Anti-tumor Mechanism of Xihuangwan and Research Progress on Its Combined Use in Anti-tumor Treatment / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Xihuangwan is composed of four Chinese medicines： Bovis Calculus， Olibanum， Myrrha， and Moschus. Modern pharmacology studies have shown that Xihuangwan has anti-inflammatory， antibacterial， anti-tumor， anti-mammary gland hyperplasia effect， and can enhance the body's immune function. Cancer seriously endangers public health and safety-of-life， and is a major cause of mortality of Chinese citizens. It is a disease with intricate etiopathogenesis caused by the joint action of circumstances and hereditary factors. At present， anti-tumor chemotherapy drugs in clinical application not only have toxic and side effect， but also affect clinical efficacy and prognosis of patients. Long-term use will also lead to drug resistance of tumors. As a traditional classic anti-cancer prescription， Xihuangwan has been used more and more in tumor research with the rise of Chinese medicine culture. It is provided with remarkable inhibitory effect on liver cancer， gastric cancer， carcinoma of the lungs， mammary gland， colorectal carcinoma and other malignant tumors. In clinical practice， Xihuangwan ， mostly used as adjuvant drugs in combined use with chemotherapy drugs for anti-tumor effect， can reduce the side effect of chemotherapy drugs and the untoward reaction of sufferers， improve the survivability of patients to chemotherapy， reduce or delay postoperative tumor recurrence， enhance the body's immune function， and reverse the tolerance of tumor cells. Based on the anti-tumor research of Xihuangwan， we summarized its mechanisms in inducing cell apoptosis， regulating amino acid metabolism， reversing drug resistance， interfering with cell cycle， resisting tumor metastasis and invasion， regulating immune function， improving tumor microenvironment， and regulating signal pathways， as well as its clinical combination with chemotherapeutic anti-tumor drugs， analyzed the current anti-tumor research status of Xihuangwan's research， and put forward the shortcomings and unresolved problems in order to provide theoretical basis for further research and clinical application of Xihuangwan.

Path analysis of the relationships among health knowledge of chronic diseases, lifestyle and utilization of workplace health services of teachers in a district of Beijing / 中华疾病控制杂志

Objective To understand the influence path of occupational health knowledge, behavior and lifestyle, and utilization of workplace health service on chronic diseases of teachers in a district of Beijing. Method A self-designed questionnaire was used among teachers in a district of Beijing through path analysis. Results The prevalence rate of chronic diseases in occupational population was 51.5%. The top three diseases were lumbar or spinal diseases (19.0%), hypertension (12.5%) and gastroenteritis (11.1%). The rate of overweight and obesity increased with age, and male teachers were higher than that of female teachers which was statistically significant ( 2=119.313，P<0.001).Overweight-obesity, health related knowledge and utilization of workplace services made direct effects on chronic diseases. Healthy behaviors and lifestyles made indirect effects on chronic diseases by overweight-obesity. Conclusions The teachers’ health in this district was not bad. It is recommended that we should pay attention to the population of teachers, especially the male so that to prevent and control the incidence of overweight and obesity, improve their health knowledge level and develop healthy habits, and increase the input of health resources in the workplace.

Analysis of tuberculosis medical intention and the influencing factors among middle school students with health belief model / 中华疾病控制杂志

@# Objective To understand the medical intention and influencing factors of middle school students with suspected tuberculosis symptoms in some areas of China and to analyze the influencing factors based on health belief model. Methods A total of 2 547 middle school students in six provinces of China were chosen by PPS sampling method. Logistic regression was used to analyze tuberculosis medical intention.based on health belief model. Results Female students, urban students, eastern students and residential students had higher degree on knowledge than other respondents in the same group, which had statistically significant difference(all P<0.05). Middle school students in the western region had a higher degree of perceived disease threat, boys and middle school students in the eastern region were more likely to be reminded and accompanied by family members and friends. The delay rate was 25.4% when students have continuous cough and expectoration more than two weeks. In terms of logistic regression analysis, gender (OR=0.809, 95% CI:0.668-0.980), urban and rural (OR=0.692, 95% CI:0.572-0.838), only-child (OR=0.819, 95% CI:0.676-0.992), perceive the severity of the disease(OR=0.955, 95% CI:0.922-0.989)and prompt factors(OR=0.514, 95% CI:0.429-0.617) were the influencing factors of the tuberculosis medicial intention. Conclusions The health belief model could analyze and explain the influencing factors that affect the tuberculosis medical intention of middle school students in some way. Health education should be strengthened and health behaviors should be advocated according to the characteristics of different groups.

