Thyroid Hormone Reference Intervals among Healthy Individuals In Lanzhou, China

Background@#The common reference intervals (RIs) for thyroid hormones currently used in China are provided by equipment manufacturers. This study aimed to establish thyroid hormone RIs in the population of Lanzhou, a city in the subplateau region of northwest China, and compare them with previous reports and manufacturer-provided values. @*Methods@#In total, 3,123 individuals (1,680 men, 1,443 women) from Lanzhou, an iodine-adequate area of China, perceived as healthy were selected. The Abbott Architect analyzer was used to determine the serum concentration of thyroid hormones. The 95% RI was estimated using the 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles as the lower and upper reference limits, respectively. @*Results@#The serum levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), total triiodothyronine (TT3), antithyroglobulin (ATG) antibody, and antithyroid peroxidase (ATPO) antibody levels were significantly correlated with sex (P0.05). The established RIs of TSH, ATG, and ATPO in this study differed between sexes (P<0.05). The thyroid hormone RIs established herein were inconsistent with the manufacturer-provided values. @*Conclusion@#The RIs of thyroid hormones in the healthy population of Lanzhou were inconsistent with those in the manufacturer’s manual. Validated sex-specific values are required for diagnosing thyroid diseases.

Protective effects of aqueous extracts from Sedum sarmentosum growing under different light intensity on CCl_4-induced damage in HepG2 cells / 中国中药杂志

To explore the effect of light intensity in cultivating environment on the hepetoprotective activity of Sedum sarmentosum, S. sarmentosum were planted under five water treatments for 60 days, namely 100% full sunlight(G1), 77% full sunlight(G2), 60% full sunlight(G3), 38% full sunlight(G4), and 16% full sunlight(G5) and CCl_4 drug-induced liver injury model in vitro was used. Cell viability, cell cycle, and cell apoptosis were individually detected by MTT, PI single staining, and Annexin-V FITC/PI double staining assays. Additionally, ALT, AST and antioxidant index in supernatant were determined by colorimetry. And the relationship among the protective effects, chemical composition and antioxidant activity were also analyzed. The results showed that S. sarmentosum aqueous extract could significantly improve the HepG2 cell viability. Among the five S. sarmentosum groups, the cell viability of G1(100% full sunlight) treatment was the highest, and the cell apoptosis was the least. Meanwhile, the level of ALT, AST, and MDA in G1 was the lowest, but it achieved the highest level of SOD and GSH. Moderate light shading(60% full light) also improved the effect of protecting liver and reducing the enzyme. It was found that cell viability was positively correlated with ferricion reducing capacity. ALT activity was positively correlated with isorhamnetin content. Taken together, different light intensity had great influence on hepatoprotective effect of S. sarmentosum, which may be related to its antioxidant capacity. From the perspective of hepetoprotective activity, S. sarmentosum should be planted under full light.

Advances in Studies on Chinese Materia Medica for Treatment of Sepsis Based on NF-κB Signal Pathway / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Sepsis is a kind of systemic inflammatroy response syndrome (SIRS) induced by severe infection,operation,and trauma,with high mortality rate,treatment cost,and high consumption of medical resources.It has caused a great burden to the medical industry and even the national economy.Therefore,it is urgent to find effective treatment methods for sepsis.At present,the sepsis has been treated with certain drugs pointing at its pathogenesis,such as antibiotics,glucocorticoids,and vasoactive drugs.,but the therapeutic effect is not ideal,with many side effects,poor prognosis,and high clinical mortality.Based on the overall macro-dialectical thinking mode,and with the unique effect and low side effect,traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has attracted the attention from researchers and clinicians around the world for treatment of sepsis.In recent years,some traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions,Chinese patent medicines,single Chinese medicines and active ingredients are increasingly used as new drugs to prevent and treat sepsis.Such treatment methods have been widely recognized and have reduced the mortality and inflammatory indexes of patients to a certain extent,playing an important role in the prevention and treatment of sepsis.In this paper,the actions of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) signal pathway in sepsis as well as the advances in research of NF-κB signal pathway-related proteins in Chinese medicine for sepsis were reviewed.

