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BACKGROUND@#Recently, T-helper 17 (Th17) cells have been proved to play an important role in promoting cervical cancer. But, till now, few study has been carried out to understand the involvement of these cells in efficacy of anti-tumor treatments. This study aimed to investigate the alterations in the percentage of circulating Th17 cells and related cytokines in locally advanced cervical cancer (LACC) patients before and after concurrent chemoradiotherapy (cCRT) and to analyze the correlations between the alterations in Th17 cells and treatment efficacy.@*METHODS@#A prospective study with 49 LACC (International federation of gynecology and obstetrics [FIGO] stage IIB-IIIB) patients and 23 controls was conducted. Patients received the same cCRT schedule and were followed up for 3 years. Circulating Th17 cells (CD3+CD8- interleukin [IL]-17+ T cells) and related cytokines IL-17, transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), IL-10, IL-23, IL-6, and IL-22 were detected before and after cCRT. Correlations between alterations of circulating Th17 cells and treatment efficacy were analyzed. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used for overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS).@*RESULTS@#We found that 40 patients finished the entire cCRT schedule and met the endpoint of this study. The percentage of circulating Th17 cells in the LACC patients was higher than that in the controls, and it significantly decreased after cCRT (P < 0.05). After cCRT, patients were divided into two groups based on the average of the Th17 cells declined. The subgroup of patients with a prominent decrease in circulating Th17 cells after cCRT had a higher treatment efficacy and longer PFS and OS times. Compared with the control patients, LACC patients had higher IL-6, IL-10, IL-22, TGF-β levels and a lower IL-23 level (P < 0.05). After cCRT, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17, IL-23 level significantly increased and TGF-β level significantly decreased compared with the levels before cCRT (P < 0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#Circulating Th17 cells in the LACC patients (FIGO stage IIB-IIIB) were higher than those in the controls, but they generally decreased after cCRT. A more pronounced decrease in circulating Th17 cells after cCRT was correlated with better therapeutic effect and longer PFS and OS times.
Subject(s)
Female , Humans , Chemoradiotherapy , Disease-Free Survival , Neoplasm Staging , Prospective Studies , Retrospective Studies , Th17 Cells , Treatment Outcome , Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/therapyABSTRACT
Due to numerous obstacles such as complex matrices, real-time monitoring of complex reaction systems (, medicinal herb stewing system) has always been a challenge though great values for safe and rational use of drugs. Herein, facilitated by the potential ability on the tolerance of complex matrices of extractive electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, a device was established to realize continuous sampling and real-time quantitative analysis of herb stewing system for the first time. A complete analytical strategy, including data acquisition, data mining, and data evaluation was proposed and implemented with overcoming the usual difficulties in real-time mass spectrometry quantification. The complex Fuzi (the lateral root of )-meat stewing systems were real-timely monitored in 150 min by qualitative and quantitative analysis of the nine key alkaloids accurately. The results showed that the strategy worked perfectly and the toxicity of the systems were evaluated and predicated accordingly. Stewing with trotters effectively accelerated the detoxification of Fuzi soup and reduced the overall toxicity to 68%, which was recommended to be used practically for treating rheumatic arthritis and enhancing immunity. The established strategy was versatile, simple, and accurate, which would have a wide application prospect in real-time analysis and evaluation of various complex reaction systems.
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Development of rapid analytical methods and establishment of toxic component limitation standards are of great importance in quality control of traditional Chinese medicine. Herein, an on-line extraction electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (oEESI-MS) coupled with a novel whole process integral quantification strategy was developed and applied to direct determination of nine key aconitine-type alkaloids in 20 proprietary Chinese medicines (APCMs). Multi-type dosage forms (, tablets, capsules, pills, granules, and liquid preparation) of APCM could be determined directly with excellent versatility. The strategy has the characteristics of high throughput, good tolerance of matrix interference, small amount of sample (∼0.5 mg) and reagent (∼240 μL) consumption, and short analysis time for single sample (<15 min). The results were proved to be credible by high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, respectively. Moreover, the limitation standard for the toxic aconitines in 20 APCMs was established based on the holistic weight toxicity (HWT) evaluation and the severally, and turned out that HWT-based toxicity evaluation results were closer to the real clinical applications. Hence, a more accurate and reliable APCM toxicity limitation was established and expected to play an important guiding role in clinics. The current study extended the power of ambient MS as a method for the direct quantification of molecules in complex samples, which is commonly required in pharmaceutical analysis, food safety control, public security, and many other disciplines.
