Antioxidant activities of cold-nature Tibetan herbs are signifcantly greater than hot-nature ones and are associated with their levels of total phenolic components / 中国天然药物

Tibetan medicinal plants have been used for more than 2 000 years. In order to find their differences in antioxidant activity, total phenolics and total flavonoids between "hot-nature" and "cold-nature" herbs, we investigated the antioxidant activities of 40 Tibetan herbs from Qinghai plateau, with 20 herbs in cold-nature and 20 herbs in hot-nature. Antioxidant capacities were evaluated by the following methods: scavenging ABTS•(+) (2, 2'azinobis-(3-ethylbenz-thiazoline-6-sulfonic acid), scavenging O2•(-), and Ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP). The effects on inhibition of mitochondrion lipid peroxidation were determined by measuring the formation of TBARS (Thiobarbituric acid reactive substrates). Total phenolics and flavonoids were estimated by Folin-Ciocalteu and NaNO2-Al(NO3)3-NaOH colorimetric methods. Interestingly, the cold-nature herbs displayed higher antioxidant activities than the hot-nature ones, corresponding to nearly three-fold higher total phenolic contents in the cold-nature herbs. Moreover, the antioxidant activities correlated linearly with the levels of total phenolics for both cold-nature and hot-nature herbs, but only with the levels of total flavonoids for the hot-nature herbs. The results suggested that the phenolic compounds, but not the flavonoids, play the major role in antioxidant capacities of the cold-nature herbs. These findings could shed new lights on the study the theory of Tibetan medicine.

The role of tissue factor pathway inhibitor-2 gene in gallbladder cancer / 中华外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To examine the expression of tissue factor pathway inhibitor-2 (TFPI-2) in gallbladder cancer (GBC) and to investigate the anti-cancer activities of TFPI-2 against the growth of GBC.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>TFPI-2 expression in gallbladder normal tissues, gallbladder polyp (GBP) tissues and GBC tissues were examined by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), Western blot and immunohistochemical staining. Adenovirus carrying human TFPI-2 gene (Ad5-TFPI-2) were constructed and its anti-cancer effects were investigated in xenograft tumors. Xenograft tumors were constructed by injection of GBC-SD and SGC-996 cells into the flank of nude mice and the volume of xenograft tumors was measured every 3 days until the sacrifice of mice. The apoptosis index of xenograft tumors was examined by TUNEL assay. The status of Bax, Bcl-2 and caspase-3 was examined by Western blot assay.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>TFPI-2 expression was profoundly lower in GBC tissues (87.0%) when compared to normal tissues (23.3%) and GBP tissues (52.2%; χ(2) = 21.104, P = 0.000). Ad-TFPI-2 significantly inhibited the growth of xenograft tumors in nude mice. Ad-TFPI-2 inhibited GBC-SD cell growth through the induction of apoptosis. The means of total apoptotic cells per field were much higher in Ad5-TFPI-2 group than those in PBS and Ad5-GFP groups. Ad5-TFPI-2 elevated the expression of Bax and cleaved caspase-3, while it decreased the expression of Bcl-2.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>TFPI-2 gene and protein was down-regulated in GBC and the down-regulation of TFPI-2 may play a role in the tumorigenesis of GBC. Adenovirus-mediated TFPI-2 can inhibit GBC growth through the induction of apoptosis.</p>

Role of dissection of secondary branches of splenic pedicle in portal hypertension cases undergoing splenectomy / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>It is well known that conventional splenectomy, which requires careful handling and ligation of tissue of the splenic hilum, can easily cause complications such as splenic fever and pancreatic fistula. Here, we use the technique of dissection of the secondary branches of the splenic pedicle to handle the hilum in the portal hypertension patients who are subjected to splenectomy.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>We retrospectively compared and analyzed the complications, postoperative hospital stay, operative time, and occurrence of hemorrhage in 121 patients with portal hypertension undergoing splenectomy and devascularization of the gastric cardia from January 1999 to December 2007. The selected cases consisted of 51 patients undergoing conventional splenectomy and 70 patients undergoing dissection of secondary branches of the splenic pedicle. In addition, we analyzed the relationship between size of the spleen and occurrence of complications.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The incidence of pancreatic fistula and splenic fever (0/70 and 9/70) was lower in patients undergoing dissection of secondary branches of the splenic pedicle as compared with that of the conventional group (5/51 and 18/51 respectively). In addition, there was no significant difference in operative time and volume of blood loss between two groups. The spleen thickness of those patients who had pancreatic fistula and splenic fever was significantly greater than those without complications.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>These results indicate that dissection of secondary branches of the splenic pedicle in portal hypertension patients undergoing splenectomy can decrease the incidence of splenic fever and pancreatic fistula, and shorten the postoperative hospital stay, especially in the patients with a large spleen. So dissection of secondary branches of the splenic pedicle is a valuable technique for splenectomy.</p>

Mechanism research in somatostatin reverting the chemosensitivity of GBC-SD cell line / 中华外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the mechanism of increasing chemosensitivity of gallbladder carcinoma stimulated by somatostatin.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>GBC-SD cells were divided into four groups: SST-alone-treated group, Doxorubicin (DOX)-alone-treated group and co-treated group (co-treatment of SST and DOX). In the control group, the cells were cultivated by medium only. In SST-alone-treated group, the cells were cultivated by medium with SST in the concentration of 75 microg/ml. In DOX-alone-treated group, the cells were cultivated by medium with DOX in the gradient concentrations of 5, 10, 20 microg/ml. In the co-treated group, cells were first cultivated by medium with 75 microg/ml SST for 24 h, followed by the addition of DOX in the gradient concentrations mentioned above. Cell viability curve was measured by MTT assay at 24, 48, 72 and 96 h, respectively. Meanwhile, the alterations of protein expressions of ICBP90 and Topo IIalpha after treatment of SST were examined by Western blot.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The treatment of SST alone on GBC-SD cells did not exert significantly inhibitory effect compared to the control group (P > 0.05). However, 24 h after the treatment of SST, the protein expressions of ICBP90 and Topo IIalpha were both up-regulated (P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Up-regulated the expression of ICBP90 by somatostatin maybe the cause of overexpression of Topo IIalpha, which leads to the enhanced lethal effect of DOX.</p>

Relationship between expression of syndecan-1 and prognosis in pancreatic cancer / 上海第二医科大学学报

Objective To explore the relationship between the expression of syndecan-1 and the prognosis in pancreatic cancer. Methods The data of 30 patients with pancreatic cancer who received radical operations were retrospectively analysed.Immunohistochemical staining was performed,and the expression of syndecan-1 in tumor epithelial cells and stroma was observed by light microscopy.The relationship between immunohistochemical findings and survival was analysed.Results For those with negative,weak positive,moderate positive and strong positive expression of synecan-1 in tumor epithelial cells and stroma,there were significant differences in the case numbers between those survived for 1 to 2 years and those survived for 2 to 4 years(P