Spectrum-effect Relationship in Antitussive Effect of Different Polar Parts of Huabei Zhike Recipe / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective: To study the correlation between the fingerprint of different polar parts of Huanbei Zhike recipe and its antitussive effect,identify the chromatographic peaks greatly contributing to its pharmacological effect,and ascribe the chromatographic peaks. Method: Gradient elution method was used to establish the chromatographic peaks of different polar parts of Huanbei Zhike recipe. The common peaks and corresponding peak areas of each part were obtained by referring to the water extract chromatogram and after being processed by chromatographic workstation. The cough frequency,the latent period of cough and the contents of interleukin (IL)-4,interferon-γ(IFN-γ),immunoglobulin (Ig)E and IL-5 in lung lavage fluid of mice were used as the detection indexes to investigate the antitussive effect of different polar parts of Huanbei Zhike recipe. The correlation analysis among cough frequency,cough latent period and common peak area was carried out,and the peaks greatly contributing to the effect of medicine were pointed out,which were assigned according to the fingerprint of single drug. Result:Bivariate correlation analysis showed that seven chromatographic peaks, i.e. No.12,13,29,32,33,35 and 39,contributed significantly to the antitussive effect. The higher the content of the compounds represented by these peaks,the stronger the antitussive effect. There was a significant correlation between No. 32 peak and the latent period of cough,while No. 13 and No. 32 peaks were significantly correlated with cough frequency. These chromatographic peaks were assigned and found to be present in Scutellaria baicalensis,Crepis Herba, Aurantii Fructus,Glycyrrhiza uralensis,etc. Conclusion:The chromatographic peaks of No.13 and No.32 peaks contribute greatly to the antitussive effect of Huanbei Zhike recipe,while Crepis turczaniowii,S. baicalensis and Aurantii Fructus are of significant significance for the whole recipe.

Analysis of chemical components of Huanbei Zhike Prescription based on UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS technology / 中国中药杂志

To characterize the chemical constituents of Huanbei Zhike Prescription by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-time of flight mass spectrometry( UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS). A Thermo Syncronls C18 column( 2. 1 mm×100 mm,1. 7 μm) was used with methanol( A)-0. 1% formic acid solution( B) as the mobile phase for gradient elution. The injection volume was 2 μL; the column temperature was 40 ℃; the flow rate was 0. 3 m L·min-1; and electrospray ionization( ESI) source was used to collect data in positive and negative ion modes. The ion scanning range was m/z 50-1 200,with capillary voltage of 3 000 V,ion source temperature of100 ℃,atomization gas flow rate of 50 L·h-1,desolvent gas flow rate of 800 L·h-1,desolvent temperature of 400 ℃,cone hole voltage of 40 V,with argon as the collision gas and the collision energy was 20-35 V. The excimer ion peak information was analyzed by Waters UNIFI data processing software. The molecular formula with error within 1×10-5 was compared with the data in database to identify the compounds. The secondary fragment ion information of the target compound was selected,and then compared with the retention time and fragmentation patterns provided by the database and the existing literature to further confirm the compositions and structures of the compounds. A total of 68 main compounds in Huanbei Zhike Prescription were identified,including 38 flavonoids,10 organic acids,6 terpenoids and 10 nitrogen-containing compounds,of which 12 compounds were verified by the control substances. This method is rapid and accurate,which provides a new strategy for the qualitative analysis of the chemical constituents of Huanbei Zhike Prescription,and lays a foundation for the further study and quality control of the compound pharmacodynamic substance.

Protective effects of Sedum sarmentosum under different soil moisture in CCl₄-induced damage in HepG2 cells / 中国中药杂志

At present, there were few studies about the effects of cultivation measures on the quality and pharmacological activity of medicinal plants. To explore the hepetoprotective activity of Sedum sarmentosum aqueous extracts after different water treatments, S. sarmentosum were planted under five water treatments for 60 days, namely 15%-20% FC (field capacity, S1), 35%-40% FC (S2), 55%-60% FC (S3), 75%-80% FC(S4), and 95%-100% FC (S5) and CCl₄ drug-induced liver injury model in vitro was used. Cell viability, cell cycle, and cell apoptosis were individually detected by MTT, PI single staining, and Annexin-V FITC/PI double staining assays. Additionally, ALT, AST and antioxidant index in supernatant were determined by colorimetry. The results showed that, compared with the model group, S. sarmentosum aqueous extract could significantly improve the HepG2 cell viability. Among the five S. sarmentosum groups, the cell viability of S4 (75%-80% FC) treatment was the highest, and the cell apoptosis was the least. Meanwhile, the level of ALT, AST, and MDA in S4 was the lowest, but it achieved the highest level of SOD and GSH. Taken together, different water treatments had great influence on hepatoprotective effect of S. sarmentosum, and the soil moisture of the 75%-80% FC is beneficial to the hepetoprotective activity of S. sarmentosum.

