanoplasty is an effective surgery，and the cartilage and perichondrium complex is a reliable repair material for large tympanic membrane perforation ，which are both worthy of clinical promotion. Furthermore ，BET at the same time of tympanoplasty could ensure clinical efficacy for the patients with eustachian tube dysfunction.
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Objective To explore the relationship between blood lipids level with creatinine clearance rate(Ccr)in patients with heart failure(HF). Methods A total of 955 patients who were diagnosed with heart failure(cardiac function NYHAⅡ~Ⅳclassification)upon discharge from the Department of Cardiology of the Second Hospital of Tianjin Medical University, between January 2010 to June 2013 were enrolled as HF group. Healthy adults (n=200) with normal cardiac function which approximately matched basic condition with HF group were selected as control group. The HF group was fur?ther divided intoⅡ,Ⅲ,Ⅳclassification according to their cardiac function(NYHA classification). HF group was also divid?ed into normal renal function group, mild renal injury group and moderate-severe renal injury group based on their Ccr. Ef?fect of gender and lipid parameters were also compared. Binary logistic regression was used to analyze factors influencing renal function in patients with HF. Results Compared with people in the control group, the levels of triacylglycerol(TG), total cholesterol(TC), low density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-c)and non high density lipoprotein cholesterol(non-HDL-c)in patients of HF group were increased while Ccr and high density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-c)were decreased. Ccr and lipids were obviously decreased in patients with HF of Ⅳclassification. TG and HDL-c were decreased in moderate-severe renal injury group. Females had a higher lipid levels than males in HF group(P<0.05 or P<0.01). Advanced age, coronary heart disease and hypertension were all risk factors for renal impairment in patients with HF by binary logistic re?gression. On the other hand, weight gain and HDL-c were the protection factors for renal function in HF patients. Conclu?sion Dyslipidemias may lead to renal insufficiency in patients with HF. It was important to control lipids and improve re?nal function in patients with HF.
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<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To reveal interventions for chronic cyclosporine A nephrotoxicity (CCN) and provide new targets for further studies, we analyzed all relevant studies about interventions in renal cell apoptosis.</p><p><b>DATA SOURCES</b>We collected all relevant studies about interventions for cyclosporine A (CsA)-induced renal cell apoptosis in Medline (1966 to July 2010), Embase (1980 to July 2010) and ISI (1986 to July 2010), evaluated their quality, extracted data following PICOS principles and synthesized the data.</p><p><b>STUDY SELECTION</b>We included all relevant studies about interventions in CsA-induced renal cell apoptosis no limitation of research design and language) and excluded the duplicated articles, meeting abstracts and reviews without specific data.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>There were three kinds of intervention, include anti-oxidant (sulfated polysaccharides, tea polyphenols, apigenin, curcumin, spirulina, etc), biologics (recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO), a murine pan-specific transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta-neutralizing monoclonal antibody1D11, cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP)-angiopoietin-1 and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) gene), and other drugs (spironolactone, rosiglitazone, pirfenidone and colchicine). These interventions significantly improved the CCN, renal cell apoptosis and renal dysfunction through intervening in four apoptotic pathways in animals or protected renal cells from apoptosis induced by CsA and increased cell survival through respectively four pathways in vitro.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>There are three group interventions for CCN. Especially anti-oxidant drugs can significantly improve CCN, renal cell apoptosis and renal dysfunction. Many drugs can improve CCN through intervening in Fas/Fas ligand or mitochondrial pathway with sufficient evidences. Angiotensin II, nitric oxide (NO) and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) pathways will be new targets for CCN.</p>
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Animals , Humans , Apoptosis , Chronic Disease , Cyclosporine , Immunosuppressive Agents , Kidney , Pathology , Mitochondria , Physiology , Nitric Oxide , Physiology , Signal Transduction , fas Receptor , PhysiologyABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effect of Luyuan Capsule (LYC) leachate on the proliferation and maturation of dendritic cells (DCs) of adult peripheral blood.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Totally 100 mL peripheral blood was collected from 4 healthy males. The peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated using density gradient centrifugation. The precursor DCs were obtained using wall adherent culture. The immature DCs with recombinant human GM-CSF (rhGM-CSF) and recombinant human IL-4 (rhlL-4) added were harvested for 7 days to get immature DCs. The immature DCs cultured with 1% LYC leachate for two days were taken as the experimental group, while the immature DCs cultured with 20 ng/mL recombinant human TNF-alpha (rhTNF-alpha) for two days were taken as the control group. The morphology of DCs was observed by inverted phase contrast microscope, and the cell proliferation was detected by cell counting. The DCs specific marker CD83 was analyzed using flow cytometry.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The proliferation capacities of DCs were improved in the experimental group. More and longer dendritic protrusions and possess were shown on the surface of DCs in the experimental group than in the control group. The CD83 expressions was obviously higher in the experimental group (84.1% +/- 0.3%) than in the control group (58.7% +/- 0.2%), showing statistical difference (P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>1% LYC leachate could promote the maturation and proliferation of peripheral blood DCs, stronger than that of 20 ng/mL rhTNF-alpha.</p>
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Adult , Humans , Male , Cell Proliferation , Cells, Cultured , Dendritic Cells , Cell Biology , Drugs, Chinese Herbal , Pharmacology , Recombinant Proteins , Pharmacology , Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha , PharmacologyABSTRACT
Objective To study the level of serum gangliosides ( GM1 and GM3) in patients with gastric cancer and its clinical significance. Methods The ELISA (Enzyme-linked Immunosorbnent Assay, ELISA) method was used to detect GM1 and GM3 content in 40 patients with gastric cancer, and healthy controls. The results were analyzed with statistic software. Results The levels of serum GLS of gastric cancer group were significantly higher than that in healthy group and those in healthy subjects [(815.53±75.56)ng/ml vs (88. 88±32. 73)ng/ml;(765. 92 ±61.09)ng/ml vs (28.03±9.64) ng/ml, P <0.01 ] , patients with gastric cancer after chemotherapy and surgery group, and serum GLS was different between the healthy group and those in healthy subjects, patients with liver cancer after chemotherapy and surgery group. There was positive correlation between GM1 and GM3( r =0. 24, P <0.05).Conclusion Serum GLS of the patients with gastric cancer increased remarkably. Combined detection of serum gangliosides content in gastric cancer will be helpful to diagnosis of gastric cancer,disease progress prediction,and relapse prediction of this disease.