Effectiveness of self-management behavior intervention on type 2 diabetes based on self-determination theory / 北京大学学报(医学版)

OBJECTIVE@#To provide autonomy support from three dimensions based on self-determination theory (SDT), i.e. professional support, peer support, family support, and to investigate whether this intervention can improve diabetes self-management behavior and glycemic control of diabetic patients, and to analyze the influencing factors of the effect.@*METHODS@#Using convenient sampling method, three communities were selected respectively in Beijing. Each community selected health service stations with similar conditions as different intervention groups. The diabetic patients managed by the station who were eligible for inclusion were recruited into this intervention group. The community stations were divided into three groups. The routine intervention group only issued knowledge manuals and conducted health management according to the requirements of basic public health services. Peer support groups were divided into small groups and carried out doctor-led group activities. Based on doctor-led peer support activities, the doctors and peers were trained to provide autonomy support based on self-determination theory, and their family members were trained in the form of manuals to provide autonomy support, forming a concerted support of the three dimensions. Activity processes and materials were also designed based on SDT. The intervention duration was 3 months, and the main evaluation indexes were HbA1c and patients' self-management behaviors, skills, knowledge, and self-efficacy scores.@*RESULTS@#Before and after the intervention, the HbA1c of routine intervention group were 7.40%±1.37%, 7.30%±1.18%. The HbA1c of peer support group before and after the intervention were 7.33%±1.15% and 7.13%±1.27%. The HbA1c of autonomy support group before and after the intervention were 7.42%±1.22% and 6.78%±0.80%. Before and after the intervention, the self-management score in routine intervention group was 10.54±2.28 and 10.80±2.15, the score in peer support group was 11.09±1.89 and 11.40±1.78, the score in autonomy support group was 10.34±1.99 and 11.10±1.65, respectively. The HbA1c and self-management score increased higher in autonomy support group than in the other two groups. After intervention, the control rate in autonomy support group was higher than in the other two groups. According to the multi-factor analysis, the value of HbA1c after intervention was positively related to the baseline HbA1c, and negatively related to self-management behavior. The value in autonomy support group was higher than in routine intervention group. Baseline self-management behavior, self-efficacy, knowledge, skill, family support, autonomy support, peer support and age were positively correlated with the change of behavior.@*CONCLUSION@#self-management behavior intervention based on self-determination theory can effectively promote self-management behavior and glycemic control of diabetic patients, and the effect is better than single peer support activities.

miR-29c promotes apoptosis in prostate cancer cell line PC 3 / 基础医学与临床

Objective To study the effect of miR-29c on the apoptosis of prostate cancer cell line PC 3.Methods The expression of miR-29c, VEGF and VEGFR2 in RWPE-1 and PC3 were detected to verify the different between normal and cancer cell .The location of p-VEGFR2 was measured by immunofluorescence (IF).After PC3 cell were transfected by miR-29c overexpression adenovirus , the expression level of miR-29c, VEGF, t-VEGFR2, p-VEGFR2, BAX and Bcl-2 were measured by RT-PCR and Western blot , the cell apoptosis rate was detected by the kits of ho-echst 33258 and FCM.Results The expression level of miR-29c was lower and VEGF, VEGFR2 was higher in PC3 cell compared with that in RWPE-1(P<0.001).The expression level of miR-29c and BAX were higher and VEGF , p-VEGFR2 and Bcl-2 were lower in Ad-miR-29c group compared with that in control group (P<0.001).Higher apop-tosis rate was detected in Ad-miR-29c group compared with control group (P<0.001).Conclusions miR-29c can promote apoptosis in prostate cancer cell PC 3 by significantly inhibiting VEGF/VEGFR2 signaling.