Effects of light intensity on growth, quality and antioxidant activities of Sedum sarmentosum / 中国中药杂志

The present study was conducted to explore the effect of light intensity on growth, bioactivity compounds accumulation and anti-oxidative activity of Sedum sarmentosum. The growth, yield, contents of total flavonoids, total phenolic, quercetin, kaempferol and isorhamnetin, and antioxidant activities were assessed in S. sarmentosum under five light intensities, namely 100% full sunlight (G1), 77% full sunlight (G2), 60% full sunlight (G3), 38% full sunlight (G4), and 16% full sunlight (G5). The results showed that light intensity significantly affected the growth and the chemical compounds accumulation. With the decrease of light intensity, the maximum branch length and the average internode distance increased. G2 treatment greatly promoted the numbers of leaf layers and branches, and G3 treatment remarkably improved the yield. The highest total flavonoids and phenolic contents were obtained in G3 treatment. Meanwhile, the highest quercetin and isorhamnetin contents were obtained in G1 treatment. The difference of kaempferol content was not significant. In addition, based on DPPH, FTC and FRAP methods, the antioxidant activities of the aqueous extracts under G1 treatment were superior to the others. The results indicated that more than 60% full sunlight was the optimum light intensity condition to achieve high yield and quality of S. sarmentosum.

Effect of propofol and ketamine anesthesia on cognitive function and immune function in young rats

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the effects of propofol and ketamine on the cognitive function and immune function in young rats.@*METHOD@#A total of 80 young rats were randomly divided into four groups: Control group, ketamine group (experimental group A), propofol group (experimental group B), ketamine and propofol group (experimental group C). All rats had continuous injection for three times, serum IL-2, IL-4 and IL-10 and whole brain IL-1β level, hippocampal neuronal apoptosis level were measured. The cognitive ability in rats was tested by water maze.@*RESULTS@#Water maze test showed on the 1st d, the maze test latency of the control group, the experimental group B and the experimental group C water were decreased gradually; Compared with the control group after 3 days, the latency of the experimental group A, experimental group B and experimental group C were all decreased, the crossing circle times were also reduced. Hippocampal neuron apoptosis were (2.3 ± 1.7)%, (14.7 ± 6.9)%, (4.2 ± 3.3)%, (10.2 ± 4.8)% in control group, experimental group A, experimental group B and experimental group C, respectively. The neurons apoptosis of experimental group A was significantly increased. The serum IL-4 and IL-10 of the experimental group A, experimental group B and experimental group C after anesthesia were significantly higher than the control group. The whole brain IL-1β of the experimental group A, experimental group B and experimental group C were significantly lower than the control group.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Propofol can reduce anesthesia effect of ketamine on the cognitive function and immune function in the young rats.

Interleukin-2 improves the antitumor activity of Rituximab in patients with B-cell lymphoma in vitro / 中华血液学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To establish a method to predict therapeutic effect of Rituximab and explore the feasibility and potential of IL-2 improving antitumor activity of Rituximab with upregulated antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) in patients with B-cell lymphoma.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Eighteen B-cell lymphoma patients and 13 health volunteers entered the study. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNC) were isolated as effector cells, and Daudi (Burkitt's lymphoma) cells as target cell, the cytotoxicity and ADCC mediated by Rituximab (10 microg/ml) of PBMNC at different E:T ratios were performed by standard 51Cr-release-assay in vitro with or without IL-2-activation. Flow cytometric analysis was performed to identify PBMNC phenotype with or without IL-2-activation.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>A marked decrease of cytotoxicity and Rituximab mediated ADCC in the patients as compared with that in health volunteers, the results being (5.80 +/- 1.16)%, (14.32 +/- 1.50)% and (14.29 +/- 1.68)%, (24.14 +/- 1.53)% (t = 3.693, P = 0.001 and t = 3.372, P = 0.003) respectively. The decrease was correlated with the therapeutic effect of Rituximab (r = 0.781, P < 0.05). The cytotoxicity and Rituximab mediated ADCC in the patients could be partly recovered after IL-2 activation from (5.80 +/- 1.16)%, (14.32 +/- 1.50)% to (15.43 +/- 2.62)%, (35.79 +/- 2.58)% (t = 3.35, P = 0.003 and t = 7.17, P < 0.001) respectively.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>It may be a useful method for predicting the effect of Rituximab in B-cell lymphoma patients to analyze the cytotoxicity and ADCC of their PBMNC. The impaired activity of PBMNC could be partly recovered when IL-2 was administered before the use of Rituximab.</p>