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<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the degradation of artificial basement membrane (matrigel) co-cultured with oral carcinoma-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and its possible mechanism.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>CAFs and normal fibroblasts (NFs) were incubated on matrigel for 24, 48, 72 h. Equivalent amounts of conditioned medium were collected and assayed for total protein, hydroxyproline and matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2), matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) activity by gelatin zymography.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Oral CAFs were superior to oral NFs in total protein and hydroxyproline density, CAFs present more pro-MMP-2 and activated MMP-2.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>CAFs were superior to NFs in degradation of matrigel. CAFs might play a key role in the reconstitution of extracellular matrix and the progression of tumor.</p>
Subject(s)
Humans , Basement Membrane , Coculture Techniques , Enzyme Precursors , Fibroblasts , Gelatinases , Matrix Metalloproteinase 2 , Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 , Membranes, Artificial , Mouth NeoplasmsABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effects of oral carcinoma-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) on extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK) pathway in a lingual carcinoma cell line.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The lingual carcinoma cell line, Tca8113 was stimulated by conditioned medium from oral CAFs, or cocultured with oral CAFs for definite time. Total ERK and pERK in Tca8113 lysate were detected by Western blotting, and the ratio between pERK and ERK were calculated.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Both stimulation by conditioned medium and coculture induced prompt phosphorylation of ERK, and increased the ratio between pERK and ERK.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Oral CAFs can activate ERK pathway of carcinoma cells.</p>
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Humans , Cell Line , Cell Line, Tumor , Coculture Techniques , Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases , Fibroblasts , Mouth Neoplasms , Phosphorylation , Tongue NeoplasmsABSTRACT
In order to compare the effects of GM-CSF + IL-4 with the effects of IL-3 + IL-4 on the differentiation and development of dendritic cells (DCs) from mouse bone marrow, we cultured bone marrow hematopoietic progenitor cell in vitro and examined whether DCs induced by IL-3 + IL-4 (IL-3 DCs) differed from the DCs induced by GM-CSF + IL-4 (GM-CSF DCs) in morphology, yields, phenotype and endocytic activity. Scanning electron microscope, laser scanning confocal microscope (LSCM) and flow cytometer (FCM) were used. The results showed that the DCs induced by IL-3 + IL-4 and the DCs induced by GM-CSF + IL-4 had similar morphology, and the DCs induced by IL-3 + IL-4 expressed high level of major histocompability complex (MHC) class II. Besides, IL-3 DCs had the characteristics of higher yields and better consistency. But CD80 and CD86 were expressed at low levels or absent on IL-3-treated DCs. The capability of uptaking antigen of IL-3 DCs was more powerful than that of GM-CSF DCs. IL-3 could substitute for GM-CSF in culturing DCs from mouse bone marrow cells and could obtain the tolerance DCs that lack costimulatory molecules.
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Animals , Male , Mice , Antigen-Presenting Cells , Cell Biology , Bone Marrow Cells , Cell Biology , Cell Differentiation , Cells, Cultured , Dendritic Cells , Cell Biology , Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor , Pharmacology , Interleukin-3 , Pharmacology , Interleukin-4 , Pharmacology , Mice, Inbred BALB CABSTRACT
0.10). Conclusion: Donepezil is effective in treating the cognition of AD and some of the mixed dementia, but it has little effect on VD.
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Objective: To investigate the value of double source CT(DSCT)in the diagnosis of myocardial bridge(MB)and analyze the correlation of MB-associated coronary atherosclerotic plaque with age.Methods: A total of 417 patients suspected of coronary artery disease(CAD)were divided into a young group(n=137,30-44 yrs),a middle-aged group(n=197,45-59 yrs) and an old group(n=83,60-84 yrs),subjected to DSCT coronary angiography,and analyzed for the differences in the incidence of MB and coronary atherosclerosis.Results: Altogether 76 cases(18.2%) were diagnosed as MB,10(13.2%) in the young,36(47.4%) in the middle-aged and 30(39.5%) in the old group.Of the MB patients,41(53.9%) were complicated with coronary atherosclerotic plaque,2(20.0%) in the young,17(47.2%) in the middle-aged 22(73.3%) in the old group.There were significant statistical differences in the incidence and the nature of coronary atherosclerotic plaque among the 3 groups(P