The role of autophagy in allergic inflammation: a new target for severe asthma

Autophagy has been investigated for its involvement in inflammatory diseases, but its role in asthma has been little studied. This study aimed to explore the possible role of autophagy and its therapeutic potential in severe allergic asthma. BALB/c mice were sensitized with ovalbumin (OVA) on days 0 and 14, followed by primary OVA challenge on days 28–30. The mice received a secondary 1 or 2% OVA challenge on days 44–46. After the final OVA challenge, the mice were assessed for airway responsiveness (AHR), cell composition and cytokine levels in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). LC3 expression in lung tissue was measured by western blot and immunofluorescence staining. Autophagosomes were detected by electron microscopy. 3-Methyladenine (3-MA) treatment and Atg5 knockdown were applied to investigate the potential role of autophagy in allergic asthma mice. AHR, inflammation in BALF and LC3 expression in lung tissue were significantly increased in the 2% OVA-challenged mice compared with the 1% OVA-challenged mice (P<0.05). In addition, eosinophils showed prominent formation of autophagosomes and increased LC3 expression compared with other inflammatory cells in BALF and lung tissue. After autophagy was inhibited by 3-MA and Atg5 shRNA treatment, AHR, eosinophilia, interleukin (IL)-5 levels in BALF and histological inflammatory findings were much improved. Finally, treatment with an anti-IL-5 antibody considerably reduced LC3 II expression in lung homogenates. Our findings suggest that autophagy is closely correlated with the severity of asthma through eosinophilic inflammation, and its modulation may provide novel therapeutic approaches for severe allergic asthma.

Attenuation of airway inflammation by simvastatin and the implications for asthma treatment: is the jury still out?

Although some studies have explained the immunomodulatory effects of statins, the exact mechanisms and the therapeutic significance of these molecules remain to be elucidated. This study not only evaluated the therapeutic potential and inhibitory mechanism of simvastatin in an ovalbumin (OVA)-specific asthma model in mice but also sought to clarify the future directions indicated by previous studies through a thorough review of the literature. BALB/c mice were sensitized to OVA and then administered three OVA challenges. On each challenge day, 40 mg kg-1 simvastatin was injected before the challenge. The airway responsiveness, inflammatory cell composition, and cytokine levels in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid were assessed after the final challenge, and the T cell composition and adhesion molecule expression in lung homogenates were determined. The administration of simvastatin decreased the airway responsiveness, the number of airway inflammatory cells, and the interleukin (IL)-4, IL-5 and IL-13 concentrations in BAL fluid compared with vehicle-treated mice (P<0.05). Histologically, the number of inflammatory cells and mucus-containing goblet cells in lung tissues also decreased in the simvastatin-treated mice. Flow cytometry showed that simvastatin treatment significantly reduced the percentage of pulmonary CD4+ cells and the CD4+/CD8+ T-cell ratio (P<0.05). Simvastatin treatment also decreased the expression of the vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 and intercellular adhesion molecule 1 proteins, as measured in homogenized lung tissues (P<0.05) and human epithelial cells. The reduction in the T cell influx as a result of the decreased expression of cell adhesion molecules is one of the mechanisms by which simvastatin attenuates airway responsiveness and allergic inflammation. Rigorous review of the literature together with our findings suggested that simvastatin should be further developed as a potential therapeutic strategy for allergic asthma.

The Impact of Asthma Control on Salivary Cortisol Level in Adult Asthmatics

Asthma is a chronic disease causing psychological stress which leads to the activation of hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis. The purpose of this study is to compare morning salivary cortisol levels in persistent asthma patients according to their disease severities and control status. Total 206 adult asthma patients were recruited from four university hospitals. Spirometry, questionnaire of Asthma Quality of Life (AQOL) and Asthma Control Test (ACT) were completed, and saliva samples were collected prospectively to measure morning cortisol level. The mean patient age was 56.5+/-15.3 years with mean asthma duration of 9.1+/-11.1 years. Sixty five patents (31.6%) were classified as mild persistent asthma, and 141 patients (68.4%) were classified as moderate persistent asthma according to the Expert Panel Report 3. The mean predicted FEV1 was 88.8%+/-18.4%, and the methacholine PC20 was 9.6+/-8.5 mg/mL in all study population. The mean ACT score for all patients was 19.9+/-3.6, and there were 71 (34.5%) patients in poorly controlled and 135 (65.5%) in well controlled asthma. The poorly controlled asthma patients were characterized by significantly lower FEV1 (84.6%+/-17.6% vs 91.1%+/-18.5%, P=0.018), lower AQOL scores (46.0+/-13.9 vs 73.8+/-26.3, P<0.001), and lower salivary cortisol levels (0.14+/-0.08 vs 0.18+/-0.11 microg/dL, P=0.04) compared to well controlled asthma. The ACT score was significantly related to salivary cortisol levels (P=0.034) after adjusting for age. There was no significant difference in salivary cortisol levels (0.17+/-0.12 vs 0.16+/-0.08, P=0.725) when analyzed according to the dose of used corticosteroid and lung function. Asthma control status affects morning salivary cortisol level. Measuring the morning salivary cortisol level might be a simple and new way to assess asthma control status.