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Qizhu, the dried rhizome of Atractylodes macrocephala in Compositae family, is the representative wild variety of Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma (Baizhu) with modern excellent quality. Through textual research of materia medica works and modern studies, the medication methods between Qizhu and ancient Baizhu were systematically compared. Focusing on seven key issues, this paper systematically summarized the medicinal history, characters, cultivation and other related contents of Qizhu, in order to provide a basis of Qizhu in the recovery and development of its own Daodi-status, and further serve the industrial development of this herb. The name, harvesting time, processing method and other issues had undergone a relatively complicated evolution process. At present, acknowledged points are as following：①The distribution areas of Qizhu include southern areas of the Yangtze River in Anhui province and its surrounding regions. ②Harvesting time is late October. ③Qizhu can be dried in the shade or micro-hot dried after being wrapped with absorbent paper, later it can be divided into two commercial specifications. ④In addition to cutting, there is still a lack of other processing methods. ⑤The superior characters of Qizhu contain white, less oil, fragrant smell and sweet taste and so on. ⑥The history of Qizhu as a genuine medicinal material can be traced back to the Ming dynasty.
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Aconitums,represented by Aconite Radix,Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata and Aconiti Kusnezoffh Folium,is a kind of traditional Chinese medicine with a long medicinal history in China. They possess the significant toxicity and therapeutic effects simultaneously. Their potent effects of rescuing from dying,curing rheumatism,anti-inflammation,and analgesia make Aconitums highly regarded by physicians and pharmacists of various dynasties. However,countless poisoning cases caused by an irrational use of Aconitums were reported. In case of improper application and exceeding the therapeutic window,the acute cardiotoxicity and neurotoxicity would be caused,seriously threatening health and even life of the users. Therefore,the clinical application of Aconitums is limited to some extent. To avoid its toxicity and ensure the safety of medicinal use,Aconitums is usually used in a form of its processed products instead of the crude herbs,or combined with some other traditional Chinese medicines in a normal prescription. A proper processing and compatibility method can detoxicate its severe toxicity,reduce the adverse reactions,and also significantly broaden the indications and application range of Aconitums. This provides a guarantee for the secondary exploitation and utilization of Aconitums. In this paper,the traditional processing methods of Aconitums,along with the modern advancement were reviewed,and the mechanisms of detoxification by processing and compatibility were also illuminated. The physical detoxification mode and chemical detoxification mode were found as two main detoxification ways for Aconitums. In particular,the detoxification by hydrolysis,ion-pair,and saponification were three main means. The mechanisms illustrated in this paper can be a reference to the development of modern processing method and a guidance for appropriate use of Aconitums in clinical application.
Subject(s)
Aconitum , Chemistry , Toxicity , China , Drug Compounding , Methods , Drugs, Chinese Herbal , Chemistry , Toxicity , Medicine, Chinese Traditional , Plant Leaves , Chemistry , Plant Roots , ChemistryABSTRACT
Patients suffering from zygomatic complex fractures always present facial deformity and dysfunctions, and thereafter develop psychological and physiological problems. It is really hard to get an ideal prognosis for the zygomatic complex fractures because of the complicated anatomical structures. Computer-assisted surgery techniques, as the new emerging auxiliary methods, can optimize the surgical protocol, predict operation outcomes, and improve the accuracy and quality of the operation. Meanwhile the postoperative complications can be reduced effectively. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the application of computer-assisted surgery techniques in the management of zygomatic complex fractures.
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<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the protective effect of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) on protein synthesis in rat cardiomyocytes exposed to gamma-ray irradiation.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Primary cultured cardiomyocytes were irradiated with single-dose (20 Gy) gamma ray in the absence or presence of HGF (40 ng/ml) added in the cell culture 3 h before the exposure. Forty-eight hours after irradiation, the total cellular protein was measured and cell cycle analyzed by flow cytometry. The cardiomyoctes were also infected with AdGFP 48 h after irradiation and the fluorescence intensity of the green fluorescence protein (GFP) in the cells determined by flow cytometry 48 h after infection.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The protein synthesis was decreased significantly in the irradiated cardiomyocytes as compared with the control group (P<0.01), but was remedied significantly by incubation of the cells with HGF before the exposure (P<0.05). Flow cytometry revealed much lower mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) of GFP in irradiated cardiomycytes than in cells without the exposure (P<0.01); The MFI was higher in HGF-treated cardiomyocytes than in cells without HGF treatment following the exposure (P<0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Gamma ray irradiation inhibits protein synthesis in cardiomyocytes, and HGF may attenuate this effect of gamma ray exposure for cardiomyocyte protection.</p>