The Prevalence of Serum Specific IgE to Superantigens in Asthma and Allergic Rhinitis Patients

Staphylococcus aureus is the most common bacterium present in upper respiratory tract, and the toxins it produced are involved in allergic inflammation pathogenesis. In this study, we investigated the clinical significance of IgE in association with staphylococcal superantigens in allergic asthma with rhinitis (BAwAR) and allergic rhinitis alone (AR). We recruited 100 patients with BAwAR (group I), 100 patients with AR (group II), and 88 healthy controls (group III). Patients were clinically diagnosed by physicians, and were sensitized to house dust mites. Specific IgE antibodies to staphylococcal superantigen A (SEA), B (SEB), and toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 (TSST-1) were measured using the ImmunoCAP system. Other clinical parameters were retrospectively analyzed. All specific IgE antibodies to SEA, SEB, and TSST-1 were detected most frequently in group I (22%, 21%, and 27%), followed by group II (11%, 14%, and 21%) and group III (4.5%, 3.4%, and 2.3%). Absolute values of serum specific IgE to SEA, SEB, and TSST-1 were also significantly higher in group I (0.300+/-1.533 kU/L, 0.663+/-2.933 kU/L, and 0.581+/-1.931 kU/L) and group II (0.502+/-2.011 kU/L, 0.695+/-3.337 kU/L, and 1.067+/-4.688 kU/L) compared to those in group III (0.03+/-0.133 kU/L, 0.03+/-0.14 kU/L, and 0.028+/-0.112 kU/L). The prevalence of serum specific IgE to SEA was significantly higher in group I compared to group II (P=0.025). Blood eosinophil counts were significantly higher in patients with specific IgE to SEA or SEB, and higher serum levels of specific IgE to house dust mites were noted in patients with specific IgE to TSST-1. In conclusion, the present study suggested that IgE responses to staphylococcal superantigens are prevalent in the sera of both BAwAR and AR patients. This may contribute to an augmented IgE response to indoor allergens and eosinophilic inflammation.

Clinical Features and the Diagnostic Value of Component Allergen-Specific IgE in Hymenoptera Venom Allergy

PURPOSE: Although patient history is vital for the diagnosis of hymenoptera venom allergy, specific IgE detection is also important to identify the culprit insect and monitor the effect of immunotherapy. We evaluated the diagnostic value of serum-specific IgE detection of hymenoptera venom component allergens and documented changes in allergen-specific IgE after immunotherapy. METHODS: Fifty-six hymenoptera venom allergy patients receiving venom immunotherapy were recruited from Ajou University Hospital, Korea. The clinical manifestations of the patients were noted, and serum-specific IgE detection was performed, using conventional venom extracts as well as component allergens. Data were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: A total of 35 (62.5%) patients were male, and 33 (73.3%) patients were atopic. The mean patient age was 44.9+/-13.8 years. Localized reactions occurred in 23.2% of patients, and systemic reactions occurred in 76.8%. The most common clinical manifestations included skin involvement, such as urticaria and angioedema, and respiratory involvement. Yellow jackets were the most frequent culprit insect, followed by yellow hornets, white-faced hornets, honeybees, and paper wasps, as determined at the time of diagnosis. Double sensitization to both Apidae and Vespidae species was detected in 70.9% of patients. The positive predictive values (PPV) of rVes v 5-specific and rPol d 5-specific IgE detection were 85.7% and 87.5%, respectively, which correlated well with conventional venom extract-specific IgE detection (r=0.762 and r=0.757, respectively). In contrast, the PPV of rApi m 1-specific IgE detection at the time of diagnosis was 34.8%. Three years of venom immunotherapy resulted in decreased venom-specific IgE, particularly IgE specific for Vespidae venom components. CONCLUSIONS: Stings by yellow jackets and male sex may be risk factors for hymenoptera venom allergy in Korea. Vespidae component-specific IgE, but not Apidae component-specific IgE, had diagnostic and monitoring value in hymenoptera venom allergy comparable to that of conventional hymenoptera venom extract-specific IgE.